“The Christmas tree is a symbol of love, not money. There’s a kind of glory to them when they’re all lit up that exceeds anything all the money in the world could buy.”
-Andy Rooney
The Grinch, the mean one who stole Christmas
Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town
Christmas, one of the most precious holidays. A holiday of gifting and sharing but most importantly a holiday of love. However, for these two they chose to steal the holiday from others. Whether they steal it for their own personal gain or even something more simple like being entranced by the holiday. Between the green furry Who and the lanky skeleton of Halloween Town, who will win a DEATH BATTLE?
Before We Start…
We will be using the games, shows, books, and most of the movies (Not the 2022 horror movie) for the Grinch. For Jack Skellington we will be using his movie, novels, comics, and games.
Background
The Grinch
“For the 53 years I’ve put up with this now. I must stop Christmas from coming, but how?”
Every Who in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But The Grinch who lived just North of Whoville did not. The green resident of Mount Crumpit never starts out very jolly nor nice however he eventually changes and is able to enjoy Christmas.
In every version of The Grinch’s story, he goes through certain events. It always starts atop Mount Crumpit. Here is where The Grinch spends his Christmas time loathing the holiday. Whether it be tight shoes or his head not being screwed on quite right, the real reason may be that his heart was three sizes too small. Every Christmas Eve he spent the Holiday hating the entirety of it. This would lead The Grinch to get an idea. An awful idea. He would get a wonderful, awful idea. He would steal Christmas from the Whos so that Christmas would never come. The Grinch then set out to make this plan come into fruition. He would assemble a ramshackle sleigh, a coat and hat just like the ones Santa himself wears. He would then head into Whoville to make an attempt to ruin everyone’s holiday. He would soon encounter Cindy Lou Who who believes he is the real Santa Claus. He gets her some water and is able to fully convince her that he is the real Santa and is only there to fix the tree. After the Mean One stole all of Christmas from Whoville, he had taken it to the top of Mount Crumpit and was ready to hear the cries of every Who as they realized what had happened. Instead The Grinch was in for a surprise. Instead of hearing sadness he heard the Whos singing happily as they always had. This made him realize something. Maybe Christmas wasn’t about the presents or trees or anything of the sort. There was a bit more to this time of year than he had anticipated. Soon after his sleigh nearly falls down the mountain. The true meaning of Christmas is realized by The Grinch. His heart then grew three sizes that day. The Grinch is then able to lift the sleigh with the power of ten Grinches plus 2 and barrels back to Whoville to return what he had stolen. He is even able to carve the roast beast.
Of course with a story like The Grinch’s story there are many interpretations. In one we don’t know exactly why he is how he is. In another he was bullied at school and moved up to the mountains. In yet another he had no family to celebrate Christmas with. No matter which version of the story you use he goes through the same set of events and always becomes a friend of the Whos in Whoville.
Jack Skellington
“That's it, no more Mr Nice Bones!"
There is a town unlike any of ours, which is home to many peculiar residents. Included in these residents is their leader, Jack Skellington who is also known as the Pumpkin King.
Before the events of the movie we all know, Oogie Boogie had tried taking over Halloween Town. Jack, who noticed something went wrong, set out to different locations in his land to figure out what’s going on with his precious home. Jack helps out the residents of Halloween Town throughout this event. He eventually makes it to Oogies lair which leads to an encounter with the culprit that’s been *bugging* everyone. Jack had defeated Oogie and forbids him from ever leaving his lair again. This results in Jack and Sally first meeting and when her feelings for him start. However unknown to everyone else Oogie had planned to get revenge.
Here we have the events of the movie as we know them. The residents of Halloween Town are doing their usual Halloween celebration. After the event, Jack was able to sneak away from the adoring townsfolk, where he reveals that he had been longing for something different…something more. Jack’s lamentations are heard by Sally who was watching, unbeknownst to him. However before Sally can reveal she had been listening, Jack had already wandered into the Hinterlands with Zero. Jack eventually runs into trees with holiday themed doors on them. Jack takes interest in the Christmas themed door and ends up in Christmas Town. Jack goes through the town and adores the Christmas holiday. After this Jack returns to his town and tries to explain the holiday to his citizens. The citizens don’t understand so Jack researches the topic and decides that he and the townsfolk would do Christmas this year. Sally has a dream that Christmas will go wrong and goes to warn Jack, who had already gotten too wrapped up in “Christmas”. Jack dismisses Sally despite her worries and continues his preparations. Jack then orders Lock, Shock, and Barrel to retrieve “Sandy Claws”. They then take him to Oogie’s Lair where Oogie Boogie himself tortures Santa. Soon after Jack had gotten ready and set out, it had turned out Sally was right all along. Sally finds out the military and attempts to save Santa but gets captured. After this Jack reaffirms himself as the Pumpkin King and finds out Santa had been kidnapped by Oogie Boogie. Jack goes to Oogie’s Lair and defeats him, which then allows him to free “Sandy Claws” and Sally. Santa then returns to the real world and saves Christmas. He then gives Halloween Town a taste of Christmas, fulfilling Jack’s former desire.
Next Halloween, Jack goes to Dr. Finklestein due to being disappointed with that years Halloween theme. Finklestein then gives Jack the Soul Robber (which doesn’t actually rob souls). Jack then sets out to find new ideas for Halloween. After he returns he finds out Oogie Boogie had been resurrected. Jack sets out to stop this. Jack sings, dances, and fights his way through Oogie’s forces before finishing off Oogie Boogie for good.
Experience and Skill
The Grinch
Genius Intellect
Surprisingly, The Grinch is actually incredibly smart. He has shown to make many of his gadgets with scraps and garbage around his cave, most noticeably the rocket sled. He is also a great manipulator and schemer, being able to manipulate his way out of tough situations.
Acrobatic
Even though he may not look like it, The Grinch is actually quite acrobatic. He is capable of swinging from pole to pole and even is able to swing up to other platforms.
Jack Skellington
Combat Skill
Being the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, you would expect he would have to fight for his spot. Jack has shown some level of combat skill as he is able to beat Oogie Boogie and his goons on numerous occasions in combat.
Acrobatic
Jack is capable of using his tall and slim body to flip and pirouette around the place, even back-flipping out of the way of an attack
Equipment
The Grinch
Acoustical Anti Auto Beeper
Also known as the Vacuum Sound Sweeper, this device sucks every noise and every sound, with a range of 50 miles. However, it does not suck air and oxygen.
Rotten Egg Launcher
The Rotten Egg Launcher, as said in the name, launches rotten eggs. The eggs when broken, release a vile smell which causes Who eyes to glaze over and Who mouths to gape. The invention was used to bother the people of Whoville from afar.
Binoculars
A simple gadget which allows him to see farther distances. It also increases his aim, allowing for him to hit targets easier.
Rocket Spring
The Rocket Spring is capable of launching the Grinch high into the air with a burst of wind. This allows him to get to places he normally cannot reach. However, like his gun, it requires rotten eggs as fuel.
Slime Shooter
As the gun says, it is capable of shooting out slime. When an opponent is hit with the slime shooter, they get completely encased in slime. Like his other gadgets, it takes rotten eggs as fuel.
Octopus Climbing Device
This device allows for The Grinch to traverse and climb walls. The only downside to this device is that the walls have to be flat or it will not work.
Grinch Copter
The Grinch Copter is a machine he can use to fly around. However it comes with a major weakness of using a lot of eggs to fuel. It is also affected by the altitude and the weather while it is used.
The Marine Mobile
The Marine Mobile is a submarine which The Grinch can use to traverse underwater. It is capable of blowing through stone walls and it has a boost which allows it to move faster than before.
Dark House
The Dark House is a device the Grinch uses that sends a beam of darkness out, causing the person hit with the beam to not be able to see even their hand directly in front of them. It can also do this, which retextured the Cat in the Hat, and he sent the Cat in some weird Reality Warping acid trip with the Dark House. Yeah this thing is weird. It does come with a weakness, that being, because it's a house, it isn't set up very easily. In a scenario like Death Battle, the Grinch wouldn't have many chances to use it.
Paraphernalia Wagon
The Paraphernalia Wagon is a large, you guessed it, wagon, that has something similar to its own dimension inside. It's main goal is to scare whoever enters the wagon, using a variety of creatures inside.
Rocket Powered Sleigh
A ramshackle sleigh made from what The Grinch could find laying around his house and the landfill. It is capable of shooting rotten eggs from the front. He even added his own little “reindeer” to lead the way.
Catapult
Here’s a giant catapult that Grinch was gonna use to destroy the Whos’ enormous Christmas tree. He failed miserably with it (because Illumination humor) but still something he apparently owns
Christmas Heist gear
The 2018 film turned the Grinch stealing Christmas into a full on Mission Impossible heist, with full on gadgets and everything. These include:
The Candy Cane Staff: This may look like a normal Candy Cane but this thing is surprisingly versatile. It can turn into a propeller to hover him in the air, use wheels to slow his descent in narrow holes, glow in the dark, work as a magnet, extend to hot things from afar, become a grappling hook, and it can shoot rope webs to trap presents and others.
Ninja Stars: Made to look like Christmas stars, these can be thrown with rope around them to keep people in place, which was used to steal the Whos’ Christmas trees.
Stretch Shoes: These can stretch outward to allow Grinch to take huge steps, perfect for traveling from house to house.
Vacuum: It’s just a vacuum.
Jack Skellington
Soul Robber
A green sticky-hand like goo that Jack uses as a gauntlet that can shape shift, it can also grab and toss people, but the longer it does, the weaker it becomes. Unlike the name implies, it does not actually rob souls.
Frog Gun
A frog shaped gun that fires Frog’s Breath at enemies. Frog’s Breath is a toxic adhesive found all throughout Halloween town. It’s extremely toxic, a simple dose can nearly knock someone out but, as Jack’s gun shows, enough of it can kill someone.
Bat Boomerang
The Bat Boomerang, another of Finkelstein’s many inventions, is a device that can summon up to 3 bats that fight on Jack's behalf and can be used to hit targets from far away. Also no, they don’t come back, it’s not a boomerang at all… odd.
Pumpkin Bombs
Found in the Pumpkin Patch, these bombs are exactly what they say on the tin, they blow up. Jack can’t throw them far but they pack on hell of a punch, being one of the best damage dealing weapons Jack owns. The problem comes from Jack only having them in limited amounts. Jack usually carries loads but if he’s not careful, he can end up wasting all his bombs.
Stretchy Ghosts
Sally’s favorite ability. Jack can get the help of these Stretchy Ghosts to give himself stretchy powers, allowing him to reach areas he couldn’t otherwise. The problem is, this power can only be used once until the ghost needs to grant Jack this power again. Still weird nonetheless.
Gum Shoes
Given to him by the Melting Man, these shoes allow Jack to climb up walls and get to high areas with ease.
Spring Water
A crystal bottle filled with water from the town’s fountain. When Jack drinks some, his health goes back to full.
Sleigh
The sleigh Jack used when he stole Santa’s job. It even has its own “Rudolf” to guide it through foggy weather.
Abilities
The Grinch
Double Jump?
The Grinch can somehow double jump.
Bad Breath
The Grinch's breath is so stinky that it can be used as a weapon. His breath is capable of allowing him to see things that the naked eye can’t see and it can weaken the enemy, presumably making them fall unconscious.
Limited Body Control
The Grinch has some level of limited Body Control. He is capable of twisting his head in a full 360 (shown in the gif), can squeeze his body through tight spaces which he otherwise would not fit, and can send his eyebrows out to attack people.
Fourth Wall Awareness
The Grinch has shown multiple instances of being aware of the audience and the narrator. He has been shown addressing the audience, making quips directly into the camera. He has been shown to interact with the narrator, like above and when he told him to speak quieter.
Dream Manipulation
This is fairly simple. The Grinch is capable of stealing things from people’s dreams, like when he stole plums from a Who’s dream.
Telepathy
The Grinch has shown minor levels of telepathy when he was able to hear his dog sing in his thoughts. However, he has not been able to show this in an actual combat setting.
Resistances
Cold Temperatures: Lives basically naked in an area filled with ice and snow
Limited Electricity Resistance: Survived being electrocuted with minimal damage.
Limited Heat Resistance: Survived being hit by hot steam with minimal damage.
Pain: Can twist his neck around with seemingly no pain. Also ate glass with no signs of feeling pain.
Jack Skellington
Skeleton Physiology
Jack, being a skeleton, has many abilities your traditional skeleton would, the most famous of which being the ability to remove parts of his body without injury (as shown above). He’s also immune to a lot of diseases and is basically fearless, fitting for the Pumpkin King.
Also, the question should be asked of how Jack actually suffers damage. Jack’s still been shown to feel pain, like when he engages in combat. We think it’s damage to the bones that makes Jack feel pain, tearing his arm off won’t do anything but breaking the bone would do the trick.
Fear Inducement
Because fucking duh. Jack’s the king for a reason, he’s famous around Halloween Town for being the most terrifying monster around, being so scary that he scares THEM. He’s stated to bring the most heartened men to their knees and even apparently kill them via heart attacks.
Electricity Healing
Jack has the odd ability to absorb electricity into his body in order to heal major wounds. He does this by sitting in nearby electric chairs to shock himself and get himself to full health. Also, in the game where this comes from, he can still get hurt by static electricity so idk.
Non-Corporeal Interaction
Jack can interact with ghosts and other intangible things, such as jumping on top of ghosts to use them as platforms (as shown above).
Melting (kinda)
Jack can use Mini Acid Pools to summon leaches to feast on him and turn him into goop, allowing him to reach places he couldn’t otherwise. He can also immediately undo this form whenever he wants to.
Sing Off
Somehow Jack is capable of making his opponents have a sing off with him in combat. Depending on how well he does against his opponent in this competition, he can deal damage to them in the form of music notes.
Resistances
Fire: Lit himself on fire within the first few minutes of the movie, with no signs of pain or injury.
Limited Electricity Resistance: Has shown to be able to heal himself from electricity. However, he has also been shown to be damaged by it. More info on that later
Forms
The Grinch
Redeemed Grinch
The Grinch gained this form when he realized what Christmas was really about. That day his heart grew three sizes bigger. With this form he gets a strength amp which gives him the strength of 10 grinches plus 2. (12 Grinches)
Jack Skellington
Pumpkin King
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King.
The Pumpkin King form is when Jack shows what he’s truly capable of, showing many powers including being capable of breathing out a stream of flames and sending out a powerful ring of flames around him.
Also, another ability of this form is using its fire manipulation to shoot himself forward in a huge flame burst. It’s worth noting that in the game this comes from (The Pumpkin King for GBA), it can only shoot itself forward and one can argue that is just a gameplay gimmick. This does make sense, considering the Metroidvania style of the game in question which would be really busted if you could just fly anywhere, but we’re limiting it shooting forward because nothing’s really been confirmed.
Santa Claus
Ho ho ho, after dawning his old Santa costume he gains a few new abilities. Jack is capable of throwing different presents at his foes each having a different effect. He can stun opponents, make them forget they are mad, freeze an enemy in a block of ice, or shield himself from attacks with his presents.
Support
The Grinch
Max
The Grinch’s trusty companion, Max. Max is presumably as old as The Grinch at 53 (that’s 9 dog years). Even though it may not look like it, Max is incredibly strong. He was capable of dragging the sled filled with presents to the top of the mountain.
Jack Skellington
Zero
Everyone’s favorite non corporal dog. As a ghost, Zero is capable of phasing through solid objects. However, his best ability is his speed. He was able to lead the way for Jack’s sleigh with his glowing nose, which can also detect when danger’s nearby.
Feats
The Grinch
Overall
Stole everything from Whoville in one night
Redeemed himself and returned everything that he had stolen
Was able to outsmart and terrorize The Cat in the Hat
Was capable of shooting down Santa from his sleigh while flying his own
Power
As shown above, he was able to lift a sled with bags full of Christmas trees, presents, lights, etc (322.8 Kilojoules - 739.4 Kilojoules)
Is capable of destroying a massive crate by jumping on it
Is capable of destroying massive blocks of ice by jumping on it (3.7656 Megajoules)
His Rotten Egg Launcher is capable of destroying a stone wall (20.83632 Megajoules)
His Marine Mobile is capable of destroying a large stone wall (1.23 Tons of TNT)
Sends a guy flying by jumping on a wooden plank
Is capable of pushing a large stone slab
Is capable of pulling a large safe from where it was and opening it by just jumping on it
Speed
Can avoid being hit by snowballs
Can avoid highly concentrated electrical energy
Was capable of keeping up to Santa’s sleigh on his own sleigh (0.5% SoL)
Durability
Illumination Humor
Can survive hits from random monsters
Can survive being electrocuted with minimal damage
Can survive being hit with hot steam with minimal damage
Survived a mine explosion which sent him flying and the fall to the ground
Jack Skellington
Overall
Defeated Oogie Boogie on multiple occasions
Stopped Oogie Boogie from taking over Halloween Town
Saved Santa Claus and Sally from being killed
Defeated Lock, Shock, and Barrel
Saved Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, Easter, and Christmas from being taken over by Oogie Boogie
Power
As shown above, was able to crush a Christmas ornament into fine dust
Can swing around larger skeletons with ease
Can lift large tombstones off the ground
Is strong enough to throw large clubs
Speed
Is capable of casually dodging an attack while flipping from random skeletons
Dodges out of the way from many of Oogie Boogie’s traps
Was capable of flying a sleigh comparable to Santa's due to it being able to fly all over the globe in a night (0.5% SoL)
Durability
Can survive getting shot down by an anti aircraft missile (18.143 Megajoules)
Can survive being hit by static electricity
Can survive hits from a massive Oogie Boogie
Weaknesses
The Grinch
The Grinch’s weakness can change from version to version but the consistent one is his sheer stubbornness. He’s very grumpy, he’ll go out of his way to make people’s lives worse just for the hell of it. To the point where he goes into town just to cause some havoc. Yeah, he’s a dick.
Also, in the 2000s film, he brings up that he’s a little messed up in the head, labeling himself as insane. Which makes sense, given the gif shown above.
Jack Skellington
Jack, despite being the king of Halloween, is actually a really nice dude… too nice. Jack has a history of trusting people who definitely shouldn’t be trusted, especially Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Aside from that, for a while, Jack didn’t feel at peace with himself, feeling something was missing in his spook filled life. He thankfully resolved this problem after marrying Sally, how lovely.
Before the Verdict
The Height of The Grinch
There is a popular theory that the Whoville in How the Grinch Stole Christmas is actually the Whoville in Horton Hears a Who. This would imply that The Grinch is the size of a spec. Now there is some evidence backing this up, mainly two key pieces; The Whos themselves looking similar and the whacky architecture. More evidence backing this up is that in the 2000 live action film, it all apparently takes place inside a snowflake.
Now, we think that there is enough evidence against this. For starters a key plot component in Horton Hears a Who is that the weather and movement changes sporadically due to it being on a speck. However, that is not the case for The Grinch’s as there are clear signs of the differing seasons, like Fall and Winter. Another point is that The Cat in the Hat was able to visit The Grinch. Obviously The Cat in the Hat is not the size of a speck and is shown to be the size of a human. Lastly, it is more likely these are two different Whovilles similar to how in real life there are towns named the same or they are in a separate universe entirely. Even with this proof, it is also just speculation that it is the same Whoville although it hasn’t been confirmed. Now for the sake of the battle, even if he was the size of a speck, we will be equalizing his size to about where he would be if he was normal size.
Country Busting
Both Grinch and Jack have arguments for being country level, via scaling to the potential kinetic energy of their sleighs (which would roughly equal 3 Teratons of TNT). However, we’ve opted to just not use those arguments, because not only is this a huge outlier for both, but there’s no evidence saying that this is something either would do in the first place, as it’s clearly not something they can survive. Plus, both sleighs have been taken down by far weaker stuff, even with all the modifications made to the Grinch’s. There’s no evidence saying either character could survive a country level attack
How does Jack’s healing work?
Jack has shown the ability to heal via shocking himself with an electric chair. But in the same game, Jack can be hurt by static electricity in the Doctor’s lab, so what gives? There are 4 ways to look at it, 1. Jack has a limit to how much electricity he can absorb, but that’s running off the idea that stray static electricity has more volts then the 20,000 volts of an electric chair, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. 2. Is that this was a gameplay oversight by the devs and should just be ignored, which is the honest but boring answer, plus there are way to many sections featuring the static electricity for it to be an oversight. 3. Is that Jack can only absorb electricity when it’s in a condensed state and not being clearly visible, a good answer but that begs the question of why the Chair isn’t working the same way, implying it’s not electricity in the first place. and finally 4. Jack can’t absorb the Dr. Electricity because of its properties. The electricity is found in Dr. Finklestein’s lab, where he gets into bizarre and crazy experiments thanks to the lightning being used in a lot of experiments (such as Sally), so it could be that Jack simply can’t because of the nature the lightning possesses and its also powering his entire lab so it’d be weird to steal for himself.
Verdict
Stats
First let us talk about their power. The best physical feat The Grinch has is surprisingly destroying a block of ice by jumping on it, which gets just under 4 Megajoules. Now The Grinch can get higher with different gadgets he has. His Rotten Egg Launcher has been shown to destroy stone walls which is about 20 Megajoules. However, his best AP feat would be his Marine Mobile getting 1.23 Tons of TNT by smashing into a stone wall. While this feat is considerably more than anything else The Grinch can do with his gadgets, it is important to note that the Marine Mobile can only be used in water. Thus unless the fight takes place in water the best he has for AP is 20 Megajoules thanks to the Rotten Egg Launcher.
Now while Jack doesn’t have much showings of actual power, we can look at his durability instead as he arguably scales to that in AP. Jack’s best durability feat was surviving being shot down by an anti-aircraft missile, a feat worth 18 Megajoules of TNT. This feat alone puts Jack physically more durable than what The Grinch can physically attack with. This also arguably makes Jack 4.5 times stronger than The Grinch if you believe Jack’s durability = AP. However, even if you don’t buy Dura = AP, I still think Jack has a case of being stronger than The Grinch due to the fact he was able to physically damage and beat a giant Oogie Boogie. This version of Oogie Boogie was about the size of a building. So saying Oogie Boogie is arguably building level and Jack beat him making Jack building level shouldn’t be out of the question.
When gadgets come into play, things get a bit more interesting. The Grinch’s Rotten Egg Launcher is around 20 Megajoules, 2 more Megajoules than what Jack’s durability is at. However, I don’t think this is much of an issue due to the fact the gap isn’t that massive, especially since one could argue Jack being building level in durability, which would put him above 20 Megajoules in durability. Also like stated before, the Marine Mobile is pretty much a null factor due to the fact it can only be used in the water. Them fighting in the water is probably something thet wouldn’t happen.
Lastly, let us talk about speed. The two both have impressive feats of being comparable to Santa Claus sleigh, which is about 0.5% SoL. However, even with this, Jack should be slightly faster. The reasoning for this is fairly simple. His sleigh was pretty much equal to Santa’s as he was able to take over Santa’s job with seemingly no issue in the amount of time it was taking for him to deliver the presents. He was even stated to be spotted around the globe. Unlike The Grinch, who was able to keep up with Santa’s sleigh, but was still slower than his sleigh, constantly trailing behind him. Meaning the Grinch’s reaction speed is slightly slower than Santa’s sleigh while Jack’s should be at where Santa’s sleigh would be.
To summarize, Jack should be much more durable than The Grinch. However, it is debatable on whether he is stronger than The Grinch or not. This is due to the nature of him not having showings of power. Their speed should be around the same however Jack should be slightly faster.
Arsenal and Abilities
Both, surprisingly, have a lot of gadgets at their disposal for them to use. Both have surprisingly similar equipment such as stuff that lets you climb walls, stuff that propels you to higher areas, and weapons that can be used from long range. However, The Grinch has a wider variety of gadgets at his disposal. This could allow for him to be unpredictable and put the pressure on Jack.
On the other hand, while Jack doesn’t have as many gadgets as The Grinch, he does have the more combat applicable gadgets. Unlike Jack, most of The Grinch’s gadgets arrest very combat applicable or would be hard to use mid fight. Jack has gadgets which could immediately end the fight, which wouldn’t be hard to use, such as his Frog Gun. Jack’s gadgets also don’t have a limited usage unlike most of The Grinch’s gadgets, which run on a limited supply of Rotten Eggs.
Another major thing The Grinch does not have that Jack does is a way to heal himself. The Grinch has no gadgets that have been shown to be able to heal him mid combat or even out of combat. Unlike with Jack, who has spring water which heals him to full health once drunk. He also has electricity healing however that is a little bit more debatable on how it works.
Onto their most similar gadget, their sleighs. Both have sleighs which are around equal in speed, however, you could argue Jack’s is faster (Read in Stats above). That could be an advantage for The Grinch, as unlike Jack, The Grinch has a way to fight mid air due to his sleigh having an egg launcher built into the front. The issue is that he can change the direction of the gun and he can only really hit his opponent if he’s directly behind them.
However, even with all these factors leaning towards Jack, The Grinch does have 2 gadgets which are significantly better than the rest: The Dark House and the Paraphernalia Wagon. Starting off with the Paraphernalia Wagon, if Jack were to enter the Wagon, he would be inside a pocket dimension that is capable of warping reality to whatever Jack is scared of. The issue with this is that Jack isn’t really scared of anything given he is the king of Halloween Town. The only arguable thing that Jack could be scared of is Sally being hurt, however, that is questionable if The Grinch would even know about Sally to begin with. The second thing is The Dark House, a device that can do multiple things that would take Jack out. The Dark House could blind Jack, allowing for The Grinch to kill him since Jack can’t see him. It could also warp the reality around Jack and kill him through that. However, the issue with The Dark House is that, well it’s inside a house. The Grinch would have to be able to get to the house first to use it, something he would struggle with given Jack’s arsenal and around similar speed.
Now let us talk about their abilities. Both don’t have that many abilities, which is made even worse when most of their abilities aren’t very combat applicable. One of the few combat applicable The Grinch has, funnily enough, is his bad breath. His breath stinks so bad it is capable of knocking someone unconscious. Jack should arguably have a counter to this with his Frog Gun. His Frog Gun is capable of shooting Frog’s Breath which can knock someone unconscious and even kill with enough dosage. Jack could easily just cancel out the stinky breath of air with his Frog Gun. You could even argue he has a resistance to the breath due to him using the gun, putting him under constant exposure.
Another ability The Grinch could use is that he could possibly use telepathy to read Jack’s mind so he could dodge his attacks and counter. The issue with this is that he has never used it in combat. Also it’s arguable that he can’t even use telepathy due to the fact Jack doesn’t even have a brain to read.
I think the biggest advantage in terms of abilities is Jack’s multiple forms. With these forms Jack has more abilities that would put The Grinch under a lot of pressure and would eventually tire him out or even beat him. The Grinch has no real counter from the fire Jack’s Pumpkin King form and his abilities from in his Santa Claus business. One could argue The Grinch could resist or break out from being frozen solid however he would still have no counter to the other things thrown at him from the presents.
Tertiary Factors
To start with the obvious, Jack has far better combat skill and experience than The Grinch. This has been shown through two video games where Jack fights through multiple enemies and even beats Oogie Boogie in combat, multiple times. The Grinch has never really shown to physically fight, preferring to stay from far away and pester them that way. The most he shows to fight is to use his breath so they don’t get close to him.
However, even with that, The Grinch should be more intelligent than Jack. While Jack isn’t a slouch when it comes to intelligence, The Grinch has shown to make most of his gadgets from garbage and scraps he finds. Which is especially impressive considering he can make rocket sleighs and guns from just scraps alone.
Lastly, let us talk about their trustworthy companions, Max and Zero. Firstly, Max should scale to The Grinch when it comes to strength. As he was able to carry the sleigh all the way up to the top of the mountain. While Zero should scale to Jack’s sleigh in movements speed due to him being able to lead the sleigh through the fog and clouds. Max should be able to interact with Zero due to the fact that in the comics, some elf children were capable of bothering him. However, this might actually be a disadvantage for Max since Zero can interact with him. This would allow for Zero to constantly attack Max without him being able to land a hit.
Conclusion
Advantages:
Arguably stronger
Has a higher IQ than Jack
Higher pain resistance than Jack
Has more gadgets to choose from
His gadgets would arguably give him an AP advantage
Could possibly trick Jack into a trap
The Dark House could end the fight if he gets a hold of it
Jim Carrey’s performance
Disadvantages:
Less durable
Arguably slow
Less combat experience
Most of his gadgets have limited usage due to them using the same fuel (Rotten Eggs)
Gadgets less combat oriented
Jack hard counters his Paraphernalia Wagon due to being the King of Halloween Town
Dark House would be hard to get to
Max isn’t nearly as fast as Zero
Jack’s abilities would put the pressure on him
Nobody’s felt this much disappointment since the Grinch leaks
Advantages:
More durable and arguably stronger
Should be slightly faster
Better combat experience
Gadgets are more combat oriented
Gadgets have less prep to use
His forms and abilities would put the pressure on The Grinch
Would be resistant to the Paraphernalia Wagon
Has ways to heal himself
Zero would be able to speed blitz Max
Cover artists making peak omg
Gets bitches and canonically fucks (somehow)
Disadvantages:
Arguably weaker
Less intelligent
Not as tolerant to pain
Could get pressured by the amount of Grinch’s gadgets
Has no way to counter The Dark House’s affects
Oogie Boogie’s revenge
Terrible box office
One wouldn’t originally think a matchup involving two Christmas icons would have so many factors, but surprisingly, it does.
Let us start with stats. Depending on how you look at things, stats could go either way. Physically The Grinch could be argued to be stronger however equalizing durability to AP would make Jack stronger physically. Using the Oogie Boogie argument of him being the size of a building, making Jack building level sounds bulletproof however it does have some holes. With the use of gadgets, things get a little more tricky but, The Grinch would be stronger with his Rotten Egg Launcher getting 20 Megajoules. In terms of durability, Jack should easily be more durable with his 18 Megajoule feat. Lastly, is speed. They should be about equal in reaction speed from scaling to Santa’s sleigh. However, Jack should have a slightly higher reaction speed due to his sleigh being on par with Santa’s while The Grinch’s was constantly trailing behind Santa’s sleigh. Overall, Jack Skellington should take stats by a slim margin.
Next is gadgets and abilities. With the amount of similar things they have it was hard to determine who had the advantage here. However, Jack generally held more advantages and counters to The Grinch’s stuff. Most of Grinch’s gadgets either require some amount of prep, are hard to pull off in mid combat, or just aren’t combat oriented. Unlike Jack, who’s arsenal and abilities are much more suited for combat. The one thing The Grinch has that could take Jack out of commission is The Dark House. However, The Grinch would have to get to the Dark House to activate it, a hard task to do when Jack can constantly pressure him with his forms and gadgets. Overall, Jack takes gadgets and abilities.
While The Grinch may be generally smarter than Jack, Jack has a way higher battle IQ due to his combat experience. This would allow for him to take control of the fight and dictate how it would go down. Coupled with the fact that Zero would completely speed blitz Max, they would have no way to take the advantage in this battle. Jack would easily take skill.
Overall, Jack completely outclasses The Grinch in every way. While The Grinch may had a bone to pick with Christmas, Jack Skellington would be able to rattle his heart 3 times too small.
The winner is Jack Skellington.
Final Tally
Team Grinch (0) - L Bozo
Team Jack (5) - ππΌπΎπ»πͺ, PainRequiem, OhFuckALawyer, The_Elemental2, Duke the Duk
(Art by Somer Lynas)
Next Time…
