Icon vs Gladiator

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• 0:00:00 - Introduction 
• 0:04:05 - No-Prize Time  
• 0:08:10 - Question of the Week 
• 0:09:17 - Icon vs Gladiator intro 
• 0:13:17 - Gladiator history and abilities 
• 0:22:43 - Icon history and abilities 
• 0:32:14 - Fight speculation 
• 0:39:13 - Duel results 
• 0:42:45 - Sign off 
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Executive producers: John Starosky, Zachary Hepburn, Dustyn Balcom, Miggy Matanguihan, Nathaniel Wagner, Levi Yeaton, Austin Wesolowski, AJ Dunkerley, Nic Abanto, Scott Camacho, Gil Camacho, Adam Speas, Dean Maleski, Devin Davis, Joseph Kersting, Josh Liner, Mike Williams, Oscar Galvez, and Paul Graves
"Take a Chance" "Clash Defiant" "Blip Stream" "Nowhere Land" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
#Icon #Gladiator #MarvelVsDC


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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is a DynaMic Network Podcast. Hi, welcome tothe Dynamic Duel Podcast, a weekly show where we

(00:27):
review superhero films and debate thesuperiority between Marvel and DC by comparing
their characters in stat-based battlesimulations. I'm Johnny DC. And I'm his twin
brother, Marvelous Joe. And in this episode, weare doing a duel between the Superman-esque
characters of Icon and Gladiator. Yeah, this was aspecial request from our executive producers.

(00:52):
I've always been a big fan of Gladiator, eventhough he is a Superman knockoff, but just because
he's so heavily tied into the Shiar alien empire,which is like one of the big races in the world of
cosmic Marvel. I guess you could more accuratelysay that Gladiator is a Mon-El ripoff. And I have
too much respect for Icon to call him too much of aSuperman knockoff. So I know of Icon, but I

(01:15):
actually don't know his powers. Like both of theseguys are pretty obscured characters, I think,
both like cult followings. Yeah, we're going tobreak down each character's histories and
abilities later on in this episode before findingout who would win in a battle between the two.
Before that, we're going to break down the comicbook movie news from the past week, of which the
news is that there is no news. It's all justfreaking rumors all the time. I'm sick of it. I want

(01:38):
some real stuff. Yeah, enough with that likeclickbait speculation stuff. Like I want the
studios to like announce something already, youknow? Right. I want a Batman. I want something
besides Avengers Doomsday or Spider-Man, Iguess. I want something. Give me something. Give
me anything. I think I have an old pizza crust in abox upstairs if you want that. The fuck? Of course I

(02:02):
do. I love pizza crust. As always, guys, we list oursegment times in our episode description, so feel
free to check out the show notes if you want to skipahead to a particular topic. Our artificially
intelligent dual simulator, AJ9K, has a quickmessage for our listeners. So listen up. Why hello
there. Do you want even more from this podcast?Then become a part of the Dynamic Dual community on

(02:24):
Patreon, where you can choose from three tiers.The Dynamic 2.0 tier gives you access to our
Discord chat server. The Fantastic Four tiergives you two bonus episodes each month, and the
X-Force tier makes you an executive producer ofthis show. Lastly, the Diner Mike podcast network
tier lets you create your own podcast using thisMonte Carlo simulator. Johnny and Joe will help

(02:44):
you develop your show, provide graphic supportand consultation and get you simulation results.
Pitch the twins your ideas via email atdynamicdualpodcastatgmail.com. Check it out at
patreon.com slash dynamicdual. Pip pip cheerio.Thanks AJ9K and thanks to everyone who supports
the podcast. Guys, be sure to tune into the othershows and the Diner Mike podcast network this

(03:06):
week, including the console combat podcast,where hosts, John and Dean simulate battles
between popular video game characters. Inyesterday's episode, the two determined to win
between Wario, specifically the WarioWareversion, and Dr. Robotnik from Sonic the
Hedgehog. Over on the Max Destruction podcast,hosts Scotty and Gilly pit your favorite action
heroes from film and television against eachother. On Wednesday, they're coming back from a

(03:30):
month long hiatus to find out who would win in afight between Chong Li from Bloodsport and Tong Po
from Kickboxer. This is going to be such a goodepisode. On the Central World podcast, host
Zachary Hepburn speculates on fights between fanfavorite anime and manga characters. In his next
episode, Zach is going to reveal who would winbetween Trafalgar D Waterlaw from One Piece and

(03:53):
Tanjiro Kanjiro from Bleach. Visitdynamicpodcasts.com or click the link in our show
notes to listen to all of the shows in the Diner Mikepodcast network. But with that out of the way,
quick to the no prize. A no prize is an award thatMarble used to give out to fans. Our version, the
dynamic dual no prize is a digital award we post onInstagram for the person that we feel gave the best

(04:16):
answer to our question of the week. Last week, weasked you guys, what do you think Deadpool's
involvement in the Avengers Doomsday story willbe? And this is coming off of the news that Deadpool
will be an Avengers Doomsday, which has beenconfirmed by The Hollywood Reporter and vaguely
by Ryan Reynolds own Instagram post. TheHollywood Reporter said that the role would be
unsubstantial, but we thought we'd go to you guysto see what that role might entail. We got three

(04:41):
answers, but actually one of them got lost.Somewhere on the Internet. So sorry, Lorenzo
Valdez. Thank you for calling in. We saw that youdid leave a message, but for some reason it just
didn't load when we would click on it. So ourhonorable mention goes to Alex Albro, who said,
Hey guys, I think Deadpool is a narrator of themovie, the opening line being in a world where

(05:02):
fantasies collide and heroes clash. Wait, no,that's not the right one. That's not the right
line. No, honestly, guys, I have no idea whatDeadpool is doing in this movie. I have no idea what
his role will be. Maybe it's just a post creditcameo where he is at the end in a chair reading the
Secret Wars comic from Deadpool and Wolverine andtells us to show up, you know, next December. I have

(05:25):
no idea. Actually, I wouldn't mind either of thoseoptions if he's the narrator. Well, I guess it
would make the proceedings of the film seem alittle bit silly because of course he's going to
lend his own comedic commentary to what's goingon. So I like the second idea that Alex suggested
where he's like in a post credit scene kind oftelling people to show up for the continuation of

(05:45):
the story in Avengers Secret War. You know how OnceUpon a Deadpool was kind of based off of the
Princess Bride movie? Right. It was sort of likethis framed narrative where Deadpool's reading a
story to Fred Savage. I want Avengers Doomsday tobe a framed narrative based on the never ending
story because that's what these Marvel moviesare. Never ending stories. Yeah. So what does that

(06:08):
mean? Deadpool's like reading the AvengersDoomsday story and then he like closes the book and
then runs out into a storm and shouts Dr. Doomsnameor something. And then all of a sudden he's writing
Dr. Dooms through the skies. That would be epic.Great answer, Alex. But the winner of this week's
No Prize is Noah Terry. Who said? Hey, guys, so forDeadpool's role in Avengers Doomsday, I would say

(06:34):
he will be almost like a multiverse guide to theAvengers and other characters, almost like a
chaotic version of Nick Fury who will introducethe incursions in the TVA to the characters and
help drive the story forward. So that's my answer.Thanks. Bye, guys. I actually think this one's

(06:54):
plausible in that we know with Loki sitting on histhrone, you know, taking care of the multiverse
and substituting for the loom and Mobius, OwenWilson's character from the Loki show no longer at
the TVA. They got to have some kind of TVArepresentative in Avengers Doomsday. So maybe
Deadpool serves as the like the TVArepresentative and introducing the concept of

(07:15):
the incursions to the Avengers. And I like thatanswer a lot because how many characters from the
films are actually familiar with the concept ofthe multiverse? I mean, there's Dr. Strange and
there's Spider-Man. And I guess like CaptainAmerica was told about them in the post-credits
scene for Captain America Brave New World, I guesspossibly Ant-Man too, with his involvement with

(07:38):
King. And of course, the Fantastic Four would knowabout them having come from a separate universe.
So a lot of them, actually. But, you know, they maynot all know about the incursions themselves. I
think that's just the Dr. Strange thing. But Ithink this would be a fun idea to be like a quick way
for Deadpool to like get in and out of the story,just kind of like setting up what these guys got to
do and how the TVA needs them. So great answer,Noah, and congrats on winning this week's No

(08:01):
Prize. If you, the listener, want to shout outwinning your own No Prize, stay tuned to later on
this episode when we'll be asking anotherquestion of the week. And since there is no news
this week, on to the question of the week. Allright, guys, it's fantasy football season. So we
thought we would ask you guys a fantasy footballrelated question that pertains to Marvel and DC.

(08:23):
Basically, who would be your number onequarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight
end, safety and kicker on your Marvel or DC fantasyfootball team? So taking all the superhero
characters out there from Marvel and DC, puttingthem on a football team, what would those primary
positions be? Again, quarterback, running back,wide receiver, tight end, safety and kicker. And I

(08:45):
don't want to see any of these mixing of Marvel andDC characters on these teams. This is either team
DC or team Marvel. You get a pick. Yeah, and give usthe name of your team, too. Record your answer at
dynamicdool.com by clicking on the redmicrophone button in the bottom right hand corner
of the screen, which will prompt you to leave us avoicemail. Your message could be up to 30 seconds
long. And don't forget to leave your name in case weinclude you on the podcast. We'll pick our

(09:09):
favorite answer and award that person a DynamicDuel No Prize that will post to Instagram. Be sure
to answer before September 6th. But now let's moveon to the main event of this episode, a duel between
the DC milestone character of Icon and Marvel'sleader of the Imperial Guard Gladiator. OK, Icon

(09:52):
versus Gladiator, as we mentioned earlier, theseare two Superman-esque characters who can fly and
are super strong and shoot lasers. But I think theyalso have interesting stories. At least I know
Icon does. He, of course, originated in milestonecomics, which was later acquired by DC Comics.

(10:12):
Yeah, I like Gladiator's backstory. You know, forall these Superman copies, essentially, a lot of
them have managed to kind of carve out their ownunique and interesting backstory. For the most
part, I mean, except for Hyperion, right, theleader of the Squadron Supreme. We actually have
done a duel with him against Ultraman. We've alsodone a duel with the Sentry against Zod. So this

(10:33):
will be like our fourth version of like Supermanversus Superman-esque characters. To my
knowledge, neither of these characters have beenin film, but I know that they have made appearances
in both the X-Men and the Young Justice animatedseries. Right. Yeah, the X-Men live action films
have yet to really go cosmic. Yet there is a cosmicside to the X-Men comic books, which largely deals

(10:57):
with the Shiar. I guess it would be strange for thelive action X-Men films to really go out there like
that. Although, I guess the Dark Phoenix movie didhave the Dabari aliens as villains. Who were not
the Skrulls. Right. But going from there, I thinkyou could branch out into, you know, the Shiar and
the Imperial Guard in a subsequent X-Men movie.You know, if that whole Fox X-Men universe wasn't

(11:19):
obsolete by this point. I do think a icon moviewould be cool as hell, though. It would be like
Django and Chained meets Superman. I mean, theycould go that route. I think that's definitely a
route you could take the film. I think that would beawesome. We would really need a series of films, I
think, maybe a trilogy to really tell Icahn's fullstory. Well, let's get into those backstories.

(11:40):
First, to explain the methodology behind ourduels, let's go to our sentient dual simulator,
Alfred Jarvis 9000. AJ9K tell our listeners howyou go about determining a winner in our dual
matchups. Yes, of course, sir. The way I determinea winner between the contestants is by running one
thousand Monte Carlo simulations using thecharacters statistics. A Monte Carlo simulation
is a probabilistic model used to determineoutcomes through random sampling. In this case, I

(12:05):
randomize the statistics along a normaldistribution as a way to simulate the many
variables that can occur during battle. The statparameters are based on the official Marvel power
grid from which the DC characters statistics areextrapolated. Additional stat categories are
included such as range, damage potential,versatility and perception in order to create a
more detailed and accurate simulation. Theresults of the 1000 simulations provide a

(12:30):
percentage of wins for each character. Thecontestant with the higher percentage is
declared the victor as they have a higherprobability to win any given battle. In an
equitable pairing, neither character should win100% of the matches. The comic book stories have
shown that there's even a way for Batman to defeatSuperman. So the confidence rate of my method
falls in line with the precedents that have beenestablished in the source material. My

(12:53):
mathematical simulations are withoutsubjectivity or bias. Feats are not the sole
consideration, nor a fan vote is tabulated fordetermination of the winner. Thanks, AJ9K.
Before we run the simulations, though, we'd liketo break down each character's histories and
abilities before improvising a scenario on how weimagine one of the 1000 simulations would play out
beat for beat. And it is my turn to go first with theMarvel characters backstory. So let me tell you

(13:18):
all about Gladiator, whose real name is Clark. Yo,what? Not Clark. Calark. Wow. K-A-L-L-A-R-K, if
you care. Calark was born centuries ago on theplanet Strontia under the dominion of the Shiar
Empire. He was descended from a proud lineage andraised by the Strontian Council of Elders, who are

(13:41):
as much as family as his blood relatives. Like allStrontians, he possessed the potential for great
power, but his abilities depended on his completedevotion to purpose. As a youth, he trained as a
military cadet competing for the title ofGladiator. He distinguished himself as both an
honorable individual and a formidable soldier.Only 10 cadets survived the harsh training

(14:02):
trials, and they were subjected to a dangerousenhancement process that granted them powers far
beyond the norm of their race. The Council ofElders informed the cadets that the purpose of
their trials was to select from among them thefinest warrior of the Strontian race, as the
planet Strontia was under Shiar rule. The Shiarwere an alien race with a vast intergalactic

(14:23):
empire who demanded that the strongest of each ofits subjects serve in its imperial guard and
protect the Shiar ruler, known as a Majestor.Calark and the other cadets were to be tested by the
Majestor to core, who, knowing that even anordinary Strontian could devastate an army,
demanded that they prove their loyalty andabsolute obedience to the empire by ordering the

(14:45):
cadets to slay the Strontian Council of Elders.Most of them refused and died trying to rebel,
leaving only Calark committed enough to fulfillthe order and he killed the council that were once
like family to him. For his loyalty, Majestor tocore dubbed Calark as Gladiator, and he was given
the rank of Praetor of the Imperial Guard, aleadership position he would hold for centuries.

(15:08):
As the Praetor of the Imperial Guard, Gladiatorserved multiple Majestors leading up to D'Kenn, a
power-hungry ruler who craved the Macron crystalwhich housed enough energy to destroy an entire
universe. D'Kenn's sister, L'Londra, reachedout to the X-Men on Earth, aware of their existence
due to their defeat of the invading alien racecalled the Xenox. Professor X and his team of

(15:32):
mutants were transported into space where D'Kenndeclared L'Londra a traitor and commanded
Gladiator and the Imperial Guard into battle withthe X-Men. You can learn more about the X-Men in
their duel against the Titans. L'Londraeventually convinced Gladiator to stand down
when D'Kenn was rendered catatonic, driveninsane through his contact with the Macron
crystal. She laid claim to the Xiar throne,becoming its new Majestrix, and Gladiator's new

(15:57):
charge. He shifted his loyalty to L'Londra andstood at her side when the Dark Phoenix arose, a
threat the Majestrix equated to Galactus.Declaring that Jean Grey's possession by the
Phoenix could not be allowed to continue,L'Londra commanded Gladiator to represent her in
an honor duel against the X-Men on the blue area ofthe moon. Gladiator battled Colossus and

(16:18):
overpowered him with ease, surviving thecollapse of ancient Cree ruins without injury.
Yet even Gladiator and the Guard were powerlessagainst the Dark Phoenix, who defeated them
before ultimately taking her own life. You canlearn more about Jean Grey and the Phoenix Horse in
our Raven vs Phoenix duel episode. In later years,Gladiator remained a stalwart protector of

(16:38):
L'Londra. He opposed Lord Samadhar when thecounselor betrayed the throne in alliance with
Deathbird, L'Londra's sadistic sister. He alsotraveled to Earth mistakenly believing the
Fantastic Four were scrolls in disguise andclashed with them before Spider-Man and Captain
America helped expose the true imposters. WhenDeathbird usurped the Xiar throne and took the

(16:58):
title of Majestrix, Gladiator was forced to serveher despite his loyalties lying with L'Londra.
During Deathbird's rule, he and the Guard foughtwith the Starjammers, a group of space pirates who
had allied with L'Londra over the power of thePhoenix Force. He was defeated and Deathbird
later lost her throne after a group of alienscrolls staged a coup in order to reinstate

(17:19):
L'Londra as Majestrix and have her be in thescrolls' thrall. Gladiator continued to enforce
Xiar will, but his path often intersected withEarth's heroes. He clashed with the Avengers and
fought Thor, suffering defeat during theXiar-Cree War. When Earth's heroes sacrificed
themselves against Onslaught, L'Londra sentGladiator and the Guard to safeguard Earth, where

(17:40):
they uncovered a Cree extremist plot. He laterbattled the Hulk while pursuing a Xiar fugitive on
Earth, thwarted Ronan the Accuser'sassassination attempt on L'Londra, which you can
learn more about in our recent Inhumans duel, andled an assault on the X-Men under Majestrix
L'Londra's orders, but learned that she was underCassandra Nova's psychic control. You can learn

(18:01):
more about Professor X's sister in our Chief vsProfessor X duel. Gladiator's duties extended to
cosmic threats. He was captured by a herald ofGalactus named Tyrant alongside heroes like Beta
Ray Bill and the Silver Surfer, though Galactuseventually freed them. Gladiator infiltrated
the Kiln Prison with Thanos and Star-Lord,discovering an Amnesiac godlike being known as

(18:22):
the Beyonder. He challenged the Champion of theUniverse on planet Skardon, though the
Champion's power gem made victory impossible forGladiator. He also pursued the Unipower, which is
an energy that emanates from the Enigma Force andtransforms its host into the hero Captain
Universe. He teamed up with the Silver Surfer tostop a space warlord named Krosakis, who had

(18:43):
acquired the Unipower energy. Meanwhile,Vulcan, the lost brother of Cyclops who was
separated from his family years ago by Daken'sactions, plotted revenge against Daken. Vulcan
secretly pulled Daken out of his coma, who thentook back his rightful title of Majester from his
sister, Lalandra. Vulcan then killed Daken andclaimed the Shiar throne by right of conquest,

(19:04):
marrying Deathbird and becoming the new charge ofGladiator and the Imperial Guard. Vulcan's reign
embroiled the Shiar in war against the Kree, andGladiator eventually defied Vulcan by refusing
to execute Lalandra. However, he soon witnessedDarkhawk, a rogue member of an ancient sect of
Shiar assassins, kill Lalandra. An act you canlearn more about in our Stargirl vs. Darkhawk dual

(19:27):
episode. When Vulcan was presumed dead in a battleagainst Black Bolt, Gladiator himself assumed
leadership of the Shiar to prevent civil war,becoming the Empire's new Majestor. As ruler,
Gladiator faced crises across the galaxy. Hejoined a team of cosmic heroes called the
Annihilators, alongside Silver Surfer, Beta RayBill, Quasar, and Ronin, defending against

(19:49):
threats like the Diarrates and the Magus. Duringthe Phoenix's return to Earth, Gladiator
attempted to stop the Phoenix V and rescue his son,Kubar. Around that time, he recruited the first
human into the Imperial Guard's ranks, a womannamed Isabel Kane, aka Spasher, who had
discovered special goggles called Exospex thatshe could use to download any ability of someone in

(20:11):
her view. Gladiator and the Shiar Empire foughtalongside the Avengers and Guardians of the
Galaxy against cosmic threats like theCancerverse and Thanos, but Gladiator grew sick
of his duties over time, wishing instead to returnto his title of Praetor of the Imperial Guard.
Supporting his demotion was Deathbird, who sawAstrantian ruling the Shiar Empire as an insult.

(20:32):
Shiar rebels used genetic material fromLillandra's body and Professor X to create a child
named Zandra. When a society of artificialintelligence threatened the Shiar, Gladiator
abdicated his throne and installed Zandra as thenew Magestrix, though he continued to advise and
protect the child. He also cooperated withImminent Nation Krakowa, permitting a gateway to

(20:54):
be established between the island and Shandalar,the Shiar throne world. That's Gladiator's
backstory. Powers-wise, Gladiator has numerousabilities derived from a scientifically
enhanced strontian physiology. He is immenselystrong, able to lift over 100 tons with ease, and is
virtually invulnerable to physical damage. Hecan move and fly at orbital speeds of thousands of

(21:15):
miles per hour and can emit beams of heat energyfrom his eyes that are as hot as the sun. Gladiator
can also expel powerful and freezing gusts of windfrom his lungs and has enhanced senses of hearing
and sight. He has been trained in Shiar martialarts and military strategy since he was young. His
power level is dependent on his confidence, soelapsed and self-assurance in his actions will

(21:37):
weaken him. He's also susceptible to magic andnuclear radiation. That's Gladiator. You know,
Gladiator's origin wasn't as close to Superman'sas I thought it would be, although his power set is
very much exactly like Superman's. Icon's originis pretty close to Superman, I would say.
Interesting, okay. Yeah, I'm glad that we wereable to get to a duel with Gladiator because the

(22:00):
history of the Imperial Guard really is thehistory Icon, let me get into his backstory.

(22:47):
Thousands of years ago, an alien negotiator fromthe planet Terminus named Arnis traveled the
stars aboard a life pod designed to terraform newworlds. When the pod malfunctioned, it crashed on
Earth in the year 1839 in the American South. Aspart of its survival protocol, the pod's
automorphic technology reconstructed Arnis'body into the form of the first sentient life it

(23:13):
encountered, a black woman named Miriam, who wasenslaved on a cotton plantation. The
transformation not only altered his DNA, but alsoreset his cognition, turning him into a human
infant with no memory of his extraterrestrialidentity. Miriam discovered the child near the
crash site and with no knowledge of his origin,raised him as her own within the enslaved

(23:36):
community, naming him Augustus. Growing up inbondage, Augustus experienced the brutal
realities of slavery first hand. As he matured,his intellect rapidly advanced beyond human
limits and with it came flashes of memory andgradual rediscovery of his true alien nature. He
eventually escaped enslavement, joined theUnion Army during the Civil War, and used his

(24:01):
powers covertly to help sway key battles in favorof the North. In the decades that followed, he
continued to live under assumed identities,posing as successive descendants of Augustus
Freeman I while acquiring wealth, education, andinfluence. By the time of World War II, he once
again took part in pivotal moments of history,using his abilities discreetly to shape the

(24:25):
outcome of global events. By the late 20thcentury, Augustus Freeman IV lived as a
successful corporate attorney in Dakota City,having grown distant from humanity and resigned
to observing rather than intervening. His longlife had convinced him that lasting societal
change was unlikely, a belief that was challengedwhen his home was broken into by a group of troubled

(24:48):
teenagers. Among them was Raquel Irvin, a young,idealistic writer from the impoverished Paris
Island neighborhood. After witnessing Augustususe his powers to subdue the intruders, Raquel
confronted him with the idea that he could be areal-life superhero, someone who could inspire
change and justice. Though reluctant at first,Augustus was persuaded by Raquel's conviction

(25:11):
and agreed to become a hero under the name Icon,with Raquel designing his costume and
accompanying him as his sidekick Rocket, who youcan learn more about in our Rocket vs. Spider-Gwen
dual episode. As Icon, Augustus became a powerfulsymbol of hope and lawfulness in Dakota City. He
betrothed neighborhoods affected by crime andcorruption, while Rocket helped balance his

(25:35):
rigid moral code with compassion andcontemporary social awareness. While Icon often
approached problems through a conservative andlawful lens, Rocket challenged him to see
injustices embedded within the systems he soughtto uphold. Their ideological debates
strengthened their bond, making them one of themost effective hero duos in the city. Their

(25:56):
presence soon brought them into contact andsometimes conflict with other super-powered
individuals. Rocket and Icon worked alongsidethe vigilantees' static and encountered the
inventor known as Hardware, another giftedgenius with ties to corporate conspiracy. You can
learn more about static in our Static vs. Jubileeepisode. Eventually, Icon joined other powered

(26:17):
individuals to form the Shadow Cabinet, a covertteam assembled to safeguard global stability and
prevent superhuman threats from spiraling out ofcontrol. Though initially at odds with the
cabinet's secrecy and morally gray tactics, Iconagreed to join under the condition that their
mission remained focused on preserving peace andliberty. In the public eye, Icon was hailed as a new

(26:39):
protector for the marginalized. However, hispresence also attracted the attention of alien
horses from his past. The terminating species hadlong believed him to be lost and his mission a
failure. When they detected his survival, theydispatched the powerful bounty hunter Oblivion
to retrieve or eliminate him. The confrontationdevastated parts of Dakota City and threatened to

(27:01):
reveal Augustus' extraterrestrial origin to theworld. With Rocket's help, Icon defeated
Oblivion and reaffirmed his commitment to Earthas his true home. As Rocket matured, she faced her
own challenges including an unexpectedpregnancy that forced her to take time away from
crime fighting. Icon continued his mission alonefor a time, during which she became more directly

(27:22):
involved in legal reform and rehabilitation ofyoung offenders. Upon Rocket's return, the two
resumed their partnership. When a cosmic crisisthreatened the multiverse, Icon was identified
as one of the most powerful beings in his realityand was drawn into conflicts that extended beyond
his dimension. He helped repel interdimensionalthreats and fought to protect the balance between

(27:44):
worlds. Though these battles exposed him to otherversions of reality, he remained grounded in his
adopted identity and mission on his Earth.Following DC's Flashpoint event, reality was
rewritten and Dakota City's history was altered.In this new continuity, Augustus Freeman
remained an alien from Terminus who crash-landedon Earth in the 19th century. He maintained a low

(28:08):
profile, allowing human societies to developindependently while observing from a distance.
In the modern era, he continued to work as a lawyerin Dakota City, maintaining a private life and
avoiding engagement with the growing number ofmetahumans. The widespread event known as the Big
Bang changed that. During a violent clash betweenpolice and gang members on Paris Island, an

(28:30):
experimental mutagenic gas developed by all theindustries detonated, killing many and mutating
others into super-powered beings. Thesurvivors, known as Bang Babies, created a surge
in crime, chaos, and metahuman activitythroughout Dakota City. Among the witnesses to
the event was Raquel Urban, whose home andcommunity were directly affected. Seeking

(28:51):
justice and driven by hope, Raquel tracked downAugustus Freeman after hearing rumors about his
strength and longevity. Once again, shechallenged him to become a symbol for those who
felt abandoned and powerless. Inspired by herresolve, Augustus adopted the icon identity Anu,
with Raquel becoming Rocket once more. Theirpartnership emerged as a stabilizing force

(29:12):
during the chaos of the Big Bang aftermath.Together, Icon and Rocket battled Bang Babies who
used their powers for violence, as well as corruptpolitical forces that sought to exploit the
crisis for their personal gain. Rocket becameincreasingly vocal about issues of social
inequality, helping Icon refine his approach toheroism. Their work led to the formation of new

(29:32):
alliances with local heroes, community leaders,and civil rights advocates. When the government
attempted to establish a paramilitary task forceto control metahuman populations, Icon
resisted, warning against the misuse of power.His stand put him at odds with federal agencies and
even some of his fellow heroes, but he remainedsteadfast in his belief that individual liberty

(29:55):
and accountability were paramount. As threatsescalated both in scale and complexity, Icon was
forced to confront remnants of his past. A rogue,terminan scientist attempted to weaponize
Earth's metahumans as part of a plan to terraformthe planet or terminus colonization. But to help
of Rocket and other Dakota-based heroes, Icondismantled the operation, reaffirming his

(30:18):
loyalty to Earth and the people he now consideredhis true kin. And that's Icon's history.
Powers-wise, Icon possesses vast superhumanabilities derived from his alien physiology as a
terminan. His strength allows him to lift immenseweights, while his durability makes him
resilient to bullets, extreme temperatures,explosions, and even direct energy assaults. He

(30:40):
can fly at high velocities and is capable ofinterstellar travel. His longevity grants him
near immortality, having aged only marginallysince his arrival on Earth over a century ago. He
also has enhanced senses and is a trained soldierhaving fought in multiple wars. He can manipulate
positronic energy for a variety of effects,including focused energy blasts from his hands

(31:05):
and eyes, or waves of energy from any part of hisbody. This energy also allows him to accelerate
his healing, generate force fields, and emitelectromagnetic pulses, even capable of
disrupting electric signals in the human body. Hehas a genius level intellect and has accumulated
vast legal, historical, and scientificknowledge over his long life. His experience

(31:28):
across different cultural and historical erasalso makes him a tactician and leader with deep
insight into the nature of humanity. OK, so Icon'sbackstory is a lot more similar to Superman's in
that he is like an alien who comes to Earth, but hispower set is a lot different from Superman's, I
feel like. Yeah, yeah. I mean, he doesn't have likefreeze breath or anything like that, but you know,

(31:50):
he still has the enhanced senses, still has thesuper strength and durability and can fly. Yeah,
gladiators powers mimic Superman's down to likeeven the weakness to radiation and the freeze
breath and everything like that. Oh, actually,Icon is weak to a specific unnamed alien mineral.
Oh, I know what that mineral is. OK, what is it? Whatdo you like to know? I'll let you know during the

(32:12):
speculation, of course. In a world wherefantasies collide and heroes clash, one podcast
network rises above the rest. Prepare yourselffor the ultimate showdowns in comic books, video
games, movies, and anime. The Dynamite PodcastNetwork presents Console Combat, where video

(32:37):
game legends brawl every Monday, Dynamic Duo,where comic book titans smash every Tuesday, Max
Destruction, where TV and action heroes battleevery Wednesday, and Sendro World, where anime
champions clash every Thursday. Join us as wespeculate on the matches and armed with the power
of mathematical simulations discover who willemerge victorious. Visit dynamicpodcast.com

(33:02):
where we settle the debate and settle the score.Well, now that we've got their histories and
abilities out of the way, let's speculate on howone of the 1000 simulated matches will go. The
winner is determined by simulations, not thespeculation, but it's fun to imagine how this
fight could play out. AJ9K, what are the rules ofour speculation? Well, I should say there are no

(33:27):
rules other than the characters have no priorknowledge of the other going into the fight. All
they are aware of starting out is that the othercharacter is a threat that needs to be eliminated.
For the speculation, the contestants will beginapproximately 50 meters apart in a nondescript
environment that will have no bearing on the matchitself, as no environmental statistics are

(33:47):
considered in my simulations. The contestantsmust earn victory on their own merit. All right,
then let's get into it. Icon and Gladiator meet onthe battlefield. Who goes first? I think as
Praetor of the Imperial Guard, Gladiator is goingto go first because he's more like battle hardened
than Icon, I think. So he's going to start off byblasting beams that are as hot as the sun from his

(34:09):
eyeballs that just melt through Icon skull. No,because Icon, he could just counter with his own I
beams of positronic energy. So those beams aregoing to collide and this ball of energy is going to
form in the middle and explode. That's going tosend both characters careening from each other.
But Icon right after is going to charge Gladiatorand just bombard him with waves of energy before

(34:37):
crashing directly into him. Well, if Icon ischarging at Gladiator, Gladiator is going to
charge right back and he's going to pierce throughwhatever energy waves Icon is throwing at him,
piercing through them like a spear. And he justclashes with Icon head on. And the force of that
impact would probably like rupture a crater in thegrounds beneath him, but the ground doesn't

(34:58):
matter anymore because I think Gladiator is justgoing to grapple Icon as they collide and then
shoot him into the sky into space and within justlike seconds, just throw him into the heart of the
sun where Icon burns life. OK, but as they'retraveling through space, Icon, you know, he'll
just free himself from Gladiator's grasp bywalloping cam right in the jaw with a charged

(35:20):
energy fist that's going to send Gladiator flyingthrough space, probably through a couple
asteroids, just smashing them into pebbles withthe impact. With the vastness of space, I wonder
what the odds are the icon would smash Gladiatorinto asteroids. Gladiator flew that far.
Murphy's Law. Exactly. Well, Gladiator picks upone of these asteroids, probably like in the

(35:44):
asteroid belt or whatever. We'll say that thisasteroid is like the size of Texas, right? Like the
movie Armageddon. And he grabs this asteroid andhe's just full on brains icon with it, smashing it
over his head. OK, but we'll say that as Gladiatoris swinging this giant sized asteroid, Icon is
going to blind him with a quick strobe of energyfrom his hands. And that's going to cause

(36:06):
Gladiator to completely miss this swing. Andwhile he's off balance, Icon is going to grab
Gladiator by his mohawk and just smash his faceright into the asteroid that he's holding. So hard
and so fast that it's going to crack the asteroidright in half. The whole asteroid, like the whole
state of Texas is going to crack in half. That wholeasteroid has a crack. I feel like Gladiator would

(36:30):
have a headache from that kind of hit. So he's likedazed right from the strobe light and from the head
injury he just suffered. So he's going to spin likea whirlwind with his fists just straight out, just
knocking away anything that even comes close tohim. And like a blur, he punches Icon like a million
and one times in the face. So now both charactershave headaches. Except that Icon can heal

(36:55):
rapidly. So while Gladiator Gladiator can alsoheal rapidly. OK, fine. He's dizzy then. All
right. So when Gladiator stops spinning and he'slike trying to recover, like, whoa, that's when
Icon is going to blast him with beams of concussiveenergy from his hands, targeting him right in the
balls and is showing any hope for potential futurechildren. That's fine. Gladiator already has a

(37:18):
child. He probably has like dozens of kids. He'sfine. What? Yeah, his name is Kid Gladiator,
actually. But either way, like Gladiator hassuper equilibrium. So he's not dizzy from
spinning in the same way that Superman wouldn't bedizzy from spinning. And in fact, Gladiator was
over being stunned after his spin attack. And heflies away faster than Icon can even raise his

(37:40):
hands to blast him. In fact, Gladiator fliesbehind Icon and freezes him with his freeze
breath. So Icon's frozen in the Gladiator, hemakers him into like a thousand pieces that just
fly across the galaxy. Match over. Well,actually, Gladiator is going to haymaker a force
field of positronic energy set up by Icon. And thenIcon's going to melt his ice casing by emitting

(38:05):
energy from his entire body surface, after whichhe immediately emits a pulse that's going to shut
down the electrical signals in Gladiator's body.So while he's paralyzed, Icon's going to grab his
head and just snap his neck, ending the match. Whatis he, Superman? OK, I guess Superman doesn't do
that stuff anymore, huh? Well, he's too punk rockfor it. Only good. Wait, so Gladiator hit a

(38:29):
positronic force field instead of hitting thefrozen icon. Yeah, right. Wrong. I'd be
positronic that that did not happen, because Iconwas in fact frozen to absolute zero, so he couldn't
like do anything because he was frozen solidthrough and through. So he got smashed to bits
instead. I'll tell you what's absolute zero.Gladiator's chances of winning. You know what?

(38:52):
Let's find out. Let's go ahead and put thecharacter stats, run the simulations and find out
which of these scenarios happens. EitherGladiator freezes Icon and then smashes him to a
thousand bits, or Icon protects himself with aforce field, escapes being frozen, paralyzes
Gladiator and then snaps his neck. That's just waytoo many steps. Hey, it happened. I don't know what

(39:12):
to say. Let's run the simulations and come backwith a winner. AJ9K hit it. Inputting data,
running calculations, processing results,simulations complete. All right, these
characters like Superman are very powerful,although they differed in the stats more than I
thought they would. Yeah, they kind of wentthrough a pattern where they matched a stat and

(39:33):
then deferred in a stat. Then matched a stat, thendeferred in a stat. Like they were the same speed,
durability, strength, perception, but theymismatched on evasiveness to Icon's force
fields. Fighting skill, we said Gladiator was abetter fighter. Intellect, because we said Icon
was smarter and versatility because Icon was moreversatile due to his energy based power set. We

(39:55):
also said that Gladiator was capable of moredamage, which kind of surprised me. Only because
Icon really doesn't have the same feats thatGladiator has in terms of damage. Right.
Gladiator has been shown to like fly throughGalactus's eye beams and punch planets in half,
which is ridiculous. Dude, even went up againstHyperion, which is Marvel's analog to Superman.

(40:19):
You know, their other analog to Superman and beatHyperion. So what does that say about Icon's
chances? I mean, Icon apparently punchedSuperman harder than Darkseid ever has. Like
knocked him all the way out of the watch tower.That's not that hard, though, if you think about
it. OK. Considering all these stats, Jonathan,who you putting your money on? Why am I even asking
this question? It's a pointless question. We askit every dual episode. My money is on Icon. I'm

(40:44):
betting on Black. A majority of our Instagramfollowers did not, however, 62 percent of them
voted in favor of Gladiator winning this. Well,apparently they're not heating Wesley Snipes
advice. And neither am I. I'm betting on red, whichin this case is Gladiator because he wears red. But
either way, let's see which character won. A.G.9K, the results, please. Hey, you are, sir. All

(41:08):
right, the winner between Icon and Gladiator, thePraetor of the Imperial Guard, the Defender of the
Shiar Empire, the former Majestor, the mostbadass dude with the most rock and mohawk is Icon.
Yes. OK, all those titles that you just listed andIcon's bitch to that. No. What is happening out of

(41:37):
the 1000 matches? Icon won 581 as opposed toGladiator who won 419. So Icon wins 58.1 percent of
the time. I don't know what is happening. I feellike I'm on a losing streak. I feel like the
executive producers have obviously conspiredagainst me because they're the ones who chose this
matchup. And I think I need to call an emergencymeeting with them. You know what happened, right?

(42:04):
Because you're on this losing streak, you've beendemoralized and that's Gladiator's weakness. I
think you're right. Yeah, that makes sense.Marvel has lost like four in a row now, which is
affecting Gladiator's confidence, which in turnweakens him, which in turn made him lose this
match. That sucks. It's fine. It become even moredemoralized. That's what I want. I swear, if this

(42:29):
fucking happens again, I am going to break intoyour house and then loosen all the lids on your salt
and pepper shakers. No. I couldn't think ofanything else. We're going to get him next time,
Marvel guys. We're going to get him next time andthen we're going to start our own streak starting
with our next episode. But that does it for thisepisode. Adrian A.K. Help close this out. That is

(43:21):
going to be BloodSport versus Killmonger. Ofcourse, BloodSport was in the Suicide Squad
played by Idris angle. And Killmonger was in theBlack Panther film played by Michael B Jordan.
Yeah, it should be a fun episode. I'm really,really excited for that one. Been looking forward
to that one for a long time. But that does it for thisepisode. We want to give a big thanks to our
executive producers, John Strausky, ZacharyHepburn, Dustin Balcom, Mickey Mathenguyen,

(43:44):
Nathaniel Wagner, Levi Yatn, Austin Wazalowski,AJ Duckerly, Nick Obanto, Scott Camacho, Gil
Camacho, Adam Spees, Dean Molesky, Devin Davis,Joseph Kirsting, Josh Leiner, Mike Williams, and
Paul Graves for helping make this podcastpossible. We'll talk to you guys next week. Up, up 452 00:44:01,000 --> and away! True believers. This matchup didn't have Russell Crowe at all. I want my money back.