Is Brandon Stark anything more than a poor man's Robert Baratheon?

[devilish]

8 hours ago, Laughing Storm Reborn said:

- just said the number would be almost the same, and yes brandon would do it quicker despite being fostered outside of the North aswell because of his personality

- the elenei stuff was just my point to give baratheon blood as much mystical awe or more as the stark blood, the baratheons had targ blood aswell to add to an already popular first men origin

- to me robert was crap in the majority of fields but war as a warrior and as a commander i do think he is the epitome (no one has a better record, only 1 or 2 maybe in history), the Tarly defeat was in the Reach with the remnants of the stormlands soldiers present in 3 battles at summerhall, with Mace's 40k closing in, so only Robert was good enough to attempt such a victory (as napoleon was the only one who could conquer russia), he did not win but he made it an unimportant battle by sucsessfully acess the situation and retreat, in equal terms he wins 8 out of 10 times even against randyll

- the napoleon comparison was just about their absolutely amazing win records, despite being known for his offensive fast attacks like Robert (midnight rushes and forced marches) in the beginning (italy campaign)... later napoleon did become more reserved, but he did have more time on the battlefield compared to robert who fought from 19 to 26. that being said bonaparte imo is on a class of his own, not only in modern warfare but in history i might add (austerlitz is a bible even for today's MA students, artilery and terrain thought out perfectly)

- fair enough on the charisma debate, different takes but valid ones i believe

- i do agree on brandon being able to find fame and some victories in a potencial war, but i also believe he wouldn´t reach "robert levels" of fame, the guy was just too amazing on the battlefield (not in everything else), a killing machine with great commanding mind and voice, something i believe brandon could have but on a lower level

 

 

- Well I disagree with the numbers but I've already made my point on that.

- Noted

- I never said he was crap. That's taking it too far. I am only saying that he wasn't a Napoleon. There's a big gap between being an idiot and being a Napoleon. Robert lied somehow at the top end of the spectrum. Which is only fair considering Robert's relatively young age + the fact that this was his first war. I also think that somehow the war was being highjacked by the loyalists. Robert should have been defeated in the Stormlands, the Reach should have never spent most of their time guarding a nearly empty fortress and Rhaegar should have never found himself in front of the furious giant with the warhammer. Which I believe it is also fair enough to think that way. The loyalists army was mainly formed by

a- Troops from Dorne. The Martells were first insulted by Rhaegar (who kidnapped Lyanna) and then Aerys (who threatened to hurt Elia and her children if they don't commit themselves to war)

b- Troops from the Reach. Aerys had constantly selected somebody else as hand of the king despite the fact that Randyll was perfect for the Hand of the king role in times of war + Mace's forces made the bulk of the army. 

c- Troops who were loyal to Rhaegar. Aerys hated Rhaegar

Taking that into account, then the loyalist force would have probably set the same trap irrespective on who was leading the war.

You can't change the chess pieces and expect the game not to change. Think about how the war would have changed if Stannis was the 1st born instead of Robert. I know Im generalizing here but basically Ned = Stannis, Brandon = Robert. 

Taking that into account Brandon would have started the war, he would have brought to the war more troops, he would be far more aggressive then Ned was and would strike way earlier then Ned did. In turn, the loyalists would have had to focus more on him than on Robert. Which means that Brandon would have more potential of winning far more battles and make a bigger name for himself then Robert would. That means, if successful, this war would probably be remembered as Brandon's rebellion rather then Bob's

 

 

 

 

[LordMiddleFinger]

To be fair we know very little about him. What we do know is:

- He was most likely a very good fighter. Probably more skilled than Ned or Benjen.
- He was very brave. When he heard that his sister had been kidnapped he had to balls to ride to KL, go into the Red Keep and scream "Rheagar! Come out and die!!". Of course this was a very stupid thing to do and we all know what happened next.
- He wasn't a total asshole. During his duel with Littlefinger, he told Petyr to yield more than once but Petyr refused. I believe that he didn't want to really hurt young Petyr, let alone kill him... but he probably got so frustrated with the young fool that he lost control and almost killed him in the process. A real asshole would not stop there, a real asshole would kill Petyr and tell Catelyn to shut her damn mouth. 
- We know that he was kind to his younger brother Ned. When he saw that Ned was to shy to ask Ashara Dayne to dance with him, Brandon went to her and asked her to dance with his little brother.  

 To be honest i think that had he lived, him and Robert would've been best buddies.