Ultraguy’s top 20(ish) Death Battle ideas

Hey guys it’s been awhile since my last blog, so I figured I may as well do something easy to fill the gap. Here’s a list of 20-ish fights that I hope Death Battle does at some point. Keep in mind there’s no guarantee any of these will ever happen. Likewise I tried not to overlap on ideas involving characters from the same franchises. Finally most of the list is organized by what thematic connections characters have, and then why I think the match is appealing.

Samus vs Master chief

Connections: Both characters come from game series that had popular first person shooters in the 6^th generation of consoles. Both characters are well known for being one man armies that were genetically and physically altered for combat, as well as being trained from a young age. Both have power suits and both have worked with Ai partners at some point in their timelines. Their franchises also both have plots that involved fighting bio weapons or galaxy threatening parasites (the  Metroids and the flood respectively).

Appeal: I really think Samus would benefit from coming back to Death Battle. Granted she may have technically been featured in a “remaster” but given she was the first ever contestant on Death Battle, It’s pretty easy to notice a lot of her info is a bit outdated or less in depth than some of the later characters. Given she has a new game coming out in 2017 and another major release in 2018, I also feel like she’s fairly relevant again. Given Master chiefs own popularity and the fact the match could pay tribute to haloid, I really find the entire idea enticing.

Peacock vs bonny hood

Connections: Both are small children in casts of intimidating characters, yet manage to be some of the most feared badasses in them. They both have animal companions, and both use tons of weapons or character assists. One is also a magic using fairy tale inspired character, while the other is a toonforce using  cartoon based character, giving them both opposing whimsical abilities.

Appeal: I’m going to be honest here, I think that Death Battle has borderline overused Street fighter, Mortal Kombat and Killer instinct to an extent. I really think the show should cut down on them and try to use other fighting game characters a bit more. I like this fight a lot because having a character from the never featured skull girls and another character like Darkstalkers seems like it would be a huge breath of fresh air. The cartoony and ridicules nature of their attacks could also make for some fun animation.

Jin Kazama vs Ryu(street fighter)

Connections: Both are the main protagonists of two major fighting game series. Both series already share a rivalry and have had official crossovers in the past. Both characters are also accomplished martial artist who mostly fight unarmed. Finally they both have to deal super powered evil sides buried within themselves that threaten to bring the world to ruin if unchecked.

Appeal: Ok I know I said I’d rather not have any other Street fighter characters, but I could make an exception for this match (and maybe a fight involving Juri somewhere down the line).  Death Battle REALLY needs to finally have a Tekken character and given Jin Kazama is one of the more important main characters of the series and his similarities with Ryu, it would make sense for them to fight each other. Likewise from what I know Ryu stands a fair chance at winning this fight, which is something I would enjoy given I’m honestly getting tired of the street fighters losing streak.

Yu Narukami vs Jotaro Kujo

Connections: The persona series was directly inspired by Jojo series, and the characters in both franchises use supernatural apparitions of their mental or spiritual energy to fight. Both Yu and Jotaro were involved in investigating a series of murders by a serial killer, who used said supernatural powers to carry out his actions. Coincidentally both of these story archs took place in part 4 of each respective series. Yu and Jotaro also had their stands/personas enhance in power into a more ultimate state called “the world” during the climax of one of their adventures. Additionally both of them have fought entities that can stop time (Dio and the time God Cronus) and are lady killers.

Appeal: Persona isn’t as mainstream as Mario or Zelda, but it’s not niche to the point where I would say that anyone relativity knowledgeable about videogames wouldn’t have heard of it. It’s definitely sold more, has a larger presence in terms of marketing, and has a much larger currently active fandom than several of the other series already showcased in Death Battle at this point. Considering all that, the recent numbered release, the previously mentioned upcoming spins offs, as well as the fact I’m sure the Jojo anime will have a new season in 2018, I think having a persona vs jojo match would make a lot of sense.

Anyway in regards to the fight itself. There’s are tons of interesting avenues for debate. How do we choose what persona or abilities Yu can use during the fight? Can Jotaro use time stop to get an easy win? These character vary widely in what stats they specialize in, how do they deal with each other? Can persona users see stands? Not to mention the mechanical diffrences between stands and persona, as well as the strategies both characters are known for coming up with. It has the potential to be a really engrossing argument.

Ex: I know some people say they rather have Yu fight Josuke the actual protag of part 4 of Jojo, but I’ve come to like Jotaro more since it’s probably more even and interesting of a debate. It’s also say this match idea is way more popular from what I can see (being honest), and tbf has around the same amount of connections regarding it as Josuke would. Though admittedly I would be fine with either as a fight.

Likewise I know some people want the persona 3 protag Minato to fight Jotaro instead, but frankly I would argue Neku from TWEWY is a much more thematic opponent for him.

Sailor moon vs Cardcapture Sakura

Connections: Both are among the most popular magical girls in the anime scene. Both are from the 90s and have a fandom rivalry. Both are the descendants of famous powerful magic-users, Queen Serenity and Clow Reed. Both have a wide variety of magic powers, both fought against the embodiment of void: Chaos and the Nothing, both have a small furry taking magical four-legged creature as their pet. They also represent opposing archetypes

Appeal: It can’t be understated how influential and recognizable a character like Sailor moon is worldwide. She’s basically the OG magic girl and single handedly propelled the entire genre. Likewise while card captor Sakura isn’t as popular in the states, she’s recognized as one of the other larger Magic girl characters and her series has quite a bit of a rivalry with Sailor moon. It makes sense to put them against each other, and the frankly fact nobody from Sailor moon has appeared on DB yet baffles me and needs to change.

Pit vs Sora

Connection: Both characters are plucky young teens who are heavily connected to concepts like the power of heart and the power of light. Both fight monsters that are created by harnessing the power of a person’s soul and both are also well known for over the top anime-ish weapons.

Appeal: Kid Icarus was one of the cult classic games of the Nintendo library and after Pit’s redesign in smash bros brawl he finally got the chance to star in a squeal game kid Icarus uprising. Likewise Kingdom hearts is one of Square’s most prominent and long lasting franchises outside of Final fantasy and the series is FINALLY going to have its 3^rd instalment come out on consoles soon. In terms of powers both are pretty over the top having summons, mech suits and various over the top magic spells and supportive abilities to make a fight between the two chaotic(in a fun way). It would make for a great 3D fight in my opinion.

Dovahkiin vs Chosen /undead

Connections: Both characters started off their adventures in shackles, awaiting death, but were given a second lease on life and informed of their destinies. They both used their superhuman powers to fight off armies of monsters, absorb the souls of their defeated enemies, and destroy the mad gods who would see their worlds destroyed. They are both superheroes of the modern fantasy action-RPG.

Appeal: Skyrim and Darksouls are two of the most popular RPGs of the last generation and if Bethesda’s current attitude is anything to go by, Skyrim is probably going to keep seeing re-releases from now till the end of time. Both have some customizable elements, but I’ve seen some blogs made on the match in the past that has ideas on how to deal with that. In fact I find the idea of discussion how to tackle them pretty fun. Additionally how the combat systems of these games interact seems like an interesting avenue for debate.

Kirito vs Kite

Connections: Both sword art online and Dot hack have the similar premises of having their main protags get trapped inside a MMO game. Both characters are also characterized by dual wielding swords and regularly manipulate or ignore the rules of their respective games.

Appeal: Sword art is a fairly well know, albeit infamous anime, and dot hack likewise has some recognition due to being around so long. Sword art also had a major movie release in 2017 with a 3^rd season of its anime supposedly being made this year or the next. Dot hack likewise is getting a new game soon. Both series have also already crossed over in some capacity and the nature of a digital MMO style fight is something Death Battle hasn’t really dabbled in. The two franchises also already have a bit of a rivalry.

Inkling girl vs Beat

Connections: Both series have a similar art style, as well as similar music and 90s pop aesthetics.  Both Beat and Inkling girl use a form of paint or graffiti to tag their environments, which they can also use as a weapon to cause damage to nearby opponents. They also both use unusual forms of transportations, being their squid form and inline skates respectively.

Appeal: I like this match because of how off the wall and unexpected it is, while at the same time also making perfect sense. I also think actually trying to quantify how the hell you can use paint to destroy mechs and monsters is an interesting proposition. Outside of that while Jet set radio mostly just has cult status, Splatoon is easily one of the most popular new franchises that Nintendo has made in the last 10 years and had a major release in 2017. It also is slated to have an anime series soon, so that’s also a good reason to have the match involving them.

Dio vs Alucard

Connections: Two vampires who stand tall amongst their competition as two of the most widely recognized and severely badass vamps in all of anime and manga. They are both pure monsters in combat and the blood they’ve spilled is (probably) unquantifiable. One is a hero who fights for humanity; who sees the beauty of mortality and hates his own monstrous corruption. The other is a villain’s villain, who forsook his own humanity to become something greater; an evolved being who used his power to crush anyone in his path to discovering the secrets of reaching heaven, and become a god.

Appeal: Dio is one of the most well-known Jojo character and has gained memic status in various ways. Alucard has also had a fairly well known abridged series made by the famous team 4 star. Additionally while both characters are vampires, their move sets are very different from each other. For example Dio’s timestop particularly being a big factor in the fight, as well as all the shit Alucard has going on with schrodinger.

Ruby vs Maka

Connections: Both are scythe wielding teenage girls, who go to a school centered on training them in the art of combat. They’re also both pitted against supernatural monsters on the norm and have important verse mechanics centered on the use of the soul as a weapon.

Appeal: A lot of people seem to want this match and tbh I’d prefer it over most other Rwby fights that have been suggested thus far. Given Soul eater has ended and rwby is probably reasonably into its run, I don’t think it would be a terrible idea to have it at sooner rather than later. The rwby franchise also is going to have a major appearance in the game Blazblue cross tag battle in 2018, and rwby is getting a new season soon, so I find Ruby herself to be pretty relevant.

Avatar Aang vs Edward Elric

Connections: Both are teens who have the ability to manipulate and shape the elements around them as a means of fighting. Both have made poor choices in their past that directly set them on their journeys in the first place (abandoning the air benders and performing human transmutation). Their ability to bend the elements is also special or unique within the context of their worlds.

Appeal: Full metal alchemist is one of the more acclaimed shohen anime not yet brought into the Death Battle roster. Likewise Avatar is a very critically acclaimed tv show and it’s been a while since they’ve had a rep. Alchemy and Bending are also very interesting fighting styles, and the prospect of the applicants using the environment around them to make weapons, barriers, or hax could lead to very promising fight animations.

Thanos vs Darksied

Connections: Don’t need to be stated

Appeal: The appeal is super obvious.

Dexter Vs Jimmy neutron

Connections: Both Dexter and Jimmy neutron are self-proclaimed “boy geniuses” well known for creating off the wall gadgets and going on sci-fi centered comedy style adventures with a cast of school mates or family. They come from rivaling networks, cartoon network and nickelodeon respectively. Both series also have alternate animation styles (2d vs 3d) and have a fairly well known rivalry.

Appeal: There really hasn’t been many fights involving western cartoon characters created in the 90s and 2000s+, so this would def fill that niche. Both cartoons were also hugely popular with Dexter’s lab being one of the cornerstones of early cartoon network and Jimmy neutron being one of the few successful nick original movies before his tv series. Additionally both characters have a ridicules amount of hax and weapons to potentially put into a fight including weaponized time travel, creating stuff from nothing, transmutation, giant mechs, super speed, hulk like transformations and so on.

Risky boots vs Tronne Bonne

Connections: Both characters are pirates who serve as direct rivals and frenemies to their respective series protagonists. Both command large crews of identical mooks (servbots and tinkerbats) and both rely heavily on mechanical contraptions and mechs to do their fighting.

Appeal: The Shantae series isn’t exactly mainstream, but it’s been around for a few decades now and has at least enough recognition among indies to have gotten around the same amount of votes for smash bros inclusion as shovel knight. The series also recently had the half Genie hero game come out on multiple consoles, and Risky herself had her own story mode finished not long ago. I would also say that Tronne bonne is around one of the more popular Megaman characters, having appeared in multiple marvel vs Capcom ocrossover games at this point. Finally as far as the fight goes pitting these characters against each other has the potential to be fairly interesting if you get their pirate crews involved, as “army” fights aren’t something you see a lot of in Death Battle.

Ex: I also toyed with the Idea of having Captain Syrup be an opponent for Risky. Most of the connections are the same as for Tronne Bonne, though Syrup also has the added connection of having sought to harness the power of a genie for her own ends in the first Wario land game. I feel like she’s more lacking in sprites and abilities though.

Saitama vs Squirrel girl

Connections: Both Saitama and Squirrel girl are essentially gag characters whose comicbooks and manga readily parody and make fun of tropes from their respective Medias. They both have dubious reasons for being as strong as they are and can defeat virtually anyone under the right circumstance, to the point where in both of their series they are supposed to be considered “unbeatable”. Neither are typically taken seriously at all in their own universes and are to an extent unknown within them. Both characters also have completely ludicrous origins.

Appeal: I know a lot of people want to see Saitama fight Goku or superman …but to be honest I think both of those ideas are pretty terrible and should probably never happen. Disregarding the fact that Saitama doesn’t even really have much in common with either of them AT ALL, Saitama’s actual feats are not nearly impressive enough to legitimately stand a chance against either of them in a way that’s even remotely fair. The fact of it is most “serious” arguments for Saitama in a vs setting rely on blatantly pushing no limit fallacies backed up by his in universe OP statues, which isn’t something that should be taken at face value in a more contempory debate. Likewise given we’ll likely never see his full power, and given he is technically a saitire-ish character capping him actually kind of feels frustrating from my point as view anyway.

Instead I much rather have him in a fight that subverts expectations. A joke fight against a character like Squirrel girl sort of fits that bill. You can literally just turn the fight into a gag and make the analysis a (fun) black hole of fallacies from which no logic can escape. Take Saitama’s infinite strength into extremes, take the power ratings or off-screen victories of squirrel girl to their logical conclusion scaling wise. The sky’s the limit and hey maybe you don’t even have to have a traditional ending since Squirrel girl does have some 4^th wall awareness (Have her beat the shit out of Wiz and Boom off screen and then have her and Saitama end the match getting ice cream lampshading the toxic nature of vs fandoms obsessed with strength).

Also….I really think it would do well to do something to stand out with a Siatmama match. Like a very large majority of people who put him in animations on youtube tend to just have him rolstomp his opponents, or have him fight in the same bored manner he always does. It’s predictable. Subverting that and having him actually have to take a fight seriously against an opponent similar to him would be way cooler.

EX: ..oh and also popeye is another character that applies to most of the above points here, though I’m going to be honest and say I’m slightly more partial to Squirrel girl. I think the connections are better and she’s supposed to be the lead in a new tv series next year, so she’s slightly more relevant.

Megaman EXE and Lan Vs Takato and Guilimon

Connection: Both sets of characters come from franchises that were popular in the 90s to early 2000s and deal primarily with alternate digital dimensions. Both sets of characters are likewise Kid/digital being duo’s, who can lend each other strength literally via power of friendship or by installing “battle cards” of some sort into their ally. The characters can also directly fuse together to create a new superpoweful forms.

Appeal: Tbh this match is kind of a personal desire of mine I’m not sure will actually ever come to fruition. That being said I would consider battle network among the most popular and well represented megaman sub franchises and digimon tamers is of course pretty popular itself. Likewise I find this to be one of the only fights that’s probably relatively fair that involves EXE and a fully evolved Digimon, given both are way stronger than what you would anticipate.

Shadow vs Ryuko

Connection: Both are red and black motif characters who were created as experiments using DNA from a species that would later try to take over the earth. Said characters were raised in secrete by father figures to turn against these alien species, finally taking on and defeating their leaders by transforming into a super saiyen inspired super form.

Appeal: I would really like Shadow to be in a fight he has a fair chance to win. Additionally I would probably say kill la kill is one of my favorite and more popular animes in the last few years, and is fairly popular overall. The connections seem decent enough to me, so you know wynut?

Lloyde vs Vsye

Connections: Both are idealistic characters who duel wield swords and are stars of popular early 2000s Japanese rpgs.

Appeal: I think the tales of series is prolific enough that it probably deserves a rep, and Lloyde makes the most sense given he’s the protagonist of what was arguably the most popular game worldwide. Skies of arcadia also has some reasonable cult status. Granted I’m not sure how well these two characters stand against each other, but I find looking at rpgs characters fun, so I’d love to find out(though granted Lloyd probably wins).

Link vs Simon Belmont

Connection: Both are young warriors who are reincarnated or come from an ancestral line of heroes, who continually fight a re-appearing dark lord that seems to be nearly immortal. Both tend to use various holy weapons to that end and also have a wide assortment of weapons and tools for exploration and combat.

Appeal: I’ll be honest in hindsight I don’t actually like Link vs Cloud as a concept. I get they have rivalry or whatever, but they have virtually nothing in common with each other. Link and Simon both have a bit more going for their matchup, and also have a slight rivalry with their series on top of that. Additionally I would probably say both series are popular enough that having them get a return and first combatant is about due, and Link in particular would be interesting to analyze since he’s gotten more games out in the last few years.

Marth vs Aragon

Connection: Both are “hero kings” who exists in somewhat similar fantasy adventure media.

Appeal: Ok tbh I really just wanted to have fire emblem character on this list somewhere, particularly Marth, Ike or Robin. I asked around but I’ve had issues finding many decent ideas and this is the only one that seemed plausible. The details of who Aragon is…… I don’t fully know. I’m aware that he’s a renown “hero king” like Marth is and given he comes from Lord of the Rings I’ll guess he works and leads in a similar setting to those found in fire emblem. But regardless fire emblem has become so huge in the last few years with multiple games, spin offs and more sequels on the rise next year that I think them getting a rep makes sense. Lord of the rings isn’t my cup of tea, but I assume it’s popular enough that people would enjoy seeing a rep from it as well.

Axe cop vs Bobobo

Connection: Both are completely wacky and insane characters known for 4^th wall breaking, silly antics and magnetic personalities. Both also come from west and east mediums respectively.

Appeal: Tbh I didn’t really want to have two joke fights on my list, but I think this only crosses into only semi joke territory since I’ve seen quite a few people play it straight or even make blogs for the match. Anyway what can I say while both characters have shown that are reasonably popular, my biggest draw to the match is just how fun and convoluted it is. These are characters that can do infinite push-ups, break the 4^th wall, create alternate realities, reality warp, time travel, possess people, resurrect and tons of other random shit. A match including all of that would be one hell of an entertaining clusterf@#k.

-----------------------------------------------

Welp those are all my top match ideas. Did you guys see any ideas in particular you liked? What are your own ideas? Let me know in the comments!

-Oh also a disclaimer. I claim no credit for the title cards used in this blog(most are made or originate from various places on DA and DB fanon.