User blog comment:Essie Essex/Vote for Corvo in the Shadow of Mordor Fantasy Face-Off/@comment-26385050-20150608163628/@comment-5607198-20150609170206

Talion isn't slowing time, he's FOCUSING.

He's using his own ranger training and the Wraith's power to think and act more quickly than he would normally.

The question of branding is worth debating, though. Psychic power is not unknown in Middle-Earth. Even Denethor is mentioned to be able to use psychic commands and communication. And we know that much of the "supernatural" stuff is based around force of will (the One Ring is an avatar of and conduit for Sauron's will, etc) and what Celebrimbor is doing is forcing his will upon the orcs.

The question, then, has to be whether or not Corvo's will is strong enough to withstand Branding.

Given that we see many orcs are capable of fighting off the Wraith's mental attacks until something weakens them (a phobia or being beaten to near-death), it's not impossible to imagine that Corvo would have a similar ability to resist. Many times we can see the Outsider being impressed by Corvo's willpower and subsequent accomplishments, so I think we can afely assume that, unless severely weakened, Corvo can ignore a Brand attempt.

Then, we have Corvo's possession power. Talion is a dead man who relies on an undead spirit to keep him ambulatory. Celebrimbor is an undying wraith who relies upon a mortal body to give him the ability to affect the corporeal world (just as the Nazgul require clothing/armor to act as Sauron's agents). If Corvo CAN possess Talion, it's theoretically possible that he could temporarily weaken them both. However, the mechanics are so unknown, it's impossible to sy with any certainty. Let us instead assume that Celebrimbor is enough to protect Talion from Corvo's possession.

We know that Corvo is entirely vulnerable to ranged attacks, and thus is susceptible to elf-shot, but if we keep the conflict to direct, open combat, Corvo has an advantage. While the Wraith can still aim for Corvo's face (lets ignore the question of how much protection the mask affords, and assume that he can be shot in the head), Corvo can simply call a grand pause for the whole world.

To close out, Corvo simply has too many things he can do to Talion that the ranger can't return. Talion has to rely wholly on blitz attack if he hopes to win.

Honestly, though, I'd rather see them fight as mortal men, using only their swords (no throwing weapons or ranged combat). That's gonna be a MUCH closer fight. Two oppenents, lightly armored, both extremely high in skill... Talion uses a longsword, giving him a strength and weight advantage, though his reach-hindering two-handed grip mean both opponents are more or less even in terms of range. Corvo, then, has to be fast enough with his dodges and parries to get around the superior force of Talion's blows. Talion, on the other hand, has to be good enough to keep Corvo boxed in and ultimately work past his defense.