31 Responses to “Super Geek Wars: Vash the Stampede vs. Spike Spiegel”

1. muk314 Posted: Oct 11th, 2007 at 10:56 pm

   1 Vash also has the hidden gun in his left arm, as seen in the following picture (warning, crappy picture). Basically his hand folds up under his artificial arm exposing the gun for an instant surprise. http://wizarduniverse.com/_images_/001322/Gun2.gif

2. nsfox Posted: Oct 11th, 2007 at 11:29 pm

   2 Vash has 4 weapons, his main 6 shooter, his left arm (which is artificial, and conceals a machine gun), his angel arm, and a knife (which he uses, but usually for the sake of something positive.). Vash is the ultimate bounty with a price of 60 billion, so he would be almost too tempting an offer for Spike to resist, but at the same time, Spike is human. A bad ass human, to be sure, but Vash is not, which contributes to his godlike ability to dodge almost all physical attacks and shots aimed towards him with minimal damage to himself or others around him. Also, he seems to be extremely strategic, so his random moments of comedy chain together to an almost unrealistic, but planned, outcome. Spike, of what I know of him, is just ultimately pimp. He tends to fight using a style similar to Bruce Lee, and has been shown to be a beast when it comes to gunfights as well. I suppose it’s just something you would need to watch the series to see, but once Vash decides to be serious, his fights don’t tend to last that long, even less so when he breaks out the gun.

3. BAMikeyD Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 12:39 am

   3 I really think that Spike would hold his own, and would have a real advantage over Vash because Vash wouldn’t get too serious about the fight unless some one he cared about would be hurt because he couldn’t win. Spike is not only good with his hands, he’s a crack shot, and an accomplished pilot. Spike is also a pretty resourceful guy, as is Vash. I think as long as Vash didn’t use the Angel Arm, then Spike would be able to take care of Vash pretty easy, hell he might even take him alive to get the extra bounty on him alive instead of dead Go Spike!

4. BAMikeyD Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 12:40 am

   4 Oh and for those who think Jam doesn’t listen to suggestions, this one was one of mine! Yay!

5. Valk Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 1:03 am

   5 Based solely on the previous comments, I’d be inclined to say Spike, but since I don’t really know that much about either combatant, I’ll hold off on actually voting. :\

6. Djorbas Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 1:55 am

   6 I think that Vash could kick Spike’s ass without a problem. His “fighting”-stlyle is seems to be rather funny than serious. But on Vash is nothing as it seems! In my opinion Vash vs Spike is an uneven fight, think only of the gunpower (Vash’s angel arm, he can destroy a whole city with it!). A much more even fight would’ve been Spike vs. Nicolas D. Wolfwood.

7. Morlun Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 2:06 am

   7 this is in the same vain. pretty well done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9e_WIoJJnI

8. Tweak Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 3:45 am

   8 In this fight, it would probably go to Spike. Sure if Vash busts out the angle arm he would win for sure, but why would he want to willingly cause all the destruction? Considering his personality Vash would try to get away with out causing a lot of trouble. The angle arm is out so all Spike has to do is catch up with Vash. I think we have determined that Spike has the advantage in close combat so Spike all the way.

9. Kevin Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 5:34 am

   9 Vash’s angel arm is actually part of his revolver. Watch the last episode. Any way Vash’s angel arm can’t directly harm life forms, it only destroys buildings and materials, the shock wave from firing it will, however, level every building within like two miles. This is what causes all the death; the falling buildings and the violence afterwards. There may also be some shrapnel damage from any buildings near the epicenter though. And again he does have that machine gun in his left arm. He is also a good enough shot he could probably put a few well aimed holes in Spike without killing him. But Spike does carry a regular gun but prefers hand to hand (for live bounties) plus he uses gunkata successfully against a sword in one episode. If Spike can get the first shot without Vash seeing him it could happen but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Spike consider sniping before except against personal enemies.

10. Jana Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 6:18 am

    10 This is a hard one, I don’t know much about Spike but I know that Vash would never kill anyone on purpose ever, . So if Vash had to kill spike to win, he would rather lose or die himself I suspect. Vash also hasn’t got a problem with having the tar beaten out of him, but he always comes out on top. I would see the fight going down as Vash getting throughly beaten up, then pulling a sneaky/tricky stunt to get away. So on the basis that this is a fight to ‘Win’ not a fight to the death. I vote Vash

11. midnightcitysky Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 8:33 am

    11 spike’s pretty good at sizing up opponent’s he rarely gets surprised, only time he was losing a fight was in pierrot le fou, but that was to a genetically engineered killer with a forcefield around him. vash could catch spike off guard with his wackiness so that’s one in vashes favor. I’m pretty sure that once vash starts shooting spike’ll realize he’s outmatched and switch to hand to hand mode. I see spike setting the pace with vash keeping up. both are knon to be clever. but this one i actually see ending in a draw. eventually spike would give up after realizing vash though skilled, is harmless. spike’s got a sense of honor about him and plus no amount of money would be worth the aggravation of fighting someone like vash. if vash fought to kill this fight would be over in minutes. vash WOULD NOT use the angel arm. itt’s not in his nature, when “he”used it it was under knive’s control and in an attempt to cancel out knives blast. once inadvertantly and another to counter an equal force. spike has nothing with that level of power so it’s a non-point. I voted spike only cuz he was behind, but this one’s a draw.

12. Kindless Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 10:22 am

    12 Tough choice here. Vash would do anything to avoid a fight. Spike will do anything to get a bounty. Vash will protect a hostage with his life, if one of his friends is in danger, he will easily jump into front of the bullet. However if the battlefield is just him and an opponent, I can see him just running away too. I don’t think Spike is one to take hostages anyway. Anyway, as far as their fighting abilities… Spike is human. He’s a strong, fast, and sturdy human, but still a human. Vash is a plant, which means he probably has some kind of abilities that exceed those of humans (aside from being able to live for like over 9000 thousand years). Vash can take a bullet, a stab, a kick, a punch, a slap, anything. His body is riddled with scars. So Vash can take a pretty severe beating I believe. But he would also accept defeat, I think. I don’t know if Spike would, so Vash’s thing about not killing anyone might be his greatest flaw. I believe Vash would be able to pin down Spike, but considering he won’t shoot him, I wonder if Spike will just back stab him after admitting defeat. If Spike walks away after admitting defeat, then that’s a different story. Overall, I think Vash would win the fight, or at least, pin down Spike. As for a possible next war… How about Sonic versus something (probably Mario).

13. Burningeyes Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 12:08 pm

    13 Vash could win, it’s just would he? His morals tend to get in the way of out right ending the fight (angel arm). Though i could see him if the fight got too long trick shooting him in a joint or an arm. Though i could see spike if given the chance could or wound just knock him out. Or do the drinking contest. I think spike could hold his liquor better than Vash. I also just want to point out how similar Knives and Vicious are. A more even fight would be may be Spike vs. Desert punk. For those who never saw that anime -think batman of the desert just he isn’t driven on angst.

14. Leto Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 12:21 pm

    14 Unfortunately Spike is basically out of his league compared to Vash. I’m pretty sure Spike could use everything in his arsenal and Vash would just dance around it. Although if Spike could be sneaky and nonviolently try to capture Vash, Vash might temorarily allow himself to be caught just to prevent anyone from being harmed.

15. sharkker Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 1:23 pm

    15 I recommend this AMV for viewing, also in the same vain/vein/vane/whatever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5CorSnV-Wg

16. RaZor Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 3:47 pm

    16 Oh, wow, this is a toughie. I really love both of these characters. Ultimately, I think that Vash would win, but manage not to kill Spike. Spike would probably put up a great fight, but Vash’s reflexes and years of experience in creating ways to survive would carry the day. Now, if Spike were to distract Vash with Faye, on the other hand…

17. Mauricio Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 5:30 pm

    17 You have to take in account that spike would probably start to shoot him from his ship, and that’s a huge advantage (If he were fighting with a human). Now, I don’t know much about Vash, but he’s a pacifist, so the fight would be basically hide and seek until he got tired, I think it kind of depends of the field, spike is really street smart and stuff, but I don¡t know where would that leave vash

18. steelcobra Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 7:28 pm

    18 “Spike is not only good with his hands, he’s a crack shot, and an accomplished pilot. ” There’s a big gulf though, between somebody who can punch holes in the bullseye and a guy who can throw pebbles hard and accurately enough to adjust the angle of bullets to be non-lethal. I think Jami picked a fairly one-sided fight here. Yes, Spike is good, but he’s not a Demi-god.

19. Steve Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 7:53 pm

    19 In every scenario I run in my head (and trust me, this fight has taken place numerous times in my noggin’ prior to this survey) Spike comes out ahead every time. Out in the desert plains, Vash would surely see the the Swordfish coming. The ship itsself may be extrememly fast and highly manuverable, however we must remember that Spike is a bounty hunter and his ship’s armaments are limited by his funds. Let’s assume a dry spell of successful bounty hunting, as that seems to be the perpetual condition of the Cowboy Beebop crew. So Spike has his machine guns, misslies, and laser canon for long range combat. Guns, against Vash, are useless. Rate of fire doesn’t seem to matter since he’s had hundreds of people shooting at him and either dodged every bullet or been hit, but not enough to stop him. The missles will be of low quality, availing Spike nothing but some cool explosions that are woefully off-target (the cheap ones never work). Lastly, I’ve never seen Spike able to fire that laser canon more than once per episode. The one shot limit here would be a perfect excuse to bring in Vash’s Angel Arm to deflect the blast. We could say that fuel is a factor or even Vash’s marksmanship could possible bring the Swordfish to the ground. I’ve seen him down a giant spinning fist of death with only 5 bullets, so a spaceship should only take 4 or 6. So this fight inevitabley comes to the ground. Mid-range gun battles (possibly some grenades, too, depending on how prepared Spike is) are stalemated. Both characters have great reflexes. Vash is not the only one who can dodge bullets. Spike has managed to avoid hails of gunfire before, and Vash has missed so his aim is not perfect. Close range combat favors Spike, but not by much. Vash’s agility and Drunken-Master-esque avoidance techniques make it a close one. So their combat abilities are fairly similar. Where does the difference come in? The type of fight. There are three possible outcomes for this fight to end: Death, Submission, Capture/Escape. If its a fight to the death, Spike wins. Vash … will … not … kill. Which means unless Spike WANTS to die and puts Vash in a position where his only choice is to kill him or let others die, Spike has to win and yes, plants can die. If it’s to submission, Spike wins. Vash has surrendered numerous times depending on the situation. Spike will fight to the death. He’ll go into hopeless situations fully intending to die. Vash won’t let that happen since he’d rather die himself than be responsible for killing another. Spike may resemble Swiss cheese by the end, but Vash will give up before finishing it. If the point is to capture Vash, Spike wins. He’s caught every bounty he’s set out after. Those that he hasn’t turned in for the reward have either died very soon afterwards, turned themselves in, been banished to a different plane of reality, or did not qualify for a bounty (they won’t pay no bounty on no computer, shucks howdy). Vash CAN be caught. He’s been caught numerous times, even though he doesn’t stay caught for very long. That’s not the point. We didn’t say Vash had to STAY caught. Spike wins, Vash loses. A better fight would be Captain Crunch vs. Admiral Akbar. I could write a book about that one. =p

20. BAMikeyD Posted: Oct 12th, 2007 at 10:20 pm

    20 I was expecting this one to be close due to “fan-boyism” but wow this is CLOSE! I really think in reality people are forgetting how far Vash will go before killing. The only person he ever killed was Legato, and Legato pretty much had to pull the trigger himself. I don’t think Vash, while bad ass, is the right kind of bad ass to win this fight.

21. tainteddonuts Posted: Oct 13th, 2007 at 12:03 am

    21 This AMV is way better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9e_WIoJJnI

22. Nelly Posted: Oct 13th, 2007 at 9:52 am

    22 Ok so here’s the deal… Spike is out to complete whatever is infront of him. He will stop at nothing no matter the situation to finish what he started. Vash will dodge all day long and not draw fire. I think once he figures out that Spike needs to had Vash over for some cash so the man can eat Vash would say, gee dude - why didn’t you say so and help out Spike. Now if you could some how concince Vash that Spike was VERY evil and out to distroy EVERYTHING, then you’ll probably get a rise out of Vash.

23. Katy Posted: Oct 13th, 2007 at 1:57 pm

    23 I’m kinda with Nelly on this one. I can’t imagine that between the two of them they couldn’t figure out something clever.

24. sDf Posted: Oct 14th, 2007 at 8:09 am

    24 sketchcast is FAST loading! I like your sketch style. Pretty cool 50 to 50? wow, this is a close one!

25. Leto Posted: Oct 14th, 2007 at 3:16 pm

    25 @ Steve, Vash does have perfect aim. He simply chooses to not hit targets with lethal precision. Although I’m sure he can be a bit inaccurate with his arm gun. He’s even been shown to be able to stop missiles with a few well placed shots. While Vash would probably give up to Spike, you have ignored the fact that Spike himself doesn’t kill his bounties. Not once in the entire series does he kill other then in self defense. Vash vs Spike is little bit like Pierrot Le Fou vs Spike. Spike is ultimately human and can simply be fought to the point of exhaustion. All Vash has to do is run away or lay low. Spike would never kill a seemingly doofus guy like Vash just because Vash is better than him either. You’ve written Spike like he’s a hitman when in fact he’s as prone to anger and making mistakes as a regular human being. Vash the Stampede *is* superhuman.

26. BAMikeyD Posted: Oct 14th, 2007 at 11:10 pm

    26 Weird that ’tis 50 50 but Vash is counted as the winner… Should be the other way round. I think this is the only one thus far that hasn’t been a total blow out.

27. Kindless Posted: Oct 15th, 2007 at 9:30 am

    27 Well after reading several volumes of the Manga, Vash seems even more capable of taking care of his opponents, not to mention he can use his angel arm is a shield.

28. LordoftheDice Posted: Oct 15th, 2007 at 4:11 pm

    28 Not preference… just wanted to suggest Samus Aran vs. Master Chief for one of these match-ups.

29. Chirri Posted: Oct 16th, 2007 at 8:23 am

    29 Spike will fight straight out - he has fun doing it. Vash tends only to fight to protect others - it’s a psychological difference, but Vash won’t simply fight for the fun of it or for friendly competition. It’s not a question of fire power, it’s a mindset issue. Unless Spike is threatening a family or defenseless bystander, Vash won’t have it in him to unleash his potential. And threatening the innocent just to see who is better isn’t in Spike’s personality.

30. Kunoichi Posted: Oct 16th, 2007 at 10:13 am

    30 This would so stalemate with them eating donuts together… And Spike *has* killed bounties and non-bounties: Wen (mercy killing, but in cold blood) and Pierrot le Fou (personal vendetta, necessity). Both times that he goes to kill Vicious, a number of mooks die by his hand, he isn’t even trying to be merciful to them.

31. Kenny Posted: Oct 16th, 2007 at 11:19 pm

    31 Honestly, unless Spike was super desperate for money ( and maybe not even then) i doubt he would really want to go after vash. They’d probably sid down in front of a cafe, Vash eating donuts and Spike smoking. Or maye they go and play at a shooting gallery and clean house. BUt fine if they really have to go ALL out Vash has superior firepower Spike has GREAT close combat (Jeet kyon doo [sorry for my spelling]) Vash seems to be a better shot and is very slippery exhibits (vash) very high level of ability when serious Him, I’ll have to say vash, i wanted spike, but i don’t think he could win