Otomi Versus Gaesatae

Otomie Versus Gaesatae

A battle of Iron versus Obsidian. Which warrior would win when Aztec Soldiers would face Germanic troops in battle?

Otomi Versus Gaesatae

The Otomi

Background:

The Aztecs had an empire in Central America, starting from the 13e century. A true warrior culture, they were vicious in battle and both captured and slaughterd all of their enemies. With weapons to kill, they were feared and only got conquered by disease and gunpowder.
With a strict caste system and a organised military, the Aztecs also had some elite warrior groups that only the best warriors were allowed in. The Eagles and the Jaguars.
However, the Aztecs did not fight alone, they also had two other warrior cultures in their armies. These were the shorn ones and the Otomi.
The Otomi are, who we are going to focus on now.

There is not much known about the Otomies. The culture already existed before the Aztecs came to MesoAmerica and the Aztecs regarded the Otomies highly as skilled warriors.
Now the Otomi that fought besides the Aztecs were either decendents of the original Otomi or Aztec warriors that lived by the same name to honour the original culture. We do know that the Otomi were used by the Aztecs to fight in their wars as mercenaries and that they did use the same kind of weapons as the Aztecs. We also know that the new Otomi were, as the original ones, great fighters and earned a lot of respect. So much respect that they lived close to the palace of the emperor and that they were among the few allowed in the palace.
Only those of noble rank were allowed to join the fighters, starting with at the age of seventeen, Their training would be the same as with the other Aztecs. We do know that the Otomi were very proud and considered it an honour to be among the first on the battlefield.
Becoming a member of the Otomi was no easy task. A warrior had to capture six prisoners before he could be called an Otomi. This was very hard to do, as this was an elite unit.
War was very important in the Aztec culture and how higher rank you had, how greater your social status and how more important you were. The Otomi were one of most important units, only second to the shorn ones, and for this reason they had a lot of respect from the commen Aztec people and a lot of fans.

The Weapons:

Atlatl and Tlacochtli:
Known as the spearthrower, the Atlatl was a simple tool used by Aztec warriors. It was a hollow wooden shaft with a cup or spur, where the spear fitted in. There usually also was a string that would allow the user to throw better. By using the Atlatl as leverage, the warrior could throw the spear with more energy and the spear coul reach 93 MPH. Altough it was rather simple, the Atlatl would be decorated with images and feathers.
The Tlacochtli was a dart used in combination with the Atlatl and the actual weapon that killed the opponent. It was around six feet in total, had a obsidian point and small feathers to guide the dart in the air.
Altough the concept of a spearthrower and spear are known all around the world and belong to some of the oldest weapons known to man, the Aztecs had a special bond with this weapon. Almost as familiar as the Macuahuitl, the atlatl and tlacochtli were considered the weapon of the gods. Therefore only special warriors such as the Otomi were allowed to use this weapon. As the battle started, those who would use this deadly combination, would stand in the front and carry around three to five Tlacochtli's and throw them before close combat would start.

Teputzopilli:
The Teputzopolli is not a spear, it is not a sword and it is not a halberd. This is a weapon all on its own. A wooden pole-arm, the average lenght of a person (so around six feet) and a wooden head with a pointed end. This head was broad and two palms long. It also had small grooves with Obsidian blades in them. Used for both cutting and thrusting, this deadly weapon was commen on the battlefield.
Because of the lenght, this weapon could be used as two handed weapon. However a lot of pictures, including the one I added here from the Codex Mendoza, show the warriors also holding a shield. This makes me assume that the Teputzopilli could be used with one hand as well. It could also be thrown, as many other spears but not very good and I would consider that a last option.
Once a Spanish Conquistador named Bernal Diaz Del Castillo told how one of these weapons pierced his armour and he was only saved by the padding underneath.
Altough the weapon was used a lot, none of them have survived untill modern times, the last one being destroyed by a fire in 1884, in the museum in Madrid.

Macuahuitl:
The most famous of all the Aztec weapons. The Macuahuitl (translated as hungry wood) was a wooden sword of around 3 feet. It was made of thick wood and lined with obsidian. A cutting weapon, the Macuahuitl was used with sawing motions.
Every macuahuitl was diffferent. This could be in lenght, thickness and even the obsidian fragments could be different. Some were spikes, other simple fragments. Also some macahuitls had the obsidian in straight rows next to each other while others had them with empty spaces between them. There were also some two handed macuahuitls.
Another weapon of the elite warriors and feared on the battlefield, the macuahuitl was represented by the Aztec god Tezcatlipoka.
There are many legends about this weapon, that it could pierce steel armour or that it could decapitate a horse with one attack.

Quauholloli:
A simple yet effective weapon. The quauholloli is a wooden club with a wooden or stone head. sometimes the club was curved for extra striking power and sometimes it was straight. A weapon used a lot by Aztec warriors in the past, little now is know about this weapon. We do know that it was a very lethal weapon and a hit to the head would be fatal. As the Aztecs were known for taking sacrifices, the quauholloli was very usefull to disable the opponent without fearing to accidently killing him. The weapon could be used to break the arms and legs and pick up the opponent with ease. Feared by opponents, the Quauholloli was simple yet effective.

Defense:

Ichcahuipilli and Tlahuitzli:
The ichcahuipilli was a shirt made of cotton and a vibre called Jute, that grows around the gulf of Mexico. The two fibers would be  be blended and layered together for a laminate effect.
It offered defense for the warrior wearing it, being able to block obsidian and throwing darts. Not only did this shirt provide protection, the ichcahuipilli also kept the body of the user cool. The region where the Aztecs lived is very warm and the body heats up in battle as well. A warrior needs a outfit that keeps it body cool so he can keep on fighting without overheating.
The ichcahuipilli was the basic and standard armour for any Aztec warrior. From the most simple soldier to the elite, they all wore this shirt.
However, this was not the only armour that the elites wore. All the elite groups wore a fullbody suit called tlahuizli. This cotton or linen outfit covered the whole body, including arms and legs but gave only slight protection in these areas. The tlahuitzli was meant more as a sign of each different elite unit. The Jaguars had a tlahuitzli covered with Jaguar skin. The eagles had theirs covered with feathers and the tlahuizli of the Otomi was green. A green suit showed off the Otomi warriors.
As I said before, the tlahuitzli was not the main defense, that was for the ichcahuipilli. But the suit did do a good job of keeping the body cool, the same as the ichcahuipill. Together, the Otomi had well working armour, that showed off his skill and was able to keep the body very cool in this hot climate.
A last thing I want to name is the pamitl, or back banner. Not so much for defense, the pamitl was meant to show individuel warriors with their unit signs and their own signs. Not all warriors in a unit wore one, only a few (presumably the best in the group) These banners, that the warriors wore on their backs were very personalised but the ones of the Otomi always had green feathers on them.
Now altough these banners were not heavy, you still carry a weight with you. For that reason it is believed that the warriors that wore the pamitl also carried sticks with them to keep balance.

Cuacalalatli:
The helmet that the Aztec warriors wore, was named the cuacalalatli. This helmet was made of wood and covered most of the head and the jawline. It only left the face uncovered. As with the tlahuitzli, the helmet was only worn by elite warriors and as the tlahuitzli, the helmet showed off the group the warrior belonged to. The helmets of the eagles looked like an eagle, the helmets of the Jaguars looked like a Jaguar and the helmets of the Otomi were green. I have found very few pictures of the otomi helmet and I could not tell what animal it is supposed to resemble. You can always guess for yourself. Its the right one of the two in the middle. Above the Jaguar costume.


Cuauhchimalli:
There were different Aztec shields. I have chosen to go with the main shield for the elite warriors, that also offered the best protection. The Cuauhchimalli was a a round shield, about 1/4 the lenght of the user. Made from hardwood, it also had leather strips hanging from it to give a little bit more protection. The shield would be covered with paint and feathers, creating figures on it for decoration. Being able to be used with almost all the Aztec weapons, it is a good and solid form of defense for the warrior.

X-Factors:

Motivation:
As I said before, warfare was very important in Aztec society. When a baby was born, he would recieve a shield in his left hand and an arrow in his right. When the umbilical cord was cut, a warrior would bury the cord, shield and arrow on a battlefield. From that moment, the life of a warrior had begun.
First of all, as with all warrior cultures, the Aztec empire wanted to expend and kept fighting and conquering new lands. This made the empire only bigger and the warriors better. However, apart from conquering lands, there were also personal aspects for the Aztec warriors to become the best.
Great warriors had a big social status in the society and were praised by the commen folk. The more warriors you killed or captured, the more fame you would get and the higher your status within the society. As I have said with this, you needed to capture a certain amount of opponents to belong to a elite unit and with the Otomi, the warrior needed to get at least six opponents.
Taking opponents alive was a religious aspect of the Aztec empire. The Aztecs believed in multiple gods and like other cultures, wanted to please the gods and keep them on their good side. The Aztecs believed that the gods wanted human sacrifice and so they delivered. Only the bravest and best of the opponents would be considered for the sacrifice as only those, the gods would accept. This meant that there had to be a steady supply of victims to sacrifice and that meant more battle.
In conclusion, almost all of the aspects of Aztec society were centered around warfare.

Training and Experience:
The start of Aztec training would start at school. There was a school for commeners, which was called Tepochcalli, where the boys were tought both fighting and agriculture. They usually started around the age of ten with it and learned how to be a soldier and a farmer.
The school for nobles was called Calmecac. Noble children would start younger at school, sometimes at the age of five. They would learn fighting, tactics, commanding soldiers and all other parts of being a leader. These had the expectation to become high ranking soldiers and started training that way. It could happen for commeners to become warleaders as well, but the nobels got the training for it and were most likely to succeed that way.
Starting with the age of 15, warleaders and renown warriors would come and teach the boys how to use the weapons and continue more with the fighting skill. From this period, the boys also started hunting more to get even more training in and even went on campains with seasoned warriors.
Starting at age 20, the young men were expected to capture their first target and become real Aztec warriors.
The experience of the Aztec warrior came both from hunting and fighting. They hunted all kinds of animals, who were both fast and strong, this meant that the warriors needed to be fast and strong as well. This came in usefull when fighting other opponents and either kill them or capture them. Prior to the invasion from the west, the Aztecs fought opponents who used the same weapons as they did and the same tactics. this meant that they got to know the opponent very well but got little broad experience.

Tactics:
The Aztecs had ettiquets surrounding warfare. They would only fight at dawn or at noon, most likely to avoid the biggest heat. They would then use the slings and bows to barrage the opponents with projectiles. Then came the throwing darts as the Aztecs neared their opponents. After that, the warriors entered the battlefield. The shorn ones and the Otomi would be first, followed by the Eagles and the Jaguars. Then came the experienced warriors, who already had captures and the warriors who had no captures at all. In the end came the unexperienced young warriors, who only got to fight when the victory was sure. Usually, the Aztecs chose to capture rather then kill but they did kill if taking the opponent alive was not an option. Now I am not dealing with an army here, only a team of six Otomi. So they would just use the throwing darts and then start fighting.
The Aztecs used many tactics, I'l describe the two most used ones. With the first, the warriors would surround their opponents and then attack, with the targets having no way to flee.
The Aztecs were also known to use ambush techniques and make the opponents follow them, luring the enemies in a trap.

Links:

http://www.warriorsandlegends.com/aztec-warriors/
The main source I used, with a lot of info on the Aztec warriors. All the info is backed by other sources, this one explains everything just better.

http://libertyparkusafd.org/lp/Native%20Americans/Aztec%5CAztec%20army%20-%20Wikipedia,%20the%20free%20encyclopedia.htm
Good information, especially when I researched training

David Prus
A friend of mine who knows a lot about Aztecs and was very patient in helping me out when I was confused or could not find anything. He helped me a lot.

http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/codex-mendoza-1542/
Many of the pictures I used come from the Codex Mendoza and I have gotten a lot of information from it. It is a manuscript of the Aztec empire and very good read.

The Gaesatae

Background:

They rushed into battle naked, high and angry. The large men charged at their opponents without fear and ruled the battlefield. For they were the Gaesatae.
When talking about the Gaulish warriors named the Gaesatae, this is what most people think about. But what is true and what is only a myth?
Finding information about the Gaesatae was very hard. I found a lot of contradictions on the internet and almost all the information we have about them comes from Polybius, a Roman historian. I am sorry if something here is wrong or unclear.. I try my best. Also, I have come across articles that describe the Gaesatae as Gauls and as Celts. I consider them more Gauls, so I will refer to them as Gauls but the weapons of these people are near identical so it does not matter much and if I cannot find any good Gaelic example, I will use Celtic.

The Gaesatae first appeared around the third century B.C, with no prior information about this this Gaulish tribe. They lived in the Alps, near the rhone and according to Polybius had more then 30.000 men and woman living in it. This is most likely wrong as the Roman historians had a tendency to exaggerate to have the Roman enemies look more fearsome.
Almost all the sources talk about the mecenaries, but that was a name given to them by Polybius. The Gaesatae had two kings, something rather uncommen with mercenaries and their name actually translates into Javelin or Javelin thrower as this was one of the main weapons of the Gaesatae.
From what I could gather, the Gaesatae was created by young men who left or were cast out of their own tribes. This way, they created a tribe of warriors that did take money to fight.
Two of the biggest tribes of that time: The Boii and Insubres needed help fighting the Romans and paid the Gaesatae large sums of money to help them fight the Romans.
The Gaesatae traveled over the Alps to meet this new foe in battle. The first battle between these Gauls and the Romans was a succes and the Romans were beaten soundly. A second Roman army came into action but the army of Gauls left before this new army could reach them. As the Gauls fled, a other Roman army landed before them. Now surrounded by two Roman armies, the Gauls knew that they had to fight.
This was the battle were the Gaesatae threw off their clothes so they were more agile and their clothes could get stuck in the brushes. This battle was a terrible lose and one of the leaders of the Gaesatae named Concolitanus was captured and killed while the other, named Aneroestes fled with a small group and commited suicide.
Now everything talks about the Gaesatae fighting naked, while Polybius only described one instance and how they removed their garments. This means that they did wear clothing before and this does paint a better picture about them. It was very custom for Gauls and Celts of that time to not wear armour however and that could be interpreted as being naked as well.
The Gaesatae dissapeared from history up untill the Second Punic war, where they were hired by Hannibal Barca in his battle against the Romans.
They showed off as great and fearless warriors, who were always the first on the battlefield and never fled. Their loyalty and bravery earned them the spot to become the personal bodyguard of Hannibal, but when the Romans beat Hannibal and destroyed his army, the Gaesatae dissapeared as well and never returned.
From all what I could gather were the Gaesatae very strong, loyal and fearless. They were known to be the first on the battlefield and fight the Romans.
I did come across a few mentions of them using poison and drugs but found no real evidence supporting these claims and are probably not true.

The Weapons:

Javelin:
The javelin, or throwing spear, is a weapon that has been used for a very long time and all over the world. The Gaesatae themselfs got their name from the word Javelin, as they were able to throw these weapons harder and further then anybody else. A short spear, the javelin is a wooden staff with a iron point. It would be four to five feet long and perfect for throwing. The javelin could be used for hand to hand combat as well but the warriors would only do so if they had little other choise,
Young men, who still lacked the strenght to fight in the battlefield itself usually used a javelin as to stay relative safe and hit the opponent from a distance. They would carry up to four or five javelins at a time and were thrown in a volley, with devastating effects. Even if the javelin hit a shield or armour, you cannot use a shield or run when a small pole is sticking out of it.

Spear:
The most simple of weapons and the most well know, yet deadly in its use. The spear.
All throughout history, fighters have been using spears for battle. They were easy to make, easy to master and very usefull. The Gallic warriors were no difference. Around six feet long, the spear was made of a wooden shaft, with a iron leaf shaped point. You could keep your opponent on a distance or simply kill them with a well aimed thrust.
Te Gaesatae did use spears as well and would charge at the opponents with the spear.
Little else I can say that you do not already know. Simple yet effective.

Longsword:
This is the weapon where I actually will be using the Celtic version. I have found several versions of these weapons and the Gallic swords would be more Nordic based. With that, the bronze Gallic swords were bad, prone to bending or breaking. Because they were made of Bronze, the swords needed to be thin and thus they were weaker. Now, the Gaesatae were known to be deadly and dangerous warriors, especially during the second punic war. With weak swords, they would never have gotten that status and I think that the Gaesatae would rather have used the celtic versions over the Gallic.
The Celtic longsword was made of iron and had a handle made of either wood, bone or horn. This all depended on how rich the owner was. The sword had two sharp edges and a good point. It could both cut and thrust. The blade had a leaf shape, what actually makes entering the body easier and is good for a balanced sword. The lenght of this weapon differ from sword to sword, some smaller ones only being 30 inces in lenght while there are examples of four to five feet.
The gaesatae were known for using swords and have been shown to be able to cut the Romans up.
Little else to say about this weapon. A sword has proven to be effective on the battlefield and this one is no difference.

The sling:
You take a piece of string and you take a rock. What do you get? If your answer is: A deadly weapon, then you are correct. Contrary to popular believe, the sling is indeed a fearsome weapon.
The Gauls were known to use slings in battle and to great effect. You only need a sling and the stones that lay around to have the stones thrown at high speed at the opponents. Other then stones, Gauls also used small balls of clay as projectiles.
A sling cam throw a stone around 1300 feet on average and is said to peform better then the bows of that time. A rock to a limb can break it and when one of the rocks hit the head... Its game over.
The sling does take a of skill to use but the Gauls trained with the weapon from a young age, getting very good with the weapon.
Here is a very fun site for all the sling enthousiasts: http://www.chrisharrison.net/index.php/Research/Sling

Defense:

Skullcap:
As I said before, the Gauls did wear little armour and especially the Gaesatae were known to run around naked in one battle. That does not mean that they wore no armour at all. The Gauls knew that protecting the head was rather important and so they did wear a helmet.
There were different kinds of helmet, some bronze and others iron.
They usually had a long tip and or a brim. Ceremonial helmets could be decorated and sometimes even have horns but its contested if these were used in actual combat.



Shield:
As most warriors, the Gaesatae did use shields and even in the battle where they went without clothes, they were noted to carry their shields with them in batte. In fact, the shield was for both the Celtic and the Gaul a very important piece. This showed who they were and this is what they were proud off. Lots of care went into the creation of the shield.
Almost as big as the warrior using it, the shield could be recangular, round, square or had a hexagon shape. It covered almost the whole body of the user.
Made from wood, it was usually covered with rawide, hide and sometimes had a iron or bronze boss in the centre. It was painted with several motives and designs to show off the warrior who used it.
Not only an defensive tool, the shield also got used to push the opponent around and get him off balance.

X-Factors:

Motivation:
The Gaesatae had two reasons to fight. Money and pride. They were known as a mercenary army as they let others pay to aid in the fighting. In their first battles against Rome, the Gaesatae only fought when other Gaulish tribes paid them and they fought for Hannibal in exchange of money.
However, when paid to fight, they were brave, loyal and always the first on the battlefield. Thee Gaesatae found it very important to show their skill and dedication. They found it important to be the first ones on the battlefield and even when they fought naked, it was to show that these warriors did not fear their opponents. The loyalty and their bravery got the Gaesatae a spot as the personal bodyguard of Hannibal Barca. Even the Romans had respect for them.
As with the Aztecs, great warriors deserved a lot of respect and were adored by others. The greater the warrior, the more fans he had. Celtic warriors were known to collect the heads of the ones they killed to show their strenght. It is unknown if the Gaesatae did this as well. There is no mention of it.

Training and experience:
Training for both the Celtic and the Gallic warriors were informal and mostly were just fighting with fellow fighters, hunting and experience.
As for Experience. The Gaesatae has experience fighting their own kind of warriors with their own weapons and the Romans. The roman army brough all kinds of weapons, units and tactics that these warriors dealt with. This combined with all the different soldiers they did see while serving under Hannibal meant that the Gaesatae got a wide range of experience with other warriors and weapons.

Tactics:
For this, I will rely mostly on Celtic tactics.
The Celts loved to rush the opponent with a mass charge. They would position themselfs next to each other and do a frontal attack and overrun the opponent. A tactic that had worked very well against the Romans. It was quick and devastating as the warriors overrun their opponents. This also fit with the bravery that they valued.
The Celts also peformed shieldwalls when at the defense, with all the shields interlocking. They mostly did this when the Romans threw their Pila at the Celts.
One last tactic I like to mention is Guarilla tactics. Celts knew the importance of little raids and ambushes and used them very well, especially when in woods where they could hide.

 Links:

I do not usually do this but I am going to ask everybody to read the links I am going to present as they may be more clear then I have been. Researching the Gaesatae was confusing and especially the Celt/Gaul thing.. Like I said... the main difference between these two people were the location and the name but most of the weapons and tactics were rather the same and especially placing the Gaesatae was hard and I had to do some compromis to make this profile and keep the strenght of the warrior.

http://www.ancientmilitary.com/celtic-warriors.htm
A good source on Celtic warriors, their weapons and their tactics

http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/BarbarianGaesatae.htm
My biggest source on the Gaesatae. Very informative

https://erog1.wikispaces.com/Weapons#List of Weapons-Sword
A good source for interesting weapons

Logan Flurrance
A friend of mine who knows a lot about Celtic warriors and who brought me on the idea on using the Gaesatae.

Compare the warriors:

Atlatl and Tlacochtli versus Javelin
The long range comparison is between the weapon combination of throwing dart and and thrower of the Aztec versus the throwing spear of the Gauls.
When I compare the weapons alone with each other, one clearly comes up on top. Both are throwing spears, where the warriors would have multiple of them and throw them right before getting in close combat. However the Atlatl plays a very important role in this. With this tool, the Otomi can throw further away and with more force then any human can on themselfs. This means that the tlacochtli will always hit first and chances of a lethal hit are very high. The point is made of obsidian however. That is very strong but does have the tendency to shatter on impact. This means that, once thrown, a dart cannot be used again. The javelins have a iron point, which can be used multiple times if needed.

If we look at the weapons versus armour, we get a very clear picture again. First let us see what armour the tlacochtli has to deal with.. Not very much. The shield, I can see stop the dart. The dart will penetrate a bit and get stuck but nothing dangerous. The helmet will provide protection as well, it might stop the attack, but this only covers the top and I do not see it being of any use.
The tlacochtli has no other armour to deal with and it is pretty safe to assume that, as long as the shield does not block the attack, it will either cripple or kill. That depends on the location of penetration.
The javelin has slightly more to deal with. First the shield that will stop the attack. If the javelin penetrates the shield, It will become useless but I do only see a few shots actually penetrating (remember that both the shield and the javelin need to be in one perfect line and the javelin needs enough force, for this to happen) The wooden helmet will stop the javelin the same as the shield will do as both are wood.
Now the ichcahuipilli is a rather interesting story. I do see the javelin getting through it however not much. The armour will slow down the throwing spear enough so that the Otomi might survive the attack.

For the skill part, I can be rather short and simple about it. The Aztec warriors trained a lot with the atlatl and tlacochtli and used it for hunting, ever since childhood. Skill with this weapon would be superb.
The Gaesatae were named for and known for their abilites with the javelin. They could throw it better then anyone else and so I do not doubt that their skill would be perfect.

We have compared the weapons, looked at how they deal with armour and the skill of the warriors with the weapons. It is time to give the edge in long range and see what weapon is better. This one is rather clear to me. The javelin is very good and a very usefull weapon. The Gaesatae can do a lot of damage with it. But the combination of atlatl and tlacochtli is just better. With these, the Otomi can hit from a longer range and hit harder. The fact that they have less armour to deal with does help as well. The Otomi have a clear advantage at long range and this gives them a medium edge.
Medium Edge: Otomi

Teputzopilli versus Spear
Two spears facing each other in combat, but they could not be more different. The teputzopilli is completely made of wood, with obsidian placed on it while the other spear is the more traditional one. Obsidian is one of the sharpest things on earth and so it cuts you open rather well. I see it better as a cutting weapon but it could work thrusting. The other spear is rather traditional and a very good thrusting weapon.
Now let us look at the differences  and similairities of the weapons. Both are around the same lenght ( six feet) and both could be thrown if the situation called for it. Now both could be used in a combination with a shield, but only with thrusting. This is no issue for the spear. For the teputzopilli however it is. If the Otomi wants to use it for cutting, he will need both hands, due to the lengt of the weapon. Not only would the shield get in the way of the movement, but the movement is so big that you need to have both hands for extra power
Now as I said before, obsidian is very sharp and will cut you open, but it is also very fragile and when force lands on it, the obsidian could break. This means that when both weapons lock in combat, the iron head of the spear could destroy the obsidian of the teputzopilli, leaving only a wooden spear. A wooden spearpoint can still be dangerous, but not as much as a iron one.

Now to compare the weapons with the armour. First lets take a look at the spear. I see it having the same difficulties as the javelin. The wooden shield and wooden helmet of the Otomi will be hard to penetrate.. But this time, the Gaesatae can take more use of the uncovered face of his opponent.
The Ichcahuipilli and the tlahuitzli will do the same as against the javelin. altough arms and legs will not be protected by the thin layer, the body is wearing a good vest and altough the spear will be able to penetrate it.. but the outcome depends on the one handed or two handed use. With one handed, the spear will not enter deeply and this can avoid a killing blow but a twohanded attack can get through the chest enough to kill. So chances are that the Otomi are only wounded and not killed by the weapon.
Now the teputzopilli has far less armour to deal with. In fact, only the shield will cause problems. When the weapon hits the shield, the shield will not only stop the weapon from hitting the opponent but the wooden shield can also shatter the obsidian and therefore making the weapon almost useless. The helmet, I do not see causing much trouble however.

Both weapons were rather commen on the battlefield and both were easy to use. It will not be a surprise that the skill of the weapon is rather high.

Now the midrange edge is rather interesting. The teputzopilli can do more damage and is more versatile then the spear due to the obsidian. But this vulcanic glass can shatter easily, especially when facing the spear or shield. The spear can be used better in combination with the shield as well.
Both have their pro's and both have their con's. In a really close race between these two weapons, I have to give a small edge towards the spear. I think that when the weapons clash, it will take some time with both warriors blocking each others weapons before there comes a kill and that might be enough for the obsidian to break down.
Small edge: Gaesatae

Macuahuitl versus Longsword
Starting this comparison, I can already predict that this will be very similair as the last comparison. The macuahuitl is a wooden sword, covered by obsidian. it can cut through bones with ease and can be used two handed. The longsword is a iron one handed sword, with two sharp edges and a point for stabbing. Now both can be used in combination with a shield, which is very handy. The macuahuitl can be used two handed for stronger blows and with its saw motion technique, could cut the head off an opponent.
The longsword can break the obsidian of the macuahuitl however, there are two sides on the weapon, so the Aztec does have two shots but nonetheless, the vulcanic glass can break which would leave the Otomi with a wooden sword. A wooden sword can still be dangerous however, especially two handed, however it should rely on force rather then cutting power in such an event,

If we look at the weapons against armour, the Celtic sword needs to get past a shield, and cut open the armour of the Otomi. Now the face can still be hit. Especially with the leaf shape of the sword, I can see the thick part cut the face..There will be lots of blood and I cannot see that do real damage. Thrusting at it is a safer option. The rest of the armour needs a thrust attack as well to work perfectly. The Gaesatae can cut at the armour but I do not see lethal damage done that way.
The macuahuitl needs only to overcome the shield, which can break the obsidian and weaken the sword.

Both warriors are know for these weapons and know what they are doing with it. I expect skill form both sides with these weapons.

Now this is the closest edge just yet. I can see it going to either warrior. The macuahuitl has more chances to kill the opponent but the longsword can take out the danger of the macuahuitl.
Both can be used in combination with the shield and that is the deciding factor. The macuahuitl works best in a quick kill situation while the longsword can endure longer. When both are armed with weapon and shield. the battle can go on for a while. This will cost the macuahuitl but not the longsword. There fore I give it a small edge.
Small edge: Gaesatae

Quauholloli versus Sling
A strange matchup, a mace versus a sling. The final weapons to be compared. let us see what will prove stronger.
The quauholloli is a wooden stick with a large stone. Simple yet effective. the wooden handle could be either straight or curved. The sling is a piece of rope that can send small rocks at the opponent. So the sling works best on a distance and cannot do anything close range while the quauhollili works best close range and cannot hit on a distance. Neither weapon can really defend against the other weapon but the sling could disable the hand of the Aztec so the warrior cannot use his weapon. The sling will hit first and can keep on hitting and distracting the opponent untill the Otomi has crossed the distance, that is if it can cross the distance while stones are flung at him.
From this perspective, I cannot point at either weapon and say it has the advantage.

Now in the weapon versus armour part, the sling needs to get past some armour. The face is the only target in the head, as the cuacalalatli covers all but the face. This is more likely in closer distances and a hit to the face will be a kill.
The body is covered rather well as the sling wont be able to do anything as long as the shield is there and the body is protected well by the jacket. A hit there might hurt and annoy but will not kill. The more likely spots there are the arms and legs, no kill but this can disable the Aztec. So the only kill shot is if a stone can hit the face.
the quauholloli only needs an helmet and a shield to get across. The helmet, the Otomi can just ignore as there are enough places on the head where he can go for the kill. The Otomi can break arms and legs and hit the chest to destroy the ribs and cause all sorts of malfunction inside the body. Not the first option to go with but a very good one.

If we look at skill, maces do not need much skill to be used and this is no different. You get in, hit hard and your opponent either breaks something or dies. The sling will need a lot of skill to be used, which the Gaestae will have. Slings are one of the most used weapons by these kinds of warriors and they have been working with it since childhood. When you train with a weapon since you are a little kid, you know you become very skilled with said weapon.

Now for the verdict. The sling will hit first and can hit a lot of times before the Otomi can close the distance. This means multiple chances of injury of death, even before the Aztec can use his weapon. But the sling needs multiple attacks to try anything, due to the armour of the Otomi. Would the Aztec not have worn armour, I would give the edge to the sling but he does and it will protect him against most of the stones. This means that I can see him closing the gap more times then the sling will take him out. This creates a situation where the Gaesatae needs to either fall back or chose another weapon, either way he needs to deal with a mace and has little defense against it.
I am giving a small edge to the quauholloli due to the fact that it can deliver more damage when its in range. That it is only a small edge is the difficulty to get in range.
Small edge: Otomi

Motivation:
Both warriors fight for the same reasons. They are both a warrior like people, whom their social status depends on their victories on the battlefield and both had an code of always be the first on the battlefield. Neither would ever flee as both the Otomi and the Gaesatae would see that as a great shame. Without anyone willing to back off, I call motivation a tie.
Edge: Even

Training and Experience:
The Aztec boys recieved intensive training to make them great warriors. They also recieved a lot of experience before they actually met an opponent on the battlefield. These guys were well prepared. An Otomi needed to have captured at least six opponents to become one, so he would already have seen battle and proven himself worthy enough to become one of the elite.
The only thing is, that the Aztecs lived in a very closed off society. This means that, up untill the Spaniards came, they only fought opponents with the same weapons and the same tactics. Now training and experience are good but if that is against only one set of opponents.. it becomes rather narrow.
The Gaesatae had little formal training as the Gauls mostly considered experience training. They did fight from an early age, getting a lot of experience. The Gaesatae were fought the Romans, so they got a lot of experience fighting armoured opponents and they served under Hannibal Barca. This meant that they had seen all different kinds of mercenaries and warriors fighting and all different kinds of weapons. None of these come close to the Aztecs, but the Gaesatae did get used to seeing all different kind of warriors.
Now either I give the edge to better training or more experience with all different warriors.. In the end, I go for experience. You can train as much as you want but if you are fighting someone or a situation you are not used too, you are going to have a bad time.
Small edge: Gaesatae

Tactics:
The final edge of this matchup. Both warriors used tactics to gain the upper hand on the opponent. They both used ambushes, a very usefull tactic but also one that requires a terrain where you can hide.
The Otomi also liked to surround their opponents. While distracting them, others in the group would flank the opponent and then attack. The opponent had no way to go and would soon be killed.
These could be combined as the Aztecs liked to lure their opponents in a trap, using ambushes.
The Gaesatae fought in line using open combat. Charging the opponent in a line could take them out rather quickly. If the opponent counterattacked, the Gaesatae would rely on their shieldwall to block all attacks and then attack.
Now both used very effective tactics and both can get a win. But in this battle, I feel the Otomi has the superior tactics. Fighting in line is very good as you are not individual warriors but one single group. The only downside is that if opponents manage to get behind you...defending will be difficult and the whole line falls apart. So the tactics of the Gaesatae play right into the hand of the Otomi.
There is still the chances of the Gaesatae overrunning the Otomi before the latter can surround the Gauls and destroy the Aztecs. So I will keep the edge only a small one.
Small edge: Otomi

The Battle:

'I think we are lost.' Hogan began. 'You figured that out by yourself?' A voice behind him commented. 'Ah shut up Dara.' Hogan said as he continued to walk. 'You are not scared are you?' A short man named Mannix asked.  'Hahahaa' Came it from the back. The leader of the group laughed. Hogan almost fell guilty about what he said as he heard Kain laughing. 'Just keep your guard up, You never know when Romans show up.' Kain said. 'Those pesky Romans.' Dara said and now they all laughed.
The six of them had just been promoted to be among the personal guard of Hannibal, an honour that these Gaesatae carried with pride. They were on their way towards the leader when the man got lost in a forest. At first, it looked small but they had been in the forest for most of the day now. Hogan was the youngest of this small group. He had fought many battles before and stood out because of his bravery, his ways with the sling and with the sword. Yes, he was going to brag about that for a very long time to come.
Apart from him, Dara and Kain, there were also Phelan, Allan and Quilliam. 'Any Roman who shows his face will meet my spear.' Quilliam said. He was the biggest man and had a habit of collecting the heads of his fallen opponents. Luckely, the man did not bring any on this trip.
Hogan rubbed his sword with his hand. That had become a good luck charm and he always did this before a battle. Somehow now felt a good time as any. 'I would like to see one of them elephants.' Allan said. A calm man with a fascination for animals. Allan was not as strong as some others and he always carried six javelins with him to use in battle. 'Don't walk in front of them when they are charging. You either end up flat or pierced by his horns.' Kain explained as he thrusted his sword in the air to show what he meant. 'Sounds.' Phelan suddenly said. Phelan was a man of little words but when he spoke, it was always good to pay attention. 'Yes I heard them as well.' Kain said as he looked around. They were not alone in this forest.

Citlali looked at the tracks in front of them. 'Men.' He said. 'Yes.'Eztli nodded. Citlali had just recently catched his sixth sacrificial victim and been allowed within the Otomi. Both he and his family were very proud of this honour. He was now with five other men in the jungle. He wore his new green clothing and held a newly made macuahuitl. They had been training together and hunting some Jaguars that had attacked villagers. Now however, the small group had encountered tracks that did not come from any Aztec. 'Must we warn the others?' Citlali asked Eztli. 'No.' The leader answered. 'They are with few. We can handle them alone.' The others nodded. They all thought about capturing these men.
A man named Cuetlachtli went up front. He was a skilled tracker and would lead them towards the strangers. Then came Eztli and a experienced warrior named Tlacaelel. Tlacaelel had been a teacher of Citlali for  long time and a person he looked up to. Then came Matlalihuitl and Citlali himself, with Amoxtli finishing the little unit.
'When we see them and they are armed, we will lure them here.' Eztli spoke as they passed an open spot. Citlali knew the plan very well. They were to goat these strangers here and then surprise them. 'Remember to capture if you can, not kill.' Tlacaelel whispered in the ear of Citlali. His mentor has not needed to say this but Citlali thanked him anyways.
When they saw the strangers, the Otomi hid from view. There were six of them, all dressed in odd colourfull garb and they all carried things that looked like weapons, made from strange stones. The men before the Aztecs now looked around. Had they heard us approach? Citlali wondered.
Eztli pointed towards Tlacaelel and Amoxtli. They were to attack these men and lure them towards the open space. The two warriors nodded and Citlali sped away with the others, leaving these two alone.

Something flew past them and impaled a tree. At first, Hogan thought it was an arrow but the object was too large. He had little time to study it as another one flew towards them. This one rammed itself on the ground before the feet of Hogan and now he could clearly see that it was some kind of throwing dart. A third one hit the shield of Quilliam but the fourth dart finally found a target as Phelan fell backwards. The dart had impaled his throat and he gurgled as the man died. 'Follow them!' Kain yelled and the five Gaesatae ran towards the place they had seen the darts come from. Some distance before him, Hogan saw two men, dressed in green running. While running, he took out his sling and picked a rock from his pouch. He flung it at the two but missed. A second rock hit one of the man but Hogan assumed that the man wore a green helmet as there was no response. Allan threw one of his javelins but missed target as well.
The two opponents finally stopped at the other end of a open spot in the forest, where a third man in green already was waiting. Now Hogan could see them better. They wore indeed green all green, from head to toe and they all three had feathers in their costumes. One of these three also carried some sort of flag on his back.
'Payback time.' Kain yelled and the five formed a line and ran towards the three targets. They were too far away to use javelins but the opponents did not have that problem as they prepared to throw their darts. 'Wall.' Kain commanded and all five took out their shields, interlocked it and slowly moved forwards. The darts flew towards the Gaesatae but the shieldwall protected them from any harm. When the warriors were close enough, they gave out a battlecry and charged. At that moment, a sound from behind the Gaesatae sounded. Hogan turned his head and saw three more of these warriors in green appearing.

Eztli jumped behind Kain and slashed the leg of the Gaesatae with his macuahuitl. The man fell down with a cry. He slashed at the leader of the Gaesatae again, but this time the weapon hit the shield. The other man jumped up and attacked.
Quilliam dueled Amoxtli. Amoxtli used his teputzopilli against the spear of Quilliam. The teputzopilli hit the spear and the obsidian broke off. Now Quilliam attacked with a two handed thrust that impaled the chest of the Otomi. The man howled in pain and fell down. Quilliam had little time to celebrate as Citlali slammed the big man in the face with his quauholloli. Quilliam went down as a sack of rocks and Citlali turned around to face other opponents. He was just about to attack again, when a stone hit the young warrior in the forehead and knocked him out.
Hogan had used his sling to knock Citlali out and drew his sword as he saw an opponent with one of the strange swords and a shield coming.
Tlacaelel charged Hogan, his macuahuitl ready to strike. The Gaesatae was just able to pull up his shield and the shards of obsidian flew off the Aztec weapon. Hogan attacked his opponent, who used his shield as well. For a while, the two opponents delivered attacks but each and everyone got blocked by the shields. By now, only a few pieces of obsidian were left on the macuahuitl. Tlacaelel aimed at the legs, knowing he had little chances left for a kill but Hogan was just able to jump away and only his leg suffered a cut. The young warrior then slammed his shield in the face of the Otomi. The man howled and Hogan thrusted forwards. His sword entered the mouth of his opponent, who looked in suprise and then collapsed to the ground. As blood entered his lungs, the warrior slowly choked to death.
Eztli and Kain were still fighting each other. Kain had some deep cuts and found it hard to keep his sword up high. The Gaesatae leader charged, only for the Aztec to move sideways and hammered his macuahuitl down on the head of Kain. The man died instantly.
Cuetlachtli and Dara were fighting each other. Cuetlachtli slammed his quauholloli against the shield of his opponent. Dara retaliated by thrusting his spear forwards, which hit the side of the Otomi. The man flinched for a second but the warrior grabbed the spear of his opponent with his free hand. Dara had no idea what was happening untill a pain exploded in his neck. He dropped down without ever knowing that the warrior named Matlalihuitl had cut him open with a teputzopilli.

Hogan and Allan slowly got cornered by Eztli, Cuetlachtli and Matlalihuitl He blocked an attack from Eztli, who now was holding a quauholloli and slashed his sword at the larger man. The attack did minor damage but it did create an opening that the young warrior could use. He dropped the sword and slammed his fist into the face of Eztli. Matlalihuitl came near but a rock from his sling kept the warrior on a small distance.
Allan took his chance and threw a javelin at Cuetlachtli. The throwing spear pierced the leg of the Aztec warrior. With his last javelin, Allan stabbed the other man in the face. Now weaponless, Allan turned and tried to reach a sword, only for Matlalihuitl to kill the the warrior with his teputzopilli.
Hogan was throwing rocks at Eztli, who was forced into defense. He saw how the last of his friends died and using all his anger, the Gaesatae flung a rock at Matlalihuitl. The rock hit the nose of the Otomi and a loud crack was heard on the bloodied field of battle. Matlalihuitl went down and never stood up again.
Eztli took his distraction and slammed the quauholloli against the left arm of Hogan. The young Gaesatae yelled in pain and picked up his sword as he walked backwards. He avoided another attack from the mace and retaliated. His sword cut off the opponent's hand and the leader of the Otomi yelled as both his hand and his weapon fell on the ground. Due to the pain, the Aztec could not avoid a cut to the face and fell down. Eztli tried to stand up but this exposed his neck and the sword came down on it.
Hogan looked at the fallen body of his last opponent. He had won but the rest of the Geasatae had died.. The young warrior had no idea how to explain this if he ever got out of this strange forest. Hogan heard a sound and turned around. One of these throwing darts pierced his right shoulder and the warrior fell to the ground. He saw one of these green men walking near and Hogan knew that this would be his last second alive. The man grabbed one of the maces and it knocked Hogan unconcious.

Citlali had woken up, only to see how Eztli died. He had never thought that the man could die but it happened and it seemed that while Citlali himself had been knocked out, the other Otomi warriors had fallen in battle. The Otomi, best of the best. These opponents were truely strong warriors but not strong enough to be victorious. Citlali had picked up a atlatl and a good tlacochtli to attack the last opponent. Not to kill, but to wound. The man would be a sacrifice to the gods. Only the bravest of opponents deserved this honour. With his fellow Otomi dead, this opponent has proven worthy enough to be a gift to the gods.

Winner: Otomi

The Gaesatae got a small edge in medium range, a small edge in close range and a small edge in experience. This gave them 1.5 points.

The Otomi got a medium edge in long range, a small edge in specials and a small edge in tactics. This meant that their final score was a 2.

Both warriors were great fighters and deserved a battle to show their skill in battle. The Gaesatae were great as they had good solid weapons and experience to rely on these weapons in any situation. They wore little armour and that proved to be a fatal blow. Altough the Gaesatae were good, the Otomi were slightly better. They combined good weapons with good armour. The obsidian is a glass however and glass is very fragile. They also always tryd and capture the opponent over killing them and that did cost the Otomi some points. The final victory was insured due to their tactics. The Gaesatae fought in a single line and that works very well. But when your opponent moves in behind you,.. your whole tactic falls to pieces.

Now I know that this match could be debated. I relied for this match on my own research and tried to add anything that I could find with some substance. (which was not much as little is written about either warrior) The whole situation would have changed if the Gaesatae would have worn bodyarmour and that coud have given them the victory. If you do not agree with this outcome, you are welcome to write your own battle between these two warriors and I will gladly read it.


Next time on BucklerArt, A thieving showdown as one of the most succesfull pirates ever faces a legendary Highwayman

Black Bart Versus Dick Turpin

Naruto: The eye of Arean. Prologue

A pale man with black hair and a small gotey stood in a cave, surrounded by nine other men. On his head, he wore a helmet with large horns. 'Welcome my friends. My newly formed Akatsuki.' The man named Loki spoke. 'You are no Akatsuki.' One of the men in the black coats with a red flower design said. He looked half man and half shark and as the man spoke, he had a dark grin.
'Well I brought the old Akatsuki back to life... that would make me the new leader I guess.' Loki spoke with a soft and easy voice. Every word more convincing then the others. 'You have to admit that he has a point there.' Another akatsuki member spoke. He had grey hair in a ponytail and carried a large scythe with him.
'How about us then? Why did you bring us to this world?' A grey man with a bald head asked. 'Ah yes Quan Chi. I am afraid that only the Akatsuki will not do for my plan so I brought you three here to help us.' Loki answered.

The god of mischief turned around and walked towards the enterence of the cave. He had been in this world for a few years now... This word of ninja. At first, Loki had merely fled the wrath of his brother, but the more he learned about this place.. the more interesting it had become. Loki had learned about the four great ninja wars and especially the last one had been intriguing. The more, the god read or heard about this world. the more ideas he got to use this all to his advantage. Especially one old and rare book had been an interesting read.
As he came back, the man asked: 'And have you gotten to know each other better?' None answered so Loki himself talked again. 'You will need to know each other when you are working together after all.'
'Just tell us the plan' A boy with red hair said inpatiently. 'I don't like to be kept waiting and I have puppets to repair.'
Loki laughed at this as he walked towards Sasori.  'Have you heard about the eye of Arean.'  'That is just an old ring of legend' It was Hidan who spoke. 'No fool.. It is very real, only lost to time.' Kakazu scolded his teammate. 'What is this eye of Arean?' Vandal Savage asked.
'The eye is a special ring, made by an old clan of ninja, which no longer exist.' Kakazu explained. 'It supposed help the user aborb the power and ninjitsu of his opponent. ' 'It is just a fairy tale, nothing compared to the power of the true god.' Hidan complained. 'Fool, I have seen it for myself, back when I was a young ninja and it works.' Kakazu growled at his teammate.
'What does this ring have to do with your plan?' A man in a mask named Amon asked. 'Everything.. To conquer this world, we will need this ring and so we are going to search for it.' Loki explained with a smile. 'No matter what it takes.' The god added.

Punisher Versus Judge Dredd

Welcome Back in the Fightclub fora battle of warriors who are best described as chaotic good. Two  heroes will duke it out in the arena to decide who is the deadliest warrior.

In the fightclub today, we have Geoff Desmoulin, a karate blackbelt and biomedical scientist. Then there is doctor Armand Dorian, a trauma doctor and our medical expert. Last but not least, we have Max Geiger, our one and only computer expert. It will be his job to put all the data in the computer and run the simulations to see who will win the most in a 1000 battles

We have two heroes here who are not afraid to take the law in their own hands. One of these Is the law. These heroes guns and explosives to achieve their goals. Deadly warriors who are not afraid to kill to punish. Speaking of which, our first fighter of today's episode is the Punisher. This hero prefers to shoot his opponent then let the legal system do its work. He will be fighting against Judge Dredd, who is the law. Being a member of the councel of five and the most feared and respected of all the judges, Dredd will not shy away to take the lifes of those he feels deserves it and comes with a big punch to do it.

'I am hyped.' Max said. 'Between the two, I cannot pick a winner at the moment as both men are great warriors. One is able to go head to head with Captain America and managed to evade SHIELD while the other rules the streets and makes sure that all criminals will be dealt with.' He continued. 'Both of them use guns and even though normally we would do squad on squad fights when guns are evolved, today will be just one on one. Both warriors have shown that they can tank hits and survive attacks that would have killed any other men and both prefer to fly solo. Also, we will not only test the weapons of these warriors but we will also include vehicles that will aid each in their fighting. A awesome episode and I cannot wait to see what will happen.' 

'As a soldier, I always look forward to matches that include guns. Today is no different with two soldiers who could take out whole squads on their own.' Geoff began. 'The weapons will be awesome too, with at one side solid military grade weapons and on the other awesome futeristic guns. If I now have to give the egde, I am going with the weapons of the future for now. The guns we use now are good but I feel that the weapons of the future have more time to evolve and become more deadly. After all, our guns now are more dangerous then the early fire arms used in the late middle ages.' With that, Geoff finished.

'Two men who are not afraid to dive into the action solo and will do anything to get the job done.' Armand began. Guns are lethal and I have seen many die from shotwounds but these two managed to survive them and other mortal blows to continue their quest for justice.' The doctor added. 'I want to see powerful weapons that can get through armour and hit the vital spots. By just injuring them, you do not stop these titans.'  The doctor explained. 'As for a edge, I have to go with Punisher. Killing your opponents because you are the law is one thing but going against the law and killing your opponent while there are other more powerfull superheroes that disagree with you... That is something else.' 

The first warrior tonight is the person that criminals fear and other heroes don't like. however he gets the job done. It is Frank Castle a.k.a the Punisher.

Born with the name of Francis Castiglione in Queens, New York. Francis had a normal childhood, married at a young age and soon after enlisted with the US Marine Corp, where the man got the rank of Captain. Soon after his training was done, Francis saw action in Vietnam and became the lone surviver of a Vietcong assault. He recieved a medal of Honor, The Navy Cross, three times a Silver Star and Bronze stars, four purple hearts and a Presidential medal of Freedom. 

After the second tour, Francis and his wife recieved their second child and the man legally changed his name into Frank Castle to be able to serve in Vietnam again.

When the Vietnam war ended, Frank ran special Black op training missions for Marine Recon commando's. 

On leave, Frank took his family out for Picknick where they witnessed a maffia hit. The maffia shot the family and killed Frank's wife and two children, wouding Castle. He went to the New york police department to act as witness, only to be denied. The police were bought by the Maffia and had no plans to pursuit the killers. The death of his family and not being helped by the police changed Frank. He did not return for Marine Duty but instead became a one man army. The Punisher. 

Not believing in the Law, the Punisher decided to take matters in his own hand and kill criminals. He uses all his training and experience as a soldier and all the weapons he can find to roam the streets and he has fought all sorts of organised crime and several superheroes and villains. He does that with his own ethics. 

The weapons Frank will use are the M60 Machine gun with grenade launcher. The Uzi 9mm, A combination of the Ka-bar knife and several Martial arts and finally his armoured Van.

His armour is the from fitting Kevlar Bodysuit, with the iconic skull on the chest, combat boots and a armour belt.

The opponent of Punisher is none other then Judge Dredd himself. 

Cloned from Chief Judge Fargo in the year 2066 as Joseph Dredd, He grew up to become a street Judge in Mega city One. As a judge, he has forsaken any form of relationship and gives himself little time to rest to keep on fighting crime. In this hellhole, the judges are the law. This means that they play the role of Judge, Jury and executionair and have the law in their own hands. 

Having fought all kind of opponents, from normal street thugs to monsters and aliens, Dredd proved himself in both skill and power, even managing to prove that not he but his clone brother had commited a murder. Joseph Dredd got known as a strong, dreaded warrior who takes criminal down and even recieved a seat in the counsel of five. The rulers of the Justice department.

The weapons that Judge Dredd takes into battle are the Lawgiver, The Arbitrator, his Bootknife and Daystick and lastly the vehicle of every judge. The Lawmaster
The armour of Dredd is a bodysuit with golden shoulderpads and a helmet to cover his face

Now we have introduced both warriors, It is time to see which experts will represent the warriors and test the devious weapons that each brings to the table. These experts know the warrior they represend and the weapons that the warrior brings into battle. They will try to do anything in their reach to show how their warrior would win against the fighter of the opponent.

Starting with Punisher, his first expert is a soldier as well and someone who has both worked with Punisher and has tried to capture him. It is none other then the directer of SHIELD. Nick Fury.

'I know Frank Castle. There is nobody more commited for his cause. He has no alter ego, no hobbies, no family, no weekends off. He is the Punisher every single second of his life. Altough I do not agree with his methods, Castle gets the job done and makes sure no criminal escapes.' The man spoke as he looked with his own eye in the camera.

The other expert of Punisher is someone who has worked closely with Frank. A mercenary himself, he is not afraid to pull the trigger and finish the life of his target. I am talking about Deathpool. This merc with a mouth has teamed up with Punisher a few times and the two have fought with each other several times as well. Nobody knows more about the skills of Punisher then Deathpool.

'I was like Piew Piew Pauw and he was boom boom boom peff.' Shut up you idiot, you are on tv. We are just re-enacting our last battle against Punisher. Yes, what he says. You must say something about Punisher. 'Punisher shoots people.' No, something that they do not know already. Something about his weapons or skills. 'Punisher is a soldier and he is very strict. He does not even likes my jokes.' nobody likes our jokes. How dare you say that, do you want me to shoot you. Try me.
With that, Deathpool took a pistol to his head and shot himself. 'Medic.' Someone cried. 'Relax that fool cannot kill himself no matter how long he tries.' Nick Fury interrupted. Suddenly Deathpool jumped up again. 'I am okay.' he said as the merc waved to the camera.

Now ehhmmm.....Remember. Deathpool cannot die. It would be ill advised to try such a trick at home so do not do not repeat any of the stunts that Deathpool will do. 
As for Judge Dredd, he has two experts as well. Both of them other judges.
The first expert of Dredd is Judge Hershey. Barbara Hershey has been an assistent of Dredd and has worked with him numerous times and helped the judge out of tough situations. She herself became a chief judge.

'I know Dredd and I know the hellhole we grew up in. This is a situation where you have to fight for your live every single time and do anything to get the upper hand.' The woman spoke. 'Dredd is a survivor. He will win.'

The second expert of Judge Dredd is a female judge as well. It is Cassanda Anderson. Judge Anderson has worked with Dredd several times in the past and also knows how the man handles his job. 

'Dredd is one of the best.' She spoke. He is rough and can take care of himself. Just as the man he was cloned from.' She looked at a dummy, dressed in the outfit of the Punisher and smiled. 'This is just another criminal. One that these officers of this age can't arrest. However if this man had been hunted by a judge, he would not live long anymore.' The woman added with a smile.

With the experts introduced and everything ready to go it is time for the first tests. In a matchup of special weapons, we will test the vehicles that will bring each fighter to the battle and aid them in the fight. The Battle van will go up against the Lawmaster.

In the desert, the two Punisher expert stood in front of a black van as the hosts walked up to them. 'Okay, you brought us a van.' Max commented as he looked at the vehicle.  'Not any van. The awesome high tech armoured tanklike battle van.' Deathpool spoke as he waved his arms in the air.

The battle van, Not only used by creepy men and goverment organisations

'What makes this van such a awesome weapon?' Geoff asked as he looked at the car in front of him. 'This is the vehicle of choise for Punisher.' Fury said before Deathpool could say anything. 'This is a ford van with a turbo charged V-8 engine, four wheel drive and heavy suspension.' The director spoke. 'This means that it acts like a modern sportscar, even though it still is a van.' The man added. 'Nice.' Came from Max who looked at in aw. 'It also is heavily armoured and can destroy other vehicles without being damaged itself. It so awesome, you need an anti tank weapon to destroy this little beauty.' Deadpool spoke out in joy. 'It has a minigun and a grenade launcher to attack other cars while Punisher is driving and it has an artifical intelligence so it can drive by itself on the command of the skull guy himself.' Max was about to commend but Deadpool help up his hand and walked to the van. It can also store a lot of weapons that Punisher uses during his missions and by using a platform in the rear, he can use the door for cover as he shoots the baddies.' Now the mercenary was jumping in the air.

'I want to test the two offensive weapons of this van.' Geoff said as he looked at it. 'I have set up four targets in the desert that needs to be killed, who is going to do this?' He asked. 'Pick me. Pick me.' Deadpool yelled as he waved his hand in the air and jumped around. Before anybody could say anything, the expert dissapeared. The car started up and he waved from the drivers seat. 'Cowabunga...O wait wrong catchfrase...Chimichanga.' Deadpool said and he raced away. 'That idiot, why am I here with him?' Nick Fury asked nobody in particular. 'Because cap would not come. He is upset with us on something..' Came the anwer of Max.
The black van drove through the desert and the first mannequin got rammed by the car. The van then took a sharp turn and a grenade landed near the next target. It exploded and pieces of the mannequin flew around as Deadpool drove to the third target. As soon as the mini guns riddled this mannequin with bullets, the van drove to the last mannequin. First the miniguns shot the mannequin up, it then got hit by the front of the black van and lasty a grenade blew the already broken target into bits. 'Done!' Deadpool yelled as he appeared next to Geoff.
The group walked up to the first target. 'This is a carcrash. With the speed you were going and the force of the impact.. There is no way someone would survive this.' Geoff said. 'Even if someone is lucky enough to survive, almost all of his bones would be broken.' The host added.
They continued to the second target which was declared dead as well. 'When you look more like the Black Knight from Monty Python then an warrior... it is save to say you are unable to fight any longer.' Max joked. 'Yes, he is missing all his limbs and his head.' Armand added as the man pointed at the mannequin. 'This one is is riddled with bullets and very dead. I see bullets to the head, throat and chest.. These are all vital areas.' The doctor said after arriving at the third target. When the small group reached the last and final mannequin, they saw the carnage done to it. 'This one is as dead as someone could be.' Geoff joked.
'Four hits and four kills.' Max summed up. 'How well will team Dredd act?' He then asked as the young man looked at the two jugdes. 'Better.' Came the answer of Barbara. 'Dredd has a vehicle that all the judges have. A universal motorbike of death. The Lawmaster.' The woman added.

The Lawmaster, A motercycle perfect for controlling the law in the slums.

As Cassandra came driving up on the motercycle, Barbara explained. 'Every judge is assigned this vehicle for swift movement. The Motercycle has an Arteficial Intelligence that can drive on its own, It has on either side machine guns and a laser cannon on front. It can jump or fly large distances and Dredd can fire his other weapons while riding it.' The woman explained. 'It looks awesome.' Geoff spoke as he moved with his hand over the vehicle. 'It is durable and a perfect way to hunt criminals down.' The woman added. 'Let's put that to the test.' Geoff smiled.
'I have set up the same course as before, with four targets for you to take down.' He said to Cassandra. The woman nodded and started the engine. 'Go.' Geoff said. With that, Judge Andersson sped off. The first mannequin got shot up by the machine guns and the woman continued to the second. Just before the second manequin, she stopped and used the laser to blow a hole in the chest of her target. As Cassandra reached target number three, she used her Lawgiver to shoot the chest while driving past it. Just before the last target, the Lawmaster flew up in the air. The back tire of motor rammed the head of the mannequin and the motor ended up on the ground again.

'Okay the first puppet has been destroyed by your machine guns. With so many bullets, I can honestly say that the target is dead.' The doctor began. 'Now I am no doctor but i think this one is dead as well.' Max said as he pointed at the second target. 'Indeed Max. A hole in your chest does kill you, especially one made by a laser.' Armand said with a smile. 'Number three you used your Lawgiver, correct?' Geoff asked. 'Yes, while you cannot use your personal gun easy with a van, the motor is a completely different story.' The woman explained. 'Yes but you are slightly more inaccurate, yet there are enough to declare this person dead.' Geoff added as he pointed to a bullet in the shoulder and one in the arm. 'With the last one, you hit the target with your tire.' Geoff pointed out. 'Yes I wanted to show the way the Lawmaster can move and that it itself can kill without weapons.' Judge Anderson answered. 'And you did so. A helmet might have saved the mannequin but now he is dead.'
'So in the end four kills.' Max nodded. 'indeed.' The doctor said.

'Both have AI, both delivered four kills, both are fast and both can house various weapons. It seems to hard to call a winner to me.' Max began. 'I have to disagree here. Both are formidable but the Lawmaster is able to jump through the air and manouvre better then the van. That might actually play an important part here.' Geoff spoke. 'I have to give the edge to Dredd.'

In Special weapons, The edge goes to Judge Dredd and his Lawmaster

With the Special weapons decided, it is time to look at the long range weapons of both warriors. The M60 with grenade launcher of Punisher will face off against the most famous side-arm of Dredd. His Lawgiver.

'Pow Pow Pow.' Deathpool yelled as he aimed the M60 at the three hosts. 'You are dead.' The mercenary yelled out. 'Stop it!' Nick Fury yelled out. 'Want me to shoot you to?' Deathpool asked his fellow expert as he aimed the M60 at director Fury. Bad Idea. Bad idea bad idea. What is he going to do then? Yeah what is he going to do. I am Deathpool. Suddenly Fury grabbed the gun and pulled it out of the hands if Deathpool and threw the other man on the ground. That. 
As deathpool stood up and argued with himself some more, Fury showed the weapon to the hosts. 'The M60. Automatic machine gun, a weapon used by soldiers around the world.'


The M60. A machine gun with great power and great responsibility

'That is one heavy weapon.' Max said as he held the gun up. 'For normal peeople yes. For those like me and Castle..No.' The Director spoke. 'He can held it with ease and shoot while walking.' The man added. 'How about recoil?' Geoff asked. 'He has no trouble with it.' Nick answered.
'The M60 can use different kinds of ammo such as armour piercing which makes the gun versatile and it has an grenade launcher for some extra explosive force.' The expert explained. 'It can make any maffia gathering in yeah good old blood fountain.' Deathpool interrupted. 'I can imagine.' Geoff said. 'I have seen these weapons cut an opponent in two with only sheer force.' the host admitted. 'That is true and it is a weapon frequently used by high ranking Shield Agents.' Fury nodded.
'Let us head outside to the test ground and see how effective this weapon is.' Geoff spoke,

In the desert, where every weapon that is too dangerous for indoor tests is used, the hosts and experts have gathered to test the M60 machine gun and its lethality.
'Welcome.' Geoff spoke to the rest. 'I took the liberty to set up a test for the M60.' The host pointed to a restaurant setup. 'Maffia likes to gather in Italian restaurants and from what I understand, Punisher does not like Maffia types.' The man spoke. 'No He does noooooooooooot.' Deathpool nodded as he sang out. 'Take out this maffia headquarters however keep in mind that one of them is wearing the outfit of the judge.' Geoff pointed to a mannequin behind one sitting on a chair. 'That will show us how well the armour stops the bullets.' Geoff added. 'Fine with me.' Nick said as he walked towards a good vantage point with the weapon. Deathpool was about to comment but one dark look from Fury managed to shut the Merc up.
'You have one and a half minutes to kill them all. You are allowed normal bullets and armour piercing rounds. I want to see the grenade launcher at work as well.' Geoff explained.
'Three...Two...One...Shoot it!' Geoff yelled and Nick Fury opened fire with the M60 in a standing position. Soon, only the armoured mannequin needed to be hit and with some swift movements, Nicolas Fury fired the armour piercing rounds at the target. He finished off with the grenade that landed betweent he armoured and a non armoured mannequin and Geoff yelled: 'Time.'

'Looking at the damage.. I can only say Damn.' Max said. 'I skimmed through most of the targets and they all have shots through the head or chest making me declare them dead.' Doctor Dorian said as he stood next to a mannequin with several rounds in his chest and head. 'However the armoured mannequin, that is the one that counts.' The doctor added. 'Well the armoured dummy has been blown up and the puppet send in several different directions.' Geoff said as he picked up the chest plate. 'nontheless, You can see bullet holes here. This tells me that the armour piercing bullets are effective and this weapon will destroy the opponent.' The host explained. 'speaking of which, the grenade has done its work and destroyed the puppet.' Geoff added.
'Now what weapon does the judge have to counter this?' Max asked.
'We have a weapon that turns this M60 obsolete.' A smiling Cassandra said. 'And what might that be?' Max inquired. 'The Lawgiver.' Jugde Hershey said as she showed the handgun.

Who said Handguns were something of the wild west?

'A pistol?' Deathpool asked in disbelief..'You are going to try and kill grumpy skullguy with a pistol? I clean my teeth with such a weapon.' The Merc added. 'Haha.' The woman laughed. 'If you believe that, you are an even bigger moron then I first believed.' The judge spoke. 

'Why don't you tell us what makes this weapon so special?' Max asked. 'Well first off. The Lawgiver is the prima weapon of any judge and the best weapon we have to offer.' Cassandra began. 'Can I hold it?' Geoff asked. 'No you cannot.' Came the answer Judge Hershey said with a sharp voice. Seeying the surprised look of the host, the woman explained. 'Every Lawgiver is personalised with the dna of the judge that uses it. If anybody else would try to use this weapon, it would blow up.' She said. 'Damn, that is tech.' Max said. 'Is there anyway around it? The computer wizz asked. 'Yes but only senior Judges know that information and thus can use the weapon of another one.. Dredd himself knows it and has used this in the past to defend himself and a wounded judge.' The woman said. 

'What more can you tell about this weapon?' Geoff asked. This time, Barbara spoke again. This is a voice activated machine pistol, that has a maximum reach of over 2 km.' She looked at the hosts and continued. 'This weapon can also fire off  six different types of ammo.' 'How many magazines does he need to carry with it then?' Geoff asked. 'Only one.' Came the answer. 'Wait, you are teling me, that one magazine can hold six different types of ammo?' A surprised Geoff asked. 'Yes it can.' The woman said with a smile. 'How does the judge select the different kinds of ammo then?'  Max inquired. 'The weapon has a dial from one to six and each number has a different type of ammo. It can be changed by hand or by voice.' The woman said and followed up with a demostration where she used her voice to changed the numbers. 'What six kinds of ammo does the weapon actually shoot?' Geoff inquired. 'The first is generic execution.' Barbara began. This is the standard ammo for day to day situations and the mostly used ones.' She explained. 'The second type is armour piercing ammo.' The judge continued. 'This was meant for robots or lifeforms wearing body-armour but can also take out targets behind cover and can shoot through multiple opponents.' She finished. 'Shoot through multiple opponents... I want to see that.' Max said with a glee on his face. 

'The third.' Barbara continued. 'Is a ricochet. it is made out of rubber and titanium and perfect for shooting past something like cover or hostages. 'Hostages?' Geoff asked. 'Yes, when in a hostage situation, you can shoot straight at the target and hope not to hit the hostage or use this ammo and have it bounce away from the hostage and hitting only the target.' The judge explained. 'Number four is a high explosive. It is mainly used against barracades for quick acces to a building. Number five is an incendiary round that ignite the target it hits.' 'What substance is used to ignite the target without setting fire to the bullet?'  Armand asked. 'Good question. It is a chemical that partly explodes within the bullet, thus creating the fire.' Came the explanation. 'And the last one?' Geoff asked. 'The last ammo is the heat seeking bullet. It will find the body heat of a target and so can hit even hidden targets. It also can be combined with the incendiary round for extra power.' The woman nodded when she was finished.  'O and before I forget, the weapon also has a clip on grenade shooter that can shoot fragmantation, stunn and tranq grenades, either in an arc or straight at the opponent. and the weapon has a build in stunshot that shuts down the nervous system for a while.'The woman finished. 'That are six powerfull types of ammo. I thought that the M60 would surely outpeform a handgun but now I am not so sure.' Max said with a smile. 'You are correct Max and I am already thinking of ways to test the different kinds of ammo.' Geoff said. 'Okay. everbody meet me at the desert range for some shooting.' Geoff added.

'Welcome.' Geoff said as the small group of experts and hosts entered the terrain where the test would commence. 'We have seen how Punisher took out a mob headquarters. Now it is time to see how Dredd reacts on a hostage situation.' Geoff began. 'Which of you two lady's will be the stand in for Dredd?' Geoff asked, wondering who would step forwards. 'I will.' Judge Anderson spoke as she stepped forwards. 'Two people have been taken hostage in a garage.' Geoff started to explain. 'First, you need to blow up this reeinforced door.' The host said as he pointed towards a large door standing in the middle of the desert. Walking around the door, he pointed towards two targets near it. 'Hit these two with your ordinary bullets and follow up by shooting that man behind the boxes.' Geoff pointed out a mannequin standing behind some boxes. 'With the same ammo, you will test out the bulletproof vest that this man here is wearing.' Geoff said as they watched a mannequin in the middle. 'Then take out the hostage taker without damaging the hostage at all.' A mannequin playing the part of a hostage sat on a chair and the the mannequin behind it had to be hit. 

Geoff then walked the judge towards six boxes. 'On of them has opponent inside, the others do not. Use the heatseaker and incendiary to hit and take out the target in the box. The box in question has been heated up and should be hotter then the rest.' Geoff explained how a heatseeker could pick it up. 'Lastly before you are done, You see this car here.' The man pointed at an old chevvy. 'Get a grenade in and kill the targets inside.' The woman nodded after seeing two mannequins inside the car. 'Can you do that?' Geoff asked. 'Yes sir.' Came the almost militant answer,

Geoff walked behind the glass as the judge stepped behind the door and took her weapon. 'Are you ready?' Geoff asked. 'Yes I am.' Came the answer. 'Three....Two....One.... Goooooo!' Geoff yelled. 

Judge Anderson took her Lawgiver in both hands and fired a round at the large door, that exploded with a big bang. The female then kicked open the doors and aimed the weapon at the first two targets, hitten them in the chest and putting them down. Het finger moved the number on Lawgiver and the next two bullets rammed themselfs through the boxes and hit the opponent behind it. The judge then turned to the armoured target and fired another two rounds. She made a combat roll and fired a bullet that hit the ground and flew up again, hitting the mannequin standing behind the chair. Another shot hit the middle of the six boxes and burst into flame and Cassandra finished off with shooting a grenade in the car, that exploded. 

´Let us see what damage you have done.´ Geoff said as the three hosts walked towards Cassandra. ´Carnage is a better word.´ Max said as he inspected the door. ´That explosive ammo really does the job.´ Geoff commented as he inspected the hinges of the door. The crew then continued towards the first target. ´Two in the chest.. both are lethal.´ Doctor Dorian commented as he inspected the mannequin. ´The second one has one in the chest and one in the throat.´ Max said after inspecting the mannequin. ´Okay Both are kill shots. The chest shot directly punctures the heart and therefore is a kill, the throat shot would take a couple of seconds before the target passes away. Enough time to look at the person who shot him one last time.´ The doctor explained. 

They moved on towards the target standing behind the boxes. ´I notice already that the upper box has two holes in it, aroud the chest area.´ Geoff began before he pulled the mannequin away. ´Two shots to the heart equals two kills.´ The doctor nodded. 

´Well it looks that our armoured mannequin has not survived either. Two bullets straight trough the armour.´ Max said, who had already gone to the next target. 'One shot in the stomach, that would hurt but not kill and a shot in the chest that would kill. ' The doctor nodded after walking towards his co-host. 'Now I want to see if you managed to kill the hostage taker, without damaging the hostage.' Geoff spoke as he walked towards the chair. He quickly checked the hostage and said: 'The hostage is clean. No hits and he would live.' 'The man behind him suffered worse.' Max said. A bullet straight in the back. 'Interesting shot, directly in the spine.' The doctor said. 'This target would survive if he would be rushed in the hospital and directly put on the operating table.' Armand spoke. 'You managed to hit the spine and send bone fragments inside the body. These need to get taken out before they can cause any real damage.' 'So this could be a survivor?' Geoff asked. 'Yes but even if he survives, he will be paralyzed for the rest of his life.' The doctor said. 'That is what you get with this type of ammo, it is not the most accurate.' The judge defended herself. 'Now have a look at the car.' Geoff said. 'I only see pieces of a car... and pieces of mannequins.' Max grinned as he held up a head. 

'now for the boxes. You want to know if you have hit the correct one right?' Geoff asked the woman, who nodded. 'You did kill the target. it was indeed the correct box.' Geoff said. 'Dying is painfull but dying by being burned alive is worse. Your whole body melts away and you are in pain the whole time.' Armand pointed out. 

As the crew was about to walk away, Max stopped them. 'There is one more test I want to see. A claim you made that I want to see in action.'  'What is that?' Cassandra asked. Max walked towards the two mannequins near the chair and lifted them up. 'I want to see the armour piercing round go trough two people.' He said. 'Very well.' The woman spoke calmly. 

The hosts backed away and the expert fired two shots. After she was done, Max rushed to see the damage. 'Both are hit in the heart I see, at the same location and both are hit straight trough the head.' The computer wizz was clearly impressed. ; You know.. that all the shots are in the same spots shows that the armour piercing bullet does not lose velocity after going into the body. That is impressive on itself but it went through the thick skull as well.' Geoff explained. 

With the Long range tests done, it is time for the hosts to decide which weapon is superior.

'I am all for the Lawgiver.' Max began. Six different kinds of ammo, longer distance, not having to change the ammo and easier in the use... You can see why this is the gun of the future.' 'I agree.' Geoff nodded. The M60 was good. The Lawgiver was better.

For long range, The edge goes to Judge Dredd and his Lawgiver.

With both the special and Long ranges done, It looks like a victory for Dredd. Can the Punisher make a come back from this with the close range weapons?
In a test of melee versus melee, the Ka-bar knife and martial arts will go against the bootknife and daystick.

'So team Marvel, What close range weapons does Frank Castle bring to the fight?' Geoff asked the two experts. 'His Ka-bar knife and years of martial arts training and experience.' Nick Fury spoke with a calm voice. 

                                  The Ka-bar knife.. good for up close and personal killing

'Frank is a master of hand to hand combat.' Nick Fury explained. 'Before his quest against criminals, the man taught Marines in hand to hand combat and use of the knife.' Fury spoke. 'He does have quite the punch I must say.' Deadpool suddenly interrupted as he rubbed his jaw. We must still kill him. We do not kill our allies. O right. Yes, we might need him again.  

'Okay, I want to see the Ka-bar knife and martial arts both in action .' Geoff said before asking: 'Who will do the tests?' 'Ih wril' Deadpool jumped up with knifes in both hands and mouth. 'No you will not.' Nick Fury spoke loudly. 'Cmn. ihm shrarhrp s uknf.' 'I will do all of this and... O god help me what I am about to say... You can do midrange.' The Shield officer spoke. 'Yippikayeeeeh' The Mercenary yelled after spitting out his knife. Deadpool then threw the knifes at Max, who yelled as he ducked behind a table and deadpool teleported away. 

'First I want to see the knife in action.' Geoff explained as both he and Fury stood before a gell torso. 'Very well.' The black man nodded. Geoff moved away and yelled for the other man to start. Nick thrusted the knife in the neck of the target and punched the nose with his free fist. He then grabbed the head, pushing his fingers in the eye sockets as the man pulled the head aside and yanked the Ka-bar across the throat. A thrust at the temple was then followed by one to the chest, where the director left the knife.

'let us see the damage you have done.' Doctor Dorian said as he removed the knife and handed it to Geoff. 'I did see a lot of technique here.' Geoff said as he held the knife. 'You went through the neck as a stab and a cut. Both lethal.' Armand said. 'You also blinded the opponent with your fingers, which is as impressive and you delivered a thrust to the temple.' The doctor explained. 'Even this last thrust in the chest.... every move with the knife is lethal.' Was the final conclusion. 

'Now come with me sir.' Geoff spoke as the man pointed towards a mat on the ground. I want to see the martial art in action.' He added. 

The two stepped on the mat and Geoff started out with a punch. Fury grabbed him, swung around and threw Geoff on the ground. Before the host could get up, Fury stepped on his hand with one foot and on his throat with the other. 

'Damn, does he work like that?' Geoff asked as he stood up. 'Yes. Once on the ground, Punisher stays there untill the fight is over.'  Nick with a small grin. Following that, the Directer showed the hosts some more moves in the arsenal of Castle.

'What does the judge bring in this range?' Max asked the two other experts. 'Every judge carries a bootknife and a Daystick.' Judge Hershey said. 'It is part of the uniform?' Geoff asked? 'Yes.' The woman nodded. 

Sometimes, the bad guys need a good old spanking

'Okay. Tell us about the daystick?' Geoff asked the woman. 'It is a cudgel with a titanium core.' Barbara was the one to explain. 'It is a two handed weapon and used mostly for riot control or taking someone out without causing permanent damage.' Judge Anderson kept explaining, 'Interesting.' Max said. 'So you just hit with it like a bat?' Max Geoff asked. 'Indeed. Also a good defensive tool, the daystick has show to block even a chainsaw.' The woman said. 'Nice.'  Max added. 

Geoff showed the woman a crash test dummy and explained the test. 'The dummy is linked to my computer and when you hit, I can tell if it is a kill, a knock out or if it does not effect the warrior at all.' 

Geoff walked towards his laptop and yelled: 'Are you ready?' 'Yes!' The judge yelled back. 'Three...Two....One....Slam it....' Geoff yelled as signal. 'Whaaaa!' Cassandra yelled as she swung the weapon at the head of the target. After hitting the crash dummy three times, Cassandra stopped and and waited for Geoff to come and tell the results. 'If you want to inflict damage, you should use a ordinary baseballbat.' The host said. 'In terms of damage, I can only see a mild concussion and a knock out but that is all.' Cassandra rubbed her head but spoke up. 'We have another weapon, more deadly as well.' 'Ah yes the bootknife.' Max chuckled. 'Why is it called the boo..' Before the computer nerd could finish his sentence, the judge pulled a small thin yet knife out of her boot. 'Every judge keeps a knife in his or her boot as back up weapon.' Judge Anderson explained. 'It is a small double edged dagger that can kill rather easy.' She explained as the woman showed the knife. ' 'Looks smaller then the knife of your opponent.' Geoff commented. 'Size does not always matter.' Was the response of the judge. 'That is what they keep telling to people with small knifes.' Deadpool suddenly said. He then yelled: 'Burn!' 'That is not how that works.' Max tried to explain to the merc but quickly said: 'You are totall right.' After seeing a pistol waved in his face. 

'Your task is simple. Kill the man before you.' Geoff said as he pointed at the gell torso. The judge nodded and as soon as the sign was given, went on the attack. She first slashed the chest of the dummy and followed up with a thrust to the throat and finished off with a thrust to the chest, similair to the one of her opponent. 

'Now the slash to the chest looks painfull but does little. It may infest and could get you really sick but the warrior walks away aive.' Doctor Dorian began. 'The other two attacks however are killing moves.' The man said as he poked a finger in one of the holes. 

'This daystick... I do not see how this weapon would be effective in this kind of situation.' Max began as he waved the cudgel around. 'It is good for slamming down some youngsters but the Punisher?' He added. 'I agree Max.' Geoff nodded. 'It is a battle of knifes here and I tend to go with the larger Ka-bar.' Geoff explained. 'yes, the way Nick Fury used the knife, it was awesome.' Max said. 'Agreed, the larger knife and better martial arts gives a strong edge to the Punisher.' Geoff nodded.

For close range, The edge goes to Punisher and his Ka-bar knife and martial arts experience.

Only one range remains to be tested and with a score of two against one... can team Punisher equal the score in medium range? It is a test of firepower as the 9 mm uzi goes up against the arbitrator.

'Okay Team Punisher.. Tell us about the uzi.' Geoff began. 'Well. It goes pow pow pew pew and then all the badguys are like.... I am dying.... i cannot survive....Then they fall over.' Came the explanation of Deadpool.  

The uzi. Not one, but two machines of death.

'Who can I kill with it?' Deadpool asked as he aimed two Uzi's at Max. 'not me!' The young man said just before Geoff stepped in front of his co-host.n 'We would like it if you can tell some things about the uzi.' Geoff spoke as if explaining to a child. 'I already did...' The mercenary was rather surprised. 'You shoot and kill people and then they are dead and  won't come back again... unless you are me.... Or Superman... or Goku.... Or that idiot Deathstroke.'  Max was about to say something but decided against it and at that moment, Nick Fury stepped forwards. 'This is a simple 9 mm uzi. A submachine gun that can shoot 600 rounds a minute with a maximum range of 200 M.' 'What magazines does the weapon use?' Geoff asked. 'It uses magazines of 50 bullets, Frank can double wield it and that makes it 100 bullets before fully reloading.' Came the answer. 'How does Punisher use the uzi's' Geoff asked again. 'They are very usefull to kill multiple people in a quick swoop or as covering fire.' Fury explained. 'Booooorrrriiiiinnnggggggg.' Deadpool suddenly said. 'Let us head to the desert and test these out then.' Max chuckeld. 'I agree.' Geoff nodded.

'Now Deadpool. It is your time to go all out and shoot the targets.' Max said with a evil grin. 'Yes, I have set up here five targets. Four stationary targets and one that will move towards you.' Geoff explained. 'Keep an eye on the moving mannequin. When he crosses the red line, he will be too close and will kill you.' The host explained. 'i cannot be killed.' Deadpool sighted as talking to a child and put the two uzi's against both sides of his head and blew his brains out. 'Not this again.' Nick Fury was regretting allowing Deadpool to do this test. 

After the merc with a mouth had risen again, it was time to test the uzi's. 'Three....two....One..... Kill it.'  Deadpool looked at the targets and spoke: 'I am here to shoot targets and eat chimi changa's...And I am all out of chimi changa's.' The expert aimed the uzi's and fired. The sound of the two uzi's filled the air, soon followed by a singing Deadpool. 'And another one gone, another gone. Another one bites the dust. Eh Eh.' After two minutes, the expert appeared back with the hosts. 'Are you done already?' Max asked. 'Yes, I could not remember the rest of the song.' Deadpool nodded. 'It is about testing the weapons. Are they all dea... Did you hit all the targets?' Max tried to communicate. 'O targets.....right....yes....well.....'  The expert was distracted by the comment but did not seemed bothered by it. Aiming a uzi, the man fired off a round in a target and spoke again. 'Done.' 

'Let us see what you have done.' Geoff walked towards the targets, followed by Armand and Max. 'First target, several hits in the chest and head, with some in the stomach.' Geoff said. 'He is rather dead.' The doctor commented. 'Head and stomach are clean but the chest is so riddled with holes that even a cheese has less holes.' Max spoke. 'Number three has a few shots in the head, but the whole chest has almost been ripped apart.' Doctor Dorian pointed out. 'Even if he fell down in the emergency room, he would still not be able to be saved.' The doctor added. 'Number four is also full of holes.' Max pointed out several lethal ones. 'Now for the moving target.' Geoff said. 'I saw several bullets directly into the head and brain before the target reached the red line.' Geoff pointed out. 'That is a kill.' The man added. 'You did hit the target several times in the chest as well.' Max pointed out. 'There is no kill like overkill.' was the answer.

'Well there are five kill.' Max nodded. 'Can your weapon of choise peform better?' He then asked the two woman. 'The Arbitrator is a better weapon then that uzi yes.' Judge Hershey commented without bothering to look at the uzi's.

The Arbitrator. A shotgun on steroids.

'What do we have here?' Geoff asked as he saw the two judges walking towards the hosts with a large shotgun. 'The arbitrator is a pump action shotgun.' Barbara Hershey explained. 'It is a tool of a judge to deliver death.' Barbara explained. 'This close range killer can take out even a heavy armoured opponent.' She said. 'What kind of slugs does the weapon use?' Geoff asked. 'Well you know the Lawgiver? This weapon has seven different kinds of slugs. All doing different kinds of damage.' Cassandra ponted out. 'Can I hold this one?' Geoff asked. 'Yes you can.' The judge handed the shotgun and Geoff felt its weight. 'You told us about the seven different sorts of slugs but explain them.' The host asked. It was Judge Cassandra Anderson who explained. 'As with the lawgiver, The arbitrator has an armour piercing slug that can slam through heavy armour with ease. A ricochet slug that can stun, disarm, knock out and even hit several opponents close to each other. A incendiary slug that can burn anything it touches, an heat seaking slug that can track down all opponents it has been locked on and a high explosive.' 'Wow.' Max said. 'You talked about seven but explained five so far.' Geoff interrupted. 'Yes indeed.' The woman continued. 'the weapon also has a standard slug. The best one however is the shotshell. A plasteel shot that expands in the air and a judge can hit multiple targets with one shot.' 'nice.' Max commented. 'It is also the kind of slug most commenly used.' The judge added. 'Damn.' Came the reply of Max. 'With little more you can say about it, its time to get to testing.' 

'Instead of a target moving towards you, this one is actually fleeing the scene.' Geoff pointed towards the first target, 'Kill him first before the target gets away.' The host instructed. 'Destroy the rest as you want.' Geoff added.

'Very well.' Barbara nodded. 

'Are you ready?' Geoff yelled. 'Yes.' Came the short and direct answer. 'Three....Two...One...' The host counted down. By Go, Judge Hershey fired her shotgun. The moving target got hit two times and the woman aimed the weapon at another target, The target on the far left exploded in small plastic bits while the target on the far right caught on fire. She then fired off several shots at the last two targets and nodded that the attack was over. 'Well Deadpool was faster in killing then you were. You took 4 minutes, double the time it took Deadpool.' Geoff commented. 'But let us see what damage you did.' he added. 

'Sometimes as a doctor, I have a hard time determing when it is a kill and when not.' Doctor Dorian began. 'However when the target is burned to a crisp, it is safe to say that the target is in fact dead.' Armand added. 'I may not be a doctor but I think it is safe to say that the target is dead when the head has been blown apart from the body.' Max laughed. 'And with this target, i see the whole chest caved in.' Geoff said. 'You hit it with armour piercing slugs?' He then asked the expert, who nodded in agreement. 'That is rather interesting. Usually you have your ribcage to protect your organs but the slugs destroyed the ribcage and now there are pieces of slug and bone all through the chest, destroying all the organs.' The doctor pointed out. 'This one has ammo in the chest, throat and head.' Max said. 'What kind of slugs did you use for this one?' He then asked as the young man turned towards the judge. 'I used the shotshells for that. All that damage came from one shot.'The woman answered. 'Now for the moving target.' Geoff said as he looked at the last target. 'You hit the chest and head with it.' He spoke as he saw both caved in areas. 'i did indeed.' The woman answered. 

With the last of the weapons fired, It is now up to the hosts to decide the last edge.

'Okay, the arbitrator was just amazing.' Geoff began. 'It not only destroys a target but also gives you option and man, I love options.' The Canadian man added. 'yes the arbitrator was cool but I am going for the 9mm Uzi's here.' Max countered. 'The different kind of ammo, we already have seen with the Lawgiver. The uzi's are faster, can hit from a longer range and there are two of them.' Max explained his choise. 'And don't forget the covering fire.' He added. 

With the two hosts divided, it is up to doctor Dorian to give the final vote and decide who gets the edge. 

'Both weapons showed their lethality and when both weapons can deliver, I will give my edge to the one that can deliver the fastest. 

For Medium range, the edge goes to the Punisher and his two uzi's.

With all the edges given, It is time to look at the X-factor of each warrior. The x-factor is something that cannot be measured nor compared. It is something that drives the warrior and motivates them to fight untill the end.

The X-factor of Punisher is revenge. 

'Frank Castle saw his family murdered during a hit but even though he could describe the killers, the police did not nothing for him. That is why Frank donned the outfit of Punisher. He has no respect for the law anymore and will take care of those he deems dangerous himself. Frank has also no quarrels against killing corrupt officers. He gives his own kind of law and that is what drives Frank.' Nick Fury explained. 'And he does that with a lot of bangs and a lot of auwies. He is Frank Guns.' Deadpool added. 'Frank Guns?' Nick asked his fellow expert with a questioning look. 'Yes Frank Guns. Just look at textsfromsuperheroes... not sure how they found out about that text message though...' 

The X-factor of Dredd is his commitment for the Law.

'Dredd is not a normal human, born like you and me. He was cloned from the best judge we ever had.' Judge Hershey explained. 'He has been trained to take out bad guys from a young age and will always protect civilians.' The judge added.

Now there is nothing to say and nothing to test anymore, It is time to find out which of these two gunmen are the deadliest around. Before we do this though, first a recap of the egdes given. 

For Long range, the duel was between the M60 and lawgiver, with the latter getting the egde.

'The Lawgiver just has more options and can hit from a longer range. That is why it got the edge.' Geoff explained.

For Medium range, the dual Uzi's and Arbitrator were tested. The edge went to the Uzi's of Punisher.

'Both were very lethal and dangerous but the uzi's are faster and can give good covering fire.' Max spoke.

For close range, we saw the Ka-bar knife and martial arts of Punisher Face off against the bootknife and daystick of Judge Dredd. The combination of Ka-bar knife and martial arts scored the edge.

'The Ka-bar is bigger and better then the Bootknife and therefore gets the edge.' It was the doctor who explained. 

And lastly, with special weapons, two vehicles were tested against each other. The Lawmaster outpeformed the Battle van.

'Both vehicles were awesome but the Lawmaster was just plain faster and easier to use.' Max spoke.

Now for a final word... Have the hosts changed their minds on the winner during testing?

'I first believed that the futuristic weapons of Dredd would take this but now I believe that Punisher can win this. He moves on his own and always has a battle plan. The brains will help the brawn into victory.' Geoff spoke.

'I believe now that a combination of better weapons and top notch armour will win this fight for Dredd. I changed my mind completely on this.'  Armand Dorian spoke.

'Normally we do squad on squad matches when working with modern weapons. However. these two men will fight alone, as neither worked together that much and both wear bodyarmour to protect them.' Max spoke.

Now the hosts have given their final opinions, it is time for one last thing. That is to push the button and find out who is the Deadliest: Punisher of Judge Dredd. You will find out.......NOW!

Two vehicles raced through the deserted streets, a motorcycle chasing a black van. 'Stop, in the name of the law.' Sounded from the motorcycle.

 'Stop it...Never.' Frank spoke to himself. After years of tracing an important mob boss, Frank had finally found his target and just before he could take the boss out, this strange cop had come out of no-where and attacked Frank. With both this cop and the maffia attacking him, the Punisher had no choise other then flee the battle scene. That the cop chased him instead of taking out the maffia was enough evidence for Frank to know he was dealing with a crooked cop. The kind of cop he hated the most. 

First Frank would deal with this idiot and then he could go back and take out the mob boss.. If the maffia had not fled the scene already. He had no choise though, the man had to be taken down. 

The judge slowly neared the black van of the criminal. Another killer who was just about to murder an innocent family. Luckely, Dredd had noticed the black van and the criminal before it was too late. However before the judge could arrest his target, the man had fled. This criminal would feel justice, no matter what. As long as Dredd as alive, no criminal would escape his sight. 

Dredd fired the lasers of his lawmaster at the vehicle of his opponent, who managed to avoid the blow. This did slow the van down enough for the Lawmaster to get next to the van. 'Last warning, Stop or i'l shoot.' Dredd yelled out. The van slowed down a little bit and the doors of the van opened up. Just as Dredd was about to stop, he saw the criminal holding a very old weapon. The criminal then opened fire. Bullets hit the lawmaster as Dredd picked up speed and moved away from the van. He then took his own Lawgiver and tried to shoot the tires. This failed and Dredd moved to shoot the man, who was just able to close the doors before being hit.

The van suddenly made a sharp move towards the Lawmaster and rammed it with full force. 

Dredd fell down on the ground next to the Lawmaster. 

Now the battle van stopped and the doors opened up again. Punisher fired his M60 at Dredd, who quickly picked up his Lawgiver and returned fire. A grenade shell of the M60 hit the motorcycle and and exploded. Dredd had just been able to move away from his vehicle and hoped it had not taken too much damage. 

Both men kept firing bullets at each other, untill the Judge used the grenade launcher on his weapon. A grenade flew into the battle van and with just enough time, Frank was able to jump out before it exploded. He rolled on the ground and fired another grenade as he stood up. Using the smoke of his grenade as cover, Frank Castle hid behind a car as he reloaded his weapon.

 'You cannot hide.' Dredd yelled out. Using the smoke of a grenade to escape had been clever..but not clever enough. Dredd looked at the road and moved his hands to change the number on Lawgiver. He aimed it at the road and fired the weapon. A bullet smashed into a car at the side and the car burst into fire. Dredd then shot at the car again, using his high explosive ammo and the car blew up. This forced Punisher on the move. Holding his two uzi's, the man fired the weapons as he ran away. Dredd was forced backwards by the barrage of bullets as Castle fled into an alleyway. 

Dredd moved towards the allyway himself and found several parked cars at the end. Taking his Arbitrator, the judge moved around the cars. 

Frank saw how his opponent held as the man slowly made it past the cars. One thing was for sure, Frank was taking these weapons when he had killed the man. They would prove  usefull in his quest. Just as the judge moved past the car that Frank had been hiding behind, He took his Ka-bar knife and attacked his opponent from behind. The knife slashed at the back and Dredd turned around as quickly as he could. Frank pulled the shotgun out of the hands of his opponent as he slammed his foot against the knee of his opponent and tried to hit the throatn with his knife. The attack only hit the chest as Dredd moved backwards himself, who took his Daystick and went on the offence. Frank grabbed the daystick in a lock and slammed his knife in the shoulder of his opponent. Dredd stepped away, losing the daystick in the process and reached for his boot, where his knife was. At the moment that the judge reached for his boot, Punisher kicked his opponent in the head. 

Dredd flew backwards as the helmet came loose and rolled away. Now his opponent was on the ground, Punisher moved to finish the job. Just before the two warriors met, Dredd pulled his lawgiver and fired off a round from the ground that went straight through the armour and into the stomach of Punisher. Dredd tried to stand up as adrealin filled Frank, who rushed forwards and kicked the weapon out of the hands of the judge. Frank then kicked the face of his opponent and slammed the face against the ground several times. 'Fuck the law!' Frank yelled. He picked the judge up and threw the man on the ground. Frank then took Lawgiver and aimed it at the judge, who slowly made it backwards to reach the shotgun. 'let's end this.' Frank said, blood dripping from his lips. At the moment Punisher pulled the trigger, the weapon exploded in his hands. Frank howled in pain as his hand was blown away, not seeing that Dredd now had his Arbitrator in his hand. The shotgun fired, hitting the chest of Frank. Blood was everywhere as Frank fell down. The slug had gone through his armour and the warrior had trouble breathing. He knew he was going to die soon. 

Dredd walked up to Punisher and yelled: I am the Law!' Before shooting the head of the hero.

Winner: Judge Dredd 

'In a epic fight between two very equal men, Dredd walks away as winner.' Max spoke. His Lawgiver and Arbitrator were too much for Castle to overcome and scored the most kills out of all the weapons.' The computer wizz then explained. 'Judge Dredd managed to win 604 times while Punisher only won 396 times out of a thousend.'

Lawgiver:                       251                            M60                          180               

Arbitrator:                      212                            9 MM Uzi                    41

Bootknife & Daystick    41                           Ka-bar & Martial arts     29

Lawmaster                     100                          Battle Van                    146

'It is clear that justice has been given and that the Law has won again against those who abuse it.' Judge Hershey spoke. 'Dredd has been trained to take on the likes of this Punisher and this has shown why.' The woman added with a soft smile.

'Okay who do I kill to get us a victory... Cap was right.'  Deadpool spoke. 'This show stinks and Mark is an idiot for writing this.' 

Next week on Deadliest warrior, we have two one of a kind warriors. One uses psychic powers while the other can bend all the elements. In the last fight of this round, we will test who would win in a fight between the legendary pokemon Mewtwo and the latest incarnation of the avatar, Korra.

Tune in next week to see who will win this next fight.