Posted at 8:12 p.m. - Wednesday, July 16

I'm a fanboy through and through.  I absolutely LOVE comic books.  I love the heroes, admire the creators, and I really enjoy the camaraderie I share with other comic book fans.  So please keep that in mind when I bring this oh-so-gentle criticism to bear...

Folks, this superhero tourney is meant to be FUN!  Believe it or not, there are a whole bunch of comic-book fans who work for the RedEye (myself included) who don't have any 'secret agendas' and aren't trying to mess with comic book fans.  We're pretty excited at the reception this tourney has gotten, the majority of it positive, but I gotta say - some of the fanboy e-mails I've been getting have been killing my buzz.

Some of the e-mails I've gotten are from dudes who have a total mad-on for Buffy.  Why?

I've had more than a couple fanboys write me and say that Buffy shouldn't even be in the tournament because she's - and I quote - 'not even a superhero.'

Uh...say what?

She's got superpowers.  She fights evil.  She even stars in her own comic book.  How is she not a superhero?  Explain that to me and then maybe I'll start to understand your arguments.

Now, about this whole ballot-box stuffing issue:I asked the RedEye folks if they were aware that some hanky-panky was going on, and the answer was yes.  They're trying to deal with it the best way they can and in ways that don't mess up everybody else's access to the tourney.  So if you think that we don't care (I include myself here) well then you're wrong.

Yeah, I'd be ticked if I knew someone was cheating to win and was blatantly getting away with it.  But let me show you folks something:

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If Buffy fans are 'cheating' to win, then WHY did Batman get more votes than her in the first round? If that isn't ballot stuffing, I don't know what is. If they want to call foul, at least have a valid reason for it. Not just because she's a girl, and that 'Buffy isn't even a superhero!!'. You don't have the same roster of basketball players in a basketball tournament every year right? What's wrong with a new face kicking some ass? You would think comic book fans, out of every type of fan in the universe, would be a little more tolerant and accepting of this.

It's because she's a woman and doesn't wear slutty superhero clothes. IF YOU'D JUST READ THE COMIC YOU'D KNOW SHE'S A BIG SLUT, GUYS. Maybe then you'd like her.

I voted for Buffy in Buffy vs Batman. (Once)

I voted for Batman in Batman vs The Spirit. (Once)

It would be possible for Batman to have whooped The Spirit but lose to Buffy if that was a trend. But the numbers do look as though it was Batman's box that was stuff. hmm.

And Buffy's not even a superhero? Yeah, I get it. She's a girl. Oh, I'm posting this tourney on the geek girls and girl gamers sites now.

I think people just don't like the idea of their favourite having some stiff competition. But honestly, handle it with some dignity woulda ya? Don't whine and bitch and try and make excuses as to why Buffy shouldn't be in tournament because she's a risk to your other favourite super heroes. She's a valid contender like everyone else, an iconic character like all the others, there's absolutely no reason why she shouldn't be included. Especially when her own comic series 'Buffy Season Eight' is doing incredibly well.

Buffy has a far more active fan base than Batman does, which is why she won- not because of ballot stuffing, but the Verse has one of the hottest online sites around in whedonesque.

What if more people just believed that Buffy could defeat Batman? I mean she does have super strength. And Batman might have gotten more votes the first time, because Thor was a formittable opponent for Buffy (if I recall, it was a close battle the whole way). And if people are voting not based on their favorite hero but the one that would win, this would make each round very fair.

I love Buffy, but I'm not sure how she could have beaten Thor. Sure she did beat a god before but what did she use, a hammer. And look who has the hammer now.

But against Batman, not sure, It would be a good fight. Maybe she could narrowly win but so could The Bat. Its a toss up to me.

Xander'sBoi said...
What if more people just believed that Buffy could defeat Batman? I mean she does have super strength.

So does Superman, and The Batman has taken him down a number of times.
The Batman (and Captain America) DO have a super-power--their brains! They out-maneuver opponents far stronger/faster/invulnerable by a combination of advance planning and being able to stratagize on the spot. Most villains consider Bats and Cap the most dangerous opponents in their respective universes!
That being said, Buffy IS as much a super-heroine as any costumed character, and SHOULD be included!
But she won't win! ;-)

Buffy Summers is hero.

I guess people don't believe you can be a superhero if you have perky hair and friends.

Even though Buffy saved the world several times over. And kept coming back from the dead to save it again. And has a comic book and a league of other superheroes and wait...What was the problem?

Brian said...
"The Batman (and Captain America) DO have a super-power--their brains! They out-maneuver opponents far stronger/faster/invulnerable by a combination of advance planning and being able to stratagize on the spot."

Buffy does the same thing. She analyzes a situation instead of just reacting (at least in the later seasons and in the comic), she outsmarts her opponents, that is why she's the "queen of the slayers" and has lived for so long, when the average life span of a slayer is far fewer years then the ten that she has reined.

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