Pariah

Is there a Tombstone comic with Doc Holiday?

Less than ten minutes now....

Perish the thought!

Before we can have a Tournament, we must have competitors. This thread is where we determine who they will be. Before discussing details, let me just get this out of the way: PLEASE NOMINATE HEROES. We’ll get a fair number of 90s-style dark & gritty anti-heroes along the way--especially in the Street Level tournament--and that’s just fine. Healthy, even. But the focus here is on heroes. So please don’t nominate villains. One day, we may have a Tournament of Villains--but today is not that day. Okay, a few simple guidelines for nominating characters: Each Forum member may nominate up to three characters per day. No more than three characters per day, please. Make your three (or fewer) nominations, and then let someone else have a turn. (And let me have time to record and sort all of the selections). The focus here is on comic book heroes. Characters must have appeared in professionally published comics to be considered for nomination. (Note: They need not have originated in the comics. There is an Incredibles comic series, so Mister Incredible and Elastigirl are eligible. So is Queen Elsa, because there is a Frozen comic book.) Anime characters are allowed, as long as they have appeared in print. One day, we may do a Cinematic, Television, and/or Gaming Heroes Tournament--but today is not that day. When you nominate a character, please specify which version of the character you are nominating, if there’s more than one. Example: If you nominate Batman, please tell us whether you’re talking about Bruce Wayne, Jean Paul Valley, Dick Grayson, or Terry McGinnis. Multiple versions of the same character may be nominated, but different heroes that are actually the same person may not be. In other words, both Hank Pym and Scott Lang may both be nominated as Ant-Man, but Hank may not be nominated as both Ant-Man and Yellowjacket. As we say in the Superdraft, nominate the man, not the mask. Please identify which tournament your nominated hero will participate in. Each hero may compete in one and only one tournament. We may need to discuss which characters qualify for which tournament, but I will claim right of final adjudication in such matters. A few words about who is eligible for which tournament: Under 21: This tournament is for heroes who were shown exclusively or primarily as teenagers (or younger). Examples would include pretty much anyone from the Legion, the Teen Titans, and the New Mutants, as well as Kitty Pryde, Kamala Khan, and so on. DC’s Captain Marvel is NOT eligible for this tournament (Billy is under 21, but his alter ego is decidedly not--this was a plot point in Young Justice), but Mary Marvel would be. Street Level: This tournament is for heroes who fight primarily with skills and/or weapons rather than vast superhuman powers. This is as much about ‘feel’ as it is about power level. Obvious examples of characters who would fit into this tournament include Batman, Daredevil, the Question, Green Arrow, Captain America, Mockingbird, Black Widow, the Shadow, the Green Hornet, Zorro, and so on. I would also consider Moon Knight and Nightcrawler eligible for this tournament. Borderline heroes might include Spider-Man, Black Canary, and Luke Cage. Open Class: This is the tournament I expect will have the largest field. Pretty much any superhero with powers short of cosmic reality-bending is eligible here. Furthermore, characters who would qualify for the Under 21 and/or Street Level competitions may be entered into this tournament, if you wish (but again, only one tournament per hero.) Unlimited Class: This tournament is for the heaviest of the heavy hitters, those who can affect entire worlds (or more!) by their actions. These heroes are the ones who can take on entire armies--or teams of other heroes--by themselves and win. Examples might include Superman (and many of his more powerful knock-offs), various Sorcerers Supreme, those who wield Cosmic Power, immortal/divine warriors, and so forth. It won’t always be obvious, perhaps, which tournament fits a given character best. We can talk about it as needed. We’ll figure it out. So, let me summarize: When you make a nomination, please name the hero you wish to nominate (including which version of the character, as appropriate) and identify which tournament they will participate in. You may do this with up to three heroes per day. In addition to nominating heroes, you may second any nomination that has been made. There are no limits to how many nominations you may second, but please second any nominations you consider worthy by name. Posting things like “I second every character that has been nominated so far” will be met with scorn and derision (and no other action on my part). Again, this is primarily to help me keep track of everything. Ideally, I’d like to see something like between 16 and 48 (or maybe even 64) heroes in each tournament. We’ll see how it goes. Any questions? Ask ‘em now. Otherwise, I will open up nominations at midnight Eastern Standard time tonight. For reference, it is now almost 3:30 p.m. EST, so nominations will begin in about 8½ hours. Happy nominating! -- Click here to see the spreadsheet of nominated (and seconded) heroes!

Patience, Grasshopper. I will post the Nominations thread in a few minutes.

I thought we might do something new for 2017: a Tournament of Heroes. The essence of the idea is this: We select a number of heroes, seed them in a bracket à la March Madness, and have them face off (via polls) until a winner is crowned. I thought this could be a fun activity to participate in without an undue time burden for anyone (with the possible exception of myself). The tournament would be executed in three phases, as outlined below: Phase I: Nominations I’ll open it up to all of you to nominate heroes you feel would be worthy to compete in such an event. The nomination process could begin as early as later this week, and I’d accept nominations for two to three weeks. Any characters receiving nominations and seconds would be eligible for the next phase, which is…. Phase II: Qualification and Seeding All nominated and seconded heroes would be opened to a general vote to determine if they will compete. You will all vote on which heroes you want to see in action. Based on the vote totals, commentary in the thread(s), and other factors, the top X characters will be selected and seeded from 1-X. Qualification voting will be open for about a week, with seeding and other logistical stuff taking a few additional days. Once the brackets are set and revealed, all that remains is… Phase III: The Tournament Each round of the tournament will take about three days: 48 hours for voting, and an additional day or so for processing on my end. So we’re looking at about two rounds per week. Winners in each round will advance to the next round; losers go home. Within a couple of weeks, we should have a champion! That’s the basics. One small detail is in order here: There will actually be four tournaments! We’ll do all the nominating at once, but the tournaments will be held one at a time. Why four tournaments, you ask? In order to accommodate different character types and power levels! After all, nobody really wants to see Superman take on The Green Hornet, do they? Of course not. The four tournaments will be: a. 21 and Under: This tournament is specifically intended for those heroes who were introduced and/or spent most of their careers as teenagers (or younger). b. Street Level: This tournament features those heroes who specialize in fighting evil primarily using their skills rather than raw power. This is intended for heroes with no (or few) superhuman powers and limited (or no) superhuman strength or similar attributes. These are the kinds of characters you might find in a Dark Champions or modern action/adventure game. c. Open Class: This tournament is for the bulk of traditional superheroes, especially those with powers far beyond those of mortal men. This could include, but is not limited to, energy blasters, mentalists, speedsters, FISS characters (Flight, Invulnerability, Strength, Speed--Wonder Woman, most Kryptonians [but see below], the various Captains Marvel, etc.), Green Lanterns, Spaceknights, undersea princes, mutants, most ancient gods and demigods, gamma-enhanced rage monsters, visiting aliens, guys who shoot frickin’ laser beams out of their eyes, and so forth. d. Unlimited Class: This tournament is reserves for the truly cosmic heroes, those whose colossal power can affect entire worlds, dimensions, or even realities. This includes people like Superman, Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate, Samaritan, Silver Surfer, Hyperion from Avengers NOW!, etc. Basically, if the character was disqualified by Logan from the Arena Games for being too powerful and/or unbalancing, this is where they’ll compete. The distinctions may be a little blurred, of course. Nightwing could theoretically compete in 21 and Under, Street Level, or Open Class. Which one should he do? Does Binary (Carol Danvers) belong in the Open Class or the Unlimited Class? These are the kinds of questions we’ll have to figure out as we go. I’ll look for your input and try to use some common sense. Ultimately, though, I will claim right of final adjudication in such matters. I’ll do all of this right here in the Other Genres forum. I will likely need to beg assistance from a Moderator to close polls, hide threads, etc. to keep things tidy and organized. Otherwise, though, I’ll take care of all the administrative stuff. So, is anyone interested?

I wish I couled Like this nineteen times! /threadderail

After some of the things I've inflicted on my students, why would I doubt it?

That sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Replace Primaries and Debates with contests from The Running Man.

Is 'everything' a subset of 'anything' in this context?

What are all these people with torches and pitchforks doing at my hotel?!

Old Man, what have you done now?

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light. The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old; ring in the new. Ring, happy bells, across the snow. The year is going; let him go. Ring out the false; ring in the true. The year is going; let him go. Ring out the false; ring in the true. Ring in the valiant men and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand. Ring out the darkness of the land; Ring in the Christ that is to be. Ring out the darkness of the land; Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Can you repeat the question?

All four of us are sick at the Pariah household. Seems 2016 had to screw us just one more time.

Damn you, International Astronomical Union!

Isn't that kind of a personal question?

Would you like my copy?

"Stanford's band's not here today. They're on double secret probation again."

Are you serious?

Little Boy Pariah was really good at the dentist today.

Get a manned vessel to Pluto by the end of the year.

I wanted to Like this post, but I'm all out of Likes for the day. Fail.

Can't let this year end without one more look back at this thread, now can we?