Spartacus/Bio & Battles

"When a free man dies, he loses the pleasure of life. A slave loses his pain. Death is the only freedom a slave knows. That's why he's not afraid of it. That's why we'll win."

- Spartacus, Spartacus (1960)

Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator and the leader of the escaped slaves that fought against the Roman Republic in the Third Servile War.

Little is known of Spartacus's life before the events of the war, and most records are contradictory and rarely reliable, but most accounts on his origins agree that he was a Thracian mercenary who served the army of the Roman Republic, deserted, and was captured and enslaved as a gladiator.

Spartacus was brought to a gladiator school near Capua, where he was trained as a type of heavyweight gladiator called a murmillo. Along with seventy of his fellow gladiators, Spartacus planned to escape the school. In 73 BC, Spartacus and his companions armed themselves with kitchen utensils fought their way out of the school and seized several wagons of weapons and armor.

The gladiators plundered the regions around Capua, freeing other slaves to bolster their ranks and defeating the Roman legions sent after them. Despite lacking proper military training, Spartacus and his army displayed remarkable ingenuity when facing the Romans, using local materials and unusual tactics to overcome their enemies. With these victories, more and more slaves flocked to join Spartacus's army.

Alarmed by the success of Spartacus's rebellion, the Roman Senate commissioned Marcus Licinius Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome, with ending the revolt. Crassus marched eight legions against the slave army, and won several engagements, forcing the slaves to retreat into southern Italy.

Spartacus attempted to broker a deal with coastal pirates to have his army sailed to Sicily, but he was betrayed, and was faced with Crassus's approaching army and no way to escape Italy. Spartacus decided to bring the full force of his army on Crassus in a last stand, which resulted in Spartacus's death in battle and the execution by crucifixion of the surviving rebels.

Battle vs. Hannibal Barca (by Goddess of Despair)
No battle written.

WINNER: HANNIBAL BARCA

Expert's Opinion
Hannibal won this fight mainly due to his domination in x-factors. Spartacus' troops were not nearly as battle hardened as Hannibal's troops. Hannibal also had the surperior short range weapon, not to mention the fact that the sarissa, unlike the trident and net, can be used in formations.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Arminius (by Deathblade 100)
Europe, Roman Empire

Spartacus moved stealthily along the worn, dirt road, after narrowly escaping the Roman legions that had put down his revolt. He had his Pilum in one hand and a net and trident in the other. As he stops to gain his bearings, a Framea spear whistled through the air and narrowly missed him. Arminius emerged out of the nearby forest, axe in hand. Spartacus hurled his Pilum at the Germanic tribesman, but narrowly misses him. Arminius rushed in with his axe and swung down at the former gladiator. Spartacus jumped out of the way of the weapon and threw his net at his opponent, entangling the Cherusci chieftain. Spartacus quickly knocked the helpless German over before drawing his trident back. As the trident came down, Arminius managed to swing his club into Spartacus' knee, crippling him. Dropping his trident, Spartacus drew his Gladius and Sica. Arminus managed to throw the net off and drew his Spatha. Raising his shield, Arminius charged into the gladiator, winding him.

As Spartacus gathered his breath, Arminius thrust forward with his Spatha, wounding the gladiator. Spartacus swung his Sica at Arminius, the curved blade arcing around the chieftain's shield. As the tip of the Sica impacted the German, Arminius pulled himself away from the blade before slamming his club into the gladiator's hand, forcing Spartacus to drop the Sica. Arminius looked down at the gash in his tunic before thrusting forward with his Spatha. Anticipating the move, Spartacus leapt out of the way of the blade, only for Arminius to swing his club into the side of the former rebel's head. As Spartacus clumsily thrust forward with his Gladius, Arminius brought the pommel of his Spatha down onto the rebel's head, stunning him. As Spartacus looked up, groggily, Arminius brought the sword down onto his opponent's neck.

Raising his bloodied Spatha into the air, Arminius yelled "For the Cherusci!" in victory before walking off back into the forest.

Expert's Opinion
While Spartacus was the better known of the two, Arminius possessed better weapons and tactics allowed him to claim victory here. Another key factor was the fact Arminius actually was successful in his battle against Rome, while Spartacus was not and later was eradicated after two years of revolt.

To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.

Battle vs. 'Ali ibn Muhammad (by SPARTAN 119)
Spartacus: 20

Ali: 20

Spartacus led a group of 20 slave rebels along a road in the middle of an open field near the edge of a marshy area. Suddenly, a hail of sling stones flew at the rebels. Most of them, however, were wearing armor taken from either the gladiatorial school or their fallen Roman foes. The stones, for the most part, bounced off their helmets, though one rebel, who was not wearing a helmet, was hit by a stone about the size of a man's fist in the temple, which caved in his skull and killed him.

Immediately after the barrage of stones, about five Arabian rebels charged down the road, armed with shields, swords, and spears straight at Spartacus and his men.

"Form up, shield wall!", Spartacus ordered, and the gladiator rebels that had scuta captured from the roams created a wall of shield and placed their gladii between them in imitation of the tactics of their Roman foes, ready to defend against the incoming attack. While their fellows formed up, a few of the rebels hurled pila or slung stones at Ali ibn Muhammad's rebels. Most of them missed, but two of the Zanj were killed, one pummeled by sling stones, while the second was impaled through the chest by a pilum. (Spartacus: 19, Ali: 18)

The Arabian rebels appeared to realize they were outnumbered and fled back from where they came.

"After then!", Spartacus ordered, leading the charge with sword in hand. Spartacus and his rebels followed the retreating Arabs into a section of road flanked on both sides by marsh, covered by tall grasses. After chasing them several hundred meters into the marsh, the fleeing Arabs finally stood their ground.

Suddenly, shouts in Arabic erupted from the reeds on either side of the road, soon followed by Arabian and Zanj warrior armed with spears and swords, led by Ali ibi Muhammad himself. Four of the Roman rebels were cut down before they could defend themselves as the Arabian rebels surrounded them. (Spartacus: 15, Ali: 18)

The remaining gladiator rebels tried to defend themselves. In the chaos of the ambush, steel clashed against steel and blades ran through flesh. Spartacus himself blocked a strike an Arabian straight sword with his scutum, before thrusting his gladius into his enemy's chest, killing him. At the same time, Ali ibn Muhammad ran his Az Zagayah spear through he back of a gladiator rebel who was distracted by fighting another of the Zanj. All around them, men died on both sides in the chaotic melee, but it was Spartacus and his rebels who payed the greatest price. In tight quarters of the marsh, it was impossible to use their shields with any efficacy, or even tell what was going on mere meters away- they were surrounded and easily separated and rendered vulnerable. Only seven gladiators remained, but there were a dozen Zanj and Arab rebels left. (Spartacus: 7, Ali: 12).

A Zanj rebel hooked the shield of one of Spartacus's rebels away with a sickle, before drawing a khanjar in his off hand and slashing his foe's throat. Soon after, another of Spartacus' men was struck by a spear through the neck, killing him. Realizing he was going to die, Spartacus decided he would at least take the enemy leader with him. (Spartacus: 5, Ali: 12)

He charged at Ali ibn Muhammad, cutting down three Arabs that stood in his way. Ali ibn Muhammed could only barely defend against Spartacus' attack, being pushed back into the reeds. Unfortunately for Spartacus, has final charge ended there, as an Arab came up from behind an ran a spear through his chest. Ali ibn Muhammad swung his sword at the mortally wounded gladiator, finishing him off. At the same time, what remained of Spartacus' rebels were finally overwhelmed. (Spartacus: 0, Ali: 9).

After the last of his enemies fell, Ali ibn Muhammad raised his sword and yelled "There is no arbitration except by Allah!

WINNER: Ali ibn Muhammad

Expert's Opinion
Ali ibn Muhammad won this battle because of his more effective tactics. While Spartacus' revolt lasted only two years, the Ali managed to continue his fight in the marshes for ten years, proving himself a master of guerilla and riverine warfare. This, along with a slight advantage with some of his weapons earned him the victory.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.

Battle vs. Captain Stingaree (by Battlefan237)
Inside the Batmobile

"You have not even the slightest idea about what I was going to accomplish, Batman. This is just the beginning. You cannot stop me, soon I will command forces beyond your comprehension. I have achieved what you could never do. Gotham City, as well as the entire world, will thank me, Hugo Strange, for my invention.....You, alongside all of them,are needlessly and irrationally retarded in a supremely great work. A work which will change the fate of our civilization and probably our universe..."

"That is not an excuse for kidnapping innocent civilians and tying them to you new toy, placing them on a rooftop in the middle of the night, Strange. " Says Batman, coldly, "Soon you will be back in your home, where you'll have plenty of time to discuss this new invention of yours with your friends. I'm sure Jervis and Pyg will be good listeners. "

"No,no, no, you don't understand, Batman. This time, my invention works. I've already done some experiments before this final test. One out of three of them I succeeded in transporting an antique shield to our world from the past...." Strange continues his attempt to convince Batman, who simply brushes it aside as more crazy talks from an Arkham patron. However, what he doesn't realize is that, this time, Strange is authentic.

A Rooftop, Gotham

With the hostage situation taken care of, the police have already left the scene, leaving Strange's device back on the top.Batman has already examined the malfunctioning device, deeming it safe, therefore they temporarily leave it unguarded, for it requires a crane to remove it from the roof.

As a result, for now, the time machine rests in silence.

However, the silence is soon broken, as five figures dressed in pirate costumes (Captain Stingaree: ) climb onto the roof."What's f**k is this ?" One of the pirate-themed lunatics kicks the machine randomly, turning it on.

In sheer seconds, five people dressed in clothes of ancient times, weapons in hands appear in front of the pirates. (Spartacus: )

"Ahoy there !" Shouts Captain Stingaree, as he points his rapier at the Roman rebels. "Ye' are now on ol' Captain Stingaree's ship and ye'shall realize that ol' Stingaree ain't taking kindly to strangers."

Puzzled by their surroundings and the clownish Captain shouting at him, Spartacus and his men are not quite sure about what to do.

With no reply from the "enemies", Stingaree draws out his flintlock pistol and marches forward, waving at wildly in front of the eyes of one rebel."Answer Ol' Stingaree's questions and stop disrespecting me, the lord of seven seas, or else I'll feed you to sharks."

The rebel, who has absolutely no ideas about what the Captain is saying, simply stands there with a puzzled face, which further angers Stingaree, as he pulls the trigger, making a nice hole on the man's forehead.

Shocked, Spartacus signals his remaining men to back off and ready their weapons for defense, for he now deems this group of strangers hostile.

Noticing his enemies raising their gladius and spears,Stingaree orders his subordinates to march forward. The motley crew of psychos under his command instantly obeys, as they prances forward with their prop cutlasses and improvised tools, laughing maniacally.

Although threatened, Spartacus's men are not in the best mood to counterattack, for they have witnessed the power Stingaree's pistol possesses. None of them is confident enough to go against "futuristic" tech. It doesn't take long for an Arkham patient to approach a rebel with his cutlass, swinging it directly at the man's chest in an attempt to slash him.In haste the rebel blocks the attack with his gladius. To his surprise, the prop item breaks apart the moment it comes into contact with the Roman sword.

Without a single moment of hesitation the rebel retaliates the assault with a slash across the pirate-themed psycho's stomach, letting him bite the dust.

Meanwhile on the other side of the roof another pirate is engaging in a sword fight with Spartacus. The prop sword he has been provided is obviously of higher quality, for it is able to stand blows from Spartacus's own sword. Although he tries his best, Spartacus still manages to knock the sword off the pirate's arm with relative ease and finishes him off with a beheading move.

Witnessing two of his stooges dying Stingaree decides to retreat."Abandon the deck, boys, the enemies are too strong !" He shouts, as he jumps off the building, landing on the top of a garbage truck, the two other pirates soon follow up.

Seeing their opponents fleeing Spartacus orders his men to pursuit,in an attempt to avenge their deceased friend. Learning from Stingaree's move, they also jump off the building, landing on another truck.

Lucky for them their truck is heading to the same destination as Stingaree's. Unlucky for them, their truck is heading to a different gate.

20 minutes later, Iceberg Lounge

"Boss, we've got reports of a group of thugs, dressed in costumes and wielding weapons of ancient Roman origin, surging chaos at the back gate. "

Hearing this, the Penguin frowns. Normally when thugs come here making a mess, he will dispatch the guards to take care of them with brute force. However, this time, the emphasis on Roman weapons signals him that this might be more than a normal disturbance. The last time someone dressed in costumes of ancient eras barged into the lounge and messed around, he utilized conventional methods to handle them, only to lose twelve of his men because those costume freaks were Joker's goons carrying new versions of the clown's gas hidden inside their costumes. There's also another incident where Batman was off fighting some cults in South America and that hacker named Oracle contacted Wonder Woman to temporarily take his place. That time the report also stated some crazy lady dressed in ancient style costumes wielding a shield and a gladius. Based on what he has learned Wonder Woman also has friends with similar dressing hobbies, maybe this time it's them ? Anyway in Gotham, if someone has the confidence to messing around on Cobblepot's property dressed like gladiators, he/she must be a force to be reckoned with.

"Let them enter the lounge, tell Lark and Ogilvy to lock up all the storage rooms and dump Sionis's drug into the sea. We're soon shutting down."

"Yes boss."

"Boss, another hostile group has entered the lounge from the front. Based on the fact that they all wear bizarre costumes I'd say that they are probably from the same group as those gladiators."Lark enters the room.

"What's the hell is going on today ? It must be the clown. Lurking somewhere in the sewers plotting a new scheme that will turn the city over yet again.Prepare the ferry, we're leaving this town for a while."

"Penguins says no deals tonight because the intervention of a certain third party."

"What third party ? The police has already known about the deal ?"

"No Sionis, I smell something fishy in this. Cobblepot is certainly playing some sort of tricks.I don't know what exactly is going on but the Penguin's definitely up to no good.My source says it that he is gathering his men at the dock."

"How come anyone know I am here ? Cobblepot promised me that this is a secret hideout that no one beside us know about." Two-face shouts in anger as he grabs Penguin's thug by his collar.

"I'm not sure boss but they say some super-powered costume freaks are barging into this place looking for someone. The banquet hall and the slot section are all in utter chaos now boss..."

"F**king useless !" Two-face delivers a punch across the poor thug's face, knocking him unconscious. Grabbing up his pistol and beloved coin, he leaves his room and marches upstairs, only to bump into Spartacus's party.

"So you are the super-powered group they talked about ?" He tosses his coin, which lands on his hand, with the tail facing the ceiling."Alright then, you die." Harvey pulls the trigger, terminating another rebel,after which he immediately points his gun at Spartacus.

"Head, you shall live." After a quick toss he deems Spartacus alive. Just as he is about to determine the fate of another rebel, Spartacus grabs him by the arm and wrestles the gun out of it with his combat skills. Too shocked to fight back Two-face isn't fast enough to dodge another elbow towards his head and a swift kick towards burnt-half,pounding him unconscious on the floor.

Meanwhile, in the banquet hall, due to an absence of security personnel caused by the Penguin's order, Stingaree and his two remaining pirates have already disrupted the ongoing party.

"Ye' fooled me before on the deck ! But ye' shall not be foolin' ol' Captain Stingaree twice! " Stingaree shouts in sheer defiance as he kicks a table over and menacingly waves his rapier at the guests. One of his subordinates has made it onto the stage, trashing the flowers with the microphone pole while letting out psychopathic chuckles, while the other pirate man is gorging over the food reserved for the party time. However, before the man can finish another bite at the roast duck, a sharp pain strikes his body. Turning around, he finds a rebel staring at him, with the blood-stained pilum in hands.

Terrified, the man bends over his neck to check his stomach, only to notice blood gushing out of the hole on his stomach."You punctured me, you cad !" He yells, before coughing out blood and collapsing down.

"Enemies approaching our deck !" Stingaree sighs, as he sees Spartacus and the two rebels emerging.

Obeying his Captain's order the last pirate hops down the stage, narrowly avoiding a rebel's sling, only to find the pilum-armed rebel blocking his way. Desperately trying to survive he tosses the fishnet at the rebel.Too late to dodge the rebel gets tangled in the net, as he hastily attempts to break away the pirate thrusts the harpoon into his chest, killing him instantly.

Bat Cave

"Master Bruce. Reports have been coming in about chaos at the Iceberg Lounge, however I don't really think it requires your attention."

"Why ?"

"According to the footage taken by guests it appears that the culprit is Karl Courtney, also known as Captain Stingaree. a lesser maniac that can be handled by the police. He's not tough enough for you to intervene."

"Alfred, for me, there is no such terms like Greater Evil or Lesser Maniac. Karl Courtney, the black sheep of Courtney family, was originally arrested for an incident of attempted murder, during which he tortured his three brothers. If I hadn't stopped him he would have drop them off the roof. It is highly dangerous to let such a psychopath running free in my city."

"So you are going to the Iceberg Lounge ?"

"Maybe not," the Batman says, as he gazes at the big scene where a new alert has just initiated, "Both Sionis and Cobblepot are mobilizing their men around the dock. It seems that a gang war is around the corner.That might account for the fact that none of Penguin's thugs showed up during Stingaree's chaos. "

"Ahoy there ! Continue fighting them till your death ! I, Captain Stingaree, the lord of seven seas and the most feared pirate of this harbor, shall never surrender and abandon my deck !" Shouts Stingaree as he sees his last man fleeing from the two remaining enemies, regardless of the fact that he ordered them to abandon the roof several minutes earlier.

Threatened by the flintlock pistol the last pirate turns back and feebly raises his cutlass in a vain attempt to defend himself from the two charging gladiators.Almost in seconds he gets torn to minces.

"Damn these sailors are tough." Stingaree thinks, as it suddenly dawns on him that these two fighters in front of him might just be the person, or persons, under the Bat cape that he has always be obsessed with.

"It makes perfect sense." He ponders over his idea in his chaotic mind," No one in the seven seas is on par with ol' Stingaree except the Batman, or the Batmans."

"I KNOWs now yur BATMAN ! All of ye's BATMAN !And yer sentence fer being Batman is to walk the plank ! Tonight, the sharks'll feast mightily out of Davy Jones' Locker !" The captain yells proudly and angrily, as he fires off the remaining rounds of his pistol,with two of them hitting random stuff and the last one puncturing the last rebel's skull.

"AHOY me hearties ! Ye is to be next ! " He glares at Spartacus, raising his rapier."Ye fooled me before but ye shall not tryna fool ol' Capt Stingaree again ye' coward ! Ye' poltron ! Ye' bouffon !"

Charging forward, he clashes his rapier with Spartacus's gladius. Blocking the psycho's attack, Spartacus isn't fast enough to dodge a swift stab downward, which pierces his left thigh.

"Stingaree will make you feel pain ! Nobody ever challenges Stingaree's superiority in this harbor.Ye shall never deceive me again Batman, for I am the overlord, I am the ol' and glorious Captain Stingaree !" He shouts, proudly as he yells laughs in pride. However, his pride turns out to be short-lived,as Spartacus takes the chance quickly retrieving his sword and thrusting it into the captain's chest,interrupting his cringe monologue.

"What... Impossible ! You can't defeat the invincible ol' capt Stingaree !! ARRRRRRRRRR ! I am the overlord of the seven seas......I am C-A-P-T-A-I-N S-T-I-N-G-A-R-E-E ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Stingaree groans as he kneels down, succumbing to his wounds.

Snatching the victory Spartacus raises his sword and lets out a classic DW shout. His short feud with the most fearsome man at sea in Gotham has caused a total of nine lives, and will cetainly be causing more in the upcoming gang war.

Winner: Spartacus

Expert's Opinion
In this battle of losers, despite having more modern weapons, Stingaree is the ultimate loser due to his little training, poor experience, unstable mental state and motley crew of subordinates.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.