Who Should Lead the Civs?

[Ultraman]

This may be a bit provocative. I think the selection of the Civ leaders may not always accurately reflect the greatest leader of that Civ. No contest for most of the leaders, Elizabeth, for example, started out under the Spanish thumb, but established of the British Empire by the end of her reign.

For China, I think Shihuangti should be the leader, not Mao Zedong. Shihuangti is considered the first Emperor of China, the man who united the country for the first time, and created the first dynasty. Along the way, he also expanded China's borders, started building the Great Wall, and massively reformed China, down to a standard written language and weights and measures. I think Mao was selected simply because he's someone people are familiar with.

Should Abe Lincoln lead the Americans? Not knocking his great contributions. But what about Theodore Roosevelt, who engineered the only time the US was an empire, at the beginning of the 20th Century, and built the Navy? Or Thomas Jefferson, who led the country during the troubled 18th Century, and doubled the size of the US with the Louisana Purchase? Or the other Roosevelt, FDR, who led the country through the Depression and World War II, and the only one elected to three terms?

Should Joan of Arc lead the French, apart from babe reasons? What about Napoleon? Built the French Empire, from Spain and Portugal, to the gates of Moscow. No contest, IMHO. No other French leader comes close. Even established a dynasty of sorts.

Germans, Hitler would be the obvious choice, but do agree that Bismarck is the correct choice - united the Germans, established the empire, which lasted a lot longer than the Third Reich.

What do you guys think? Anyone have thoughts on the other leaders too?

 

[tpasmall]

The French shouldnt be the French, they should be the Franks with Charlemange as their leader. Cleopatra really didnt do much for the Egyptians either, should be Ramses. Also, the leader pic for Greece doesnt really look anything like Alexander the Great in my opinion (thought alex-the-great had blonde hair???) The Russians could have many other ones to be leader. Peter the Great? Stalin? Lenin? As for England, one who is often overlooked is William the Conqueror who really united much of England under one government (not in the nicest way but it is history). Im sure if i gave it a little more thought id think of better ideas for the others but im too lazy

 

[blahloney]

thats why I had this idea.

I wanted different great leaders to represent a civilization in different time...

I too want ideas in who(m) should represent the civs...

 

[Ultraman]

tpasmall

I think you are very right on Cleopatra. Think the only reason why she is in the game is the same as Joan - the babe factor. Joan wasn't even a rule of France! Much better as one of the little leaders that pop up on victory.

Peter the Great would be a strong contender for the Russians, agree. Don't quite agree on Lenin and Stalin. The communist empire didn't exactly stand the test of time ;-0

Half agree on Franks vs French. I would vote for the French Empire under Napoleon and his successors. Broke out of Europe, especially after Napoleon's reign.

William the Conqueror? United the island, not built the empire, so still in favour of Lizzie.

Thanx for posting, do share more thoughts.

 

[Switch625]

Originally posted by tpasmall
The French shouldnt be the French, they should be the Franks with Charlemange as their leader. Cleopatra really didnt do much for the Egyptians either, should be Ramses. Also, the leader pic for Greece doesnt really look anything like Alexander the Great in my opinion (thought alex-the-great had blonde hair???) The Russians could have many other ones to be leader. Peter the Great? Stalin? Lenin? As for England, one who is often overlooked is William the Conqueror who really united much of England under one government (not in the nicest way but it is history). Im sure if i gave it a little more thought id think of better ideas for the others but im too lazy

You could even make a case for Charles Martel (Charlemagne's father) as the ruler of the Franks. He stopped the Moslem invasion at the battle of Tours, and then chased them all the way back to the Pyrenees.

I disagree with Ramses as the ruler of Egypt. You could still have a woman as the ruler. Hatshepsut was an actual Pharaoh (and a very capable one), unlike Cleopatra, who was little more than a glorified prostitute.

Lizzie is just right for England. The only real contender to replace her would be Victoria, who ruled the British Empire for over 50 years and led the Empire to it's zenith at the turn of the twentieth century.