Borg vs. Daleks

*Originally published on 8/19/11



In December of 2010, web critic Noah Antwiler attempted to launch a new show called "Deadliest Character". It was a riff on SpikeTV's Deadliest Warrior, the main difference being that Noah would take fictional (as opposed to historical) characters and pit them against each other. While an episode managed to be completed, the animator dropped out due to the daunting workload. It's understandable, but those who wanted to see the follow up teased where the Borg would battle the Daleks might be a tad disappointed.

As I just recently started watching Doctor Who (the relaunch, I haven't had a chance to get to the older stuff quite yet as I only just recently started season three), and have a history of imagining similar battles, I thought I would pick up where Noah left off and see how a battle between the two villainous races would go.

Numbers play an important role here. If a single Borg drone were to take on a Dalek, he would lose quite quickly as Daleks come equipped with a powerful laser weapon. Dalek fires, drone dies, end of story.

Now, if you were to pit several Daleks against several Borg, it becomes a different story as the Borg are capable of adapting to energy weapons. I've read some Whovians argue that the Borg wouldn't be able to adapt to this particular weapon. I honestly don't see why this would be the case. They've adapted to energy weapons that could kill before and the ray itself isn't defined enough to hand wave it with techno-babble. Heck, the Borg have adapted to phaser rifles that are specifically designed to fire at different strengths to confuse their shields, so I'm almost certain that they could handle Dalek fire.

Of course, once the Borg adapt, they have to find a way to counter-attack. Like the Borg, Daleks have a force field of their own that prevents any sort of ranged attack from getting near them, whether it's bullets or laser fire from an army of Cybermen.

On the plus side, the Borg don't really use energy weapons. In ship to ship combat, sure, but when it's being to being, they tend to go right for the assimilation. This could take some doing as I figure the Borg would have to rip through the shell to get to the true being inside the Dalek.

While the Daleks rely primarily on their death ray, they also have a plunger like weapon. Yes, it looks goofy, but it is effective as it acts like a powerful vacuum, sucking out internal organs leaving nothing but flesh. This would make it even more difficult for the Borg to get close enough to assimilate them.

Then again, the Borg operate in a manner similar to zombies in that they tend to overwhelm. The Dalek can only use its weapon on one drone at a time, but if the Borg send several at a Dalek at once, it would be harder to deal with.

That being said, all the Dalek needs to do is hover out of the drone's reach. Granted, this just ends in a stalemate, but at least the Dalek won't get assimilated.

As the Daleks are the sworn enemies of a race of beings called "Time Lords", it's no surprise that they use time travel if it can help them attain victory. Heck, what was thought to be the last great conflict that finally wiped them out was called the time war. It is here where I think the Daleks gain a true advantage.

The Borg, for their part, also have access to technology that permits time travel, but it is nowhere near as efficient and they don't use it to the same extent that the Daleks do. If push comes to shove, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Daleks just go back in time and wipe out the Borg before they perfected their adapting technology, allowing them to use their death ray with impunity. You could argue that it's something of a copout, but that technology is something to take into consideration and it wouldn't be fair to limit the Daleks because, in an all out war with the Borg, they probably would use time travel to their advantage.

Of course, one has to wonder what would happen if a Borg did manage to assimilate a Dalek. Not only would the Borg be able to have access to information allowing them to utilize Dalek tech, but much like they did with Picard/Locutus, they could use the Daleks' own mindset against them and turn the tide in their favor.

This is a pretty interesting match up as both sides have counter-measures for the other race's MO. You could go on for hours, going back and forth between who has the advantage and in what field. I'm sure fans on both sides are convinced that it would be a curb stomp battle, but honestly, I don't think so. Whoever takes the win is only going to do so after a long, knock down, drag out battle. They are indeed, most formidable opponents.