What is the appeal of comparing power levels between characters?

[Suicide King]

This is one thing I still don't understand and would love to start a discussion about. There is this custom of arguing over which fictional character would beat which fictional character in most media (mostly games, comics and manga, I think). It's not a comparison of the writing of those characters or anything that obviously subjective; it's about which one would defeat who.

You can see it on Quora, Yahoo! Answers, GameFAQs and a lot of other sites: "Would Thanos beat Superman? Spider-Man or Doctor Manhattan? Goku versus Demi-fiend!".
I know it's usually all in good fun, but I have seen a lot of very heated and hostile arguments over this. And to me, it doesn't make sense at all. You can explain in fine detail how you believe Galactus can kick Saitama's ass, sure, but it's fiction. It doesn't work like that. The canon doesn't depend on you. Speculation is meaningless, because the actual writers can write however they want and completely ignore a thesis about which laser is stronger based on what was said on issue #384 of Ultimate Avengers.

This is my favorite example:

In this panel, you see Squirrel Girl out-Mary Sueing Thanos, who is one of the most broken characters in the Marvel multiverse.
It's not canon, I know, but it really does feel like proof that it's not always about the strongest. Sometimes, in fiction, combat is just a tool, and not a mathematical problem that can be solved by bashing characters' powers against each other.

Sure. I'm not against writing literal fanfics and actually telling a story where a character defeats other. The purpose of fiction is to tell stories, of course.

What do you guys think about speculating about battles? And can anyone explain the appeal to me?

 

[Kurona]

my favourite trademarked IP can beat up your favourite trademarked IP easy peasy

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Saitama > your favorite character

 

[vatstep]

Everybody knows Kevin McCallister with prep time always wins, so I agree it's pointless

 

[HypedBeast]

I dont do it anymore, but I use to get in to those discussions because its kind of fun to imagine how the characters powers would interact with each other. Me and my friends would even make little comics about who would beat who in such and such conditions.

What I cannot for the life of me fucking stand is when it becomes all the fandom ever talks about (see any Shonen series), like holy shit I just cant fathom spending more than like a minute or two at most on this.

 

[Host Samurai]

It’s fun.

 

[Imperial Bishop]

It's a variation of a fandom dick measuring contest, tbh.

 

[Suicide King]

Everybody knows Kevin McCallister with prep time always wins, so I agree it's pointless

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I don't know, man. Can he beat Madara Uchiha?

Keep in mind I'm talking about Rinne Tensei Madara Uchiha with the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, the Rinnegan, a perfect Susano'o and the ability to control the juubi and the Gedou Mazou.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Because people want to talk about the franchises they like and have fun.

It's pointless and stupid but whatever, it's like when people wonder "why didn't this character do this?!?!" the answer is always, because the writer wrote it that way.

 

[AnansiThePersona]

I want the character I like to win because I think they're the shit. That's why I like power-level dick measuring contests.

 

[Unknownlight]

Featherine Augustus Aurora exists in an infinitely-tiered dimensional outerverse and so is capable of stopping the plot and rewriting this very topic to be about how comparing power levels between characters is awesome. Stomped!

Spoiler

Everyone has their hobies, I suppose. I can't say I understand it either, but I've definitely spent a few afternoons reading through battle threads thoroughly baffled and impressed by how much time and effort people put into these things.

 

[MisterHero]

I agree, it's all folly

because Superman >>> everyone

 

[Davidion]

People enjoy comparing quantitative aspects of objects they're fond of, likely in at least a semi-competitive stance.

Simple, countable measures are much more appealing to our minds than managing and arguing over complexity.

See: game sales, athletes stats, superheroes stats, electronics, cars, Pokemon, magic cards, any and all gaming, collections, favorite/"better" characters, etc etc etc etc etc

 

[Keym]

Remember being a kid, having a friend over and playing with different toys fighting each other? It's kinda like that but the "adult" version.

 

[Wrapped in Black]

Idk, but it's easily my favorite guilty pleasure of all time. I get such a sick kick out of watching people argue over which fictional character is stronger. And I don't mean that in a condescending way; I too partake in it. I fucking love it.

 

[Suicide King]

Video says and I quote: "Darkrai could just put Superman and friends to sleep and kill them inside their nightmares,He could manipulate their souls to a high degree using Soulfuckery,Darkrai could use Spacial Rend to fold space onto Superman and friends or he could use Roar of Time to alter Time on Superman and Friends also Darkrai was able to hold his own against Palkia and Dialga for a extended amount of time add on he's Intangible then yeah this is a easy win for Darkrai"

 

[Cipher Peon]

It's EXTREMELY fun and is one of the conversation points that helps create ranked lists, one of my favorite pasttimes.
I LOVE ranking things, and power levels are a great topic to rank!!!!

 

[cervanky]

I think it extends beyond just measuring IPs, it's everything, fantasizing about challenges that something/someone had never encountered before. Perhaps someone uncontested might have met their match were circumstances somehow different, maybe they're popularly regarded as skillful only because there was no competition, not necessarily because of their own inherent superiority. It's sometimes a way of exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the subject.

Who would win, Muhammed Ali or Mike Tyson? Who would win, the Ancient Romans or the Mongols?

It can get annoying sometimes for sure, but it's sometimes fun to see detailed breakdowns of these subjects and to explore their strengths applied in different ways. Sure, it's kinda dumb too, but it's ultimately just using our imagination in a sort of communal storytelling, only instead of using totally new characters we get to use established ones that everyone's familiar with. It's not an intellectual thing, but the fact that so many people do it says something about how we like to imagine new stories and situations for characters we connect with.

 

[Fulminator]

It's fun

 

[captmcblack]

Popeye > Bugs Bunny > UI Shaggy > Goku > everyone else.

Also, Jordan is still the GOAT.

 

[Possum Armada]

It's some stupid shit that neckbeards do to distract themselves from the train wreck that is their lives.

For additional data points see almost every DBZ/ Naruto thread.

 

[Officer Big Mac]

Chicks dig power levels

 

[Village]

Its fun to theorize who could beat who.

It's some stupid shit that neckbeards do to distract themselves from the train wreck that is their lives.

For additional data points see almost every DBZ/ Naruto thread.

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You sound miserable.

 

[The Archon]

I don't know, man. Can he beat Madara Uchiha?

Keep in mind I'm talking about Rinne Tensei Madara Uchiha with the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, the Rinnegan, a perfect Susano'o and the ability to control the juubi and the Gedou Mazou.

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I’ve never been able to read the long version of this, because I just shut down after Gedou Mazou

 

[Daingurse]

Because it's fun.

 

[ScandiNavy]

I loved it when I started watching DBZ. It worked as a hype thing; how much stronger is Goku now?
At the end of the series, I saw how stupid it was.
So, nothing.

 

[Suicide King]

I get that it's fun, especially when you read the attributes of each character and imagine the fight in your own head. What irks me is how this topic generates so much heat in internet forums.

Maybe it's just an internet thing, like when people had fights over Yanny and Laurel, but still, it's one thing I just don't understand the appeal of fighting for.

 

[TheMango55]

Because it's fun.

I love to bust out the Silver Surfer in these battles.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

Because if these stories are about people who fight one another, then that's how they interact with other stories about similar topics.

 

[Dale Copper]

Basically a dick measuring contest.

 

[Possum Armada]

Its fun to theorize who could beat who.


You sound miserable.

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Your post history makes this a profoundly ironic comment.

 

[Poppy]

im the strongest

 

[TissueBox]

I get that it's fun, especially when you read the attributes of each character and imagine the fight in your own head. What irks me is how this topic generates so much heat in internet forums.

Maybe it's just an internet thing, like when people had fights over Yanny and Laurel, but still, it's one thing I just don't understand the appeal of fighting for.

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It's essentially a kind of subculture, to answer the question why.

There are a genuine set of rules that people adhere to in order to equalize the playing field and put characters outside just the context of the fiction from which they come -- in a sense, they take ownership of a new kind of character once placed in that meta-'arena'. One that becomes a measuring stick and a channel for imagination as well as a sort of celebrity athlete you're fond of, and do like to see win, even when you know what is and isn't in their league, power-wise. ^^'

At the end of the day, while it may not all be simply mindless talk, in the same time it is not necessarily as important as it is made out to be in the heat of things, as par for the course with nerd-dom. :p But, there is quite some math.

 

[collige]

It's shipping for straight dudes

 

[TheGreatDirector]

Your post history makes this a profoundly ironic comment.

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His post history could beat your post history any day of the week.

 

[Possum Armada]

It's shipping for straight dudes

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Damn. This is pretty on point.

 

[Poppy]

It's shipping for straight dudes

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hmm, yeah

 

[Officer Big Mac]

It's shipping for straight dudes

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That doesn't make any sense.

 

[Kyoufu]

It's a real headache ranking the power levels of Anakin, Vader, Luke and Obi-wan. Keeps me up at night.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I can understand it when it's between characters within the same fictional universe. It creates baselines, and a structured way of seeing how any potential scenario would turn out. I think that kind of analysis can be fruitful. I don't think it needs to simply be limited to "power levels," but the broadened scope of "which character is the best at X," where X is basically the core skill set that drives the plot forward.

But when it's between characters of completely different universes and stories, I think it's utterly pointless.

 

[RedValkyrie]

I always found it weird when people between different IP’s.

How could you compare characters from Dragonball and MCU or Street Fighter and MK? That doesn’t even make sense.

 

[Cantaim]

People are dumb

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

The reason why Star Wars fans are angst is because Jedis are so low on the power levels.

 

[Elfforkusu]

It's fun you goofus

 

[Septimus Prime]

It's fun to imagine them fighting each other.

 

[TissueBox]

It's shipping for straight dudes

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LMAO checks out!! xD

Spoiler

Not literally of course (not all guys, not all straights!), but still, moral of the story is... sometimes different communities take the same fruits, just in different skins. :p

 

[Zaied]

People just like dream scenarios, regardless of power levels, especially when feats are being provided to make these scenarios seem more organic than just imagining them in your head. This is why Death Battle is so popular since they animate their fights and try to make the battles entertaining. Everyone knows Batman can't fly, bench press planets, and shatter moons, but Batman vs Superman remains one of the most debated topics even among casual fans because they're two awesome characters that people are passionate about. In some cases, fans like to establish a clear hierarchy when it comes to the top characters of a franchise like DBZ, Star Wars, DC, Marvel, etc.

 

[chrisPjelly]

Sure, it's definitely fun. But you know what's not fun? When people get pissy that their favourite character doesn't roll over another character on an UNOFFICIAL speculation video. The way some DBZ fans reacted to Goku losing to Superman and Saitama was pathetic.

 

[Village]

Dream matches are fun. Its like westling.

Wrestling is fun!

 

[Veelk]

What I don't understand is why people think this is a problem.

All this is is fandom engaging with the fiction they love. It CAN be stupid, or it can be a pretty well thought out analysis of characters and abilities within that fiction.

Are they useless and pointless bits of fan bickering? Sure, but if that makes them worthless, then you may as well condemn most if not all of literary analysis in general, since it's ALL fan bickering.