Saxton Hale VS Steven Armstrong is a What-If? episode of Death Battle. It features Saxton Hale of the Team Fortress series and Steven Armstrong of the Metal Gear series.
Description[]
Get ready for a match to remember! Raw strength and nanomachines clash as the CEO of Mann Co and the Colorado senator running for American presidency trade blows! Expect chaos, destruction and more in this fight of the ages!
Interlude[]
Wiz: No group or organisation in fiction that involves mercenaries would be complete without the bulky strongman pulling the strings. They have boatloads of strength and then some, and are not afraid to show it.
Boomstick: These two are but a glimmer of entrants in ultimate badassery, and they will punch and destroy pretty much anything in their way to prove their superiority to you!
Wiz: Saxton Hale, the CEO of Mann Co.
Boomstick: And Senator Armstrong, the nanomachine-infused politician! He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!
Wiz: And it's our job to analyse their weapons, armour and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Saxton Hale[]
Wiz: Question time - who is the head honcho of Mann Co? The man behind all of the RED and BLU Team's bloodshed and violence while having adventures of death-defying and insanity-inducing proportions?
Boomstick: Isn't it that guy who leads Valve?
This video starts playing in response to Boomstick's question.
Gabe Newell: Uh, nope, it's just me--
Saxton Hale: *bursting out* SAXTON HAAAAAAAAAALE!
Boomstick: HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON??
Wiz: You're wrong, Boomstick. This is the man who leads the company responsible for supplying the mercenaries of the Team Fortress universe with weapons to kill anything and everything with - Saxton Hale.
Boomstick: Oh... okay... *whew*...
Wiz: Saxton Hale is the Australian CEO of Mann Co, and his daring and legendary reputation that would be set out for him was obvious at an early age. He's apparently so popular in the Team Fortress world, he's got his own comic book series centred around his thrilling adventures. Like some sort of Team Fortress Superman.
Boomstick: He's a strongman through and through... but Australian?
Wiz: Well, in real life, it's not quite the case, but in the Team Fortress universe, Australia is essentially the juggernaut of the world. They had advanced technology, facial hair - strangely on women and children as well as men - and ridiculous strength, due to the development of a substance known only as Australium.
Boomstick: Hey look, Wiz! ANOTHER fictional metal stronger and lighter than titanium!
Wiz: Well, actually, considering Australium has multiple states and forms and, on top of that, is valuable and worth a lot of money, it seems to have more of a resemblance to gold. It even has the same electron configuration... y'know, minus the kangaroos.
Boomstick: That is one hell of a treasure!
Wiz: And it empowered many people, presumably not just Saxton - his father and previous Mann Co CEO, Bilious, once managed to escape from a collapsed coal mine just by punching his way out of the rubble.
Boomstick: When in doubt, go all Knuckles on the problem and punch it! Which is precisely how Hale goes about his adventures fighting wild animals most of the time - anything in his way can be solved with two of his favourite things - ol' Leftie and Rightie! But if he needs to just cut through things, he does have his trusty lil machete. May sound like something cheap for a guy who can wrestle these animals into submission, but it gets the job done - especially for cutting out of the deep jungle and slaughtering giant gorillas!
Wiz: A man of Saxton Hale's calibre has spawned hundreds - nay, thousands - of possible rumours about his ability and the things he had performed, making it very difficult to tell fact from fiction. Fortunately, Saxton Hale himself has a published website documenting what he claims to be some of his greatest accomplishments.
Boomstick: According to legend, Saxton Hale isn't the 10th class... but he is the THIRD team!
Wiz: Unlike the BLU Team, who can push the payload into the RED Base, Hale can actually push the cart into the BLU Base.
Boomstick: As well as inventing Jarate - the Jar-Based Karate - he even invented the HIGH-FIVE!
Wiz: On Dark Horse's website, he got into a voted fight against Dark Horse's own Dr. McNinja... and WON.
Boomstick: And those are just a few of the ones that we know are true!
Wiz: Okay, throwing Chuck Norris-esque jokes around revolving around Hale is fun and all, but Hale does actually have quite a lot of impressive feats to back himself up. He has managed to cut his way out of "primate hell", killing sixty or so gorillas along the way, has fought off a lion with one arm while simultaneously having his hair cut, and fought a nine-hour fight against a supposedly "unstoppable" yeti, and won.
Boomstick: And not only does he dive out of planes from high altitude into his office without a parachute on a regular basis, he also drove the Indonesian Berserker Shark to complete extinction... and made them CRY!
Wiz: He can casually punch faster than the eye can track, and even when the Australium supplies were low, he still felt confident that he could take both the Heavy and the Scout at the same time. But most impressively, one of Saxton Hale's punches were said to have the pressure of precisely 2,751 psi, or pounds per square inch. To compare, the average heavyweight boxer throws punches with pressures of around 600 psi of pressure.
Boomstick: That's right - that's FOUR heavyweight boxers punching you at the same time and then some! And the scariest part? That's implied to be a casual punch as well, given that it's for his security system! Miss Pauling could only match that with this massive slab!
Wiz: So it's possible that he can exert more when pushed further. But despite his enormously powerful might, he is not completely without fault. He isn't the sharpest machete in the weapons rack and has a strange inability to beat up children.
Boomstick: So he can't bring himself to hurt a kid. What'd it cost him?
Wiz: His company.
Boomstick: Oh... well, shit.
Wiz: Perhaps the reason he couldn't do it is that he can only achieve tasks if he can find a way to do it in a manly fashion... which would explain why he does all of these life-threatening things.
Boomstick: Believe me when I say you do NOT want to get on this Australian's bad side!
Saxton Hale: The name's Saxton Hale; Australian, CEO of Mann Co, and the man who's gonna burn this place to the ground!
Steven Armstrong[]
Wiz: Senator Steven Armstrong is a man who wants America to get to ultimate power. He is a man of power, ambition... and corruption.
Boomstick: But before all of his warmongering, young Steven was dedicated to serving his country. After spending his time playing college football for the University of Texas, he would have gone professional, had he not decided to instead take the call to serve 'Murica in the United States Navy!
Wiz: Unfortunately for him, during this time, he never did see any combat. After leaving, he moved to Colorado and began his life as a politician, working his way into the Colorado state senate. By 2016, he had also got enhanced with--
Boomstick: Ah, ah, ah! Save that for later!
Wiz: Uh... sure. Anyway, despite seeming like a good senator, behind the scenes he was actually the de facto CEO of World Marshall Inc, commanding the Winds of Destruction in hopes to get him to power.
Boomstick: But it turns out there's a slightly more darker purpose to his campaign than previously thought.
Wiz: See, Armstrong believed that America was diseased in its ways. Rotted to the core, as he says. And wanted America to rise to it's former glory, to wipe everything clean and start afresh, hence why he began to run for presidency of the United States itself in 2020.
Boomstick: His methods may be questionable, but there's no doubt that Armstrong is a dedicated patriot through and through! Captain America would look inferior to him in comparison!
Wiz: Even before 2016, he had a high amount of normal strength, which he owes to his football career and his time in the Navy.
Boomstick: He also has quite a fair amount of skill in hand-to-hand combat despite not seeing himself in actual combat in most of his time, usually just incorporating brawl-like moves consisted of wrestling techniques and football moves.
Wiz: But, naturally, Armstrong wouldn't be Armstrong without his... ready?
Boomstick: Ready. One... two... three...
Wiz, Boomstick and Armstrong: Nanomachines, son!
Wiz: Ha-ha...
Boomstick: Ah, that felt so good...
Wiz: Yes, Armstrong got himself enhanced with nanomachines which harden in response to any physical trauma they undergo, and covers Armstrong's entire body, from head to toe.
Boomstick: Are you seriously trying to tell me that even his DICK has nanomachines? That'd make for an interesting round of sex...
Wiz: Ugh, just don't. Anyway, these nanomachines allow Armstrong to perform abilities that his normal strength wouldn't be able to do, such as lifting up huge pieces of debris, creating fire from the ground, and helping him survive wounds more easily.
Boomstick: Even losing a limb isn't a problem to him. Especially since it makes a neat temporary shiv!
Wiz: Despite not having much fighting experience, he has performed various extraordinary things. He's defeated Jetstream Sam in combat before taking him onto his side, temporarily beat Raiden and broke his original High Frequency Blade, and after Raiden broke the Metal Gear EXCELSUS to high damage, Armstrong finished the job and destroyed its damaged frame.
Boomstick: Those nanomachines of his are just so awesome... too bad they aren't perfect.
Wiz: Exactly right. Despite giving him high damage resistance, his nanomachines are only so good at their job. They can actually not respond if the attack in question is surprise attacks or attacks that he isn't able to react to in time. And the fact he's over-reliant on nanomachines isn't helped by the fact that he's somewhat gullible, which did eventually lead to his death.
Boomstick: But even in death, you can't deny that Armstrong is one badass motherfucker! He is a man who wants the true America, and will stop at nothing to get his way! You'd better hope you don't have to compete against this guy in the run for office!
Senator Armstrong: I'm using war as a business to get elected... so I can end war as a business! In my new America, people will die and kill for what they BELIEVE! Not for money! Not for oil! Not for what they're told is right! Every man will be free to fight his own wars!
DEATH BATTLE![]
AgentHoxton[]
Australia
Mid-afternoon
(Cue Robotnik Orchestral remix)
The Australian people of this world would normally not be afraid of anything. But today, they had something to truly be afraid of, as they ran through the streets in mass panic. Why? Because the giant spider-like Metal Gear EXCELSUS was parading through the city, smashing up buildings and causing all sorts of problems from the locals. Chaos was erupting, and no-one seemingly stood a chance against this new threat.
"Uncle Sam requires a sacrifice, Australia!" a voice boomed over a PA system on EXCELSUS.
Higher up in the sky
Meanwhile, a plane was flying high over the chaos erupting below. Inside, a man stood up from the seat and began to walk towards the edge of the plane, opening the doors as he observed the sky. He was only wearing shorts and boots, and he had the unmistakable shape of Australia on his chest... in the form of his own chest hair.
And that is Saxton Hale for you, ladies and gentlemen.
He observed the surroundings before looking down at the madness below. He grinned as he spotted the Metal Gear EXCELSUS. Finally, something he wouldn't mind wrestling to the ground as a challenge.
Without a word, he leapt out of the plane, not bothering to pick up a parachute, as he began his descent towards the Metal Gear. This, he felt, was going to be fun for him.
Back in the city
"Where's your god damn pride?" The voice boomed out again as the EXCELSUS tried to pulverise more civilians, destroying a lot more of the buildings and structures along the way. It would have continued this rampage, but the unmistakable shape of Hale was beginning to be noticed by the people. Saxton Hale was preparing an almighty punch.
"Saxton... HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE!" Hale yelled as he arrived, punching the Metal Gear EXCELSUS and causing it to lose balance with the blow. Hale then leapt off of the giant mech and grabbed one of its legs, and began to pull with all of his might. The EXCELSUS slowly began to rise off of the ground as Hale suplexed it, smashing it into the ground and damaging it, destroying a few more buildings and such as collateral damage.
Hale got back upright before crouching, and then performed a mighty jump onto the downed and damaged shell of the colossal Metal Gear. From the entrance that emerged in a ball-shape, the opening then came out, and from it, a lot of smoke. A bulky muscular figure walked out from the smoke. But unlike most musclemen, he looked like a simple businessman, clad in a suit, shirt and tie, and typical work trousers and shoes.
The unmistakable look of Senator Steven Armstrong.
"Well, if it isn't none other than Saxton Hale, the supposed "hero and saviour of Australia". Pah!" Armstrong jeered. Hale glared at Armstrong before gritting his teeth.
"Armstrong... I should have known that this oversized metallic spider had your stench all over it!" Hale spat. Armstrong simply grinned as he brought out a cigar and lit it, smoking it.
"All brawn and no brain, I see, as usual." He began. "So not only is America diseased, but so is Australia. Perhaps I can help purge that."
"The hell are you talkin' about?" Hale questioned. Armstrong, in response, lifted one of his legs into the air and brought it down on the frame of EXCELSUS. Armstrong was letting out a strange noise as all kinds of wire-like mechanisms from all across the EXCELSUS were heading for Armstrong. Hale watched with intrigue as the nanomachines all entered Armstrong, and before long, he was empowered with them.
(Cue Glamor In Charm And Allure)
"Alright, Hale... let's go." Armstrong grinned, now that this procedure was over. "I could break the president in two with my bare hands, and I can sure as hell crack you!" He pointed at Hale with this last comment. Hale looked at his fist, down to his arm, then back to Armstrong with a look of confidence on his face.
"If you say that... then how about ya prove it, Senator?" Hale asked him, getting into a fighting position. "Ya need to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to girly politics crap, after all." Armstrong got into a fighting stance as well with this.
Australia was going to have to hold on tight.
FIGHT!
Hale and Armstrong charged at one another, grunting as they met in an arm-lock. Both pushed against each other's might before Armstrong headbutted Hale away. The Mann Co CEO stumbled back in surprise before charging back at the Senator. The two clashed punches for a few seconds with neither of them seemingly landing a damaging hit on one another before Armstrong grabbed Hale's head with his hands.
"I played college ball, y'know." Armstrong gloated as he squeezed Hale's head. Hale pushed Armstrong's chest in retaliation.
"Bah! A kid's sport in some cushy ivy league school, I bet!" Hale retorted, before Armstrong headbutted him in response to this.
"Try University of Texas, Hale." Armstrong continued. "Would have gone pro if I hadn't joined the Navy!" He then kneed Hale in the chest before throwing him up into the air, prompting an angry roar from the Australian. He then stepped back as if to take a run up, watching Hale fall. "Don't fuck with THIS senator!" He grunted as he kicked Hale away, sending him flying and skidding across the frame of EXCELSUS. Hale stood up slowly and flexed his hand, not phased badly.
"Not even much in the way of scratches..." Hale mused, before smiling. "But I must admit, it's nice to see someone puttin' in some effort in fighting me for a change."
Armstrong yelled, charging at Hale with what seemed like a football tackle, but Hale kicked Armstrong in the face, causing him to stumble back in shock as Hale continued his attacking, continuing to throw heavy hits onto the senator before leaping into the air.
"Brave jump!" Hale called as he leapt, before falling onto Armstrong with a double-footing diving kick, knocking him down. But, similarly to Hale, Armstrong wasn't showing much in the way of damage. In fact, Hale noticed Armstrong's face showing a colour akin to charcoal upon impact. What was up with that? Hale didn't get much time to answer that as Armstrong booted Hale off of him.
"Like I said, Hale..." Armstrong gloated, walking up to him as the Mann Co CEO attempted to get up, booting him to the ground again. "America is diseased. Rotten to the core. I can't save it, and neither can you. It needs to be recreated to its former glory!" All the while, he continued to stomp on the downed Hale, clearly relishing the pain he may be putting him under.
"The hell... the hell are you sayin', Armstrong?" Hale asked, coughing up a small amount of blood. Armstrong smiled, stepping off of Hale.
"You still don't get it, do you?" He asked. "I'm using war as a business to get elected, to end war as a business! Soon people will be free to fight their own wars!" He then charged at Hale and kicked him in the head, knocking his flat on his face. Armstrong decided to take the opportunity to adjust his glasses and light a cigar as Hale slowly got up.
"Perhaps... perhaps I misjudged ya, Senator." Hale said, getting to his feet and walking up to Armstrong, offering his hand out. Armstrong grinned, confident that he had gotten the CEO of Mann Co onto his side.
"Am I coming through to you now, Hale?" He asked, shaking his hand.
"See, you're not evil..." Hale said, accepting the shake... but his smile slowly turned into a menacing grin. "...You're batshit insane!" Armstrong suddenly became alert as Hale tossed him over his shoulder, throwing him to the deck of the Metal Gear as he leapt towards the senator, punching him rapidly in the chest. He then leapt up with a roar and prepared another mighty punch, slamming Hale down on the frame of EXCELSUS and destroyed it in a massive explosion.
The resulting explosion launched debris of the EXCELSUS and several more destroyed buildings everywhere, and created a large crater. In the ensuing dust, Hale landed on the ground mostly unharmed. He looked around for his opponent through the dust and flames. No sign of him. He grinned as if he had declared victory, but then heard the voice of Armstrong up on the ruins.
"You just love being a pain in my ass, Hale." Armstrong mused, his suit tattered. Hale looked up, partly in shock, partly in confusion.
"You're a tough little nut to crack, ain'tcha?" Hale grumbled as Armstrong leapt down, creating a few cracks in the ground in doing so. "What makes you tick, Armstrong?" He pointed at the Senator, who grinned and took off his suit, leaving his shirt as the only thing covering his bare skin. He then opened it up slightly, revealing his chest, which blackened to the same charcoal colour Hale saw before, from his chest to his right arm. Hale looked on at this phenomenon in wonder.
(Cue Theme of Dormammu)
"Nanomachines, Hale." Armstrong explained. "They harden in response to physical trauma. And what that means is that you can't hurt me!" Hale's look of surprise turned into a grin as he cracked his knuckles.
"Is that so?" Hale taunted. "Then let's put that claim to the test, shall we?"
The two charged at each other with a roar as they punched each other. Hale was finally starting to notice that Armstrong's skin really WAS turning black depending on where he struck him. Was this his "nanomachines" at work? Hale continued to clash fists before leaping back, wondering what Armstrong would pull next. Armstrong raised his leg in the same manner he did before the fight began, and slammed it down, releasing a torrent of fire in Hale's direction and engulfing him in flames. But amazingly, Hale simply walked out of the blaze, slightly singed but unphased.
"I'll admit, that's a new one. I'll need to find more animals in the wild that can do that." Hale remarked. He then brought out a machete and twirled it in his hands. "Now this is a special knife. It's had its fair feeding of gorilla blood. Served me well." He then ran at Armstrong and slashed at him with the machete, which Armstrong parries with punches. Sparks fly as Armstrong continues to parry Hale's machete strikes before Hale yells, attempting to bifurcate Armstrong down the middle...
...and is met with Armstrong idly gripping the machete with his hand, grinning sadistically as the nanomachines helped him.
"Nice toy." He gloated, before wrenching his wrist, destroying the machete and leaving it useless. Hale looked at the end he has holding on before shrugging and throwing it to one side, putting his fists up again and running at Armstrong. He ducked under one of the senator's punches before the Mann Co CEO let out a roar and started rapidly punching Armstrong in the chest with blows that a normal human eye would never be able to track. Armstrong was grimacing from this onslaught - his nanomachines were doing their job, but Hale's punches were strong. He could feel them attempting to break through, and if he were to walk out of here alive, he'd need to finish Hale soon. He suddenly leapt away from Hale as the CEO of Mann Co looked on with a confused expression.
The senator landed on a fragment of EXCELSUS before reaching down for a large chunk of the Metal Gear. His arms and chest began to blacken as the nanomachines helped him lift the colossal piece of debris over his head, turning towards Hale.
"What in the actual hell are you doin'..." he murmured to himself as Armstrong leaned back and threw the piece of EXCELSUS towards him. Hale saw this coming and performed a mighty leap upwards, landing on the flying piece of metal and running across it. He leapt out towards Armstrong, who was using his nanomachine control to launch a car at the CEO of Mann Co. Hale got knocked back by the vehicle, but drop-kicked it off of him as he landed on the ground, giving him time to see Armstrong leaping out at him. Hale got into a defensive stance, catching him and whirling around before using one arm to throw him away into another wall, with the impact bringing more EXCELSUS rubble on top of him.
Normally, this would be where Hale declared victory. But Hale knew this wasn't like Charles Darling, or Gray Mann, or any of the animals he had faced on his travels. He waited for a sign that Armstrong was still kicking about. And he soon found that as a red aura emerged from the rubble and blasted it away, revealing a rough Senator Armstrong. His blood-lust was through the roof now as he shook himself off.
"That's it, Hale! Fuck the war! I just want you DEAD!" Armstrong yelled in frustration.
(Cue It Has To Be This Way)
And with the previous words, he ripped off what was left of his shirt, leaving his upper torso bare as he roared in pure anger. Hale was not only intrigued, but impressed.
"That's it, Armstrong!" Hale grinned as he pulled his hat up. "Now you're speakin' my language!" Armstrong calmed for a brief moment to reach for his glasses, only to pull them off and throw them away, revealing his red eyes. A grin reformed over his face as he prepared for the final showdown.
"Let's do this, punk." Armstrong declared.
"Let's dance." Hale shot back.
The two charged at one another and threw the most powerful punches they had delivered so far, neither one taking the upper hand on the other as they traded rapid blows with one another. Hale then kicked Armstrong away, leaving him to skid across the ground. Armstrong then lifted his leg up again and brought it down, creating geysers of fire that popped up all around the arena. To Armstrong, Hale had disappeared in the inferno, and chuckled, feeling intent with victory.
But then Hale burst through yet again.
"SAXTON... HAAAAAAAAALE!" Hale roared as he punched Armstrong, taking the senator by surprise as he laid a beat-down on him, rapidly punching him in the chest with strong blows. Armstrong flinched with each hit. His nanomachines couldn't get up in time and he could feel each hit in its actual power. It burned. He then caught one of Hale's punches as he pushed the Australian off of him, kicking him away. Hale slid across the ground again, before noticing the hilt of his broken machete nearby. He picked it up and tossed into the air before kicking it at Armstrong. The senator swiped it away with minimal effort as he charged in a football-like run as he attempted to bulldoze Hale yet again with a strong left-hand punch, which Hale blocked.
"You think you can take me down, senator?" Hale asked as he parried the blow, leaving Armstrong to stagger back. "Think again." Armstrong took a moment before attempting another attack, this time with his right, hitting Hale with a heavy punch in the chest. Hale staggered, wheezing a little as he caught his breath, and spotted Armstrong over his shoulder attempting to bring both fists onto his head. Hale suddenly delivered a sharp punch into the senator's gut, leaving Armstrong to stagger back also. Armstrong remained in this daze for a few seconds before regaining his composure and charging at Hale once more. Hale, likewise, charged at him as well.
"DIIIIIIE!!" Armstrong yelled as they both charged at each other. Armstrong attempted to clock Hale in the face, but Hale dodged under the punch and delivered a rapid string of strong punches at Armstrong's chest. Despite the nanomachines kicking in this time, the senator was struggling to keep on top of the onslaught. Hale was just too damaging for his own nanomachines to keep up with. Just what was this guy made of? But Hale wasn't even finished. He had finished his rapid strings of attacks on the politician, and prepared for the coup de grace.
"We're done here!" Hale declared, before letting off his most powerful punch onto Armstrong's chest, aiming straight for his heart.
SPLAT!
Hale's punch managed to tear through the worn down nanomachines and rip straight through Armstrong's chest, getting straight to his heart. Hale could feel the organ squirm in his hands and grimaced. Meanwhile, the dying Armstrong, now more willing to accept defeat, put his hand on Hale's shoulder.
"Wh... well done, Hale." Armstrong got out. But before he could say any more, Hale began to pull, and with a bit of effort, managed to pull Armstrong's heart out, leaving the damaged senator to fall to the ground as he stared at the heart.
Armstrong's heart was an interesting one, to say the least. A size of a baboon's heart that Hale suspected was in one of his other mercs, but instead of being red, it was a shiny silver, and patterned with a hexagonal grid. Hale stared at it, before looking back to the fallen Armstrong.
"My job is done. You're finished." Hale declared firmly, before crushing the nanomachine-laced heart in his hand, spraying blood over his hand, arm and part of his face. He then pulled his hat up as he walked away from the chaos in silence.
Hale had prevailed. He had saved the world from chaos.
For now, at least.
K.O!
Hale walked off, his hand bloodied from crushing Armstrong's nanomachine-coated heart. From above, a young angel boy had documented the entire spectacle on his video camera, as if hired by the press.
"Wait 'till the news hears about this..." He mused. Then he saw a complete stranger approach.
Results[]
(Cue TF2 Saxxy 2011 theme)
Boomstick: Woo-hoo! What a match!
Wiz: This was a very close battle. Because of Armstrong's nanomachines and smarter mind, he was able to keep in the match for a long time despite Hale's tenacity and strength.
Boomstick: Armstrong's nanomachines meant Hale's machete was nothing, especially when Armstrong broke a High Frequency sword! The senator could have even clenched this match by running Hale down with his nanomachines and sheer brutality, if it weren't for one important question - could Hale's fists be able to penetrate Armstrong's nanomachines?
Wiz: Hale's punches have been known to reach pressures of over 2000psi, and can casually reach speeds faster than the eye can see. While Armstrong's nanomachines are capable of taking a fair bit of punishment, his fights with Sam and Raiden prove that his nanomachines aren't perfect - they can only deal with so much punishment at any given time and attacks that Armstrong can't prepare for or see coming can bypass them. If Raiden and Sam are capable of bypassing this through attacking alone, there's no reason to say Hale cannot do the same.
Boomstick: Armstrong may be stronger and more durable with those active, but Hale is more prevalent in those categories when they're not on, likely due to the fact that Hale most likely has the benefits Australium gives! Hale also has a shit-ton of stamina, evidenced by the fact that he was able to go toe-to-toe with this "unstoppable" yeti for 9 hours! Even if it's an exaggeration, he's still got more stamina and endurance than ol' Armstrong!
Wiz: But most importantly, what Hale has far more of than Armstrong is experience. Hale and Armstrong are both leaders of mercenary groups that do take part in wars, but keep in mind that Armstrong has never really fought that much to begin with - sitting in his office leading his troops. He only really has his time in the Navy - of which he never saw combat to begin with - and his fights against Sam and Raiden to show his capability in terms of experience. Hale, on the other hand, is not afraid to get his hands dirty, fighting and winning against animals of all shapes and sizes. Considering he has tangled with sharks, lions and even a bulky yeti and came out on top, Armstrong could only delay the inevitable.
Boomstick: Hale to the king, baby.
Wiz: The winner is--
Saxton Hale: SAXTON HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALE!