Before we get started with the next chapter, I'd like to let my readers know two things: first, I've posted all of the matches in this season on my profile page—including the upcoming ones. If you'd like a sneak peek at the fights to come, check it out. Second, I have started up a forum dedicated to this story, where you can give me fight suggestions and discuss former/future matches. A link to it can also be found on my profile page. Oh, and one more thing: the season finale of Deadliest Warrior was incredible...make sure to watch it online if you didn't catch or DVR it!
Now…on with the show!
*NOTE: I do not own Deadliest Warrior, Marvel comics, or DC comics—by now, that should be a given. Everyone in this story except Desmoulin, Geiger and Dorian are utterly fictional. If you have any suggestions, etc., send me a PM, and I will get back to you.
Anything spoken by the Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient Narrator (AKA David Wenham) will henceforth be in ITALICS.
Deadliest Hero: Spider-Man vs. Nightwing
As the show begins, we see a man wearing a red-and-black body suit and face mask. He shoots a stream of sticky white silk at the camera from his wrist.
Spider-Man: the web-slinging street-wise superhero from New York City.
We see Spider-Man swinging through the streets of New York by using his web streams.
We now see another man in a black mask and uniform, accentuated with blue around the shoulders and chest. He holds two devices that resemble Batarangs.
Nightwing: the martial-arts master who honed his crafts by studying under the Dark Knight himself.
We see Nightwing throwing two Batarang-like devices at a fleeing assailant.
WHO…IS…DEADLIEST?
We now see a montage of numerous comic book-themed weapons being tested.
To find out, our world-class fighters are testing the heroes' most lethal weapons. Using 21st-century science, we'll see what would happen if the two heroes went toe-to-toe—no rules, no safety, no mercy. Superhero vs. Superhero. Marvel vs. DC. It's a duel to the death, to decide who is…
THE DEADLIEST HERO!
As the title sequence ends, we find ourselves back in the all-too-familiar fight club.
Welcome to the fight club, a high-tech arena where the very threads of space and time are intertwined. Here, comic book characters meet up with real-life weapons experts, trauma doctors, and computer experts. It's all to create a true-to-life deathmatch between two legendary superheroes: Spider-Man, the wall-crawling hero with the uncanny "spidey-sense" to detect danger, versus Nightwing, the famous martial-arts expert who is as dark and secretive as his namesake.
Spider-Man Stats
Real name: Peter Parker
Ht: 5'10"
Wt: 167 lbs
Gear: 2 lbs
Armor: None
Superpowers: Enhanced strength and agility, wall-climbing abilities, web shooters
Nightwing Stats
Real name: Dick Grayson
Ht: 5'10"
Wt: 175 lbs
Gear: 6 lbs
Armor: Kevlar-lined suit
Superpowers: Enhanced agility and speed, weapons and martial arts expert
Biomedical engineer Geoff Desmoulin will supervise the weapons testing using high-tech equipment.
"Today, we've got two building-swinging heroes doing battle: Spider-Man and Nightwing," explains Geoff. "Both these guys are pretty pacifistic in their weapons choices, so this is going to be an interesting fight."
E.R. physician Armand Dorian will analyze the killing power behind every strike.
"We have a lot of weapons today that stun rather than kill," Dr. Dorian admits. "My job will be to analyze which shots would kill, and which ones would leave a person able to fight back."
Computer whiz Max Geiger will input the data into a battle simulation program to determine the winner.
"Today's heroes that are squaring off are known for using non-lethal weapons," says Max. "That's gonna force our computer to rely heavily on X-factors and the physical skills of the combatants in order to determine who wins here today."
We now see a beautiful young woman with long red hair, attaching two manacle-like devices to her wrists.
Representing Spider-Man: his wife, Mary Jane Watson-Parker. The woman affectionately known as "M.J." has known Peter for many years, and knows his fighting styles like the back of her hand.
"Tiger won't let anything take him down…he's way too smart for that," M.J. brags. "He's smart, he's resilient, and he's a darn good tactician."
We now see a burly man with a blond crew-cut. He punches a punching bag as Geoff analyzes data from the punches in the background.
Also representing Spider-Man: Flash Thompson. Thompson went to high school with Peter Parker, and though he bullied Peter incessantly at first, they later grew to be very close friends.
"I wish I could take back what I did to Peter all those years back," Flash admits. "But I can damn sure do him justice by representing him today, and helping him kick Nightwing's ass."
Peter Parker was originally a brilliant, but otherwise ordinary, high school student when he was bitten by a radioactive spider at a science museum. Parker woke the next morning to find that he had incredible agility, along with the abilities to climb walls and sense danger through a special "spider-sense". Using his technological knowledge, he also built devices that attached to his wrists which can shoot web-like material.
"I have no doubt that Tiger's gonna win this fight," M.J. brags. "He's got better equipment, better abilities, and to top it off, he's smarter."
Spider-Man is a daunting foe, but our Nightwing experts aren't worried at all.
We now see a young woman with orange-red skin, fiery red hair, and bright green eyes wearing a revealing purple outfit. She wields two shuriken-like devices shaped like birds.
Representing Nightwing: his longtime girlfriend, Starfire. Starfire has fought alongside Nightwing as part of the Teen Titans, and knows the Dark Bird's fighting styles inside and out.
"Nightwing is not only my gen'dan*; he is the greatest hero I know," Starfire explains. "He and I fought alongside one another on many occasions and I am still very much amazed at things he does."
We now see a young man with dark black hair, wearing a red-and-black uniform with a black cape.
Also representing Nightwing: the current Robin, Tim Drake. Drake assumed the role of Batman's well-known sidekick after Nightwing retired from the position.
"I've got my own style, sure," Tim admits. "But a lot of my fighting styles were taught to me by Nightwing himself. He's a master at just about every martial art you can think of."
After a troubled and tumultuous childhood as a circus acrobat, Dick Grayson was taken in by Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman, who helped him hone his already impressive skills. Grayson took up the mantle of Robin, becoming Batman's sidekick for many years until breaking out on his own as the leader of the Teen Titans. Eventually, he went solo, forming his own persona of Nightwing.
"Nightwing is a force to be reckoned with in the fighting of crime," says Starfire. "He shall certainly win against the Man of Spiders."
Both of these heroes have a tendency to use non-lethal weapons in the line of duty, which will affect the battle immensely in the long run. But which hero will come out on top? Our experts are divided.
"My edge up front is gonna be with Spider-Man," predicts Dr. Dorian. "He is a tactical and mechanical genius. He can think on his feet, and he can plan ahead—that, I think, is going to give him the win."
"Personally, I believe Nightwing's gonna win this one," says Geoff. "He has slightly more lethal weaponry, and that, in the long run, I think will give him the edge he needs to defeat Spider-Man."
Both Spider-Man and Nightwing carry an array of unique tools at their disposal, many of which are unknown to the masses. But Spider-Man's signature weapon is known far and wide:
We see Spider-Man tying up a thief with several strands of his signature webbing.
Web Streams: strands of simulated spider silk, stronger than steel and a thousand times more flexible.
Geoff, Max and Dr. Dorian are standing in front of a table full of Spider-Man's equipment and costumes along with Flash and Mary Jane. M.J. holds two small devices in her hands as she explains how they work:
"These are Peter's web-shooters," she says. "They were developed by him not long after he first got his powers."
"Hold on," Geoff says. "I thought Spider-Man could shoot webs automatically from his wrists…"
"Common media-fed mistake," Flash says. "Peter only had that power for a short time, and lost it later. Now, he has to use these things to make his webs."
"Well, it's certainly an extra thing to have to lug around, but let's go test 'em out," Geoff suggests.
Everyone is now standing in front of a door that leads to an unknown part of the fight club. Mary Jane stands in front of everyone, the web-shooters latched to her wrists.
To test the web shooters, Geoff has designed a special test utilizing a live target.
"Okay, M.J.," he says, walking up to the door, "what's gonna happen is there's gonna be a live ninja come out of this door. You need to use those web-shooters to incapacitate the ninja as quickly as possible. Think you can handle it?"
"I think I can manage that," M.J. says, smiling.
A few seconds later, Mary Jane watches the door intently with web-shooters at the ready, while everyone else observes from afar.
"Ready, M.J.?" Geoff asks.
"Ready!" she replies.
"Three, two, one—RELEASE THE NINJA!"
On Geoff's word, the door flies open and our old friend the black-clad ninja emerges from behind it. He makes a beeline for Mary Jane, but she lifts her hands and shoots streams of webbing from the web shooters like two miniature fire hoses. The webbing soon wraps itself around the ninja, who tries in vain to free himself from it. Mary Jane pumps more webbing at the ninja until he falls to the floor, completely tied up in a "cocoon" of webbing. The entire process takes about thirty seconds.
"Whoo, all right!" Geoff cheers as everyone steps in to assess the damage of the webbing.
"Okay, you've tied him up really good," Dr. Dorian admits as he struggles with the sticky webbing with his gloved hands. "He's gonna have a heck of a time fighting back in this position. Not a killing strike, but that's to be expected…that webbing is not really made to kill, it's made to incapacitate."
The Nightwing experts come up to assess the damage.
"Impressive display," Tim admits as he watches the ninja squirming on the floor. "But Nightwing would not be approaching Spider-Man head-on…he'd come from the side or behind him or something."
"Doesn't matter," Thompson argues. "Peter'd sense him and take him down before he even got close enough to spit on him."
"But…Nightwing would never spit on the Man of Spiders…" Starfire says, visibly confused.
Max shakes his head as Geoff buries his face in his hands.
"Nightwing can certainly not form white webs from his suit, but he also possesses a tool that can stun from distances," Starfire explains.
Nightwing's weapon may not be able to tie up criminals like Spider-Man's webbing, but it stops them dead in their tracks just the same.
We see Nightwing throwing a bird-shaped device at a fleeing thief, stunning the man and knocking him to the ground.
The Wingding: a modified version of the Batarang.
We now see the Deadliest Warrior hosts in front of a table of assorted Nightwing weapons and outfits. Tim Drake holds two different-sized Wingdings in his hands as he begins to tell the three hosts all about them:
"These are the two types of Wingdings that Nightwing uses. Basically, they're a modified version of Batman's Batarangs, which themselves are like shurikens—throwing weapons that can stun whatever they're thrown at."
"So it's basically a stunning weapon, right?" Max asks.
"Yes," Tim replies. "They can kill if they hit the right spot with the pointy ends here, but nine times out of ten, they're non-lethal."
Geoff and some more hired hands are seen wheeling in three wheeled machines with foam torsos attached to them.
Because the Wingdings have killing potential, Geoff sets up a test involving attack bots.
"All right, Tim," Desmoulin explains to the current Robin, "these three attack bots will be advancing toward you from several feet out. Your job will be to stop them by throwing the Wingdings at them and knocking them to the ground."
"No problem," Robin says, nodding.
A few seconds later, Robin stands with numerous Wingdings at the ready, about forty feet in front of the attack bots, as the others look on from afar.
"Three, two, one…DEPLOY ATTACK BOTS!"
As soon as Desmoulin shouts this, the attack bots begin rolling toward Tim. Drake takes one Wingding and throws it at the middle attack bot, hitting the foam torso in the face with the blunt end and knocking it over. He throws another one at the left-hand attack bot, lodging a pointed end in the dummy's stomach and sending it toppling over as well. He throws another Wingding at the last attack bot, hitting it in the side of the head, but it keeps coming. However, another well-placed shot lodges a thrown Wingding in the foam torso's neck, stopping the attack bot.
"Yeah, nice!" Max shouts.
"Good work—and you took 'em out faster than the webbing," Geoff admits.
Two of the Wingdings caused lacerations to the foam torsos, but did they manage to kill their targets? Dr. Dorian steps in to analyze the damage.
"That guy in the middle has nothing on him—even though he's probably hurting pretty badly, he's not gonna die," Dr. Dorian explains as he approaches the left-hand attack bot. "This guy, you hit him in the stomach, right in the intestines. He's gonna bleed a lot, and there's a definite chance of peritonitis, but if he gets up and gets to a hospital, he's probably gonna live. The third guy; you hit him once on the side of the head—that might break his jaw, but that's not lethal. What I'm concerned about is this next shot you took at his neck…this goes right into the carotid and the jugular. This is gonna bleed like crazy, and if he doesn't do something to stop it, he could die from it."
"Nice…even though it's primarily a stunning weapon, it can also score a chance kill if it hits the right place," Geoff says.
But which medium-range weapon will give its user an edge in battle?
"I like the webbing because Spider-Man can incapacitate from a very long distance with it," Geoff admits to Max and Dr. Dorian. "But the Wingdings proved themselves…plus, they could cut through the web and let Nightwing free himself from it if he has enough leeway."
"Agreed," Dorian says. "And with the sharp points on the Wingdings, they could also possibly score a kill for Nightwing if he's lucky. For Spider-Man, he can't kill with the web streams unless he completely encases his enemy with webbing to the point where they suffocate to death. And with someone who's gonna fight back light Nightwing does, that's almost impossible to do."
"Looks like it's unanimous—edge goes to the Wingdings," Max affirms.
For medium-range weapons, the edge goes to Nightwing for the Wingdings. But this match is only getting started, as our heroes now pull out their close-range weapons. And for Spider-Man, this is another form of his web-shooters…
We see Spider-Man launching a full web of silk from his wrist onto a thief below, trapping the burglar in the sticky net.
Web Projectiles: thrown nets of webbing that trap thieves just like flies.
Mary Jane, Flash and the Deadliest Warrior hosts are back at the table of Spider-Man paraphernalia. Mary Jane is still wearing the web-shooters as she starts to explain another one of their uses:
"Peter can also use his web-shooters to shoot fully developed webs," she says as she retrieves a small, web-shaped plate from the table. "Just a simple modification…"
She clicks the plate in place on the web-shooter.
"…and Tiger's good to go!"
Everyone is now in another part of the building, with Max, Dr. Dorian and Flash behind a glass viewing area with Geoff and Mary Jane standing by a zipline suspended across the room.
To test the projectile webbing, our team sets up a unique test involving a pig carcass and a zipline.
"Okay, M.J., this is a stoppage test," Geoff explains to Spider-Man's wife. "What'll happen is that pig will come barreling down toward you on the zipline. Your job is to use the web projectiles from the web-shooters to take down the pig."
"Piece of cake," M.J. says.
A few minutes later, Geoff is behind the glass with everyone else as Mary Jane stands at the ready.
"Three, two, one—RELEASE THE PIG!" Desmoulin shouts.
On Geoff's word, someone off-screen slides the pig down the zipline, right toward Mary Jane. M.J. points the web-shooters at the approaching pig and fires two fully formed giant spider webs at it. The impact from the webs sends the pig flying off the zipline and to the floor, where it lays covered in sticky webbing.
"All right, nice work," Geoff comments.
But even though the web projectiles stopped the pig, they're not enough to kill.
"Well, if this pig was a criminal, he'd be in prime position for the cops to arrest him and take him away," Dr. Dorian says as he examines the web-coated pig. "But aside from a little bruising when it hit the ground, this pig is completely unscathed."
"Nice try, but it looks like you're 0-2, chaps," Robin says, patting Thompson on the back.
"What are you talking about, short stuff?" Thompson inquires. "These are just to tie Nightwing up before Peter kicks his sorry butt!"
"I am sorry, my muscular friend, but it is Nightwing who will be engaging in the kicking of the butt today," Starfire retorts. "He is far too fast to become ensnared with the massive projectiles of webs, and he can also block them with his staffs of eskrima."
Nightwing's close-combat weapon of choice is a time-honored martial arts accessory:
We see Nightwing fending off a criminal with two long sticks in each of his hands.
Eskrima Sticks: unbreakable shafts of destruction.
Tim Drake, Starfire and the DW guys are now in front of a table of Nightwing's equipment. Tim is holding a pair of eskrima sticks in his hands as he explains how they work:
"If you asked Nightwing what his favorite weapon was, these would be it," the current Robin brags. "These sticks are about two-and-a-half feet long, and can cause some serious damage if they hit something."
"What are they made of?" Geiger asks.
"Nightwing actually uses two different kinds of eskrima sticks," Drake explains as he walks over to the table. "The first pair here is made of the traditional rattan wood, and then there's this pair, which are made of aluminum."
"Well, to get a fair representation, we've gotta test 'em both," Desmoulin suggests.
To test the eskrima sticks, our team brings in a ballistics gel torso with the same mass and density as human flesh and bone. The wooden eskrima sticks will be tested first.
Robin stands in front of the first gel torso with one eskrima stick in each hand.
"Robin, are you ready?" Geoff asks.
"Ready!" Robin replies.
"On three, two, one—SMASH HIM!"
On Geoff's word, Robin twirls one eskrima stick around his head and gives a loud war cry as he smashes the gel torso in the side of the head with the other. He continues shouting battle cries as he smacks the torso in the other side of the head with the other stick, then targets the torso with the sticks, smashing into the chest and stomach with them. After about ten seconds, he lets up, and the torso is badly bruised and bloody in various places.
"Yeah, nice!" Geoff shouts.
"Holy sh**!" Max adds as Dr. Dorian steps up to the torso to analyze the damage done.
"Okay, this guy's been banged up pretty badly," Dr. Dorian says as he examines the torso with his gloved hands. "But all this banging and bashing you did in the torso actually is not enough to kill. However, when you look at the head here…you broke this guy's skull, and depressed it inward. I've said it before, and I'll say it again—when you depress the skull into the brain, you get bleeding, hemorrhage, and the chance of death goes through the ceiling. This guy is definitely dead."
"Not bad for a couple of wooden sticks, huh?" Robin brags.
"Too true," Max says. "Now let's see what the aluminum ones can do…"
Next, Robin steps up to the plate with Nightwing's aluminum eskrima.
"Three, two, one—GO!"
On Geoff's signal, Robin smashes into the side of the fresh torso's head with one aluminum shaft, severely cracking the skull inside. He smashes the rest of the torso with the sticks, producing many broken bones, bruises and lacerations. To finish, he smashes the head again, causing the skull to break in two under the gel skin.
"Whoa!" Geoff says, clearly surprised at the damage that the aluminum sticks can do.
"Okay, I think these aluminum sticks are even better at causing havoc than those wooden ones," Dr. Dorian admits as he steps in to assess the damage done. "You've broken this guy's bones, maybe a bruised liver as well, but up here is the killer." Dr. Dorian handles the gel head carefully. "You have cracked this guy's skull completely in half—this is an insta-kill if I've ever seen one."
But which weapon will give its user a killer edge in battle?
"There's no question—I have to give it to the eskrima sticks," Geoff declares. "Just like the web streams, those projectiles aren't meant to kill their target. The eskrima sticks not only cause a lot more damage, they can be used over and over again."
"Totally agreed," Dr. Dorian says. "The web streams have potential to kill if they completely entrap their target, but the web projectiles are just an ensnaring tool. The eskrima sticks can kill with just one blow."
"Plus, there's the fact that Nightwing has two types of eskrima sticks, ready for him to use," Max adds. "Edge, Eskrima Sticks."
For close-range weapons, the edge goes to Nightwing for the eskrima sticks. But our experts have only scratched the surface of the abilities and tools of Spider-Man and Nightwing. Both heroes carry explosive surprises around with them, and for Spider-Man, this is a weapon that hardly anyone knows he has…
We see Peter Parker taking pictures at his newspaper photographer job, when a person grabs him from behind and puts a knife to his throat. Peter points the camera at the man's leg, and a bullet suddenly fires from the camera, hitting the man in the thigh.
The Camera Gun: a simple photographer's tool with a deadly surprise.
We now see Mary Jane and Flash in front of a target range inside, with Max and Geoff beside them. Flash is holding a camera as he explains to the hosts all about it:
"A lotta people know this camera…it's the same camera Peter used when he was a photographer for the Daily Bugle."
"So how can a camera be used as a weapon?" Desmoulin asks suspiciously.
"Basically, this doubles as a novelty pistol," Thompson replies. "It holds three shots at the most. You load your ammo in here, press the button—and that's that."
We now see Desmoulin tinkering with some dummy-loaded attack bots in front of a firing area.
But how good is the camera gun's accuracy? Geoff sets up another test with attack bots to answer that question.
"All right, Flash, this is a test of how efficiently you can take out your target," Desmoulin explains to Flash, motioning to the attack bots and stationary targets in the firing area. "Your targets are the two stationary targets in the range there. We've given you three shots to take 'em out, and there are also three attack bots moving around out there—those are the bystanders; don't hit them. We'll be measuring your accuracy and your killing potential, and you will be timed."
Flash is now standing in front of the group of foam torsos, the three that are mounted on attack bots wheeling randomly around the area.
"Are you ready, Flash?" Geoff asks.
"Ready," Flash replies.
"Three, two, one—FIRE!"
On Geoff's word, Thompson points the camera at one of the stationary torsos and shoots it right in the middle of its neck. He points the camera at the other stationary target, shooting it in its chest. After waiting for one of the attack bots to pass in front of it, he fires his last shot at the second target, hitting it in the eye.
"All right, nice—ten seconds!" Geoff says as Thompson puts down the camera.
The camera gun scores three direct hits on two targets, all three of which are fatal wounds.
"This is great—and there's absolutely no collateral damage," Geoff says, examining the mannequins mounted on attack bots. "Excellent work, Flash—that camera's good for shooting a lot more than pictures!"
As Geoff chuckles to himself, Max and Dorian look at him with expressions of pity and shake their heads. "That was bad," Max says.
Despite the fact that the camera gun is powerful, our Nightwing experts don't seem concerned.
"Yeah, that camera's gonna do damage—but Nightwing wears Kevlar armor," Robin explains. "He's taken gunshots before, and he still comes back to beat the snot out of you. Plus, who needs a gun when you've got a bomb?"
Nightwing's long-range killer is just as deadly, and just as secretive.
We see Nightwing throwing a small capsule filled with gas into a room, then leaping out a window. The thieves inside the building are soon engulfed by a cloud of toxic gas.
Poison Gas Bombs: collapsible capsules filled with a deadly inhalable toxin.
We now see Robin and Starfire outside on the firing range with Geoff and Max there as well. Starfire is holding a few
"Friends, this is a small capsule that shall implode when it is released from one's hand," Starfire explains in her own overly-explanatory way. "Nightwing possesses these very capsules, but they contain a poisonous gas."
"The gas is a combination of phosgene and chlorine," Robin explains further. "They're both really toxic agents."
"That's true…those were both used as chemical warfare in the past," Dr. Dorian agrees. "Once the body inhales chlorine or phosgene, they shut down your body's ability to process oxygen from the air. Once you inhale a substantial amount, your lungs basically collapse, and you die."
To test the poison gas bombs, our experts have built a small wood-frame structure to simulate a criminal hideout. Due to the dangers of testing poisonous gas, Starfire will use a capsule filled with obscuring smoke instead of poison.
"All right, Starfire—are you ready?" Geoff asks.
"Oh, very much!" Starfire gushes.
"On three—"
But Starfire chucks the capsules through the window of the house before Geoff can even get halfway through his usual intro.
"You were supposed to wait for my sig…" Geoff starts, but a significant "poof" is heard just then from inside the house. Smoke starts pouring out of the windows several seconds later.
"Okay…that'll work," Max laughs.
"Nice work…even though you didn't follow my signal exactly," Geoff says, cocking his eyebrow at Starfire.
"I did not want the criminals to escape from the room," Starfire explains. "Shall I go in and flush them out now?"
Geoff looks back at Robin. "You didn't tell her this is just a simulation, did you?"
Robin shakes his head. "I didn't want to damper her spirits…"
But the Spider-Man experts aren't impressed.
"Tiger is way too agile to be affected by that gas," Mary Jane scoffs as she surveys to the smoking house. "He knows a gas bomb when he sees it—he'll just jump out of the way, close the gap, and bash your brains in."
Poison gas or camera gun…which surprise weapon gets the edge?
"I have to give it to the weapon that causes death more quickly," Dr. Dorian says to the others. "And while the poison gas is lethal, there's still a chance that your target could roll out of the toxic cloud in time to save himself. With the camera gun, it's an almost sure shot."
"I don't like the fact that it's only a three-shot magazine, but I have to agree with you, Doc," Desmoulin says. "Plus, it's got that element of surprise—a gun in a camera is a totally unexpected thing."
"Looks like it's unanimous, then," Max affirms. "Spider-Man's camera gun takes it here."
For long-range weapons, the edge goes to Spider-Man for his high-caliber camera. But our experts still have to test both heroes' special weapons. And though Spider-Man doesn't utilize his special weapon very often, there is a nasty surprise he has utilized in the past** that was a side-effect of his spider-infused DNA…
We see Spider-Man being beat up by a group of thugs. As his rage builds, his eyes glow red and his body begins to sprout stingers as he kicks the thugs away.
Spider Fangs and Stingers: the icing on the cake for the mutated spider look.
Mary Jane, Flash Thompson and the DW hosts are in front of a row of foam torsos. Flash, while being fitted with a pair of gauntlets with sharp spears attached to them, begins to explain Spider-Man's deadly special weapon:
"A lotta Peter's powers were one-time things," he says. "This one time, he made a cocoon, and came out healed, with everything he lost in the previous battle**. He also had these crazy fangs and stingers that popped out of his body when he got real mad—they apparently were side-effects of that spider bite, too."
"But…spiders don't have stingers," Max interjects.
"That's what Peter said when he first saw 'em," Flash replies. "Doesn't make sense to me, either…"
"Well, maybe we can work something out," Max says, still annoyed at the inaccuracy of the "stingers".
Desmoulin and a technician are now seen fitting Flash Thompson with a set of stinger-like attachments on his arms.
To test the spider appendages, our team equips Flash with a set of false spider stingers similar to the ones that Spider-Man once had.
Flash now stands in front of a gel torso with the stingers on his arms.
"Ready, Flash?" Geoff asks.
"Ready!" Thompson shouts.
"On three, two, one—STAB IT!"
On Geoff's word, Thompson stabs the target through the neck, causing blood to pour out of the carotid and jugular. He then slashes the mannequin across the chest a few times with the stingers, sending chunks of gel, blood and guts flying everywhere. To finish, he jams his right-hand stinger into the top of the torso's head, leaving it there as he turns around and smiles.
"HOLY SH**!" Desmoulin shouts as Max just stares with his jaw hanging open.
"Very impressive," Dr. Dorian says as he examines the wounds. "Look at this mess—this shot to the neck is an insta-kill. You've punctured the carotid and jugular; this guy will bleed out and die pretty quickly. Then, you slashed this guy across the gut—this reaches through to the liver and the lungs, so that would be a killing blow as well. And the last shot you made? What can I say...this gives new meaning to the term 'splitting headache'."
"Our Nightwing experts are gonna have a really tough time topping this," Max admits.
Nightwing's secret weapon is a little trick that was custom-installed into his uniform.
We see a criminal sneaking up on Nightwing and grabbing him from behind. Grayson pushes a button on his utility belt, and a surge of electricity courses through the thief's body. In the next shot, the thief is on the ground, writhing around and screaming in agony.
The Taser Suit Blast: a deadly surprise for anyone who touches Nightwing's suit.
We now see Robin (who wields a hand-held taser) and Starfire standing in front of a group of mannequins as Geoff and Dr. Dorian stand nearby.
"Nightwing's suit has a lot of secret compartments filled with things: cell phone, grappling hooks, gas bombs, you name it," Robin says. "But one of the nastiest surprises he has is a series of tasers running along the surface of the suit. No matter where someone touches Nightwing, all he has to do is push a button on his utility belt, and this guy receives the shock of his life."
"Looks like we'll have to bring in the live targets for this one," Geoff says.
To test the taser, we bring in one of our live ninjas to do the dirty work.
On Geoff's word, Robin fires the taser at the ninja, who has his eyes closed tight, expecting the pain. Within nanoseconds, the electricity begins coursing through the ninja's body, and he falls to the ground, grunting and curling up in the fetal position.
An impressive display, but it's not a killing strike.
"That's quite a weapon," says Desmoulin as he helps the poor ninja up, "but we've tested tasers on the show before, and they're not really lethal weapons. They're good for stunning a person, but they won't usually kill them unless they're repeatedly zapped with the taser."
Mary Jane and Flash walk onto the scene now, and Flash is clapping slowly.
"Very nice, guys," he says. "Would've been better if you'd actually killed something, though!"
"Even if Spider-Man gets close enough to use those stingers, about 50,000 volts will leave the guy screaming on the floor. That's more than enough time for Nightwing to finish him off," Robin argues.
Our teams are divided, but for our experts, it's a no-brainer.
"For me, it's no contest, really," Geoff says to the others. "Spider-Man takes this—his fangs and stingers are more lethal, more powerful, and they can actually kill."
"The taser is certainly gonna hurt, but 99 times out of 100, it won't kill," Dr. Dorian adds. "Spider-Man, if he gets mad…who knows what he'll do if those stingers make their presence felt?"
"Not only that, they have longer reach, and they can be used over and over again," Max adds. "No question…Spider-Man's got the Special Weapons category in the bag."
For special weapons, the edge goes to Spider-Man for the spider teeth and stingers. But it's not quite over yet. Our team still has one more thing to consider: an X-factor that could give one of our heroes an important edge in battle. For Spider-Man, his X-factor is his uncanny Spider-Sense, which allows him to sense impending danger before it actually happens.
We see clips of Spider-Man surveying his surroundings and dodging attacks using his "Spidey Sense", as Mary Jane and Flash start to discuss this ability:
"Tiger was infused with his Spidey-Senses when he was bitten by that crazy spider," M.J. explains. "He has the ability to sense any kind of danger before it happens."
"Peter will always come out on top 'cause he'll sense any kind of attacks that will do him harm, and then just get outta the way," Flash adds.
For Nightwing, his X-factor is his mastery of literally dozens of Martial Arts, which allow him to fight nearly any opponent.
We see clips of Nightwing fighting numerous supervillains in close combat as Tim Drake and Starfire begin to discuss the Dark Bird's skills:
"Nightwing will emerge victorious because he is trained well in many styles of fighting," Starfire says.
"Nightwing knows pretty much every martial art you can think of," Robin comments. "Karate, kung fu, judo, jujitsu, hapkido...you name it, he knows it. He's super-quick, super-strong, and will break your jaw before you get a chance to talk trash to him."
But which hero will get an edge in battle thanks to their X-factor?
"The X-factor edge, for me, goes to Spider-Man," Dr. Dorian tells his friends. "Being able to sense an attack before it actually happens? If that's not a game-changer, I don't know what is."
"Agreed," Max replies. "Spider-Man definitely gets the edge in the X-factors."
In X-factors, the edge goes to Spider-Man for his Spider-Sense.
We now see a montage of all the weapons that have been tested in this episode.
The testing is now complete. Max will now load all the data into a battle simulation program that will determine our winner.
Close-range weapons edge: Nightwing, for the eskrima sticks
Medium-range weapons edge: Nightwing, for the Wingdings
Long-range weapons edge: Spider-Man, for the camera gun
Special weapons edge: Spider-Man, for the spider fangs and stingers
X-factor edge: Spider-Man, for the "Spider Sense"
To keep the battle from being won by a single lucky blow, Max will simulate the battle one thousand times. It will be a battle of opposites: brains…
We see Peter Parker working in his laboratory on a more streamlined web-shooter.
Versus brawn.
We see Dick Grayson training in an undisclosed gym.
Kevlar…
We see Nightwing's armor blocking a bullet before he rushes forward and roundhouse-kicks an attacker.
Against flesh.
We see Spider-Man being slashed across the thigh with a burglar's knife during battle, then punching him out as blood trickles down his leg.
"I believe we have all the data we need," says Max, now seated in front of the computer. "Let's go ahead and start it up."
"All right, let's go," says Geoff as he and Dr. Dorian watch from nearby.
Max presses a button on the computer, and our screen becomes all Matrix-like before the battle appears.
The Battle
The battle takes place in a large city around dusk. As darkness slowly begins to creep up on the city, numerous lights in buildings start to come on as people are getting home for the day. As the camera zooms in on the top of one of these tall buildings, we see Spider-Man on its roof, scanning the area for trouble. As Spidey looks around intently, he hears a noise, and looks down to see Nightwing pulling up next to the same building on his motorcycle. Spider-Man looks curiously at Nightwing, and decides to get a closer look at the new hero to see if he is of hostile intent. The web-slinger fires some webbing at some nearby buildings to anchor himself, and begins to swing down to the ground. As Nightwing dismounts his motorcycle, he hears the noise of the webbing as it exits Spidey's suit, and looks up to see Spider-Man swinging down from the roof. Mistaking him for some sort of high-tech criminal, Nightwing glares at Spider-Man and silently pulls out one of his Wingdings. As Spider-Man glides down closer to the ground, Nightwing takes aim with the Wingding and throws it at one strand of webbing, cutting it in two. With one of his web strands cut, Spider-Man careens toward the side of the building. Quick to recover, though, Spider-Man shoots another stream of web at the ground, anchoring himself and bringing him down safely, where he lands on the street about forty feet in front of Nightwing. Without warning, Nightwing throws three more Wingdings at Spider-Man. Spidey dodges the first two, but the third catches him in the leg, slicing into his calf with one of the pointy ends. Nightwing pulls a pair of wooden eskrima sticks from the back of his uniform and rushes toward Spider-Man, yelling loudly. Thinking quickly, Spidey shoots a fully-formed web at Nightwing, trapping his upper torso inside it. Peter flees by crawling up the side of the building he was atop earlier as Dick laboriously scrambles to get the web projectile off him. He stands up and sees Parker crawling up the building, glares at him, and heads inside the apartment building in an attempt to head off the web-slinger. Spider-Man looks down and sees Nightwing heading into the building, so he scrambles into the nearest window. While taking a few seconds to regroup inside, Spidey closes his eyes and listens to the vibrations in the building, then retrieves his camera from a compartment at his side before taking off through the open door of the room and out into the hall. We now see Nightwing, running up the stairs of the building before emerging on an unnamed floor. He looks around, seeing Spider-Man just as he emerges from the room. Nightwing throws another Wingding at Spider-Man, striking Parker in the face and dazing him. Nightwing grabs his wooden eskrima sticks and charges toward Spider-Man. Still clutching his camera, Spidey regains his senses and shoots a stream of webbing at Nightwing, but Nightwing swats it away with one stick and strikes Spidey in the stomach with the other when he gets close enough. "OW!" Spidey cries as he backs up. "What'd I ever do to you?" Nightwing only shouts a battle cry as he rushes toward Spidey with his sticks. Using his Spider-Sense, Peter dodges strikes with both sticks before shooting Nightwing in the gut with his camera gun and fleeing into an abandoned room nearby. Knocked backward by the shot, Nightwing's kevlar suit prevents any significant damage. He recovers and follows Spidey into the room he fled into, but Peter is waiting for Dick as he grabs him and throws him into a nearby table, breaking it and apparently knocking Nightwing unconscious. Spider-Man slowly approaches Nightwing and touches him to make sure he's okay, but Nightwing, who is playing possum, presses a button on his utility belt, shocking Peter with his taser-laden suit. Spider-Man falls to the floor, screaming and convulsing in pain as Nightwing approaches him, ready for anything as he pulls out a communicator to call the police. Spider-Man now opens his eyes, which are now blood-red. He gets up and slowly walks toward Nightwing as his jaw begins to rearrange into long, poison-soaked fangs, and long, serrated stingers sprout from his wrists. Nightwing stops talking on his communicator when he hears Spider-Man approaching, and now sees that his foe is rapidly changing into a giant, mutated spider. He throws a Wingding at Spidey, but Spidey merely swats it away with one stinger. Nightwing backs away, then bolts out the door as the newly mutated Spider-Man chases him into the dimly lit hallway. Nightwing turns around and throws a poison gas capsule at Spider-Man, but Spidey simply charges through the gas, not staying in it long enough for a significant amount to enter his lungs. Nightwing flees for his life into another room at the end of the hall, where Spider-Man kicks the door down in search of him. Nightwing rushes forward and smashes Spidey in the leg with an aluminum eskrima stick, sending the web-shooting hero down to one knee. Grayson then backs up and readies a knockout shot, but when he gets close this time, Parker grabs the eskrima stick and throws Nightwing into the corner of the room. Spider-Man then rushes toward Nightwing, roaring and snarling. As the camera cuts to a shot of the stars out the window, we hear horrible screaming as the picture fades to black...
A few seconds later, the screen fades back in. It's now morning, and we see Spider-Man lying on the floor of the room, not moving. Soon, though, he begins to stir as he groans and moans. "Anyone get the number of that truck?" he asks no one in particular as he rubs his throbbing head. Suddenly, he remembers his battle with Nightwing, and scrambles to his feet to look for his adversary. However, as he looks around, he sees that the room is in a chaotic state. Chairs and broken furniture litter the floor, and the windows are all broken. In addition, the room is covered from top to bottom with Spidey's webbing. Spidey looks around cautiously for Nightwing for a few seconds until he sees a horrible sight. A silk cocoon, attached to the walls and floor, sits in the corner of the room. Spider-Man runs over and rips open the cocoon, only to find that it contains a human body—that of Nightwing. Examining the body, he finds stab wounds in Nightwing's stomach and chest, as well as two fang marks in Nightwing's neck. Nightwing's eyes are open, but they are blank, and his face is deathly pale. Peter places his finger on Dick's neck in search of a pulse, but it's no use…Nightwing is dead, all the fluids having been drained from his body. "Oh, no…" Spider-Man cries as he kneels beside the dead Nightwing, realizing what he has done. "I—I'm so sorry…" he says as he hangs his head and tears begin to seep up under his mask.
Winner: Spider-Man
"Out of a thousand battles, Spider-Man emerged victorious just over 59% of the time," Max explains. "This is due to the fact that while most of Spider-Man's equipment isn't lethal under normal circumstances, if used in the right way, he could incapacitate, wear down, and eventually kill Nightwing with it."
While his webbing was decidedly non-lethal, Spider-Man's other two weapons scored kills in the triple digits.
Spider-Man Kills: 594
Web Stream: 7
Web Projectile: 0
Camera Gun: 189
Spider Fangs & Stingers: 398
Nightwing only claimed 406 kills. His best weapons were his unbreakable eskrima sticks, but they weren't enough.
Nightwing Kills: 406
Wingdings: 54
Eskrima Sticks: 226
Poison Gas Bombs: 123
Taser Suit Blast: 3
"I probably didn't give Spider-Man enough credit," Geoff confesses. "He's got an incredible arsenal of weaponry and powers, and he knew how to use it properly. The better man won."
"I was never worried," Mary Jane brags, smiling. "Peter's been up against opponents tougher than Nightwing—he'll always come out on top, no matter what."
Starfire is now seen crying. "My Nightwing has been executed by the Man of Spiders!"
Tim comes up behind her and taps her on the shoulder. "Calm down, it's just a simulation…he's not really dead…"
Starfire immediately stops crying. "Ohhhhhhhhhh…"
We see Spider-Man looking up at the building window where he knows Nightwing's dead body now hangs.
Chapter 8 is over, and Marvel scores another victory, tying our total up at 4-4. Can DC break the tie? Find out in our next chapter, as one of Spider-Man's archenemies, the Green Goblin, takes on one of Batman's archenemies, The Penguin. See you again very soon!
*Gen'dan: Tamaranian word for "soul mate" or "true love"
**Occurred in "The Other", 2005-06