awesome list and I agree with it all. However, on a lot of these, specifically number one, it shouldn't be about one versus the other. I love both of them for very different reasons.

so why do they call them flame wars? flaming homosexuals, flaming nerds?

I always thought the ST vs SW argument was patent bullshit. Both of them are good on their own merits and they both explore completely different things - one is about the Campbellian mythos in a galaxy far far away, the other is about the future of humanity. And I have to question your "geek cred" argument for Star Wars, since Kevin Smith basically gives his seal of approval to both series. He LOVES Wrath of Khan and a lot of the other ST films.

I'd say intellectually, Star Trek is superior while SW is just a better story in an epic format. Both of them are completely eclipsed by Babylon 5 though.

That being said, I think we decided early on that a Star Destroyer would probably rape every other space ship in science fiction, save for the Asgard motherships in Stargate.

What about DnD vs LARP-er's?

My rant aside, great list, Rob. Love the Juggernaut vs. the Blob argument (even though I distinctly remember the Juggernaut kicking his ass). Plus, the Juggernaut is Prof X's brother, so that's gotta count for something.

I read about the Balrog argument. Wow. Didn't even know that was a fucking issue. And as for movies vs. original, oh let me count the ways...

I think Peter Davison's something of a dark horse candidate in the Best Doctor argument these days - he was overshadowed when he was on the TV series due to the unweildy cast and following immediately after Baker, but given Tennant / Moffat / etc.'s admiration of him, plus the new fans taking a liking to him with the crossover episode, he's probably more popular than McCoy at this point, although still well behind Baker and Tennant.

Still kinda sad that his last full episode was his best one, though.

Heh shows how little of MST3K I've seen, I didn't know there was anyone but Mike :P

What?
No, Airwolf or Blue Thunder?

Well, ST vs. SW is all well and good, but is it a good idea? Do we really want a Borg-controlled Death Star roaming the galaxy? Stop the madness, before it's too late!

Yeah, I don't think Sylvester McCoy's popularity has held up over time. I think the current Doctor usually tops whatever Favorite Doctor polls are held, anyway. Tom Baker's lasting appeal was due to his longevity in the role; being the first Doctor other parts of the world saw; and being a damned good Doctor. He's not my favorite, as my favorites for some reason tend to be the Docs who had the least screen time. :-(

My argument for Trek vs. Wars goes something like this:

What is Trek's most embarassing moment?

It varies, but most will pick Star Trek V, Voyager's "Threshold", TNG's "Shades of Grey", or if you're feeling cynical, Voyager or Enterprise in their entirety.

Now, what is Star Wars's most embarassing moment?

Take your pick: The Holiday Special. Vader's Big No. Jar-Jar.

Advantage? Star Trek. Q.E.D.

Airwolf or Blue Thunder?

A true geek omnipotence paradox is Wars stormtrooper, who always miss, against a Trek red shirt, who always die locked in a box.

No Transformers Trukk not Monkey (G1 vs Beast Wars) debate among transformer fans?

I guess I'm in Geek LimboLand because I liked Joel and Mike's versions of MST3K about the same, don't find myself comparing SW to ST because they both work well (when done right) for completely different reasons, could care less about who is the best Doctor (I could care less for any incarnation of the Doctor Who show) gave up caring about the DC or Marvel heroes long ago (with a few exceptions), and don't see why fans of the books get so pissy when their favorite book gets raped by Hollywood (happens nearly every time, even in the best cases, so take them for what they are). I guess I'm Mr. Indifferent Geek, the rarest of the geek subspecies of humanity.

I don't want to say "disappointed," but where is the Sega vs Super Nintendo debate in this list? Is that not "nerdy" enough to make the cut?

@Stonecrow:

What do you mean? A Borg-controlled Death Star would be freakin' [i]awesome[/i]. I'd pay to see that movie.

I like Wars and Trek both, but I think the prequels hurt Wars much more than even Voyager hurt Trek. The prequels are such a mess that all the charm and fun of the OT that originally gave Wars a wide fan/family base were turned upside down and all the closet Warsies came forth to the forefront of regular society and thanks to guys like Kevin Smith, Warsies are now nerdier than even Trekkies. Trekkies have always been nerdy, but many of their nerd base are real world physicists, biologists, astronauts, astronomers, mathematicians, chemists, engineers, physicians, etc. Warsies on-the-other-hand, seem to have more pop-fanatics and less multiple degree and scholarly nerds in their ranks. Wars is more science-fantasy (Lord of the Rings in space), whereas Trek is more science-fiction.

You fool! You've just started the largest flame war in history by compiling 10 all in one place. You've doomed us all!

Here I will help you guys with the Juggernaut vs blob thing. 1 They are both moral beings and have a limit to how much force they can exert or take. The blob would not stand a f^^king chance against the largest wreacking ball on the planet. And the Juggernaut is not an unstoppable force. Just see what happens when he tries to break into a nuclear bunker. He wouldnt get past the second sheild.
Hope this helps da geeks

Fans of the book tend to focus on what the movies leave out, and the things they change; fans of the movies roll their eyes at the endless pages of Elves singing goofy songs or descriptions of landscapes and prefer the film's tight plotting and action.

I detect a certain lack of objectivity...

As an MST3K aficionado, I have come to the conclusion that belief in either Mike or Joel are (is?) both equally valid viewpoints. Joel created the damn show, and for that I and many others will be eternally grateful. On the other hand, Mike was the head writer when the show really found its legs even though he wasn't the host. Early episodes were laid back and goofy- riffs were unstructured and occurred less frequently. When Mike came along, structure and a higher frequency of jokes came with him.

I think we can all agree that Jim Mallon, Comedy Central, and the Sci Fi Channel have a lot to answer for, though.

At least we have Cinematic Titanic and Rifftrax. On the other hand, maybe I should be thanking the Sci Fi Channel... the Battlefield Earth, Glitter, Wicker Man, and Transformers Rifftrax certainly have made the world a better place.

The worst Star Trek movie is far worse than the worst Star Wars movie. And there are more bad ones of those.

@Rattrap007:

I believe the correct spelling is "TRUKK NOT MUNKY", all caps included.

I remember a lot of arguments back in the day arguing a hypothetical matchup between the Death Star and Unicron. IMO, Unicron takes that one pretty easily. The Death Star isn't exactly limber.

"That being said, I think we decided early on that a Star Destroyer would probably rape every other space ship in science fiction, save for the Asgard motherships in Stargate."

I just had Return of the Jedi on last night and for the first time, it struck me as odd how a small ship hitting the bridge made a Super Star Destoyer crash.

That Empire always misses the small things.

RIBFIR! RIBFIR! RIBFIR!!!!!!

good list. and while some of the things have been answered like freddy vs jason most of the list will never have and end to the arguments and debates they will go on forever. and suprised superman doing the wild thing with Lois was not higher on the list.

BTW, the I read the "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" paper and found that even in 1971 nerds were wondering if Supes could even get it on with Lois. Well I guess in the movie continuum it happened with Superman II and his whole be a regular guy to bang Lois and then in Superman Returns, junior is obviously his super kid.

But regardless of all this jibba-jabba, I really don't see what's wrong with Supers pork'n his cousin Supergirl or the more developed Powergirl. I mean his species is essentially dead, may as well make a new Krypton. Let's face it, Adam and Eve were essentially brother and sister so first cousins bangology is not too weird if you're trying to procreate.

@GalvaTRION

I hate to say it, but a part of me is glad mst3k was canceled simply because of rifftrax. Not only does it let them do horrible movies they'd never get the rights to otherwise, but it's been a fantastic example of how a show can actually move to the internet and be profitable.

And I think every guy whose girlfriend has force fed them twilight can be thankful that rifftrax has managed to heal a bit of that mental damage.

No Xbox 360 vs. PS3?

@Joe: and this is why when sci-fi has bridges separated from space vacuum by a mere forcefield or blast door, whoever made it is a fucking idiot.

I was expecting Kirk vs Picard at #1. I think more nerds have argued over that. Trek vs Wars is certainly highly debatable, but I think the truth is most geeks love both.

BIGGIE WAS BETTER THAN TUPAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've seen so many bitter debates rip through Transformers fandom, and the conflict usually comes down to people arguing why their favorite versions of Transformers is better than the others. It's nice to step back and remember that these kinds of heated, stupid arguments are a part of almost every fandom.

One trend I notice is that it's almost always a losing battle to go onto a message board about one particular topic (Transformers, Star Wars, etc.) and vent about something you don't like about said topic. A good portion of your fellow fans are going to see it as an attack and accuses you of being a troll, tell you that you have no life for posting your negative thoughts on a message board (even though they probably spend even more time posting about other minutiae) and go out of their way to pick apart every one of your points in an attempt to prove that you are an idiot. The only exception is when it's one of those few things that everyone has agreed is cool to hate.

I've gotten so disenchanted with the message board culture for certain fandoms. :-/

Speaking of Transformers, how about the (RIRFIB)Rumble is Red Frenzy is Blue vs. (FIRRIB)Frenzy is Red Rumble is Blue Arguments?

I have to say, the book vs. movie debate has always struck me as sort of pointless as they are two completely different mediums. Take LOTR- when I read the books I enjoyed the slower-paced parts, the pages of elf songs and setting of scenery... something that I believe would have doomed the movies as they would each have to be 5 hours long to accomodate all that. But to translate the movies directly into prose form would kill the beauty of Tolkien's language. But I think the movies worked BECAUSE they condensed and sped up the narrative of the books. So really you have apples and oranges here as one is a book and the other is a script. Two different things. Although if the movies had sucked ass I would probably be singing a different tune.

As for ST vs. SW, sorry.... ST came first, had better stories, has spawed more movies and fan fiction, inspired more nerds to change the REAL world (cell phones, anyone) and had more eye candy. Plus no whatever you say about Voyager or Enterprise.... at least they didn't have Jar-Jar Binks.

I also thought Kirk vs. Picard would be #1. I was also expecting Who was the Best James Bond, but I guess that argument is a little too mainstream and not pathetic enough. I think Entertainment Weekly had a whole section of an issue devoted to these debates, like X-Files vs. Lost, etc.

Also, who would win in a fair fight - Han Solo or Indiana Jones?

haven't entire internet forums banned the following argument because no one would shut up about it: UNICRON VS THE DEATH STAR???? not that i give a crap who would win.

another argument i thought was a big deal that i don't give a crap about: KIRK VS PICARD

NUMBERED LISTS OR BULLET POINTS?

I can't believe you left out the perennial anime argument:

Sub vs. Dub

I was a little disappointed in not seeing the ol' Green Lantern Hal vs. Kyle debate on here. If not for Geoff Johns bringing Hal Jordan back in GL: Rebirth, H.E.A.T. (Hal's Emerald Advancement Team) may still be out there going nuts.

1. Draw
2. DC
3. Usually the book
4. Who cares?
5. Mike, by a slight margin
6. Tennant but with due respect to Baker
7. No - already demonstrated in the comics
8. Juggernaut
9. No
10. Freddy

PC Vs. Mac anyone?

What about this classic argument:

Are the Smurfs mammals or reptiles?

They're amphibians.

Oh, wait, that's the Snorks.

When I first read the headline for this list, I thought to myself, "If the Kirk vs. Picard debate isn't the number one item on this list, then the whole list is a complete failure."

And how sad is it that not only is the Kirk vs. Picard debate not #1 on this list . . . it's not even on the list. For shame! That debate has been going on between fans ever since the Next generation premiered back in the late 80's. That's over 20 years of fan fighting, and it doesn't even get a mention? How do you account for such a glaring omission?

Hell, even Weird Al acknowledged the debate in his song White & Nerdy with the line, "The only question I ever thought was hard was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?"

Awesome list, but I have to say in the Doctor Who debate, even though I havent been able to see them all, you can't count out Christophe Eccleston.He may have only had one season, but he's my first doctor and really made me love the series from the first few minutes I watched. No doubt, Tennant is great as well, and I dont doubt Baker's merit, but they'll never replace Eccleston for me. Even the first episode, I still quote him:

"You can't just go swellin' off like that!"

"Yes I can, here I am, this is me, swelling off!"

But Patrick, do Trek fans still really debate Kirk vs. Picard, or is that more of a cliché?

The most intense Trek debates I've seen are over what is and isn't canon. Heck, the Canon argument in general should have been included on the list, as many fandoms are affected by it!

RE: Kirk v. Picard. I think most Trekkies (and Trekkers) have sort of agreed to disagree on this one. It all depends on what you need your captain for. If you need some alien ass-kicking to take place then Kirk wins every time. If you need to negotiate your way through a Klingons civil war or figure out a 5 billion year old anthropological puzzle then Picard is your man.

Besides this argument is like arguing religion or politics.... pointless you really won't change anyone's mind and everyone just ends up pissed off at each other.

The MST3K one is NO CONTEST. Joel invented it and wins by a mile. Mike smarmy sarcasm just makes him "Comic Book Guy" but blessed with good looks, which is another reason to hate him.

Star Trek vs Star Wars is trickier, what with comparing TV episodes to movies. I would say it's a mixed bag with the slight edge to Trek:
1) Trek TOS
2) Wrath of Khan
3) Star Wars
4) Empire Strikes back
5) Trek 4 with the whales
6) Return of the Jedi
7) Every other Star Wars incarnation
8) Every other Trek incarnation

I for one always found niven's paper a little shakey at best, first off (yeah I'm about to get my nerd on RED KRYPTONITE DOES NOT MAKE YOU LARGE!!! Yeah shoddy resarch Red K has a completely random effect, If he had read the one where it makes supes old he could make the argument that the sperm would die out before leaving kal. Also the idea of Supergirl as his only other recouse for sexual congress is kind of like every other superhero movie where the earth is doomed and only superman can save it, (what is the green lantern on vacation?) beside the obivous choice of Wonder Woman, who has an iron uterus, and is magical which superman is weak against, he has an entire miniturized city in his fortress, and a way to shrink himself temporarilly,and he losses his powers, first, he could shrink lois with him, but also he has a city the size of 100,000 about half of which is female, that could be his microscopic booty call any time. hell he could be the deadbeat superdad of the entire city for all we know! (I know this has changed with krypton reborn,but I'm trying to give larry the benefit of the doubt as the original was penned in 1971.

This list is sorely lacking video game arguments, such as "What's the best Final Fantasy game?" and, the big one from my youth, "Super Nintendo vs Sega Genesis."

Also, Star Trek sucks big balls.

No "Mallrats" shout-out in the Superman/Lois Lane blurb?

I'd go with Jon Pertwee as the best Doctor. If a hero can be defined by his nemisis, you can't do much better than Roger Delgado as The Master.

Jason, Yes, Juggernaut, No (but it is funny), The 10th Doctor, Mike, Yep, The Book always, Marvel although Batman rules, Star Wars

Debate resolved.

Mike, m-m-m-Mike, Mike, Mike!

Smurfs are clearly reptiles. They appear to have retracted genitalia afterall.

The Marvel vs. DC debate is just sad at this point. Marvel has beaten down DC in every way possible. Marvel has more interesting characters, sells more comics, has better movies (yeah, yeah, Dark Knight was good but Batman & Robin cancels it out) and overall feels more modern. DC is stuck in it's old ways. Whoopie. Batman and Superman are the most well known. That just means they're old; not that they're good.

Star Trek vs. Star Wars?

Then both FAIL.

Great list, man. I laughed a many times reading it.

All you base are belong to us

Whatever happened to pirates vs. ninjas? The classic nerd argument!

goku versus superman is also a pretty popular fight

same thing with batman versus anybody

Actually, "Pirates vs. Ninjas" is more of a modern internet nerd debate that's clearly for fun. The actual full on nerd versus debate has usually been "Knight vs. Samurai".....oh, since as long as I can remember.

Usually sometime during the debate someone will go about how the katana can cut through the knight's plate armor. Or how the knight would cut through the Samurai's wooden armor. Yet both parties don't realize that the katana is not Wolverine's adamantium claws and Samurai did wear metal armor pieces too. Most of it revolved around what the two geeks learned from movies or fictional novels. :)

Freddy Vs. Jason....ah, how poor Jason lost, in both the real ending (Freddy's head winking), and the alternate ending (a classic Freddy scene), both of which would only happen in a dream. Yet some people still think he won.

Even people who agree about Balrog wings can quickly turn on each other when the discussion turns towards whether or not they can fly. I've seen it happen.

No mention of Chucky vs. The Leprechaun? For shame. I can't tell you how many times my friends and I have had this debate. It got even more contentious after one buddy of mine threw The Troll into the mix.

And my girlfriend has pretty much flat out told me that she would leave me for The Ninth Doctor.

Twilight (what? Teenaged girls can be geeks too).
Dude, don't group young women altogether as Twilight crazies mmk?

There's also a weird sub-argument in the Doctor Who fandom over Nine vs. Ten that brings the fandom!wank like you've never seen it before...

G1 vs... well, anything that *isn't* G1 ("Truck not monkey", anyone? To say nothing of all the raging about the movie)...

I love the way the mind of the zombie works. DC is the "capes," a bunch of old fogies, which is funny since Thor, Scarlet Witch, Magneto, Dr. Doom, Vision, and several other Marvel heroes wear capes. Meanwhile the Flash and Green Lantern (the two characters that launched the silver age and ultimately led to the creation of Marvel) have streamlined, non-cape costumes.

It's similar to the way DC characters are boring while Marvel characters are so distinctive. Totally ignoring all the changes DC characters have gone through and ignoring reality (since Donald Blake, Tony Stark, Reed Richards, etc., started out just as boring and bland as Hal Jordan). It's like Green Lantern/Green Arrow never happened.

Oh, and Superman has starred in or co-starred in All-Star Superman, Kingdom Come, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, For the Man who has Everything, New Frontier, etc.

And, Spider-Man has been in...... um......

All-Star Superman will ultimately outsell Civil War, House of M, Dark Reign, World War Hulk, and Secret Invasion combined. So you can take that biased direct market nonsense and stick it.

So DC wins, Cause All-Star Superman and the Dark Knight are better then anything Marvel has ever come out with.

http://hdvision.wordpress.com/
Add this:
What is better?
Apple or Microsoft

WTF! Where the hell is MAC vs. PC? EPIC FAIL!

no picard vs. kirk?

Good list, The only one I don't get is the Juggernaut/Blob. Juggy pretty much whooped everybody's ass in Marvel. And for the record I like Mike from MST3K better than Joel just for the fact that Mike's humor during his run as host was much more darker.

No pirates vs. ninjas??? how could you forget that one?

Awesome list! This was worthy of at least 20 entries; don't know how you pared it down to ten. Nerds love to argue over pointless stuff. =D

RIRFIB!
TRUK AND MUNKY.
And Unicron would EAT the damn Deathstar. OM NOM NOM NOM.
Browser and OS debates are life and death matters, too.

WHAT? NO LINUX VS WINDOWS OR MAC VS WINDOWS?

This top 10 list while interesting doesn't really ask THE question. THE question the end all nerd debates and possibly the ENTIRE UNIVERSE with it's paradoxical nature.

Stormtroopers vs Red Shirts.

The guys that couldn't hit a planet with a Death Star vs The guys that couldn't dodge your 90 year old wheelchair bound grandmother.

SW is about the past, ST is about the future. duh...

Davidh said:

I love the way the mind of the zombie works. DC is the "capes," a bunch of old fogies, which is funny since Thor, Scarlet Witch, Magneto, Dr. Doom, Vision, and several other Marvel heroes wear capes. Meanwhile the Flash and Green Lantern (the two characters that launched the silver age and ultimately led to the creation of Marvel) have streamlined, non-cape costumes.

It's similar to the way DC characters are boring while Marvel characters are so distinctive. Totally ignoring all the changes DC characters have gone through and ignoring reality (since Donald Blake, Tony Stark, Reed Richards, etc., started out just as boring and bland as Hal Jordan). It's like Green Lantern/Green Arrow never happened.

Oh, and Superman has starred in or co-starred in All-Star Superman, Kingdom Come, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, For the Man who has Everything, New Frontier, etc.

And, Spider-Man has been in...... um......

All-Star Superman will ultimately outsell Civil War, House of M, Dark Reign, World War Hulk, and Secret Invasion combined. So you can take that biased direct market nonsense and stick it.

So DC wins, Cause All-Star Superman and the Dark Knight are better then anything Marvel has ever come out with.
Posted 05/06/2009 at 03:07:01 PM

---

I love how the mind works as well.

It's pretty obvious that "capes" is a general term. It mean idealogical heroes that have few flaws and don't live in the most grounded of realities. You can deny it all that you want but when the majority of comic book fans talk about Marvel and DC they see Marvel as a the real world with superheroes and DC as a complete fantasy world. THAT'S what "capes" means."

No one thinks that all DC characters are boring. I'm surprised anyone would take that stereotype to heart. But the fact of the matter remains is that there's a reason Marvel characters are seen as being more dynamic. You can't just wish that away by calling it a generalization. Generalizations tend to be stemed in facts. Peter Parker was more dynamic from day one than any DC character had ever been at that point. The Fantastic Four as a group have a family feel and relatability factor than no number of Robins can counteract. Marvel is the one that forced DC to raise the bar.

It's so easy to point out a few specific moments of a character at their best and pretend that's the general feel of them, isn't it? Anyone can name a few mini-series that were written by all-star writers that are considered great the world over. Lots of these great writers have made gold when they touched iconic Marvel characters as well. So why do you choose to ignore those series?

You can't think of any great Spider-man stories, huh? That isn't a knock on Spidey. It just makes you seem insanely ignorant.

Wow! You're compared older classics to very recent maxi-series?! That sounds incredibly fair! On top of that, you're just making sweeping statements with no facts to back them up. Something is going to outsell something else, why? Because YOU say so?

You'd be so much more credible if you had reasons for the things up say instead of just declaring one company better. DC wins simply because Grant Morrison is good at his job and they made a good Batman movie. That's a crackerjack argument you've got there.

Can I say that DC sucks because there are also a lot of bad Superman comics and they made "Batman & Robin?" Because that line of thinking is equally as sound as your's.

I love the way the mind works.

"No "Mallrats" shout-out in the Superman/Lois Lane blurb?"

Seriously, you actually mentioned Kevin Smith but left out the pinnacle of his jokes.

Please, freaking Stan Lee was incorporated in the joke. You call yourself a Nerd!

10 Freddy
9 yes
8 juggernaut
7 maybe matters the writer
6 9th
5 joel
4 yes
3 the book
2 marvel
1 starwars

Plane on a treadmill.. will it take off?!

You missed two

Sonic vs Mario

This one was a doozy in the early 90s. I remember as a kid, people arguing endlessly over this one.

Nice list. NEver thought that such a non-issue like the Balrog's wings or Superman porking will fill so much space. But yes, you forgot to mention such colossal debates like:

-Genesis Vs. S-Nes
-Sonic Vs Mario
-Final Fantasy Vs. Legend of Zelda (This one really heated up after the releases of FF VII and LOZ: Ocarina of Time, and still that debate continues)

Awesome list. But as one of the nerdiest/coolest t-shirts ever states "You never forget your first Doctor." That's probably the key when it comes to picking the best Doctor. I enjoyed Chris Eccleston, Tom Baker, and Peter Davidson, but Tennant is my absolute favorite simply because he was my first.

This list makes me want to go out and pick a fight with another geek just to see how long a debate can last when there is a free Saturday night and lots of alcohol involved.

...I've partaken in all of these debates except for
"www.myspace.com/funeral_etiquitte "

..I can still be saved!

I have to say I'm a huge fan of Joel. Mike has his strong points, especially when riffing, but I love Joel's personality and the invention exchanges.

I also have to admit that Joel is cute as hell.

picard vs kirk? i thought that would be top 5 for sure

I know an international studies major who, after a few drinks, would go on for an hour about how Picard was more popular outside the US because he's the international ideal of a diplomat who can kick ass if necessary, whereas Kirk is the American ideal of a cowboy who might stop to smooth some feathers if it's convenient for him at a given time.

Which kind of accounts for why TNG always seems to be far more respected by overseas (even fellow Canadian) fans than TOS, whereas the reverse is true in the US (more or less).

I always thought that Star Destroyer v Enterprise was the bigger debate than Unicron v Death Star, but I thankfully avoided both of those.

Time for the obligatory cheap shot: All I know is that without Star Wars, Star Trek is likely remembered as a 60s curiosity, decent animated series, and an ill-concieved revival with really ugly uniforms, and nothing more.

oh yea, what about lost v. heros?

10. Jason.
9. Planet.
8. Juggernaught.
7. No, not unless he lost control.
6. Tennant.
5. Joel.
4. Wings... as shitty as they may be.
3. Movie.
2. Neither (Independents Rule).
1. Star Wars (for Original Movie)... Star Trek (for Original TV Show).

BTW for Everybody else... Blue Thunder, Sega, Tupac, Kirk, Numbers, P.C., Mammals and Ninjas.
Glad I could clear that up for everyone.
Your Welcome.

What about Dune 1984 vs. Dune 2000?

Or Dune vs. Stranger in a Strange Land for best classic religious sci fi?

Or best American fantasy series? Wheel of Time vs. Sword of Truth vs. Song of Ice and Fire?

I could go....

It is AWESOME how an article about dork douchebaggery has spawned an entire comments list full of dork douchebaggery. Arguing about what arguments should be argued about? Jeezis.

1. Star Trek
2. Marvel
3. Generally, movies
4. Don't care for LotR (Not my thing)
5. Mike
6. Never seen Dr. Who
7. I don't think it would. If it was possible, wouldn't Superman's breath kill people, too. Or when he punches a bad guy, wouldn't that turn there entire head into mush?
8. Juggernaut
9. It is a planet (Dwarf planet? Technically, that still means a planet, right?)
10. Jason. He won the fight, but its not over yet.

Wouldn't it be Juggernaut vs Hulk? That would be a much more interesting fight.

What?? No Pirate vs Ninja, no PC vs Mac?!

Its hard to decide between Star Trek VS Star Wars, because its too much like the atheist VS religion debate. No matter how hard the atheists try to prove that the religious are not right, the faithful can turn a blind eye to horrors.

I'm more of a fan of the following debates:
Abstinence VS intercourse (every geek's hardest decision)
Everquest VS WoW
Ink VS pencil
Bollywood VS Hollywood
Simpsons VS South Park
Butter side-up VS butter side-down

Now. Any real thought on the SW Vs ST should go like this:

Star Wars? What's that about? It's really the story of on emo-angsty teen (a-la Twilight) with absolutely no Juevos Splash (for the man who shaves his juevos). He kills a bunch of people (and kids), then spends his days growing old while getting ordered around by an even older goth guy, until one day his wimpling son tries to stand up to him? One story, no real PWNage.

Star Trek: Led to inventions. Actually has real conventions (Star Wars fans have to piggyback). Practically wrote the book on modern techno-babel (all other sci-fi give thanks). Oh and Picard PWN'd Q on several occasions, much more than any SW character could ever do.

Oh, and the women of Star Trek are hotter, from ever chick Kirk ever ran into (even the green ones), all the way up to T'Pol.

Sorry, but Bablyon 5 is the best!

Greeting
Sascha

How in the Holy Fuck do people think Jason 'won the fight?'. He was revived to save the ass of some slut-in-coming, who then aided him in trying to defeat Freddy. If I remember correctly, 'Freddy vs. Jason' resulted in Freddy using him as a damn pinball, then raping his psyche by reliving his malformed incestuous ass drowning again and again. Now, had it been 'Freddy vs. Jason and the Sluts brigade', that would have been a solid win to them....but it was not, nor did Freddy die.

Marvel vs. DC? The world knows of Superman and Batman, Spider-man is not up there yet?

Well, the world knows of Superman and Batman, and possibly Wonder Woman and Robin. They also know of Spider-man, now Ironman, X-men, Wolverine, a shitty Captain America (although....I still watch it), a few shitty Hulks and Punishers, three shitty Fantastic Fours, a shitty Ghost Rider, and a shitty Daredevil/Elektra.

Why? That is because DC only has two characters. Marvel, despite making the shitty movies for those characters, have loads more. The Justice League is so inflated because they have to make unimportant-yet-interesting characters important, while the Avengers are there to make another comic about important-characters-which-already-sell sell more. And then there is X-Men, which does the same.

sadly i have argued with people about most of these things. although i have to admit to liking the "first" (ie the original) star wars and all star trek (apart from "enterprise" of course, sorry scott bakula...). great list :)

there is a lot of musical geekery out there but if that was on here it would be a hundred pages long!

I do care! shadow=wings and: yes they can fly. just read the f+++ing book

Star Trek for me, hands down.

Star wars is strictly for kids. It never tries to be anything beyond that. The prequels were horrendous failures as stories. Warsies are by far the most obnoxious fans I've seen online (see stardestroyer.net)

Star Trek has kid appeal, but also has stretched into much deeper and adult territory. Star Wars only has one great story (the original trilogy); Star Trek has at least a dozen (City on the Edge of Forever, The Inner Light, Wrath of Khan, The Visitor, etc). Trekkies have always seemed much calmer and open minded than other fandoms I've seen.

Han Solo got one hot girl. Kirk got dozens.

Chewbacca got smartass remarks for repairing his ship's engines. Spock invented time travel while repairing his.

SW's greatest villain (Palpatine) can shoot lightning bolts with his hands. ST's greatest villain (Q) can manipulate all of time, space, and reality with a thought.

Heck, this is fun. I can kind of see why they argue it... = )

The Andrew Tanenbaum vs Linus Torvalds online debate on microkernels!

http://oreilly.com/catalog/opensources/book/appa.html

What?

It's famous.

I think I have to turn in my geek card...I've only ever argued the book v. movie case, but even that was outside the geek realm (it was in reference to "The Age of Innocence").

I do recall a longstanding and somewhat heated debate over which of the Doctor's companions was the hottest...is that sufficient to retain my membership?

Concerning Superman and Lois Lane:
The danger of lethal ejaculation used as a joke first appeared in Mallrats, a Kevin Smith movie.

10: Stopped watching slasher flicks back in the '80's
9: Planet
8: Juggernaut
7: No, Sups can control himself pretty well
6: #4 (Tom Baker) followed by #5 (Peter Davison) But #10 (David Tennant)is a close 3rd
5: Don't care, thought the robots were the best thing on the show, go Crow
4: Wings no Wings who care Gandalf killed it regardless.
3: Slow enjoyment books, quick enjoyment movies as long as the story is not butchered, but mostly books.
2: Preference is DC, only because you do not need to know forty years of stories research to understand why two characters/groups are fighting each others.
1: 51% to 49% if favor of Star Trek over Star Wars. ST was action/adventure with brains winning the day as well as brawn, SW is straight action/adventure, not much in the way of brains for the heroes.

I am proud to say, even by Geek standards, I have only discussed 4 of those and not even in argument form.

...I think what's sad is I've had all those arguments. If not with my brother, then one of the guys at work...I don't think we ever came to a peaceful conclusion.

But I think the ST vs. SW isn't really fair...pretty much everyone I know fanboy/fangirl over both...it's when you stick Trekkies and Whovians in the same room that things get out of hand. Granted I like Star Trek, Star Wars and Doctor Who, but I've seen some scary stuff watching ST/SW argue with DW fans...

Can't we all just get along? I have always found it hilarious that people feel the need to argue about similar things that are solely a matter of personal opinion on the internet. What are they trying to accomplish anyway?

I love Star Wars AND Star Trek...and I loved both Joel and Mike as MST3K hosts.

Okay Jeremy,

Sure there have been great Spider-Man stories, just not in the last twenty years. Don't get upset at me because Marvel is brutally raping Spider-Man on such a frequent basis.

Kraven's last hunt and David Michiline's and Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man was a long time ago. But, you do have Ed Brubaker's Captain America (which at least is current). You chose to ignore the current Green Lantern run, etc.

I compared the Superman stories of the last twenty years, due to you posting "Marvel has beaten down DC in every way possible. Marvel has more interesting characters, sells more comics, has better movies (yeah, yeah, Dark Knight was good but Batman & Robin cancels it out) and overall feels more modern. DC is stuck in it's old ways. Whoopie. Batman and Superman are the most well known. That just means they're old; not that they're good."

And, yet Dark Knight and All-Star Superman were fantastic. Apparently DC being stuck in it's old ways must mean putting out all-time classics.

But, hey, at least you have Spider-Man making deals with the devil and endless events that have the worst anti-climatic endings ever.

You mentioned market share, I bring up the fact that like the Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, New Frontier, and the Watchmen, All-Star Superman will make more money then Civil War, House of M, Dark Reign, Secret Invasion, and World War Hulk combined.

Market share is nonsense, since it's a chart that is done every month and doesn't factor in re-orders or 2nd, 3rd, 4th printings. Plus, that share is based on what store owners buy (not on what actually sells). For example, it's a lot easiser to get the last 12 issues of Spider-Man at a local store, then Superman. Good luck getting a first run of the Sinestro Corps War. Truth is, store owners are generally inept at what they do (I bet dollars for donuts that the Black Lanterns storyline will be under-ordered).

As I stated, YOU brought up market share, all I'm pointing out is that All-Star Superman is not only better, but will ultimately outsell all these books YOU were thumping your chest at.

Balrogs don't have wings.

I love the movie "Freddy vs Jason" and the fight seem a win-win situation considering that neither of them CAN'T DIE. They better a sequel or at least start a series surrounding it.

I knew that there was a Star Trek vs Star Wars conflict going on but I didn't think it would go that far. The fans of these space adventures were really at eachother's throats. Though, it's not as crazy and vicious as the DC vs Marvel!

OMG! Man! Each are trying to make the other better than the other! It's nuts! Okay. The way I look at it:DC has more idealized characters that seemed almost perfect, god-like figures, and have rare inner conflicts whereas Marvel has characters that have lots flaws, complex inner conflicts, and have human emotional qualities that reflect the situations they're in. Matter of fact, it shows in the movies. It depends on the various filmmakers and actors that do those but they seem to capture the essence of these comic characters very well.
And you can damn well bet your ass that heroes like Superman, Batman, AND Spider-Man are among some of the BEST superheroes ever! There are popular heroes from BOTH universes! I don't care what you say! It's possible to have the BEST AT BOTH WORLDS!!!!!

Glad DC and Marvel heroes are VERY good friends in "SvsS".

Dont forget Wolverine in the recognation contest. Hell id say wolverine was more recognizable than spiderman...and im a spiderman fan

Definitely aluminum foil over Saran Wrap...oops-wrong blog! It's Joel over Mike any day. Joel was goofy and lovable and gave the show a special vitality, atmosphere, and sense of direction that Mike just couldn't quite master. Even the 'bots lost some of their character after Joel left. And Forrester's gang just became painful to watch.
As for Larry Niven's "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex", please keep in mind that this was nothing more than one of his tongue-in-cheek SciFi pieces and not a scientific dissertation of any kind of alien physiology.
Now, anybody up for (or old enough to remember) Twilight Zone vs. Night Gallery? The Invaders vs. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea? Lost in Space vs. Land of the Giants?

Okay I'm not going to get into a long-winded arguement about whether DC or Marvel is better since I'm not an avid reader of Marvel but to argue that Marvel is better because it is more popular than DC is simply retarded. Twilight is more popular than Let The Right One In, what's your point? I'm also doing to disagre with the comment than Marvel makes better movies.

Marvel's bad movies
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four Two
Spiderman Three
X3
Hulk
Ghost Rider
Elektra
W-Men Origins Wolverine
Punisher Warzone
Daredevil

Marvel's Middle of the Road Movies
The Punisher
Pretty Much everything from Marvel Animated

Marvel's Good Movies
X-men
X2
Spiderman One
Spiderman Two
Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk

DC's Bad movies
Batman and Robin
Batman Forever
Superman 3
Superman 4
Catwoman

DC's Middle of the road Movies
Superman 2
Superman Returns
Watchmen

DC's Good Movies
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
Superman
Pretty Much Everything from DC Animated

If I missed anything let me know.

So Marvel has pretty much made just as many good movies as DC and about twice as many bad ones. That argument doesn't hold up at all. More doesn't necessarily mean better.