User blog comment:Awesomesix/My 3 Least Favorite non-conventional ERB suggestions feat. other people/@comment-1197011-20150717014635

Alright, a few thoughts:

I notice that people here on the wiki often say that this or that character was/ would be / could be "wasted". And usually (from what I see), "wasted" means either that the opponent is lame, or that the character is part of a group battle / story battle. I don't see things that way.

My personal view, for instance, is that Cleopatra's opponent was extremely lame and she deserved a better match, but still, I wouldn't say she was "wasted". She herself was awesome, even though the match wasn't. Same thing about Ben Franklin.

Now, a rare example of an ERB character that I personally could describe as having been wasted is Shakespeare, though. And not because his opponent was lame either: his opponent was perfect. Shakespeare vs. Dr. Seuss was an excellent idea and I'm glad they made it. But Shakespeare himself... Didn't feel like Shakespeare.

They got him a fast rap, sure, and that was cool. But his two verses were so devoid of references. There are so many awesome and well-known plays, quotes and characters of his that didn't get a single mention. Pretty much nothing of his personal life was brought up. And there are numerous interesting stories and facts about him that could have been worked into good lines for a rap battle. To me, Shakespeare didn't feel much like Shakespeare, he felt like "George Watsky rapping in a vaguely Shakespearean fashion and then rapping fast to impress us".

Of course, there were a few references, but very few compared to most other rappers. And they wasted some lines referencing completely random things, like the Beatles. Why the heck was Shakespeare talking about the Beatles?

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the battle overall. I do like George Watsky as an actor and I'm glad ERB used Shakespeare. I'm just disappointed that there was so much potential for him and that was basically ignored.

Does that mean I want them to make a sequel? I don't know, honestly, but it could be an opportunity to not only use Shakespeare, but to do him more justice than they did last time. I think he would deserve that, but of course, that's just my personal opinion of it :/