Death Battle

Death Battle
File:DeathBattle logo.jpg Series logo
Genre	Media crossover, Web-based documentary
Created by	Ben Singer Chad James
Directed by	Ben Singer
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	44
Production
Executive producer	Craig Skistimas
Running time	Varies
Production company	ScrewAttack
Original release
Network	YouTube
Release	December 6, 2010 – present

Death Battle (stylized as DEATH BATTLE!) is a web-based video show hosted by "Wizard" (Ben Singer) and "Boomstick" (Chad James) presented by ScrewAttack. The show pits two or more fictional characters from different medias such as movies, comics, manga, television programs, literature and video games, and create a simulated battle to the death. The characters are analyzed with their respective powers, strengths, and weaknesses, to determine a winner.

The show's first season has 25 episodes. The first 18 episodes were featured exclusively on ScrewAttack's YouTube account, and starting with episode 19 the series is now posted to the redesigned Screwattack.com, with a delayed posting of past fights to their YouTube page.

Format overview

The show's central concept consists of taking two or more fictional characters and pitting them against each other in a simulated "death battle". Before the start of the battle, the hosts analyze the character's strengths, weaknesses, physicality (weight, height, age, intellect), and weapons. This is done by extensive research of each of the characters, taking notes from various known experts, collaboration from various conventions (e.g. Comic-Con), official websites, and franchise encyclopedias. People are sometimes interviewed in these conventions to know their opinions about the battle. All other traits try to be represented with accuracy based on the character's canon universes. If the character has multiple versions, the most well-known version will be the one chosen. After studying the characters, the battle commences shown in a form of a virtual battle in either 2D sprites or 3D CGI. Many of the characters involved are voiced by many YouTube personalities, a list that has included MasakoX and ItsJustSomeRandomGuy (who played Goku and Superman respectively). After a conclusion is made to who is the winner, the hosts explain the reasoning he or she is triumphant over their opponent. In the show "Wizard" is portrayed as highly knowledgeable about all fight subjects, and claims to have a (malfunctoning) cybernetic arm. "Boomstick" is portrayed as a gun-loving, misogynistic, foul-mouthed redneck. Although, he has shown proficiency in some topics, including giving a surprisingly deep explanation as to why Superman is able to masquerade as Clark Kent using only a pair of eyeglasses.

Characters in the virtual simulation kill their opponents, even though many of them are usually portrayed as against killing (such as Batman or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). These are made as a "What If" scenario for entertainment purposes, and does not go against the accuracy of the analysis of the respective winner. In the case of Justin Bieber versus Rebecca Black however, the battle was satirically made for comedic purpose. Beginning from episode 20, the battle sequences were animated by Jordan Lange, who was dropped from the show after episode 29 (Ivy Valentine vs Black Orchid). The show since has then been animated by three new animators, a 2D sprite animator Mali, a 3D animator Torrian Crawford, and a secondary 2D sprite animator Eric Marte.

A spin-off series, 1-Minute Melee, began in August 2014. This series features animated battles similar to that of the main series, but all fights conclude in 60 seconds with no research done beforehand. A second spin-off, The Desk of Death Battle, began airing in January 2015, in which the show's intern Jocelyn discusses interesting facts about characters that were found during research but not mentioned during their respective episodes.

Rules

1. Combatants possess no non-canon knowledge of each other.
2. To ensure a fair fight, character personality restraints from killing are ignored.
3. All other character traits & tactics are not ignored & largely attempted to be represented faithfully.
4. Research source prerequisites are generally determined equally unless specified.

Episodes

Season 1

No. in series	No. in season	Characters	Winner	Recap
1	1	Boba Fett vs. Samus Aran	Samus Aran	Samus has superior weaponry and athletic skill, combined with Fetts' homing anti-vehicle rocket being inaccurate to human-sized targets.
2	2	Akuma vs. Shang Tsung	Akuma	Akuma is an incredibly vicious fighter, so his constant punishment and unmatched skills were more than what Shang Tsung's stamina could handle. Plus, Shang Tsung isn't used to winning anything on his own, which left him wide open when it came to delivering the final blow.
3	3	Rogue vs. Wonder Woman	Rogue	Wonder Woman is a trained fighter so she instinctively hit Rogue in the face, allowing Rogue to absorb her power. Her outfit also made it easy for Rogue to gain even more of her abilities by grabbing her uncovered leg.
4	4	Goomba vs. Koopa	Draw	The Goomba's idiocy and the Koopa's cowardice respectively lead to their downfalls. Kicking the Koopa's shell sent it back at the Goombas and the Koopa was too afraid to get out of its shell in time to avoid the lava pit.
5	5	Haggar vs. Zangief	Zangief	Zangief is younger, larger, stronger, and has been training all his life, whereas Haggar has had to put training aside due to being mayor of Metro City.
6	6	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale	Leonardo	Leonardo knows how to pick battles and has the deadliest of the weapons. Michelangelo is killed first due to his lack of discipline, overcomplicated weapons and rotten luck to face Leo first. Donatello managed to use his ranged weapon to best Raphael and his shorter weapons. But the non-lethality of his bō staff and a well time distraction from Leo led to Don being ambushed and killed by Raph. Finally, despite snapping Leo's swords with his sai and stabbing him in the stomach, Raphael failed to hit anything important (turtles have small organs). Leo, simultaneously, stabs Raph in the throat, making sure to get the kill.
7	7	Zitz vs. Leonardo	Leonardo	Zitz is a powerhouse compared to Leonardo, but Zitz's strategies always relies on overpowering foes, whereas Leonardo can rely on his ninja training to outsmart and outflank.
8	8	Yoshi vs. Riptor	Yoshi	Riptor is offensively more powerful than Yoshi, outclassing him in close quarters combat, but Yoshi has been known to be able to take a beating, and his arsenal is varied thanks to his digestive system. He's also smart, being described as an incredibly intelligent species by Nintendo and possessing at least enough intelligence to drive a car.
9	9	Felicia vs. Taokaka	Taokaka	Taokaka has the superior agility, not to mention her razor-blade claws, which both combined cancel out her A.D.H.D..
10	10	Kratos vs. Spawn	Spawn	The only weapon Kratos possesses that's actually capable of hurting Spawn is the Blade of Olympus, and Spawn has plenty of evil energy to feed on from Kratos himself, since the former is covered in the ashes of his murdered family. In addition, even if Kratos pieces together only the Blade can kill Spawn, he would also need to know, through unlikely odds, that Spawn needs to be decapitated in order to die.
11	11	Bomberman vs. Dig Dug	Dig Dug	Dig Dug has the superior movement when below ground, and unlike White Bomberman, he has a way of controlling his opponent. Bomberman had to rely on his power ups for success.
12	12	Vegeta vs. Shadow	Vegeta	Vegeta has proven time and again to be one of the biggest "tanks" of the Dragon Ball series, so outlasting minutes-long beatdowns by those with superior power, like the minute long Super Shadow, is not unusual for him. Also, Vegeta's super-saiyan form lasts a lot longer than Shadow's super form.
13	13	Mario vs. Sonic	Sonic	Outside of their power-up items, which are evenly matched, Sonic's super speed was enough to trump Mario's strength. Even with lesser known power ups, there is no reason to say the result would've been any different.
14	14	Justin Bieber vs. Rebecca Black	Draw	Bieber's fear of thrown objects kept him at a distance while Black's daredevil recklessness put her at just as much risk as it did her opponent, resulting in the death of her, her driver, Bieber, the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus.
15	15	Luke Skywalker vs. Harry Potter	Luke Skywalker	Harry has an inherent weakness in his famous lightning-bolt scar that can be exploited with Shatterpoint, and most of his curses and spells can be blocked with Luke's lightsaber and the force.
16	16	Chun-Li vs. Mai Shiranui	Mai Shiranui	Although Chun-Li outmatched Mai in strength and hand-to-hand combat skill/experience, Mai has a varied arsenal, and her ninja training makes her unpredictable compared to Chun-Li. Mai also had superior speed and fire-based attacks.
17	17	Starscream vs. Rainbow Dash	Rainbow Dash	Rainbow Dash is faster and more agile while Starscream is more foolish. As a result, Starscream ends up taking all the real hits, including from his own missiles. Additionally, his Null Ray is not designed to affect organic lifeforms.
18	18	Master Chief vs. Doomguy	Master Chief	While Chief's armor makes Doomguy's look obsolete, he's also more versatile than Doomguy, whose main tactic is "slash, tear, shoot, repeat". Chief's use of shields and other equipment were to his best advantage, proving enough to outclass Doomguy's destructive arsenal.
19	19	Eggman vs. Wily	Metal Sonic	Wily's robots are used to working as a team, and solidly beat Eggman's forces, except for Metal Sonic, who is a whole different caliber. Metal Sonic takes a few scans, gets a Chaos Emerald, and spreads the Roboenza virus, leaving the world in ruins.
20	20	Zelda vs. Peach	Peach	While Zelda is a more apt combatant, her attacks are relatively limited and predictable whereas Peach has a varied arsenal, is more athletic, and has a kick that's powerful enough to crush Zelda's skull.
21	21	Thor vs. Raiden	Thor	Thor and Raiden are immune to each other's lightning but while lightning is Raiden's main power outside martial arts, Thor's main weapon is a million-ton hammer forged from the core of a neutron star. Also, he has experience defeating clever foes like Raiden, given that his main enemy is his trickster god half-brother, Loki.
22	22	Link vs. Cloud	Link	Link has the superior experience and is used to thinking on the fly, as compared to Cloud's brute force style. The Hylian Shield is indestructible and combined with the Golden Gauntlets (which give him Super Strength) can block Cloud's Buster Sword, while the Master Sword weakens Cloud by purging his Jenova Cells.
23	23	Batman vs. Spider-Man	Spider-Man	Peter's Spider-Sense negates stealth and surprise, Batman's two greatest weapons. Unlike Batman, Spider-Man possesses superhuman strength, speed, and durability, and has survived grenades and fights with powerful characters like Juggernaut. Batman's weapons are mostly designed to be nonlethal. While Batman is an escape artist, he needs time to escape from Spider-Man's webs, which have been known to restrain the Hulk. Batman's greatest feats, such as fighting the rest of the Justice League and succeeding, were only accomplished thanks to the amount of time Batman put into preparing a plan of attack, and if Batman was allowed time to prepare, so would Spider-Man, who also possesses genius-level intelligence and cunning. Lastly, albeit factoring in to his victory a lesser degree, Spider-Man already has some experience in fighting strategic, gadget-oriented opponents, as his main enemy is the Green Goblin, who possesses a similar style of fighting compared to Batman.
24	24	Pikachu vs. Blanka	Blanka	Blanka's survival skills, superior strength, resistance to electrical attacks, and size trump Pikachu's electrical powers and speed despite his lack of formal training. Pikachu's dependence on Ash for instructions and lack of techniques that could harm Blanka hinder him, leading to his defeat.
25	25	Goku vs. Superman	Superman	Goku's extreme tenacity only prolonged the inevitable against Superman, as he did not know that Superman draws power from the Sun (also, he couldn't blow up the Sun since the resulting supernova would incinerate everything past Mars, including himself.) While Goku will pull out all the stops to defeat an opponent, Superman will only fight with as much strength as he needs to. Despite Goku's training, Superman's abilities have no consistent limit. This is because Superman's story is about accepting his alien background and being a hero of Earth, while Goku seeks to get stronger knowing that he has limits and can get overpowered.

Season 2

No. in series	No. in season	Characters	Winner	Recap
26	1	He-Man vs. Lion-O	He-Man	He-Man's strength easily overpowers Lion-O's and He-Man is just as fast as Lion-O, if not faster. He-Man is more than strong enough to destroy the Sword of Omens, leaving Lion-O vulnerable, due to having the strength to push a moon back into orbit. His Power Sword can deflect all the energy blasts fired by the Sword of Omens. Finally he has the habit of accomplishing the impossible, which would include destroying the Eye of Thundera, which could kill him if given the chance.
27	2	Shao Kahn vs. M. Bison	Shao Kahn	Shao Kahn's battle experience of over ten thousand years in addition to the absorption of billions of souls, all of which grant him power, was enough for him to overcome for M. Bison's ruthless fighting style despite eliminating his good soul and using his most brutal techniques. In addition, Bison's soul-fueled Psycho Power isn't the best weapon against someone who eats souls for breakfast, neither is his ability to brainwash and psychically manipulate others against someone who has similar experience. Lastly, Kahn's otherworldly physiology means Bison's soul would find it much more difficult to possess if he had to.
28	3	Ryu Hayabusa vs. Strider Hiryu	Strider Hiryu	While a very close fight, Hiryu's tech was able to match all of Hayabusa's ninpo arts, leaving the battle down to who has the advantage in strength, speed, and weaponry, all of which Hiryu is superior in. Hiryu can dodge bullets that are equivalent to anti-aircraft rounds, which are approximately 43% faster than automatic fire, which is Hayabusa's known limit, along with the fact that while Hayabusa can cut through most objects easily with his sword, Hiryu can do the same with literally his bare hands. Finally, despite the fact that Hayabusa has a larger weapon arsenal, they were effectively useless against the Cypher, the only exception being the True Dragon Sword, which in itself has less of an impact in a fight than the Cypher, due to the Cypher's technological capabilities.
29	4	Ivy vs. Orchid	Orchid	Orchid's ability to defeat the millennial-old warlord Eyedol when even the greatest warriors of the past failed highlights her superior fighting capabilities, as compared to Ivy's spotty win-loss record within the Soul canon. While Ivy is able to outmatch Orchid in long-ranged fights, Orchid's ability to turn into a flaming panther and phase through attacks forces the fight into close combat, which Orchid is more skilled in. On the topic of Orchid's finishing moves, while Ivy is known for her infamously enlarged breasts, Orchid's are only a size smaller, meaning neither of them are capable of utilizing Orchid's more well-known finisher properly. Finally, despite her experience in alchemy, Ivy would be unable to negate Orchid being able to turn her into a frog, as Soul Edge's protection does not fare well against other forms of magic.
30	5	Fox vs. Bucky	Fox	Real-life food chain aside, both sides have distinct advantages, rendering the fight close. In outer space, the Star Fox team's Arwings outclass the Righteous Indignation in both maneuverability and defenses. On the ground, Bucky's acrobatics and Fox's reflector both render the other's laser fire an irrelevant matter. With both having several advantages over each other (bravery vs. wits, land mobility vs. aerial mobility, etc.), the battle comes down to experience. Fox has fought in more wars than Bucky's rebellion, and single-handedly won all of them at self-request, in comparison to Bucky relying on his squadmates on field missions.
31	6	Terminator vs. RoboCop	RoboCop	The T-850 Terminator has a speed and fighting skill/strategy advantage in this fight, but RoboCop outclasses it in nearly every other way. RoboCop is stronger (he resisted a 3,000 PSI hydraulic press that can crush a Terminator in the first film), considerably tougher (he has withstood several devastating explosions, while a Terminator was destroyed with a homemade pipe bomb), and has superior weaponry. Finally, RoboCop has the human mind that allows him to adapt quickly and outsmart the Terminator.
32	7	Luigi vs. Tails	Tails	Although Luigi technically has more combat experience and has gone on more adventures than Tails, Tails' skills and arsenal were more than the green-capped plumber could handle. Tails' training with Sonic allowed him to easily outmaneuver Luigi, and his ability of flight granted him complete control over the battlefield. Tails is also naturally stronger than Luigi, being able to lift 10 tons while Luigi struggles to even lift a giant radish. Tails' extremely high I.Q. of 300 also allowed him to outsmart Luigi, and Tails' gadgets covered all of his weaknesses.
33	8	Pokémon Battle Royale	Blastoise	Charizard's greater speed allowed first attack, and its proud warrior mentality caused it to attack Blastoise. Venusaur didn't stand a chance against Charizard's dual typing, but the bulky defense of Blastoise was more than enough to outlast both of them. Blastoise could also use Rain Dance to power its water moves and weaken Charizard's fire moves and Venusaur's SolarBeam. Even though all of them should counter each other since grass beats water, water beats fire, and fire beats grass, every attack does a specific amount of damage to a specific type with a specific accuracy, sometimes with specific effects. A computer estimates over 7,000 different ways the battle could have turned out, and out of all results Blastoise wins the majority (48% compared to Charizard's 35% and Venusaur's 17%).
34	9	Fulgore vs. Sektor	Fulgore	Sektor's ninja training and abilities meant he could easily outmaneuver Fulgore, but Fulgore outclasses Sektor in every other aspect. Being almost twice as heavy (6' 5" and 550 lbs vs. 6'1" and 300 lbs) meant Fulgore's strength and size easily surmounted that of Sektor's, plus Fulgore had more options offensively and defensively and could easily overclock his reactor when Sektor got the upper hand. Finally, it took the combined efforts of Jago and Black Orchid to take Fulgore down, whereas Sektor has constantly been defeated by Sub-Zero alone.
35	10	Godzilla vs. Gamera	Godzilla	Gamera had the advantage of speed, but Godzilla is much stronger and more durable as he is nine times heavier and has strength on par with that of Thor. Godzilla's atomic breath is composed of radiation and not fire-based combustion so Gamera could not feed off of it. Gamera was able to survive an exploding alien flower, which had the strength of a nuclear warhead, yet was mortally injured by it. In contrast, Godzilla was able to survive an oncoming meteor, which possessed the same amount of power and wasn't injured at all. Gamera's shell could also be easily pierced by Godzilla since weaker monsters have done so before. Finally, Gamera's wins through retreating as he needs one round to analyze his foe's weakness and a second round to exploit enemy weaknesses to win. However, the deathbattle rules and Godzilla's aggressive attacking style renders this approach unusable.
36	11	Batman vs. Captain America	Batman	Captain America had an advantage in endurance and power, but Batman had the advantage in stealth, having frequently snuck around other super-beings (including Superman), and disarming skills, using his gadgets to turn the tide of the battle. Also, whilst Captain America is adept in all known fighting styles, Batman has mastered all of them, including a strong knowledge of pressure points.
37	12	Tigerzord vs. Gundam Epyon	Gundam Epyon	Zechs Merquise is a far more experienced pilot than Tommy Oliver. Also, Epyon once destroyed an entire space station with one sword swing and has the power to predict every possible outcome in a battle, while the bumbling Rito Revolto was able to destroy the Tigerzord in the third season of Power Rangers.
38	13	Ryu vs. Scorpion	Scorpion	Despite Ryu's more powerful techniques, Scorpion's undead nature and inability to be killed by physical attacks left Ryu (and his primary attacks) at a disadvantage. Also while Ryu had the Raging Demon technique (which could've killed Scorpion and was the only real way to do so), his lack of experience using said technique, and Scorpion's ability to teleport through it made the move null and void. Lastly once the battle shifted to the Netherrealm (where Scorpion constantly gets power from the longer he stays inside of it), all Ryu could do was delay the inevitable.
39	14	Deadpool vs. Deathstroke	Deadpool	While Deathstroke was superior to Deadpool in both fighting capabilities, strategy, and armor, Deadpool's smarts, ability to regenerate entire organs at a much faster rate, and having the means of defeating those with healing factors through his Carbonadium sword put Deathstroke at a disadvantage. In addition, Deadpool's unpredictability (which is known for confusing the Taskmaster and even himself) caused Deathstroke to be unable to defend himself against Deadpool's assaults, as well as being unable to capitalize on any open opportunities to fatally attack, let alone even kill Deadpool permanently.
40	15	Kirby vs. Majin Buu	Kirby	While Buu had more destructive potential, Kirby's Inhale & Copy Ability allowed him to absorb and rebound anything that could've killed him, and his Hypernova ability only expanded on this. Kirby also outclasses Buu in durability and speed, being able to withstand a Planet-Sized explosion without a scratch, while the same kind of explosion caused Buu to split into tiny pieces, forcing him to regenerate; Kirby's Warp Star also allowed him to move at speeds faster than light, a speed Buu had never faced before. Finally, Buu was unable to avoid having his own Planet Burst technique being reflected back at him, due to the fact that his Instantaneous Transmission technique has limits when in extreme situations, such as when he could not avoid being killed by Goku's Super Spirit Bomb at the end of Dragon Ball Z.
41	16	Ragna vs. Sol Badguy	Sol Badguy	Sol has had centuries more battle experience than Ragna had training, and is tough enough to withstand the Azure Grimoire given that Sol survived the Backyard. Ragna's Black Beast form was, while extremely powerful, completely outclassed by Sol's Gear form, given that he was able to completely disintegrate a Gear the size of Mt. Everest, which is much larger than the Black Beast. All of these feats were performed using only a fraction of Sol's maximum power.
42	17	Gaara vs. Toph	Toph	Ordinarily, Gaara's sand would spell the doom of his opponents, but Toph can feel all forms of earth, even if they are not connected to the ground. Plus, with her Seismic Sense, she could feel Gaara's attacks the instant they started and since the gold dust he added to his arsenal after defeating his father contains traces of copper and iron, Toph could bend that as well. Finally, because Gaara's sand armor uses his own chakra instead of his late mother's, when he ran low on chakra, Toph could turn that advantage against him easily.
43	18	Boba Fett vs. Samus Aran (Remastered)	Samus Aran	Samus has superior weaponry and athletic skill, combined with Fetts' homing anti-vehicle rocket being inaccurate to human-sized targets. Also, Boba often makes his victims show themselves and lure them into his trap, but Samus has often used the advantage of anonymity. Note: the episode was dedicated to famed independent animator Monty Oum, who died from a severe allergic reaction during a medical procedure on February 1. At the end of the episode, Samus, Boba Fett, Deathstroke, Deadpool, and a squad of Clone Troopers danced to Shine, a song from Monty's acclaimed web series RWBY.
44	19	Chuck Norris vs. Segata Sanshiro	Unknown	Both Combatants tore a hole into the fabric of space and time and vanished into it. They are speculated to still be fighting, so the winner, if there is one, is unknown.
45	20	Guts vs. Nightmare	Guts	TBD
46	21	Iron Man vs. Lex Luthor	TBD

Special Episodes

Episode	Characters	Winner	Recap
1	DEATH BATTLE! T-Shirt vs. Every Other T-Shirt In The World	DEATH BATTLE! T-Shirt	Setting the fastest kill in the show's history, the other T-Shirts of the world were caught off guard by awesomeness of the DEATH BATTLE! T-Shirt, causing them to explode. (Used to promote the DEATH BATTLE! T-Shirt.)
2	Vegeta vs. Mewtwo	The Internet	Vegeta's combat experience and Mewtwo's intelligence immediately alerted both of them to the real threat in the area being Silvermania. (Used as a satirical submission of an online video depicting a fight between Vegeta and Mewtwo.)

See also

• Animal Face-Off
• Celebrity Deathmatch
• Deadliest Warrior
• Monster Bug Wars
• Epic Rap Battles of History

External links

• Death Battle on ScrewAttack.com
• Death Battle Youtube playlist
• Death Battle on Revision3
• Death Battle at IMDb