Some of the greatest heroes of all are shunned by the very people they continue to protect. Basically the worst deal ever.
Like Beast, the Blue Genius of the X-Men. And Goliath, the gargoyle who gives new meaning to the phrase 'tough as stone'.
The twenty-second episode of the second season brings us the heroic characters that had a history of being ostracised based on their appearance. Beast is one of the founding X-Men while Goliath led a clan of gargoyles that protected Castle Wyvern then New York City. Both of them are cultured intellectuals to go along with their immense strength, which shall be evaluated by Wizard and Boomstick over the course of a death battle.
To start off the analysis of Beast, Wiz and Boomstick bring up a background of evolutionary mutation, which in the space of hundreds of thousands of years can result in genetic quirks such as the mutants that face prejudice from society in Marvel's universe. While most mutants discover their abilities just as they hit puberty, Henry "Hank" McCoy's mutation was evident the moment he was born, and he had abnormally huge arms and legs. For years, Hank managed to conceal the abnormalities and blend into society, doing well in school and even becoming a star football player, before his mutation was discovered and his peers kicked him out, forcing him to live a life of solitude until Charles Xavier enrolled him in his academy. It was there that Hank put his abilities to use and even used the nickname that had been used to mock him, transforming it into something new: "The Beast".
Already in the Silver Age of comics, Beast utilized his super strength, speed and durability to stand toe to toe with foes like The Immovable Blob and Juggernaut. Beast is also a bright scientist, and he spent much of his early times in the academy to research a cure for the mutation, only for the prospective "cure" to mutate him even further into a blue, apelike being, which amplifies his abilities to lift ten tons, sprint up to 40 MPH and jump twenty-five feet into the air. He also has a healing factor, which had been nerfed to only take effect over a couple hours since Quasimodo experimented on him. Still unable to change back into a normal self and unable to hide in plain sight, Beast hangs back at Xavier's academy as a teacher as well as support for the X-Men.
Beast's durability was also insane, as he had tanked hits from Juggernaut and the Hulk, can easily smash through a tank, can cause small earthquakes on impact with the ground and once lifted a solid gold oak tree that is estimated to be at least sixty tons. That said, Beast prefers nonconfrontational means and often counts upon teamwork with his fellow X-Men to pull off his plans. When angered enough, he can go berserk, even to the detriment of his own friends. Beast was never accepted fully by society, and he had to leave his old life behind to move on, but he can peacefully study at one moment while kicking ass when the need arises.
- Beast: 'The faint heart averted many feet and many a tear in our opposed path to persevere.' A minor poet for a minor obstacle. (climbs the pipes right over the laser tripwires)
Bringing us to Goliath, the hosts then take us a thousand years in the past, when superstition and the sword ruled, a time of darkness, a world of fear, the age of Gargoyles. They were once common throughout the world, defending the keeps upon which they roost. In the late 10th century, the clan in Castle Wyvern in particular had formed a symbiotic relationship with the human inhabitants, keeping the castle safe by night though immense strength and a warrior's spirit as the men keep watch in the day since Gargoyles turn to stone by daylight. Leading them is Goliath, who bore witness to the discrimination on his clan and the betrayal by the very people he had sworn to protect, which led to the destruction of most of his brethren. The gargoyles that survived were cursed to remain stone indefinitely by the castle's wizard, who mistakenly believed that they killed the princess, but was distraught finding out she's still alive and cannot reverse the spell, saying that it can only be broken with the castle above the clouds. A thousand years later, an expeditionary force led by David Xanatos moved every brick of the castle to the top of his skyscraper to see if the legend was as suggested, and sure enough Goliath and his clan had awoken, their curse finally broken and they now swear to protect New York City.
Goliath had little trouble adjusting to a more modern era, and he can be able to traverse the open spaces of the city thanks to the wings that enable him to glide. While Goliath insisted that he glides and actually cannot fly, he can still flap his wings to adjust elevation, demonstrating gargoyles would have trouble taking off from the ground. He also has sharp claws that he can use to scale stone skyscrapers with no trouble at all and can even cut through steel. His superhuman strength, speed and abilities are something to be reckoned with, being able to survive long falls, catching up to fast foes and can even cause small earthquakes when he strikes the ground. He can also get shot and still fight without being bothered that much.
While Goliath is a formidable fighting machine, he also is a genius that is capable enough to outsmart the godlike Oberon, and he spends much of his free time in the castle library. However, he is only active at night, and like all other gargoyles is beholden to the rule that they turn to stone the moment the sun rises, which can even leave him in positions where he's most vulnerable. He also knowingly puts himself into danger if it means he'll protect others that way, but nonetheless he has lived long enough in spite of all this and proves that he is something one shouldn't want to fight with.
- Goliath: My name is Goliath, and I belong to no-one!
Renard: Stop whining!
Goliath: (eyes glow) A gargoyle doesn't whine... He ROARS! (breaks out of the cell, crushing nearby guard robots along the way)
And so with the vital information out of the way, it is time for a Death Battle!
We open in New York City, where Beast is standing watch atop a skyscraper. The sun sets, and the nearby gargoyle emerges from his slumber. Revealing itself to be Goliath, the stone creature sees Beast and mistakes him for an intruder.
FIGHT!
Goliath lunges at Beast, who blocks the attack and lands a series of blows on the leader of the Manhattan Clan. A brief exchange of hits ensue until Beast kicks Goliath with such a force that he's knocked off the skyscraper. As Goliath tries to glide and maintain balance, Beast lands on top of him and strikes a few times, sending both to the side of the opposing skyscraper. Goliath brakes to a stop and climbs for a better vantage point, but Beast quickly catches up and knocks him down to the ground. Once both have made their respective landings, Beast throws a car towards his foe, who blocks it after being tossed quite a bit away. Goliath then tears off the fender, throws it at Beast, and makes a jump from atop the car. Beast manages to slash the fender away, but Goliath strikes from the top, sending Beast hurtling before finishing the X-Man off with a brutal beatdown punctuated by a bisection at chest level.
K.O.!
Goliath returns to the top of the skyscraper, holding Beast's head as day breaks, with the rest of the body disposed of in a public garbage bin. While the two of them have comparable strength and speed, Goliath has had decades of experience dealing in combat, while Beast prefers to work in a team setting unless the task calls for working alone, and the aforementioned gold tree wasn't lifted fully from the ground, which means the feat of strength isn't as impressive as it originally looked. Goliath is also highly durable, having tanked an anti-aircraft gun on one occasion. Finally, Beast had no way of knowing that Goliath could only stay animate for twelve hours, particularly since Marvel's gargoyles don't go by the "stone by day" rule, and even if he did he wouldn't last that long; he faced a similar opponent, the Griffin, and only survived because Angel intervened.
- Boomstick: In the end, Beast just doesn't have the heart to keep up with the gargoyle.
Wiz: The Winner is Goliath!
Beast vs. Goliath contains examples of:
- Genius Bruiser: Both combatants can put up a fight and are highly intelligent. Oddly enough, this is not the unifying theme the battle is based around.
- Super-Strength: Both combatants can cut through tough material and can cause small earthquakes.
