Imagine this:
At the very edge of creation and reality, an immense, all-powerful and
destructive force is gathering. Their purpose: to subjugate all life in the multiverse
so that they can feed upon its essential energies and grow even more powerful.
Eternity/The Source/God (whatever you may call the supreme being in
your belief system) has come aware that his creation will be under attack by
this malevolent race/entity and decided that an offensive must be launched
before all lives are lost.
He looks for a suitable leader and being disappointed in what he saw in
the other candidates decided that the common man should choose who his
protectors should be. And so he turns to you, provides you with a
Multi-Dimensional Travel Apparatus, and tasks you to find 10 individuals whom
you will lead to battle against this diabolic enemy. And with that he disappears leaving the fate
of the multiverse in your (hopefully) capable hands.
What a responsibility eh? Indeed it is, so you have to choose wisely.
If you were to choose 10 characters from any fictional universe, be it in
comics, TV, movies, anime, video games and books, who would you choose to go into battle with
against this great enemy? If I was the one tasked to choose, my list
would go something like this:
Batman (DC Comics)
The Tactician
At the helm of any great team, there should be one hell of a
strategist. Your team may consist of the best of the best, but they will accomplish
nothing if they go at it half-assed and without a plan in mind. And this is
why, at the heart of my team, I would choose Batman as my primary tactician. In
the DC Universe he is the de facto
leader in many Justice League missions, as his brilliant mind is able to come
up with the best plan to come out on top. It is even fact amongst many heroes
and villains in DC that if Batman hatches a plan, he will ALWAYS succeed. Just
take a look at the names of the uber-powered individuals he had taken on and won:
Superman, Darkseid, Lex Luthor, the whole Justice League. In non-canon stories,
he even beat the Hulk! Of course he did not overpower them, as he used a lot of
prep-time to be able to beat his opponents. In a battle with stakes this high,
you must have the best, and there is no one better suited to the task than the
Batman.
Honorable Mentions: Shikamaru
from Naruto (always one step ahead of his opponents), Ender (Ender’s game,
child tactician of the book series)
Saitama (One-Punch Man)
The Power House
All evil intergalactic organizations have a notorious and insanely
powerful leader at its core, and if one would want to topple such an
organization, then this MBG (Main Bad Guy) must be taken down. But who can take
him down when the fight is brought to him? I’ve considered so many
possibilities here, but I settled with the obvious choice: Saitama, the One
Punch Man! Just look at his resume: as a hero he had beaten every opponent with
a single punch. One punch! A 2000 meter tall giant, a genetically modified
super-being, an ancient diabolical monster from the depths. All of them beaten
with one jab. Not even the intergalactic tyrant Boros, who has been known to
destroy worlds on a whim, stood a chance against this bald caped crusader. The
biggest reason that he’s going to be part of my team is because his power
levels are just insane! Moreover, the upper limits of his strength, speed and
stamina are currently unknown. Although he might have taken a bored and
lackadaisical approach to his martial pursuits as of late, he is a hero through
and through, and if he had already managed to put down one nigh-omnipotent
being once in single combat, he can assuredly do so again.
Honorable Mentions: Superman,
Goku (God form), Vegeta (God form)
Asura (Asura’s Wrath)
Back-up Bruiser
If the Big Bad Boss is bold enough to pose as a threat to more than one
dimensional plane, chances are he’s going to be one tough nut to crack. Sure,
Saitama is with the team and he could probably (operative word: probably) be
able to beat him, but one can never be too sure, and Saitama could do with
someone to help him carry the heavy lifting. And that is where Asura, from
Capcom’s epic (but poorly reviewed) action game Asura’s Wrath. Asura gets in
here because just like Saitama, he is a near-limitless powerhouse. In fact,
Asura is treated as a demi-god in the game, and becomes even more powerful as
the game progressed. He has managed to decimate entire armies of space-faring
alien parasites, defeat other gods more powerful than he is, defeat an opponent
as large as the earth itself, hurl energy balls that can destroy a planet on a
whim, and climb up from Hell to revive himself. Repeatedly. With those feats,
he can even be the main power house. The only real reason he falls behind
Saitama is because the Caped Baldy has never been defeated, while Asura, for
all his power had already fallen multiple times. I’m going for a track record
of 100% victory and overall reliability here, and so Asura is going to have to
stay in second place.
Honorable Mentions: The
Incredible Hulk (World War Hulk power levels), Sentry
Elspeth Tirel (Magic: the Gathering)
Nuker/Support
An army that is large enough to threaten multiple universes must surely
contain an almost limitless supply of troops and war machines at its disposal.
Saitama and Asura can fight them off, but they can only cover so much and
chances are most of the armies would slip past them and deal devastating damage
to everything else, even Earth. What you need in this situation then is someone
who can match that multitude and can keep your loved ones safe and sound at the
same time. Though I have considered many to fill this role, there really is
only one that can properly fill it. One that can destroy and protect at the
same time, and the description of a White Magic user in Magic: The Gathering
fits the bill entirely. In this case, a Planeswalker would be a great addition
to the team, and that would be Elspeth, the Errant Knight. She is the
second-most powerful White Magic user in the planes (second only to Serra, who
unfortunately is most likely dead) and commands the powers of sacred life and
righteous destruction. Just imagine what kinds of spells she has at disposal in
the White magic spectrum – Armageddon (destroys all lands), Wrath of God
(destroys all creatures), Planar Cleansing (destroys all life and artifice from
the face of the earth), Resurrection (brings back one dead guy), and the
ability to summon knights and beautiful and equally powerful angels. Besides
the spells she can cast, also take note that she hops dimensions at will, kills
gods and renders her teammates invulnerable to destruction. Nuker? Definitely.
Commands legions to defend the world? Yep. Protects loved ones? Totally.
Badass? Oh yeah. There is no doubt about it, Elspeth is the perfect woman for
this role.
Lucy (Lucy)
Intelligence Officer
Although the myth that the average normal person only uses 10% of his
brain’s potential has been debunked for quite some time now, Universal Studios
ignored the fact and still used it as a premise for the movie Lucy. In the movie, a seemingly normal
girl named Lucy, gets tricked into being a drug mule and thereafter sets off a
chain of events that exposes her to a super-drug called CPH4 and eventually to
her unlocking her true potential. At the end of the movie she has transcended
time and space because of the knowledge that she had acquired and the mental
abilities that she had developed. In a heartbeat, IF I can find her I would
immediately make her my prime Intelligence Officer. Having transcended her
physical boundaries and able to tap into any source of information, Lucy would
be able to bring the much needed data that Batman would need to process his
tactical decisions and can even advise him of his course of action.
Honorable Mentions: Reed
Richards aka Mr. Fantastic (Marvel Comics), Lex Luthor (DC Comics), Metron (DC
Comics)
Tony Stark (Marvel Comics)
Tech Officer / Mechanic
Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philantrophist. That’s Tony Stark. Without
the Armor. But whether he has his Iron Man armor or not, Tony is arguably the
best mechanic and inventor in the multi-verse. I can run down the list of
things that Iron Man has invented but that would be too many. Suffice to say,
Tony Stark did not become an industrialist billionaire because he sold simple
trinkets. He developed weapons and tech that were unheard of during his time.
More than this though, Tony Stark’s brilliant mind can understand almost any
type of technology, and given time can reverse engineer mechanical marvels from
what he had uncovered. His Iron Man armor has seen so many improvements and
iterations that it has progressed to a point where he can go toe to toe with
the likes of the Hulk and Thor while wearing it. As part of the team, he will
be mostly concerned with the development of super-weapons that can help them
beat their enemy, as well as maintain and repair them. He would also be the one
in charge of designing (and manufacturing, if need be) ships, fighters and
power armor that the other members may need.
Honorable Mentions: Lex Luthor (Marvel Comics), Brainiac 5 (DC
Comics), Leeron Littner (Gurren Lagann)
Master Chief (Halo)
Saboteur
OK. Compared to the other members of this Multiverse Rescue squad,
John-117 aka The Master Chief, seems a bit under-powered. John may be
genetically modified and inhumanly strong, has enhanced reflexes and wears a
kick-ass power armor, but he doesn’t have the mind-blowing abilities the other
beings listed above him exhibit. However, he has something the others don’t
have: a highly advanced AI that manifests itself as a voluptuous, guaranteed-to-make-your-blood-run-hot
woman named Cortana. OK, besides that he was blessed by luck. You know, LUCK:
that unfathomable trait that makes the impossible possible. Luck: that invisible force that inexorably
makes him succeed in whatever he does. Yeah, that Luck. Not to say that that is
his only redeeming quality, but in the face of inter-dimensional extinction,
luck is something you want to have oodles of to survive. Luck notwithstanding,
the Master Chief himself is an expert fighter, the best of the best and a
veteran of countless battles. Plus, on his resume, he can say that he had saved
humanity multiple times already from an intergalactic threat, had saved all
sentient life in the galaxy, in fact, and had bested a high tech god in mortal
combat. He is definitely not one to dismiss in a fight. However, he would be
best utilized as a saboteur, someone who can be inserted into an area to extract
a VIP, destroy a high-value target, or undermine a very sensitive enemy
operation. With the help of his buxom electronic side-kick, and an arsenal of
bleeding edge technology gadgets and weaponry, Master Chief will plow through
any obstacle, coupled with a kick-ass one-liner.
Honorable Mentions: Ant-man
(Marvel Comics), The Atom (DC Comics), Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden)
Doctor Strange (Marvel Comics)
Arcane Arts Representative
A super-team would never be complete without a powerful magic-user in
the roster. So, with that said, I would bring one into the group when we face
the great destroyer and its armies. I had a hard time deciding who would be a
great candidate, since I don’t know a lot of powerful magic users in the same
level as the guys above. I plumbed through multiple options and after reading
through the Respect Threads and dozens of comic book discussion boards, I have
come upon a decision that the best candidate is none other than Doctor Strange.
Who else should be the one to represent the magical world than the Sorcerer
Supreme himself? Doctor Strange epitomizes what a magic user ought to be: intelligent,
versatile and powerful. As someone who has studied much ancient lore, there is
probably no one else as knowledgeable about the arcane arts. He has a varied
set of spells, that let him accomplish almost anything. Be it forcing the truth
out of someone, teleporting people or even closing black holes,
Honorable Mentions: Jace
Beleren (Magic: The Gathering), Elminster (Dungeons and Dragons), Doctor Fate (DC
Comics), Specter (DC Comics)
Superman (DC Comics)
The Leader
At the start of this list, I casted Batman as the group’s Premier
Tactician and mentioned that he had led the JLA and other super heroes in many
missions. However, his role there should not be confused with that as someone
who actually leads the group. Batman is more of giving orders and strategizing,
but being a leader is more than just that. A leader is someone who has an
unwavering moral compass, the conviction to do what is right, the tenacity to
accomplish the mission at hand, and the compassion and concern for his
team-mates’ well-being. In this regard, the Kryptonian is the best fit.
Superman is incredibly powerful, but his greatest power has always been his strength
of character That is the reason why, even when faced with foes much more
powerful than he is, Superman triumphs. He
had never let the fact that he stands head and shoulders above everyone else
get into his head, remaining as humble as any farm-boy in Kansas could ever be.
He shows great concern for all life, and is often willing to sacrifice himself
just so he can save lives, even if the life is his opponent’s. Because of this,
he embodies everything that a superhero strives for: Truth and Justice. (Not so
much the American way anymore, as he had on occasion clashed with the US
Government and questioned its ideals). All in all, Superman is the unanimous
choice to lead this team with his conviction, willpower and moral uprightness.
Very few could come close.
Honorable Mentions: Captain
America (Marvel Comics), Third Hokage (Naruto),
Simon (Tengen Toppa Gurren
Lagann)
The Trump Card
Are the odds too great that you are sure you will be overwhelmed? Have you
burned through all your options and there is nothing left to do? Do all signs
point to your ultimate failure, in spite of your best efforts? If so, who would
you turn to? And that is where Simon of Gurren Lagann fame comes in. Simon is
the main hero of the series who wields the mysterious and overpowering Spiral
Energy, a force that is innate to all human beings and if mastered can increase
the power of a human exponentially. It was said in the series that a human
overflowing with Spiral Energy can destroy the universe, which was why the
Anti-Spirals decided to commit human genocide to prevent that from happening.
Simon has the power to manifest the energy to unheard of levels, that he was
able to turn his small head-shaped mech into one so enormous that it can grab a
galaxy and hurl it like a shooting star. Once the titular mech manifested
through sheer determination, it had so much power it punched black holes into
the fabric of the universe and its energy blasts replicated the effects of the
Big Bang, forming planets, stars and other heavenly bodies. If power is the sole basis, then Simon is
over-qualified. But beyond his universe breaking powers, the one reason why
Simon is the man to rely on when all else is lost, is because he possesses an unbreakable
will, that not even all the weight of the universe can crush. In the final
battle with the Anti-Spiral, after all of his mechs were utterly destroyed,
Simon managed to gather all his will and power to push back and triumph. With
Simon, even when the chances are so small that it is effectively zero, even
when there is nothing left, trust the man to kick reason to the curb and do the
impossible!
Writer’s Notes:
This was a very difficult article
to write, only because I tried my darndest to be as encompassing as possible.
Drawing on my knowledge of comics, anime, video games and books, I tried to
make a list and I came up with a long list of candidates. From there, I
researched the internet as to who would be the most appropriate in each of the
roles I made in my team. I was tempted
to put in the most ridiculous characters, like Superman One Million, Parallax
and other omnipotent characters, but I decided to limit myself to the following
conditions:
1)
The
character must be part of the main cast, as the main protagonist in most cases.
If the characters were in comics, they should have their own series, either solo
or as part of a team. Supporting characters were okay, but they should have a
substantial enough role that they should be considered. Villains are fine,
although their personalities and dispositions are considered. In some Honorable
mentions, I listed Lex Luthor for example, because although he is a villain, he
can be persuaded to fight on the side of good if it benefits him.
2)
The
character must be part of canon. They should be part of the established
continuity of the series or universe in question and not part of a What if or
Elseworlds story. If in manga or anime,
only the main one counts, OVAs that are re-imaginings or retellings don’t.
Supposedly future versions shown in canon are not considered either as they are
merely conjecture and not a solid part of the universe’s continuity.
All in all, it took me three
weeks to research, read, write and finalize the list. I think I put in too much
effort than necessary, but at the very least I am proud to say that I did not
just come up with a haphazard piece. Again, although I try to be as definitive as
possible, this is still my opinion, limited by my knowledge and colored by my
own prejudices. If you have anything to say, please feel free to comment and I
would love to see your own list as well.
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