Huntress vs American Dream (DC vs Marvel)









Huntress, daughter of the Dark Knight from Earth-Two!

American Dream, Captain America’s star-spangled successor from Earth-982!

The DC and Marvel multiverses are sagas of infinite realities, with each universe being different from the other. Sometimes, the heroes are the villains, or a single event changes the course of history. One thing is always for certain, and that is that each universe brings new faces, and new stories to tell. Such is the case for these two heroic female vigilantes.

They are the successors of Batman and Captain America, carrying on their legacy in alternate universes as the Huntress and the American Dream, standing in peak human stature amongst the Justice League and the Avengers. But as the old saying asks, what happens when worlds collide? Can the Huntress live up to the name of the game and bring down her prey, or will the American Dream surpass the battle and live to see tomorrow? It’s time to find out who would win a DEATH BATTLE!

Before We Begin…

This blog will be focusing solely on the Huntress from DC’s Pre-Crisis continuity, given she’s the version of the character with the most in common with American Dream.

Background

Huntress



“No need to be so formal scum! You can call me The Huntress... after all you are my prey! And I always get what I hunt!”

Born in 1957 on the alternate universe of Earth-Two, Helena Wayne was born to Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Once the feared vigilante Batman and the infamous burglar Catwoman, these two costumed figures eventually married and settled down to focus on raising their daughter.

From birth Helena was trained to the peak of physical and mental development, not out of a desire for crime fighting, though she would be exposed to that through stories of her father’s glory days.

After spending three years in law school, Helena would graduate from Harvard as valedictorian at 21 and become a successful lawyer under the firm of Cranston, Grayson, and Wayne. Sadly, her burgeoning career in law would be cut short by an unexpected tragedy. One of Selina’s old associates had resurfaced and blackmailed her into joining him for one last job. In an unfortunate twist of fate, this last job would also become her final one when the former Catwoman was fatally shot during a confrontation between her husband and blackmailer.

With his wife dead, Bruce Wayne buried Batman with her, but his daughter felt differently. Furious at the incident that cost her mother’s life, Helena Wayne swore an oath of vengeance and took on a new identity. If criminals were cowards that preyed on the innocent, she would become their Huntress!

Under her new identity, Huntress captured her mother’s killer and began her career as a crime fighter. On her second mission she’d directly aid Wildcat and Star-Spangled Kid of the Justice Society against the technologically advanced bank robbers of Strike Force. Though these actions got her welcomed into the Justice Society, Helena was somewhat unsure of herself and- desperate for advice- used the JSA’s Transmatter Cube to enter the neighboring universe of Earth-One. During her trip she’d gain more confidence through teaming up with fellow heroines Batgirl and Batwoman before heading back to her universe. And she’d receive a further confidence boost upon returning to Earth-Two and defeating the original Huntress.

During her time with the Justice Society Helena would help save the planet and even the universe numerous times. She’d also gain a close friendship with Power Girl and help her get more used to civilian life. Unfortunately, she’d suffer another tragedy when Batman sacrificed himself to save Gotham from a magically enhanced criminal. Though she mourned his loss, she refused to let that dissuade her from defending Gotham alongside Robin.

As her career developed, Huntress would become close friends with Gotham’s district attorney Harry Sims. Though he was initially weary of Huntress due to his distrust of vigilantes, he would go on to become one of Huntress’s closest confidants when he discovered her secret identity. Unfortunately, this would lead to him being poisoned by the Joker, who’d sought a vigilante that could give him the fun he had with Batman.

Though she managed to defeat Joker and Harry parole from his coma, the incident left their relationship in a rocky position. As time went on and Huntress became more experienced, Harry would become more apprehensive about her life as Huntress and worried she’d be killed in action. Their relationship would continue to strain after Huntress was framed for murder, making her the victim of a smear campaign by reporter Nedra Borrower. By purposefully twisting statements and omitting testimony that could exonerate Huntress, Nedra convinced both the public and politicians into adopting her anti-vigilante agenda.

Fortunately, Huntress would get back into the public’s good graces by saving crack babies from a child smuggling ring led by the deformed crime lord Earthworm. It helped that by this point Nebra was unceremoniously fired after her boss realized she was getting too involved in her “objective reporting.”

From there, Huntress would go on to have many adventures fighting the mad geneticist Sea-Lion, the ninja Nightingale, and her crazed therapist June Moorman. And when her solo stories ended, she and Power Girl decided to leave the JSA and formed Infinity, Inc, but after realizing the Infinitors could handle themselves, they later rejoined the Society.

Shortly after this, a being called the Anti-Monitor would begin a quest to wipe out the multiverse. In an effort to save all of existence, Helena teamed up with the heroes and villains from other Earths to confront him. While they proved successful in defeating him, the entire multiverse was lost in the process, and though Huntress survived the merging of the remaining Earths, it was far from hopeful.

Upon learning she no longer existed in this new history, Huntress had a brief existential crisis, but her struggles would soon end when she was killed during the final battle alongside her Earth’s Robin. Though her death was mourned by the Justice Society, over time Huntress’s very existence would be erased from the minds of everyone who knew her, and her existence would be supplanted by the mob princess Helena Bertinelli.

American Dream



“Scratch one flyer. Hope there aren't many more of those around. Star discs aren't cheap.”

In the universe of Earth-982, Sharon Carter, one of the most well-known and respected agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., had a cousin named Shannon Carter, a dreamer who grew up idolizing the legendary hero Captain America, hoping to one day stand with Earth’s mightiest heroes. Her reasoning for this comes from a tragic past. She lived the typical mid-western life, father was a cop and mother was a teacher, just the three of them. Unfortunately, her parents were killed in a terrible car crash accident, and Shannon was left in a wheelchair. She had no will to even attempt walking again until she eventually met her cousin Sharon, who gave her a book that contained the adventures of Captain America. This inspired Shannon to be filled with newfound hope, going into physical therapy to start walking again, to the point where she also took up gymnastics, eventually training with Clint Barton. Through her connections to Agent Carter, she became a tour guide for the Avenger’s Mansion, but Shannon’s dream of heroism would soon become a reality when the new line-up of the Avengers was being formed, and Shannon was offered an invitation to join the team. Inspired by her favorite hero of them all, Shannon dawned the colors of the Cap, the red white and blue. And very favorably, she would find a chance to prove herself in her American stripes, saving the Avengers of Earth-616 from a dark parallel reality. When the original Captain America gave her the shield of the old Captain America murdered by Red Skull, a star was born; or rather, the American Dream was born!


Experience, Intelligence, and Skill

Huntress


Despite only being active for little over a year as a vigilante, Huntress has accumulated a wide variety of skills. The gymnastics training she’s received since her childhood has allowed Huntress to become a superb gymnast, and she’s become a master of many forms of armed and unarmed combat. She’s bested martial artists like the original Huntress, defeated powerful criminals like Lionmane and Crimelord while having broken arms, and casually took down Batman’s old rogues like Joker and Catwoman.

Aside from her physical ability, Huntress has also inherited the detective-like intellect of her father, to the point of being declared the sharpest deductive mind of her world. In addition, the expertise of her mother has made her an expert with lockpicking and other criminal techniques.

American Dream



The American Dream is both a great fighter and a great leader. If you can’t find her, odds are she is training in the Avengers Compound gym, running simulations where she has to avoid getting hit to improve her reflexes from lasers or robotic tendrils. Her constant training, though unspecified what she has learned, has allowed her to reach peak human levels of performance in many ways. Her main method of fighting relies a lot on precision and agility, striking from a distance or not getting hit. She's skilled enough to spar Hawkeye and Freebooter at the same time with quarterstaffs, and qualified enough as a fighter that Spider-Girl considers her a challenge and has even helped train her in the danger rooms. Many times she has also faced overwhelming numbers and still won, such as defeating an entire warehouseof thugswith ease, and has done so with and without the shield as well. In terms of tactics, Shannon is a pretty quick thinker, always ready with a plan, even if she isn’t sure if it’ll work. One example is when she ejected herself from her motorcycle seat to give her enough momentum to deflect a bomb into the air, allowing it to explode without harming anyone. She was also able to get a job as an Avengers Mansion tour guide.

Equipment

Huntress

Costume




The costume Huntress wears during her one-woman war on crime. Its spandex material allows for greater flexibility and agility, it has fireproof boots, and she can use the cape to guard against attacks or explosions. She can even unhook it to shield against projectiles. And as an extra bonus, the boots are fireproof.

Utility Belt

A multipurpose belt that contains various gadgets. It has a bult-in signal device that lets her alert the JSA from across the globe, and the belt buckle is actually a concealed batarang for surprise attacks. The pouches come equipped with tweezers and an infrared reading lens.

Kit-Bag

A purse that Huntress wears alongside her belt. It stores a multitude of different devices and gadgets in it, which include:
 

Mini Crossbow


Huntress’ signature weapon is a collapsible crossbow made of vanadium steel. She can use it to fire two arrows at once. When not in use, it’s fastened to a special holster on the side of her boot.

The crossbow can be equipped with several different types of ammo, which include:
  • Crossbow Batarang: A grapple line attached to an arrow. When fired, the arrow splits apart into a grappling hook that latches on to a distant rooftop or surface. Despite its name, it isn’t actually a batarang
It also makes for a decent crowbar to escape burning buildings.


Bat-Rope



Huntress often uses this several meter long rope to swing from buildings, though it’s also useful for dramatic entrances, ensnaringothers, and strangling.

Binoculars



Useful for viewing others from afar.

Batarang


Though she doesn’t use them as often as her crossbow, Huntress is armed with batarangs. She can use them to disarm gunmen, distract opponents, prevent alligators from biting her, burst nearby pipes, or climb out of a burning building. She also has one disguised as her belt buckle, which is often used for surprise attacks.

Fingerprint Dusting Kit



Self-explanatory.

Knife




A throwing knife that’s really useful for intimidation or cutting down traps.

Mini Knives





Huntress keeps a series of miniature throwing knives that she can summon and throw with a flick of her wrist or retrieve from her kit-bag. They’re mainly used for intimidation, intercepting projectiles, and disarming opponents.

Red Convertible



A car Helena drives in her civilian life.

Net



A collapsible net Huntress can drop on others from the shadows.

Batline



It’s the same as the Bat-Rope, but now there’s a batarang on the end for better leverage. She can also use it to tie up escaping criminals.

Miniature Camera and Tape Recorder



Dual devices that Huntress can hook up to a crime scene and later monitor for investigative use. She used this to clear her name after she’d been framed for murder.


American Dream

Captain America’s Shield



When the Captain America of Earth-9907 died standing against Red Skull, it was only natural for someone to pick it up again and uphold its values. Captain America himself gave Carter the shield during an interdimensional mission, and is seemingly similar to the original shield Earth-616 Cap has. Meaning that it is a disc-shaped, highly indestructible shield composed of Vibranium and a Proto-Adamantium alloy that cannot be duplicated. 
 
Shannon has ways to use this weapon both offensively and defensively. Offensively, she can use the shield to cut through objects or throw it precise enough to bounce on walls or surfaces, sometimes thinner objects like poles, often to strike an enemy from behind or disarm someone from afar. Defensively, it can withstand a terrifying amount of force, from blocking punches to blocking gun and laser fire, and even energy beams.

Disc Weapons



Her bracers store round, star decorated discs that can be launched as projectiles. Even if launching them isn’t an option, Shannon has shown an equal amount of skill in throwing them just like her shield. Though they likely aren’t made of the same properties as the original shield, they’re still potent enough to knock out grown men and can similarly shoot them to bounce off solid surfaces.

Dream Machine



Shannon’s main method of transportation is her motorcycle, with its own seat ejection system.

Abilities

Huntress

Peak Human Condition



Helena’s training since childhood has granted her the physicality of an Olympic level athlete. Her reflexes are sharp enough that she can kick someone immediately upon waking up, but the most impressive thing about her is her strength. She’s been able to elbow a muscular man with her broken shoulder, and could still hold herself up despite being stabbed in one arm. Even while suffering those same injuries, she could still punch out, lift, and throw grown men.

Law

Given her credentials, Helena is an expert in the fields of civil and criminal law. Even her fellow attorneys have admitted she’s a damn good lawyer.

Investigation



Being the daughter of the world’s greatest detective, Huntress has naturally followed in Batman’s shoes as a top-flight criminologist. She’s scanned a crime scene for fingerprints and deduced the culprit’s son was an addict, determined a man’s paintings were really spectrograph readings, and identified toxic chemicals, forged documents, and fake statues.

She’s even used her detective skills to analyze opponents and exploit their weaknesses.

Weapons Mastery

Helena is noted to be an expert with many weapons, such as knives, cat o’ nine tails, dart guns, and batarangs.

Lockpicking



Being the daughter of the world’s greatest cat burglar, Helena is an expert at picking locks, with it being said no lock is safe from her fingers. She could even bypass the security systems of the Wayne Foundation Building, which were meant to be impenetrable.

Gymnastics



Thanks to her childhood training, Huntress has become a superb gymnast. She can flip, bounce, and reposition herself across her apartment (which doubles as her gym) with ease and flip herself while tied to a chair.

Marksmanship



Huntress has displayed expert marksmanship, whether it’s with her crossbow, knives, or paper balls. She’s able to shoot out all 4 of a car’s tires, hit a man through a glass window, beat a technologically advanced bank robber in a quickdraw, and intercepted miniature homing buzz saws.

Hand-to-Hand Combat





Thanks to her training, Huntress has become a master of many forms of armed and unarmed combat. She’s capable of suplexing others, taking them out with nerve pinches and strikes to the throat, and besting martial artists like the original Huntress with grappling and pins.

Stealth



As expected from the daughter of Batman, Huntress is capable of remaining undetected whether in shadows or in public. She can track dangerous criminals and fellow heroes for up to a day without them noticing; sneak into highly secure museums, prisons, and mansions without tripping off their alarms; vanish from sight like her old man, and take down criminals without being seen. She’s even managed to avoid complete detection from Darkseid!

Judo





A competitive martial art focusing on strikes from the hands and feet, as well as the use of weapons for defensive purposes. Practitioners of judo (called judoka) use these techniques with the goal of throwing an opponent to the ground, immobilizing or subduing them with a pin, or forcing them to submit via joint locks or chokes.

Intimidation



Huntress has shown an extreme willingness to intimidate others for intel or to discourage criminals from breaking the law. She’s so intimidating she’s even scared high profile criminals into unconsciousness.

Acting



Huntress has feigned injury and unconsciousness to get opponents to lower their guard. She’s also used yoga training to control her breathing for the latter.


American Dream

Peak Human Condition




The American Dream has been training all her life to become a superhero, and is considered a world-class super-athlete, capable of doing things beyond what a normal human can do, like running at olympic level speeds, fighting for long durations of time, and powering through injuries most couldn’t handle on their best day. She is capable of jumping incredible distances despite carrying civilians.

Acrobatics


Having done gymnastics from a young age, Shannon is capable of performing impressive acrobatic stunts, and is often incorporated in her fights, jumping around the enemy and waiting for the perfect moment to attack. She can front-flip, perform somersaults, leap from rooftop to rooftop, and use agility to avoid attacks simply beyond dodging them. She can do a backflip to avoid a police car crushing her, or to avoid a strike from the Silicone man, or to avoid an even bigger version called the Silikong, even when carrying someone.

Marksmanship



By throwing her shield, the American Dream can perform a punch of different attacks and techniques, like using multiple surfaces to extend the attack range of the shield, and allow it to come back to her. Such feats require intense precision, and Shannon has shown many feats that prove she has the throw of a true Captain America. She threw her discs through large cables of a cryogenic chamber, destroyed a jetpack of an Americop mid-air while backflipping over him with her discs, and most impressively, ricochets her shield on a tree and into a building to break SS Agent’s grip on her, slicing off her hair to force him to let go.

Martial Arts Training



Since she was younger, Shannon has trained in martial arts under the tutelage of Clint Barton, put through rigorous training that helped her focus on balance, reflexes, dexterity, and general hand-to-hand combat, like kung fu or karate. She’s considered skilled enough that she received a letter inviting her to a martial arts tournament, though she declined.

Lockpicking



Shannon has in her boot a little lockpick kit full of tools designed to break out of chains, handcuffs, or other restraints. With her lockpicking skills, she's escaped from her prison cell despite being tied to a chair within the cell.

Resistances

Huntress

Existence Erasure:
When the Adjudicator began erasing all life in the multiverse, Huntress- among ten other heroines- was affected slower than everyone else.

American Dream

Energy Projection:
The shield has shown frequent durability feats against particularly powerful energy blasts.

Feats

Huntress

Overall


  • On her first night as a vigilante, she avenged Catwoman’s death by defeating her killer
  • Saved Wildcat and Star-Spangled Kid after they were captured by Strike Force
  • Casually defeated Earth-One’s Catwoman
  • Teamed up with Earth-One’s Batgirl and Batwoman to defeat Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and the fortune teller Madame Zodiac
  • Defeated her villainous (and unintended) namesake while retrieving Icicle’s freeze ray from the JSA headquarters
  • Uncovered the murderer of Terry Sloane, the first Mr. Terrific
  • Worked with Power Girl to stop a crime wave across Gotham
  • Ended an attempted prison break from the musclebound inmate Lionmane and defeated him in combat while suffering a broken shoulder
  • Defeated the Joker in one punch
  • While visiting Earth-One for Christmas, she acted as Gotham’s guardian during Batman’s brief retirement
  • Helped Earth-One Batman clear his father’s name after he’d been posthumously framed
  • Defeated Crimelord despite him battering her and disabling both of her arms
  • Rescued the Wayne family butler Alfred Beagle after he was taken hostage
  • Broke out of Arkham Asylum after she’d been placed there by the Undertaker’s partner Milo
  • Her backups in Wonder Woman became the highlight for many readers over the comics’ main stories.
  • Cofounded Infinity Inc with Power Girl
  • Stopped a morally inverted Robin from killing Tony Zucco
  • Cleared the JSA’s name after they were accused of treason during World War 2
  • Survived the destruction of the multiverse and being implanted into the unified New Earth

Strength




American Dream

Overall


  • Became an employee at Avengers Mansion
  • Joined a new line-up of the Avengers, the A-Next, eventually becoming its leader
  • Saved the original Avengers from an evil dimension
  • Has aided the A-Next in defeating enemies such as the Serpent Men, Dr. Doom, the Revengers, and Loki
  • Defeated the Fatal Force, an evil version of the Fantastic Four
  • Stopped Galactus and his machine when he landed on Earth
  • With the Captain America Corps, overthrew the Americommand

Strength




Shannon:

Shield:

Speed




Durability




Shannon:


Scaling

Huntress

Batman (Earth-One and Earth-Two)



Regardless of what universe she’s in, Huntress has managed to casually best members of Batman’s rogues gallery, so she should be comparable to him.


Batgirl and Batwoman



During their team up, Huntress. Batwoman and Batgirl were shown to be physically comparable to each other.

American Dream

Sabreclaw



This would purely be for her shield. Sabreclaw has gotten bashed in the head by her shield, and the shield has shrugged off his scratches from his adamantium sheaths point-blank. If you’re wondering why its used for shield scaling, its for two reasons; one, to get the point across that its comparable to the normal shield Steve uses, and two, Shannon is a baseline peak human, thus there isn’t a whole lot of scaling that can be drawn upon without coming to massively stretched conclusions.

Captain America (Debatable)



Also via the shield, given her current shield was from a deceased Steve Rogers that tried to stand up to Red Skull but died. One detail about Cap’s shield is not only does it provide durability from attacks he cannot survive, but it can absorb kinetic energy from the impact of such devastating attacks, that way every time Steve is hit with a powerful attack, he doesn’t just instantly go into the ground, and the same applies to Shannon given she’s experienced attacks like AoE energy blasts. And given its showings against adamantium and more powerful enemies, it is fair to assume that the shield is comparable to Steve’s shield, thus she can likely compare to feats Steve has with his shield, though not necessarily in precision, skill, and usage of the shield.


Misc. Street Tiers (Debatable)



Shannon is a peak human, and in the comic book world, peak humans perform feats that in real life, you’d certainly die trying. And Earth-616 has no shortage of peak humans, punching out of their league and surviving things out of their league. It is debatable however how much leeway you can give Shannon due to the fact that she’s never really interacted from Earth-616 outside of the Avengers, so its difficult to compare them initially, but if you argue that she is relative to her fellow peak humans, she would scale to:


Weaknesses

Huntress


Huntress may be a worthy successor to Batman’s cowl, but that doesn’t make her invincible. It’s been shown that enough force- be it blows to the head, strangulation, or explosions- can knock her out just like anyone else, and she has no defenses against knockout gas or psychic attacks. It doesn’t help that her spandex costume provides little to no protection, and her cape is an especially vulnerable area. Though that last point is mitigated by the fact that she can unhook it.

In terms of what she hasn’t overcome, she’s been noted by others to be stubborn and obsessive to the point of monomania.

But the biggest weakness she has is her portrayal during Convergence, where she’s written as an impulsive, violent idiot who insults Robin for his costume choice, tries to kill Red Son Superman on two separate occasions, and still threatens to kill him even though he’s explicitly doing everything he can to avoid fighting them! Then she gets pissed at Robin when he says he can’t go through with killing Superman! And after all that the comic tries to brush it off with some meta commentary where Helena goes “Wow, I was really out of character, huh? Wonder what that was all about!”

American Dream



Unlike most Captain America’s, this version has a big difference; she isn’t a super soldier or superhuman. At most, she is a peak human. Which is still very impressive, but as such, she comes with the limitations that normal humans come with, and can be put down with sufficient force if possible. And while her shield is extremely durable, it is not invincible, and Steve’s own shields have on occasion been damaged in the past. The shield can also be taken from her or disarmed from her if an opponent is fast enough like Spider-Girl, who uses Spider Sense to easily react to her close quarters attacks and simply catch the shield in her hand. Lastly, she finds it harder to use acrobatics or maneuver in tighter areas.

Summary

Huntress



“I may have learned how to fight for the law in congress and the courts, but I was born to defend it in the streets.”


Advantages:
  • Stronger whether we use direct feats or scaling
  • At least relative in speed with scaling
  • Better showings of durability and pain tolerance
  • More experienced
  • Superior CQC skills
  • Larger, more varied arsenal…
  • Tranq darts and sleeping gas would instantly incapacitate Shannon
  • Stealth gives her better maneuverability around the battlefield
  • Became so popular that DC received a ton of letters demanding she receive her own series…
  • Best friends with Power Girl
  • Her writing under Paul Levitz

Disadvantages:
  • Slower if we only use direct feats
  • …But Shannon’s shield nullifies most of her options
  • Less tactically intelligent
  • Inferior when it comes to marksmanship showings
  • …But when they finally did, they replaced her with Helena Bertinelli
  • The time she and her stepbrother had romantic tension
  • Len Wein’s writing in the Convergence spin-off


American Dream



“I didn’t join the Avengers because I like to fight, mister–I’m here because someone has to protect the innocent from power-mad lunatics like you!”


Advantages:
  • Faster with direct feats, comparable in speed with scaling
  • More intelligent in terms of battle tactics
  • Superior marksmanship
  • Shield can block Helena’s offensive weaponry and could potentially kill her with the right attack 
  • Best friends with Spider-Girl

Disadvantages:
  • Weaker in terms of direct feats and scaling
  • Less durable
  • Less experienced
  • Less skilled in terms of CQC
  • Has no way of resisting the tranq darts or sleeping gas
  • Helena’s stealth can easily catch her off guard

Verdict


Stats

So we’ve got Batman vs Captain America in the form of their heroine successors. Will there be a difference this time? Can Shannon Carter succeed where her inspiration failed and take down the daughter of the Bat?

The answer is kinda hard to explain.

Let’s start off with stats. Both women have shown some impressive feats, with American Dream being able to consistently floor villains in one punch and stagger silicone monsters. Meanwhile, you’ve got Huntress one-shotting enemies like Joker and Catwoman, elbowing a muscular crime boss with a broken shoulder, and being able to choke and throw a man with an arm that was previously stabbed.

When it comes to speed, American Dream should take it if we go solely by direct feats, given her ability to react to automated gunfire on a daily basis and frequent laser timing. This puts her significantly ahead Huntress, whose best feats are vanishing from sight and dodging bullets. On the flip side, Huntress should take durability with how she’s remained conscious through repeatedly being choked, stabbed, having her shoulder broken and pulled out of its socket, and taking intense beatings.

Of course, this is just with direct feats. When we factor in scaling, things get a bit more interesting.

When it comes to scaling, these two are very much relative to the peak humans in their franchises. The wording of franchise is important, since both are from alternate realities, yet they’ve still firmly held their own in situations that require them to face enemies stronger than them. But who has the better scaling? Looking at Helena’s side, she should be comparable to the Batman of Earth-One, who is much stronger then Adam Strange, as Adam has struggled to contend with Gotham thugs, while Batman beat Adam’s foes, the Rann’s without much issue. Adam’s spacesuit is durable enough to survive being accelerated by Earth's expansion, which would be a feat worth 77.06 kilotons of TNT, around baseline town level, and thus would scale to Adam’s wife Alanna Strange, who dodged near-lightspeed lasers, shown to be able to zoom fast enough to react to them, which would be about 0.6216 - 1.119 c.

For the American Dream, starting with the shield, it should be fairly comparable to Captain America’s own shield. In her universe, it harmed superhumans physically out of her caliber such as Sabreclaw, and survived his adamantium sheaths, meaning it holds up physically against more powerful threats similar to Steves. And we all know very well the kind of damage Captain America’s shield can withstand, most notably a point-blank strike from Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, and in raw cutting power has taken out superior foes like the Doombots, though it should be noted that Doombots can vary in power due to the purposes they serve, as some are meant to fight Silver Surfer, while others act as basic guards without much power. Physically, if you compare her to the street tiers of Earth-616, she would scale to feats such as Nick Fury Jr. as a kid surviving an orbital bombing, only taking damage to his eye, which would be a feat about 45.65 tons of TNT-5.5 kilotons of TNT, around multi-city block to small town level. And speed-wise, she would compare to people like Moon Knight, who can block a beam of light with a mirror, reacting to a beam 44% the speed of light.

So using their best scaling for either, Huntress has a greater advantage, being about a tier above Shannon and a bit faster as well, due to the superior peak human feats performed in DC as opposed to Marvel. People may be wondering where feats are from Beast or even Captain America, and the reason why it would be hard to justify that sort of scaling is that Shannon isn’t a superhuman, and only a peak human. Superhumans are more akin to large-scale feats like surviving massive explosions and reacting with nano or picosecond feats, and usually when it comes to the peak humans, it would be weird to say that anyone would downscale from these sorts of feats. There’s even proof in Shannon’s own feats, as a bulletproof Silicone monster was capable of eventually physically overwhelming her and knocking her out, showing that physically she will have limits to what sort of damage she can take and still stand.

With DC, there isn’t a rhyme or reason for why there are stronger feats at this level then Marvel’s peak humans, other than…there just is. There’s no ulterior motivation, and really it just means that what DC considers peak human can be different from what Marvel considers peak human. And that’s ok! Because usually, stats aren’t always the deciding factor. So while Helena may be stronger, more durable and faster, Shannon has a shield that if used properly, would take out Helena with ease. So let’s navigate over to their other advantages.

Arsenal & Abilities

In terms of their abilities, they share plenty of similarities. They’ve both trained to their physical peaks, are accomplished gymnasts, received martial arts training, and have expertise in lockpicking. But when you look at things a bit further, the advantages start to become a bit clearer.

Of the two, Dream has displayed more impressive showings of marksmanship compared to Huntress. But in terms of acrobatics, Helena training since childhood gives her more experience than Shannon, who only began training later in life. And when it comes to combat training, Huntress takes that too. That’s not to say Dream is completely unskilled- far from it. It’s just that Huntress has shown a mastery of more forms and techniques such as grappling, suplexes, nerve pinches, strikes to the throat, and judo throws or flips.

But that’s not all she has. There’s one big skill that American Dream doesn’t really have any showings of: stealth. Being able to track others for up to a day unnoticed, vanish from sight, and take others down with stealth attacks are all major advantages in a battle like this. Should she find herself on the back foot at any point, nothing’s stopping Helena from just retreating into the shadows and either studying Shannon to come up with a plan or take her down while she’s off guard. Granted, Helena’s mind is more geared toward detective work than battle strategies, and since Shannon is more likely to use her brains for combat purposes, this ultimately raises the question, would either one have some means of overcoming this?

To answer that, let’s take a look at their arsenals. While both have means of attacking others from afar, Huntress has a wide range of options to choose from. Her crossbow alone has tranquilizer darts as its default ammo, which are so potent that even the tiniest scratch will knock you out for several hours. Even if she were disarmed or her crossbow was broken, Huntress could fall back on her batarangs, various knives, and bat-rope to handle Dream from afar. The smoke pellets and grappling hooks would make for useful distractions and give her a way of putting distance between them, and the collapsible net and stun gun would restrain Shannon or paralyze her long enough for Helena to potentially do her in. And while it would take some time to set up, if nothing else her bomb would easily do the trick considering it can blow through 4 inches of steel.

There’s just one major problem: the shield. With its nigh-indestructible nature and offensive capabilities, the vibranium shield would not only nullify most of Helena’s arsenal, it could potentially kill her as well! This could significantly change the course of the fight, since all Shannon needs is to get in the right position, swing her shield, and it’ll shred through Huntress no problem, right?

It could under the right circumstances, but while the shield is strong enough to decapitate a regular person, it still needs to actually hit its target to do that. And that’s going to be a bit difficult when you’re fighting an opponent who could vanish from sight, blind you with a smoke pellet, or specializes in grappling and pins while up close. It doesn’t help that Huntress has one weapon in her arsenal that even a vibranium shield can’t protect from: sleeping gas pellets. These mini smoke bombs are stated and shown to knock others out almost instantly with even the slightest whiff, meaning Shannon could accidentally inhale some lingering fumes and she’d instantly be out of the fight.

Tertiary Factors

In terms of overall skill, by comparison both the Huntress and the American Dream are very comparable in what they know. While Helena has been a gymnast since she was a little girl, Shannon made it an effort to start training from a lower point in her life, and has since dedicated lots of her training to mastering acrobatics, and her time with the Avengers has given her more opportunities to train with advanced robots with various features to help her stay light on her feet, and very much incorporates this into her fighting style more than Helena, so it is fair to say they are both very experienced with agility.


In terms of pure hand-to-hand combat, Helena has been stated to be a master of many forms of unarmed combat, such as suplexing, knows nerve pinches, even defeating fellow martial artists like the first Huntress, via grappling and pins, as well as knowing judo, and is also very versatile in the weapons she uses, so it can be argued that Helena up-close is a more well-rounded fighter. That’s not to say American Dream is far behind however, as she has learned specific weapon fighting styles like quarterstaff fighting, and is considered a competent fighter by stronger characters like Spider Girl, who actively sought her out to sharpen her skills, and knows a good degree of martial arts like kung fu.

When it comes to marksmanship abilities, Shannon with the shield should be more than a match for Helena’s own weapons, often using it for disarming or taking out important weapons such as jetpacks mid-air, or using it for more impressive and precise feats like slicing off her own hair by bouncing the shield on multiple surfaces to break SS Agent’s grip on her. Though Helena has similar types of feats like shooting out all four of a car’s tires and intercepting miniature homing buzz saws, the shield is a more efficient tool for these types of feats, though her miniature discs can certainly be matched by Huntress’s own knives or crossbow. But due to her training and feats with the shield, Shannon is going to be the better marksman.

Now in terms of overall experience and intellect, Helena would take the more notable advantages. Even though her time as a vigilante was roughly a year long, Huntress has shown a wider skillset. She’s a very accomplished detective, being called the sharpest deductive mind of her world to the point of being able to analyze an opponent’s weakness mid-battle, her stealth is strong enough to allow her to vanish out of sight, and she’s picked up many skills like acting and intimidation tactics to help solve her cases. The only skill they weirdly have in common is lockpicking, with Helena being able to bust open the security system of the Wayne Foundation and Shannon being equipped with a lockpick case in her boot if the time calls for it. Shannon does have very good tactical thinking on the battlefield and can think of plans on the fly, but the same can be said for a crimefighter like Helena, who specializes in much more combat scenarios that aren’t just hand-to-hand. And even in general intelligence, Helena has a lot more to her name, having credentials in the fields of civil/criminal law, being a certified lawyer, and a one of the top criminologists in the world, whereas Shannon doesn’t have a whole lot of specialization due to going from an Avengers Mansion tour guide to a member of the Avengers on a dime due to her connections from her cousin.

Conclusion

Both Huntress and American Dream have many capabilities, talents, and feats that give them the deserving names of upholding their other-earth predecessor’s legacies, but much of the fight is in favor of the Huntress having the right kind of advantages for a fighter like the American Dream. While both are considered peak human, and have similar feats of standing up to enemies stronger than them, Helena’s higher ends with scaling are higher then with Shannon’s, with speed being much more comparable due to Shannon’s immense focus on acrobatics and agility, having no issue being able to evade lots of Helena’s weaponry, but ultimately up-close they should be roughly comparable.

In terms of weapons, Helena has much more on her front for lots of situations, like knives for up-close, or batarangs, a batline, her crossbow, sleeping gas, or tranquilizer darts, even having weapons for restraint such as nets. While a lot of these are easily countered with Shannon’s shield and own gauntlet discs, there isn’t really a good way for her to resist something like being knocked out via tranquilizers or sleeping gas, which would end the fight pretty easily if the option was landed. Similarly, one swipe of the shield from Shannon and Helena’s head is getting taken off pretty easily, so it is a battle where either has ways to end the fight with their weapons, and it is likely a matter of who can do so first. In this case, the situations much more favor Helena.

While both are peak humans, Huntress has far more capabilities and ways to avoid the shield then vice versa, being able to employ stealth tactics which can set her up for more attacks like landing a nerve pinch, or a crossbow arrow from a place that Shannon can’t really see where it is coming from due to lack of super senses. And while Helena with the shield can control the battlefield very well, Helena’s own experience with weapons can more then likely prepare her for a situation where avoiding the sharp end of a shield is needed, and her battle analysis can figure this out pretty quickly, leaving her with more options, from taking the shield to using judo on her hands or feet, whereas Shannon has only one option.

And lastly, Helena is just as much prepared for close quarters as Shannon is, being smart and tactical enough to be able to stand her ground and realize the threat the shield poses, and with her slightly better speed can plan around it. Shannon may be a generally better marksman and acrobat, but Helena also has ways of controlling where she wants to fight with her stealth options, making long-range an option or short range, which can be problematic for someone like Shannon, who struggles to keep up in more closed-in environments, something Helena is very accustomed to when it comes to using her martial arts techniques. And with her superior smarts, one way or another, Helena will find an opening and be able to take out Shannon in more ways than Shannon’s one way.

The winner is the Huntress. 

Final Tally

The Huntress (2) - Bang, Br3ndan5

The American Dream - (0)



Afterword

Hey, Brendan here. Full disclosure: this wasn’t supposed to be the blog that came out after Ragna vs Velvet. I originally wanted to have Azula vs Cinder be the next time, but the research process is taking a lot longer than I expected. So to make up for it, I decided to swap things around and focus on this as a side project. Hope you enjoyed this surprise blog, and with some luck, Azula vs Cinder will be out soon!

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