# Battle of the Peak Humans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966 "2016-07-26T19:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/1 "2016-07-26T19:28:31Z")
How would you rank these super-humans as if they were entered in a mixed martial arts tournament? [![](https://www.printyourbrackets.com/thumbs/16-team-tournament-bracket.gif) ](https://www.printyourbrackets.com/thumbs/16-team-tournament-bracket.gif) 1. Jason Bourne 2. Batman 3. James Bond 4. Rocky Balboa 5. James t. Kirk…ripped shirt (NOT Chris Pine;)) 6. MCU Captain America 7. Star Trek: Into Darkness KHAN 8. Watchmen Ozymandias 9. DUNE’s Paul Atreides 10. Rambo 11. Snake Plissken 12. Buck Rogers 13. The Punisher 14. B.A. Barrakus (A. Team) 15. Dutch Schaeffer (Predator) 16. Bruce Lee in “Way of the Dragon” [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYHZEu7Y7DU) ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/2 "2016-07-26T19:36:05Z")
You should throwin Marv from Sin City. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/3 "2016-07-26T19:43:27Z")
Assuming everyone is unarmed, Cap owns any one of these. Possibly any two. Assuming everyone has their typical weapons, it’s Cap or Batman, but still probably Cap. In melee combat, Khan’s phaser is no better than a handgun. I know, I know, “Batman can defeat anyone if he’s prepared.” That’s bullshit. It basically allows the pro-Batman person to bring in a deus ex machina. But Bats would have little problem with Rocky or BA You kind of need to specify which version of Batman you mean and whether it’s movie Ozymandias or comics Ozy. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/4 "2016-07-26T19:51:54Z")
Paul Atreides from the books would murder everyone on the list with the possible exception of Watchmen Ozymandias (I have no idea what or who this guy is) Keeping in mind that Dune was set some 10,000 years in the future and part of ongoing human evolution meant that a normal average untrained human from that time would have superhuman reactions compared to ours. Paul was an exceptional human with the best training the universe could offer. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/5 "2016-07-26T20:16:44Z")
Full Muad’dib Paul Atreides or young untrained Paul Atreides?, because is hard to beat someone who knows what you are going to do before you do. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/6 "2016-07-26T22:30:10Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > Paul Atreides from the books would murder everyone on the list with the possible exception of Watchmen Ozymandias (I have no idea what or who this guy is) > > Keeping in mind that Dune was set some 10,000 years in the future and part of ongoing human evolution meant that a normal average untrained human from that time would have superhuman reactions compared to ours. Paul was an exceptional human with the best training the universe could offer. Sounds like Karate Kid from the Legion of Super Heroes. Spent his entire life practicing and perfecting himself into the perfect weapon. Came to the past and got his ass handed to him by Batman. And since the OP included comics martial artists, how about Bronze Tiger, Lady Shiva and Daniel Rand? I won’t mention Deathstroke, cause he’d beat seven hells out or any three of them. ETA: I’m going to try to rank them later. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/7 "2016-07-26T22:45:56Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > Sounds like Karate Kid from the Legion of Super Heroes. Spent his entire life practicing and perfecting himself into the perfect weapon. > > Came to the past and got his ass handed to him by Batman. That I didn’t know. I had read that when he applied to the Legion, he beat Superboy. (Without kryptonite.) ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/8 "2016-07-26T22:46:57Z")
I’m not clear on the rules. Is Daredevil not eligible, just because he has super hearing? ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/9 "2016-07-26T22:57:47Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > That I didn’t know. I had read that when he applied to the Legion, he beat Superboy. (Without kryptonite.) Yeah. To make it worse, KK was telling Bats how he’d studied his style and how he respected him and whatnot. Bats tells him, basically, if you talked less you might have won. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/10 "2016-07-27T01:09:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Skald** : > > Assuming everyone is unarmed, Cap owns any one of these. Possibly any two. And assuming that there are teams of any sort, Cap is going to find himself in command of the best-coordinated one. I don’t think that any of them is a match for his small-squad tactical expertise, nor for his ability to inspire followers. Well, Paul Atreides might match him on the inspiring-followers front, but he doesn’t belong in this contest. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/11 "2016-07-27T01:16:32Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > That I didn’t know. I had read that when he applied to the Legion, he beat Superboy. (Without kryptonite.) IIRC, he managed to put in a respectable showing against Superboy, but still lost. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/12 "2016-07-27T01:22:04Z")
Assuming you did this as a random seed, so that 1 is fighting 2, 3 is fighting 4, and so on, here’s who I think would make it to round 2: Batman Balboa Captain America Ozymandias Atreides Plissken Punisher Bruce Lee Round 2 would have a great matchup (Ozymandias vs Captain America), a good matchup (Punisher vs Lee), and the rest are essentially byes for one of the participants. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/13 "2016-07-27T04:07:17Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > IIRC, he managed to put in a respectable showing against Superboy, but still lost. No he beat Superboy for his Legion tryout. Superboy thought it would be a cinch and flew down to grab him, but KK dodged and got Supes in a hold that even superstrength couldn’t break. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Assuming everyone is unarmed, Cap owns any one of these. Possibly any two. > > Assuming everyone has their typical weapons, it’s Cap or Batman, but still probably Cap. In melee combat, Khan’s phaser is no better than a handgun. > > I know, I know, “Batman can defeat anyone if he’s prepared.” That’s bullshit. It basically allows the pro-Batman person to bring in a deus ex machina. But Bats would have little problem with Rocky or BA > > You kind of need to specify which version of Batman you mean and whether it’s movie Ozymandias or comics Ozy. It’s Bats or Cap in a toss up with or without weapons. They are both considered to be at the peak of human potential in their respective universe. While Cap might have a slight edge on pure physical strength, Bats is one of the best martial artists on the planet. So toss-up. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/14 "2016-07-27T04:20:43Z")
The OP reads like a list of 16 punks with which Mr. Miyagi would mop … um … _wax_ the floor 😃 Seriously – in all those _Karate Kid_ movies and all those fights, Miyagi only sustained _one_ blow. And that’s when a bunch of no-goods ganged up on him in his garden … one joker managed to tap Miyagi on the back with a shovel. Not that it prevented his eventual “waxing” at the hands of the old man. . ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/15 "2016-07-27T04:31:54Z")
Superboy held back out of fear of inadvertently injuring KK. A villain with Superboy-level strength could break any hold, tear out both KK’s arms and beat him to death with them. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/16 "2016-07-27T04:48:13Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > … I know, I know, “Batman can defeat anyone if he’s prepared.” That’s bullshit. It basically allows the pro-Batman person to bring in a deus ex machina. But Bats would have little problem with Rocky or BA… I dunno, in five years of _The A-Team_, I think BA only lost one fight, and that was in the pilot. I wouldn’t sleep on that guy. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/17 "2016-07-27T04:54:25Z")
In \*Dune Messiah \*, Paul became so drugged up with melange that, after he went lost his eyes, he was able to predict the future so well that it was as if he had sight. I believe he even argued that he could fight this way, but it was only his full acceptance of Fremen ways that prevented him from taking this course and helped him decide to walk into the desert. Being able to predict the future to that degree would almost make him invincible, right? ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/18 "2016-07-27T07:41:14Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > Sounds like Karate Kid from the Legion of Super Heroes. Spent his entire life practicing and perfecting himself into the perfect weapon. He is the result of a breeding program thousands of years long, evolved to a much higher level of base physical abilities, and then trained by arguably the greatest masters of their respective skills in the entire universe, and as has been pointed out at the end of his story line could see the immediate future with perfect accuracy. I don’t see the comparison. He is basically Cap with better reflexes and way better training, Hes got Batman’s intellect only trained to become a human computer. He really doesn’t belong on a list with people who are not supernatural. As a teen he would have most likely cleaned up the list, as an adult its really no comparison. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/19 "2016-07-27T09:24:45Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > No he beat Superboy for his Legion tryout. Superboy thought it would be a cinch and flew down to grab him, but KK dodged and got Supes in a hold that even superstrength couldn’t break. Well, [here’s](http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11114/111144451/3768747-adventure_346-1-17-lsh.jpg) the page I was thinking of, where Superboy eventually overpowers him but reasons that _“Even though Karate Kid bit off more than he could chew, anyone who can give me that kind of tussle belongs in the Legion!”_ (KK spends the previous pages impressively rolling with a punch and leveraging Superboy’s strength into a judo throw and so on, but he doesn’t wrap the guy up in a hold for the win.) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966/20 "2016-07-27T11:13:38Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > Keeping in mind that Dune was set some 10,000 years in the future and part of ongoing human evolution meant that a normal average untrained human from that time would have superhuman reactions compared to ours Why? We possibly have, _on average_, much worse physiques than average humans from 10,000 years ago. MCU Cap gets my vote, BTW. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-the-peak-humans/760966.md?page=2)