sparkymat

Name: Sandra Wu-San

Aliases: Lady Shiva, The Paper Monkey, Jade Canary, Tengu

Style: Mixed Martial Arts

Weapon of choice: Bare hands

Finishing Move: Leopard Blow

Summary: As children, Detroit native Sandra Wu-San and her older sister Carolyn spent virtually every moment of every day practicing the martial arts. Because of the girls’ young age, talent, and unique bond as sisters, their practice evolved into a secret, perfected language that only they could share. Sandra loved her sister more than anything, and that love gave her the humility to hold back in her spars with Carolyn. An assassin named David Cain saw this spark in Sandra one day when he visited Detroit to see the amazing young women perform. Believing the spark he saw in Sandra was one he and she both shared, Cain decided to flame it by removing the restraint that held her back. One fateful day, Sandra found the bloody corpse of her sister, murdered in cold blood.

Discovering that David Cain had been the one to kill her sister, Sandra Wu-San hunted for the murderer, only to be lured into an ambush by Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins, of which Cain was a member. Although she lost the battle, in the heat of the moment Sandra realized how much she had held back when fighting Carolyn and got a taste for just what heights she could attain with more experience–her life now had purpose. However, Cain exacted a price for sparing Sandra’s life after the battle with the League. In order to be reborn as something new and terrible, Sandra agreed to bear Cain’s child and leave that child for him alone to raise. The child, Cassandra Cain, was to be Ra’s al Ghul’s “One Who Is All,” a perfected bodyguard whose only native tongue was an instinct for hand to hand combat and the ability to read people’s intentions simply by observing their slightest muscle movements. With Carolyn gone, Cassandra and Sandra were the only two humans known to share this gift. The day of Cassandra’s birth, Sandra also set out for her own rebirth, as the Lady Shiva: creator and destroyer. Currently, she is regarded as one of the best martial artists in the world.

Feats: Some of her notable victories are:

• Defeating and killing the Armless Master
• Defeating and killing Richard Dragon
• Defeating Connor Hawke
• Defeating Batman
• Defeating Nightwing with a single kick

Please find the revised matchup below.

Name: Frank Castle

Aliases: The Punisher

Style: Nash Ryu Jiu Jutsu, Ninjutsu, Shorin-Ryu, Hwarangdo, Chin Na, MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program), Tai Chi, as well as unarmed combat training received in the military

Weapon of choice:KA-BAR

Finishing Move: Many

Summary: The Punisher is a savage and ruthless vigilante who considers killing, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence and torture as acceptable crime-fighting tactics. Driven by the deaths of his wife and children, who were killed by the mob when they witnessed a Mafia gangland execution in New York City’s Central Park, Frank Castle wages a one-man war on the mob by using all manner of weaponry. A war veteran, Castle is a master of martial arts, stealth tactics, hand-to-hand combat, strategic planning and a wide variety of weapons.

Name: Bruce Wayne

Aliases: Batman, Matches Malone

Style: Mixed Martial Arts

Weapon of choice: Batarang (Modified Shuriken)

Finishing Move: None

Summary: Batman is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy playboy, industrialist and philanthropist who is driven to fight crime in Gotham City after his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne, are murdered by a mugger. After witnessing the brutal murder of his parents at the young age of eight, he swore an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents’ lives. He engaged in intense intellectual and physical training and studied a variety of areas which would aid him in his endeavors, including chemistry, criminology, forensics, martial arts and gymnastics, as well as theatrical skills like disguise, escapology, and ventriloquism.

Batman is one of the world’s greatest scientists, criminologists, and tacticians, as well as a master of disguise. Rather than simply out-fighting his opponents, Batman often uses cunning and planning to outwit them.

Name: Bruce Lee

Aliases: Dragon

Style: Mixed Martial Arts

Weapon of choice: Nunchaku

Finishing Move: None

Summary: An American-born Chinese martial artist, instructor, actor, father of the philosophy known as Jeet Kune Do and originator of the martial art called Jun Fan Kick boxing. Bruce Lee is widely regarded as one of the most influential and famous martial artists of all time. Many see Lee as a model blueprint for acquiring a strong and efficient body as well as developing a mastery of martial arts and hand to hand combat skills. Lee is the father of the only martial art created in the United States, Jun Fan Kick boxing. It resulted from the direct application of his philosophy, Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee’s evaluation of traditional martial arts doctrines is nowadays seen as one of the first steps into the modern style of mixed martial arts.

Feats: Bruce Lee’s feats include:

• Bruce Lee’s striking speed from 60cm (24 inches) away, from a relaxed position, is five hundredths of a second (50 milliseconds).
• Bruce’s famous “One Inch Punch” was able to knock back and off balance a 200lb man into a chair, using only 1 inch of striking distance.
• The weight training program that Lee used during a stay in Hong Kong in 1965 indicated biceps curls of 36kg (79 lbs) and eight repetitions for endurance. This translates to an estimated one repetition maximum of 50kg, (110 lbs) placing Lee in approximately the 100th percentile for the 55 to 64 kilogram weight class (121-141 Lbs).
• Bruce was able to hold a 57 kg (125 lb) barbell at arms length in front of him (with elbows locked) for several seconds.

Name: Beatrix Kiddo

Aliases: The Bride, Black Mamba

Style: Crane Style Kung-fu

Weapon of choice: Hatori Hanzo Sword (Katana)

Finishing Move: Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique

Summary: Beatrix ‘Black Mamba’ Kiddo belonged to the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, an elite, shadowy group of assassins. A formidable, ruthless warrior trained under martial arts master Pai Mei, she served at the right hand of Bill, her boss and lover. Kiddo abandoned the dangerous life of an assassin after she learned she was pregnant with Bill’s child. However, Bill and his Vipers gate-crashed her wedding to another man, and killed them all. Despite being shot in the head, Kiddo survives but remains comatose for four years. On awakening, she swears revenge. Convincing Hatori Hanzo to forge one last sword for her, she goes on a murderous rampage, killing her way through the former Viper Squad and their current goons. In a final showdown, she fights Bill and finally kills him with the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.

Please find below the match structure. Tell me what you think.

The next series of stories would revolve around an underground tournament pitting the best hand-to-hand combatants against each other.

So far, I have chosen 4 fighters for the battle. They are :

• Bruce Lee
• Pai Mei
• Lady Shiva
• Richard Dragon (Chuck Dixon version)

Please vote below to decide who among the following would join them for this tournament.

[poll=2]

Rating - 9/10 (absolute) .. 10/10 (for a Bond movie)

Daniel Craig - Potrays perfectly the transformation from a rough-edged rookie into the perfect suave, cold-blooded spy.

Plot - Engrossing. Despite apprehensions, the Poker game was quite engaging.

Style Quotient - Departs from the gadgets, girls and cars formula of the previous Bond movies. Instead, we see a darker, grittier potrayal of 007. In short, amazingly stylistic in a new direction.

Dialogues - Definitely above average.

Bond Girl - Eva Green plays a different kind of Bond girl. Finally we know why Bond never bonds with anyone anymore. “You don’t trust anyone, do you?” “No.“

Direction - Finally, a Bond movie that can stand on it own without needing any support from the 007 brand. Brilliantly directed. Almost at par with the giants of the year.

New Urge - Keep a close eye on the rest of the Daniel Craig movies. Especially Bond-22, Bond-23 etc.

Locations - Gooooood. Good. Gooooood.

Overall view - Finally, the first chapter in the life of Agent 007 is brought to the silver screen. Dark and gritty, it shows the steely loner transform into the refined, suave gentleman. For the first time, he is more than the sum of his parts (which include mostly gadgets and cars). We see why he is Agent 007, the best agent MI6 has. I never used to be a big fan of the Bond movies. Thanks to Daniel Craig, now I am (I can’t say why I liked Daniel Craig so much without giving out spoilers!)