Geekdom Madness 2017: Bumps in the Night/Nicknames

This week: The frighteners and the frightened







Let's meet the combatants:



MATCH 1: Bumps in the Night

CANDLEJACK

He's the boogeyman - the for-real one. He snatches kids from their beds and takes them away, and they never come back. Because he's a nut. But luckily he can't get you unless you say his name aloud. You aren't reading this aloud, are you?

Pros:
* Fairly charming for a guy with a bag on his head.
* Not only levitates, but grants levitation to his victims.
* Can instantly teleport to the location of his name being said.

Cons:
* Powerless unless his name is said.
* Needs to charter a bus to transport his victims.
* He kidnaps children - there is never a good reason for that.

RANDALL BOGGS

Once a relatively kindly and nerdy monster, he fell in with a bad crowd in college and made his life goal to repay the humiliation handed to him (in his mind) by James P. Sullivan. After they both get hired as scarers at Monsters Inc., Randall constantly struggles to overtake Sullivan's record for years before he makes a deal whose consequences would change the monster world forever.

Pros:
* Able to camouflage to a point of being functionally invisible.
* Able to crawl on walls.
* Technologically savvy.

Cons:
* Overly ambitious
* Ultimately disloyal to any but his own ends.
* Willing to seriously harm human children.



***




MATCH 2: Nicknames

LEOPOLD "BUTTERS" STOTCH

Leopold Stotch, also known as Butters, is a relatively normal little boy living in the quiet mountain town of South Park. Despite a never-ending torrent of abuse from his parents, his "friends", and the universe in general (from being trapped in Imaginationland during a terrorist attack to nearly being bought as a pet by Paris Hilton), he almost always retains his friendliness and infectiously optimistic attitude. Almost.

Pros:
* Friendly and nice.
* Generally optimistic.
* Surprisingly durable in both body and spirit.

Cons:
* Very naive.
* Easily manipulated into doing things against his nature.
* When pushed too far, becomes the evil (but ineffectual) Professor Chaos!

MILES "TAILS" PROWER

Picked on for his physical deformity, Miles "Tails" Prower gained confidence through discovering the hero Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic's biggest fan, Tails was able to strike up an unlikely friendship with the blue speedster. The two have been nearly inseparable every since.

Pros:
* Can spin his tails like a rotor, providing speed rivaling Sonic and helecoptor-like flight.
* Very mechanically inclined.
* His name is a pun..

Cons:
* Tires quickly while flying.
* Slightly cowardly.
* His name is a pun.


***


Final Verdict:
Quite the juxtaposition this week between Match 1's smarmy monsters and Match 2's endearing youths. Also, contrary to popular opinion, Candlejack actually can't get you if you just write his name, so please don't shy away from discussing him below.

As always, make sure you're viewing the WEB version of the site and vote in the polls on the right-hand side of the screen. Polls close Friday at 5:00 p.m., and results posted on Saturday. Feel free to discuss your picks in the comments below.