Cain vs Gaunt

[TWF]

In a chain-blade duel, who would win? Secondly, who is the more interesting or likeable Commissar?

[Darklyre]

As I always say, Khârn the Betrayer was pretty fun to be around, and contrary to popular belief he actually had a sense of humor as well. Probably the best example was in the middle of the campaign during a sweeping of an Imperial Guard command post, with Khorne Berserkers and our Red Rivers company marching directly into the defensive fire. The closer we got, the more apparent it became that the only thing holding the Guardsmen together was a grizzled looking Commissar in full uniform, one gun turned on us and another firing on any of his men who looked like running.

Khârn was at the tip of the assault, and so he got to the Commissar first, plucking the screaming officer up by the neck and holding him over his head.

Then, out of nowhere one of the other berserkers grabs the Commissar's legs and roars "MAKE A WISH!". Well, as you can imagine everyone on both sides forgets about the fight, and watches Khârn and this other Khorne worshipping marine just start pulling on this Commissar at both ends, the old man screaming out oaths and curses like you wouldn't believe! You could almost hear the sound of flesh tearing and bone snapping over the cheering.

Then, Khârn just let go. Totally not expecting it and pulling with all his might, the Khorne Berserker just falls backwards and starts tumbling with the near dead Commissar into a damaged Hellhound, his armor grating off it and sparking!

Well, after the explosion we all turned back to Khârn, who had managed to keep a hold of the Commissar's fancy hat. Ol' Khârn put it on, and damned if it wasn't the funniest thing any of us had ever seen... till he turned to us and bellowed "I'M THE NEW COMMISSAR" at us.

They tell me five thousand traitor guardsmen died that day before someone could get that hat off him.

What a kidder!

[TWF]

I want Cain vs Gaunt debate.

[Wiser Guy]

Can you provide links? There's a million Cains and I can't find a Gaunt.

Man, a great thing about the OBD is you get introduced to a lot of obsure mangas/animes that you wouldn't have heard from otherwise...

[TWF]

Commissar Cain and Gaunt from Warhammer 40k.

[Arishem]

Commissar Ciaphas Cain and Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt are both from the dark scifi universe of Warhammer 40k. They both carry the title of Commissar, and it's their job to maintain the morale and discipline of the unit they're assigned to. Both of them have survived hellish battlefields and pulled victory out of their asses in seeminly hopeless situations.

Commissar Gaunt (the guy in the bottom-left hand corner)
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8408/ibramgauntju7.jpg

Commissar Cain (the guy in the upper-left hand corner)
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5324/ciaphascainpt4.jpg

In terms of skills and accomplishments, I'm going to go with Gaunt. He's survived more battles and seems to do so more with skill than luck. A fight between the two might be a different matter though. Gaunt is getting old, and Cain is young and built like Schwarzenegger in his prime.

[TWF]

Wasn't Cain regarded by Amberley to be quite possibly one of the greatest swordsmen in the Imperium?

And I don't know how old Gaunt was when he eventually died, but Cain was over 2 centuries old and fought off a Chaos invasion force with just a handful of cadets.

[Crimson Dragoon]

Cain is a good duelist with a chainsword, IIRC. He seems to wield it in a one-hand style.

[Arishem]

I think so. Damn, I really need to finish the CC Omnibus. I'm juggling three of the compilation books at the same time. Gaunt is also considered an excellent swordsman, but he's always been on the lanky side. It really could go either way at their skill level, but it seems like Ciaphas could muscle through Ibram's guard.

Gaunt isn't dead yet in his series, but there are rumors that he's finally going to kick the bucket in the next book. It's not uncommon in the Imperium for important people to be a couple centuries old before they die. I always wonder how powerful the IoM would be if it weren't slowly circling the drain.

[TWF]

He seems to be more instinctive with it too, even the teachers of chainsword dueling at the Academii couldn't best him after being two centuries old and rusty. :lmao

[Darklyre]

Chainsword dueling - most badass sport ever.

Cain would likely win in a fight between the two, since he's not only younger, but more skilled in actual fighting. As for combat between armies, I'd give it to Gaunt. He's got more experience on the field, and has led almost all kinds of missions, from pure assault to undercover (Gereon) to last stands. Personal skill aside, Gaunt seems to have more actual ability as compared to Cain's luck.

Cain is much more hilarious though.