The Contestants |
 Click to view original image source |
 Click to view original image source |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Breakdown |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Advantages
|
Advantages
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disadvantages
|
Disadvantages
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kills
|
Kills
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How we think the fight will go
It’s a hard thing, knowing you’re going to die.
It’s even harder when you’ve always thought of yourself as invincible.
Unease was not a feeling Ser Gregor Clegane was used to. Besides being one of the most powerful—and feared—knights in the Seven Kingdoms, he has hardened his soul on the field of battle. His sword had tasted blood more times than he could count. He had taken wounds, and had in turn delivered death.
He had murdered, raped, and stolen.
He was an unstoppable force.
He was The Mountain That Rides.
But now, for the first time, something was threatening to bring the Mountain crashing down.
Gregor was no fool—he had studied what he could of the Reaper. What he learned did him little good.
The Night’s Watch had sent reports of strange monsters lurking beyond the Wall, far to the North, but this was something different—a being entirely from the realms of hell itself.
A creature of darkness, whose remorseless drive and unmerciful hunger eclipsed his own.
The Reaper, it was said, couldn’t be killed.
And that’s what had Gregor astride his horse—a massive charger whose temperament and strength nearly matched that of its rider—angry at his own trepidation.
The stadium they were in was large—a grand open space encircled by stone walls and a multitude of roaring spectators. They ringed the entirety of the battleground, and Gregor couldn’t help but think they were like a living noose about his neck, the arena a grandiose simulacrum of gallows.
Across the way, the Reaper stood, clawing at whatever invisible force was keeping the two from charging each other. Gregor probably hated that as much as anything—the fact that they were being made to wait until some fool released them to fight to the death.
His horse pawed at the earth, ready to bring Gregor to meet his fate.
Finally, a single trumpet sounded, and whatever power had kept the two opponents in check released them. Immediately the Reaper advanced, its long strides making it appear as if the demon was floating across the ground. At the same moment, Gregor dug his spurs into his horse’s sides and the stallion charged. The knight didn’t bother with a salute—the thing wouldn’t acknowledge such a courtesy, and Gregor couldn’t stomach such hypocrisy. Instead, he simply set his lance as the horse thundered across the ground. No matter how strong the demon was, it wasn’t going to be so effective with a few yards of wood and steel through its sternum.
That was his hope, at least.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Reaper didn’t even try to side-step the knight’s attack. And so, with a sickening crunch, the Mountain impaled the horrible creature, lifting the demon off its feet.
Instead of letting go of the lance, though, the knight rode on, struggling a bit with the weight as he lowered the angle of the lance until the tip was aimed towards the dirt. With all the momentum of an armored warrior atop a warhorse, Gregor drove the lance into the ground, several feet of the weapon digging in, pinning the demon.
It also jerked Gregor out of his saddle, sending him flying. He crashed with tremendous force into the dirt, stopping just inches from the far wall.
For a while, nothing happened, both opponents immobile. The crowd looked on with bated breath, only to gasp as the Reaper began writhing about, a horrible sound emitting from its fang-filled mouth. It was possibly this sound which jerked Gregor out of his stupor, because his prone body began to stir as well and—ever so slowly—the knight dragged himself to his feet.
Looking back, he saw the demon was making a pretty good attempt to basically climb up the lance like it was a taut rope, the sound of the wood scraping against its innards coupling with the ringing in his ears to almost make the knight lose the contents of his stomach.
But he knew he couldn’t let the creature free itself—that his only chance was to take it out now. So, in a rambling shuffle, he approached the demon, his fearsome two-handed sword drawn.
The Reaper was about two feet from the end when it felt the knight’s sword bite deep into its shoulder. It wasn’t so much the wound that bothered it, but the force behind the blow, because the Mountain’s attack was enough to make the demon lose its grip and slide back down the shaft of the lance.
Gregor wasted no time. As the demon slashed with its claws and tried once again to climb up the lance, the knight hacked with his sword, using all his might to dismember the loathsome creature. Brutally—methodically—the attack came, blow after awesome blow raining down upon the demon.
And yet, for all his might, the Reaper still worked to free itself.
Amazingly, the knight’s strength never seemed to waiver. He knew this was perhaps the act of a desperate man, but desperation and determination are never far apart, and so he continued his onslaught, keeping the demon on its back, thick wood growing from its belly like the trunk of a tree rising from a grave.
As the sword struck the Reaper once again, the crowd could see the demon change its tactics. It stopped trying to climb the lance, and instead just grabbed the thick shaft with both hands. It wasn’t quite apparent what it was doing, as the angles of its arms betrayed no hints. But the sound was unmistakable.
Cracking wood.
Gregor would have thought it impossible for anything to be able to snap the lance in half—especially with the lack of leverage the Reaper had.
What he didn’t count on, though, was that the Reaper didn’t need leverage for what it was doing: crushing the lance in its powerful hands.
When the handle of the lance fell to the ground, the knight renewed his attacks with even greater fervor, but with nothing keeping it pinned to the ground anymore, the Reaper rather easily stood up. The sword bashed into its head, and it fell down.
Simply to stand up again.
The next blow attempted to do the same thing, but it never landed. Instead, the Reaper caught the sword in its clawed hand, and with a strength that was still surprising to the Mountain, wrenched the blade from the knight.
Gregor didn’t hesitate. Throwing himself upon the creature, he tackled it to the ground, and with an animal-like ferocity, began tearing into the hole created by his lance. His ministrations, though, were as effective as the original wound itself. And even as he tried to tear the Reaper apart with his bare hands, the demon was tearing at the leather straps on the knight’s armor.
It was only a matter of time.
The crowd was silent, knowing what the inevitable outcome was going to be. It was because of this quiet that they heard something that might have otherwise been washed away by the roaring of more blood-thirsty spectators.
A low whimper.
“Mother…”
The Reaper’s claws tore through a strap, and a chunk of armor fell off. A chunk of flesh soon followed.
It was soon over. Through it all, amazingly, the Mountain never said another word. For once in his miserable life, he held a shred of dignity, even as he was shredded apart.
Predicted Winner: The Reaper
NOTE: THIS MATCH ENDS ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, AT 3 PM, ET
Read our special announcement concerning the winner of this match!
Ser Gregor Clegane (The Mountain That Rides) is a character from the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin; The Reaper is a character from the Shannara series by Terry Brooks.
Mountain That Rides image courtesy of Michael Komarck. Reaper image courtesy of layoutsparks.com.
There is no scenario i can see in which the mountain would win this, also i really hope he loses because the reaper vs Rand Althor could actually be an interesting cage match Rand vs the mountain will be boring.
*Sigh* Son, I am disappoint.
@ DeadAngel: Nah, the Reaper’s vulnerable to magic. And…leh gasp!…Al’Thor has…say it with me…BALEFIRE.
Hm…you know who MIGHT have had a chance, though? Glory! Thaaaaat’s right! Oh, probably Sauron too! Because y’know, they’re gods who can’t be killed by physical means, like claws…or claws…or claws…
Yep…I can totally see how realism is the main concern here, xD
yeh lol i was really hoping for Sauron vs Althor, i cannot really see either of these guys standing a chance but the mountain will just be a repeat of Jaime minus the help of tyryon, the reaper at least would bring something new to the table.
REALLY Suvudu?!?!? For the THIRD round in a row, the Reaper does NOT “break into heartfelt song and dance”!!! Please fix this, as it is in the very least making it seem like a pansy demon, and at worst losing it votes from previouse neutrals! Thank you.
Please make an effort to fix the reaper’s ‘weakness’ as he does NOT break into heartfelt song and dance, all you are accomplishing is taking votes away from him as who would normally be neutral voters see this pansy weakness and he loses that persons vote. Thank you.
The Reaper is vulnerable to “certain” type of magic. If you don’t have Blue Elfstones on you and the right elven heritage in your blood, going up against the Reaper equals a world of hurt.
Sometime after the Ice and Fire books are done, there should be another round of cage matches – with Frankengregor as a contestant.
Yeah, voting for the Reaper just because he would be more interesting to fight Rand than the Mountain would be, but in all honesty, it should have been Glory all along.
@ Reaper Supporter:
Not technically true. The Reaper is actually not a very well-mapped character. We only see it operating in brief glimpses, and we’re never given a comprehensive view of its abilities. We know the Elfstones work, but we have no idea whether they’re exclusive in that ability. Ellcrys certainly seems able to keep the Reaper, like other demons, “out” of regular Brooks-world. That suggests a more general vulnerability to magic. As Terry Brooks never bothered to explain how his magic works either, there’s no reason to assume it’s specialized in any way either. Ergo, vulnerability to magic.
Just as an addition, btw, people seem to be claiming the Reaper is “immune” to physical harm or something like that. No. No it’s not. At least, we don’t know that, and in a world where everyone ELSE gets hurt when an axe or something hits them, there’s no reason to assume that. It COULD be the case, but there’s no scene in which Wil, I dunno, runs over it with a cement mixer or something. The Reaper as I recall it is an undistinguished “ominous baddie” that bobs up every so often to kill a few random red shirts. Unarmored elven hunters seem to go down pretty easy before it. Beyond that, we don’t have much to go on, as far as I remember (correct me if there’s some sort of epic Allanon/Reaper battle I’m not remembering).
Making these sorts of arguments about the Reaper is silly. It’s as if I decided to say: Robin Hood, despite a violent life, was never genuinely harmed until a nun slit his wrists. Therefore, unless you are a member of the Catholic Church, you cannot harm Robin Hood.
@ Samuel
“Ellcrys certainly seems able to keep the Reaper, like other demons, “out” of regular Brooks-world.” This is not true as The Reaper escaped through a rift. (I will give in to the point that it took him 1000 years to do it, and the Dagda Mor really did it. LOL) I do agree that The Reaper is not a very well-mapped out character and we are given brief glimpses at times but I would contend that there are parts in the novel that do give us “some” insight into how deadly The Reaper is.
“If the Changeling was to be judged dangerous, the Reaper was ten times more so. The Reaper was a killer. Killing was the sole function of its existence. … it feared nothing. It was a monster who cared nothing for life, even its own. It did not even kill because it enjoyed killing, though in truth it did enjoy killing. It killed because killing was instinctive. It killed because it found killing necessary.” Unlike almost all of the Demons that were trapped behind the Forbidding, the Reaper served Dagda Mor “out of whim and not out of fear or respect.”
The Reaper was the killer of killers behind the forbidden and that is not something to be taken for granted. It was the best, period.
We don’t know if The Reaper is immune to physical harm but I do know that it was shot with an arrow and then fell down a gorge with a collapsed bridge and it seemed perfectly fine after that and kept hunting Wil. It did not have an epic battle with Allanon but as a reader I always believed that Allanon knew he could not defeat it with his magic and the only known resource in a world of magic that would work was the Blue Elfstones and someone with the Shannara blood to use them. I know these arguments are silly but it is all in fun.
There was a point in the \Elfstones of Shannara\ when on the bridge battling the Reaper, the elven hunter Crispin slashed at the Reapers throat with his sword only for it to shatter. Also, the Reaper was able to block the arrows from his longbow by just using it’s arm as a shield. If that is not impressive enough, the fact that it survived the fall when the bridge collapsed without any apparent injuries should be a testament to its ability to withstand pain.
@ Dustin: Good points all, and I’ll admit I remembered none of them except for the bridge, lol. However, just in the interest of playing around with this, these examples do not necessarily mean that the Reaper is invulnerable, only that it is apparently either tough and/or well-armored somehow. A sword will break on a gorget fairly easily, for example (provided it’s swung with sufficient force), and the Reaper blocking arrows with an arm (while an impressive feat in its own right) begs the question of, if it’s solely concerned with the kill, why it would bother to block in the first place if an arrow had no chance of doing it harm.
In fact, if we’re going with these first examples, Clegane in full armor could probably weather the same situations fairly easily: not an argument for the Mountain to win (as I think, despite his mammoth size, the Reaper is probably more skilled) but just something to think about.
The bridge collapse is interesting, but once more we have very little information on how the Reaper survived so well as it did.
Again, while I think these are fine arguments against the Mountain, they probably shouldn’t, realistically, save the Reaper from a curb-stomp at the hands of al’Thor.
@ Reaper supporter:
Yeah…xD…I’m still gonna go with “vulnerable to magic”. I just don’t see any evidence to think otherwise, at least not yet. I admit freely, though, that it’s been years since I read the Shannara books and while I think I still have them somewhere…eh…I’d REALLY rather not go through them again, lol. If there’s a specific passage someone wants to refer to in which it says “Only Wil could have done this, yadda yadda…”, I’ll concede the point.
Although Rand could easily defeat the Reaper, it would be interesting to have a clash of worlds like when Rand fought Jaime (what a write up!). Although the Reaper would be easy foder for balefire, could Rand defeat every demon in the Forbidding? The man has to tire eventually!
I want to see Gregor win simply so that I can see a write up that includes “A Lannister always pays his debts” with Tyrion having learned a thing or two from last time around.
the writers for this match did an awful job, the mountain was portrayed with fear throughout the entire passage, which the mountain does not have, gregor is incapable of fear. His pure animalistic rage is what gives him strength, the reaper doesnt have emotion which means he cant have anger or rage or cruelty, the very traits that make the mountain unstoppable, when he tackled the reaper and began to rip him apart the mountain WOULD have ripped him apart before the reaper could even get his hands up.
Mm…I don’t know about that. I agree that Clegane is very poorly characterized in this write-up, and that his sheer strength would probably force the Reaper back for a time, possibly even flinging it around like a doll (yes, I know the thing’s big, but the Mountain is bigger by at least a foot and from the Reaper’s “speed and grace” probably weighs substantially more, especially in his armor). The Mountain also has the advantage of reach, in that his massive greatsword will be able to land blows on the Reaper before it gets close enough to use its claws…and even then, the claws aren’t likely to be able to get through plate armor for quite some time.
In fact, I’d be firmly on the side of “the Reaper is fucked” were it not for the fact that the Reaper, in Brooks-world, is portrayed as literally the best fighter anywhere, the most skillful killer imaginable. In Westeros, Clegane had a number of betters. The Hound arguably could have beaten him, the Kingslayer at his peak almost certainly, and Oberyn Martell had the technical ability.
So in order for this to work, we’d have to accept that every fighter in Martin’s world was just far more skilled, better equipped, and more ruthless than their counterparts in Brooks’s…in…Brooks’s…
Wait.
Frankly, I find this whole thing kinda ridiculous.
MTR: Giant, strong. Apparently obscenely durable. Still mortal.
Reaper: Also freakishly tall and strong, if not more so. Literally the embodiment of Death itself.
Unless Clegaine got his hands on a Blue Elfstone and can use it at all… this is a fight that no “simple” human (or deity, in Glory’s case) can possibly hope to win.
I have loved reading the accounts of both of the Suvudu cage matches. I have enthusiastically voted in all rounds. I was pleased that in the previous “Good Guy” Cage Match 3 of 4 of old favorites made it to the finals and semifinals. The 4th character also became another favorite……….BUT on objective analysis and quantitative logic, many characters, because of some authors’ huge fan bases benefited from a Bristol Palin effect.
I know, I know Sauron, Chthulu, Aslan, Gandalf, and The Shrike would have been a snoozefest.
so those of you wanting the mountain to win please tell me a scenario where the mountain could even threaten Rand Althor? I mean it will have votes but the scenario itself is boring rand could kill the mountain in a thousand different ways and having rand not use the source is not realistic. Heck The rand of the end of TOOM could probably defeat all of westeroes with channelling
“The crowd was silent, knowing what the inevitable outcome was going to be. Claws rang frantically on steel, skittered across chain mail, bent rondels. Ser Gregor’s armor was defaced with a thousand thin, silvery lines, like a spider’s web. But the armor didn’t give.
Then the Mountain’s huge, gauntleted hand came up, seizing the Reaper by the throat.
“Got you,” he panted.
The Reaper thrashed and struggled, claws going to work on the vambraced forearm, flinging blow after lightning blow designed solely to break the hold. But Clegane’s arm was like iron. Abandoning this attempt, the Reaper struck at his helmeted head directly, at the gorget and eyeslits. It struck with palms and knuckles now, seeking to accomplish with brute force what it could not with cutting. But the Mountain, with a snarl, weathered the blows as though they were no more than a summer rain, and with an almighty wrench, turned them over, pinning the Reaper beneath him.
Then Ser Gregor drew back his huge, armored fist. “Let’s have a look at your face,” he growled. His blow was like a hammerblow, snapping the Reaper’s head straight back into the dirt, flinging back its hood.
The face beneath was barely seen for a moment before Gregor’s fist came down again. It scarcely mattered. The face was changing with each stroke.
Ten terrible strokes the Reaper dealt the massive knight for each punch. With increasing desperation, it sought weak points, scrabbling, thrashing, searching for some chink. Its hands were a blur. Its brilliance was stunning. And not enough.
Though his armor was in ruins, though he now bled from a dozen places and his knuckles were shattered beneath a gauntlet that leaked droplets of blood from the chinks as it rose and fell, still the Mountain grimly hammered down blow after punishing blow, implacable and immovable as stone.
Until at last, the Reaper’s frenzied motions slowed. It made a few final, wandering gestures with its claws, as though it had forgotten what it was doing. Then Gregor, with a roar, brought down his fist one last time with a force unimaginable, a force that dislocated his arm, broke his gauntlet, and put his mammoth fist four inches into the bloody mire that had been the Reaper’s head.
The demon twitched twice, and then lay still.
Gasping, the Mountain rose. To his full eight feet, he rose. The stadium was silent as he crunched, spurs jangling, over to his abandoned greatsword. He took it up in his good hand, and made his way back over the Reaper. Then, with savage, clumsy blows, he set about hacking his fallen enemy into pieces.
The only sounds were the heavy thuds of the sword, and the deep, awful laughter of the Mountain.
DeadAngel: What if Gregor were to let Rand think he won? Put some poor fool in his full plate armor complete with helmet so that his face remains unseen. Rand does his usual balefire routine when he enters the arena. Rand accepts the trophy and goes back to his room contented that he has once again defeated a champion of Westeros. After he falls asleep, Gregor slides open a hidden wall in the room and allows Rand a more eternal rest. Completely dishonorable, but we are talking about the champion of the villains tourney.
So next up is The Mountain vs. The man who once made a mountain.
Well I think Rand should step aside, he is over powered, Im a WOT fan but there is no contest against Rand. As of ToM Evil people go crazy when Rand gets angry. So for this match, make it The Mountain that Rides vs. al’Lan Mandragoran. Now that would be a cage match for the ages.
@chosen
nice idea
But Mountain Vs Perrin would be better than Lan Vs Mountain.
I still can’t believe that after all of the comments on the last cage match that they didn’t put in anyone from Steven Erickson’s Malazan series… Karsa would have been perfect for this Villan’s match, and since he’s immune to magic, he would wipe his butt with Rand in the ensuing matchup…
@ Shadows Bane
Agreed, now that Perrin has Mjolinir err, Mah’aleinir he could be a match for the Mountain.
I honestly was really really hoping to see Sauron vs Rand, he or a few other villains might have been able to take on Rand and win( especially since Sauron is basically a different version for the DO. I mean let’s be realistic here Rand deserved to win the champions bracket because he would win it in rl life i mean besides balefire the man is the single most powerful wisard of his world, he has the knowledge of his past lives(or at least one), he has most of the worlds armies following him, and until he lost his arm he was a master swordsman. the mountain is big and strong and tough, but he did not deserve to win this imho,though he did get lucky that reaper took out sauron for him.
@Jeremy you really believe that the mountain would be smart enough for that? or be willing to show fear of an opponent no matter how powerful or dangerous?
suggestion rand is op enough for 4 people so lets make this interesting and have the top four fight him
. that will just about even the scale 
, and will make an actual epic battle available instead of the he saw the big man riding towards him wrapped him in flows of air and dumped him through a gateway or he used balefire or he used lightning or he killed him by getting angry…
OR do like they did with the old MMA tournaments and have Gregor fall out to injury and have to be substituted with an adequate replacement… Karsa Orlong! It’s a crime that he wasn’t included in this villans tourney, and he’s immune to magic and would own Rand’s face!
Vlad Taltos should have destroyed every single being in both of these contests.
Wait… in the Megatron vs. Reaper fight, didn’t it say Megatron wins? I mean they do this throughout the whole bracket, it seems like on.whoever loses gets to go
@Bob Smith: Hi Bob. The thing with cage match is that although we at Suvudu will predict who we think the winner is, the fans votes actually decide the match. So, in this case, we thought Megatron would beat the Reaper (and probably did this in a lot of other matches as well), but then you guys told us we were wrong!
Hope that clears things up.