Two famous literary and folklore characters, living in the modern world, and feeding on their popularity with the common people.
Bigby Wolf: the sheriff of Fabletown, who turns out to be the Big Bad Wolf
vs
Mr. Nancy: the lecherous and mischevous old fart, who is actually the trickster Anansi
Who is deadliest?!
Bigby Wolf[]
Bigby Wolf is the main protagonist of the critically-acclaimed Vertigo series Fables. As his name implies, he is the actual Big Bad Wolf seen and read in the fairy tales. Bigby Wolf was originally born from a she-wolf named Winter and the deity known as the North Wind. His father's disappearance, the bullying from his siblings, and his mother's death, made Bigby vow to make himself bigger and stronger. As he reached his most fearsome reputation, the Adversary and his army started encroaching into his territory. But before he can take him on, a young girl by the name of Snow White magically turned him into a human against his will. He was forced to come with Snow White and take refuge in another universe where magic did not exist called Earth. In his new home, Bigby slowly learned to be more human and leave his bestial nature. He now dedicated his new life to protect his fellow Fables as the sheriff of Fabletown.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Transformation: As a reverse-werewolf, Bigby can take the form of a human, wolf, or both. His transformation and shape-shifting powers are powerful too. At one point, Kevin Thorne, the embodiment of story-telling, once turned him into a little girl, but Bigby Wolf managed to turn himself back with willpower alone.
- Human Form: Bigby's regular human form consist of a grungy unkempt Caucasian man with a trench coat and cigarettes. Even in his human form, Bigby still retains his physicality and senses.
- Werewolf Form: Bigby can also combine his human and wolf form to appear as a traditional wolfman in folklore. His werewolf form basically looks like a bipedal large wolf, complete with the fur, tail, fangs, and claws.
- Wolf Form: This is Bigby's original form, which appears as a large European wolf that is larger than a bison. Its jaws and claws are far stronger than the average wild canine. It’s large size allows it to take on other giant beasts like mega serpents, fire-breathing dragons, and large wooden soldiers created by the Adversary himself.
- Huff and Puff: The Big Bad Wolf's most iconic ability. As the offspring of the North Wind, Bigby can blow powerful gusts of wind from his mouth, which is strong enough to blast away an army of wooden soldiers or Bloody Marys, uproot acres of forests, or even create fissures on the ground. This ability also allows him to "command" and intimidate the lesser winds to do his bidding, such as changing their directions to carry various scents to him for tracking. He is also able to hold his breath for an abnormally long time, making it near-impossible for him to drown
- Enhanced Senses: Bigby's senses are highly attuned to beyond superhuman capabilities. He can see, hear, and smell better than any human, and can detect danger as well. His senses, especially his sense of smell, are so extraordinarily powerful that he is capable of knowing whether a girl has had intercourse recently, know the location of a certain person, and even knowing a person’s emotion or feelings. His senses are so powerful that he has to keep smoking strong cigarettes in order to deaden them in the city.
- Wolf Communication: Bigby is known as the "god of wolves" to any wolf pack he meets. As a wolf himself, he can communicate with them. He has never shown a feat where he orders them to attack someone. However, he has a feat where he prevents them from attacking someone.
Weaknesses[]
While one of the toughest fables around, Bigby Wolf is not invincible. He can still feel pain and even crippled by mundane weapons like bullets (seen in his battle with the Tweedle Brothers and Goldilocks), can be affected by chemicals and poisons, and can be harmed by magical weapons (like the time Bluebeard used a hypnotism gas on him). At one point, even Jack Horner, together with his gang, managed to knock him out by giving him a fusillade. He also possesses werewolf weaknesses, such as vulnerabilities to being killed by silver weapons or being burned in a pyre.
Mr. Nancy[]
Mr. Nancy is a supporting character in the novels American Gods and Anansi Boys. Taking place in a world where gods live amongst humans, feeding and thriving on the belief and influence that they have on humankind, Mr. Nancy is the American incarnation of the folk hero Anansi from African and Caribbean mythology. He started out as a mischievous African spirit taking the form of a spider, but later became a god by the time he arrived in America. During the War between the Old and New Gods, Mr. Nancy allied himself with the former, serving as the group's intelligence gatherer, trickster, and class clown. Mr. Nancy would later die in a rather hilarious accident after the aforementioned war, but would reappear as a spirit to assist his two sons from his old enemies.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Transformation: As a spider god, Mr. Nancy can take the form of a human, spider, or both.
- Human Form: In his human form, Mr. Nancy takes the appearance of a small, elderly black man with a pencil mustache, a lime-green fedora, and lemon-yellow gloves with a checkered suit. Although not physically imposing, he can still use magic in this form.
- Human-Spider Form: Mr. Nancy can also take the form of a half-human and half-spider hybrid. In this form, he is described as "extraordinarily tall" with teak-colored skin, three sets of arms, two legs, wearing a flowing ostrich-feather headdress, and a face wearing red stripes.
- Spider Form: Anansi's true form which is that of a spider. He can choose what size his spider form can have. At one time, he became a spider who was small enough to hide behind leaves. At another point, he even took the form of a giant spider the size of a horse. His spider form has eight legs, emerald nebula eyes, tough carapace, and large pincers for jaws.
- Reality Warping: Mr. Nancy has divine powers to perform miracles that are considered to be impossible. Most gods in his universe have the powers to summon or change almost anything or anyone as long as they are not in sacred places that prevents them from doing so. His powers can be seen mostly in his pranks and deceptions that are all absurd and illogical in nature. The most famous example of this was the time when he literally stole the Tiger Spirit's testicles and put them as his own.
- Spider Army: As a spider god, Mr. Nancy governs and rules over a whole "spider kingdom". He can communicate with spiders of any kind or species (poisonous and non-poisonous), and has command over a spider army that can attack foes and other hostiles.
- Illusion Casting: Mr. Nancy can cast convincing illusions or disguises for stealth. Example of this power includes the time he disguised himself as a deputy police officer, or the time he took the form of a poor innocent boy with a swollen leg.
- Teleportation: Mr. Nancy can teleport to various locations and dimensions in the world of American Gods, either for transportation or for escape. This includes being able to step into magical places like the World Tree and Backstage. However, there are several divine places he cannot enter, like the Center of America for example. He also has the power to teleport humans and other gods into his mind (though he only used this to conduct meetings, not for combat).
Weaknesses[]
Gods in the world of Mr. Nancy can only be harmed by either magical or divine weapons, or other more mundane weapons and objects that belongs to another god (like the time Techno Boy killed Bilquis by literally hitting her with his limousine). That being said, Mr. Nancy is not invincible. So far, only one non-divine item that did not belong to a god, has been able to kill him -- female breasts. During Mr. Nancy's meeting with Shadow, he remarked how he loves "big-tittied women". And lo and behold, in Anansi Boys, Mr. Nancy actually died when, while singing karaoke in a bar, he slipped and accidentally grabbed the top of a young woman. Seeing the girl's jugs actually gave him a heart attack, killing him.
X-Factors[]
| Physicality | Both warriors are hard to kill and can regenerate from all manners of wounds. However, I am giving this one to Bigby Wolf simply because he has shown feats in terms of strength, speed, and stamina. He is strong enough to lift a man or bite through armor. Although not a bullet-timer, he is fast enough to appear like teleporting. Lastly, the wolf has enough stamina to run for thirty days and cross from Russia to Alaska. Mr. Nancy has not shown any of these similar feats since he's more of a trickster than a fighter. That being said, he is still hard to kill. The one time he died, he considered a mere vacation, even remarking that he can easily resurrect whenever he wants. |
|---|---|
| Experience | Both are immortal and have lived for centuries, fighting in wars and other smaller conflicts. Mr. Nancy has fought various skirmishes against his fellow gods like the Tiger Spirit, Hyena Spirit, Monkey Spirit, and Bird Woman. Most importantly were the skirmishes he had with the various incarnations of the New Gods. Bigby Wolf is also similarly experienced, having fought fables, sorcerers, other monsters, and was even present in the American Civil War and the World Wars. He was a key member in the Battle of Bullfinch Street and the Retaking of the Homelands. |
| Intelligence | Bigby Wolf is a smart tactician, able to lead men in the front, conduct covert stealth operations, and even train agents like Cinderella. He is also an expert tracker and detective. However, he is prone to being outsmarted and even trapped by other more deviant foes. He famously got hypnotized by Bluebeard, and even got checkmated by Prince Brandish. Mr. Nancy, on the other hand, is literally a trickster god. He has a long list of people and gods he had tricked over the centuries. He's tricked the Tiger Spirit many times, started the long war between the Tigers and the Monkeys, and was the one to rally and empower the Old Gods through the use of his story-telling and charisma. |
Notes[]
- Battle takes place in New York City. Mr. Nancy has decided to resurrect himself and come and stay in New York after the events of Anansi Boys. The presence of this mysterious supernatural character has prompted Fabletown to send Bigby Wolf. Bigby's objective is to track down and remove Nancy from New York with whatever means necessary. Mr. Nancy's objective is to stay in New York with whatever means necessary.
- Since both are immortal and can resurrect, the battle can end with whoever dies first. It can also end by incapacitation. Feel free to create the best scenario to accommodate all of each warrior's powers and x-factors.
- This is Bigby Wolf and Mr. Nancy as they appeared in their original source materials.
Battle[]
Jolliness hung in the air inside the Manhattan club where Mr. Nancy was staying. Pop music roared like thunder inside the small humid pit, colorful dizzying lights spun around the ceiling and walls, and young unsupervised rich brats danced and made out on the dance floor.
Even with its dreary, loud, worse-than-war atmosphere, the old man loved the place. Unbeknownst to these kids, he was a god — the same ones they’d read in their English classes. He was far from what his mythology wrote, yet even if he was never the god of parties, he was nonetheless in control of his destiny. He was the god of this club for now — a god who would drink, sing, and fuck way beyond a human could handle.
That night, however, was different from all the other nights, as a lone hairy man in a stained polo and a tie, barged uninvited into the club. A certain darkness covered the place as the man came in. While the young kids were too drunk or too sexed to care, Mr. Nancy felt the inhuman power this stranger brought. Coldness crept through his non-existent spine. A certain coldness that told him to prepare.
The man was indeed not human. He was a fable, a certain character from fairy tale books, who took refuge in this mundane normal world. Specifically, this character was known as the Big Bad Wolf, though he preferred the name Bigby to everyone he met. If one wondered how a wolf was walking in man’s territory, one should only remember of the phrase “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” But instead of sheep, he wore man’s skin — a sort of reverse werewolf. He was no man transformed into a wolf. He was a smart wolf turned into a man.
Bigby scanned the room, and once his eyes picked Mr. Nancy, he went to him in slight haste. The spider god prepared himself for what this stranger was planning. He had his wits if the stranger wanted to talk, and he’d have his powers and fists if things went dirty.
“You are Mr. Nancy?” Bigby asked.
“You’re looking at the one and only,” replied Mr. Nancy.
“Hardly,” added Bigby. “Listen. You’re not allowed to be here. This is fabletown territory.”
“Come on. Can’t you spare a brother some good time?”
“Nope. The magic you’re bringing is making a lot of us nervous. We’ve had our run-ins with all manners of literals and gods to just stand here and hope nothing will happen.”
“Nothing will happen if you don’t fuck with me, boy.”
“We’re not taking any chances. Now, either you can leave or I’ll have to drag your—“
Suddenly, Mr. Nancy socked Bigby Wolf in the cheek. Though that punch was pathetic compared to what Bigby had been through, the surprise attack distracted him long enough for Mr. Nancy to teleport away. Once Bigby got back to his senses, the old man was gone.
“So much for a god,” Bigby jested. He then felt creatures crawling in his pants, which began to fill his skin with bites and pinches. Bigby panicked at the sight of spiders, both venomous and non-venomous, cultivating his barren thighs with their painful jaws.
—-
Mr. Nancy arrived near the highways of central park. That was a close call, but the battle was not over yet. As long as that bastard lived, Mr. Nancy would always have a dagger sticking in his back. He needed to do something if he wanted his stay in New York City to be a pleasant one.
He then began yelling and jesting in order to grab the attention of the people. There were colorful mighty sparks combined with his booming voice, which lured people unto him like flies to a rotting carcass. As hundreds of people watched, Mr. Nancy began to proclaim with a charismatic voice that every corrupt politician would envy, “Everyone! Gather all to me! A terrorist has again entered New York City! We gotta do something fast if we don’t want ourselves to be under attack. Remember! You are strong! Our country is strong. But only together do we become truly invincible!”
Bigby Wolf got out of the club and began roaming around Manhattan in search of his target. The stings from those spiders were gone but the annoyance and embarrassment they caused remained in Bigby. That old man would pay dearly for his insolence.
Bigby had little trouble getting himself back on track. The winds obeyed his command, and they brought to him the scent of the spider god. With superhuman speed, Bigby ran towards the direction of the smell.
But as he entered the park, he heard someone yelling “Terrorist!” as a bat hit him in the head. Other people started coming out of trees, bushes, and other covers, carrying an assortment of weapons like goof clubs, batons, nailed bats, and metal pipes. They ran towards Bigby with anger in their eyes. Bigby found something wrong with this situation. There were many people, all of whom were stupid and unreasonable. Someone had taken control of their minds and he knew just who.
As melee weapons pounded Bigby Wolf like there was no tomorrow, the fable had no choice but to unleash his werewolf form. With tattered remains, and now sprouting fur, teeth, and claws, Bigby threw the brainwashed pedestrians with his superior physicality. Even though there were many of them, in time, Bigby succeeded in eradicating their number.
Suddenly, something powerful smashed into Bigby, which threw him away unto a tree. With a growl full of annoyance and the grinding of teeth, Bigby charged at Mr. Nancy, who took the form of a tall tribal man with 6 arms. The wolf grabbed two of his arms, and with ease, ripped them out of their sockets. Mr. Nancy screamed in agony as he laid down, blood bathing the park’s grass.
“You should have walked away!” Bigby growled.
“Fuck you!” Nancy screamed, as he transformed into a giant tarantula. Mr. Nancy raised his giant arms and smashed it on Bigby, flattening the wolf and burying him to the ground. As Bigby tried to get up, he found that one of his arms and legs were missing.
“I don’t think you would be needing those, where you’re going,” bantered Mr. Nancy.
“Heh, interesting,”. Bigby replied, and in front of Mr. Nancy, the fable finally unleashed his true form. He transformed into a wolf the size of a small elephant.
“No fair!” Mr. Nancy remarked as he tried to get away. But Bigby unleashed a mighty gust of breath that flipped Mr. Nancy to his back. A paw then slammed into his thorax, pinning him. The spider god tried to bite Bigby’s paw again and again, menacing and shredding it with his long pincers, but to no avail.
“Please! Leave me be! I promise I won’t make any trouble.” Mr. Nancy begged.
“Nope,” replied the Big Bad Wolf.
“Please! I think we can work something out. Maybe you need something? Anything?! I am a god! I can help you! I can make your wishes come true!”
“Nah. Now stay steady, so I can kill you quick.”
“Wait!”
There was a loud crunch, and thick goo running from Bigby’s jaws. With a tug, he pulled Mr. Nancy’s head off and tossed it to the ground. The fable then transformed back into human form and left the rotting carcass of the giant spider. He was too tired to do anything else. Maybe Flycatcher could burn or clean it up for him.
Expert’s Opinion[]
Bigby Wolf won because of his tremendous strength and speed, better transformation, and aerokinesis. While Mr. Nancy was smarter and had a few tricks up in his sleeve, Bigby didn’t lag behind as a detective and had all the skills and powers to track Mr. Nancy down and capture him.