Sidekicks Megapoll: Final Round: Hobbes vs Samwise Gamgee

[Zeener Diode]

Here's the final matchup. How many of you picked these to be the finalists?

Hobbes



Samwise Gamgee



Past matches:

R1	Hobbes	17	0	Scooter
R2	Hobbes	18	0	Larry Dallas
R3	Hobbes	16	4	Cato
R4	Hobbes	19	0	R2-D2
R5	Hobbes	13	6	Waco Kid
R6	Hobbes	15	4	Emma Peel
R7	Hobbes	15	5	Artemus Gordon

R1	Samwise Gamgee	12	4	Willow
R2	Samwise Gamgee	12	4	Gus
R3	Samwise Gamgee	13	5	Max
R4	Samwise Gamgee	16	2	Bill Gannon
R5	Samwise Gamgee	14	4	Chewbacca
R6	Samwise Gamgee	13	5	Tonto
R7	Samwise Gamgee	13	7	Dr John Watson

[What Exit?]

Look at the two characters and know that while Hobbes is a great comedic sidekick, Samwise is the most dependable and brave of sidekicks.

Samwise was a gardener, the common man among the 1st born sons of noble and wealthy Hobbits and Dwarves, a Prince of Elves and effectively 2 Princes of Men, and of course an Angel in the lesser guise of a grey robed wizard.
Samwise was loyal not to a fault but to heroic levels.
Samwise risked drowning to join Frodo in the Elf Boat when he correctly surmised the Mr. Frodo would try to finish the quest on his own.
Samwise resisted the temptation of the Ring, in fact the Ring probably got very frustrated and confused when Sam thought of making a garden.

Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies
arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a
flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as
he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dûr. And then all the clouds rolled
away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth
became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to
put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.

In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to
hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain
hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough
to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray
him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a
garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to
command.

Samwise braved the tower full of Orcs to rescue Frodo.
Samwise managed to half drag Frodo across Mordor towards Mt. Doom.
Samwise carried Frodo up Mt. Doom.

[JackieLikesVariety]

I was surprised Hobbes made it this far - and I LOVE Hobbes, but think Samwise should take it all.

WE? does an excellent job of listing his bravery, but let's not forget he's just charming in smaller ways: tries to explain taters to Gollum, spies on Frodo (for his own good) for Merry & Pippin before discovered by Gandolph and is super enthusiastic about seeing

[NAF1138]

Hobbes is EVERYTHING Sam is...and he's fun too.

Sam, not a super great hang. Hobbes, he's a good time.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by NAF1138

Hobbes is EVERYTHING Sam is...and he's fun too.

Sam, not a super great hang. Hobbes, he's a good time.

Hobbes will steal your food, especially Tuna Fish sandwiches.

Sam will hang out, smoke some Pipeweed with you. Shoot darts at the local tavern, cook taters and stews for you. Also he's been known to sing some of Bilbo's old songs.

Hobbes will most likely help you get in trouble and will turn traitor if offered a bribe of tunafish or just for a cute girl.

So, I ask you, does your post hold up to an honest analysis?

[Zeener Diode]

So, Sam is steadfast and loyal and would protect Frodo for as long as he can. Hobbes is more of a loose cannon, one who's loyalty lies up in the air from moment to moment. Would Hobbes die for Calvin? Sam would die for Frodo. Hobbes' relationship with Calvin unique, and he clearly enjoys Calvin's company, but how far does his love for Calvin go?

[Rebo]

Sam said, "I can't carry the Ring, but I can carry YOU!"

That's all she wrote, IMHO.

[TroutMan]

I'll probably end up voting for Sam, but I'll just note, I think he would start to wear on me. Yes, he's kind and loyal, he'd shoot darts with me and cook me stew -- all that's true.

But he's also a bit of a kiss-ass. He'd do whatever I told him to. I could tell him to wipe my ass and eat the toilet paper, and he probably would. But Hobbes would stand up for himself.

In the long run, Sam as a friend would get tiresome. Hobbes never would.

[djs]

Originally Posted by TroutMan

I'll probably end up voting for Sam, but I'll just note, I think he would start to wear on me. Yes, he's kind and loyal, he'd shoot darts with me and cook me stew -- all that's true.

But he's also a bit of a kiss-ass. He'd do whatever I told him to. I could tell him to wipe my ass and eat the toilet paper, and he probably would. But Hobbes would stand up for himself.

In the long run, Sam as a friend would get tiresome. Hobbes never would.

Sam is dog. Hobbes is a cat.

[silenus]

Well-stroked, I say! Well-stroked!

[NAF1138]

Originally Posted by TroutMan

I'll probably end up voting for Sam, but I'll just note, I think he would start to wear on me. Yes, he's kind and loyal, he'd shoot darts with me and cook me stew -- all that's true.

But he's also a bit of a kiss-ass. He'd do whatever I told him to. I could tell him to wipe my ass and eat the toilet paper, and he probably would. But Hobbes would stand up for himself.

In the long run, Sam as a friend would get tiresome. Hobbes never would.

Exactly this!

[What Exit?]

Wow, it looks like Hobbes is going to be the winner of 2 different Megapolls. For the Comicstrip poll it was correct, but this one is surprising.

[TroutMan]

I started this post intending to explain that while I'd rather have Hobbes as my sidekick, Sam is the better sidekick narratively in the context of LotR. He did everything for Frodo - friendship, muscle, cooking, etc. Without him, Frodo is dead 20 times over and Middle Earth is lost.

But then I realized, Hobbes is equally as important to Calvin and to the narrative of the strip. There's obviously no comic without Hobbes, so I can't really use the "importance to the narrative" as a deciding factor.

I think the ideal outcome for me would be a tie. These are both such quintessential examples of sidekicks, I don't want to see either of them lose.

[NoClueBoy]

Hobbes and Sam would vote for each other.

[JackieLikesVariety]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

Wow, it looks like Hobbes is going to be the winner of 2 different Megapolls. For the Comicstrip poll it was correct, but this one is surprising.

it's not over til it's over! when does this close? @Zeener Diode Monday but what time?

they ARE both worthy but Sam should be #1 and Hobbes #2

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by JackieLikesVariety

it's not over til it's over! when does this close? @Zeener Diode Monday but what time?

they ARE both worthy but Sam should be #1 and Hobbes #2

Hobbes vs. a Hobbit.

Vote Samwise for Mayor of Sidekicktown.

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by JackieLikesVariety

it's not over til it's over! when does this close? @Zeener Diode Monday but what time?

It will close at 9:29 PM (PDT) on May 13th.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by NoClueBoy

Hobbes and Sam would vote for each other.

No they wouldn't. Hobbes would never vote for Sam. Eat him, yes. Vote for him, no.

[TroutMan]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

It will close at 9:29 PM (PDT) on May 13th.

Totally off topic, but I must give respect to people who understand the difference between PDT and PST. I am annoyed to no end by people scheduling a meeting with me, "does 9:00 am PST work for you?" It's currently Daylight Saving Time, so do you mean 9:00 am or 8:00 am?

OK, I know what they mean. But it still annoys me. Just use PT (or ET, CT, MT) if the whole DST thing confuses you. One less letter to type anyway.

Both Hobbes and Sam would use the proper abbreviation.

[Zeener Diode]

Per @Rock, I placed a vote for Samwise.

[What Exit?]

Sam needs one vote to tie this up.

[Borborygmi]

Two votes now.

[What Exit?]

Hobbes' prior win:
Greatest Comic Strip Ever – Final round 7: Calvin and Hobbes vs. The Far Side

A summary of how big a win it was.

Originally Posted by What Exit?

I'm wondering if this was the most lopsided Mega-Poll we've had?
It looks like C&H won every round by a large margin.

Final Round 20-5 over the Far Side
Round 6 20-5 over Doonesbury which squeaked out 3rd over Bloom County.
Round 5 crushed Peanuts 24-6
Round 4 23-2 over Wizard of Id
Round 3 27-0 crushing Dilbert
Round 2 25-2 over Schlock Mercenary
Round 1 25-0 over Pickles.

That is a combined 164 to 20.

[Rock]

Originally Posted by Zeener Diode

Per @Rock, I placed a vote for Samwise.

Thank you Zeener and thank you Jackie. As it turns out I did get home from my trip in time to vote and I definitely wanted to vote for Sam. I love Hobbes but Samwise is the ultimate sidekick.

Originally Posted by TroutMan

Totally off topic, but I must give respect to people who understand the difference between PDT and PST. I am annoyed to no end by people scheduling a meeting with me, "does 9:00 am PST work for you?" It's currently Daylight Saving Time, so do you mean 9:00 am or 8:00 am?

OK, I know what they mean. But it still annoys me. Just use PT (or ET, CT, MT) if the whole DST thing confuses you. One less letter to type anyway.

Both Hobbes and Sam would use the proper abbreviation.

I just returned (2.5 hours ago) from a trip to Madera Canyon in extreme southern Arizona, where we had no internet and no cell phone service. Arizona is always on PST. For part of the year their clocks are set to the same time as ours here in New Mexico. Currently they are one hour behind us.

[Random Precision]

Originally Posted by Rock

Thank you Zeener and thank you Jackie. As it turns out I did get home from my trip in time to vote and I definitely wanted to vote for Sam. I love Hobbes but Samwise is the ultimate sidekick.

I just returned (2.5 hours ago) from a trip to Madera Canyon in extreme southern Arizona, where we had no internet and no cell phone service. Arizona is always on PST. For part of the year their clocks are set to the same time as ours here in New Mexico. Currently they are one hour behind us.

Speaking of being confused by DST and time zones. Arizona is always on MST. But during daylight saving time, New Mexico springs forward to MDT which is technically CST. And since the west coast also observes DST, they go on Mountain Time and share the same time as Arizona.

On topic - Hobbes is obviously the better sidekick because he can't even tell time except that it's probably time to eat.

[JackieLikesVariety]

Sam doesn't care what time it is* because he's too busy saving the entire world.







*unless it's breakfast, second breakfast, etc

[Rock]

Originally Posted by Random Precision

Speaking of being confused by DST and time zones. Arizona is always on MST. But during daylight saving time, New Mexico springs forward to MDT which is technically CST. And since the west coast also observes DST, they go on Mountain Time and share the same time as Arizona.

My mistake! I blame it on jet lag, even though I didn't fly anywhere.

[TroutMan]

A hard-fought battle. But you know what? Sam would be just fine with the result. There's still some good in this world.

Thanks for running it, Zeener. It was fun and I actually learned a few things.

[Rock]

Thanks for doing this, Zeener.

[JackieLikesVariety]

yes, a very good megapoll: Thank you Zeener!!!

[NoClueBoy]

Yes! Thanks!

[djs]

Great Poll. Thanks!