Zorro VS Robin Hood

 

"A desire to resist oppression is implanted in the nature of man."

-Tacitus


Zorro, the legendary Curse of Capistrano and outlaw of California


Robin Hood, the mythical English folk hero and the rebel from Sherwood forest.


Legends of the swashbuckling and cunning outlaw hero, champion of the impoverished and a master of their weapon have influenced modern media in many ways - but today, we pit these two icons against each other. Which heroic outlaw will outfox the other in a DEATH BATTLE?


As a note, both of these characters are in the public domain, and thus, there are hundreds of different distinct incarnations of each. For this blog, we’ll be using the originals (or, as close to the original as we can get for Robin Hood). Zorro’s feats will be drawn from the various serialized novels and short stories written by his original creator Johnston McCulley, and Hood’s feats will be drawn from the earliest extant English ballads and plays about the character. Other media featuring the characters - such as the movies, television shows, comic books, stage plays, cartoons, whatever - will be excluded.


Background

Zorro

"I am the friend of the oppressed, señor, and I have come to punish you."


Oppression by its very nature creates the power that crushes it. A champion arises - a champion of the oppressed. Back in California with its warmth, romance and peaceful beauties, this dread disease, oppression, had crept in. Then, out of the mystery of the unknown, appeared a masked rider who rode up and down the great highway, punishing and protecting and leaving upon the vicious oppressor. And the name of this masked rider, a champion of the oppressed, who is ready to face against corrupted law, is Zorro. 


The stories of Zorro may be a little varied (for instance in the original novel Zorro planned his double identity at the age of 15), however the stories mainly stay similar. Don Diego Vega, the richest landowner in California, learned his swordsmanship while at university in Spain however was sent back by his father. Upon returning home though, he found out that Los Angeles was being ruled by a tyrant Alcalde also known as Comandante of the Spanish army or Governor of California. After learning that, Don Diego decided to conceal his ability with a sword, and to affect the demeanor of a milquetoast intellectual rather than a decisive man of action. Mainly operating at night, Zorro was doing what Don Diego couldn’t, fighting against the tyranny of the Evil Comandante. 


Of course while performing said actions he caught up the attention of entire California, Comandante wasn’t sitting in place and was trying to do several ways of capturing Zorro: wanted posters trying to get attention from common villagers, framing to make Zorro look bad, attempts to draw him out performing ruthless acts. As much as he tried though the attempts were pitiful, Zorro was always a step ahead of Comandante and was able to not only outsmart him, but made people of California go by his side and in the end, destroyed the terror of tyranny. It’s quite varied what happens after, in one story he had a wife with a son who could keep his legacy, in another there were new threats for people in California. Either way if you think you can get away while doing horrible crimes and causing remorseless oppression, the sign of “Z” will make you think otherwise.  


Robin Hood

"Thou shalt be an archer as well as the best,

And range in the green wood with us;

Where we'll not want gold nor silver, behold,

While bishops have ought in their purse. We live here like esquires, or lords of renown,

Without e're a foot of free land;

We feast on good cheer, with wine, ale and beer,

And ev'ry thing at our command."


Back in London there was a leader that ruled over it, King Richard. To many he was a great king and everyone loved and respected him. Though during his crusade he was captured, thus his brother Prince John was set to rule over during his absence. Unlike Richard, John raised the taxes of the citizens and made them poor. And John made laws that made the jails full of citizens. The people were losing hope, but there was a beacon of light, a big green light you can say. This is the tale of Robin Hood. 


Robin Hood's past is a bit shrouded. Some stories say Robin Hood was robbed by a noble, some say he was a noble but lost his land and some just say he was broke. Whatever story you believe, one thing is clear, and that being Robin Hood would always rise up as a champion of the oppressed, stealing the wealth from the rich and giving it back to the commoners. After some of his robberies were successful, word would gather around about a hero fighting the corrupted Nobles, and Robin Hood would command many other outlaws, forming the Merry Men. This, of course, made him an enemy of some very powerful people, as such he would live a life of conflict and combat. 


Even after his death, his name inspired centuries worth of heroism and bravery. Robin Hood would be adapted in media many times, becoming a massive icon known across the world for his deeds.

Equipment

Zorro

Costume 

Before we get to any of Zorro’s weapons, its important to note his costume. Originally, he was said to wear a wide-brimmed sombrero, a mask, and a cloak, but of course the various adaptations have changed his style a fair bit. Don Diego’s costume is rather impressive as, combined with his change in demeanor, he can convincingly fool just about anyone into thinking he’s a totally different person - including his close friend Gonzales, a bunch of men he was just talking to, and even his own father.


Since he rides at night, Zorro’s dark costume lets him use the element of surprise to his advantage. But Don Diego doesn’t just disguise himself as Zorro. On one occasion, he bought a bottle of glow-in-the-dark phosphorus that he painted his cloak with. In the darkness, he was able to fool some superstitious soldiers into thinking he was a flaming skeleton, and even created messages to scare them further. It just goes to show that Zorro fights with his mind as much as he does with his weapons.


Swords

It wouldn’t be a blog about Zorro if his most primary weapon wasn’t mentioned. Coming from the same country where Don Diego claims heritage, Spain, the rapier had quite a bit of popularity throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.


While it’s quite hard to tell what kind of rapier Zorro wields exactly, the most average rapiers weigh around 1 kilogram, and are 104 centimeters in length and 2.5 centimeters from width to blade point. Zorro’s sword is noted as being “a bit heavier” than the average rapier, but still, size isn’t everything. The dreaded pirate king Barbados discovered as much when he tried to take on Zorro with his heavy cutlass. Zorro’s lighter blade let him attack far more swiftly; he was sure to win because his speed was superior.


Zorro’s blade is sharp enough to cut through limbs and stab through torsos, and its heavy hilt can be used to knock out enemies when Zorro’s feeling a little less lethal. Don Diego has trained for years to become a true master of the weapon. While he favors a certain blade, which he often dramatically calls “the sword of Zorro,” he has used others on occasion. Most notably, he often wears a rapier with an ornate jeweled hilt when he’s going about as Don Diego Vega.


Pistols

Zorro’s most favored weapon other than the sword is the pistol. He’s used more than just one on occasion, carrying two tucked in his sash. Zorro also brings along additional ammunition from time to time as well. Of course, it’s worth remembering that these are old-timey guns, you know, the kind that can only fire one shot before you have to reload, and require a powder horn to reload in the first place. Zorro seems to be able to load his gun pretty quickly, but he can’t exactly spam shots like a 12 year old playing Call of Duty.


As an honorable fighter, he’ll usually default to just using his blade - he more often uses his gun as a threat or for a distraction than for straight combat, such as when he fired over some soldiers’ heads while making an escape, or when he snuck around a campsite and fired at the men there from different positions to trick them into coming out of hiding and wasting all their ammunition. And while a gun is obviously intended as a ranged weapon, Zorro can always just use it to knock people out from behind with a swift blow to the head.


Knives

Zorro’s skill with a blade doesn’t end with his rapier; he often makes use of knives and daggers, usually only carrying a single one on him. When he’s low on options, he’ll use his dagger as a thrown weapon. He’s rarely actually used a knife in close range combat, favoring his sword for its longer reach - but he’s still perfectly capable of doing so, and can even catch sword blows with one.


Whips

When Zorro really wants to punish a most scoundrelous poltroon, his favorite tool for the job is a long leather whip - treating his targets like the Indigenous and lower-class servants they abuse so harshly. Like with his other weapons, he’s used multiple different ones, though he generally only brings a single one with him on any given adventure, often attached to his horse’s saddle. With one of these weapons, Zorro once lashed a man until his tough coat and shirt were both torn to ribbons. It’s safe to say you don’t want to be on the business end of one of these things.


Lassos / Ropes

While he’s more consistently portrayed as using whips, from time to time he carries a “riata” on him, basically a lasso. With this, he can catch people from a distance without hurting them in the process. He also just sometimes has rope on hand to tie up baddies with after he’s subdued them.


Spurs

While Zorro is most well known for his mask and cloak, he’s also got the boots with the spurs. These sharp rowels are most often used for goading his horse to run faster, but they can still leave a painful cut if Zorro’s willing to get that low.


Horses

Zorro has owned many different horses, but the one he rides most often is simply referred to as “the black.” Later adaptations would give it a proper name, such as Tornado, but in the original Johnston McCulley stories, it generally doesn’t get such a title.


As the scion of a wealthy family, Zorro can purchase just about any “fairish bit of horseflesh” he wants, and the mounts owned by the Vega family are regarded as “the best horses near Reina de Los Angeles.” So, it’s fair to assume “the black” is a horse of the utmost quality and breeding. This is backed up by how it’s able to stay ahead of far fresher horses for a time while its exhausted, even with both Zorro and Lolita Pulido riding on it. It can even vault over stone fences with Zorro still on its back, or slam other horses out of its way.


Likely being an Andalusian horse, Zorro’s mount can reach speeds of 88 kilometers per hour. Not only that, but being a horse also makes it quite strong. So strong that a single kick can deliver around 10,000 joules, which can cause severe damage to a human. That’s not even taking into account if a half-ton horse like that ran into you at full speed. And Zorro has used his mount in combat before, either fighting off other swordsmen on horseback or running his horse into a crowd of men to scatter them all.


Of course, there’s more to the black than just its physical capabilities. Zorro has trained his steed to respond to a certain peculiar cry he can make, which can either send the horse galloping away to confuse enemies into following it before it returns to a certain position, or simply just calls the horse to his side. When Zorro’s not riding the animal, it’s often in the able care of José of the Cocopahs, a Native American chief Zorro befriended.


Robin Hood

Longbow



Robin Hood's main weapon is his longbow. Trained by his father who was also a skilled archer, Robin Hood perfected his aim with the bow being able to hit shots that no one could imagine to hit. At the time, an English longbow would be about six feet in length and, with the most generous estimates, have a range of 370 meters - however, Robin Hood somehow manages to hit and fatally wound things such as deer as far as 550 meters away.

Sword

On multiple occasions, Robin Hood has shown to be proficient with using a sword. While the exact type of sword is not specified, given the time period and his activity in the crusades, he likely wielded a Type XII sword, which has a blade length of 30" and weighs two pounds. Robin Hood is able to utilize such a sword with enough power and proficiency to cleanly cut off heads, break other swords, and pierce through armor.

Quarterstaff

From time to time Robin Hood is shown to wield a quarterstaff which he is shown to be quite skilled in. Robin Hood has shown to be able to make a makeshift pole like weapon from carving it out, as well. He is most known with his staff with his battles with Little John where he can match the skilled staff fighter.   

Horse

Robin Hood from time to time is seen riding a horse, sometimes the horse is decorated with Robin Hood's normal green look. Robin Hood is mostly shown using a horse to escape the wrath of King John and make it back to his forest and Merry Men. 

Armored Harness

While we don't know what it looks like, Robin Hood did put on a harness and steel cap to battle with him once. He seems to be able to use it without sacrificing mobility. 

Feats

Zorro

Overall


Swordsmanship and Strength

Dueling

Fighting Groups

Slicing / Piercing

Other Strength Feats


Accuracy


Endurance


Speed and Agility

Combat

Deflecting / Avoiding Projectiles

Other Speed / Agility Feats


Robin Hood

Overall

  • Became the best archer in England 

  • Foiled King John several times 

  • Escaped guards on a regular basis 

  • Formed the Merry Men 

  • Got a maiden 

  • Helped King Richard get his throne back 

  • Rescued his men from the Sheriff of Nottingham

  • Mutilated a dude's genitals once


Swordsmanship and Strength

Accuracy


Endurance


Speed and Agility


Weaknesses

Zorro

Zorro is a skilled all-around fighter, but there are certain areas he struggles in. He relies on preparation and the advantages of striking at night, and while he has certainly fought well outside of those conditions, he’s not exactly at his “peak performance” when he’s out of his element.


While he does have numerous feats for fighting entire groups of men at a time, he has been ambushed or taken down by large numbers of soldiers or pirates before. His guns are a useful tool in a fight for sure, but he can only fire one shot from each before needing to reload, and that’s not exactly going to be an easy process in the heat of battle. Yep, guns really did kinda suck back in the day.


And finally, he’s somewhat bound by his personal code of honor, usually trying to “play fair” with his opponents in a duel - though whether that really applies or not in a Death Battle scenario is kind of up in the air. He has shown some willingness to disregard his caballero’s honor in a life-or-death scenario, or when he’s facing a particularly nefarious ne’er-do-well, but he still almost never opens a fight by going for a fatal shot.


Robin Hood

Robin Hood is an incredibly clever hero, but he can also make rash decisions at times, no doubt abetted by his pride. This has resulted in himself getting carried into very dangerous situations multiple times, even if he was able to resolve them.


Summary

Zorro


Advantages:

  • Better at close range

  • More versatile

  • Better equipment 

  • "The black" is overall faster, smarter and stronger than Hood’s horse

  • This swordfight


Disadvantages:

  • Worse at long range

  • Physically weaker

  • Lacks the same level of endurance and survivability

  • Somewhat bound by honor

  • Has the first movie rated Z (Hi Hi is seeking therapy) 


Robin Hood


Advantages:

  • Better at long range

  • Physically stronger

  • Better defensive armor

  • Greater feats of endurance and durability

  • Willing to fight more brutally

Disadvantages:

  • Worse at close range

  • More primitive equipment 

  • Less versatile 

  • Hasn't had a good movie since the 30s

Verdicts

tmk

It's been quite the wait, huh? I announced this blog way back in October, and it's had so many delays and detours. Researching these kinds of characters isn't easy at all, but thankfully we managed to pull through and deliver something that I think is worth the wait. Middle English literature is a pain to read, and the majority of Zorro's original works were not available online. I don't know what we'd do without 76SUP ordering copies of every Zorro novel and reading through them.


I think that this fight is super cool. It is really thematic in a lot of areas, and it's super close. I don't want to bore you with all the reasons I like it like I did in previous verdicts, but it's been fun to look into these characters. Anyways, who wins? I feel like to answer that, I need to clear up some of the major bases of this fight.


In terms of pure swordsmanship skill, Zorro has Robin Hood beat. Robin excels in sword fights and participates in them more often than you'd think, plus he was in the crusades, however he has not demonstrated the same level of precise skill with a blade that Zorro has. In contrast, Robin Hood obviously wins in direct accuracy and range. Zorro has one or two neat ranged feats, but Robin Hood is Robin Hood. His archery and shooting skills might as well be superhuman.


So, where do we go from there? Is it just a case where one of them has the advantage up close and the other has the advantage at a distance, thus it depends purely on the starting location? That's what I thought at first, but mulling it over, it's a lot more nuanced than that. To start with, Robin Hood's main advantage in the fight has a hurdle, and it's a big one. That being, Zorro has a gun, and guns > bows.


So, is that it? Does Zorro just shoot Robin Hood with a gun if he gets too far away and wins the fight? Well, let's slow down for a second. First, these are pretty old guns, and they are not nearly as accurate or potent as the modern day pistol. After a single shot, which Robin Hood could either avoid entirely or take a less serious injury from, Zorro would have to reload, at which Robin Hood would leave him with very little opportunity to do so. Yeah, he may be using a bow and arrow, but he's the best at using a bow and arrow, so I think he would still have a pretty sizable advantage at a distance, even with the technological gap. It is also worth noting that Zorro rarely uses his pistols for direct combat, so it's unlikely he would default, or even resort to them in most circumstances. 


As for things such as horses, it is true that Zorro's horse is better trained, but if they were to enter such a scenario to begin with then that means that Robin Hood would already be acquiring a ranged distance that would naturally be putting his advantages to use.


What if they got into close combat? Zorro is generally more skilled in this area, true, but Robin Hood has ways of keeping up here. Namely, his absurd endurance and survivability. The guy has had his head cracked by a direct sword swing multiple times and was perfectly fine to continue fighting, and he is able to swordfight for a multitude of hours without getting tired. He can afford to take hits from Zorro's blade and keep going, meanwhile Zorro getting tagged by Robin Hood will be very dangerous for his health.


Robin Hood is strong enough to break swords with his own strikes, as well as easily cleave off heads with his blows. That physical advantage, on top of his already established absurd stamina and survivability, make him more viable in a close ranged confrontation than Zorro would be at a distance - this isn't even mentioning the fact that he has actual body armor protecting him.


You can probably tell that I've been defending Robby quite a lot so far, and that I'm likely going to end up siding with him. I can understand the viewpoint behind Zorro's case, but once you remove all the flashy knick knacks and cool moments, Robin Hood just has plainly more superhuman and impressive feats. He's fought for an entire day straight, fatally shot a deer from 550 meters away (a feat that is physically impossible for bows [WHEN HE WAS 15 YEARS OLD!!!]), shrugs off sword blows to the face, and has fought on a much grander scale than what Zorro usually operates on.


Zorro may have an advantage in terms of versatility, but the effectiveness of his other tools are not going to make a difference against Robin Hood's tangible advantages - in other words, quantity is not going to beat quality, and I think that's part of what this match comes down to. Robin Hood has perfected his archery skills and pure tenacity to an inhuman degree that will ultimately provide him with more opportunities for victory than Zorro's own. A lot of this debate has seemed to revolve around the specific circumstances they are placed in, so let's analyze each specific scenario so that I may illustrate my point.


If they were far apart from one another, then Zorro is going to lack very many means of attacking Robin Hood before Hood blasts his chest off. His guns are actually worse off than the bow at such a distance, and as reliable as his stallion may be, it's not going to outmaneuver Robin Hood's shots. We also can't just assume that there will be objects for Zorro to take cover from in the battlefield, and it's ultimately not going to be enough against Robin Hood's archery skills.


If they were a moderate distance apart, then one of three things could happen. Either Zorro closes the gap fast enough to get into a cqc situation, which I will go into after, Robin Hood just shoots him, or Zorro attempts to use his guns, something I have covered previously, which would also force them into a ranged battle - a scenario Zorro would want to avoid.


Lastly, there is the scenario where they are close to one another. This is the most favorable case for Zorro, as it allows him to utilize his core advantage in the fight. However, as I established previously, Robin Hood possesses the means to survive such an encounter for a prolonged period of time, and would then have the opportunity to either move into a more favorable position, or retaliate with an attack that Zorro could not so easily defend against. 


Another important thing to mention is that Robin Hood is also quicker than Zorro. He can fight evenly with Friar Tuck, who was able to consistently swat Hood's arrows aside from mid-air. What this means is that Robin Hood can more easily place himself into a favorable position than Zorro, even if he lacks the exact melee finesse that Zorro possesses. Overall, I feel that Robin Hood could actually hang with Zorro in a sword fight for a good while, whereas if Robin gets any opportunity to shoot from his bow then the fight is over.


I don't want to drag this verdict on to be longer than it needs to be, I feel like I've made my points clear. In my opinion, this is going to be a fight of chances, and those chances are going to be decided by both the deadliness of their offensive options, and their survivability/endurance. In both of these categories, Robin Hood simply has the edge. He's got the tenacity and durability to keep up the fight even with grievous injuries and fighting for hours on end, and his strength, added with the potency of his archery skills are going to eventually put down the curse of Capristrano. Two foxes went oer yon a duel, yet thy blood seeps from thy shadowi cape, as Robyn Hode wolks by far ain other day.


Oleggator

So, here we are. After like, dozens of months, delays and reworks to the point of being memed about we've reached this moment. Procrastination sure is quite a dangerous thing. 


But honestly, despite wasting quite a long amount of time, I still really enjoyed it, at least as my first blog experience (as well as my first ever long written verdict for a MU, so I hope I would be entertaining enough) with characters the only thing I knew about was their names, to develop into going more in depth with stories of either. What's more is that upon research this MU certainly grew a lot for me and despite how grounded they are, it still sparks with some good charm. Sadly not something DB would consider to do for now, but hey, not like these 2 express so many levels of "who?" to stay in the shadows for long.


Now, back to the debate. Perhaps the first question upon reading you may ask is, "Where're Zorro and Robin Hood movies/shows/comics(and really any other media they've been used in)?". The question is as simple as the answer: they're not used. Why? Well, I think it's pretty obvious with Robin Hood, man comes from very old folklore, and his other media aside from old plays and ballads is pretty much done at the moment when he is already a public domain, aka at that point nothing stops me from...say, writing a story where Robin Hood somehow shot his arrow across an infinite space within 0 seconds and then blew up the universe and more. In the almost same extent Zorro is a public domain (since 1995). And from here can fairly come another interesting question about Zorro media aside from books/novels before 1995. And well, tbf I won't be surprised if Death Battle crew in fact would use media before that year. Since before that, there clearly were requirements with copyright to be an official media. Sadly though, giving to Zorro all movies/show would be a little messy due to the various differences Diego can have not only in comparison of novels with some of his movie counterparts but also among the movies themselves in comparison to each other (Missed opportunity to throw in the feat where he drew "Z" by a fire on air I'm not gonna lie). 


Ok, so, we cleared out the other media and overall left with basically just reading material. As you could've seen above they still got a pretty good amount of solid feats and if there's one thing I would start with, it is something that for this debate isn't the biggest factor - Stats. Or well...specifically strength and durability. Sure they both are quite tough guys and definitely showcased themselves as being more capable than average humans, buuuuut they still are humans and can be killed by their weapons respectively, if it bleeds we can kill it as they say. 


Besides strength and durability there is speed, a quite important factor in these kind of MUs where both can kill each other quick. And well, while Friar Tuck's arrow timing is pretty direct we could give to Zorro the bullet timing through one of his feats. But most importantly I do believe Diego can probably compete with Hood without aforementioned bullet timing, Tuck's feat is after all performed by (likely) using his hands rather than by pulling out a sword which is well, quite heavy. So keeping that in mind I don't think Robin can pull out his arrows or swing with his sword and staff as exactly fast as Friar was catching said arrows. All that plus the armor he would have should probably slow him down to some point in combat, for Zorro to at least keep up.


And now, let us go to probably big thing in this MU, being: weapons, armors and skills. Zorro and Robin Hood portrayed themselves as really strong combatants when it comes to long range with Hood or close range with Zorro. So let's start this section and split into 2 situations:

1.50-200 meters (Long Range)

2.5-10 meters (Close Range) 


Situation number 1.

Zorro is pretty far and Robin already has an advantage since unlike Zorro, Hood is operative on that range. But at the same time, I'd like to point out a few things that help Zorro in this range. First things first a common math formula, Distance/Velocity = Time. Hood got a good aim and fast arrow, but Zorro himself is pretty good at aim dodge or just dodging for what it's worth. And the longer distance for Hood there is to shoot, the more time Diego has to well, dodge the arrow. And secondly, with Tornado in hand Zorro can clear the range gap pretty quickly even if Hood would use own horse, because Zorro's is definitely faster (and has feats). And to back that up, let's keep in mind the fight isn't happening in a white hollow space. Zorro being aware of how bow and arrow are dangerous can also just, have a cover, whether it be forest at day or city at night Diego can hide and defend from long shots not only by dodging, but also by using other obstacles as a "shield", of course Robin can use environment too, but in my opinion Zorro can use it better and have more advantages through it. So even here I think the fight is gonna get close range, now how is this gonna turn out?


Situation number 2. 

So, here, it's probably pretty clear that our first topic would be their swords. At that distance Robin pulling out an arrow and aim would require more movements than required for Zorro to attack with his rapier, leaving him with his second option of combat. And well, despite Zorro's sword being around same weight and around same capabilities to kill as Robin's sword, Diego's sword is longer, giving him more space to attack. Sure, Robin has a pretty big endurance, man fought 2-6 hours with his sword so, he could've outlast Zorro, now how possible is that? Well, besides Zorro being quite tough himself, with his longer sword he's shown to be more quicker in CQC than Hood. Several times Zorro swung his rapier so quickly that it appeared as afterimages or just as something a person could barely notice. That's really a good feat to keep pace fast and make person sweat. Of course Robin has a armor which leaves him less open to attacks, but he still has or at least should have open spots for Zorro to aim at. Rationally thinking, Zorro won't try to break through the armor but rather focus either disarming Robin leaving the latter with nearly no options, or well, aim to the head/face. Now true we don't have exact knowledge on Hood's armor so in some possibility it'll be possible for him to have some heavy armor rather than just iron cap with chainmail, but realistically with heavier armor he would be slower to pull out his other stuff.


Now what if Robin would disarm Zorro or even break the sword considering how strong strikes of his sword can be. That leaves Zorro with still a variety of options to fight at close combat, knives still serve as a quick and deadly weapon of usage and whips have the force to strike and still disarm Hood. Or better yet, try to use his horse as a maybe not a weapon but as some sort of distraction. Now true Robin has an experience with killing animals (mf killed a dog and hunted other animals before), but horses are well, strong and still can serve trouble. The versatility of Zorro really carries him in that fight and helps him to have an ace in a pocket even after losing one. 


Now I can't forget the big part of the debate in this MU, being...erm...gun. Zorro without wasting time to reload can use them twice. Of course there are few twists. At that time guns weren't as accurate so they obviously can also miss, true, but at same time they can still serve for a good damage and weakening of Robin Hood. Now would Zorro use the guns? Noooooooot immediately, this is certainly not his main option in combat and Diego has a code of an honor (in comparison to Hood being more violent and brutal). But under rules of Death Battle (at least considering their take in Obi Wan vs Kakashi), this code of honor can probably be passed through to the point of allowing Zorro to at least not hold back and/or use the gun in the middle of combat.


Now let's do a little recap: 


Strength-Durability? Hood's likely stronger but both can still be killed by each other's weapons pretty easily. Check.


Speed? Robin's scaling to Friar is good but Zorro can compete with that either through potential bullet timing feat, or through the fact that it's somewhat compensated with more heavy stuff Robin has with himself. Check.


Long Range? Hood has a longer range but Zorro can use several ways to defend and shorten the distance in that range. Check.


Close Range? Hood is very endurable but isn't totally resistant to damage and can be left out with no options to fight back more easily, whereas Zorro under a similar scenario can still have some options left. Check.


Gun? Usable, even though not straight up. Check.


Hmmm...well yeah I think that's pretty much it. Robin Hood had an inhuman eyesight, strength and endurance, but Zorro's quickness of blade, environment usage and sheer versatility is enough to mark a "Z" for his victory.

Hi Hi

“I watched porn FOR NOTHING”

                                           

Many men speak of Robin Hood but they don’t got his flows, while you were panicking dillydalling under the thrown I’d be hijacking into the palace und-. Sorry got carried away. 


So Robin Hood Vs Zorro is a matchup that combines two of my favorite kinds of matchups. It being a grounded and folklore fight. Grounded fights are fun to me because it focuses more on skill then stats which is a breath of fresh air from time to time. With folklore thanks to the Death Battle episode Hercules Vs Wukong it opened the door to a plethora of new matchups and debates to come. I’m not gonna say a whole lot of how I like this matchup because honestly not the best at doing that, but what I can do is say who I side with.


Let’s go over the boring stuff first that being stats. To go over it quickly Robin Hood has the stat Trinity easily. Robin Hood can break swords, scale to characters who can swat arrows midair and can take blows to the head by a sword. So Zorro doesn’t have a lot going for him in that department. Last for stats is endurance which surprise surprise Robin Hood also has. Robin Hood has fought for longer durations compared to Zorro and while in bad conditions like that one time he fought for a long summer day, now I’m no doctor but something tells me that fighting that long in a heat like the summer can be rough for anyone. Though let’s keep it fair because in a matchup like this a good clean blow can take the other out. 


For swordsmanship I will give the advantage to Zorro. Yes Robin Hood is a skilled fighter in his own right but Zorro has shown to make more skilled strikes with a blade then Robin Hood. Though honestly having better skill with the blade is not really that useful for Zorro. Sure he can land some good blows but as said before Robin Hood can take a blow to the head and keep on swinging, so I think he would be able to tank a few stabs. 


Also on the topic of accuracy, Robin Hood also has that thanks to his bow. Sure Zorro does have some good accuracy with his blade but Robin Hood has done shots that are basically superhuman. For example Robin Hood shooting a deer a hundred rods away, or that time he split an arrow 15 score passes away and the time he shot a target three score passes away. There are other feats to mention but you get the picture. 


Now some might be saying “But Zorro has a gun can’t he just shoot Robin Hood?” 


There are many problems with that. Firstly you need to keep in mind the time period the gun was made. Guns back then weren’t very accurate especially at long ranges. Secondly Zorro doesn’t start off with guns blazing so there’s a chance Robin Hood can take him down before Zorro comes up with an idea of using the gun. Lastly Zorro only has two shots with them because he has two guns. If Zorro would want to reload he would need time because guns back then took a while to reload. Also again Robin Hood can take some fatal blows, so if the gun hit Robin Hood in like the chest he could possibly still keep fighting.


Lastly I want to go over what could possibly be the most important factor, what is the starting distance in the fight? Theoretically if the distance is close enough Zorro could end the fight quickly, but then again so can Robin Hood. With previous statements I’ve said before I honestly think it wouldn’t matter in the long run. In close range, Yes Zorro could possibly get a lucky hit in with his blade or gun but that’s about all he has going for him. I didn’t really take the time to list Zorro other stuff because they don’t really matter in this fight. Robin Hood is still physically stronger so he can overpower Zorro. Zorro's gun isn’t that reliable and Robin Hood could possibly take the blow and still win. 


For medium range and beyond Zorro is just screwed. Robin Hood is in his most dangerous while at a range. This is the best archer of England against someone who doesn’t have anything to help with the distance. Sure a horse can help close the distance but Robin Hood also has a horse and Robin Hood can just shoot the horse at a range. 


So overall I side Robin Hood. He is simply stronger, faster and can endure more pain. He has better accuracy overall with his bow. Can tank most of the blows Zorro can give him. He has the better chances of winning in every starting distance. And lastly if the fight goes on long enough Robin Hood would have an easier time getting a fatal blow on Zorro given Robin Hood has fought for longer periods of time. Sorry Zorro fans I know you really wanted the win but this just wasn’t it. Ah but please don’t be zorlosers. The winner is Robin Hood.

Pasbros

My first time writing a blog's verdict, oooo scary, obviously compared to the others my reasoning will likely be sloppy because of that and probably less interesting as well but anyhow, so Zorro Vs Robin Hood, what a match don't you think? This blog was revealed in October and was obviously supposed to come out much sooner but like the fact 90% of Zorro's materials aren't even online makes it such a bitch to work with, hell I'm surprised that it's finally out (also stfu about my pfp). 


But despite all the difficulties, it was still fun to help with, shout out to 76SUP for ordering the novels, otherwise our ass would've been grass. So this matchup is Nothing special for me, I did know about Robin Hood when I was younger and I only watched like 1 movie of Zorro (almost 2 but thank God my rock, paper and scissors skills are unmatched. Suck it Hi Hi) So yeah this matchup didn't speak to me at first, however the more this blog went on the more interesting I found it to be, but that's probably because I'm begging for a very grounded because let's be honest, skill is much more interesting to talk about then "who punches the best". 


But you all didn't come here for me to keep rambling on so let's go. This debate is much closer then you might expect, for starters let's get away the useless stuff and that's their strength and durability, sure both fighters took some roughhousing and shown to be well more sturdier than your average human, in the end of the day they're still human, so that means they can still be killed by a simple arrow or bullet to the face, or decapitation. Essentially both can insta kill with their weapons respectively, so then the obvious comes in. 


Who is faster? Because unlike strength and durability this one is actually important and with how I see it, the gap isn't even that far off, while yes Friar hitting arrows mid air is impressive, Zorro does have a possible bullet timing feat (possible more then just one ), with that I would say Zorro would be faster, but even if we disregard the feat, Tuck was likely yoinking the arrow away with his hands then pulling out his sword that weights quite a lot. So I would say I doubt Robin Hood is going to pull out his sword so much faster than Zorro to the point that he cannot react or pull out his bow at Mach 1 speed and shoot it. This is all without arguing the aforementioned bullet timing.


But the most important part of this fight isn't stats, nah the true importance is their weapons, armor and skills, so that we can find out who would win a Death battle. Well actually not just that, the setting depends as well really, if the battle starts long range or short range is actually another interesting factor to look into. 


If the fight starts from long range then yeah the advantage here is quite obvious, Robin kind of washes in range here, shot a deer from 550M with a bow and arrow when he was a 15 year old. Fucking wack, but that doesn't mean Zorro is completely pegged in this scenario, not only is he the master of aim dodging haven done this many times with bullets (possible even dodge a gunshot without aimdodging of you buy the feat), but he actually has much more time to hide the further away Robin Hood is, keep in mind the fight isn't going to be in a wasteland or an alternative dimension that db created to make the combatants fight like mindless puppets. 


Diego is quite the master at hiding, I mean gosh darn it his most well known uniform was made for blending in the darkness, so he would mostly likely use the environment to dodge any arrows shot at him, obviously same would be said for Robin, but this is much more useful for Diego as he does use the environment more than Robin (Definitely if it's place in the night then Zorro would have a huge advantage here.) and this would also mean he has an easier time scrolling through the area to come up close, but he doesn't have to play it sneaky, if both start with their horses, this would also allow Diego to come up closer, The black is not only much faster, smarter, cooler and stronger, h-he's actually useful in a fight compared to Hood's horse. Besides using him to escape, Robin doesn't really use it to attack people, which Zorro does, so him using his horse for either a distraction or just using him to come close seems something he would do which comes to the next part of the fight. 


This part is also not that surprising, Close Range should go to Zorro with just his, better swordsmanship right? Well yes but also no, it's not just his better skill that I think he would take this part, just like I said before his sword reach is larger than Robin Hood's meaning he has more room compared to Robin but that doesn't mean Hood himself is lacking, his bigger endurance and stamina are better as he can fight for like 6 hours and if we give him his armor, that does mean that Zorro has less options to damage Robin Hood, however, Zorro himself has shown quite a bit of endurance, the fact I doubt this fight would go on for 6 whole fucking hours and well it's obvious Diego wouldn't go aim his attacks at Robin Hood's big slab of metal, but he would likely go for disarming him, completely limiting his options, he's done this before a lot. He also seems like he would be able to attack faster, as he was once moving so fast with his rapier that it seemed like it appeared multiple, essentially leaving afterimages, with this speed gap, I would say Zorro would have this in the bag, definitely since he did beat The dreaded pirate King Barbados (what a name) by being able to attack more swiftly, while he had a more heavier sword, the same would be here. Where Diego being able to attack faster then Robin Hood would really help him here, definitely if Hood gets his harness, since while it's good for protection, not only is it super heavy, making Robin Hood even more slower, there are still open spots where Zorro can attack at since his blade is quite thin, he can also just, attack his face, which would be a quick end to the hero. 


Though that are not his only options, if Robin Hood does break Diego's rapier, he still has quite the random bullshit to throw at him, although he prefers his sword, his knife is still helpful and was able to catch sword blows with it before, if Robin ever tries and run away for range a good dagger throw would fuck him up, as Zorro was able to throw it from across a room before to pin someone with it, need another way to disarm Robin? His whip and riata (lasso) would do the trick, want to go for a surprise, spurs would leave a nasty cut on Robin and although he doesn't usually use him, he has done it before. So really Zorro has way too many options if things goes south for him, while if Robin gets disarmed, he's kind of screwed, even if he tries to take an arrow to maybe defend himself, it would take way too long then Zorro just going "stab" jpg. The only way I see Robin taking CQC, is if both decide to just do this fist to fist. Also Zorro loves tricking people into making them mess up and with how Robin Hood is, it wouldn't be the most difficult tactic for him to use as it did work on him before (I mean for fuck sakes his ego is off the charts sometimes). 



Now you noticed I didn't mention the fact Zorro has a fucking gun on him, well mostly cuz this is one is rough, while we all agree that these old guns are literal ass, they aren't completely useless, as he does have 2 of em, meaning he doesn't have to wait like minutes until he can shoot again and while Robin has great endurance, he uhh, never taken a bullet to the chest or arm, or leg or b-, ok yeah well duh, different timezones and everything, but weirdly enough, doesn't seem to have taken an arrow to the chest either, that doesn't mean he would be immediately down, this however would weaken him quite a bit, this is also saying that Zorro doesn't just go for the obvious head. Well El code of honor, db has broken it before with Obi Wan Vs Kakashi and did make The predators suicide bomb an attack for whatever reason. I do think he would use the gun obviously he won't start, the fight guns blazing, but he would use them whenever he needs. Also even without ammo he did use it to knock someone out, so there's that. 


So TLDR:


Although Robin Hood is inhumanly strong and tough, he's still human, so stil can, be killed with a quick stab to the head and Zorro isn't so far behind, with his feat, of breaking a metal lock with a metal pipe and, having also good endurance feats, Friar's speed feat is impressive but Zorro's possible bullet timing would help him here and the heavy armor Robin would put on would make him slower. Robin is much better at long range but Zorro has ways around it and isn't completely outmatched and when it comes to close range it would be him having the advantage even with Robin's armor. Also horse. 


Robin may have been tough, strong and has a ridiculous range with a bow and arrow, Zorro's cunningness, better skill, versatility, better horse and better usage of his environment would give him the win here, To be Friar Robin was quite a tough opponent, so you Robin Hood fans don't have to feel Zorro, eh? Eh? Anyways the winner is Zorro 

76SUP

Why is my guy dressed up like a detective? I don’t know either. Before I get into the actual fight, I always like to ask “would Death Battle do this matchup?” I mean, I really like it a lot, but for a variety of reasons I’m going to say no, no they wouldn’t.


Zorro and Robin Hood are about as far from “obscure” as you can get, so that’s not really an issue. Maybe their source material is obscure, but if you showed someone a picture of either character, just about anybody could identify them.


But… well, there’s still no real “fanbase” for either Zorro or Robin Hood. There’s no hordes of Zorro and Robin Hood fans ravenous for more content about them, nor are there many Death Battle fans clamoring for this episode. At most, you’ll see people who liked the Antonio Banderas Zorro movies, or people who liked the 1990s or 2010s Robin Hood movies. Or, uh… people who were turned into furries by that Disney Robin Hood movie. Which, I don’t really think that’s the audience Death Battle is trying to appeal to. I think those guys are too busy blasting rope to Maid Marian to watch the show anyways.


Some people may point to Heracles VS Sun Wukong as an example of them using public domain characters. It’s not really the same thing. Mythology, and Greek mythology in particular, is extremely popular and perpetually relevant. The demographic that Death Battle targets grew up watching Disney’s Hercules, playing God of War, and reading Percy Jackson. More recent releases like the games Hades and SMITE have kept classical mythology a constant cornerstone of pop culture. Wukong also has that “he’s literally Goku guys!” appeal that they heavily leaned into in the episode.


Not to mention, in recent years Death Battle has really begun to lean on more and more powerful characters. I think they’ve realized that a large section of the fanbase just really enjoys seeing big numbers. Just about every other episode now dips into “cosmic” stuff, and Heracles and Sun Wukong are part of that trend. Both of them were ranked as infinitely strong and faster than light. Zorro and Robin Hood are far more “human” characters than Herc and Wukong, so they’re not getting that “cosmic” bonus.


The only way I could really see this episode happening is if two adaptations came out at around the same time and like, really blew up in popularity. Omni-Man VS Homelander is an episode where both characters came from smaller, somewhat irrelevant properties, but the massive popularity of their streaming shows gave them a shot in the arm that ultimately led to them being chosen for an episode. Apparently Disney is making a Zorro show with Wilmer Valderrama, which… well, we’ll see if that gets any traction.


About alternate matchups, I can’t really think of any for Robin Hood that I like, but I think matching Zorro against another western character could be cool. Someone like the Lone Ranger. But Zorro VS Lone Ranger, that’s another one I really don’t see Death Battle doing. I mean, the last time Lone Ranger was relevant was when Disney made that terrible movie about him. Y’know, the one where Armie Hammer fights a deranged cannibal? It’s weird, you think he’d wind up making friends with the guy.


Okay, so, enough of that. Who wins the fight? Well, I think it’s actually rather clear cut. Close, but still clear cut. I basically buy the same arguments that tmk and Hi Hi have made already, so I’ll try and be brief.


Robin Hood is superior to Zorro in every area that matters, and thus, I think he’d take it. Robin’s stronger (he can break other swords with his own), faster (he keeps up with a guy who can swat arrows out of the air), more resilient (he actually bothers with armor), and has far more stamina (he can fight for literal hours at a time). Overall, Robin Hood is just a much less “grounded” character than Zorro is.


Zorro is more skilled, but not to a point where he could best someone who tops him in every single physical category. Zorro can take on opponents with heftier swords, but only because he’s faster than them, and he has nothing that’s close to Robin’s arrow-swatting unless you really stretch with his “bullet dodging” feats. Zorro is more versatile, but really, is a whip or a knife or some glow-in-the-dark paint going to change things much? Zorro has the better horse, but Robin Hood could just like… shoot his horse with an arrow and kill it. Every “advantage” Zorro has is barely an advantage when you actually think through it.


The only real wincon for Zorro here is if he shoots Robin in the face. Zorro only has two pistol shots to do that, and while he does have some decent feats of precision, I don’t really think he’d do it. He always defaults to using his sword or at least engaging his opponents fairly. And if he chooses to aim anywhere that isn’t immediately lethal, I think Robin could keep going and take him down. The guy can take direct sword blows to the head and keep on trucking just fine. Depending on the starting distance - which we haven’t really defined here - Zorro may not even have time to fire before Robin kills him, or may be out of range with his pistols while Robin could still accurately target him with his longbow.


It’s one of those situations where you have to decide based on probability. If you ran this fight a hundred times, sure, some times Zorro would just shoot Robin in the head and it’d be over and done with. But the majority of times, either Zorro wouldn’t use his pistol because of his honor, Robin would take a shot and keep fighting, or Zorro would just get killed before he got the chance to shoot anyways.


So yeah, I’m on team Robin Hood here. Thanks to tmk for letting me participate, and putting up with how long it took me to get those Zorro books. If you liked this blog, maybe keep an eye out for my upcoming unabridged Zorro respect thread.



Team Zorro: Oleggator, Pasbros

Team Robin Hood: tmk, Hi Hi, 76SUP


Next time…

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bendy VS Springtrap

Image
  "We are unfashioned creatures, but half made up." -Victor Frankenstein Bendy the Ink Demon, the greed and envy of Joey Drew ink-carnate. William Afton the Springtrap , the former co-owner of Fazbear Entertainment turned undead serial killer. Corporate greed and petty desires are never a good mix, as the creations they brew ultimately cause more harm than needed. Give an envious man the power to enact his bitter desires, and he shall do so in a way that defies humanity itself. Coat that toxic intuition in a thick layer of childhood nostalgia corrupted beyond belief, and you’ve got our two combatants. When it comes to these inner demons turned outward armageddons, who would win in a DEATH BATTLE? Before We Start We’re not gonna sugarcoat it. There are a lot of things that need to be established about this fight that other fights have the luxury of not having to worry about. First and foremost, we will be compositing the characters specifically known as the Ink Demon and Willi
Read more

Bill VS Discord

Image
  “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.”   - Aristotle Bill Cipher, the Nightmare Realm’s Dream Demon from Gravity Falls . Discord, Equestria’s Lord of Chaos from My Little Pony. The laws of reality are something that we all must answer to. What we can do, how we do it, and what obstacles stand in the way of various accomplishments. But for beings like these two, there are no such laws dictating their deeds. Only their morals and the goals that they choose to follow. The Dream Demon and the Chaos Lord both laugh in the face of physics and reality, but for being so similar, there are few beings so different. Both seek to change their worlds in a new era of weirdness and chaos, but to what ends will they bring it about? And what will become of the world after their battle? Will Bill Cipher succeed in liberating the world and ushering in a new era of partying, or does Discord truly wield the most powerful magic of all in friendship? The fabric of worlds will rip an
Read more

Doomsday VS SCP-682

Image
(SCP-682 art by IsisMashiro ) "Immortality - A fate worse than death." -Edgar Schoeff Doomsday, DC’s Monster that killed Superman SCP-682, the SCP Foundations Hard-to-Destroy-Reptile In a world of natural selection, only the strong survive. Although nothing lives forever, these two terrifying monsters have lived through and survived so much that they very well might just be immortal - and yet, ironically, they want nothing more than to end all life in existence. When these two immortal terminators meet head to head, who will survive? And who will finally meet their demise in a DEATH BATTLE ? Before We Start The nature of SCP as a community-driven writing project obviously makes it trickier to handle in a VS sense compared to most series. There are many conflicting canons and interpretations of characters, and a low bar for entry, to the point where basically anybody can write for the site. For the purposes of this blog, we’re looking at SCP-682 composited across all his appea
Read more