Death Prediction: Rorschach vs V

Some say everyone wears masks, that they show a face to others and another alone. The mask is a powerful image, and can come to symbolize more then the man can ever can. For the vigilante the mask is simultaneously defense and offense, the protection of anonymity under an identity greater then the self and a weapon to strike directly into the minds of the enemies. 

Rorschach, the Terror of the Underworld

V, the Bane of the Tyrannical Norsefire

I am Imperator100 and this is a Death Prediction

Rorschach:

Origin:

Walter Joseph Kovacs was born to an abusive prostitue to an unknown father. At age 11 he got into a fight with two older bullies and beat them so violently that his living conditions were finally looked into. He was removed and placed into a problem home where he quickly excelled at academics and gymnastics and was allowed to leave at 16, though he was clearly still mentally disturbed by his early life. At the age of 24, enraged by the apathy of his countrymen, Walter became a bloody vigilante prowling the streets.

At the age of 35, Walter was investigating the kidnapping of a little girl called Blair Roche only to find that the criminal Grice, after finding out her family was poor and no money for ransom, had butchered her and fed her to his dogs. Infuriated at the senseless brutality of man, Grice was handcuffed to a pipe and the building was set on fire. Walter entered the building. Rorschach left.

Rorschach was a far more brutal vigilante then Walter had been. He would enact his one-man war on the underworld. When the Government passed law banning vigilantes Rorschach killed a rapist and sent it to the authorities with the note "Never".

Physical Prowess:

Rorschach is trained in american-styled boxing and is a physical powerhouse for a human, having been fighting all his life.

Rorschach is strong enough to break down a door with ease or bust a prison toilet and can throw dog carcasses as weapons through windows. Even more notable then his strength is sheer toughness. Just as his will and mind are unbending and unshakable, so too is his body tough against all but superhuman forces. He has multiple times leapt from windows and been fine, including being fine once after being beaten by half a dozen policemen after leaping out the window. He was also able to take a beating from the metahuman Ozymandias. For the record Ozymandias is strong enough to shatter stone and support his weight on one finger while early in his training. Not even the arctic winds are enough to make Rorschach so much as shiver.

Rorschach can also be quite quick when he wants to be, having several times blitzed stronger then average people like setting police on fire and running upstairs in the time it takes for them to react and counter. He also was agile enough to sneak onto a military base.

Weaponry:

Rorschach's iconic weapon is his grappling gun. It fires a grappling hook with enough force to propel Rorschach to the top of large buildings. While Rorschach generally uses his fists in combat, if at long-range he can theoretically use his grappling gun both as a form of direct weapon and to maneuver himself into close range. 

Rorschach has used quite a few weapons, however none with enough regularity to call it his standard equipment outside his grappling gun. That said he also has a knack for improvising weapons on the spot.

Intelligence:

Rorschach is often stereotyped as a brute savage, but he is actually quite clever. As a boy he excelled in his studies and has not slowed down as an adult, often improvising solutions based on his surroundings such as creating a primitive fire weapon out of kitchen equipment in 30 seconds. He is particularly adept at detective work, having found the Comedian's secret compartment that the investigators didn't. 

He is also rather experienced having fought crime for decades including occasional criminal supervillains. He's also escaped detection by the government for years without fail.

Weaknesses:

Rorschach is a good fighter and a good detective but is highly unhinged, making it difficult to relate to others and allowing him to be manipulated by calmer heads like Ozymandias.

Personality:

Rorschach is a symbol of unbending order, of the purest of black and white morality that drives a psychologist trying to study him slowly insane. He is a servant of perfect justice, where innocent is always defended and evil always punished and even if a God tells him to do so, will never compromise his ideals.

V:

Origins:

In the remains of the great nuclear war, the United Kingdom was in shambles. The Fascist Norsefire Regime arose to power promising safety in exchange for the removal of a few liberties and the removal of certain....undesirable parts of society. As time grew the Norsefire regime became more and more oppressive on the citizens wiping out any and all dissent.

In one of their concentration camps where racial and religious minorities among others were sent, horrific medical experiments took place killing most of the prisoners save for....the man in room 5. Room...V. In him something else awakened, he escaped and destroyed the facility.

Donning a Guy Fawkes mask, he took on the identity of V and launched a campaign of anarchy against the Norsefire.

Physical Prowess:

V is far stronger then the normal person, able to throw around normal people without effort and his charge throwing an official across a room. He's similarly tough. He was the only one of the prison subjects to survive the experiments and when destroying the facility survived naked within a raging fire. He was also shot and managed to continue on for quite some time despite massive blood loss.

Even more then his strength or toughness V is known for his speed and finesse. He has blitzed two gunmen and is fast and stealthy enough to just appear behind some Norsefire officials. He has also gotten into an occupied train compartment without anyone noticing him.

Weaponry:

For weaponry V carries around 6 daggers and twin sais to use when he gets into combat. The sais are for melee while the daggers can be thrown for long-range. He also in his sleeves has tear gas compartments.

V sometimes wears body armor but this doesn't seem to be standard equipment. He also often uses explosives but this is clearly not standard equipment and would need to be set up in advance.

Intelligence:

Even more then his speed, V is known for his craftiness. He is trained in all the fine arts and sciences and built his base of operations, the Shadow Gallery, himself. He is smart enough to create mustard gas and napalm from normal compounds and evade the watchful eye of the Tyrannical Norsefire for years, even masterminding the revolt against them.

He's also quite skilled in combat having learned European styles of martial arts and fencing, and knowing a technique that allows him to make someone pass out by striking a nerve.

Weaknesses:

While V is an adept fighter, he spends much of his time avoiding direct confrontation with the Norsefire given their massive numbers and resources and setting up explosives or other longer-termed plans for collapsing them and has less in the way of actual direct fighting experience.

Personality:

V is not so much a man anymore but a force of chaos and anarchy, a symbol of freedom against repression and governmental domination. He is a servant of perfect freedom, refusing to accept any prison, even normal happiness viewing them all as prisons to be escaped.

Alright the combatants are set. It's time for a DEATH PREDICTION!

The Sewers underneath the American Embassy. Ambassadors from the New Nixon Government are speaking to top officials from the Norsefire Government about a ceasefire in the wake of the greater Eastern Threat.

Underneath the masked vigilante V works tirelessly to set up his explosives. This was the greatest concentration of Norsefire Officials in quite a long time and this could strike a decisive victory.

Meanwhile, Rorschach treated in the tight sewer way looking for the dangerous criminal that he guessed was planning on showing up. If peace negotiations aren't made the war will continue and innocent lives will be lost. He turned the corner and...

The two vigilantes saw each other at roughly the same time.

Rorschach spoke, his voice a guttural growl "I can't let you do this"

V, leaned slightly to the side, speaking with a more light tone "I assure you though this vision of my visage cast me as a villain who's vileness is directed towards the virtuous, instead verily it is the vanquishing of virulent vermin who's violence is a violation towards the vigilant and the vilified."

Rorschach cut V off there "I don't want to hear it! This government has put up the first touches of a corrupt broken down barely functional order against the chaos, and you wish to plunge it back, regress it the last step into savagery."

V responded empathically "Oh my dear, you have such little understanding or faith in people. Anarchy is not evil, it is the freedom and potential to grasp goodness."

Rorschach gazed at his opponent "protrusions in his outfit...hidden weapons, blades, throwing blades? Hurm... Should stay at close range..."

V saw the weight shift unto Rorschach's left leg signaling an attack "Pressure on his left foot.....right-brain dominant......left-handed. Prepare to counter"

Fight!

Rorschach lunged forwards, with a flurry of intense blows. V stepped back with each blow, deflecting each blow by connecting his sais metal to to the wrist. 

V quickly flipped his sai and went for a lunge towards Rorschach's center, but Rorschach moved his extended arm upwards, knocking V's arm up before charging into V's body, the force and momentum knocking V back.

Recovering quickly, V gave a quick toss of two daggers whose silvery glint shined particularly menacingly in the dark light of the sewer. Rorschach darted to one side bringing his left arm up to deflect the dagger to that side. He felt the sharpness piece his trenchcoat, scraping along his flesh, and getting lodged.

V hoped that the dagger wound be more serious as Rorschach's frame shook with anger. Rorschach pulled out his trusted grappling gun and aimed it squarely at V, firing. 

V quickly leapt to his own left. The grappling gun flew past him, embedding itself in the wall of the sewer, durt and rubble falling from it, bringing Rorschach directly next to V, grabbing him with his available hand and slamming him down into the sewer ground. However V easily broke from Rorschach's off-hand and as Rorschach quickly reached back to strike V with his left fist, V dodged left and then right, throwing Rorschach's flail off-balance. V still crouched to the ground gave a kick to Rorschach sending him back to the wall.

"His fighting style...characteristic of American Boxing, primarily swarmer with an element of brawler....a very brutal efficient style, impressively maintained. Keep him off-balance"

Rorschach tried to revitalize his assault, V nimbly dodging to the side of each blow, deflecting it with the blunt of his sai, getting little nicks in when possible.

"Modified British Knife-Fighting," Rorschach noted "Best I've seen. Trying to keep distant. Hurm. Solution: Obscure vision"

Rorschach suddenly dropped low and took the dagger embedded in his coat, slashing it across the edge of the walk way. From the metal blade came bright sparks which mixed with the gases to combust

The sewers broke out in an inferno, with flashing crimson lights and thick smoke covering the area, the two fighters visible to each other only as vague silhouettes.

Rorschach took advantage of the opportunity getting in a hard blow through the smoke, sending V back.

V felt the sudden shock of Rorschach's powerful blow stagger him and looked anxiously for him though the flames.

"What's wrong?" Rorschach's voice came from the flame. "From fire out kind comes, and to fire out kind goes."

V suddenly leapt forwards through the flame separating them knocking right into Rorschach's side sending them both down.

Rorschach gave a kick knocking V off. He felt his throat burning from the smoke. No, ignore it. Take him down.

V felt the heat searing of the flames, mirroring the passion of the fighters souls.

Rorschach launched another unrelenting assault, V began to parry each strike, holding up concentration however Rorschach did a quick sweep to the ground. 

Rorschach brought his hand down but V rolled backwards quickly and Rorschach's strike met the ground cracking it. V responded quickly and brought his sai to Rorschach's left arm. Rorschach growled in pain and threw his head forwards hitting V's head and dazing him.

V, felt the pain pulsating his head and looked around, seeing the scant light coming from the doorway to the sewer, heading for it hoping to gain more vision.

Rorschach his opponent trying to possible escape. He quickly brought his grappling gun out and fired. The shot missed and hit the wooden door guarding the exit of the sewer, cracking it and letting the sun's golden light beam down in a few precious shafts into the red and blacks of the inferno. He let the Grappling gun pull him foward putting his arm out and sweeping V alongside him crashing through the doorway out onto the busy city streets.

The city streets were busy, and the people were surprised and scared of the fight and the crashing of the two vigilantes onto the city streets. The light of day illuminated the two vigilantes as they glared into each other's masks, their real faces.

V quickly brought his sai down onto the arm holding him, and Rorschach at the same time gave a mighty blow to V's stomach.

The two yelled in pain and were separated their bodies crashing down separately unto the street as the momentum from the grappling gun laid their bodies down. 

V felt the gap down in his stomach "Ribs caved, breathing hard....Can't fight too much longer"

Rorschach felt the pain and emptiness towards his left...sai had his hit shoulder tendons, arm broken, unuseable, need to use right arm and finish enemy.

V stood shakily and took daggers from his coat, preparing for a bit charge. Rorschach quickly used his right arm to grab the remains of the sewer door and brought it in front of him charging V with his left arm limply dangling.

V felt their collision of the door before he was slammed back against the building, the wooden beam left of the door putting pressure on his caved stomach. Black Spots appeared before his eyes.

"Die, die" Rorschach said, knowing he couldn't keep this pressure with his off-arm on long.

V felt his counciousness fading, his strength diminishing but suddenly instead of black spots he saw something else...he saw people all around, the people of the city....wearing the Fawkes Mask...

"I won't die" V said back...."I am not a human, I am an idea...and you can't kill an idea".

And with a mighty surge V knocked Rorschach back the makeshift weapon flying.

Rorschach was surprised at this sudden burst of strength, when, looking around him he say that same mask...as if there was a thousand fold of this enemy.

"Human...Idea... no matter what you are" Rorschach said, gesturing weakly to his opponent "No matter how many you are...you will answer to justice. I will never surrender!"

V, felt his breath fading and he gripped his weapons with as much force as he could and charged with a mighty yell.

Rorschach saw his opponent's charge and met, yelling with the same intensity.

They met, and Rorschach's blow knocked V to the side where V deftly plunged his dagger into Rorschach's neck, killing him. V let out a sigh before feeling his legs collapse underneath him, and the ones he saw in his vision pick him up and carry him away.

K.O.

While neither completely outclassed the other, Rorschach had Strength and Durability while V had Speed and Intelligence. Both could exploit each other's weaknesses, Rorschach's decades of experience could allow him to take advantage of V's relative lack of direct fighting, while V's manipulation skills could allow him to take advantage of Rorschach's lack of clear-headedness just as Ozymandias did.

What really decided this for V was versatility.

Rorschach is very smart in a few particular ways, but V's intelligence was more comprehensive. Rorschach was very proficient at one fighting style, while V had trained and learned of far more. and while Rorschach's grappling gun could make for a useful long-range weapon, V's weapons were more consistent and provided more possibilities.

Initially I thought Rorschach would win on account of how hard it would be to put him down for V, that Rorschach's strategy was more direct and therefore more likely to win without prior knowledge. However there was a small detail that really changed my mind, namely that V could knock someone unconscious with a touch to their neck. A nerve strike would allow V to circumvent Rorschach's sheer durability and it wouldn't take V long to think of this at all.

 Also if their stealth skills become important in any way, while both were able to hide indefinitely from the government, Rorschach hid from a government that had rights and non-totalitarian control which viewed him as at best a second priority to defeating the Red and wasn't actively searching for him much, while V hid from a fascist regime that had cameras everywhere, took away all rights and viewed him as their number one threat, and still went undetected. 

V's greater range of options combined with his calm head means he would most likely be able to outmaneuver and out-think Rorschach.

The winner is....V

Next Time:

Thanks again to my friend Thor for scoring this blog and for the amazing next time trailer.