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6* ActingForTwo:
7** Peter and Lloyd have played the majority of the characters in the show, such as in ''Donald Trump vs Joe Biden'', where in addition to playing the titular pair, they also play two Russian hackers trying to influence the video itself.
8** ''Creator/StevenSpielberg vs. Creator/AlfredHitchcock'': Nice Peter plays both Spielberg and [[spoiler:Creator/MichaelBay]].
9** ''Rasputin vs. Stalin'': [=EpicLloyd=] plays Stalin and [[spoiler:Gorbachev]], while Peter plays '''three''' people -- Rasputin, [[spoiler:Lenin and Putin]].
10** Taken up to eleven (well, more like ''fifteen'') in "ComicBook/WonderWoman vs Music/StevieWonder" when Lilly Singh (using a wide array of wigs and tops) plays all of Steve's nine different kids AND their five different mothers.
11* ActingInTheDark:
12** Rhett and Link mentioned in the BTS for "Lewis and Clark vs Bill and Ted" that they only do their part and don't see who they're rapping against until everyone else does.
13** Scru Face Jean was bound to make his own reaction video to "Mansa Musa vs Jeff Bezos" eventually, and thus ERB had Lloyd film most of his parts separately. And there's also the verses and green screen effects that Jean never saw until the final product came out.
14* ActorSharedBackground: There's been an increase in attempts at this:
15** Lloyd is of Italian ethnicity, and has played Italian characters such as Music/FrankSinatra, UsefulNotes/AlCapone, and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]].
16** Peter, meanwhile, has Russian ancestry, and he's played Russian characters such as UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk, UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin, UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin, and UsefulNotes/IvanTheTerrible.
17** Caitlyn Jenner is played by transgender rapper [=NoShame=].
18** Despite frequently resorting to {{fake Brit}}s, they also got the British Music/DanBull who played UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper and UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill, likewise with fellow Brit Ben Atha as Creator/DanielCraig's Film/JamesBond and another Brit, Dave from Boyinaband, as Franchise/HarryPotter.
19** Chinese philosopher Confucius is played by Chinese-American MC Jin.
20** Played with with the Wright Brothers. They're not from North Carolina, as any UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}an will tell you, but it's where they began their work towards inventing the modern airplane. As such, North Carolina has adopted them into their local lore, and they're played by North Carolinians WebVideo/RhettAndLink.
21** Brian Walters, who plays [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Ash Ketchum]], is half-Japanese.
22* ApprovalOfGod:
23** Among the people portrayed in the show who showed appreciation for their battles and/or their characters' depictions are Music/{{Skrillex}} (who even appeared in a concert as himself recreating the rap battle alongside [=EpicLloyd=]'s ERB version of him), Wrestling/HulkHogan (who appeared as himself in a now-deleted ''ERB News'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMfZAboc2cg video]]), UsefulNotes/BarackObama, Creator/StephenKing, [[Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy Bill Nye]], UsefulNotes/NeilDeGrasseTyson, the ''Series/MythBusters'' cast sans Tory Belleci (who did not make any comments or reaction unlike the rest), David Copperfield, Criss Angel, Creator/DavidTennant (the [[Series/DoctorWho Tenth Doctor]]), Creator/AndrewLincoln ([[Series/TheWalkingDead Rick Grimes]]), Creator/MarkHamill (ComicBook/TheJoker) and Creator/GordonRamsay (who even commented on the video on his official Website/YouTube channel[[note]][[https://i.imgur.com/rOagoe1.png "Even with that questionable English accent, it's pretty clear who won..."]][[/note]]).
24** For an example of ERB themselves being the ones approving, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKHn5T9HomM Jeff the Killer vs. Jason Dean]] by WebVideo/FreshyKanal earned a "Solid." from the official ERB channel.
25* AuthorAppeal: Comic books for Lloyd, who's not only played Superman but headlined every Marvel-related rap battle, from the voice of Deadpool to Bruce Banner, Stan Lee, Wolverine, and now Thanos.
26* AwesomeDearBoy: Not only was JB Smoove a longtime fan, but he'd had the role of Frederick Douglass on his mind for a long time. Needless to say, it worked out perfectly.
27* TheCastShowoff: Everyone, but special mention goes to...
28** [[MotorMouth George Watsky]], who gets one blazing fast rap verse per appearance and can rap in both iambic pentameter and trochaic octameter.
29** ''Hitler vs Vader 3'' gives [=EpicLloyd=] an opportunity to remind everyone that he did gymnastics in college.
30** KRNFX is an accomplished beatboxer, which comes in handy when Lao Tzu supports Confucius during the Eastern Philosophers' second verse.
31** Ivan "Flipz" Velez, who played Boba Fett in the bonus battle against Deadpool is an accomplished dancer, so he spends the entire battle doing dance moves, especially during Boba's third and fourth verses when he segues from pop-locking to full-on breakdancing during his rhymes.
32* CastTheExpert: Happens with both characters in "Bruce Banner vs Caitlyn Jenner" after their transformations: The Hulk is played by bodybuilder Mike O'Hearn, and Caitlyn Jenner is played by transgender rapper No Shame.
33* ChannelHop: Seasons 1 through 5 were produced by Maker Studios, but after Maker got fully absorbed into Disney (getting rebranded as the Disney Digital Network), ERB opted to go independent from Season 6 onwards.
34* DawsonCasting:
35** [=EpicLloyd=] portrayed Leonidas' six-year-old son Pleistarchus.
36** [=NicePeter=] as Romeo and Creator/GraceHelbig as Juliet. Mind you, this one's pretty faithful to [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet the source material]] and all previous adaptations.
37** Brian Walters, a grown adult, plays Ash Ketchum, a ten-year-old boy.
38* DisownedAdaptation: UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump appears to have not liked his first portrayal against Scrooge. It's unknown if he's seen his second and third portrayals against Hillary and Biden, but if he did, he probably wouldn't like them, either.
39* DistancedFromCurrentEvents:
40** Randy Savage died about 4 months after "Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage vs. Kim Jong-Il" was released. Then Kim Jong-Il passed away in December (though Kim could be considered an AssholeVictim, much like Hitler). They later added a brief annotation [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments honoring Randy Savage's memory]]. Kim Jong-Il? [[AssholeVictim Meh, who cares]].
41** While Adolf Hitler was decidedly KilledOffForReal in Season 3, Peter and Lloyd made a [[https://www.inverse.com/article/38430-epic-rap-battles-season-6-youtube-trump-nazis conscious decision]] to leave out the Hitler vs. Vader battles at live concerts in wake of the outburst of white nationalism and "celebration" of Hitler that came after Donald Trump's election. While Hitler used to be an easy character to invoke for BlackComedy, it's never been easier to cause a depressing amount of controversy by invoking him at all, and ''ERB'' know it.
42* DyeingForYourArt:
43** [=NicePeter=] had his barber take in his hairline so he could play UsefulNotes/SteveJobs. Since his barber wasn't happy with doing it, he was generous, so [=NicePeter=] went back and made him do it ''worse''.
44** Pete also starved himself (to an extent) before playing [[Series/TheWalkingDead Rick Grimes]], making him look underfed like you'd expect from a zombie apocalypse survivor.
45** Lloyd became an avid weightlifter in order to get the HeroicBuild he felt he needed to play Wolverine.
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49* FakeAustralian: [=EpicLloyd=] as [[Series/CrocodileHunter Steve Irwin]]
50* FakeBrit: Quite a few instances of American performers playing British characters:
51** George Watsky as Creator/WilliamShakespeare and the [[Series/DoctorWho Fourth]] [[Creator/TomBaker Doctor]].
52** Nice Peter as Music/JohnLennon, Stephen Hawking, the [[Series/DoctorWho Tenth]] [[Creator/DavidTennant Doctor]], Music/FreddieMercury, Blackbeard, Creator/JRRTolkien, Film/AustinPowers, UsefulNotes/CharlesDarwin, UsefulNotes/GuyFawkes, and UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionheart.
53** Zach Sherwin as Franchise/SherlockHolmes and [[Literature/AChristmasCarol Ebenezer Scrooge]].
54** [=EpicLLOYD=] as Creator/AlfredHitchcock and Creator/GordonRamsay.
55** "Weird Al" Yankovic as Sir Isaac Newton (though Al [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent doesn't even attempt an English accent]]).
56** Croix Provence as [[Characters/TombRaider Lara Croft]].
57* FakeNationality: Almost every rapper so far has been American, playing roles spanning the length and breadth of human society, plus a few aliens.
58** American [=NicePeter=] has played Germans Ludwig van Beethoven and UsefulNotes/FriedrichNietzsche, Spanish-Italian UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus, traditionally Italian (but here Italian-American) [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi]], Serbian UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, Austrians Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud, Italian [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Romeo Montague]], Roman UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, French Creator/JacquesCousteau, and Romanian Literature/{{Dracula}}.
59** American [=EpicLloyd=] as German UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, Mongolian Genghis Kahn, Corsican UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, Greeks [[Film/ThreeHundred Leonidas]] and Creator/{{Socrates}}, Georgian UsefulNotes/JosefStalin, Spanish Pablo Picasso, Lithuanian [[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], Hungarian Harry Houdini, Austrian Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's interpretation of the Terminator, Prussians UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat and Creator/KarlMarx, Canadians ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, South African Elon Musk, Romanian UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler, and Danish-Swedish Ragnar Lodbrok.
60** American Zach Sherwin as German UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein, French Creator/{{Voltaire}}, Macedonian UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, Canadian Wayne Gretzky, and Belarusian John Wick.
61** Mike Diva (Creator/BruceLee's actor in ''Bruce Lee VS. Creator/ClintEastwood'') lampshades this by stating that he sucks at Asian accents, so Lloyd and Peter had to coach him. Pete then proceeds to walk by and claim no involvement in said accent coaching.
62** Thai-American Timothy [=DeLaGhetto=] as North Korean Kim Jong-Il and Chinese [[Literature/TheArtOfWarSunTzu Sun Tzu]].
63** South Korean-Canadian KRNFX as Japanese-American Grant Imaraha and Chinese Laozi.
64** African-American Keegan Michael-Key as Indian Gandhi.
65** American Meghan Tonjes as Polish-Russian Catherine the Great.
66** American Grace Helbig as Italian Juliet Capulet.
67** Indian-Canadian Lilly Singh as Greek ComicBook/WonderWoman.
68** American Cara Francis as Albanian Mother Teresa.
69** Nigerian-American Scru Face Jean as Malian Mansa Musa.
70* FakeRussian: [=EpicLloyd=] as UsefulNotes/MikhailGorbachev.
71** An example that doesn't extend to rappers: LetsPlay/PewDiePie cameos as the Russian Mikhail Barishnikov, though he is actually Swedish.
72* FakeScot: [=EpicLloyd=] as [[Film/{{Braveheart}} William Wallace]], Creator/GordonRamsay, and Creator/SeanConnery's Bond.
73* FandomNod: The basis for the rap battle, as it is the viewers who decide what comes next. At the end of most episodes, the [=YouTube=] comments that suggested the match-up are shown. There were at least three requests for ''Music/ElvisPresley vs. Music/MichaelJackson''; one had over one hundred likes, and all three were acknowledged at the end of the respective video.
74* FollowTheLeader: There's no small doubt that the meteoric rise of ''Epic Rap Battles of History'' as one of the Biggest Channels in [=YouTube=] history has spawned countless numbers of fanmade videos that try to closely emulate the format with various kinds of match-ups or at least re-use the audio with some different animations as most of them are usually low-budget single person productions. Some are good, but most are forgettable.
75** It's still not known if the immense success of ''Epic Rap Battles of History'' had some influence in leading to the creation of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCEUZ4rFiac Origins: Rap Battle - WW1]]''. A historical music video that's had millions of views and is much too similar to be a coincidence despite being created by the British Broadcasting Company.
76** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/c/PokemonRapBattles1/videos Epic Rap Battles of Pokémon]]'' is a [=YouTube=] Channel that has enjoyed a meteoric rise with a total viewcount in the millions because... well, how can you possibly go wrong with a show that faithfully emulates the format of ''[=ERBH=]'' and flawlessly combines it with a billion-dollar international franchise like Pokémon?
77** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/c/UBERocity/videos UBERocity]]'' deserves an honorable mention as they've managed to earn a large viewcount and following with the creativity of their Rap Battles.
78** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/c/VideoGameRapBattles/videos Video Game Rap Battles]]'' has posted several videos which combines fluid [=3D=] animations with spicy bars, resulting in battles that are now worth millions of views.
79** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNLjRiychUaaCU0uJTYDUYA Freshy]] [[WebVideo/FreshyKanal Kanal]]'', with both live-action and animated videos, with their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKHn5T9HomM "Jeff the Killer vs Jason Dean"]] battle earning a "Solid" from ERB themselves.
80** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzeVric_Vra1xgQzMQKj_aw Eddie's Rap Channel]] "Animation vs Anything", consisting of animated videos pitting [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin animated characters against]] video game, television and other non-animated characters.
81** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcrQvoCzs80 Snow White VS Elsa: Princess Rap Battle]]'' is a video that is worth '''188 Million''' views.
82** [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNSGjSm6PbjdaFEXGcQew0g Super Rap Battles]] comes very close to replicating the ERB formula considering it's produced in Japan.
83* LyingCreator: In a 2013 Website/{{Reddit}} AMA, Lloyd dismissed the possibility of UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt participating in a rap battle, giving the (admittedly facetious) [[http://imgur.com/nhkPTDn excuse]] that Roosevelt wanted to maintain his position as the host of ''ERB News''. Three years later came ''Theodore Roosevelt vs Winston Churchill''.
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87* MagnumOpusDissonance:
88** According to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyQdur0P0zA&t=0s this video]], two of Peter's five favourite battles are ''Darth Vader vs Hitler'' and ''Albert Einstein vs Stephen Hawking'', and while they tend to be seen by fans as two of the best battles of Season 1, Season 1 tends to be seen as the weakest season of the series, as it was when the series was still finding itself, making their inclusions still odd. Also, none of them are from season 2 despite that season containing more battles than any other seasons. Also, many, if not most, fans consider season 2 to be their favourite season.
89** While most of the battles in [[https://youtu.be/V0g08wIbseo Lloyd’s top five]] are battles from later seasons that tend to be seen as some of the best battles in the series, the number one spot ends up going to ''Napoleon vs Napoleon'', which tends to be seen as a merely forgettable Season 1 battle. However, Lloyd would later state in [[https://youtu.be/u-6g8jlYIk4 a 2022 livestream]] that the much-beloved-by-fans "Joker vs Pennywise" has since supplanted "Napoleon vs Napoleon" as his favorite battle.
90* MeaningfulReleaseDate:
91** ''Rasputin vs. Stalin'' was released on April 22, Vladimir Lenin's birthday. It's especially appropriate, since [[spoiler: Lenin himself has a speaking role.]]
92** ''Gandalf vs. Dumbledore'' was released on July 14, 2011, a day before the theatrical release of ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2]]''. Coincidentally, it was also a decade after the release of the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing first]] ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' film.
93** ''UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump vs. Ebenezer Scrooge'' was released on December 19, 2013, the anniversary of the book "Literature/AChristmasCarol", the book the battle is based on.
94** To something of a lesser extent, ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} vs. Series/MythBusters'' was released in 2014, the 30th anniversary of the release of the original ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' film.
95** ''Ash Ketchum vs. Charles Darwin'' was released the same week as the Franchise/{{Pokemon}} video games ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''.
96** "Mother Teresa vs Sigmund Freud" was released just a day shy of the 80th anniversary of Freud's death.
97* MissingEpisode: "Henry VIII vs. Hillary Clinton" was originally set to release in season 2, between "Darth Vader vs. Adolf Hitler 2" and "Leonidas vs. Master Chief." Peter and Lloyd felt the quality of the battle just didn't live up to expectations and shelved it. They knew they'd release it sometime down the road.
98* MissingTrailerScene: A commercial advertising ERB played in theaters the weekend before the release of ''George Washington vs. William Wallace.'' While the commercial mainly showed footage of Al Capone vs. Blackbeard and Mozart vs. Skrillex, there was a FreezeFrameBonus of William Wallace lifting up his kilt and showing his digitally censored manhood underneath. This scene isn't shown in the battle itself or the behind-the-scenes.
99* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: The BTS for "Bob Ross vs Picasso" implies that they were originally going to pan down to Bob (the wiener dog playing Lump) when Picasso mentioned him, but couldn't get Bob to stay still long enough to pull it off.
100-->'''Lloyd as Picasso:''' ''(chasing after Bob)'' He's too fast!
101* OfficialFanSubmittedContent: Starting with season 6, the creators opened up their Patreon Discord server to fan suggestions for lyrics. Steve Irwin's line "Cleaning you up like a Jacques Custodian!" was one such lyric.
102* TheOtherDarrin:
103** UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington technically appeared first in "Creator/BenjaminFranklin vs Creator/BillyMays" but it was a different actor ([=NicePeter=] was in the role of Creator/VinceOffer then).
104** "ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} vs [[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett]]" has Peter instead of Ray William Johnson as Boba.
105** Donald Trump was played by Peter in "Donald Trump vs Ebenezer Scrooge" and by Lloyd in "Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton".
106* PeripheryDemographic: While reaction videos from African-American [=YouTubers=] have been around for a while, the hiatus after ''Donald Trump vs Hilary Clinton'' saw a sudden boom in reaction videos from these viewers, many LateToTheParty and going on an ArchiveBinge while offering proper critique as well. Not bad for a channel owned by two nerdy white guys.
107* PlayingAgainstType: While they've never aimed for "types" on purpose, Zach Sherwin has played a string of aggressive and intimidating characters ([[Literature/AChristmasCarol Ebenezer Scrooge]], Creator/StephenKing, UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, freaking [[spoiler:Creator/WaltDisney]]), which contrast with his rather goofy and lighthearted take on UsefulNotes/WayneGretzky.
108* PromotedFanboy:
109** [=Mat4yo=], a fan of ERB who did some critical analysis for the battles as well as his own videos with similar format, is credited as a writer for ''Trump vs Clinton''.
110** Scru Face Jean may be just one of dozens of fans making reaction videos with commentary and critique for ERB, but as of late 2021 he's the first one to ''actually rap against one of the guys'' (Lloyd) as Mansa Musa and Jeff Bezos respectively.
111* RealLifeRelative: In ''David Copperfield vs Harry Houdini'', Houdini's wife Bess is played by Lloyd's actual wife Josie.
112* RealLifeWritesThePlot:
113** Originally, in "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney", Romney dissed Obama by saying "You haven't even brought the unemployment rate below 8 percent!" However, while Pete and Lloyd were working on the battle, the unemployment rate actually ''did'' fall below 8%, so the line had to be changed to "Took you four years to drop unemployment down below 8 percent!"
114** Season 6 was originally meant to go on longer, but the COVID-19 Pandemic caused most of the battles planned for it to be scrapped, save for Trump vs Biden, due to the risks of in-person filming. As a result, Harry Potter vs Luke Skywalker ended up becoming an [[BuiltWithLEGO animated LEGO battle]] with help from Forrest Whaley.
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118* ScheduleSlip:
119** [=ERB=] typically releases a battle once a month, but during the Summer 2012, there was a three-month hiatus. Teddy Roosevelt called them out on it and threatened to whoop some ass. To make up for lost time, new battles premiered every other Monday right up until the week of Christmas, and then picked up again in February.
120** Season 4 fell victim to this as well. Beginning in mid-December, it was announced that new battles wouldn't air until ''May 5th.'' It wasn't until May ''25'' that the next video actually came out.
121** Season 5 has also suffered from this, albeit to a lesser extent; while it hasn't been prone to a massive hiatus like previous seasons, nearly every individual battle has been uploaded a day later than intended. This was mostly due to technical errors having to be fixed as well as some of the videos being the longest ones uploaded.
122** Season 6 premiered after a near two year hiatus, due to Peter having a child and Lloyd working on his mixtape. The breakup with Maker Studios is also another reason. While the second half of the season was set to premiere in summer 2020, it was suddenly halted due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and was pushed back to Fall 2020, with it ending in December 2020.
123** The BTS video for "Godzilla vs King Kong" was released a month after the actual video, rather than on the same day.
124* ScullyBox: The BTS for "Renaissance Artists vs the TMNT" reveals that ''a row of these'' were needed to help Ian, Anthony and Link measure up to the 6'7" Rhett.
125** The BTS of "James Bond vs Austin Powers" reveals that one was used to make Lloyd appear around the same height as Ben Atha.
126** Parodied in ''Nice Peter vs [=EpicLLOYD=] 2'', in which Peter's standing on a box while imitating Lloyd, who's 5'7" and uses a box when portraying tall characters.
127* SoMyKidsCanWatch: Unknowingly invoked - Chali 2na didn't quite get the impact left by ''Epic Rap Battles of History'' until he brought it up to his son, who turned out to be such a huge fan that he ''wasn't even bothered that his dad wouldn't be able to go out with him for a movie!''
128* ThrowItIn: They made a demo for the ''Napoleon VS Napoleon'' battle that eventually got redone, but they used the original for the behind the scenes video for the same battle.
129** In ''Genghis Khan VS The Easter Bunny'', there's a part where Lloyd (playing Khan) smashes a chocolate egg with his sword. The behind the scenes video shows that they didn't think the idea would actually work, so they only did one try before moving on. Since Lloyd actually hit the egg on his first try (which people were ''not'' expecting), they decided to put it in.
130* TorchTheFranchiseAndRun:
131** "Adolf Hitler VS Darth Vader 3" evidently will be the last match between those characters. The reason for this is clear in-universe: [[spoiler:Darth Vader cuts Adolf Hitler in half, and it's implied that his remains land in the Sarlaac pit]]. Aside from story purposes, there's also the inclusion of a comment in the video that states that the match-ups between these characters [[OverusedRunningGag are getting stale]], which would imply that the crew behind the show are getting a little sick of it. Further confirmed by the Season 4 announcement trailer, [[spoiler:which shows Hitler's ghost being captured by the Ghostbusters]].
132** More like "Torch The RunningGag And Run", but TheStinger for the ''Rick Grimes vs Walter White'' BTS video has the "zombies" holding a mock funeral for the Heroin Joke, implying that we might never hear it again.
133* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
134** Christopher Columbus' original opponent was Neil Armstrong.
135** The lyrics for ''Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs'' originally included a line about how Steve's ailment was the only PC he couldn't beat. They decided to not use it because it didn't flow as well and was a bit too disrespectful.
136--->Walked into the record industry and killed it\
137Got fired from my own company, rebuilt it\
138My legacy will never fall\
139But a PC got me after all
140** There was a battle between Hillary Clinton and King Henry VIII in the works, but it got canned due to dissatisfaction with the recording track.
141** Mikhail Gorbachev's iconic crimson birthmark was originally going to spell out "ERB". Lloyd didn't really like the idea -- mostly because it was impossible to see without tilting his head absurdly -- so they settled with the birthmark's actual look.
142** [[spoiler:God]] was supposed to be a third rapper in "Adam vs. Eve". [[https://twitter.com/ERBofHistory/status/344884118833741824/photo/1/large These were supposed to be his lyrics.]]
143*** According to the behind the scenes, Peter (who cameoed as Steve) originally wasn't planned to appear, which would have made this his very first complete absence in a rap battle.
144** Maximillian of WebVideo/AssistMe made a parody of this series called "Epic Rap Battles of ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3 MvC3]]''" between [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Albert Wesker]] and [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Doctor Doom]]. He was going to make more, but the Epic Rap Battle people sent him a CeaseAndDesist, basically saying "this one's okay, but if you make more, you'll hear from our lawyers." (No, they don't mean [[VideoGame/AceAttorney Phoenix Wright]]...)
145** The BTS for ''Music/MileyCyrus vs UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc'' shows a hanging rope prop that most likely was intended for a "Wrecking Ball" reference. They also went over possible lines for Peter and Lloyd's cameo as [[Series/HannahMontana Miley and Lilly]]. Neither of these are in the final cut.
146** Blackbeard's other opponents considered for the battle were [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]] and Cap'n Crunch before deciding on Al Capone, who, possibly intentionally, references both Jack and Cap'n in his first two lines.
147*** The BTS gives two other lines that were considered for Al Capone's jab at Blackbeard's beard.
148---->'''Peter:''' What beard joke do you like better: "From the likes of you, I've got nothing to fear/'cept maybe the evil beasties you've got nested in your beard." or "That rat's nest of a beard's trapped so many crumbs/you could feed your grubby crew lunch for a month."?
149** Peter originally wanted WebVideo/{{Smosh}} to portray Bill and Ted, but they disliked the idea.
150** The BTS for "George Carlin vs Richard Pryor" reveals that [[spoiler:Robin Williams wasn't originally intended to be the last rapper, with the battle originally ending on Joan Rivers' verse]]. However, [[spoiler:Williams]] was added to the battle as a popular request in the ERB Patreon Discord.
151** When Peter and Lloyd joined Maker Studios, it provided them with a needed increase in their production values. But when it went through a troublesome shakeup in 2017 and was eventually acquired by Disney, they left before it happened and became independent. If they had stayed when the company became Disney Digital Network, ''Epic Rap Battles of History'' would've been [[ExecutiveMeddling subject to mandatory and strict censorship policies and direct demands from Disney]] which also would've meant their Raps being less liberal, memorable, and successful than they are right now.
152** The lyrics of Rasputin vs. Stalin [[https://epicrapbattlesofhistory.fandom.com/wiki/Rasputin_vs_Stalin/Rap_Meanings#Scrapped_lyrics were much different]]. For one, Stalin came first and had a much more comical verse in line with most other rappers, even comparing Rasputin's raps [[ToiletHumor to a poo log]] and calling him [[{{Pun}} Ass-Putin]].
153** Instead of Abraham Lincoln, "Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton" would have had UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan [[https://epicrapbattlesofhistory.fandom.com/wiki/Donald_Trump_vs_Hillary_Clinton/Rap_Meanings#Ronald_Reagan: as the third rapper]]
154** Before the straight one-on-one format was decided upon for ''Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden'', the producers experimented with other variants, including plans to have Mike Pence and Kamala Harris as backup rappers for their respective running mates and having Bernie Sanders as a third party rapper flying in while being carried by pigeons, in a similar manner to Lincoln entering with an eagle. These proposals were ultimately not implemented as the producers did not want to overcomplicate the battle, especially given the ongoing UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.
155** It can be assumed that there were probably more battles planned for 2020 that were shut down due to the aforementioned COVID-19 Pandemic. While most of them haven't been revealed yet, Franchise/IndianaJones was teased at the end of an ERB 2 video, and it can be assumed that some other ideas were either scrapped or pushed back. It's also the reason why Season 6 abruptly ended in December 2020 with a Lego battle (Harry Potter vs Luke Skywalker) instead of the usual battle royale finales.
156** WebVideo/EmmaBlackery was approached to play Margaret Thatcher for a battle, but it didn't come to fruition.
157** [[VideoGame/{{Uncharted}} Nathan Drake]] was originally set to appear in "Lara Croft vs Indiana Jones", rapping a verse before being interrupted by a boulder, but was scrapped.
158** Peter makes a comment about Hitler and Vader never being able to settle their differences in the Season 3 Opener behind-the-scenes video, so there's a likely possibility that they will show up [[RunningGag yet again]] if/when season 4 comes out. Though Peter did confirm that he's tired of ''Hitler vs. Vader''.
159*** As of season 4's release, it's been confirmed that ''Hitler vs. Vader'' is done.
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161
162!!General Trivia
163* Four of the matchups have been done before by [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny more violent]] shows. ''Superman vs. Goku'' [[note]] And the two rematches [[/note]], ''Robocop vs. Terminator'', and ''Harry Potter vs. Luke Skywalker''[[note]]Though on ''Death Battle'', Luke's name is first, followed by Harry's[[/note]] were done by ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'', while ''Steven Spielberg vs. Alfred Hitchcock'' has been done by ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch''.
164* There have been five instances of both a character and their creator having both appeared in separate rap battles: HAL 9000 and Stanley Kubrick, William Shakespeare and Romeo & Juliet, Gandalf and J.R.R. Tolkien, Creator/StanLee and the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], and Stephen King and Pennywise. With the exception of Tolkien, whose is famous almost exclusively for the franchise that Gandalf originates from, the creators are meant to be symbolic of their entire body of work rather than an individual work by them.
165** Stan Lee also created Marvel's Thor, but the Thor in ERBOH is not explicitly stated to be him (aside from a brief MCU nod). Deadpool, although owned by Marvel, was not created by Lee. Steven Spielberg was involved in ''Back to the Future'' where Doc Brown originates from, but the character himself was a creation of Robert Zemeckis.
166* ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Franchise/MarvelComics'', ''Creator/DCComics'' and ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' are the only franchises with multiple characters who battled (Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and Luke Skywalker for Star Wars; Deadpool, the Hulk, Wolverine and Thanos for Marvel; Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Joker for DC; and Dumbledore and Harry for Harry Potter). As of "ComicBook/WonderWoman vs. Music/StevieWonder", DC officially beats out both Disney properties ''and'' has its iconic "Big Three" all represented! As of season 6, Marvel finally caught up with "Freddy Krueger vs Wolverine" (and some would argue that Marvel has way too many prominent characters to narrow down to a "big three", though Hulk and Wolverine both qualify). Since Joker and Thanos appeared later that same season, the score between Marvel and DC remains tied with four characters each.
167** With the official release of "Joker vs Pennywise", [=NicePeter=] will have played ''both Batman and the Joker.'' [=EpicLloyd=], meanwhile, has played every Marvel character to appear on the show, as well as Marvel creator Stan Lee.
168* The show has featured all four of the Mount Rushmore presidents as rappers. ([=NicePeter=] alone plays ''three''![[note]]"''UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington'' vs William Wallace", "''UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson'' vs Frederick Douglass", and UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln ''three times.'' (vs Chuck Norris and as a third party in the two Presidential Election battles[[/note]]) Theodore Roosevelt's appearance includes a shot of Rushmore transitioning into the ERB renditions as a rock band.
169
170[[folder:Character relationships]]
171
172[[AC:Season 1]]
173* John Lennon and Bill O'Reilly are two prominent figures on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum. Lennon was an activist for peace, whereas O'Reilly was a staunch supporter of the Iraq War.
174* Adolf Hitler and Darth Vader were both rulers of an EvilEmpire with a strong military, made up of soldiers known as "stormtroopers". Vader technically was second-in-command to Palpatine, however.
175* Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Norris are both symbols of masculinity and American patriotism with iconic beards.
176* Lady Gaga and Sarah Palin are two highly prominent female personalities of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Gaga is widely considered polar opposites to Palin, the former being a progressive LGBTQ woman and the latter being a staunch Christian conservative.
177* Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage teamed up as "The Mega Powers" in the 1980s. Kim Jong-il ruled over one until his death.
178* Ludwig Van Beethoven is one of the most influential musicians of all time. Bieber is a modern-day artists who is widely ridiculed.
179* Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking are legendary figures in science.
180* Genghis Khan ReallyGetsAround, the Easter Bunny is implicitly an ExplosiveBreeder, and both have some connection to the East (though InNameOnly for the Bunny).
181* Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon Dynamite are, well, both named Napoleon.
182* Benjamin Franklin is a famous inventor, while Billy Mays is a television salesman who would pitch inventions like Franklin's to an audience. Same goes for Billy's replacement later in the battle, Vince Offer, another television salesman.
183* Gandalf and Albus Dumbledore are two [[WizardClassic Wizard Classics]] from highly successful fantasy book series that became hit film series at the beginning of the 2000s.
184* Dr. Seuss and William Shakespeare are hugely famous and highly influential authors and poets.
185* Mr. T and Fred Rogers are television personalities from the late 20th century who largely go by the title "Mr."
186* Christopher Columbus and James T. Kirk are adventurers and explorers who were the captains of two different types of ships.
187* Nice Peter and [=EpicLLOYD=] are the creators of "Epic Rap Battles of History".
188
189[[AC:Season 2]]
190* Leonidas and Master Chief are soldiers who go by the rank of "Spartan".
191* The Mario Brothers and the Wright Brothers are two pairs of adventurous brothers with significant moustaches.
192* Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley are legendary 20th century singers and entertainers who died at a fairly young age. Jackson was known as the "King of Pop" while Elvis was known as the "King of Rock & Roll".
193* Cleopatra and Marilyn Monroe are famous female sex symbols of their time.
194* Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are the founders of two of the most successful technology companies of all time.
195* Frank Sinatra and Freddie Mercury are iconic powerhouse vocalists. Mercury's bisexualism stands in stark contrast to Sinatra's modesty and conservatism.
196* Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were the major candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election.
197* Doc Brown and Doctor Who are two famous time travelling "doctors" from science fiction.
198* Bruce Lee and Clint Eastwood are action stars most popular in the early 1970s who were the face of a prominent subgenre.
199* Batman and Sherlock Holmes are two crime-fighting detectives with well-known sidekicks and a general dark atmosphere.
200* Moses and Santa Claus are two bearded figures associated with popular religious holidays.
201* Adam and Eve were the first man and woman born, who serve as personifications of the two sides of the Western gender binary.
202* Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi are mid-20th century civil rights leaders who were staunch advocates of pacifism and were later assassinated.
203* Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison are famous inventors of the late 19th century.
204* Babe Ruth and Lance Armstrong are athletes who were at one point the faces of their sports.
205* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Skrillex is another pairing of a legendary classical musician and a polarizing modern day figure.
206* Grigori Rasputin and Joseph Stalin are two important and impactful figures in Russian history. Vladimir Lenin, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Vladimir Putin also fit.
207
208[[AC:Season 3]]
209* Blackbeard and Al Capone were notorious criminals who can be seen as the faces of two different forms of crime (pirates and gangsters).
210* Miley Cyrus and Joan of Arc are two very different figures of "female empowerment".
211* Bob Ross and Pablo Picasso are famed painters.
212* Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali are famous African-American athletes who helped popularize their sport in the mainstream.
213* Donald Trump and Ebenezer Scrooge are businessmen and/or entrepreneurs associated with wealth and greed. So are J.P. Morgan and Kanye West
214* Rick Grimes and Walter White are the stars of popular television shows on AMC.
215* Goku and Superman are humanoid alien superheroes that were sent to Earth from their home planet when they were a baby.
216* Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe are writers best known for their horror stories.
217* Isaac Newton, Bill Nye, and Neil [=DeGrasse=] Tyson are all well-known scientific personalities.
218* George Washington and William Wallace are military leaders who led a revolution for independence from Great Britain.
219* The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all took their names from famous renaissance artists.
220
221[[AC:Season 4]]
222* The Ghostbusters and the Mythbusters are famous groups of people who investigate supernatural and scientific mysteries.
223* Romeo and Juliet and Bonnie and Clyde are two famous duos of lovers who died together at a young age.
224* Zeus and Thor are the Greek and Norse gods of thunder.
225* Jack the Ripper and Hannibal Lecter are notorious serial killers, one real and the other fictional.
226* Oprah Winfrey and Ellen [=DeGeneres=] are two of the most famous female talk show hosts in television history.
227* Stephen Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick, and Michael Bay are five of the most famous film directors of all time. While the other four are very acclaimed, Bay is a very polarizing figure.
228* Lewis and Clark and Bill and Ted are two different pairs of adventurers. The former is a famous historical duo, and the latter a fictional duo whose learn about history.
229* David Copperfield and Harry Houdini are two famous magicians and illusionists.
230* The Terminator and [=RoboCop=] are two famous sci-fi cybernetic action heroes.
231* The philosophers are divided between east and west, two distinct styles of philosophy.
232* Shaka Zulu and Julius Caesar are both historical dictators.
233* Stan Lee and Jim Henson are the creators of medium-defining children's entertainment. So is Walt Disney, whose company now owns works by both Lee and Henson.
234
235[[AC:Season 5]]
236* Deadpool and Boba Fett are characters from successful media franchises who became surprise {{Breakout Character}}s.
237* J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin are authors of popular HighFantasy literary series popularized through a 21st century screen adaptation.
238* Gordon Ramsay and Julia Child are both celebrity chefs.
239* Frederick Douglass and Thomas Jefferson were a slave and a slave owner, respectively.
240* James Bond and Austin Powers are popular British spies of film, with the latter being a parody of the former.
241* Bruce Banner and Caitlyn Jenner have similar last names, once had the same first name, and have another side to them that drastically changes who they are in very opposite ways (Banner is the Hulk, which comes and goes and he wants to control, while Jenner is a trans woman and is proud of who she is and is permanently herself.)
242* Alexander the Great and Ivan the Terrible were the leaders of influential empires with reversed epitephs ("The Great" and "The Terrible"). So were the other historical figures in the battle, who are all known as "The Great".
243* Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were the two major candidates in the 2016 United States Presidential eleciton.
244* Charles Darwin and Ash Ketchum are two people heavily associated with wild animals and the concept of "evolution".
245* Wonder Woman and Stevie Wonder is another "name-pun" battle, with the word "Wonder" being the link between the two.
246* Tony Hawk and Wayne Gretsky are the faces of modern day sports that involve "skating".
247* Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were influential political leaders of the early 20th century.
248
249[[AC:Season 6]]
250* Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are two famous modern-day billionaires.
251* Freddy Krueger and Wolverine are pop culture icons who both use a claw for a weapon.
252* Guy Fawkes and Che Guevara were the leaders of revolutionary movements.
253* Ronald [=McDonald=] and the Burger King are the mascots of the two biggest hamburger-based restaurants, with Wendy the next biggest.
254* George Carlin and Richard Pryor are famous stand-up comedians. So are Bill Cosby, Joan Rivers, and Robin Williams.
255* Jacques Cousteau and Steve Irwin are famous figures in wildlife conservation.
256* Mother Teresa and Sigmund Freud were historical figures and it's a battle between a religious & idealist figure and a skeptic & pragmatic figure.
257* Vlad the Impaler and Count Dracula is a battle between a historical figure and a character based on him.
258* The Joker and Pennywise are famous MonsterClown villains who both had films released in late 2019 (when the battle came out).
259* Thanos and J. Robert Oppenheimer are the creators of weapons of mass destruction that had the potential to wipe out all of humanity.
260* Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the main candidates in the 2020 United States Presidential Election.
261* Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker are the protagonists of two of the most successful film franchises of all time.
262
263[[AC:Season 7]]
264* Ragnar Lodbrok and Richard Lionheart are both legendary warrior-kings of traditionally opposed factions (vikings and England).
265* Mansa Musa and Jeff Bezos are both among the richest people in the history of the world.
266* John Wick, John Rambo and John [=McClane=] are all iconic action heroes of pop-culture with the first name "John".
267* Indiana Jones and Lara Croft are famous fictional AdventurerArchaeologist heroes.
268* Henry Ford was a famous capitalist figure (he developed mass production and established the 5-day work week) and Karl Marx was a famous socialist figure (he wrote ''The Communist Manifesto'' and ''Das Kapital'').
269* Godzilla and King Kong are the two most famous {{Kaiju}} in cinematic history.
270[[/folder]]

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