Death Battle



"Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick. Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armors and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle."

"The Nerd Spin-Off of Deadliest Warrior!"

- Youtube commentary

Death Battle is a special hosted by Screwattack.com and is presented by "Wiz" (Ben Singer) and "Boomstick" (Chad James), and as of episode 20, animated by ShortFactor (Jordan Lange). The point of the show is to take two similar characters and pit them against each other, analyzing their respective strengths and weaknesses to see who would win.

There are so far 21 videos. The first 18 episodes were/are featured on Screw Attack's YouTube account, and starting with episode 19 the series is now exclusive to the redesigned screwattack.com.


 * The fights so far, in order of airing are:

Season 1:


 * 1) Boba Fett vs. Samus Aran
 * 2) Akuma vs. Shang Tsung
 * 3) Rogue vs. Wonder Woman
 * 4) Goomba vs. Koopa
 * 5) Mike Haggar vs. Zangief
 * 6) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale
 * 7) Leonardo vs. Zits
 * 8) Yoshi vs. Riptor
 * 9) Felicia vs. Taokaka
 * 10) Kratos vs. Spawn
 * 11) White Bomberman vs. Dig Dug
 * 12) Vegeta vs. Shadow
 * 13) Mario vs. Sonic
 * 14) Justin Bieber vs. Rebecca Black
 * 15) Luke Skywalker vs. Harry Potter
 * 16) Chun-Li vs. Mai Shiranui
 * 17) Starscream vs. Rainbow Dash
 * 18) Master Chief vs. Doomguy
 * 19) Doctor Eggman vs. Doctor Wily
 * 20) Princess Peach vs. Princess Zelda
 * 21) Raiden vs. Thor
 * 22) Cloud Strife vs. Link

But to see who wins, you'll have to watch them kicking the bejeezuz out of each other! Because that's what happens in a DEATH BATTLE!!!!!

Tropes used in this work include:
"Boomstick: Mikey's not gonna win this one, is he? Wiz: He'd better not!"
 * Acceptable Breaks From Canon: Done for the sake of fairness: since all battles must end with a death, any reservations a combatant may have about killing are ignored. Also, fighters may be strengthened or weakened slightly to avoid a total Curb Stomp Battle. (Though this hasn't prevented a few fights from ended up like this.)
 * Action Girl: About a quarter of the fighters fall into this category. Also, this is probably the one case in history where Rebecca Black qualifies.
 * Actor Allusion: Team Four Star voiced Shadow and Vegeta in their battle, when Shadow sends Vegeta to the moon, the Space Duck is behind him.
 * Actually a Doombot:
 * AI Is a Crapshoot:
 * Angrish: Starscream lets out an enraged "GYYYYAGH!!" during his fight with Rainbow Dash.
 * Animation Bump: Wiz and Boomstick commisioned Mr. Lange aka ShortFactor to animate the battles for episode 20, and for thirty more episodes. (Zelda vs Peach was a test run)
 * Ascended Extra: During the Haggar VS. Zangief fight, Princess Peach was launched out a window in a skyscraper the two combatants were duking it out in. Peach then fights Princess Zelda about 15 episodes later.
 * Ascended Meme: They're aware of the people suggesting Superman vs Goku all the time. In the Q&A episode, Boomstick decides to put an end to the whole thing.
 * In Q&A #2,
 * The remark of the Starscream and Rainbow Dash has them list Dash as being "20% cooler" than Starscream.
 * Aside from the Derpy Hooves cameo, at one point in the battle, when Starscream is being his usual treacherous self and trying to get Rainbow Dash to lower her guard, two really great ones pops up. First, Starscream claims "I'll join the herd!" This is quickly followed by Rainbow Dash saying how she should "Love and tolerate."
 * Doomguy's chainsaw is referred to as "the great communicator" which can "rip and tear" through anything.
 * Memetic lines in general are used once once or twice in fights that contain dialogue.
 * Attack Its Weak Point:
 * Author Appeal: Wiz and Boomstick are huge fans of Haggar.
 * Berserk Button: Boomstick has a BIG hatred for teen popstars, especially Justin Beiber.
 * On that note, one Death Battle involved Bieber and Rebecca Black. Guess how it ended.
 * Wiz really doesn't think highly of Michelangelo, so no points for guessing who ends up dying first in the Turtles' battle royale. They pretty much acknowledged that one before the fight.

"after killing : Did I win? after killing : Farewell"
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Rainbow Dash only attacks Starscream when he threatens to kill her,  Yeah, Starscream really shouldn't have antagonized her.
 * Yoshi is described in the intro as a "cute, happy dinosaur".
 * , the somewhat ditzy, happy-go-lucky girl who can't take ten steps without getting kidnapped,
 * Bond One-Liner:

"Wiz: Yoshi has a large arsenal of eggs to use as lightweight projectiles and can even create a giant egg-shell to use as an all-encompassing shield. Boomstick: What is it with creatures from the Mario universe usin' their babies as weapons? Is it that effective? I'm gonna have to test this out, maybe some sort of baby-launcher... Wiz: Boomstick! That's a terrible idea! Any time you'd want to reload you'd have to wait nine months!"
 * Book Ends: Mario VS Sonic and Starscream VS Rainbow Dash both start in one place, travel through other areas (a mountain and lake for Mario VS Sonic, the sky for Starscream VS Rainbow Dash) and then end back at the same place they started.
 * The Cameo: Derpy Hooves can be seen during the Rainbow Dash vs. Starscream fight.
 * Chainsaw Good: One of doomguys weapons
 * Chekhov's Gun / Chekhov's Skill: If it's mentioned during the rundown of the combatants, there's a good chance it'll be used during the fight.
 * Colony Drop:
 * Completely Missing the Point: Wiz might sound the saner of the two but that's just superficial...

"Wiz: Television has been used to market toys to boys and girls for generations. Ranging from G.I. Joe to Barbie, and Transformers to My Little Pony. Boomstick: Are we really doin' this? Wiz: Yes. Yes we are."
 * Crack Fic: On occasion, the matches depicted in "Death Battle" can wind up like this in a BIG way, such as Rainbow Dash vs Starscream.

"Vegeta: Wow... what a ripoff."
 * Crippling Overspecialization: Likely the main reason why the third, tenth, sixteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first Death Battles turned out the way they did..
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Usually averted, with one major exception: Rainbow Dash Vs. Starscream.
 * Also, Yoshi vs Riptor,
 * Wonder Woman at least until Rogue absorbed her powers.
 * Metal Sonic is a match for every one of Wily's Robot Masters combined. A Power-Up or two is all he needs to  And then Wily has the bright idea of using his Roboenza virus to defeat him, which turns robots into violent traitorous killing machines.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Both Wiz and Boomstick have a fair ammount of snark in them.
 * Vegeta had a couple good ones; for example, his response after shadow goes super?
 * Deadpan Snarker: Both Wiz and Boomstick have a fair ammount of snark in them.
 * Vegeta had a couple good ones; for example, his response after shadow goes super?

"Wiz: When it comes to fighting, combatants come in all shapes and sizes! Boomstick: And I'm likin' the shapes and sizes on these two!"
 * Disney Villain Death: Played with in Yoshi vs. Riptor.
 * Distracted by the Sexy: Boomstick is happy to notice that their catfights involve hot chicks with big boobs.

"Wiz: [Mai] wears it for kunoichi, a female ninja method of sensually distracting the foe before striking. Boomstick: ...I'm sorry, what? I was distracted."
 * And...

"Kneel before your master."
 * Double Entendre: Episode 20. It starts with Vibe Scepter and goes on from there. Boomstick is...amused.
 * Downer Ending: Eggman vs Wily.
 * Driven to Suicide: Played for Laughs when Boomstick decided he couldn't go after hearing about Justin Bieber's popularity. He felt better after hearing Bieber could be rather aggressive and seeing a clip of a character of his getting shot to death.
 * Drop the Hammer: The Mighty Thor.
 * Early Installment Weirdness: The first two Death Battles included health bars for the combatants. Boomstick's voice wasn't as distinct either.
 * Expy: The show is basically Celebrity Deathmatch for pop culture, right down to the colour commentary and death of the loser at the end of the match.
 * Evil vs. Evil: A few of the battles pit two villains against one another.
 * Fate Worse Than Death:  is the only character that has survived losing, however.
 * Five-Bad Band: The two doctors and their robots make two bands.
 * Dr. Eggman's Team:
 * Big Bad: Dr. Eggman
 * The Dragon: Metal Sonic
 * Evil Genius: Egg Robo
 * The Brute: Mecha Sonic, Silver Sonic, E-101 Beta, Mecha Knuckles, Shadow Android
 * Dark Chick: Scratch and Grounder
 * Dr. Wily's Team:
 * Big Bad: Dr. Wily
 * The Dragon: Bass
 * Evil Genius: Magnet Man
 * The Brute: Guts Man, Metal Man, Pharaoh Man, Napalm Man, Slash Man
 * Dark Chick: Sheep Man
 * Flat What: Boomstick will give one to the more incredulous factoids.
 * Flight, Strength, Heart: From Episode 21, Thor's powers are listed as being able to lift over one million tons, move at supersonic speeds, never feel exhaustion, survive the vacuum of space, and talk with frogs.
 * Gameplay and Story Segregation: Inevitable. These are fictional characters who are from completely different worlds that operate on completely different rules, and in some cases the problem stems from the worlds they come from. For example, technically just tapping the shoulder of a bad guy for Mario OR Sonic would mean instant death in game play, unless of course you're playing one of their later games and this element is never incorporated into story lines for obvious reasons.
 * Freeze-Frame Bonus: At one point in Starscream vs Rainbow Dash, Derpy Hooves can be seen hidden in the clouds.
 * Half the Man He Used To Be: How  is defeated by
 * were also fatally cut in half by  respectively.
 * Hidden Depths: Boomstick possesses a surprising amount of knowledge about raptors. It stems from his childhood when he wanted one as a pet named Barney after learning what irony was.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:
 * also managed to blow himself up.
 * A two-way example. In Eggman vs Wily, . However, this leads to.
 * Hurl It Into the Sun:
 * I Surrender, Suckers: Starscream pretends to surrender to Rainbow Dash, to stall while he arms his missiles.
 * Wily to Eggman.
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
 * Joke Character: Eggman's army has Scratch and Grounder, Wily's army has Sheep Man.
 * Kill'Em All: Three fights so far have ended in a draw.
 * Killer Rabbit: Rainbow Dash. Arrogant by nature or no, Starscream can hardly be blamed for thinking a small winged pony wouldn't put up much of a fight.
 * Kneel Before Zod:
 * Killer Rabbit: Rainbow Dash. Arrogant by nature or no, Starscream can hardly be blamed for thinking a small winged pony wouldn't put up much of a fight.
 * Kneel Before Zod:
 * Killer Rabbit: Rainbow Dash. Arrogant by nature or no, Starscream can hardly be blamed for thinking a small winged pony wouldn't put up much of a fight.
 * Kneel Before Zod:
 * Kneel Before Zod:

"Boomstick: ...Thaaaat seemed a bit overkill......I liked it!"
 * Lethal Joke Character: When the teaser for Episode 20 was revealed, just about everybody expected Zelda to win her battle with Peach easily. Come the actual episode, Wiz and Boomstick remind us just what Peach is capable of. In the end, she puts up quite a fight
 * Lovable Sex Maniac: Boomstick.
 * Mid-Battle Tea Break: Felicia and Taokaka play with a butterfly for a bit before Taokaka kills it by accident.
 * Sonic and Mario's fight is briefly halted when Mario uses his Tanooki Suit statue mode.
 * More Dakka: This was pretty much Doomguy's strategy against Master Chief.
 * Most Annoying Sound: The noise the Wily Capsule makes, according to Boomstick.
 * MST3K Mantra: Invoked. In the TMNT Battle Royale, Wiz was forced to consider Rafael's victory in the 2007 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and eventually concluded "That whole movie doesn't make much sense to begin with. Why should this?"
 * No Kill Like Overkill: The finale of Thor VS Raiden, as Lampshaded by Boomstick.


 * No-Nonsense Nemesis: Eggman V.S. Wily.
 * Not So Above It All: While Wiz is the straight guy to Boomstick, he's not totally sane himself. For example, he's mentioned doing something with genetically enhanced hamsters, dissected an unwilling Goomba and only discounts Boomstick's baby cannon idea on the grounds of acquiring ammunition.
 * Oh Crap: In the Master Chief/Doomguy fight, when
 * Also, in Bomberman vs Dig Dug after.
 * And in Mario vs. Sonic,
 * There was also Vegeta vs. Shadow,
 * This was pretty much 's reaction when in Eggman VS Wily.
 * This was Starscream's reaction
 * Off with His Head:
 * One-Winged Angel:
 * Power-Up: Used interestingly in the judgment of the fights. Twice now, they have had a fighter who collected all kinds of power-ups go against someone who had just about all of their abilities from the start. And in both cases they have chosen the latter to be the victor.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Boomstick and Wiz, respectively.
 * Rule of Cool: In the second Q&A, Wiz specifically states the fights are not representative of who actually wins the Death Battle; the winner is decided well beforehand through research into the combatants. The fights are purely for entertainment purposes.
 * Shock and Awe: The entire battle between Thor and Raiden.
 * Shown Their Work: Before every fight, Wiz & Boomstick look through the history, abilities, arsenal, & weaknesses as presented in the canon of each fighters in great detail to determine who would win. Regardless of what one thinks of the results, they can't be accused of not doing their homework.
 * Take a Third Option:
 * The Remake: The Starscream/Rainbow Dash battle was remade including new information and better effects in the battle.
 * About 24 hours after Thor vs Raiden was released, Shortfactor (the animator) improved the visuals of the final phase of the battle, and was subsequently updated with the video.
 * Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
 * Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object: The Haggar Vs. Zangief fight was described in the commercial break as "the unstoppable force meets the immovable mayor".
 * Victoria's Secret Compartment: Boomstick jokes that this is where Mai Shiranui stores her weapons. To his surprise, this is actually true.
 * Where's the Kaboom?:
 * Your Head Asplode:
 * Where's the Kaboom?:
 * Your Head Asplode: