PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with Marvel ’cause we’re keen as can be for the release of Captain America: Civil War. To celebrate the looming conflict between soon-to-be rivals Captain America and Iron Man (which you’ll be able to see in cinemas from April 28), we’re taking a look at some of the most hectic throw-downs in pop culture of late. For more info, head to Marvel’s Facebook HERE and get amongst them on Twitter using the handle @marvelaunz.
We’re not ones to condone fighting in any form, but some aggression is so ridiculous that it’s only natural to have a good ol’ lol at it. This anger often springs from a rivalry between two parties, both of whom are battling to be top-dog. The internet, thankfully, has documented heated scenarios between household names for our own enjoyment – and we thought we’d share a couple of our favourites.
Without further ado, here’s a couple of recent + top-notch pop culture rivalries and their subsequent fallout.
JOHN SZASZARI vs TELSTRA
For a normal internet user, 1TB worth of data – the same amount bestowed upon Telstra customers as a compensatory measure for nation-wide outages – may serve as added incentive to do that batch download of your fave shows/music. You’d be hard-pressed to get anywhere near using all of it though. John Szaszari, someone who doesn’t exactly fall under the aforementioned mantle of normal internet user, thought he’d have a red-hot crack at using each byte he’d been given, and he miraculously pulled it off.
How’d he manage it? Oh, just by downloading: 14 seasons of Mythbusters, 24 seasons of The Simpsons, a bunch of software, a heap of Xbox games, several Spotify playlists, WIKIPEDIA‘S ENTIRE DATABASE (????? Why doe??), and much more.
The war he waged with Telstra has seemingly come to an end with the telco offering an olive branch in the form of an invitation to test developing wireless tech that could revolutionise the deliverable speeds of internet in Australia. It was a smart move by Telstra who’re humble enough to recognise when they’ve been bested.
Good hustle, John.
TEAM CAPTAIN AMERICA vs TEAM IRON MAN
While IRL rivalries and their respective beef are fantastic, fictional accounts have the potential to be equally entertaining. Enter the ensuing throw down between Captain America and Iron Man that’s soon to be shown on the big screen.
Marvel‘s Captain America: Civil War is set one year after the last Avenger’s instalment, which saw a big brawl go down between the squad and Ultron. In this film, another international situation takes place and, as per usual, there’s a hefty trail of destruction left in its wake. Mounting political pressure for governmental oversight of the Avengers subsequently builds, which causes a bit of an issue between Captain America (who opposes oversight) and Iron Man (who’s pretty keen on it). The Avengers become divided, siding with either Captain America or Iron Man depending on their circumstances. The rift in the group escalates into an all-out conflict between the two factions.
Get a taste of what’s to come in the trailer below.
WALEED ALY vs THE DAILY TELE
Photo: The Daily Telegraph.
2015 saw Waleed Aly come out of the woodwork swinging on a host of varying issues. He’s quickly cemented himself as one of the most powerful political voices in Australia, breaking down topics that most publications steer clear of because they’re not what you’d call “sexy”. Additionally, he’s done so while operating on a commercial platform (Channel 10‘s The Project), which ain’t all that easy.
So, when The Daily Telegraph‘s Victoria Hannaford vomited out Six Reasons Why Waleed Aly Shouldn’t Win Gold – a ridiculous, baseless listicle (the epitome of journalistic expression) attacking the man over a BLOODY GOLD LOGIE NOMINATION – it was only a matter of minutes before the public began spitting the dummy.
The reasons Hannaford gave included: he’s not talented enough, he’s not popular enough and he’s not on social media.
INTO THE BIN YOU GO, HANNAFORD.
Waleed, being the legend that he is, was entirely unfazed by the smear piece and went about his business that following evening as per.
DONALD TRUMP vs THE WORLD
Photo: Boston Globe / Twitter / Brett Carlsen / Getty.
The toupéed troll that is Donald Trump surprised the world (but also kinda didn’t because he’s so ridiculous?) when he announced he’d have a crack at being the President of the United States of America. What was even more surprising was that some silly folk actually are keen on making his intentions a reality.
The powerful voices of: George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Kerry Washington, Rosie O’Donnell, Michael Moore, Louis CK, Ricky Martin, John Oliver, Trevor Noah, Eva Longoria, Shakira, Demi Lovato, Meek Mill, Wyclef Jean and Josh Gad (TO NAME A FEW), have all spoken out against the madness of Trump’s policies.
(*TFW u realise Trump could be yo president*)
THANK YOU, O LEVEL-HEADED CELEBRITIES.
KATY PERRY vs TAYLOR SWIFT
Photo: Larry Busacca / Getty.
The cloak-and-dagger spat between Katy Perry and Taylor Swift is truly one for the ages. While neither party has confirmed the beef, they also haven’t denied it… #Dramaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Perry and Swift were bFfLz circa ‘09, shooting each other rather cringe Tweets on the reg. But, just like many bFfLz before them, their relationship began to deteriorate because of a meddlesome man. John Mayer had a brief romp with T-Swizzle before getting snapped up by Perry months later, and although unconfirmed, people believe this was the catalyst for their feud.
Reports then emerged that things had begun to get more heated between the pair over (believe it or not) backup dancers. Three of Perry’s dancers (who had formed a close relationship with her) took jobs on Swift’s tour before being asked back to work on Perry’s tour in 2013. It’s been suggested that Swift didn’t feel all too happy about her staff being poached, regardless of their personal relationship with her rival.
These suspicions were later confirmed when Swift revealed during an interview with Rolling Stone that her hit song, Bad Blood, was conceptualised due to an issue she had with a prominent female singer.
“She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I’m surprisingly non-confrontational – you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It’s awkward, and I don’t like it.”
Her comments confirmed that she was pretty pissed Perry had snatched back her dancers, and obviously it got under her skin enough for her to produce a bloody record about it.
A day after the Rolling Stone interview, Perry Tweeted:
“Watch out for the Regina George in sheep’s clothing.”
Re-ow.
Surely some day soon things will escalate to the point where the gloves finally come off? We can only dream.
To find out more about Captain America: Civil War – In Cinemas April 28 – head to Marvel’s Facebook HERE and get amongst them on Twitter using the handle @marvelaunz.
Photo: Larry Busacca / Getty.
