The Character Clash tournament is heating up. Round 2 was a veritable galaxy of matchups that blazed brighter than a thousand stars.

Some characters clearly emerged as top contenders, while others found themselves engaged in a life-or-death fray. (Hunger Games, anyone? Except Katniss lost already…so that doesn’t really work.

Who continues blazing a path toward victory, and who has now been sidelined?

Here are the updated brackets as we move into the quarterfinals.

Now for the summaries.

Fantasy

In what amounted to Middle-earth vs. Narnia, Lord of the Rings displayed its superiority.

Sam Gamgee defeats Reepicheep

This battle can be summed up in four words. Loyalty. Honor. Small stature.

In the smallest (according to size, anyway) clash thus far, two heroic characters met. A gardener and a warrior. Such was the esteem on both sides that neither wished to embarrass the other.

Reepicheep advocated for a duel, while Sam preferred the idea of a cook-off. This led to some distinctly mashed taters and a rapier-turned-skewer loaded with vegetables.

In the end, Reepicheep, despite his many accolades and feats of derring-do, was no match for the humble Shire hobbit.

Red-faced and muttering apologies because “I don’t rightly know why people love me so much,” Sam forged ahead with a decisive win.

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Gandalf defeats Lucy Pevensie

Age versus youth.

Wisdom versus faith.

Gandalf flexed his muscles (do wizards have impressive biceps?) in this bout. Lucy’s bravery and adventurous spirit couldn’t compete against the White Wizard.

Yet as the gracious Narnia queen she is, she said after the match, “Gandalf deserved to win. He’s a wizard after all. I wish him the best of success.”

In similar fashion, Gandalf replied, “A deserving young woman if ever I saw one.”

Though he did remind Lucy…

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Aragorn defeats Edmund Pevensie

This battle pitted two opposites. Aragorn, the king whose loyalty never failed. Edmund, king who began as a traitor.

In the end, Aragorn’s greater experience, Ranger ruggedness, swordplay, and wavy hair won out. Edmund, to his credit, refused to let the defeat unsettle him. The opponents were seen after the battle exchanging a firm handshake and words of mutual respect.

Puddleglum defeats Saruman

“Don’t imagine I have much chance of beating a wizard. It will be a sound trouncing, I shouldn’t wonder.”

Puddleglum’s outlook at the start of this round left little room for optimism. For all his rainy-day predictions, the Marshwiggle showed surprising grit when facing a wizard.

Puddleglum attributed his victory to having water and wax in his ears, preventing Saruman’s honey-covered words from addling his brain.

Saruman joined Iron Man in Stark’s Tower, presumably to participate in Iron Man’s ongoing pity party. But rumor has it Saruman was merely jealous of someone who has a tower.

Apparently his loss of Orthanc still stings.

Science Fiction

Loki defeats Spiderman

“I entered this tournament expecting to win, and I intended to do no less.”

Such were Loki’s words after his narrow defeat of Spiderman. One attack against New York may have failed Odin’s adopted son, but this time, against one of the city’s favored, Loki proved his power.

Some outcry has arisen, given the close nature of the contest, that foul play was involved on Loki’s part.

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He denied the accusations, saying, “I’m an Asgardian god, you mewling fools. I deserved to win. I will not suffer such disgraceful claims to tarnish my name.”

Darth Vader defeats Spock

Spock finally met someone who could resist his paralyzing shoulder pinch. To which he replied in Vulcan perfection, “Highly illogical.”

Vader had his own thoughts, after slashing his way into the quarterfinals with his lightsaber. “I found his lack of faith…disturbing.”

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Han Solo defeats Leia Skywalker

All’s fair in love and war, especially when a tournament championship is on the line.

That could have been Han’s motto for this round. He went in all guns blazing, and Leia really didn’t stand a chance. Was it a case of a Jedi blinded by love? Perhaps. More likely, Han just wants to win that badly.

He profusely apologized afterward, insisting he still loved her more than anything, though Leia refused to acknowledge his over-the-top efforts to console her.

The 11th Doctor defeats Star-Lord

Houston, we have a problem.

A TIE!

That’s right. The fez-capped wielder of the sonic screwdriver and the dancing thief earned the same number of votes. Which brought about the following conversation.

SL: We need a dance-off, bro. You and me, right here, right now. Best moves goes on.

11: I think not. I would hate to embarrass you in front of your friends. We all know Who’s boss.

SL: Who is?

11: Exactly.

SL: Broski, stop playing them weird alien mind games with me. I just wanna dance. Drop the beat and let’s get this party rockin’.

11: You do realize it’s hard for me to officially die? As in, I’ve had hundreds and thousands of years to perfect every dance move known to every species on every world in every galaxy.

SL: Okay, before we start, lemme find a pin to pop your giant ego. How do you fit an ego that ginormous inside your tiny police box?

11: It’s bigger on the inside.

Why did 11 win? I had to break the tie, and though Star-Lord is a guardian of the galaxy, the Time Lord is the guardian of the universe. Kinda hard to top that.

Plus, bow-ties are cool. 😉

How It Works (in case you’re new or are like me and have a hard time remembering things) 😛

• Voting begins today and runs through Friday
• Voting will happen in the special Facebook group created for the tournament
• If you don’t have Facebook (don’t worry, I won’t judge…mostly), you can vote here in the comments
• You can vote for every matchup
• A new round begins every Monday
• The winner of each bracket will meet in the final to determine the champion
• The more the merrier, so spread the word on social media

Which matchup are you most looking forward to this round? I’d love to hear your thoughts here or on social media.