User blog comment:Deathblade 100/Halloween Special: Michael Myers (Halloween 2 (1981) vs Jack Torrance (the Shining (1980)/@comment-4661256-20181012015739

El Alamein's Dissenting Opinion:

I'm going to vote for Michael Myers. One important thing to recognize right off the bat is that neither warrior is necessarily particularly experienced fighting against opponents who are prepared to stand their ground and battle back. Michael Myers mostly kills random teenagers (although this "mostly" is key and I will return to it shortly), while Jack's list of victims is even smaller and less impressive still. So when we're looking at these weapons being used, we shouldn't be expecting techniques or tactics that reflect actual training or combat competence with these weapons. Michael just stabs people over and over again, while Jack's only notable kill was where he popped out from behind corners and swung his fire axe in a hugely telegraphed move against an unarmed and unexpecting victim.

As a result, we have to look at the type of killer these combatants really are. Michael is mentally insane—he repeatedly escapes from mental asylums and goes on rampages centered on his childhood home or his sometimes-sister, sometimes-not, Laurie Strode (the Halloween timeline can be confusing and inconsistent). However, throughout his murder sprees, Michael Myers remains calm, persistent, and shows remarkable clarity when it comes to pursuing his target.

Jack Torrance, alternately, is also completely bonkers, but he shows this by completely losing his marbles and repeatedly freaking out, not through cold-blooded psychopathic behavior like Michael. I see this greatly impeding his ability to remain focused and to keep his cool in this confrontation. Jack is incredibly unstable emotionally in a way that Michael Myers simply isn't, so whether this means Jack will get distracted and wander off or break down and lose his ability to resist, it means that Jack will break down and lose focus.

While this is the foundation of my argument—that Jack is too emotionally unhinged, even if both he and Michael are mentally deranged—Michael does have a few other points in his favor. Michael takes a good deal more punishment than Jack does, including being shot six times with a revolver and falling off a two-story balcony, without dying. He might fall down and roll around a bit, but we haven't seen all that much that can permanently put a stop to Michael's rampages. Jack, alternately, got knocked out with a baseball bat and froze to death after running around in a maze, so we know he can be hurt and he can die. Can Michael die? Sure, but I don't see Jack staying focused enough and tanking enough damage himself to inflict the necessary damage to keep Michael Myers down for good.

Finally, as mentioned at the start of my vote, while Michael mostly kills unarmed victims, he has killed armed police officers, and he has engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Dr. Sam Loomis, who is hell-bent on putting an end to Michael's murder sprees. Jack has "fought" with his terrified wife, but I would consider Sam Loomis (who even has his own warrior page on this Wiki) to be a far more dangerous opponent than Wendy Torrance. So, actually, Michael's marginal combat experience will serve him well in this type of brawl.

One final thing to note: the Overlook Ghosts. To be frank, their most effective use here will be whisking Jack out of harm's way, because Michael won't be fazed whatsoever by their machinations. I don't think we've seen Michael get scared in any of the films—but let's be generous here and say that the ghosts might frighten or disorient him. I still think the combation of Michael's aforementioned advantages and Jack's crippling and debilitating emotional insability mean that, even with a hotel full of ghosts assisting Jack in some indirect manners, it won't be enough. Jack needs direct backup, not support, in this fight. He won't be getting that from the ghosts.

Overall, Michael Myers wins because he is calmer in a fight, because he can take more damage than Jack before going down, and because he has more experience fighting people who are actively seeking to kill him. It's an interesting fight, for sure, but Michael takes it.