Fictional Throwdown: And The Winner Is…

The undisputed champion is Sam Winchester. Anyone see that one coming? Okay, maybe everyone saw that coming, and “undisputed” is not the word others would use. My imagination, my words, so get over it.

I don’t want to repeat what I have said before; I think that my presentation of Sam and Peter’s respective strengths and weaknesses testifies to the validity of my claim. Even so, I will give you two reasons why if Sam and Peter were locked in a death match, Sam would arrive alive.

The first reason: Peter is stationary, and therefore uninventive. I can hear the objections already: “why does he need to move?” Well, um, do I have to explain this? If you don’t move, then you don’t get a sense of the space you’re in. If you don’t get a sense of the space you’re in, then you don’t know how to use that space to your best advantage. If you aren’t using the space to your best advantage, then you are (most likely) repeating the same actions. If you’re repetitive, then you’re the looser. If you watch Peter fight on Heroes he tends to stand in one spot and hurl whichever power he is using at his opponent. When he moves, he either walks, or he stops time and relocates, and even though this might be a momentary distraction, it is still a distraction. A moment is all Sam needs. For all of Peter’s powers, he doesn’t have any that Sam has not confronted in some form or another, therefore Sam knows how to withstand and eventually counteract anything Peter would use against him. Sam would quickly notice Peter’s leaden-foot style, and he would know he has an edge over Peter. (Peter can both fly and turn himself invisible, but he doesn’t draw upon these powers often in tough situations (except as modes of escape, and escaping is a disqualification), which seems odd to me, but this sentence is a tangent.) Sam will move as much as he is able (Sam and Dean often end up pinned to walls), and will always utilize what is around him. Because he is moving he will find resources available for his disposal that Peter would miss. I think there are plenty of examples in history to prove that quickness and creativity trump brute force.

The second reason Sam would reign victorious is experience. Now I am repeating myself, but when it comes down to it, Sam has been fighting longer and harder, and against (quite frankly) scarier things. What I have said above about style is just one example of where Peter’s inexperience hinders him; in a sense Peter just doesn’t know any better. G.I. Joe taught us all that knowing is half the battle. Considering the ratio of what Sam knows to what Peter knows, in this case knowing is about 95% of the battle.

I doubt that I have convinced even one person to see my point of view on this issue (at least anyone who didn’t agree with me at the outset). One may then consider my endeavor a failure, but I disagree. I satisfied my intellectual curiosity through an (prolonged) examination of the question. I got to take a look at two shows I love side-by-side. I had something to write about when there is nothing by reruns airing. What I discovered writing the Fictional Throwdown is that Peter and Sam are similar people. When I started I thought they were fairly different, but as I have analyzed them both I began to see that not only do they have similar powers, they have a similar outlook, they are a similar character type. What initially looked so weighted in Peter’s favor turned out to be fairly balanced. Honestly, I am unconcerned who agrees with me and who does not. All I hope is that I have convinced someone to give one, or both, of these shows a chance. Fewer people watch Supernatural than Heroes, but maybe there is something in all that I have said over the last couple weeks that sparks the interest of a potential new viewer.

The TV Girl