Another big factor that contributes to the outcome of fictional fights is the element of surprise. A writer can give anyone a chance at victory against a far superior opponent with a big enough margin of “whaaa?” That is why the fights featured on this site involve two (or more) combatants that are fully aware that they are about to face off against a worthy adversary.

What does that mean? It means I’m not going to bother to tackle the Batman vs. Superman debate. Comic book writers can let Batman win in a somewhat believable fashion by forming a story around a bat-victory. In the comics, Superman and Batman are friends at best and teammates at worst. Either way, they trust each other. That said, Batman could possibly get close enough to use a kryptonite ring from his lead-lined utility belt against the man of steel. I still doubt that would be enough to pull off a win, but back to my point…
If a villain, or even a stranger, approached Superman with an evil plot in mind, things would unfold much differently. Supes would hear a racing heart beat and determine malicious intent, scan the stranger’s body with x-ray vision and find the lead container, use superspeed to confiscate said container and safely determine what is inside. True, Superman may not be that super-aware at all times, but he certainly is when he expects a fight, as all my combatants do.

So the element of surprised is never used on Combatic, right? Mostly right. A combatant such as Mystique could use her shape-shifting abilities to throw off an opponent. Any character from the X-Men should be prepared for such a tactic, but a fighter outside the Marvel Universe would not have knowledge of her powers. Combatants come into the fight with knowledge of an opponent who is trying to kill them, but without knowledge of the opponent’s abilities except from what they know from previous engagements.