User blog:Jackythejack/Morphin' Across the Seven Seas: Animorphs vs Sea Spiders

Animals. Sometimes they can be man's best friend, and sometimes they can be some of the deadliest creatures that you run into. And other times...they can hold a human-like intelligence. And no, I'm not talking about furries. Well...not really?

The Animorphs; The group of teenagers (and one alien) who formed a team to stop the alien menace known as the yeerks from invading the world.

vs.

The Sea Spiders; The group of monster girl pirates who terrorized the seven seas, and who managed to terrorize the island of Morgana before being beaten by Chelshia.

The Animorphs
Besides providing some very strange fantasies for kids developing into furries, the Animorphs, in universe, area group of teenagers centered in America. Their real name is unknown, and their real location is unknown, because they have aliens that are trying their hardest to hunt them down. You see, after making contact with a dying Andalite by the name of Elfangor, who introduced them to an item called the Morphing Cube, and filled them in on all the little details.

You see, their planet was under attack by hostile creatures called Yeerks, who were parasitic aliens who invaded other planets and took over the dominant species as hosts. The Andalites have been acting as a resistance movement against the Yeerk empire for a long time now, and the morphing cube is an object that will give those who touch it the power to morph into any animal they touch. So, of course, they touch the Morphing Cube, and the kids become the Animorphs, forming a guerrilla force meant to attack Yeerk hotspots and keep their identity secret as they try to protect earth.

Before we get into the individuals that make up the Animorphs, I'm going to explain morphing for a moment.

Morphing: Morphing is the process of acquiring the DNA of an animal and morphing into that animal. As is shown several times, once you acquire a morph, it stays with you...forever. It's a part of your DNA that you can then call upon to become that animal. However, morphing is not instant, as it does take time, and you can be vulnerable while morphing, yet you can still move while morphing, you'd find it to be awkward. On top of that, you can not stay in a morph for more than two hours, otherwise you're stuck in that form forever, with no way of morphing into other animals.

You can switch between morphs by going back to your original form and then morphing once again, and when you're in a morph, you can use something called thought-speak, which allows you to telepathically speak to the other morphs in your area without giving away your position or even needing a mouth. You will also have a mental link with the creature's mind, picking up it's instincts, and any injuries that you sustain while in a morph, or in your base form, will be healed upon morphing once again, as the bodies are based off DNA. You're not allowed to acquire a morph while in a morph yourself, however. If any more questions need to be asked, just direct them to me.

Now let's stop messing around!

 "I had given up soul-searching because I realized now that it was simply too late ... the battle had become a war. And I was, for better or worse, the only leader we had"
 * -| The Leader=

- Jake

Jake is the somewhat self-appointed and somewhat assigned leader of the group known as the Animorphs. He was quick to realize the controllers in their society, though. With the help of his friend Marco, he was able to find out that his very own brother, Tom, was a host for one of the Yeerks. A controller, as he called them, and this obviously made him pretty upset and made him grow to distrust his brother throughout the course of the war.

As the war against the Yeerks continues to rage on, Jake goes through problem after problem, including becoming a controller himself, only to be released after three days, when the Yeerk died of starvation, and when he grown romantic feelings for Cassie, which would ultimately evolve into him proposing to her, but that's not what we're focused on right now. We're using the version of the Animorphs before that ever happens. I'll get into that a bit later.

Like the rest of his friends, Jake has a variety of morphs that help him sneak around and figure out what's going on. Let's cover them.

Siberian Tiger: Stated to be almost ten feet tall from its nose to its tail, and easily being over four hundred pounds, the Siberian Tiger is Jake's battle morph, and with good reason. It's a graceful creature with razor sharp claws and teeth that even makes the Yeerk warlord, Visser Three, incredibly impressed.

Housefly: While not exactly the most combat useful morph in the world, Jake used this mainly to spy on his brother to see what he was planning on doing in that stolen body of his. The Housefly can be used as a totally not suspicious way of flying around and listening on enemy plans, if need be, though it is a bit risky as a Housefly's body is incredibly fragile.

Peregrine Falcon: Of course, when someone needs to actually fly, they generally want something fast, and that's exactly what Jake did. He chose the Peregrine Falcon, the fastest animal on land. This bird can break two hundred miles per hour when given the right set up, however, being a bird is a little difficult in enclosed spaces, it's useful when you're out in the open for some dive bombing, or a quick getaway.

Tactical Mind: Jake, being the leader, was always the one who was the most tactical thinker of the group, unlike his co-workers. He was the one that would come up with all the plans, and because of that, while he can possibly be a little hesitant, he's still one to not rush into battle right away, or make mistakes. "They needed me to be the bad guy, and I needed them to be the good guys."
 * -| The Heavy Hitter=

- Rachel

Rachel is in a similar situation to the rest of the Animorphs, so I won't go into the same backstory again, but her role on the team was something different. While being the cousin of Jake, she doesn't share his tactical mindset, and instead is far more bloodlust and aggressive when it comes to being on the battlefield. She's often the one to do the things the other Animorphs couldn't do, like murder. What a totally not traumatizing experience for a teenager.

However, being a killing machine means she has some wicked morphs. Let's take a look, huh?

Grizzly Bear: Rachel's most used morph by far. Six or seven feet tall, matted fur that was like a suit of armor, and muscles upon muscles. This is Rachel's battle morph, and it's capable of taking a lot of damage. Gunshots and blaster fire are nothing compared to some of the things this bear has faced. it even got it's entire arm cut off and Rachel decided to use it as a god damn weapon instead of crying about it like a little sissy baby. When Rachel gets in this morph, shit is about to hit the fan.

Bald Eagle: The most majestic and american looking bird that you could ever get, and you better believe that the heaviest hitter has one of the hardest hitting birds out there. Fast, strong and dangerous, the Bald Eagle is capable of diving at a minimum of 75 miles per hour, and it has razor sharp talons and a sharp beak to boot! It's also just useful for flying.

African Elephant: Rachel's first battle morph that would become replaced by her grizzly bear, likely due to some size issues. This massive beast sports a trunk and two tusks made of ivory, being able to run at 25 miles an hour, and it sure can haul butt when it needs to. However, the problem that Rachel even admits with this form is that it can't dodge or maneuver around things for shit, meaning that the bear was the superior option in this case. This is why this becomes her secondary battle morph.

"...But since all of you guys think you have to save the world, and since you're all my friends, more or less, I figure someone has to keep you from being total idiots."
 * -| The Goofball=

- Marco

Marco is similar to the other Animorphs, except that one day, his mother had gone missing entirely. When he originally joined the Animorphs, he was far more reluctant than the rest of his friends. After all, who wouldn't be? Not only did he have to deal with a father who still missed his mother at home, but he also had to save the world now? No way could a teenager deal with that. On the second anniversary of his mother's disappearance, he said that he was going to quit the Animorphs.

...until he was taking a mission to the Yeerk pool with his companions and noticed that the warlord Visser One had a human host that was actually his mother, that is! After seeing that his mother was imprisoned by the Yeerks, Marco realized that he couldn't quit, and instead decided to stay, and he quickly became their...personal comedian. Yeah it's weird but it's the 90s. Now, with that being said, let's get into the funny man's funny morphs.

Gorilla: Specifically a male Silverback Gorilla by the name of Big Jim. This is Marco's primary battle morph, and with it he gets up to all sorts of monkey business along the way. ...or he just punches people in the face with his fists, backed by a couple hundred pounds of muscles. This is also more versatile than some of the other Battle Morphs because of the fact that the gorilla can, in fact, grasp onto objects due to having opposable thumbs.

Osprey: Honestly this is probably one of the slower bird morphs that the animorphs have, but even then it could still dive at around 30 mph, and as a bird of prey, it still has sharp claws to back up that speed, it's just that Marco isn't going to be winning races anytime soon, so that's an issue. However, Marco excels at hitting the water at high speed...if fishing ever becomes relevant.

"That was before. Before the Andalite. Before he died trying to save us. I can't let that go. I can't let him die for nothing. So whatever you guys decide, I'm going to fight"
 * -| The Bird=

- Tobias

Tobias was a bit of a special case when it comes to the rest of the Animorphs. As established previously, there is a two hour limit on morphing. If you go past the two hour mark, you will be stuck in that morph for the rest of your natural life, unless you do some shenanigans with god-like beings or time travel or something like that. Well, Tobias was one of the people who went past the two hour mark, and was stuck as a Red Tailed Hawk for the rest of his life.

However, that doesn't mean he can't morph anymore. Using the morphing cube once more, Tobias regained his powers, and can now fight alongside the animorphs once more. It's a dangerous task, given his new bird body, but he tries his best with the variety of morphs we're going to get to right now!

Red Tailed Hawk: This isn't really a morph moreso his entire new body, but it's still powerful and Tobias has that killer hawk instinct. Being able to travel at speeds of more than twenty miles per hour, the Red-tailed hawk has the killer claws and the eyesight to boot. It can see prey as small as a mouse from one hundred feet away, making him the perfect scout and perfect killer.

Polar Bear: Not exactly what Tobias would use as his battle morph, but it gets the job done. The polar bear is the biggest land predator on earth, and it shows. While maybe not having the same killer potential as Rachel's Grizzly, at least when in the hands of Tobias, this big boy has fat and fur which act like armor for itself, along with sharp claws and teeth. It should be noted, however, that the odds of Tobias going into this morph for combat are not likely, and he would more likely stay in his hawk form for the entirety of the combat.

"Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong. Sometimes I just can't tell, even when the mission is over and we've all come out alive, at least"
 * -| The Other Girl=

- Cassie

The most compassionate one on the team by far, Cassie is the love interest of Jake throughout the course of the Yeerk war and is the one to provide the Animorphs with a place to hide out and plan their next attacks, which is a little barn on the farm that her and her family own. She's one of the few Animorphs to have actually been controlled by a Yeerk. Not only that, but she willingly chose to become controlled to help a Yeerk that didn't want to enslave an unwilling host.

Cassie is generally seen as the most emotional of the cast, but that doesn't mean she can't fight when she has to. She just has a hard time sealing the deal on any of her opponents. That being said, she does have some morphs with the potential to be killer. Let's take a look.

Wolf: The wolf is probably one of the best killers out there. While they mostly work in packs, Cassie has made her wolf form morph in her own little pack of strange animals thrusted upon her by the other Animorphs. Obviously, this morph involves all the senses of a normal wolf, including enhanced senses of smell as well as hearing, and the deadly claws and teeth a wolf is most well known for.

Osprey: Evidently, Cassie wasn't the most original Animorph when it was time to pick a morph that could fly, and instead just went with the tested Osprey like Marco had done. This makes it a little unfortunate here because, well, I don't want to repeat the same things I already have. So, just read Marco's part.

Hammerhead Shark: Generally acquired for outings in the deep sea, the Animorphs can just as easily use the hammerhead sharks as something to kill with, as a shark is, of course, naturally designed to kill. A hammerhead especially. With it's wicked sharp teeth and head used to bash into it's victims, Cassie can make a hammerhead shark something fierce. "I had seen more battles, death, and destruction than many seasoned soldiers in out Andalite fleet. I felt my throat tighten and constrict ... I felt not sadness. I felt pity. For myself. For us all. We were children no longer. And we never would be again."
 * -| The Alien=

- Ax

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthili, or thankfully shortened to Ax, is an Andalite prince who was forcefully put into the role after the death of his older brother, making him the next heir in the line of succession. Thanks to this, he was also thrust into the battle against the Yeerks, and would shortly after join the Animorphs in their fight against the alien threat, sporting some odd morphs of his own.

Andalite Form: An Andalite, while having the bonus of looking ugly as all hell, is a centaur-like creature with a razor sharp blade at the end of their tail, which can be used to easily cut through metal like it was nothing. This is an Andalite's deadliest weapon, and it's a good thing that Ax doesn't have to morph to use it. However, Ax is still a child, and his skill with the weapon, while impressive, is still somewhat lacking. Andalies are also capable of 360 vision due to their eye stalks.

Intelligence: Ax is not only insanely deadly with the blade, but he is also insanely smart. he's capable of making a cable television with only a few wires and a couple of spare parts, he can easily outsmart most other Andalites, and he is the main hacker of the group, being able to hack into most simple human technology, which isn't nearly as advanced as the Andalite technology.

Northern Harrier: Ax's bird morph of choice, a hawk similar to that in size of Tobias. Same as usual. Big ol' talons, sharp beak, can fly at around 23 miles per hour. So, all in all, not the most impressive thing there is, but it's still capable of packing a wallop.

"Maybe you want to be the big hero, Jake, but not me. I have this power now. I'm going to use it"
 * -| The Traitor=

- David

Yes that's the only picture I could get of him.

David is the seventh Animorph and one of the people who just so happened to come across the Morphing Cube. After finding the piece of technology, not knowing what it was, he tried to sell it on Ebay. This gave him an unwanted visit from Visser Three, who wanted the device for himself. The Animorphs had to intervene and move David away from the house as Visser Three took David's parents and made them hosts for the Yeerks.

Afterwards, they essentially had to fake David's death, otherwise he was going to be constantly hunted down by the Yeerks. Not exactly happy with it but having no other choice, David agreed to it, though later on David would become more sadistic and sociopathic, not caring about the message of the Animorphs and growing bitter that he had to hide himself just to stay alive. This would eventually turn into him betraying the Animorphs completely, but that's for later talk. Right now, let's get to the morphs.

Lion: David's primary morph. This one is what he uses generally to beat the crap out of people. Having a battle strategy similar to Rachel, which was kill everything that breathed, the heavy yet graceful lion served well for David's purposes. Sharp claws and teeth. Basic animal stuff.

Rattlesnake: A silent form that David would acquire which would serve as his espionage morph in the later books. Right now, it's going to be used for a similar purpose, but it also has a nasty bite on it as well.

Now with that out of the way, let's get to the adversaries.

The Sea Spiders
Imagine a world where monsters and humans existed in the same world. Now, you'd imagine them to be in conflict with each other constantly, and...you'd be mostly right. However, on the island known as Morgana, this is a place where monsters and humans can live together peacefully, and actually build a society. Resting in the Mediterranean Sea, Morgana Island is a peaceful paradise for everyone to come in and get along...

Well, that is, until it was invaded by pirates. You see, the Sea Spiders, while not having much of a backstory, are some of the fiercest pirates out there, and are the scourge of the seven seas. Sailing under a black flag and having their main ship be known as the Black Widow, the Sea Spiders were often a forced to be wreckoned with, and today, we'll be focusing on the highest ranking members in the Sea Spiders. Let's get to the members, then.

 "If you won't come quietly, we'll just have to take you by force! Only one of us will walk away from this!"
 * -| The Captain =

- Ellena

Captain Ellena Arachnia is the leader of the sea pirates, and a fearsome one at that. Standing at a whopping eight and a half feet tall, the leader of the Sea Spiders is nothing to scoff at. She's as deadly as she is brutal to the rest of her crewmates, punishing them if they are to disappoint her. Over the course of the game, she stayed waiting in her ship to become the final boss fight, and she sure delivers. It's even hinted at in her final boss fight that, before Chelshia came along, Ellena had never lost a fight before while she was out being a scourge to humans and monsters alike.

And of course, a scourge has to have some good weapons. Let's take a quick look.

Guns: What's a pirate without a gun, huh? Armed with two weapons that take up three of her four available hands, Ellena wields a weapon looking similar to that of a Blunderbuss, and an old revolver that could likely carry five to six shots. The Blunderbuss can shoot out three bolts of energy, or a...bomb, apparently. Yeah she just shoots a bomb out of her gun. It's weird. Her Blunderbuss seemingly never has to reload, either. She can keep firing if she feels the need to.

Sword: A sword of an unknown length, but given her size likely three feet long at least. This weapon is useful for one of Ellena's main methods of attacks, which is charging forward with her sword drawn and slicing at anything that happens to be in front of her. A pirate is not without a trusty blade, and her blade works well for her in this case.

Rain of Fire: While it's not entirely explained how she can do this, during the course of her boss fight, Elena is able to cause fireballs to rain from the sky. Or, uh, the ceiling, in this case, since the fight takes place in her pirate ship, but...it works! "Wait, what? No, you're not supposed to be getting excited! You're supposed to be intimidated! I had an entire dialogue ready!"
 * -| The Big Cheese=

- Anchovy

Anchovy is a weird type of slime. A product of a slime who just loved pizza way too much, Anchovy is the first and only member of her kind, that kind being pizza slimes. Realizing that the streets of her homeland were too tough for a girl made of marinara, she decided that she was going to become a part of the sea spiders and hone her skills until no one would dare take a bite of her! Anchovy is, technically, a single celled organism, and produces cheese and sauce-like cytoplasm. She's even a self proclaimed top general of the Sea Spiders.

Marinara Beam: Yeah this attack is more than a little weird. Anchovy can shoot a beam of deadly marinara sauce that can damage anyone in its way, and eating it is so unhealthy it's stated to be a heart attack waiting to happen. This move doesn't seem to take much out of her, either, so she can use it as much as need to.

Duplicates: Anchovy is capable of splitting herself up into two separate versions of herself. Once present, the two clones of Anchovy will run around the arena, damaging anything they run into but not capable of using any of her more complex attacks. They also end up dying in one hit, meaning that they are more distractions than they are a viable killing strategy.

Pizza Throwing: I don't know how to explain this. Anchovy can just go ahead and toss out deadly pizza pies. Full, circular pizzas can be thrown out of the pizza slime's person and they can damage anything that gets in their path. Talk about a food fight...

Intangibility: Well, technically? It's a bit weird. Throughout the course of her battle, Anchovy can dissolve into cheese and pizza sauce, and then suddenly appear on the other side of the room, ready to beat the crap out of you. It's practically teleportation, and you can't hurt her while she's doing it.

"Hey! Don't you walk away from me you rude little twit!"
 * -| The Mimic=

- Mimi

Despite being claustrophobic...ironically enough, Mimi is a mimic, and enjoys spending time in her chest all the time. Just make sure not to close the lid on her or anything. Mimics are rare monsters, and not many people actually know where they come from. However, we do know a little bit about Mimi herself. Before becoming a Sea Spider, Mimi used to be a teacher at an illustrious magic school. Her signature style of magic, which she called 'Roulette' allows her a wide variety of magical spells that are outside of her field of expertise.

Mimi had also once let it slip that she was, like, three hundred years old, so she likely has a bit of experience behind her as well when it comes to magic. Weird how someone so old could be so childish..let's get to her abilities, however.

Chest: Like the stereotypical mimic she is, Mimi has a chest which is essentially all but invincible by most forms of attacks. Even Chelshia, who can destroy a metal box as tall as her with a single punch, can't penetrate the chest's defenses on her own. The chest has only been shown to be thwarted by shoving it into spikes (Which she summons before her fight starts), and by knocking it around from the underside of it. She is also capable of teleporting while within her chest, and she can slam it down on the ground to cause violent shockwaves to anyone nearby, which does actually damage people.

Roulette Magic: Mimi's roulette magic is a very versatile method of casting magic, but with one big drawback. While she's able to use many spells that she wouldn't be able to normally, Mimi can't pick the spell she uses, and instead it relies on random chance that she get something good. These spells include, however, causing a powerful, icy gust of wind, summoning lightning down from the sky, summoning a minion to fight alongside her, and summoning a piece of food in to heal either herself, her allies, or her enemies.

"A skyboat? The Albatross is no mere 'Sky Boat'! She is the jewel of the captain's fleet! She is a marvel of engineering and technology! Why, she could qualify to be the eighth wonder of the world and you dare call her a sky boat? Do you have any idea how amazing this ship is?!"
 * -| The Bird=

- Amelia

Amelia is an example of a parrot harpie, a subspecies of harpie known for their colorful and bright feathers! The middle child of thirteen children, and her parents not knowing which child she id, she didn't get a lot of one on one time with her parents, so she ended up filling the void by going on the internet and watching anime most of the times. However, she also became...pretty violent, and it's said that her intelligence is only rivaled by her short temper. After being arrested for an unknown crime, she drafted herself into the Sea Spiders, where she would create their one airship, the Albatross.

Feathers: Amelia's main method of attack is using her feathers as deadly weapons. While hopping into the air, Amelia can send out three feathers as if they're ninja stars which can cause damage to anything in their path. Amelia seems to have an unlimited amount of these deadly feathers.

Dash Attack: A basic attack that Amelia uses. With a glint in her eyes, she charges forward and tackles anything in her path. Of course, charging headlong into your opponent is never the best idea, but what can you expect from a girl who likely doesn't see a lot of action besides when she watches Jojo? During this attack, Amelia is seen leaving afterimages in her wake, seeming to imply that she can move faster than the eye can fully process. This is a trait shared among many of the sea spiders.

Intelligence: As stated before, Amelia is a child prodigy, and while the degree of her intelligence is never shown, it was stated that she designed and created the ship known as The Albatross, which is a giant airship the size of a small town. It's never stated she had any help with the design phase, and given how much she absolutely loves the aircraft, it's safe to assume she designed it all on her own. The professor even states that some of her ideas are revolutionary, even. Though, this may not be the most combat applicable, she is a skilled mechanic all the same.

"Well, if you didn't have so much money, I wouldn't have to steal it, now would I?"
 * -| The Fish=

- Pacifica

Pacifica isn't a girl who you'd expect to become a pirate. She didn't have a rough upbringing or anything of the like, and if anything she's really too full of herself and possibly a bit too prissy to be a pirate. She was born the youngest of a billionaire's five daughters. She was kidnapped at the age of 13 by the Sea Spiders, but she loved the idea of being a pirate, so instead she just ended up joining the Sea Spiders. That was six years ago, and it seems like her father is just happy that she found a hobby, because her father doesn't really care much.

Onslaught: Not really the name of the move but it fits it pretty well. Pacifica can seemingly generate objects out of mid-air and use them to chuck at the opponent. The objects in question range from anchors to spike balls to life preservers to some squid minions that the pirates own. They are strong projectiles in the right hand, though...it's up to debate whether she has those hands.

Explosives Generation: Pacifica has the ability to just spawn mines out of nowhere, which move around her in a circle and expand to create a hard to dodge obstacle for even the most skilled dodgers.

Dash Attack: Yet another charging attack, Pacifica moves around the arena faster than the eye can fully track, making her leave afterimages in her wake. Anyone she rams into will feel a crap ton of fish induced pain.

Mermaid Physiology: Because of the fact that Pacifica is a mermaid, she is, of course, an excellent swimmer, and can move through the waters with grace and ease. She is also able to breathe underwater, as you would expect from a fish person, however her main downside is that she cannot leave the water or else she risks putting herself in danger. How she moves between pools of water is a bit of a mystery.

"The other girls, right? They're just one-hit wonders. Let's see how well you do against a real superstar! The name's DJ Doroko, and I'm about to crank out hit after hit!"
 * -| The Music Machine=

- DJ Doroko

DJ Doroko is one of the most skilled pirates in the group, so the point that she was the one designated to be left behind and protect the treasure that the pirates had plundered from Morgana Island. She's a musician that became a cyborg after an unfortunate, disco-related incident. She's essentially Ellena's right hand man, so she's relied on for quite a bit.

Sound Manipulation: Used from a subwoofer on the top of her head, this cyborg is capable of shooting out giant soundwaves that can bounce off walls, and hurt anyone in her path. The soundwaves start off small, but the more they bounce off walls, seemingly, the bigger they get, and it's really hard to defend yourself against a sound, you get me? How do you expect to be blocking a sound?

Ultra Spin: Again, not the name, but it's a pretty good name for it all the same. Instead of just charging forward like some of her pirate mates, DJ Doroko instead opts to spin around like a god damn Beyblade on steroids, damaging anyone that runs into her path of dizzying destruction. This is concluded with a nice disco pose at the end. Points for flair. "Just give it back? I would be a very poor pirate if I just went and gave it back. No, you're going to have to beat every last penny out of me!"
 * -| The Snake=

- Serpantina

Serpantina...well, honestly, not a lot is known about her. All that has been known is that she was born and raised on a pirate ship, and that she's been training since a young age to be one of the best pirates she could be. Unfortunately, she's not exactly seen as the best pirate out there, even after all of that training. There's a reason why she's the first boss of the game and why she's used as mainly a distraction, after all.

Swords: Serpantina, despite not being all that great of a pirate, is still capable of wielding a sword like the rest of them. Not only does Serpantina have a signature charge and swipe attack like any pirate should, but she's also capable of throwing three swords at a time with a bit of accuracy. they don't go all over the place, at least. It helps that she never seems to run out of swords, either. Though, unfortunately...that's the only ability she has.

Speed: Serpantina's attacks, like some of the other pirates, have indicated that she can move faster than the eye can track, leaving afterimages in her wake as she charges from one side of the screen to the other. Her speed comes in handy when coming in swinging with a sword, as well.

X-Factors
Experience

The Animorphs, at the point in time where they're being used for this fight, have a surprising amount of experience for only being a bunch of fourteen year old kids, being able to fight off quite a few Controllers, those infested by the Yeerks, and infiltrating and fighting their way out of several of their bases. Mind you, Controllers are often trained to fight, so this is an impressive feat, and that's excluding the fact that most of the things they fight are aliens that they don't have much experience with anyways.

Meanwhile, the Sea Spiders don't have nearly as much detail in their backstory, but it's clear, in some cases, that they've been in the game for a while. They've been terrorizing the seven seas for quite a bit now, but it's impossible to tell for how long. Though they do seem to raid islands and villages costantly with their airship, the Black Widow, and certain individuals such as Mimi and Ellena have quite a bit of confirmed skill.

Leadership

The Animorphs are generally lead under one person, and that is Jake. While normally having only one leader wouldn't be a problem and is generally the standard, Jake is a fourteen year old boy with no real experience with war tactics or anything of the sort, even though he often tries to be the man with the plan. His authority can also be questioned, such as with David, who actively betrays the Animorphs in canon.

The Sea Spiders, meanwhile, are lead by Ellena Arachnia, a woman who rules over them with an iron fist, and makes sure that anyone who steps out of line or disappoints her gets punished severely, which does a wonder on morale. Of course, this has led the Sea Spiders to fear her in come cases, but they still hold great respect for her all the same. Ellena has plans that can take long to execute, but have stated to almost always succeed, in the end.

Variety

While the Animorphs, due to their morphing ability, can pick up different morphs and such in the middle of battle by just touching an animal or something not human, their versatility is limited to their current form and their environment, due to the fact that morphing does take some time and you can't move very well while in combat, so it's a very fine balance.

Meanwhile, the Sea Spiders know a variety of different techniques and spells and have natural abilities that make them much more variable than the Animorphs in this case. Ranging from spells to summon lightning to minor duplication, it can get pretty intense pretty quickly.

Tactics

The Animorphs are, despite their challenges, mostly a guerrilla force, and don't do well in a direct combat against forces, as shown by how they often try to attack when there's as few people as possible, rarely going in to raid bases. This has caused them to become a bit hesitant or perhaps wait too long to really strike.

The Sea Spiders are more confrontational, actually partaking in the violence and a full on assault being their main method of attack, with them also overpowering with numbers if they have the rest of their crew. They have enough foresight to use their pirate companions as distractions, as well, something that the Animorphs have never done and normally cannot afford.