Who had more balls - Janeway or Archer?

[Tallis Rhul]

No, not in a biological sense...

What I mean is, which of these captains had the strongest character/will when the chips were down in your opinion?

And no, I don't mean S1/2 Archer the explorer, or Janeway in bath-loving mode. I'm thinking extreme - Archer in the expanse and Janeway in Year of Hell for example.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Janeway. I'm not really a fan of the character (mostly due to inconsistent writing), but she's the one to get the job done. Archer will probably mope and frown and throw a tantrum, and then let it to T'Pol to get it done.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

Archer will probably mope and frown and throw a tantrum, and then let it to T'Pol to get it done.

I don't recall him reacting that way with the pirate in "Anomaly." Or with Sim in "Similitude" (though Sim took the decision out of Archer's hands, bless his heart). Or blowing up that Xindi base in "Azati Prime." Or stealing the warp coil in "Damage." Or coaxing post-torture, messed-up Hoshi into deciphering those codes in "Zero Hour." Or staying behind on the superweapon to blow it up, and having to blow up Dolim in the process.

I pick Archer. Janeway was a take-no-prisoners hardass, sure, in "Year of Hell," but in a way that put me off. She seemed to lose compassion and caring. I was always rooting for Archer, even when he crossed his own moral line, because, as I saw it, he hated doing what he had to do, and he was deeply troubled by his actions and the suffering they caused.

 

[number6]

Archer will probably mope and frown and throw a tantrum, and then let it to T'Pol to get it done.

I don't recall him reacting that way with the pirate in "Anomaly. Or with Sim in "Similitude" (though Sim took the decision out of Archer's hands, bless his heart). Or blowing up that Xindi base in "Azati Prime." Or stealing the warp coil in "Damage." Or coaxing post-torture, messed-up Hoshi into deciphering those codes in "Zero Hour." Or staying behind on the superweapon to blow it up, and having to blow up Dolim in the process.

I pick Archer. Janeway was a take-no-prisoners hardass, sure, in "Year of Hell," but in a way that put me off. She seemed to lose compassion and caring. I was always rooting for Archer, even when he crossed his own moral line, because, as I saw it, he hated doing what he had to do, and he was deeply troubled by his actions and the suffering they caused.

I lean into this camp too. We wanted to root for Archer because for him it was a new learning experience as the first starship captain. For Janeway, it always just seemed like another day at the office.

 

[SFRabid]

I got made at Janeway when she took on the "superior than thru" attitude we got sick of after 7 years of TNG. I only got made at Archer when he did something stupid. That didn't happen as much in season 3 of ENT to I pick Archer for those extreme decision times.

 

[Mach5]

I like Archer much better than Janeway, but she was more of a bad ass. Lets face it, Archer had heart, but his strength was his XO.

 

[Tallis Rhul]

I'm surprised no-one clicked the "comparison's not fair button", everyone seems to have a really strong opinion.

I wonder what would have happened if Janeway could have had T'Pol for her first officer?

 

[Cmdr Data]

Archer definitely...

Just remmember stealing the warp coil, or staying on weapon to blow it up...

 

[Pemmer Harge]

Janeway. That woman had balls of steel! The amount of ridiculous stuff she got away with is amazing. It didn't necessarily make great TV, but if you want someone to go up against billions of Borg in a shuttlecraft, Janeway's the one you call.

 

[Mach5]

Archer definitely...

Just remmember stealing the warp coil,

Actually, one could consider that an act of cowardliness. I still think he did what was necessary though... But I must say, never seeing him make amends to those aliens bothers me.

 

[Tallis Rhul]

That's the only "advantage" of them not being Starfleet at the time. I often wonder whether or not Archer could have triggered a full scale invasion of Earth actually, imagine if he'd pissed the Cretassans off that little bit more...

 

[commodore64]

I thought Archer was a great character. He's not my favorite captain (Picard, Kirk and then Archer in that order), but he's a lot less annoying than Janeway to me. I really wanted to like a female captain, but ... I didn't. And I really disliked Voyager. Great premise, terrible execution.

 

[Skywalker]

Well, the question isn't which character is better, the question is which character had more chutzpah. Except cruder.

That said, I think I'd go with Janeway. I just can't see Archer actually forming an alliance with an enemy like the Borg.

 

[lceb]

I'll go with Archer. He carried the fate of earth on his shoulders during the expance and I think that it takes more than just balls to do it.

 

[Triskelion]

Janeway. She had four. Hers and Chakotay's.

 

[caisson2delta]

I didn't vote in the poll, but I think it's no comparison.

Archer was dealing in basically "uncharted waters" in regards to being a star ship captain. He had no Prime Directive, very few role models, and was basically making things up as he went along. Sure, he had T'pol for insights; but he basically made his own choices.

Janeway had what, some 250+ years of examples to pull from, not to mention a Prime Directive. Sure, she veered from the course of the Prime Directive but usually under the most extreme circumstances. Her and Chakotay were constantly at odds over this.

I pose another question. How differently would Janeway have reacted had she been in the same situations as Archer, and him if he were in her position?

 

[iluthradanar]

They were both worthy commanders, but Archer had ties to whatever Star Fleet was then, while Janeway was alone and had no such ties. She had to take some big risks and yet not jeopardize her ship and crew too much. Much more difficult position to be in. So I have to admire her a smidge more than Archer.

 

[RandyS]

Given that Janeway was a woman, I'd have to say Archer.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

... while Janeway was alone and had no such ties. She had to take some big risks and yet not jeopardize her ship and crew too much.

In other words, Archer in the Expanse.