User blog comment:Goddess of Despair/Season 3 battle 4 Gladiator vs Zulu warrior (rematch)/@comment-379205-20130125213342

119's "I am Spartacus. I am Spartacus. I am Spartacus." Edges


 * Swords: The Gladius is a longer, lighter blade, which can effectively be used from behind a shield with it's lethal stabbing attack. Edge: Gladiator.


 * Spears: The Trident is longer, and the forks could be used to catch a weapon and disarm an enemy. The net allows the gladiator to entangle his opponent. The Ikwla was an effective weapon, but it was truly used more like a short sword than a spear. Edge: Gladiator.


 * Ranged: I'm not sure if gladiators regularly used the pilum, though they certainly did use captured pila during Spartacus' revolt. Anyway, the pilum is the superior weapon, and would not, as Leolab said, be useless in one-on-one combat. While throwing it would be innaccurate, it would at least distract the enemy, and the pilum can be used as an improvised thrusting weapon, as Caesar's troops proved at Pharsalus. Edge: Gladiator


 * Special: The Pugio takes this as it is a lethal, effective close combat weapon, while the spit of poison cannot kill, save possibly in the unlikely event that enough of the poison gets into a wound or the enemy's mouth to cause harm, and even then, it wouldn't kill near as quickly as a well-placed thrust of the pugio. Edge: Gladiator.


 * Shields: The gladiator's shield is made of metal, the Zulu's is made of wood and ox hide. You do the math. Edge: Gladiator


 * X-Factors: The Zulus were a warrior culture. Zulu warriors would have trained extensively from an early age, and fought in numerous battles with other tribes. The gladiators were simply criminals who were essentially condemned to be each other's executioner- they were not trained for war.


 * Overall Winner: While the Zulus take all of the major X-Factors, the gladiators take all of the weapon edges- their weapons and armor were simply so far superior that they they completely outmatch the Zulus. I agree with El Alamein's opinion that the Zulus would probably win against an army of rebelling gladiators (the Spartacus might have a chance, given he managed to defeat the Roman Army in battle.