Hell on the Colosseum
What is a hero? It’s a being that stands for righteousness. What is a villain? It’s a person who performs evil for their own selfish goals. But what happens when someone lies in between?
What are your thoughts on someone who has sinned in the past but has also done a lot of good.
What are your thoughts on Spawn?
Superman: He wears his sins on his sleeve but tries to wear his virtues at the same time.
Captain America: A soldier from Hell trying to do God’s work.
Batman: He’s a friend.
Spider Man: A sad man.
Goku: A powerful fighter.
All Might: Someone who’s not letting his past define who he is now.
Deku: Someone striving to be better.
Mario: A scary man.
Sonic: Someone who does the best he can.
Raiden (MK): A devil is a devil.
Robocop: Acts of good do not detract from a criminal past.
Tracer: I get goosebumps just being near him.
Pinkie Pie: He’s got such a moody face all the time. Wonder what cheers him up?
Luke: The dark side in him is overwhelming but I can sense a faint light among all that darkness.
Optimus Prime: Perhaps there is good inside of him but I have yet to see it.
Shao Kahn: An annoying Hellspawn.
Goku Black: A lackey who overstepped his boundaries.
Bowser: He’s such a bore.
Eggman: I thought Chaos magic was the most fascinating thing out there but his Hell magic gives it a run for its money.
Lex Luthor: Another goon to take advantage of.
Dr. Doom: What is there to say; other than that his power is beneath mine.
Vader: A walking pile of darkness.
Ganondorf: A man of inferior power.
Shredder: I don’t care about him.
Thanos: He claims to be righteous but what does his opinion matter against the opinions of the masses?
Darkseid: An obstacle if he gets in my way.
Madara: A miserable man who cannot be controlled.
Homelander: He’s just brooder, what else is there to it?
Sauron: A bug to squash.
Dio: Hmm, a sad man and not the last one I’ll see that’s for sure.
Despite being one of the oldest combatants, Spawn seldom spends time with others. To him, Death Battle is a sport and should be enjoyed as one. Nothing more, nothing less. He has never used his room and only comes on days when there’s a fight and leaves before night settles. As such, many combatants don’t know much about him. Even those who’ve been around as long as he has barely know more than those who joined a few years ago. Al Simmons prefers to keep to himself. His duty lies in his world afterall, he shouldn’t bother with what happens in other worlds when that’s someone else’s responsibility and he sure won’t bother with a world that’s sole purpose is to connect other worlds. That’s not to say he hates the other fighters.
He gets along with most of the veterans and he does get a kick out of watching newcomers tremble in fear upon first meeting him. He’s got into a few fights but he tries to end each one quickly, as he prefers to keep his cards close to his chest. Ultimately, he doesn’t spend enough time in the Colosseum for others to form a proper opinion on him and so they only have his appearance and attitude to go off of, which tends to lead to many villainising him. Not that he cares. Of course, those who bother to read his comics know better but not everyone is curious enough to read about him. But to say he’s always seen in a bad light is disingenuous. Afterall, Spawn is far from the most morally conflicted combatant here and he’s not the only one who can’t stick to a side. What are your thoughts on Spawn?
Cole: He killed a lord of hell, he can’t be that bad.
Boba Fett: He’s a murderer with a halo.
Deadpool: He’s like if you gave Batman superpowers.
(A/N: Maybe I should’ve asked someone else.)
———
Post Ghost Rider vs Lobo
A man who made a deal with the Devil and had his soul fused with the Spirit of Vengeance. Despite all the evil that looms over his shoulders, villain is the last thing you can use to describe him.
What are your thoughts on the Ghost Rider?
Superman: A man who was backed into a corner with no hope to reach out to.
Captain America: A hero when it counts.
Batman: Just another hero.
Spider Man: He’s a friend.
Goku: A powerful fighter.
All Might: He’s got the Devil looking over his shoulder and still does what’s right.
Deku: He’s a hero, if not a bit of a scary looking one.
Mario: A nice guy.
Sonic: I dig the flaming head.
Raiden (MK): His morality is questionable but he’s ultimately righteous.
Robocop: Hero or not he has crimes he must answer for.
Tracer: He’s so cool!
Pinkie Pie: I don’t like it when that other guy takes over but Johnny himself is a fun guy! I got him to make a cake with Deadpool and I one time and he used his Hellfire to help bake it. It ended up being a spicy cake.
Luke: Someone who needs to get that spiritual influence off his back.
Optimus Prime: Despite appearances he’s a good person.
Shao Kahn: Someone who can’t mind his own business!
Goku Black: A mortal unworthy of wielding divine power!
Bowser: A rad dude!
Eggman: I try to keep my distance ever since I heard all it takes is a stare for him to make you suffer all your sins.
Lex Luthor: A messy man.
Dr. Doom: Depending on the man behind the fire, he’s either a challenge or a cockroach.
Vader: The light is strong with him but so is the dark.
Ganondorf: A weak man who relies on someone else for power.
Shredder: Do I look like I care about who he is?
Thanos: A weakling.
Darkseid: An obstacle if he gets in my way.
Madara: An angel of death.
Homelander: Overrated in my opinion!
Sauron: A bug to squash.
Dio: I’ll admit, he’s kind of cool.
Johnny Blaze was enthralled by the Colosseum when he first got there. A room full of powerful fighters would normally be intimidating but Mr Blaze has seen worse and it helped that there were plenty of familiar and friendly faces for him to see as well. The thought of being able to meet new people from different worlds and watch them fight got Johnny’s blood pumping but such thoughts were put to a halt. On the day of Ghost Rider vs Lobo, there were three individuals who walked out of the white doors, The Main Man, Johnny himself and the Spirit of Vengeance tethered to his soul, Zarathos. As a spirit of vengeance it’s in Zarathos’ nature to seek out and punish sinners and there are many sinners that walk within the halls of the Colosseum.
Not long into his introductory tour did the Spirit try to take over Johnny’s body and deliver punishment to those he deemed to have committed heinous acts. But luckily, Johnny resisted and kept Zarathos at bay. Due to this, for the safety of everyone in the Colosseum, he decided to only come in once a week to see the fights and interact with people. He’s been very careful on who he chooses to hang out with. Obviously, fellow marvelous individuals are safe bets, as long as they’re not evil, but the other combatants that Johnny chooses to mingle with are mainly good guys. The less evil they emit, the easier it is to make sure Zarathos doesn’t try to enact vengeance.
Johnny Blaze: This isn’t the place for us to do this! Even the gods from other worlds follow the rules here so our role does not make us special.
Zarathos: They must suffer! If we cannot kill them then we will make them wish we could.
Johnny Blaze: Like that’s any better? Yeah, not a chance. Good thing I’ve got you underwraps most of the time. It’s long enough for me to enjoy some time here.
Of course, he can’t always be Johnny. Most of the time, it’s the Ghost Rider hanging out in the Colosseum, meaning most newcomers’ first impressions of him are that of alarm, or indifference depending on if he’s one of the first combatants they get to see up close. He’s far from the most freaky looking combatant that’s for sure. But it usually takes a drink and a conversation for them to realise that he’s not that bad, he just got dealt a bad hand.
———
Present day morning
Spawn enters the ground floor of the Colosseum. Today is the day he fights the Ghost Rider. For the most part, he isn’t sure what to expect. There are only three things he knows about the Ghost Rider. First, his immense strength.
Spawn: His strength is praised by Thor, who in turn matched Superman during that arm wrestling competition. Thor beat Kratos in that contest, so I’m fighting someone who can hit in a higher weight class than me. Hmm, not the first time I had to deal with that.
The second thing to note is his Hellfire.
Spawn: It burns the soul. My soul is pretty messed up as it is. How much more can he mess it up?
Finally, his most infamous ability, the Penance Stare.
Spawn: A stare that makes you suffer all of your sins. That’s not new.
As Spawn was considering his chances of winning he felt a hand on his right shoulder. He was suddenly pulled in by a large, muscular man with grey complexion and wild hair. The man, without asking, began whispering into Spawn’s ear.
Lobo: Listen here, punk. I want you to crush that pipsqueak until he’s a pile of demon dust. You hear me?
Spawn: Since when do I listen to you?
Lobo: Just asking for a favour here, ok? I totally had that fight and I can say for myself that he’s nothing until the big red guy comes out to play. While you were gone everyone up ‘till now kept talking about how cool Casper the Rider is and only that orange turtle and wimp with the green hair has bothered to read your comics.
Spawn: Have you read my stories?
Lobo: Nah, too busy for that. But you gotta shut everyone up and give that pale man a taste of his own medicine up his ass!
By now Lobo was no longer whispering but shouting. Shouting into Spawn’s ear. Something that annoyed him and he was about to do something about it too before they got interrupted.
Johnny Blaze: Didn’t think I touched that many nerves on you.
Spawn and Lobo turned to see Johnny Blaze enter the Colosseum.
Lobo: Get ready to be fed an L later bozo.
Johnny Blaze: I look forward to it, bastich.
Upon hearing his own insult turned against him Lobo began angrily approaching Johnny Blaze, who in return, transformed into the Ghost Rider to meet him eye to eye.
Lobo: Listen here you little shit. You’re nothing without that fragging soul overlookin' ya.
Ghost Rider: You think I enjoy having him with me? That’s a funny story.
Before things can escalate, Spawn teleports in between them to break them up.
Spawn: That’s enough. looks at Lobo I’ll see you in the audience looks at Ghost Rider and I’ll see you in Hell.
Ghost Rider nods at Spawn while Lobo grumpily walks away. As the two demonic beings part ways for now Johnny begins thinking about what to expect from the fight.
Johnny Blaze: There’s not much I know about him and apparently Spidey and Thor don’t much either. Maybe I can watch his old fight to get an idea of what to expect. Wait, no that won’t work. I won’t even remember what he’ll do in that fight later.
Ghost Rider: Guess I have no choice but to fight like hell.
Zarathos: No other choice but to make him suffer.