Mandarin vs. Ikaris

[Shellhead]

Mandarin vs. Ikaris, 616 versions. All the usual Khazan defaults.

[MichaelC]

Ikaris is more durable and has a healing-factor.

[Pendaran]

While true enough, and the relationship of Eternals to their own molecules should be fine for any transmutation problems or the like, there's still the mind control ring and I can't recall how well Ikaris handles that sort of thing.

[MichaelC]

Don't all Eternals have at least some psionic ability themselves?

[Pendaran]

Sure, but to wildly varying degrees.

[Shellhead]

Ikaris is at least resistant to Mandarin's most dangerous rings: the disintegration ring, the mento-intensifier ring, and the transmutation ring. Likewise, Mandarin has a force field and is also really durable. So I think is going to be a real fight and not just a quick-draw. It's probably going to come down to ability to deal damage. Mandarin can rend metal armor with his hand strikes, and his rings offer a variety of ranged offensive attacks. Ikaris is probably somewhere between Iron Man and Thor for strength, and fires powerful blasts from his eyes. Ikaris can win if he can grapple Mandarin and leverage his superior strength. Mandarin probably has a better shot if he can keep this at range, or at least at arms-length distance. Since they can both fly, maybe it comes down to a question of who flies faster and with better maneuverability. I'm guessing Ikaris is the better flyer, but I don't know.

[MichaelC]

The Mandarin's flight isn't impressive at all. However, he's quite good at playing the Scorpion "GET OVER HERE" game with the rings to compensate.

[Nik Hasta]

What's the current canon state of the Eternals anyway?

The last thing I read was Neil Gaiman's run on it. In that, Ikaris was durable enough that the monster people dipped him in acid, a smelter and a car crusher and it did nothing to him of consequence. Mandarin might have a hard time here. Also, in the same run he did do a mind control thing on Yellow Jacket which might indicate he's got enough mental chutzpah to resist the Mental Ring.

Digging through a respect thread, Ikaris is pretty jacked. While weaker than your Thors and Hercs and other such bricks, dude seems to throw down with them well enough that it's at least a little competitive.

I don't like Mandy's chances here.

[MichaelC]

How are his senses? If Mandarin blankets the area in darkness and starts karate-chopping him from a position of de facto invisibility, can he counter?

[Pendaran]

Also, in the same run he did do a mind control thing on Yellow Jacket which might indicate he's got enough mental chutzpah to resist the Mental Ring.

I'm sketchy on doing Yellowjacket up that way entirely giving him a pass. The mind control ring isn't some great titantic force, but it's done some decent stuff that came up the last time it was discussed.

[MichaelC]

What if Mandarin increases gravity until he's driven into the ground like a nail and starts karate-chopping him in the head? Or makes him dizzy with a tornado and makes with the karate while he's too dizzy to fight back properly?

[Shellhead]

How are his senses? If Mandarin blankets the area in darkness and starts karate-chopping him from a position of de facto invisibility, can he counter?

Ikaris can use his eyebeams to generate just light energy, so it's like he has two flashlights pointed wherever he is looking. That's great against normal darkness, but I think Mandarin's darkness ring got retconned into being a ring that emits Darkforce energy.

[MichaelC]

Yeah, so he should be able to crowd-control Ikaris with layers of attacks like darkness and sonics and ice, and then sucker-punch him and cheapshot him with martial arts strikes.

[Pendaran]

Yeah, so he should be able to crowd-control Ikaris with layers of attacks like darkness and sonics and ice, and then sucker-punch him and cheapshot him with martial arts strikes.

You turned this fight into MMO/MOBA tactics ;p

I curse your bloodline ;p

[MichaelC]

The thing is, The Mandarin has always been about MMO tactics. He does things like use illusions to confuse an enemy and then cheapshots them with karate-chops while they don't know who to fight. If he were a MMO class, he'd be a hybrid that uses Mage CC to set up Monk attacks.