The recent announcement of a Nerd Tournament at local comic book store Meltdown occasioned a geek-fight of epic proportions on G4 TV's email list. Because it's a lazy summer day, we wanted to share it with you.
Here's how the nerd tourney works: Interested parties apply to select one of the following pop culture characters and debate who would win in a fight:
Lara Croft / Batman / Gandolf / Enid (Ghostworld) / Aquaman / Captain America / Pikachu / Wolverine / Iron Man / Alan Quartermine / Superman / Alien Queen (Aliens) / Terminator / Voltron / Wonder Woman / Darth Vader / Hulk / Spiderman / Thing / Star Buck (Battle Star G) / The Father from the Movie Happiness / The Borg / Thor / Jason Vorhees / Bionic Woman / Cloverfield Monster / Predator / Chewbaca / Snake Eyes (GI Joe) / Mr. Myagi / Freddy Krueger / Forrest Whitaker as Idi Amin
The email argument this event spawned is under the cut.
Jess R: I nominate Matt K immediately.
Blair H: Nomination seconded.
Courtney K: All in favor?
Robert J:
Casey S: MOTION PASSED!
Michael D: HUZZAH!
Matt K: They misspelled “Gandalf.”
Casey S: …. And we have a winner!
Justin F: DAMN YOU MATT K. FOR BEATING ME TO THE LORD OF THE RINGS REFERENCE.
John W: It’s actually “Gonif,” a reference to an Isaac Bashevis Singer graphic novel that never sold all that well.
Matt K: I don’t think anyone on that list could win against Voltron, anyway.
Well. Maybe Thor.
Rob R.: This contest is stupid.
Everyone on that list is mortal, except for Thor and Gandalf. You could possibly include Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger if you consider them some sort of transformed demonic creatures. But of these only Thor and Gandalf have any real God-like abilities. Since Gandalf is actually a demi-God (a Maia), Thor is clearly superior.
Thor is a God, therefore he can't be killed by mortals, so eventually he would win any combat. Gandalf would hold his own for a while, but as a demi-God (a Maia) he would not be as powerful as a full God. Although he could not be killed either, he could eventually be subdued and imprisoned by Thor.
Sean S.: Idi Amin FTW.
Gavin P: Write in: One CXO to rule them all. 
Gerry D: Part of the cycle of the Norse Gods is to experience Ragnarok (Viking apocalypse). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k
At which time, everything is renewed. Including Thor. Therefore, even if it were theoretically possible to defeat the Odinson, he would simply re-spawn, and possibly even angrier then when he was killed.
Matt K. : Only after a major continuity-borking crossover, though.
Justin F: Is this where I get to point out that Gandalf has the Valar on his side? Wouldn’t they simply resurrect him in different colored robes with more power were Thor to kill him?
Matt K: Then Gandalf would win as he has no such restrictions on his power.
Blair H: Our office is literally CRACKLING with geekiness right now
Matt K: Judging by the events of Lord of the Rings, he also respawns faster than Thor.
Michael W. Why has nobody yet paid homage to the unstoppable force of Mr. Myagi? (Gd rest his soul)
Gerry D: The only way to destroy this thread is to heave it into the mouth of an active volcano.
Or steamy cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee.
(A brief explanation of G4 lore: A long time ago, a G4 email thread about the merits of foods from the East Coast raged on for several days and several hundred emails. Since then, Dunkin' Donuts has become a signifier for "This thread has gone on long enough!")
John W: 
Kevin S: If we’re arguing that both could be resurrected until the end of days I think the winner would be whoever takes more wins. That man (God) is Thor. I know styles make fights but Thor has beaten the Hulk and guys like Iron Man, I don’t see Gandalf faring as well against them. Thor’s never had a problem with the Enchantress, a similar magic-user who’s also a GOD. He beats magic gods!
Thor has a belt of strength and currently, the Odinpower, Gandalf has robes and a beard.
Oh, and I’m a huge loser.
Guy B. Gandalf’s power is limited by the form he takes.
Look at Radagast. Why does no one ever think of Radagast?
Stephen J: Hey, nerds. We at TheFeed would like to post this entire email exchange (minus last names and email addresses) on our website. Is that cool with everyone?
Matt K: It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
Feel free to make your own arguments in our comment section below.
Comment(s)
CHUCK NORRIS
I Dunkin Donuts this thread.
XBox fanboy class of 2008
Left to right:
eamadden06, staychisel, Tactical_Buttplug, santjnthn, donthate, husker_360, ABYSSAL.
All were voted least likely to have sex in 2009, 2010, 2011.....
Lara Croft would lose to Batman who would beat Gandolf. Batman would then beat Enid (Ghostworld), Aquaman, Captain America, and Pikachu. Batman would lose to Wolverine who would also beat Iron Man. Alan Quartermine would keep coming back, but would keep losing each time. Superman would go down to Wolverine since Batman went down to Wolverine. The Alien Queen (Aliens) would her Snikkt! and then hear no more. The Terminator would not be back, but Wolverine would be. Voltron would get a parking ticket as the kids lay bleeding on the street. Wonder Woman would wonder why she got out of bed. Darth Vader would find out that Wolverine is his daddy. The Hulk would no longer be so incredible. Spiderman would be spiderfood. The Thing would be the thing that somebody sweeps up with a handbroom. Star Buck (Battle Star G) would never get the chance to tell Lee that secret (either of them). The Father from the Movie Happiness would leave his son an orphan.
The Borg would spend years trying to pick up the collected pieces. Thor would beat Wolverine, possibly without even noticing it. Jason Vorhees would hide out in Crystal Lake drinking some Crystal Light. The Bionic Woman would wish they had made some other parts a little less prone to wearing out. It's hammer time. The Cloverfield Monster would end up as wafers called Double Crunch Soylent. The Predators would wish they never made AVP or AVP:R. Chewbaca would look nice stuffed over Thor's fireplace. Snake Eyes (GI Joe) might make an appearance in a SD game on the DS. Mr. Myagi would try to teach Thor to wax on wax off. Thor would win, but find himself hungry for battle shortly afterwards. Freddy Krueger would have Thor kill himself in a bad dream involving him carrying a lollipop instead of Mjolnir. Forrest Whitaker's bad acting would give even Freddy nightmares.
Forrest would be the winner. This was easy. Next?
damn!
BUT WAIT! I have a better battle Goku vs Jesus vs. optimus prime vs. chuck norris. Now thats a battle I want to see.
Just having a little fun...
that was one of the funniest comments I've ever read..
@crazykila9
dude...
I mean, Chuck Norris lost his virginity before his dad!!!!!!
I don't see how anyone can beat that!!!
Oh, The only person that can beat Chuck Norris is Bruce Lee!!!!
Interesting situation but sorry no way does Batman beat Gandalf
I say Gandalf beats the Cloverfield monster in an epic showdown in Gondor. If you can make an epic failure like Frodo suceed, he can do anything.
Besides, crossing lore creates invalid arguments. Yes, Gandalf is but a Maia, but a mere Elf King (admittedly one who had seen Valinor in the light of the two trees) was able to permanently wound the GOD Morgoth. (You know, Melkor? Not one of the Maiar but one of the Valar?)
Gandalf, as a Maia, would surely stand a chance against Thor?
But then, 'Viking' lore doesn't say where the Valar rank next to Thor. At all.
But come on. It's Ian McKellen. He also played, Magneto, one of the coolest bad guys ever. He would pretty much win.
And why is Lara Croft in the battle? All she can do is climb mountains and shoot some ugly pistols.
(Marvel)Thor (oddly) is fully capable of going toe to toe with the Hulk and surviving and even getting some decent hits in. The thing about Thor is that Marvel Thor is far far weaker than real Thor who would, as a full blown god, be able to totally wreck the Hulk.
If he was on the list Spawn would win. He had literally limitless magical power and beat God.
And whoever said the "sent to Hell" bit...Hell means nothing to Thor unless you mean his sister Hel, and Spawn...well, he wiped the floor with Hell being that he could defeat basically anything ever (aside from the Living Tribunal, but that would be cheating).
How in the greasy poop do you figure that Batman can beat Gandalf? Did I miss the part where Batman had a legion of BatBalrogs at his command?
Now as far as who would win...the last 2 standing would b wolverine and hulk. And well we already know who won the 1st battle btw them...so yeah
Thank you kind sir or madam.
ummmm....so pikachu is mortal?... alien queen, chewbaca...
someone needs to take a better look at the list...
Are you going to have Gandalf bring an army? Then have Batman bring an army. You can go on and on all you like, but when you get right down to it - Gandalf was little more than the father figurehead that played the mentor role in the story. Batman, even in his goofiest incarnations has been about kicking butt. Think of all the various villains that Batman has beaten over the years...