Azula vs. Galen Marek

After two days of prep time who will prevail in a fight to the death between the Dark Knight and the God of War?

Batman vs. Kratos

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Azula vs. Galen Marek

*Both profiles done!


    A bright light flashed and the Portal Master entered the room, pleased, happy, but most of all excited. After months of preparation and selection, months of gathering all equipment together the tournament was finally going to start- and with a truly worthy opener! 


 The Portal Master sat down, immediately activating his console  and entering the  Library of Babel database. To most mortals it would seem like a incomprehensible maze of never-ending data; to the Portal Master it was his greatest acquisition. He easily navigated through the  various files until finally coming across what he was looking for; the portfolio of Azula and Galen Marek. 


 Smiling he opened the folders that had been made through much research from his underlings, reading them over in detail. He had a guess for the winner, however he had deliberately disabled his immense forsight for this tournament; he made this tournament for surprises, not for foreseen victories!


========================


* New Category Added: Usage: Refers to how regularly a certain category has been used in the past, to better predict how often it would be used in the future. Ranges from Innate(power always activated no matter what) to  Very High ( Main weapon/power) to very rare (once o hypothetical usage). NOTE: This only demonstrates past usage, not future occurrences. Its possible for a warrior to use even a classified "very rare" attack in battle multiple times or even "spam" it; there is nothing in theory stopping them from  doing so, should the warrior judge it to be wise or in their advantage to do so.


**http://necromoprhvsfellowship.blogspot.com/2012/03/grading-scale.html That link will be very helpful in understanding grading scale. 
===========================
WHY THEY WERE  CHOSEN:
 While these two seem like the two least powerful characters in the tournament, and two that are out of place (there is already another, more powerful Star Wars/Avatar character) they each possess traits that make them contenders for even the championship!
AZULA:
  She is a extremely quick learner and observer, able to diagnose and describe even very subtle weaknesses in seconds. When combined with the knowledge of the Library of Babel we are looking at someone able to effectively map out and exploit these weaknesses, able to utilize psychological warfare and tactics extremely effectively. On the physical side of things she is a highly trained martial artist and master of the rare, blue fire- which is much more destructive then "regular orange" fire. While she is no pushover on the physical side of things, this character is admitedly better on mentality. 


GALEN MAREK:


 This man's inclusion is a bit less controversial but should be stated anyway. He is a trained assassin for all his life, serving as Vader's secret apprentice quite skillfully. Though mentally he does leave a bit to be desired, when it comes to force potential and ability he surpasses Darth Vader and matches even Palpatine. He can force pull Star Destroyers from the sky , use chain lightning and possesses near impeccable skill with the lightsaber.


==========================

    PRINCESS AZULA OF THE FIRE NATION




Name: Azula
Age: 15
Weight: 116 lbs
Height: 5'3
Grade:  5.2 Immortal
Class: Fire Nation Prodigy



BIO:

 Azula is the daughter and heir of Fire Lord Ozai, despite Zuko being older then her. She is arguably the main antagonist in the series, and frequently strives to kill the Avatar and her brother Zuko. She is a fire bending prodigy and has demonstrated feats of firebending skill that no one else in the series, Aang included, could match. She has the endurance to keep up a stream of continuous attacks without losing her breath, and her attacks are almost unparalled in terms of lethality.  Outside of bending she has demonstrated near superhuman agility, beat some of the best martial artists in the series in their arena, and is a legendary strategist, able to win a battle before it even began. Add to that her mastery of human psychology, so precise that she is able to diagnose subtle weaknesses by a single glance, and she is able to demonstrate why she was chosen. 


PRE-BATTLE:

    If Azula's pre-battle can be described in two traits they would be perfectionism and adaptability. She is a woman who does not tolerate imperfection, and indeed I can see her taking the time to look up every fact of aspect of their opponent's life : powers, history, psychology, strengths, weaknesses and much more. She will focus on trying to either manipulate or counter all of those factors, and then take a step further and try to address some hypothetical counters to her. Being a women of extremely sound observation skills, she'll try to use that to find a flaw in a opponent's style and exploit that. I can also see her constantly training until the very last minute of the fight (warriors are magically restored to full stamina and the best state when entering the arena).

 A constant for Azula is that in every battle she has ever fought, she brings a new trait to the battle a 100 percent of the time, a new trick for every fight. I don't see her stopping this 

BONUS: LO AND LI



  The only sort of pre-battle bonus Azula has is Lo and Li, who are her elderly advisers. Though she has already learned a lot from them they can still be of assistance giving her some tactical and battle support, as they seem to have been doing their jobs for a long time. 
====OFFENSIVE=====

            (Note the second video is of comet enhanced firebending)
LONG RANGE:BLUE FIREBENDING 

Range: Basic Line of sight Type: prepared: Effect: Burn Usage: Very High (main weapon)

    Azula  is an acknowledged prodigy here with  eight years of firebending experience, and is already recognized as the third best firebender in the series (behind Avatar in Avatar State and Ozai). She is the only known character in the series to master- or even perform- blue fire bending. From my research the flames produced reach at least 1,400 Celsius (or 2,600 F), and is so hot that it actually superheats the air around it. It is so hot that even successfully blocking it will not be wholly effective in negating its effects, it’s very presence causes fatigue and prolonged exposure could lead  to a heat stroke.   In the series it also packs more physical force,being more harmful if it hits.

  The amount of uses that Azula has found for this technique is staggering; she can create standard fireballs, jets of flame, whirling disks, blades of flame, fire huge blasts of flame or a long continuous stream,create small explosions,  evaporate water instantly, use it to propel herself, and creating a flame shield. She can condense her flames to cut straight through objects, pulverize rock, and even fly with it. She has shown that she can make fire come out of hands, feet, nose and mouth (and not harm herself while doing it).
Click here for a early battle of Azula I can't link to blogspot for some reason.


 Firebending is primarily an offensive style of bending, with few defensive moves, though they do exist. It is heavily based off of Northern Shaolin Style, Xing Yi, and Southern Dragon Claw style of martial arts, which aid practitioners in mastering the art. 

 That said, the art does have some weaknesses, such as the importance of maintaining self control and breath control. Failure to abide by either of these won't make the firebender weaker, just make the fire they spawn harder to control. 


MID-RANGE: LIGHTNING BENDING

Range: Basic Line-of-sight | Type: Prepared (innate under some circumstances) | Effect: Electrocution of target, hole blown through them Usage: Moderate-Low

 Generating lightning requires a clarity/peace of mind and a circular motion with the hands, though highly skilled benders can skip that last part. Perhaps the most powerful single move in the Avatar universe, this bolt has been shown to either incapitate or kill every time it successfully hit (though an extremely skilled healer can stop the latter, in both instances of its successful use the combatant was rendered unable to fight- hence a game winner). This move seems to be unique to the fire nation royal family. 
      (For Better version, click here ).
 However this move does require a slight charge up time, and as well as precision. 

CLOSE RANGE: BLADES OF FIRE/HIDDEN SHURIKEN KNIVES




Range: 3-30 feet Type: Prepared Effect: Burn Usage : High (close range extension of firebending)

Azula has shown the ability to create hot blades of fire which she utilizes in close quarters. Using them in tangent with her martial arts and agility, she is capable of defeating highly skilled foes such as the Kioyshi warriors.  Longer versions of blades are shown by her other firebenders, and her brother has been shown to create 15 foot fire whips. Blocking a elemental attack is bit harder to block then normal blades, as even if you cut straight through it the fire that was seperated is not going to go out, leading to burns. 


Hidden Knives (one handed):

Range: 1-2 feet (up to 15 if thrown) Type: Knife Effect: Piercing  Usage: Very Rare (Emergency Backup)
 Under very rare circumstances astronomical events have shown to be able to take a firebenders power away (solar eclipse). Azula, having planned for such occurrences, utilizes her powerful agility and martial arts to combat effectively even the best of benders (Aang) . Should that fail she does seem to carry emergency knives as backup, like her friend Mai who she likely acquired knife throwing skills from.  In this battle she will have five of them, hidden among her clothing. As you can imagine though, these aren't the most effective weapons, which is why they are delegated as backup. 


SPECIAL :  PROPULSION: 



Range: up to 10 meters | Type: Innate | Effect: speed boost/flying Usage: High
Azula has shown the ability to propel her fire behind her or through her feet, giving her an additional movement bonus. She can use the power to fly in the air, slow down her descent, or rush around the battlefield at high speeds she would not normally be capable of. It also has a bit of a offensive edge, as fire being used for propulsion can easily be accessed for fighting. Should she need to flee quickly or charge at a foe, this power aids her greatly. 

 Its weakness is that its primary intent is not offensive, and relies on hand/feet movements. 

    
DEFENSE: FIRE/FIRE SHIELD

Type: Elemental
 Normally Azula relies on her agility to simply dodge an attack; however should something come at her that is difficult to dodge she can use her firebending to block an attack. She has demonstrated that she is capable of blocking all four elements, as well as physical objects. Also she does seem to wear some light fire nation armor, which boosts her overall defense slightly. 


Fire shield:

Type: Energy: 
In times of desperate need, Azula has shown the ability to create a fire shield so powerful that is capable of fending off a simultaneous attack from all four bending styles –air, water (yes, including water) , earth and fire- as well as a boomerang. It is unknown how long she can keep this shield up, as she promptly exploded it which caused a blinding flash of light so that she could flee. 

VARIABLES: 

Physical: 

Accuracy: 80/100: 
 Azula scores quite highly here, as she is primarily a ranged fighter. The vast majority of her attacks hit, or would hit were it not for quick dodges or elemental blocks on the opponent's part. 
Combat: 63/100

 Is a master of a style based off several martial arts, as well as having defeated elite special forces of the Avatar world in pure hand to hand battles. 
Physicality: 4/100  
Physically is a bit weaker then the average human, though what weight  she has is almost all muscle. 
Damage Intake: 14/100
She's demonstrated that she can take more damage then the average human and manage to keep coming, however she lacks any feats of superhuman durability or regeneration factor. 
Damage Resistance: 52/100
 Ability to block objects/elements with fire and possesses the powerful fire shield, causing her to score well here. 
Stealth: 62/100
   Though she has shown the ability to ambush opponents before, she doesn’t score as highly here as does her brother Zuko, or even her followers Mai and Ty Lee. She has shown some great examples of stealth however, such as when she snuck up on the Kyoishi warriors (they themselves stealthy) and took the Earth King as a human shield.
Sensory: 64/100 
 Through intense training, Azula has learned how to take in everything when observing her environment, and oftentimes  spot things no one else spots. Only successfully ambushed in the series when she was focused on someone else. 
Stamina: 40/100
 Possesses peak Human stamina. 
Finesse: 76/100 
– She can high jump and dodge nearly effortlessly and quickly recover from attacks. Only person who would score higher than her in the series is Ty Lee and Azula is very near peak human
Raw Speed: 23/100 
 She certainly has the speed of at least an Olympic runner, as she was able to outrun the Avatar when he was using air. The Propulsion though is what really boosts her here. 
Reflexes: 42/100
 Possesses reflexes faster then most humans, able to dodge easily and block/counter very fast blows. 
MENTAL : 



Adaptive Creativity: 60/100

 She pulls a new trick every battle, boosting this score a bit, however she doesn't use her environment enough to boost her up further. 



Intelligence: 58/100

 Is an acknowledged genius by both allies and enemies, able to formulate brilliant plans, whether its to permanently kill off the seemingly invincible Avatar (only foiled due to plot device) or conquer the powerful Earth Kingdom with no causalities from the inside. She is also capable of making extremely subtle observations, as noted earlier. 


Initiative: 43/100 

 Almost all of the time she strikes in the series she gets off the first blow, and rarely shows hesitation in attacking first. *Remember that "40" is as high as you can get for a real human, so she's a bit super human*. 
Intuition: 53/100
She possesses above average intuition, like when she followed a hunch/trail that eventually led to the Avatar, but  no feats of Farsight. HOWEVER she is able to such brilliant deducation, on the spot, that it has led me to believe she does possess a bit higher in the 50s then I originally rated her. 


Tactics: 83/100  

Has organized clever traps, demonstrated use of attrition, outwitted nearly all of her opponents, and succeeded in organizing a coup that took control of the biggest nation in the world. What made this more miraculous is that she started out with only three people, started out in a hostile land, and won without taking a single causality. Is the only one who designed a successful plan for taking out the Avatar in the Avatar State and when she wasn’t sure of whether he died or not she cleverly blackmailed her brother. 

PREPARATION:

Training: 56/100 – 
Received training from the best her kingdom had to offer, and has been in training since early childhood. She has mastered most firebending moves, created her own form of fire, memorized countless pieces of tactical history,  and is a trained observer. 


Experience: 46/100
 Her Experience comprises only a few months, however in those few months she has fought and beaten most of the most highly trained benders of her day. 
Discipline: 70/100 

 Her whole personality is built around discipline, and prior to her breakdown (which is the period used for this match) she rarely showed emotion in battle, and was a clear thinker. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL



Audacity: 68/100 – She knows enough to try to retreat if facing someone more powerful than her or is at a profound disadvantage, but this isn’t out of fear; rather that she senses that she cannot win the fight. However the opponent she faces and the tasks she attempts (taking down a very powerful Earth Kingdom by herself while alone in the heart of the enemy capital) does boost her here.
Intimidation: 45/100
 She intimidates people through words and actions even when she is deliberately trying not to intimidate them. 
Psychological Warfare: 77/100 – 
Without a doubt one of her best characteristics, Azula has literally won battles before without having to fight, such as when she convinced Long Feng, dictator of Ba Sing Sei, to voluntarily give power to her and submit to imprisonment. Uses her intimidation and the ability to prey on other emotions before successfully in battle. 
Strength of Mind: 60/100
  I don't see a Jedi Mind trick doing much to her- possibly some momentary confusion, but thats it. 
Killer Instinct: 80/100 – 
Showed no hesitation or remorse when she nearly killed her brother and the Avatar, and advocated a plan which would see the entire Earth kingdom burned to the ground. That said, she talks to much to get further points. 
Psychology: 49/100 – 
Has some deep issues over whether she is a monster or not and why her mother didn't love her that could be exploited by either a Telepath or someone with a psychological warfare rating over 65 (Effectively exploited). Still she was able to hide it pretty much towards the end, and this wasn't set off until the betrayal of her friends. 
Inner Torment: 55/100
 See Above .
Corruption: 68/100 – Is ruthless, but not totally evil. Shows a bit of caring about her friends and family, and does have regrets. Also prefers clean killing over torture.

ENERGY















Energy Potential: 75/100

 Even when physically and emotionally exhausted she is able to summon powerful bursts of fire. 

COMMON FACTOR: CHILD PRODIGY: 

Like Galen Marek Azula is a child prodigy, trained from a early age to best serve her father's interests (a bit like Marek and Vader) . She is widely regarded as one of the best firebenders ever, like Marek is among the force, and has undertaken a variety of harsh missions. In her brief time as a participant of the hundred year war she has accomplished many tasks all others before her have failed - conquering the seemingly Earth Kingdom and its seemingly impenetrable fortress city of Ba Sing Se, successfully killing the Avatar, infiltrating the enemy and convincing them to work for her, as well as being the first known blue-fire bender. 







(Misc) STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
       
      As mentioned above, Azula is both a master manipulator and planner, able to efficiently use prep-time and her opponent's own emotions. Also in pre-battle she can use the Library's knowledge to improve upon techniques from her own realm- such as chi-blocking or lightning redirection. For Environmental bonuses she will benefit in that every environment she fights on will possess something that will allow her to boost her firebending  to near Sozin comet levels-however this will be hidden from her, and she'd have to figure it out mid battle. Another benefit to Azula is that she will be able to manipulate any ambient fire on the map.

 However her biggest weakness is the deep suited regret she harbors over whether she is a monster and why she was unloved as a child, however this will only become a serious factor if an opponent possesses a psych. warfare score of 65+ or is a Telepath of sufficient power to project thoughts/images into other's heads. 


Motivation: POWER, Misc

        What Azula is going to want most out of this tournament is power, and lots of it. She seems to have inherited her father's desire for extreme amounts of power, and should she survive she'll have ample amounts. Other possible motivations are pleasing her father, proving once and for all she's better then Zuko, trying to get her mother's/friend's love, and becoming ruler of the fire nation/world (power). 






GALEN MAREK - "STARKILLER" 
       


Name: Galen Marek
Age: 17
Weight: 178 pounds
Height: 6’1
Grade: 5.6 Immortal
Class: Reformed Sith Assassin


BIO: 


Born to a Jedi Father on the planet Kashyyyk, Marek was kidnapped by Darth Vader in his early years. The Darth Lord sought an apprentice and personal assassin to help him dethrone the emperor one day, and thought Marek was an ideal candidate given the boys natural strength in the force. The Training was brutal and difficult, both on Lord Vader’s request and the boy’s own desire to master himself. The only reason the boy didn’t end up developing into a sociopath was thanks to his droid Proxy, who he developed a bond with (this despite Proxy cheerfully trying to kill him half the time, due to the droid’s directives)

 After years in training he was sent out into the world to assassinate known dissidents of the empire, honing in on his stealth prowess as he had to avoid detection from the emperor as well. Eventually after being knighted by Darth Vader, he was sent out in the world to assassinate the few remaining jedi. Eventually his experiences with the Jedi(after he had killed two and crippled another)  and the fact that his master nearly killed him on the emperor’s order caused a revision in allegiances, helped along by his love for the pilot Juno. He helped organize early alliance leaders, and personally led a mission to rescue them. After defeating both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine in two successive duels, he willingly sacrificed his life for Juno and the alliance leaders, allowing them to get to safety. In return the Alliance emblem became the Marek family crest. 


Galen Marek is one of the most powerful force users in the Star wars universe, and has gone up against two of the greatest dark lords and defeated them both in single combat.  His mastery of the force rivals that of a master, being able to produce powerful streaks of force lightning, stop and fire back missiles, forcibly drag a star destroyer from space  and deliver powerful force grips. As a duelist his skill is nearly impeccable, and he has a long line of successes  over Jedi and Sith masters to solidify that reputation. 


* The version used in this fight is right before his battle with Palpatine, meaning he carries both light and dark side characteristics. 


PRE-BATTLE: 

  Before going on I'd like to mention that there are a lot more then two traits to describe pre-battle, I just pick two that I think are going to be highly important. For Marek its his dedication and force farsight. While perhaps not the best researcher he is nevertheless dedicated, and will not shy away from heavy research. He will look for counters and train hard to prepare against his foes, using all the time available to him. However he'll also take some time off to meditate on the upcoming battle, trying to use his newly found Force Farsight to get images of the fight ahead. While he's not good enough in this technique (yet) to see even a quarter of the battle ahead of time, he'll be able to get glimpses of it and utilize that in his planning. 




PRE-BATTLE BONUS: PROXY:
    Proxy is Marek's combat training droid and best friend, which is ironic since he is constantly trying to kill him. His main benefit is that through study and his holographic projectors he can turn into near anyone, mimicking their combat style and approach . He can also use a series of tractor beams and repulsors to mimic powers to an extent. This will allow Marek to practice fighting against his enemy before the battle actually begins!


 This is certainly a large advantage, however its not without its drawbacks. Proxy is not as powerful as the person he is mimicking, and can not replicate the strength level of the opponent's powers, so in this case it would be a much weaker version of firebending. The opponent that he is mimicking will undoubtedly change some things prior to the fight, so fighting Proxy acting as Azula for example won't be the exact same as fighting the real thing in the arena. 


  Still PROXY is a great asset, as he'll be able to get a pretty good idea behind certain combat techniques and powers pre-fight. He's a good enough asset that if someone were to defeat  Proxy would be among the items they acquire.



















=======OFFENSIVE====




LONG RANGE: TELEKINESIS/SABER THROW
Range: Basic Line-of-sight -15 feet (force repulse) Type:  prepared | Effect: Projectiles to Direct Damage Usage: High (averaged) 

An umbrella term to describe a number of powers, Telekinesis comprises of both the basic environmental control powers and the more sinister direct kill powers. Force Push or Pull are self-explanatory, being used to push something back or else pull something closer to the caster (a great disarming tool!) .Galen Marek’s biggest feat here is literally pulling a Star Destroyer from the sky.  Also self-explanatory is force throw, which picks up an object or person and hurls it in whatever direction the caster pleases. Force grip allowed Marek to grab someone and lift them in the air, whereupon he could then do what he wanted to the victim (though capable fighters could still attack) .Force Repulse was a uniquely Marek move, causing him to levitate in the air and draw loose objects and force energy to him before blasting it out in a violent ring of force push. 


       More sinisterly, Marek also possessed force choke and force crush. The former cuts off a person’s oxygen, choking them while the latter could be used to crush entire organs (given Marek’s conversion to the lightside, there will likely be some hesitancy to use this). In terms of usage, force push/pull/throw would score very high, while repulse/grip high and force choke moderate. Force Crush, a power that he has never used on a living person but is in theory capable of doing so, scores very rare. 


 While Force Grip/Choke does seem to be overwhelming, I have found four effective counters to it that a opponent might research to counter. The first is to blind the Jedi, breaking there line of sight, the second is too immediately leap away, which doesn't always give a good result. the third is to break concentration with a stream of endless attacks, while the fourth and most useful was frequently used by Boba Fett, who used his jetpack's propulsion  to interfere with grip and move out of line of sight. 

Saber Throw


Range: 20 meters  | Type: Prepared | Effect: Projectile Usage: Moderate

Galen was exceptionally skilled at the lightsaber throw, to the point where he could guide his lightsaber mid-air using the force(to an extent). This move has the benefit of being somewhat a surprise to his enemies, who may think themselves safe from the lightsaber at range. Generally it was thrown in a boomerang like fashion, though it could be shot straight at an opponent. The downside to this is that it leaves the user wide open to a attack, can be dodged and lightsabers have been destroyed midair, leaving its former wielder defenseless. 



MID RANGE: FORCE LIGHTNING


Range: 8 meters | Type: Prepared | Effect: Shock  Usage: High
 Perhaps the most iconic Dark Side power, it is also arguably the most lethal of any of Marek’s power.  Drawing energy from the Darkside of the Force, the user blast a beam of pure lightning at a target, either crippling them or sometimes even killing them (the longer the user can keep it cast, the greater likelihood of either). He can also augment his lightsaber with electricity at close quarters, or augment a force gripped object with electricity, causing it to explode when it hits.  Galen was one of the most powerful Lightning users ever, rivaling Darth Sidious himself. 


 Other then the lack of range, there isn't much in the way of weaknesses for this power. 



CLOSE RANGE: LIGHTSABER


Range: 3  feet  | Type: Hand Weapon| Effect: Blade Usage: Very High (main weapon) 
The most famous weapon in all of Star Wars, the Lightsaber is known for its extreme penetrative properties, with few types of armor being able to stand against it. He can also use it to block some types of projectiles: lasers, plasma and bullets among them. This would have been the primary weapon/technique of Marek, and his skill with it was enough to beat various foes such as Jedi master Shaak ti, Darth Vader, and even duel Emperor Palpatine. There isn't much that needs to be said about this weapon; I am sure many of you are familiar with it. 


SPECIAL: FARSIGHT 


Range: ??? Type: Innate Effect: Augment Usage: Inntate
 Farsight allows Marek to briefly peer into the future, examine past events and make predictions on probable future events.Farsight could also be applied to combat, allowing the practitioner to glimpse moves his opponent may make, as well as outside forces that might affect the battle.


Initially Marek struggled very hard with this power, and was frustrated by his inability to learn it. However upon his conversion to the light he seems to have finally gotten it down somewhat (note if he goes full on "dark" in one of his battles, his ability to use this skill ceases).  Alone among Marek's skills  and powers this is the one thing he hasn't mastered, and unlike Palpatine, who would be able to see and predict extremely well, he would be limited to brief glimpses of the future. However if he advances in the tournament i'd expect this skill to increase over time. 

DEFENSE: FORCE PROTECTION  AND LIGHTSABER


  Marek in his original form possessed no armor, as that would have inhibited the fast paced styles of combat that he preferred. His main source of defense was the lightsaber, which could be used to block or deflect most projectiles. Should that prove insufficient Marek is capable of stopping objects mid-flight with telekinesis and redirecting them back at an enemy, though this does not apply to energy attacks. For that Marek only has one defense; used once and only once in the very end of his life against the Emperor. Force protection allowed him to absorb and redirect a massive amount of force lightning, though the strain ended up killing him. This means force protection will be an option, just not one he has fully mastered yet. 


 He also possesses the capability of force healing, though he can't do this under fire and it pales in comparison to the regeneration some other foes posses. 


VARIABLES:


PHYSICAL:


Accuracy: 72/100:
 Galen's force throws usually hit, though he's rated down a bit as range is not his primary choice of battle. 
Combat: 73/100
 Defeated Vader, many Jedi including masters, beasts of all sizes and many in between in his short time alive. 
Physicality: 12/100
Normally would score a "6", however he can use the force to make himself stronger. 
Damage Intake: 17/100
 Galen is capable of taking more damage than most humans, as he demonstrated when he channeled Darth Sidious’s powerful lightning. His unique pain filled training and slight Force healing help him here. 
Damage Resistance: 35/100 – 
Though the Force protection is a powerful shield, he only used it once and in circumstances that may have aided in his death (channeling all that electricity would not have been healthy) .Galen scores somewhat high here due to telekinesis and lightsaber blocking.
Stealth: 67/100 – 
Galen scores highly here as he is very versed in stealth combat, and has successfully snuck his way into installations before, assassinated someone, and then got out without anyone noticing. In fact this was pretty much a requirement, as Vader wanted his existence kept a secret, as well as to serve as his personal assassin. Thus a significant portion of his training was spent towards stealth. Again, Marek can enhance this with the Force. 
Sensory: 62/100  
Once again Galen scores very highly here, as his senses are already at their human peak. He is capable of using Force sense and his Farsight to boost his score, though he doesn’t seem to have mastered either. 

Raw Speed: 19/100 – 
Marek is naturally very fast and is capable of using Force speed to temporarily boost his speed, but only very briefly.
Reflexes: 46/100 – 
Surprisingly Marek’s score doesn’t reach as high up as it ought, given that he’s failed to dodge some rather slow attacks before. However he is still capable of reacting to blaster bolts fast enough. 

Stamina: 40/100 
His stamina is as high as humanly possible. 
Finesse: 69/100 – 
Possesses a high level of finesse and the ease in which he deflects blaster bolts.He can use the force to help himself along here. Still he does make mistakes and can take blows from relatively slow opponents.


MENTAL:


Adaptive Creativity: 75/100  
Galen regularly uses the environment to do away with his foes, and in fact most telekinesis wielders score highly here. 
Initiative: 48/100
 Use of force to speed up his reflexes and help him get first blow. 
Intelligence: 49/100
He's certainly above the average human, however he's no genius, 
Tactics: 54/100
His tactics work , but thats more through skill at arms then the actual effectiveness of his tactics( which are actually pretty simple and standard- carve through enemies). 
Intuition: 60/100
Has minor force farsight to benefit him here. 


PREPARATION: 


Experience: 49/100:
Has fought on assassination missions for at least 2-3 years, though he only started fighting enemies of real note in the last month or two of his life. 
Discipline: 42/100 
Not Disciplined at all, given his psychology and the fact that Sith (which he just stopped being) encouraged use of anger in battles. 
Training: 53/100 – 
 Though he gets lowered a bit thanks to the lack of tactical training, he still experienced the best training Vader could afford, and was wholly dedicated to his mission: serve Vader. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL:


Audacity: 75/100 – 
Galen does not back down, he pretty much had to be pried away before. Though he does feel a little doubt, it doesn't really effect him in fights. 
Intimidation: 39/100 
He appears pretty normal on the outside, though his displays of power and anger are unnerving to some foes. 
Psychological Warfare: 37/100
 He does sometimes use taunts, however he is more of a silent assassin then someone who actively seeks to intimidate his foe. 
Strength of Mind: 75/100 
 Powerful Jedi Mind, Palpatine would not be able to pull off the force trick. 
Killer Instinct: 60/100
 While normally this would be higher, his recent conversion to the lightside has lowered it very (5 points) slightly. 
Psychology: 45/100 – 
Easily angered or driven to rage in the middle of battles, the only person who he felt affection/love for (prior to Juno) was a robot programmed to try to kill him every few days, struggles a bit in his love for Juno, brought up in a loveless environment. TL:DR - screwed up upbringing effected him and lowered his score. 
Inner Torment: 64/100
See Above, that counts as Inner Torment. 
Corruption: 45/100 –
The man seriously considered viciously cutting down his old master and the Emperor, but was stopped both times by his friend’s needs (and in the second, his friend restraining him).He demonstrated Heroism when he sacrificed his life to save the early Alliance. 


ENERGY POTENTIAL:





Energy Potential: 82/100 
 Possesses a massive amount of energy, able to drag down star destroyers and pull off all sorts of force related feats. 





COMMON FACTOR:
    
Like Azula, Galen Marek was trained from childhood to fight. While his training began later then Azula ( 9 compared to her 6-7) he has matched her through pure dedication, at one point deliberately chaining himself to a wall and not allowing himself to eat until he successfully constructed a lightsaber using telekinesis . He nearly starved to death. Nonetheless he spent much of his early adolescence training endlessly, and it paid off against later duels with Shaak Ti, Kota, Vader and even the Emperor.  


STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:


  It has been said before and it will be said again; Marek is a immensely force talented individual, something even Palpatine, who attempted to have him replace Vader, recognized. He'll only grow in power as the tournament goes on, and can enhance some of his techniques using knowledge gained in the Library of Babel. Proxy will gain a new training module with every battle the droid sees, keeping Marek fresh (or the person who takes Proxy from Marek). Each environment he fights in will contain plenty of objects to throw around, which will help his telekinesis. 


  However he does possess two weaknesses to note. The first is his emotions; which are shown to fluctuate often. The second is how he straddles the fine line between Light Side and Dark Side; and how delicately  he must work to maintain this. Should he go full Light Side then his use of force choke/crush and lightning will be limited at best; should he go full Dark Side then he won't be able to use Force Farsight at all. 


MOTIVATION: JUNO ECLIPSE, VENGEANCE 
   Marek fights for two factors primarily: love and vengeance. Juno Eclipse, his fighter pilot that he fell in love with in the game, is probably his greatest motivation. This tournament would offer him the chance to protect her, bring her back from death even if need be. The second greatest motivation is vengeance- against the Emperor, the Sith, and the Empire that screwed him over. This is an opportunity that the Tournament is going to provide him more obviously then the first motivation; if he makes it all the way, he'd be able to solo the entire Galactic Empire. He many also fight for self-redemption to a slight extent- again which this tournament will provide. 








ENDING ASSESSMENT: 


 - Through the Portal Master's mastery of his namesake, each time these two warriors step into the arena 1000 different realities will be run. The best battle of the winner (the person who kills the most out of a 1000) will be shown, as well as statistical information regarding the exact breakdown of kills. 
- Assessment will be further broken down into timeframe assessment : Early, Middle and Late Game. 
     - Early onset of fighting; primarily quick and stealth kills. 
      -Mid Game: After a prolonged period of fighting; this period of time will contain some of the toughest fighting. 
     - Late Game: After a very Prolonged period of fighting this period will be marked by last resort measures. 
- After every three rounds alternate endings will be shown. 






VOTING:


- Merely shouting out a name or two sentence reasoning will result in no vote.
- Giving a pretty good but non-comprehensive vote will result in a .5 vote.
- In order to get a FULL VOTE you must evaluate each category (Pre-battle, LR,MR, CR, SP, DF, Variables or "X-factors") and give a overall winner. You do not HAVE to break down the Variables into 5 sections but you are encouraged to, nor do you have to judge common factors, strength/weaknesses and motivation, though once again you are encouraged as they could efect the overall game. 

- If you feel that one factor gives "X" the win then you can say so- as long as its after a vote. There is a reason I did not attach numbers/scores to each category. 




- Battles may be a little slow to put up with school and all, though rest assured I will be working on them. 


 - Finally Azula starts with a 1 point lead for winning on Facebook, however that does not mean Galen Marek can't win. 

22 comments:

  1. Great post here, I love how you mention that they have a common factor, being child prodigies.

    Great work with the bio, very well done, very good visuals, I can't wait to see how Azula does in the tournament.

    I noticed with some amusement that her perfectionism contrasts wildly with alucard, who really doesn't give a damn as long as he's holding a lethal object.

    Great work and can't wait to see Marek. Though I had a good laugh at Azula having the two old ladies

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  2. Awesome bio here man, Azula is far more dangerous than I originally thought.

    I think Azula's most useful trait will be her ability to screw around with Galen's head, and get him angry enough to lose his focus.

    That said, Galen will certainly bring some nasty tricks to the table, and his lightsaber gives him a HUGE close range advantage, I wonder if it might malfunction from prolonged exposure to lots of heat though...

    Also, James vs. Capone should hopefully be up by Friday.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you I look forward to reading James vs. Capone! And Azula vs. Galen bios are now up, so give a vote if you'd like.

      Delete
  3. Due to length restrictions, I'll have to do this in multiple parts: Here is part one:

    Very nice bio here. You've clearly put in a lot of work to give everyone a good feel of the combatants. Now then, let's see what we've got...

    Pre-Battle: Lo & Li vs. Proxy

    While there's nothing like having some good advice, I have to give this to Proxy. There's only so much the two can do for Azula, whereas Proxy can generate a faux Azula for Galen to battle (even if it is an inferior version). That said, Proxy can only act, not so much advise like Lo & Li can. Galen is on his own in terms of strategy. Weighing the two though, I give this one to Marek.

    Long Range: Blue Firebending vs. Telekinesis/Saber Throw

    Right off the bat things are a little complicated. I would say that Azula's BF is superior to the Saber throw. In fact, I'll predict that Galen is likely to get his Saber destroyed in this fight if he uses that move at the wrong time. On the other hand, I would argue that Telekinesis beats BF. While TK may not work on energy attacks, it can be used to move massive quantities of air. A powerful enough thrust of air in the opposite direction of the BF, could be enough to cancel it out. It wouldn't reflect it, but it would nullify it. Then we have the rest of his TK abilities. I can see Azula's propulsion getting her out of the force choke, and using her powers to make seeing her difficult. However, his powers are very lethal if they catch her. Adding everything up, I cannot make a confident call on this.

    Mid Range: Force Lightning vs. Lightning Bending

    This is sort of a Po-tah-to Po-ta-to thing. Both are extremely deadly and both have a similar range, though I would say Azula's get a point for having better range (however, she loses that point due to the fact that her lightning takes longer to prepare then Galen's). That said, Azula's lightning is like a spear, piercing and burning as it goes, and has never been shown to leave residual electrical damage. Galen's on the other hand, is like a net of pain. While not instantly fatal, it does paralyze, cause spasm, and makes firebending very difficult (though I would imagine not impossible). In the end, I give this to Azula. Her lightning is more deadly; and as you pointed out, Galen could lessen the power behind his by going Light Side. Azula's lightning is not effected by her position on the moral compass.

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  4. (Part 2)
    Mid Range: Force Lightning vs. Lightning Bending

    This is sort of a Po-tah-to Po-ta-to thing. Both are extremely deadly and both have a similar range, though I would say Azula's get a point for having better range (however, she loses that point due to the fact that her lightning takes longer to prepare then Galen's). That said, Azula's lightning is like a spear, piercing and burning as it goes, and has never been shown to leave residual electrical damage. Galen's on the other hand, is like a net of pain. While not instantly fatal, it does paralyze, cause spasm, and makes firebending very difficult (though I would imagine not impossible). In the end, I give this to Azula. Her lightning is more deadly; and as you pointed out, Galen could lessen the power behind his by going Light Side. Azula's lightning is not effected by her position on the moral compass.

    Close Range: Blades of Fire / Hidden Shuriken Knives vs. Lightsaber

    Lightsaber. The throwing knives would be deflected by the blade, and may only work as a POSSIBLE distraction. As for her Blade of Fire: A lightsaber is made of energy, and whatever one can say about bending, fire is still ethereal and has no solid substance. The only way this will hurt Galen is if, when he cuts through it, the part that gets cut off burns him. But there is no way for Azula to go toe to toe with him in this department.

    Special: Farsight vs. Propulsion

    While the Farshight has some useful applications, they are only worthwhile if they are consistently available. A glance into the future for a few seconds may be great, but he can't accurately use it. Azula's propulsion on the other hand, is consistently useful, and has more then just the one use. She can use it to boost her speed, burn Galen if he's chasing her, or use it to escape the Force Choke. Edge Azula

    Defense: Fire/Fire Shield vs. Force Protection and Lightsaber

    I'm going to go ahead and ignore Force Protection for now, since the strain it puts on him is just as likely to kill him as a Fire Princess, and focus on the Lightsaber. While good at defending against energy, as I said earlier, I don't think fire falls under that category. So, while the Lightsaber can block Azula's lightning with as much easy as it could the emperor's, the fire will likely just go around the sword. There's also the problem of what happens if he doesn't have the sword on him when he needs it. Say he tries a Saber Throw, Azula dodges and fires off some Lightning. Galen has thrown his only protection away, and now has a hole the size of a fist in his body. Azula's fire, coming directly from her body, is already a head in that regard. Now, while the fire is probably not going to stop a force push or choke or repulse, it will keep Galen from getting close to her. And her fire shield should be able to keep out Force Lightning if it can keep out so many elements at once. Edge Azula

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  5. (Part 3)
    Variables:

    Physical:
    While Azula takes it for things like Reflexs and Damage resistance, I feel that Galen's superiority in Combat, Physicality, and Stealth will help him a lot. Galen is a combatant who knows how to use the terrain to his advantage, which Azula does not. If Galen can keep himself hidden, and attack her with the Force from the shadows, he'd be fine. There are other factors of course, but after looking over all of them, I think Galen just sneaks in the edge here (assuming we're not picking a winner just by adding up scores. Which I don't think we are.)

    Mental:
    Now, both of these are Type A personalities, and it's going to be a race to see who can throw the first punch. Azula's faced off against the Avatar without blinking, so Galen won't get much help there. Galen on the other hand possess superior intuition (thanks to the force), but sadly he's not much for tactics. While his use of the environment will help him a lot, he's going against a tactical genius. It the battle of wits, Galen is certainly not unarmed, but Azula is packing some serious heat.

    Preperation:
    Alright, here's how I see it: Azula's training was better, given that she was taught by multiple people (we're never told Galen trained with anyone other then Vader), so got a wider range of training. However, Galen is far more experienced, especially at getting his hands dirty (for all her power, Azula's first instinct is to trick or blackmail, not to kill, unlike Galen. And while this may serve her well in reaping a better reward, mid match; it's less helpful in comparisson. That's not to say she won't kill, because we know she will. I'm just saying that Galen scores higher in my book here). On the Other, Other hand Azula is far more disciplined then Galen, and less likely to become enraged (since you say this takes place before she becomes a paranoid nutcase). I can't really call a winner here, I'll just leave what I've said and let you sort that out.

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  6. (Part 4) The Last One!
    Psychological:
    Both of them are a psychologists wet dream, with enough issues to keep them in therapy for decades! That said, neither or these warrior will back down, with the exception being if Azula thinks she'd benefit from a retreat. Galen will not retreat. Whether that's good or bad will remain to be seen. Neither of them will be able to intimidate the other. Both will have no problem murdering the other, even with Galen trying to go Light side. But, in the battle of Psychology is where Azula shines. She will find her enemies scabs, and she will pick and pick and pick at them. She just needs to be careful and make sure that doesn't back fire. An enraged Galen may decide to give up Foresight in return for frying Azula with a powerful force Lightning storm. Thus, I give the edge to Azula

    Energy Potential:
    Marek all the way. Azula may have the fire within (pun totally intended), but Marek is a walking reactor of force power.

    Strengths & Weaknesses:
    Azula is often able to play on the weaknesses of her opponents, and will likely do so here. But Galen is not likely going to be able to do the same. She simply has to much mental fortitude to be attack in that way. On the flip side, Galen is very, very strong. In a straight up contest, I do not believe that Azula could overpower him. She will have to find a way to keep her distance, and not attack directly. If Azula gets in Galen's range, or finds herself engaged in direct combat with him, she will need to be very careful, and fight smart (which she can do very well). Galen's powers are varied, so she'll have a lot to adapt to, and may risk being overwhelmed with variables to her 'grand plan'.

    Motivation:
    This is another one Galen takes easy. Azula is motivated by a lust for power, while Galen is motivated by love. Like I said of Dante when he fought Alex, Love is a powerful drive, and makes men do the greatest, and sometimes most terrible things.

    Conclusion:
    While one may argue that Galen Marek has more power then Azula, one cannot argue that he's anywhere near her intellectually. As a master strategist, Azula will use what she has to learn Marek's weaknesses, then destroy him. Galen will put up a good fight, and will no doubt make Azula hurt. But in the end, Galen will either kneel before Azula, or burn.

    Well, I hope you find that helpful, and I can't wait for the fights to get started. Sorry about the length and the multiple parts, I was trying to be as thorough as possible.

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  7. Well, let's get started, so far, I have to agree with Scarecrow for pre battle. Lo and Li may offer useful advice, but Proxy takes the cake. He may not replicate all that Azula can do but at least he can give Marek a taste. And there's also the fact that he's been trying to kill Marek for years, that's gotta have hardened the boy.

    Blue fire bending vs lightsabre throw: The Sabre is good but it's not really intended for range combat, especially not with someone with Azula's aim and reflexes. However telekinesis will give Marek a huge degree of flexability, even if he goes light side he'll still be able to grab Azula or give her a nice big force push. Edge: Marek.


    Force Lightning vs lightning bending: This is a bit like comparing a lee enfield rifle to a grease gun. The Lee enfield has range but closer up the grease gun is able to spam bullets. So for this match, I have to give edge to Marek, especially if he goes darkside on Azula.

    Also I give an edge to Marek in that Obi-Wan used his lighsabre to block force lightning, so I think it's reasonable to assume that Marek could block bended lightning at least once with his sabre while Iroh made it clear that Azula isn't aware of how to deflect bended lightning.

    Marek definitely takes close range on this one. The lightsabre has greater cutting power than the fire blades, easily able to slice through solid steel. Human flesh poses no problem.

    Foresight vs Propulsion: I do have to give this to Marek. Even minor foresight will aid him greatly against a tactical genius like Azula, and she is a genius. Though Azula's propulsion will allow her to stay out of range of Marek's lightsabre and maybe even match the speedy force user in terms of agility, as force users are known to jump around like grasshoppers Edge: Marek

    For Defensive category, Azula definitely takes the edge: While Marek's force protection is still in training, Azula's shield ought to be able to take on the full brunt of Marek's force lightning at least long enough for Azula to get the hell out of there.

    In terms of pure numbers, Azula beats Marek by a small margin, Marek with 512 and Azula with 520. Edge Azula, but whether it's enough to win victory, that's yet to be seen.

    Mental: Again, just by numbers alone, Azula wins this one. Not that surprises me.

    Surprisingly, Marek kicked Azula's butt in terms of sheer numbers in the mental game, beating her 297 score with his 440 score.

    In preperation, Azula's 172 beat Marek's 144 score. Though she's beating him, it's by a smaller margin than I'd like to see in these x-factors.

    Now, the place where Azula blows Galen most out of the water is in her intelligence and ability to psych out an enemy. She's a master manipulator and will try to make Galen do something rash so she can get in for the kill.

    That said, I have to give my final vote to Marek just on account of the fact that the guy was an assassin for two to three years, and recieved far more brutal training than Azula did at the hands of Darth Vader (read the novel) As I once said, Vader once threw Marek onto a hostile planet and let him kill as many people as possible before escaping the hostile planet. When MArek returned, Vader offered no punishment, no reward and no explanation. He just wanted to show Marek that killing is something inevitable.

    Now, Marek's going to be fighting for his love Juno, and as a result of that, he'll move heaven and hell with his bare hands to ensure her safety. In this battle, he'll be a lot less worried about his life than Azula.

    And if he goes full darkside, he could end this battle with a force choke. Which Azula may or not be able to break out of. Plus the guy brought down an imperial star destroyer.

    Now, Azula can kill Marek, but I see marek taking the edge out of a thousand battles, Maybe four hundred kills to Azula, or for hundred fifty out of a thousand.

    final edge: MArek.

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  8. It seems that these to prodigies are going to fight to the death well my vote goes to the assassin Galen.When it comes to the pre-game I give my edge to Galen due to the fact yes advice may be useful but nothing beats real experience such as fighting a version of your opponent.

    Fire bending vs Lightsaber throw
    While the lightsaber throw can prove to be fatal, firebending is alot more useful as a weapon overall. But then we have telekinesis that is amazingly flexible and provide Galen with more options of attacking such as using the environment to his advantage.

    Force Lighting vs lighting
    Force Lighting as Galen can hold the lighting on his target for extended periods of time and it is more flexible while Marek's lightsaber can easily block Azula's lighting. Plus if he goes dark side he will roast Azula.

    Close range
    Galen wins hands down the lightsaber can cut through almost anything and Galens survived blaster shots I don't believe a knife will do much
    Foresight vs Propulsion
    My edge goes to Foresight as it could save Galen from seriously getting injured and it can help him land a few extra hits on Azula.

    Defense
    This is a very slight edge to Galen although his light saber can't block fire it blocks lighting and provides a good offense. Remember you best defense is a good offense.

    Mental
    Azula easily wins this category.But Galens use of the environment is a huge advantage.

    Preparation
    Going by numbers Azula wins.But Galen has suffered much better training that involved more pain.

    Azula wins the category of psychological easily as she likes to easily mess with her opponent

    Final Vote:Galen
    Reason: Galen out matches Azula is most categories. Plus going Dark side can provide Galen a huge amount on kills. His love for Juno will push him to crush his opponent to ensure Juno's safety.Plus Galen has destroy armies and ships all with the power of the force.

    WanderingSkull out.

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  9. Alright, here’s my edges, sorry if they sound similar to Master’s and Scarecrow’s:

    Pre-Battle: As already mentioned Proxy gets the edge over Lao and Li, as he’ll actually give Galen some experience with Azula’s combat style before the fight even begins. But it really comes down to Azula’s study of an opponent’s weakness vs. the foresight. Although the foresight may prove useful, Galen has to lose some of his best abilities to use it effectively, and just showing random snippets of the battle probably won’t help him very much. Azula on the other hand will be able to get inside Galen’s head even before the battle, and this will help her with the psychological warfare she will use on Galen during the battle. Ultimately, I think that Azula’s pre-battle might actually set her up for victory better than Galen’s.
    Edge: Azula

    Long Range: The “surprise” factor of the lightsaber throw is lost a little here, as Azula will probably learn about it during prep-time. So if Galen tried that on her, she could destroy the saber and leave him defenseless. I’ll still give him the edge here though; as dangerous as it might be for Galen to do, force protection could probably ward off all but the largest amounts of blue fire, and Galen can use the Telekinesis to hold Azula in place, which would disrupt her bending. He then has a whole arsenal of powers he could unload on her, lighting, choking, throwing, etc. I don’t think even she could survive force crush.

    Edge: Galen

    Mid-Range: This is a really tough one, as already said Alzula’s lightning has better range, but takes longer to prepare, and while Galen has to be really close to use his. Azula can still get an instant kill on Galen if her lighting hits, unless he blocks it with his lightsaber (using force protection would probably be too dangerous here). Although Galen can spam his lighting, Azula’s tactical mind would be able to find a way around it after a few painful lessons.

    Edge: Azula

    Close Range: HUGE edge for Galen here, he can use the lightsaber to deflect the knives, and the blades of fire just can’t compete with the lightsaber in terms of the damage it can cause

    Edge: Galen

    Special: Foresight is a neat trick, but Galen has to give up some of his other powers to use it properly, and it won’t be particularly useful in the heat of battle. Plus, Galen’s so firmly rooted in his tactics that it’s not too likely that he will change them up, despite what foresight tells him. Propulsion on the other hand allows Azula to match Galen’s impressive force speed, and is her best chance at escaping telekinesis.

    Edge: Azula

    Defense: I think you’re underestimating force protection here, considering that the amount of lighting that the Emperor used on him was extremely powerful, and could have probably killed most other force users. This will be Galen’s best protection against small to medium amounts of blue fire, while he should stick to his lightsaber to stop the lighting. Azula’s only really used the fire shield once, so it’s unknown if it really that useful. Galen could always rip her out from behind the shield with telekinesis.

    Edge: Galen

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  10. Variables: Physical:
    520 (A) vs. 512 (G)
    Azula takes it here, although I’m not sure I agree with this one. Galen can augment most of his physical abilities with the force, and has had a lot more actual combat training.

    Mental: 297 (A) vs. 286 (G)
    Azula defiantly has this one, her mental abilities far surpass Galen, and her versatile tactics will keep Galen on his toes the entire fight.

    Preparation: 172 (A) vs. 144 (G)

    Psychological: 509 (A) vs. 440 (G)
    Huge Edge for Azula here; her use of psychological warefare will allow her to screw with Galen’s foucus, and piss him off to the point where he will make some stupid mistake.

    Energy Potential: 75 (A) vs. 62 (G)
    Another one I don’t really agree with here. While Azula’s can put out a great amount of fire, Galen can tear a Star Destroyer from the sky. And the more pissed off he gets, the more powerful his attacks may become.

    Strengths and Weaknesses: As I’ve said before Azula can play Galen’s off of Galen’s weaknesses, and will toy with him for most of the fight.

    Edge: Azula

    Motivation: Agreeing with whats already been said, Galen’s fanatical devotion to Juno will drive him to win this tournament right down to his last breath. This could be a bit of a double-edged sword though. Azula can use Juno to drive Galen into a blinding rage, which will probably kill either her, or Galen.

    Edge: Galen

    Overall: This battle will be so close it’s almost too hard to call. I think in the end Galen can win it. He’s had a lot more pure combat experience, is better motivated, and has a better defense to Azula’s powers, which she really doesn’t have for his. His best chance at victory will be to maintain his focus, and not give into a blind rage.

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  11. Didn't relly get into Avatar as a kid, and never played the force unleashed, so I'm not really qualified to put in a vote that actually counts for this one. I will say that based on the descriptions and prior knowledge of both characters, Galen seems to be the more powerful and experienced, so I'd bet on him taking it.

    Where's Kratos vs Batman btw? If Kratos loses I'm going to be angry.

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    1. Don't worry Kratos vs. Batman will be the third announced match, right after the battle between Azula vs. Galen Marek. And don't worry, I have faith in your qualifications, so ho ahead and vote if you want.

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  12. Man, looking at the other commentators, I feel a little disappointed. Nobody seems to have faith in Azula except me! This is typical of course, because everybody sees Star Wars and immediately wets themselves; before throwing their objectivity out the window!

    *Sigh*

    Very well. For the good of the Fire Nation, I shall launch one last argument in an attempt to reason with you Galen fans....

    When the Empire turned on the Jedi and started to off them, they didn't bother using secret assassins that were just as good at using the force as there targets (or arguably better). Instead, they used regular mortals armed with conventional weaponry. Now, while we could debate Blaster v. Firebending, and the fact that the Empire had the element of surprise on its side; I think it all comes out to the same: Jedi can be killed, sometimes very easily, with proper planning and deadly efficiency.

    The Lightsaber is good against physical things, and energy. Not fire. And while I wholeheartedly agree that it would be lethal at close range, it will not be much use if thrown. Even controlled by the force. Azula is familiar with boomerangs and would expect an opponent who had telekinetic powers to try such a trick. If Galen throws his sword, he might as well be throwing it in the trash, because that's what it will be when Azula shatters its casing with a bolt of lightning. Or Blue Fire, which burns far hotter then normal flames could probably melt the workings to slag. If he does carry more then one (I think he carries two, but I don't know if he has more then that), he'll probably need all of them.

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  13. (Part 2)

    Now, the Force, despite being a powerful tool, is actually rather flawed. To me, the Force is a lot like Airbending, something that Azula has tackled and overcome multiple times. Even the ability to move objects is nothing new to her, as she used to having boulders and trees thrown at her by various benders she's battled. It requires a great deal of concentration, and distractions render it weak. Fire is very, very, distracting. And I'm not talking about having it shot at you, I mean in general. The light and smoke it gives off can hurt the eyes and make it difficult to see. The smoke also gets in the lungs, making you cough and lose focus (I'm assuming breathing is required to concentrate properly, though I could be wrong). Fire also clings to clothing, requiring you to put it out before it eats through it and starts on your skin. Now, maybe Galen can use his training to ignore the pain for a little while, but I imagine he'll have to deal with it quickly. And ignoring pain may work against him. We feel pain so that we can get it fixed up, before serious damage occurs. So Galen fights through the burs inflicted on him. All he's doing is making the damage worse. The smart thing to do would be to try and avoid getting set on fire. I know some damage is inevitable, but sometimes the more strategic thing to do is run away.

    These all become factors once Azula gets off that first attack. Because even if she misses Galen, something in the environment is going to catch. Azula, having trained as part of a military culture her whole life, knows all of this, and will use it to her advantage.

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  14. (Part 3)

    And I didn't forget about the Force Choke. However, that move never seems to be applied by a force user who's gone into a blind fury. Those force users stick to throwing things around with their mind, not concentrating on crushing a windpipe. Those delicate, more intricate moves go out the window with reasoning once Galen gets revved up.

    So, hypothetically: Galen, surrounded by smoke and fire, under constant attack from a constantly moving Azula. He has to concentrate to deflect lightning with with his Lightsaber, and he can't see her in the smoke, but that's okay he can still sense her, and odds are good she might not be able to see him either. Then Azula starts the mind games. She starts picking at his failures, his flaws, his regrets. Galen looses himself to anger, and starts throwing the force around left and right to kill the one who would dare make him question himself. This Azula's territory now; making people with greater energy based powers angry is something she's familiar with with the Avatar. Galen starts thinking about offense more then defense, and stops caring about the damage his body is slowly accumulating. From there, all it would take is one shot to put the starkiller down.

    And whether or not he can fight through the smoke and the flame is not the issue. No matter how well trained, the biological response to being in that situation cannot be so easily ignored. Eyes naturally water, and the lungs will try and expel the smoke, whether he wants to focus or not. And thick smoke WILL obscure vision. These are facts of biology.

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  15. (Part 4)

    He won't need to fall for the same trick twice, Azula only needs the once. At the point in the series this Azula comes to us, she's at the top of her game, and hasn't yet descended into lunacy. Galen on the other hand is walking a thin line between Dark and Light side. Falling to either side will diminish some of his powers. Now, that kind of pressure can't be easy for anyone to deal with. And he's not exactly a master strategist; relying on taking down the enemy with pure might alone. This is why bad things happen to Galen; he doesn't think things through enough. He never has a backup plan.

    And I'm not sure you're giving Azula enough credit. She devised the plan that conquered the only empire to rival the Fire Nation. She fought four different benders simultaneously, and delivered the blow that put the Avatar out of commission for a good while (and nearly killed him). And when her plans don't work, yes she gets annoyed, but the same could be said of Galen. But when that happens, Azula is capable of reworking her plans to fit the current situation. Even when she was rendered completely fireless on the Day of the Black Sun, she had a plan that kept her alive until her powers came back online.

    It's all how you play your opponent; and few can play better then Azula.

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  16. (Part 5, the Final Part)

    I'm not underestimating Galen; I acknowledge that he's a dangerous guy. But I don't think he's invincible. I do think, however, that Galen does rely heavily on brute force. When ever he enters a fight, he tries to out Force his opponents. I'm not saying he's incapable of strategy, he just hardly uses it.

    So there. I hope I've at least convinced SOMEBODY to believe in Azula! I really want to see her stick around in the Tournament. Just from a story standpoint, she's a way more interesting character then Galen (who is SO BORING!!!).

    VOTE AZULA! GO TEAM FIRE NATION!

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  17. I'm sorry Scarecrow, but the poll is over and it is 66%-33% percent Marek's favor.

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    Replies
    1. *Sigh* I know... I'm hoping the points she had from winning the Facebook poll will be enough to see her through this.

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    2. The polls only count for a half point, the main thing I am counting is reasoned voting. Blogspot and Deviantart vastly favor Galen, however Fanfiction vastly favors Azula. We will have to see.

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  18. Woo, trying to change the course of history.

    I’m going to start off by saying both these chaps are too weak for this tournament. That aside, let’s go:
    http://outskirtsbattledome.wikispaces.com/Character+Profile+-+Galen+Marek
    http://outskirtsbattledome.wikispaces.com/Character+Profile+-+Azula
    http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Azula
    http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Galen_Marek

    Pre-Battle:
    Hmm, Galen’s not completely outmatched. He’s not good straight up planning as Azula is, but he’s no idiot either. His bonus is undeniably better, but it may cause him to get comfortable with patterns of combat Azula may not actually use. Still, Azula is good at this, and don’t recall Galen coming up with anything brilliant.
    Edge:Azula

    Long Range:
    As wicked sick nasty as firebending is, Azula does not have the raw power to overcome a man who can kinda slow an Imperial Star Destroyer’s descent with the force. Those things are buggered massive, and the smallest are about a mile long. Plus, I don’t believe it would be out of character for Galen to simply say “screw this, crush her neck” with his full power given the circumstances of the fight. Or just crush her whole body, he has enough power to do so, and it’s not like she can bend if he immobilizes her with telekinesis. However, if I were him, I would never use the saber throw.
    Edge: Galen

    Mid Range:
    Well, they both kinda just do the same thing and can both reflect each other’s stuff (Galen uses his lightsaber, and I think I saw him do it without his lightsaber somewhere) but Galen’s comes out faster and doesn’t require a short dance beforehand. Also, it’s more powerful. I think.
    Edge:Galen

    Short Range:
    Lightsaber, boyo. Lightsaber. That and Galen is much faster than Azula is. Galen’s supposed to be able to beat some of the best duellists in the Star Wars universe in training, for whatever that’s worth. Plus Galen could probably just throw the knives back at her or something. He got the pre-cog, reflexes, and telekinesis.
    Edge: Galen

    Specials:
    Well, Galen’s not very good at what he’s bringing here. Azula is actually competent with her special. Simple enough.
    Edge: Azula

    X-Factors:
    Allalasdaf.
    Screw X-factors. That, and I think you kinda oversold Azula in damage intake, damage resistance, sensory (how does she score better than someone with pre-cog and The Force?), raw speed, reflexes,
    That, and they each some categories the other does not have. I don’t see tactics for Galen for example.
    Edge: Even

    Defences:
    Hmm, both kinda suck here. Still, Galen at least has his pre-cog, and Azula’s shields don’t seem terribly reliable. And Galen is faster, so eh?
    Edge: Galen

    Can’t really comment on motivation, strengths and weaknesses, or common factor. Plus those are kinda X-Factors, which killed the show.

    Overall:
    Well, the story you wrote suggests Azula is prepping for Galen’s lightning and lightsaber. However, I don’t think she’ll be prepared when Galen crunches her the way the deep ocean would crush an infant’s skull. I know we discussed the issue of character, full analysis, and short answers, but I don’t believe Azula has any credible counter for Galen using his telekinesis to crush her like a Cheeto between a frat boy’s fingers (or like 1:36 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKINNdmISaI) or speedblitzing her the way Neo would to a pedophile rapist. Azula’s only way to win is through Galen’s mind, and I don’t see her living long enough to say many words.Galen takes an easy win here.
    Winner: Galen

    Breakdown: About 700-300 in favour of Galen Marek, maybe more.

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