Characters and real world combat parallels

[lemonpeace]

this may be a little niche but let's see. so lately I've been lowkey obsessed with fighting: watching some mma, looking into a bunch things about different traditional martial arts in a variety of cultures, stuff like that. so it got me thinking, if you were to pick a fighter or fighting style to sort of encapsulate characters at DC and Milestone (you know since they coming back), who or what would you pick for whom?

an easy one would be like, I could see Beast Boy using capoeira just due to his upbeat somewhat flamboyant personality and character. or like, after watching a few things about Bruce Lee, I honestly think he's the closest thing to if Cassandra Cain just walked off the page. Red Hood, I could see being a kickboxer with some wrestling techniques, while Dick Grayson is more Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (just my little headcanon, I'm sure they know all of the martial arts because comics). stuff like that.

obviously I'm not an expert at this stuff, you don't have to be either, just thought it was a fun idea.

[Robanker]

this may be a little niche but let's see. so lately I've been lowkey obsessed with fighting: watching some mma, looking into a bunch things about different traditional martial arts in a variety of cultures, stuff like that. so it got me thinking, if you were to pick a fighter or fighting style to sort of encapsulate characters at DC and Milestone (you know since they coming back), who or what would you pick for whom?

an easy one would be like, I could see Beast Boy using capoeira just do to his upbeat somewhat flamboyant personality and character. or like, after watching a few things about Bruce Lee, I honestly think he's the closest thing to if Cassandra Cain just walked off the page. Red Hood, I could see being a kickboxer with some wrestling techniques, while Dick Grayson is more Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (even though I'm sure they know all of the martial arts because comics). stuff like that.

obviously I'm not an expert at this stuff, you don't have to be either, just thought it was a fun idea.

I think during the Dixon run, Nightwing was explicitly stated to use Akido often, but from what I understand that's not exactly accurate given how he's portrayed even in that run. I wouldn't know either way.

[Frontier]

When they were making Batman: Bad Blood they explicitly tried to give every character their own fighting style.

[Shockingjustice]

It surprised me that no hero with actual superpowers knows a proper way of fight besides Wonder Woman. They don't even have to know the big fancy stuff. At least let Clark use some boxing in his fights.

Capoeira for Beast Boy is pretty cool especially if he can combine that with the hoves of a horse

I would love an elseworld where DC hero's with powers used Martial Arts in a Mortal Kombat like world. Sadly it feels like DC believes on non powered heroes need to know martial arts.

[Robanker]

It surprised me that no hero with actual superpowers knows a proper way of fight besides Wonder Woman. They don't even have to know the big fancy stuff. At least let Clark use some boxing in his fights.

Capoeira for Beast Boy is pretty cool especially if he can combine that with the hoves of a horse

Clark actually was trained in boxing pre-Flashpoint, as is Power Girl (who even used some basic fundamentals against Wonder Woman in the latter's title). People forget Black Canary has superpowers and is among DC's top 5 martial artists. One could argue Deathstroke has a superpower, same with Cass Cain (I know both don't technically have powers, but they may as well). Duke Thomas is a trained martial artist and has powers as well.

If you count Ted's Nine Lives, then he also has powers and was the world heavyweight boxing champion.

Their training usually doesn't get highlighted because then non-powered heroes would get humbled, and the current landscape is "but I need muh self-insert to bet teh godz!"

[Laufeyson]

When you are as strong as Superman: technique, speed, or any weapons mean nothing you. Your power beat everything. It's simple like that. Wonder Woman can use any fancy techniques she wanted, but against the overwhelming power of Superman, it means nothing. Just one punch with vibration higher than anything on Earth, delivered in the speed of light is enough to kill. The same thing with Flash, he is so fast he can almost do anything with Speedforce. The fighting style is irrelevant to him, because he can just one punch everyone before they can even move.

So to put it simple, giving them a clear proper way of fight is just overkill. Unless you are Mongul or Darkseid.

[Steel Inquisitor]

When you are as strong as Superman: technique, speed, or any weapons mean nothing you. Your power beat everything. It's simple like that. Wonder Woman can use any fancy techniques she wanted, but against the overwhelming power of Superman, it means nothing. Just one punch with vibration higher than anything on Earth, delivered in the speed of light is enough to kill. The same thing with Flash, he is so fast he can almost do anything with Speedforce. The fighting style is irrelevant to him, because he can just one punch everyone before they can even move.

So to put it simple, giving them a clear proper way of fight is just overkill. Unless you are Mongul or Darkseid.

It means something against enemies in that power range who know how to fight.



Characters like Metallo should be problems because of this, in some continuities Corben's a veteran soldier. Mongol and Maxima are warriors.

[Agent Z]

Any of the Amazons would use a fighting style that mixes armed and unarmed combat such escrima or pankration. I assume their ethnically diverse background makes for a versatile number if fighting styles.

Roy Harper would also use escrima or Okichitaw. Maybe some styles of karate.

Cheshire could use the Vietnamese martial art of Vovinam. Sportsmaster would likely be a boxer and wrestling hybrid. Tigress could use styles similar to her sister and father.

KGBeast is probably a sambo or systema user.

Sasha Bordeaux probably knows Krav Maga.

Lady Vic and Alfred would probably use bartitsu.

It surprised me that no hero with actual superpowers knows a proper way of fight besides Wonder Woman.

Black Canary is known as one of DC's best fighters. There is also Deathstroke, Starfire, the Hawks, the Wonder Girls, Bane, Cynthia Reynolds, Wildcat, Sasha Bordeaux, Duke Thomas.

[Shockingjustice]

Any of the Amazons would use a fighting style that mixes armed and unarmed combat such escrima or pankration.

Roy Harper would also use escrima or Okichitaw.

Cheshire could use the Vietnamese martial art of Okichitaw. Sportsmaster would likely be a boxer and wrestling hybrid. Tigress could use styles similar to her sister and father.

KGBeast is probably a sambo or systema user.





Black Canary is known as one of DC's best fighters. There is also Deathstroke, Starfire, the Hawks, the Wonder Girls, Bane, Cynthia Reynolds, Wildcat, Sasha Bordeaux, Duke Thomas.

I'm talking about heroes with high level powers. For most of the heroes you named are prerry much street level with added bonuses. Also I know starfire is a princess, but I don't recall them ever showcasing her fight prowess. She usually just throws star bolts. But then wonder girls who fight things way stronger than some random normal civilians is what I'm talking about.

[Restingvoice]

I think during the Dixon run, Nightwing was explicitly stated to use Akido often, but from what I understand that's not exactly accurate given how he's portrayed even in that run. I wouldn't know either way.

Aikido's mainly defensive right? Yeah, doesn't really fit.
I actually imagine Nightwing does Capoeira since it's like a dance and he's off his feet a lot.

Early Golden Age Batman and Robin only mentioned jiu-jitsu as their martial arts choice.

That's interesting - I don't think of Beast Boy doing a lot of fighting in human form. Wouldn't he maybe be like those martial artists who emulate animals with their fighting techniques though if he were to fight hand-to hand?

Interesting idea, Kung Fu Beast Boy

I also imagine Oracle Barbara as a sitting kung fu master

[king81992]

I could see Terra and Geo Force specializing in savate.

[Robanker]

Aikido's mainly defensive right? Yeah, doesn't really fit.
I actually imagine Nightwing does Capoeira since it's like a dance and he's off his feet a lot.

Early Golden Age Batman and Robin only mentioned jiu-jitsu as their martial arts choice.



Interesting idea, Kung Fu Beast Boy

I also imagine Oracle Barbara as a sitting kung fu master

As with the entire Bat family, they basically kitbash their martial arts from many schools. Dick's likely got some akido in his toolset, if only because he knows he's not the best hand-to-hand combatant even in his own circle. He'd need to know what to do when he's on the backfoot.

[Lightning Rider]

This is a cool thread. I've boxed for several years and dabbled in other skillsets. I often think about what skillsets best use certain heroes, and I do think it's worth thinking about, because these heroes are regularly fighting people with similar or comparable power levels. All else being roughly equal, knowledge and skill will make the difference.

Boxing/kickboxing and wrestling work well for Superman, though I'd throw in Judo as well, as he seems to throw his opponents a lot.

One thing that strikes me is that certain disciplines would be better or less suited to characters or opponents who fly. Jiu Jitsu might not work against an opponent if they can will their body to move in any direction without the use of gravity for leverage. But for street-level characters who weigh less, it's probably essential. I can see Black Canary and Batman/the Robins using a lot of gi jiu-jitsu, since most criminals and even villains wear clothes.

I can see Batman also using a lot of Muay Thai strikes since he's so brutal and often fights in tight spaces like alleyways.

Since Dick is so acrobatic, I imagine he uses a lot of high-kicks and flourishes from Karate and Kung-Fu. Also a lot of parkour elements. Max Mercury seemed adept at that also.

I liked the HEMA shout-out for the Hawks, just too perfect. Along with Wonder Woman, they should be the most proficient in pre-modern armed combat. Aquaman should be up there as well. I feel like Hawkman and Aquaman would both be great wrestlers given their physicality, and so would Diana, as an ancient Greek.

One thing I always thing about with Flash, is that when he's fighting other speedsters, they always fight while running and there's a lot of chasing. It must be so hard to grab hold of your opponent, so strikes are probabl emphasized. Complex counter-punching and combinations seem appropriate. Feints are also important since it's hard to deccelerate.

[Lightning Rider]

One thing about Green Arrow, is that I don't really envision him getting into prolonged exchanges. He's a hunter and is often brutal and direct. Since he works best at long range anyway, I see him as much more stripped down and bare-bones whenever he does have to engage at close quarters. I think elements of Sambo and Okichitaw fit, since you compromise an opponent's balance or ground them before striking them with a fight-ending blow.

[achilles]

This is a cool thread. I've boxed for several years and dabbled in other skillsets. I often think about what skillsets best use certain heroes, and I do think it's worth thinking about, because these heroes are regularly fighting people with similar or comparable power levels. All else being roughly equal, knowledge and skill will make the difference.

Boxing/kickboxing and wrestling work well for Superman, though I'd throw in Judo as well, as he seems to throw his opponents a lot.

One thing that strikes me is that certain disciplines would be better or less suited to characters or opponents who fly. Jiu Jitsu might not work against an opponent if they can will their body to move in any direction without the use of gravity for leverage. But for street-level characters who weigh less, it's probably essential. I can see Black Canary and Batman/the Robins using a lot of gi jiu-jitsu, since most criminals and even villains wear clothes.

I can see Batman also using a lot of Muay Thai strikes since he's so brutal and often fights in tight spaces like alleyways.

Since Dick is so acrobatic, I imagine he uses a lot of high-kicks and flourishes from Karate and Kung-Fu. Also a lot of parkour elements. Max Mercury seemed adept at that also.

I liked the HEMA shout-out for the Hawks, just too perfect. Along with Wonder Woman, they should be the most proficient in pre-modern armed combat. Aquaman should be up there as well. I feel like Hawkman and Aquaman would both be great wrestlers given their physicality, and so would Diana, as an ancient Greek.

One thing I always thing about with Flash, is that when he's fighting other speedsters, they always fight while running and there's a lot of chasing. It must be so hard to grab hold of your opponent, so strikes are probabl emphasized. Complex counter-punching and combinations seem appropriate. Feints are also important since it's hard to deccelerate.

That's an excellent point, how do these characters who fly and move at superspeed fight? Or the very high level strength of the Kryptonians, Diana, Doomsday...and on?

Take Doomsday for example. How can he possibly beat Superman? It shouldn't matter how strong a character like Doomsday can punch, past a certain point, he just can't hit that hard, since he's braced on ground that should crumble to dust under the forces he'd be exerting to punch Superman. Basically, he wouldn't have anything firm to punch off, while Superman, who can fly, could use that power to brace and hit as hard as he physically can. Or Superman could take the fight to sand, mud, or the ocean to easily beat Doomsday, among other things. So tactics matter.

As for the grappling arts and flying, that occurred to me as well. So I thought about it and have decided that with some moves from judo for example might be made to work...but only if modified. Working a joint lock for example, you might have to brace against some other part of the uke to make it work midair. Though somehow headlocks seem to work midair in DC...but only when Power Girl is uke. Hint, PG, next time someone does that to you...fly down, straight down, suddenly. Or headbutt them.