Given 15 minutes, Batman and MacGyver can make a nuclear fusion reactor out of bubblegum and bailing wire. But given only 10 minutes, who would win in building something practical to get them out of a tight fix?
Stephen Schleicher
Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment. You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...
21 Comments
MacGyver seems to have an intuitive aptitude that few can match. It is the same reason I normally vote Tony Stark over Batman in such situations.
But in the case of MacGyver vs Batman I am going to give this to Bruce. The margin is only because Bruce seems to be versed in a wider variety of sciences and has a genius that Tony can match but I think outstrips Angus MacGyver.
I dunno, I’m going with Angus MaGyver on this one. His improvisational skills are unmatched. He ALWAYS uses what he finds lying around, plus his name is Angus, which is very cool.
I’m gonna have to go with McGyver on this. I don’t know the character very well, but there’s one thing that just gives him the upper hand : using bubblegum and a rubber band to build a thingy that saves the day ? That HIS schtick.
I know Batman has the awesome power of convenient writing (“I am Batman. And I can breathe in space”) and can defeat even TEH DEVIL if he has time to prepare, but that’s not all there is to him. Batman is also the master detective, the master strategist, the martial artist, the science whiz and the big bad scary mofo.
He’s very polyvalent and very good at everything he does, but McGyver ? Building implausible day-saving thingies is ALL he does. It’s his ultimate specialty, and that’s why he’s probably the best at it.
I am apparently not wired to vote anything other than Batman… Really though where Angus may be the classic “improv superhero” Bats is still more talented in that regard…Its one of those (as Matthew put it) examples of it not being the same weightclass, league…heck not even the same ballgame.
Comicbooks do strive towards the extreme and Batman is a character of extremes.
So while Mac may be a god of improv he is still restricted to his medium and because of that he has yet to kill a “new god”.
People who are voting for Batman are blind. Batman doesn’t build anything; he has it built for him. Batman’s shtick is to come up with a plan in 10 min; not build anything. Building stuff is MacGyver’s shtick.
I don’t really think many situations come to mind when Bats has actually had something built to survive. Most of Batman’s strategies involve careful planning and using his equipment, but as far as inventing something on the spot? I can’t think of any examples of this.
I’ll go with McGyver.
Can someone give me an example of when Batman had to build something quickly to survive?
McGyver, because Batman’s a thinker not a tinker.
Will he may not have built anything batman gets my vote for his sheer amount of equipment. Anyone who has shark repellant on his belt for just such an occasion is my vote winner.
Although macguyver may get some credit for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTWEh2mcdsg
Bat’s really isn’t the builder type, he’ll have a gizmo for all occasions (ie bat shark repellent) but really isn’t known for his ability to whip something out of nothing, (if by nothing you DON”T mean his utility belt).
Put The A-Team against MacGyver – that’s a mash up I’d watch!
lol, The A-Team vs Mcgyver someone said that earlier, I think Mcgyvver would win, only cause the A-Team would try to shoot at him, and like always, they miss. He’ll have more than 30 mins to build anything.
Well, it depends on where this predicament takes place.
On the scientificaly accurate world of McGyver (more or less accurate as MythBusters as shown) I’de give the win to McGyver, but if they’re facing trouble in the comic book world filled with magic, pseudo science and scifi Batman for the win!
I’m going to say McGyver. Batman would just beat the crap out of whatever was in his way and just be done with it, but the poll says he has to build something, to McGyver gets the edge.
Edge to the man with the better hair…McGyver!!!
If the competition was only about inventing stuff, then Angus would win – hands down. But if they were to go head-to-head arena style in an empty house, then…well…Batman would just rape Angus.
oh come on! This would’ve been a better question if it was Stark vs McGyver. Even then, I’ll still may pick McGyver over Stark because Stark may overthink it in 10 minutes.
Ol’ Batsy probably can build something on the fly to get him out of the jam, but he probably would not get into that jam in the first place(Batman without utility belt? how often does that happen)
BTW Batman has been seen tinkering with his own equipment…Technology foreign to earth, gizmos his enemies use…and Ive lost count of how many Antidotes he has made over the years. He has sabotaged tech, fiddled with the Mad Hatters chips and…My point is he IS a tinkerer..but not only that, his fields also expand beyond electronics, physics and chemistry (Which is what McGyver does)into stuff a bit more biological and medical.
I’m voting for MacGruber…(singing)MACGRUBER!
“Build something”? MacGyver! Batman would already have something in his “bottomless bat utility belt of holding”…
…thinking on this further, I think a better “building” battle would be between Mac and Fixer of the Thunderbolts (really liked that character during the Busiek/Nicieza run).
Mcgyver wins. He doesnt carry an arsenal or high tech weaponry or a state of the art costume, utility belt etc. Mcgyver wins.
Batman would already have it made