Kids. It seems superpowers and magical destinies come at a young age, as middleschoolers embark on a never ending journey to maturity that stops halfway through the build-up. Whether it be Jam-Buds or a secretive Activity Club, these wraskles organize themselves into teams to fight the forces of evil with a purity of mind, a charitable heart, and the maturity of a sugar-high six-year-old.
Steven Universe and Connie Maheswaran, Jam buds with a magical destiny.
VS.
Maxwell Puckett and Isaac O'Connor, the not-so dynamic duo of the Activity club.
WHO IS THE DEADLIEST?!
Jam Buds[]
| “ | He's the biscuit...She's the strawberry...which makes us JAM BUDS!
— Steven and Connie
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Steven
| “ | I do have a job! I protect humanity from magic and monsters, and stuff!
— Steven
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” |
Steven Universe is the youngest member of the Crystal Gems, and the only half-gem half-human hybrid to have ever existed. With a 'magical destiny' to take the place of Rose Quartz and fight off threats to the earth from the various Corrupt Gems and from the Gems of homeworld, Steven has an enormous undertaking ahead of him as the show follows his journey to grow into or away from the role the Gems have made for him.
Steven is best described by Pearl, "sweet and considerate and only occasionally obnoxious", his mainly defensive powers complimenting his pacifistic nature. While he has no trouble defending himself against large Gem monsters, he has enormous trouble attacking other gems and entirely avoids fighting other humans, always looking for a way to end a fight without anyone getting hurt. While Steven has helped and even saved the Gem from great troubles at times, he is still a kid at heart.
- Bubbles and Shield - Steven, with mild effort, can form powerful defensive shields with a rose emblem, that can block massive energy attacks and even disrupt Lapis' water constructs. He can also use it as a throwing weapon with less success, doing great melee damage and even breaking his T.V. by accidentally releasing his hold on it. Without his shield, Steven can form large bubbles around himself and his allies that are far less durable, able to withstand an attack from a harpoon gun and even sustain damage from two large Cluster Gems. Using either powers extensively, however, will tire him out.
- Healing Spit - Steven can heal his allies (although he has never used this power on himself), by licking his hand and applying spit. The results are instantaneous and go anywhere from fixing superficial damage to healing broken gems and legs. This power is tied to Steven's confidence, however, and he has had issues pulling it off since he started doubting his abilities in Season 1.
Connie
| “ | I don't know what will happen in the future, but if something dangerous comes along, I don't want to be a burden, I wanna help! I want to be there for Steven, to fight by his side! The Earth is my home too, can't I help protect it?
— Connie
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” |
Connie is a friend to Steven, who she formally met on the beach near the Temple before the two were trapped in a powerful bubble by Steven in an attempt to save her from an attack by a Corrupt Gem monster. Since then, the two have bonded and decided to fight off magical threats to the world together, calling themselves "Jam Buds" and taking on enemy Gems and going on goofy adventures by themselves.
Connie is more organized and kept-together than Steven, and is also more prone to violence, albeit not by much. She is considerate but vulnerable, and is still only a kid who is worried she can't be part of Steven's world since she is a regular human, a flaw that sticks around until she comes to terms as Steven's equal in their fight with Pearl.
- Adept Swordsmanship - Training directly under a master swordswoman, Pearl, Connie has a student's training in sword fighting and was even able to keep up a short fight against pearl before the latter became serious. She was even able to pull of some acrobatic and hard-to-pull-off attacks, especially against the Cluster Gems. She was also able to use a sword larger and heavier than herself without much effort, showing a skill that goes beyond normal sword-training.
- Rose's Sword - Connie wields Rose's Sword, a legendary saber forged by Bismuth to slice through the physical form of gems effortlessly. Assumingly it is made of a strong metal alloy, and was able to deflect energy attacks against a training robot found in Rose's Sanctum. It is a little longer than 5 feet (taller than Connie herself), although there is no estimates on its weight (it can be assumed it is much lighter than a sword of that size and shape).
Notes:
- This is Steven and Connie as of Season 2, so they can't form Stevonnie reliably.
Paranatural Activity Club[]
| “ | We fight as one, brother! ... Literally just met you, dude.
— Isaac and Max
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Max
| “ | Okay, so ghosts are real. Hot dog.
— Max
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” |
Maxwell Puckett is the pragmatic "New Kid" on the block in the spirit-infested city of Mayview, and his a spectral member of the mysterious Paranatural Activity Club dedicated to fighting ghostly threats to the city and defending themselves from attacks by powerful spirits. While initially in disbelief about his newfound powers as a spectral, he took on the existence of ghosts and the paranormal pretty soundly, and eventually became a mainstay member of the club, going on to fight enemies such as Forge and Hijack among other deadly spirits.
Max is a realist too mature for his own age, who tries to stay out of trouble but generally attracts it more than anyone else. While initially selfish and disinterested in the concept of the Activity Club, he eventually grew onto his fellow spectrals, although still keeping his sarcastic attitude towards even the most dangerous situations.
- Parkour Skills/Acrobatics - Max has some impressive Parkour skills and is able to maneuver circles around school bullies, even riding his scooter off ledges and hopping over fences and other obstacles in seconds. He also is able to react to and dodge attacks greater than an average kid, avoiding attacks from large spirits and not getting hit involuntarily once in an all-out dodgeball fight between both classes of students, even against the superhuman Hijack. He can also hold himself in a fight, albeit without too much success without his powers.
- Magnetism - Max's spirit weapon, his aluminum baseball bat, can be manipulated by him into a powerful magnet, pulling in metal from large distances towards him to launching himself away from danger onto metal pols and constructs. While he still has shaky control over this power, he has selective control over what metals the bat attracts, usually using it to disarm opponents and escape sticky situations.
Isaac
| “ | I am always willing to assist... a true agent of justice. It is because you serve justice, young master, that such missteps as this torment you so.
— The Door Man
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Isacc's history is one of mysteries yet to uncover, however it is known that his relationship with the rest of the activity club is shaky at best. Unlike the rest of the club, Isacc has formed relations with other spirits, even malicious ones such as the Door Man, which strains his perception from his fellow spectrals. While distrustful of the rest of the crew, he warms up to Max rather quickly, either seeing him as a friend or seeing him as a method to extract information from Mr. Spender.
Isaac is brash and quick to anger, whose morals are usually in conflict with his mentor, King C. One of his major flaws is that he sees himself as a loner, and doesn't see Max as an ally as much as he sees him as an asset. He works within his own interests and not that of the group, although his relationship with Max is something closer than he has with the majority of the cast.
- Weather Manipulation - Being a Medium instead of using a possessed weapon, Isaac has access to much more powerful spectral abilities than the rest of the Activity club barring Mr. Spender. While he can't manipulate the weather on a large scale, he usually uses his power to create powerful gusts of air that slam his enemies into the ground and provide him vertical mobility, even sending people he doesn't particularly like flying into the air. This also includes the ability to shoot blasts of rain and ice from his hands, and he can create small storm clouds that shoot lighting at his foes, although his lighting attacks take more effort on his part.
Since Paranatural is a Comic and a comic only, I gots no videos for today. However, Chapter 3 of the comic has the largest spotlight on Isaac and Max.
Click HereNotes:
- Since spectral energy doesn't technically effect regular humans, I'm leaving it out of this battle.
X-Factors[]
| Warrior | Training | Teamwork | Experience | Physicality | Brutality | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven/Connie | 70 | 80 | 60 | 50 | 35 | 59 |
| Max/Isaac | 50 | 60 | 70 | 50 | 55 | 57 |
Training
Isaac has an extensive training with his abilities and had tutelage under several different masters of the Spectral arts such as Mr. Spender, Francisco Guerra, and his own spirit, King C. Max, however, is still a rookie and is exploring his abilities, even having trouble with lesser spirits. Steven and Connie, on the other hand, trained together under Pearl and the rest of the Gems, with regular practice on Connie's part for swordplay and greater frequency on missions for Steven.
Teamwork
This one goes straight to Connie and Steven. They align their attacks together and coordinate wonderfully, whereas Max and Isaac are "friend[s] in the loose sense of the word" with Isaac tending to send Max flying when faced with a bigger threat. Both sides aren't abrasive, but the Jam Buds have been friends for nearly a year with constant teamwork, whereas Isaac and Max have only recently become friends.
Experience
Max less so, but Isaac has had to fight a plethora of Spirits with various magical abilities just to survive for most of his life, whereas Steven and Connie have only recently gotten into the antics of battle and haven't been in any serious fights barring their sparring with Pearl. Max/Isaac have also had a more varied experience against foes, as Spirits come with a wide variety of subtleties and powers that surpass the gem monsters Steven and Connie have fought together.
Physicality
Hard to call. Both teams have the physicality of a child with some superhuman tendencies, although Steven/Isaac tend to have more potent physical feats (such as Steven picking up an enormous breakfast monster or Isaac's hits forming shockwaves as a small explosion would). Connie and Max tend to slack behind in this aspect, as both of them seem to be average human/peak human with some great acrobatics on both ends. Overall, a tie.
Brutality
Max and Isaac are more hit first, ask questions later, especially Isaac. Steven and Connie are much greater pacifists, and would rather talk out problems than have a direct fight, especially Steven. Heck, I'd say Connie wouldn't even user her sword as anything but a blunt weapon, despite its razor-sharp edge. While neither team resorts to mutilation or killing, Max/Isaac have no trouble getting violent whereas Steven will most likely try to keep fighting to a minimum while still defending themselves.
Voting Rules[]
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Voting is closed
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STEVEN AND CONNIE WIN 2-0
Battle[]
Chapter 1: Feild Trip to Beach City[]
"Since when did the school even have the budget for a feild trip?"
The Activity Club was having a slow day. Max didn't really know if spirits took vacations, but it seemed like every violent one in a city where you could look out the window and spot a flying slug-thing decided to off it for a week and throw a birthday party. All he'd been hearing about from Mr. Spender, however, was a bunch of paranormal activity happening in some shanty-town across the country.
Mr. Spender looked like he was running his train of thought with a little too much steam for a second, before going on another hour-long explanation. "It's coming out of my own wallet, Max. It turns out Mayview isn't the only town where spirits seem to be running rampant, and trust me, we don't want another Mayview. I've arranged for Dr. Zarei's spirit train to take us outside of the barrier after seeing some suspicious activity on a local blog".
Isaac chimed in. "You're telling me you stumbled on some kid's conspiracy journal and suddenly, BOOM, we have an infestation of spirits?"
Spender arched an eyebrow. "I'm telling you this after seeing real news comment on the place as well. Granted, the blog wasn't that reliable."
While Max couldn't really make it out, he noticed Spender slightly turn towards a stuffed mail package in the corner of the room, messily labeled with "TO MY FIRST FOLLOWER" and "WITH LOVE, RONALDO FRYMAN (keep beach city weird)". He didn't think twice about it.
Spender continued on his lecture. "Our job is to fight off the spirits that threaten us and the city, and we aren't exactly the "ghost police" in spite of Edward's ghostbuster cosplay plans". Ed dropped a pack of uniforms he was working on with a wide grin before going back to pretending to listen. "But we need all hands on deck with this case. Giant hands falling out of the sky, monster sightings undoubtedly from other spectrals, and reports on a group of spectrals called the 'Crystal Gems'.
Isabel seemed to be the only one taking this seriously or knowing what was going on. "So we drop in this town, look around for spectrals, pull them out before they off themselves, and punch some nasties?" She grinned. "And here was I thinking I had to check back in the dojo for training."
While Isabel was excited for more action, Spender noticed that Max wasn't looking too excited to get into more life-threatening situations. "Well, it might not all be club business. Did I mention that the town is called 'Beach City'?"
Ed seemed to actually register that comment, before pulling out of swimshorts from... somewhere... and yelling "SWIMSUIT SPECIAL TIME!"
Everyone kind of stared ad Ed for a second, before Isaac face palmed. "Dude, most of us don't have swimsuits. We haven't even swam since that spirit decided it wanted to pretend to be the Loch-Ness Monster". Somewhere outside of the window, the club noticed a rather menacing spirit in the shape of a piece of wood glaring at them from the lake.
"Does that mean we get to go skinny-dipping?"
Chapter 2: The Ghost Gem[]
"Whaaaaaat? A mission?!"
Steven was beaming at Garnet, who maintained a stoic impression in spite of the living mass of cuteness in front of her.
"Ah-hem. What the Steven means to say is that finishing my-" Pearl shot a glare. "-our drill is much more important." Peridot kept a confident stance despite being only slightly taller than the smallest gem there. "Surely the emergence of the Cluster is more important than a town full of humans."
"An unknown gem has been terrorizing Beach City in our absense. The Drill will wait."
"Yeah, all of this barn junk is making me homesick."
Pearl looked annoyed. "Amethyst, you live in junk."
Garent stepped in before Amethyst began to explain the value of junk. "Greg called saying a ghost was haunting the city, and that people were missing. We'll head back immediatly. Peridot, you handle the drill while we investigate".
Peridot groaned. "Sure, leave all the heavy work to the superior gem. Not like it will make a difference".
Steven went wide-eyed. "A ghost? Maybe it's like that gem me and Sadie poofed on the island!"
"What?"
"Oh-oh! I'll call Connie! She always wanted to go ghost hunting after seeing the Dog Copter Halloween Special!".
Pearl smiled before proceeding to begin a lecture. "Steven, please. Ghosts are a fabrication of human superstition based on a fear of the unknown. It's far more simple than that. This 'paranormal activity' is probably the projection of some shattered gem's form too weak to see, looking for its other peices".
"What she said," droned Peridot, back facing a drill part she was working on.
"Yeah, Steven, like a Gem ghost! OoOoOooo!" Amethyst blurted out, shapeshifting into a sheet ghost right next to Steven.
"AHHH! I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" Steven said, jumping back while scared out of his mind.
Amethyst rolled onto the grass laughing, while a van rolled into the dirt road of the barn. Greg jumped out the door, with a vacuum cleaner in his hand and a huge goofy smile on his face.
"Hey, Shtoo-Ball! You ready to bust some ghosts?"
Chapter 3: Swimsuit Special without the Swimsuits[]
"I'm never getting on another plane in my life."
Isabel and Ed were too busy jumping from shop to shop to really care that Max was about to puke into the nearest passerby's purse. Isaac reeled in plastic bag from the street by calling a short gust of air, and passed it over to him.
"What happens in Empire City never sleeps, huh?" Spender was busy browsing through a road map, and failing to call over every cab on the streets. "I swear, the drivers here have to be unconcious."
After around three violent sessions of vomiting, Max came around. "I'm going to pass out myself if my butt doesn't find the nearest hotel bed."
Expert's Opinion
TBW