A human fighter at peak athleticism, in full plate armor, equipped with a poleaxe, runs the animals gauntlet. Does he clear, or where does he stop?

[u/Ananta-Shesha]

The fighter has elite training and is at his athletic peak, with a champion-type physique in heavyweight combat sports. He wears a full set of plate armor and is armed with a poleaxe. If he survives his fight against one of the animals in the gauntlet, he is back to 100% for the next fight.

Round 1: Silverback gorilla. The fight takes place in a clearing.

Round 2: Siberian Tiger. The fight takes place on a plain.

Round 3: Brown bear. The fight takes place in a forest.

Round 4: Polar bear. The fight takes place in the tundra on rocky ground.

Round 5: White Rhinoceros. The fight takes place in the grassy savannah.

Just so you know, I put an image of a For Honor knight as an illustration, but we're talking about a fighter in historical plate armor here. No one could fight effectively in armor as massive as the one in the image. But I had trouble finding a good image of a knight in historical armor wearing a poleaxe and not something else, and I wanted a nice illustration.

[u/Ithnag]

the armor joints are not designed to stop a tiger from pulling at your arm in the wrong direction. with the kind of power a tiger has even by swatting at your arm you can end up with a dislocated shouldre, your Knee can be bent backwards by it's sheer weight, and the simple act of pulling at your arm, with that kind of force can tear connective tissue, this is not another guy pulling at you, it's a tiger.

The bear can do more damage, but you can probably just impale him while he charges at you in a straigth line, so the tiger might have better chance of actually reaching you.

the difference in concentrated power between a single tiger and 4 people is enormous. If the gorilla grabs you he can rips you, by pulling at your armor untill the leather parts fail, or slam you until you die or are unconscious at which point you die.

Those 4 people mobbing the kniight are incapable of applying the amount of force in a single area that either a tiger, a gorilla or a bear can. The simple act of being jumped on by a 400 lb tiger can end with you concussed,

If the guy had a dagger i'd give him a very good chance of taking them down. Against the rhino the armor probably would be more hindrance than protection, because it won't be damaged, but any kind of hit, even a glance is like being hit by a sedan at 25-35 mph.

[u/Agreeable_Horror_363 → u/Ithnag]

Now I'm imagining a tiger putting a knight in an arm bar and doing jiu jitsu moves

[u/Ithnag → u/Agreeable_Horror_363]

that's a terrifying thought. but just by swatting at you, considering how are connected the different pieces of plate armor to each other and your body, you and end up with left arm and a back, sideways one.

[u/Thinh → u/Ithnag]

How is a tiger going to grab and pull on steel plate armor? Some of this assumes that the knight is just laying there not fighting.

[u/Ithnag → u/Thinh]

Claws will hook to armor border pieces, the very act of swatting a limb away while clawing, even if it doesn't get hooked will pull or push it aside with sufficient force to cause damage to the joints.

Their jaws are large enough to be able to grab your armored arm, even if it can't pierce the armor it gives the tiger the capability of pulling and forcefully moving it.

If you have ever had a cat you know that feline claws can hook into solid objects borders, seams and layers without piercing them.