Line #65 YMMV/DeathBattle


1	'''Do not add details about any battle to this page before it goes public on Website/YouTube. We laud your support for the show, but it spoils the surprise for those who don't pay and watch this page. Due to complaining, examples go through the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15874066820A53936800 Death Battle cleanup]] thread before coming on the page.'''
2	----
3	!!Audience Reactions with separate pages
4	[[index]]
5	* [[HilariousInHindsight/DeathBattle Hilarious in Hindsight]]
6	* [[Memes/DeathBattle Memetic Mutation]]
7	* [[SpecialEffectFailure/DeathBattle Special Effect Failure]]
8	* [[VisualEffectsOfAwesome/DeathBattle Visual Effects of Awesome]]
9	[[/index]]
10	!!YMMV tropes
11	[[foldercontrol]]
12	[[folder:A-M]]
13	* AccidentalInnuendo: Wiz discussing Peach's "Vibe Scepter" makes Boomstick laugh uncontrollably.
14	* AlasPoorScrappy: A large part of the ''Franchise/StarFox'' fanbase hates Slippy, but he's still one of Fox's closest friends. When Bucky kills him, Fox takes it ''[[RoaringRampageOfRevenge extremely]]'' hard.
15	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Wiz and Boomstick often like to reinterpret characters from the series they use.
16	** They believe that Taizo Hori, AKA Dig Dug, is a murderous psychopath who uses [[PopGoesTheHuman one of the most horrible ways possible]] to [[CruelAndUnusualDeath kill his enemies]].
17	** They believe Michelangelo is a stoner/got dropped on his head as a kid.
18	** Wiz believes Dr. Eggman has a unique personality disorder explaining his various "[[CompositeCharacter phases]]."
19	** Boomstick insists that Link is a fairy, despite Wizard's insistence that he's not.
20	** Boomstick believes Superman is a superpowered hippie due to his reliance on solar power, plus the innuendo that "he gets stronger the [[DoubleEntendre higher]] he gets."
21	** Boomstick claims that Gamera's "Friend to All Children" title means he's a [[PaedoHunt pedophile]]. Wiz states otherwise.
22	** Boomstick states that Captain America is a ninja thanks to his knowledge of many hand-to-hand fighting styles.
23	** Kirby's introduction makes him sound like a monster, and the citizens of Dreamland caught between Buu and Kirby are equally afraid of both.
24	** Boomstick is convinced that Bayonetta is a monkey, as she's covered in her hair and fires guns with her feet.
25	** The hosts note that [=McGruff=] rarely gets directly involved in preventing crime. Even when witnessing a crime, he doesn't even try to help the victim. The fight begins with Smokey getting mad that he didn't do enough to prevent a wildfire. [=McGruff=] would probably have tried to flee from the battle if it weren't for his [[AnthropicPrinciple show's premise]].
26	** They speculate that Master Roshi doesn't know how to fly due to the Crane School, the rival dojo to Kame House, inventing the technique. No source material has ever confirmed their conjecture.
27	* AluminumChristmasTrees:
28	** Boomstick makes up the alloy "boomstickium" in response to Deathstroke's armor, which is made up of promethium, only to get told by Wiz that promethium is a real thing. It's still not anything like it's portrayed in the comics, though- it's a chemical used in atomic batteries.
29	** There is in fact such a thing as having a doctorate in poultry science.
30	* AudienceAlienatingEra: Season 3 is considered to be a dark age among fans. While it initially had a strong start with "Dante vs. Bayonetta", it quickly fell off afterwards, with at least half of the episodes suffering from poor animation, lack of research and/or bias towards certain characters. The better episodes were overshadowed by the amount of disappointing fights, culminating in the underwhelming finale of "Deadpool vs. Pinkie Pie". Additionally, ''Death Battle X'' replaced ''1 Minute Melee'' as a side series, and initial consensus was that it was inferior due to the experimental style. Fortunately, the creators managed to rectify their mistakes by refining their research and the animation, as well as introducing a hand-written style to further enhance the quality of the battles. The Season 4 Finale, "Sephiroth vs. Vergil" is agreed to be a massive improvement compared to the previous one, and ''Death Battle X'' also improved on everything else to the point that it's agreed to be on par with or even better than ''1 Minute Melee''. While later seasons have had a few disappointing matchups, they are nowhere near the poor quality of Season 3.
31	* AwesomeEgo:
32	** Iron Man and Lex Luthor both deliver one BadassBoast after another to each other in their match, proclaiming themselves as contending with gods.
33	** Ultron's an insane egomaniac to the extreme and endlessly boasts through his fight with Sigma about how he deserves everything and anyone existing below him. [[spoiler:His victory in the end with both the Ultron drones and Maverick army declaring their loyalty makes it all the more justified.]]
34	** Only Thanos and Darkseid's egos are grander than their PowerLevels which they're more than capable of backing up.
35	* BaseBreakingCharacter: The overrepresentation of Batman characters (8 out of the 28 DC fighters) has become controversial. Batman has appeared four times as a fighter, more than any other returning character, not including his supporting role for Batman Beyond and his cameo in Venom and Bane's fight. Fans either enjoy their presence or are sick of their constant appearances, with some accusing Batman characters of becoming a SpotlightStealingSquad. Notwithstanding, [[spoiler:the characters have lost seven battles and only won four, with Batman losing three of his four]].
36	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
37	** Goku and Superman's rematch features the two [[spoiler:crashing the SGC building, and two cosplayers continue the fight before they run off and the video resumes]]. This moment isn't brought up later in the match. The Website/YouTube version doesn't include this.
38	** Wiz lampshades one regarding Donkey Kong's SoBadItsGood singing from ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'', shocking Boomstick.
39	** Captain America shows up at the start of Flash VS Quicksilver with a dramatic flash of his name. He proceeds to do nothing and vanishes from the episode entirely.
40	** At one point in ''Thanos VS Darkseid'', Darkseid throws a helicopter with Thanos' name on it at his opponent. While it references [[https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-01cd612706f6a307b9fff954fb72142f-lq this moment]] in the comics, it doesn't make sense in the context of the fight itself.
41	* BizarroEpisode: Episodes of ''DBX'' that pit one character against 100 of another stand wildly different from anything else, either from the main show, ''WebAnimation/OneMinuteMelee'', or other ''DBX'' fights, serving as less of a DuelToTheDeath and more of an exhibition of the ConservationOfNinjutsu, with the one character effortlessly massacring the horde in hilariously over-the-top ways.
42	* BrokenBase:
43	** Goku VS Superman is known to be ''the'' most disputed HypotheticalFightDebate of all time. Wiz and Boomstick's claim to have settled the question was bound to cause massive controversy.
44	** Ben 10 VS Green Lantern managed to ''exceed'' Goku VS Superman in objective controversy, at least in pure like/dislike ratio (it barely has over 50% likes by an even closer margin). The problems that plagued it were an uncreative and bizarre animation and the rundown glossing over all the intricacies of the fight.
45	** Since Wiz and Boomstick became animated characters, they have spurred slight controversies. While it spices up the final parts of the episode, some feel their animation is ugly and detracts from the fight sequence's budget, especially after a redesign in Season 7.
46	** The RunningGag about Boomstick's DisappearedDad is heavily divisive among fans. Some are fine with it, while others are annoyed at its frequency. The issue came to a head in ''Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man'', a lore-heavy episode about Boomstick looking for his dad. TheReveal that he was Sarge already happened in ''Meta VS Carolina'' five seasons ago. Many people argued it was an AntiClimax; others thought it shook up the formula and deepened Boomstick.
47	** Returning fighters has consistently split the fanbase since the first returnee all the way back in season two. Some fans are fine with old fighters returning for another bout, saying that as the research improves, it allows fighters to show off new tricks and feats they didn't have in their original fights or for fighters that had bad or mediocre first episodes to get a second chance to impress. Others hate the idea of returning fighters, pointing out that they already had their chance and that using someone new makes for more engaging fights.
48	** The overuse of Marvel and DC characters garnered controversy, with at least three episodes from each season having one and each season having at least one Marvel vs DC fight. Some fans are fine with the large amount of comic book superheroes, pointing out that with how many characters Marvel and DC has, of course they're going to be used constantly or they just enjoy the two universes. Other fans are completely sick of the two series and wish that Death Battle would branch out to other series, not helped by some fights seemingly sticking a character against a comic superhero for no reason even when they had more popular opinions, with Genos vs War Machine and Venom VS Crona being the two biggest cases of this. A third camp agrees that while the show should be using more fighters, they're still okay with the Marvel and DC heroes being used, just not as often as they currently are.
49	* CanonDefilement: Because a match ''always'' must end with a death, this trope happens to every character who isn't already a psychotic killer. Everyone is [[AdaptationalVillainy callous, brutal and bloodthirsty]], independent of their canonical characterization. Characters in a Death Battle are willing to violate any ThouShallNotKill trait they might have in canon and even [[DisproportionateRetribution murder someone for the most trivial reasons]]. Characters also disregard all collateral damage to use their full potential and avoid a "he would've won if he wasn't holding back" situation.
50	* CaptainObviousReveal: Death Battle's tendency of showing one opponent and hinting at who their opponent could be. While it ''does'' work as a surprise for some, it can also be so hilariously obvious whom they'd have to fight since the two constantly get paired up as fighters. They even lampshaded this after Mega Man VS Astro Boy, revealing Green Arrow while hiding his opponent - before immediately revealing the obvious choice for his opponent.
51	* CatharsisFactor:
52	** Whether you're a Brony or not, seeing Rainbow Dash dismantle a bastard like Starscream is certainly pleasurable.
53	** Considering just how [[Monster/SpiderMan monstrously vile]] Carnage is, Lucy repeatedly tearing him with Vectors and [[spoiler:utterly ''annihilating'' him with a massive explosion]] is ''cool''.
54	** After everything he did to [[spoiler:X and Zero, especially in X3, X4, and X5]], it's pretty satisfying for ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' players to see [[spoiler:Ultron assimilate and overwrite Sigma. Ironically, [[KarmicDeath the latter himself had done the same to countless Reploids to attain his Maverick armies]]]].
55	** In Thanos VS Darkseid, [[spoiler:Darkseid trapping Thanos forever in the Omega Sanction: though it's the [[EvilerThanThou more evil villain]] dealing the killing blow, it's still satisfying to see a typically near-unbeatable mass murderer like the Mad Titan get his comeuppance]].
56	** [[spoiler:Namor's brutal death]] in ''Aquaman VS Namor'' could be this depending how strongly the viewer feels about [[spoiler:Namor's MoralEventHorizon's in ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'' and in ''ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman'']].
57	** Widowmaker's laundry list of crimes: the assassination of Mondatta (which had ''massive'' repercussions for the world of ''Overwatch'') and coldly mocking Tracer for failing to stop her. The sight of Black Widow [[spoiler:garroting the life out of her before slicing her head off]] is quite satisfying.
58	** Didn't like the CruelTwistEnding of the Future Trunks Saga (namely, Zamasu coming back from being bifurcated and then wiping out all life on Earth)? In Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, see him (as Goku Black) stomped by Reverse-Flash, who's as far above him as he was above Dragon Ball Super's heroes.
59	** Considering how evil Homelander is, watching Omni-Man dish out a brutal CurbStompBattle and cause him a screaming VillainousBreakdown is satisfying. [[spoiler:Seeing Omni-Man kill Homelander in one of the show's most gruesome deaths to date]] is beyond satisfying.
60	* CrossesTheLineTwice: Quite a few. The very nature of the show means it's going to invoke it at least once an episode, whether it be going over tragic pasts, hilarious deaths, or Boomstick's jokes.
61	** The ending to Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly qualifies. [[spoiler:After killing Steven, Star stands alone on a burning beach littered with bloody corpses. [[MoodWhiplash Suddenly]] she's awarded first place for the sandcastle building contest that started the fight. Star celebrates [[{{Bathos}} as if there aren't any dead bodies around her]], which is followed by a ''Steven Universe''-esque IrisOut.]]
62	** In Guts VS Nightmare, Boomstick cracks around the part where he describes Casca getting raped. His description of the sheer amount of bullshit Guts went through is starting to turn into an [[TheAristocrats Aristocrats]] joke.
63	** [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160413111631/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwAfgsZimu8 Link's reveal trailer]] starts with a joke that Cloud would be facing [[spoiler:Aerith]]. Then it cuts to the "fight"'s death scene, which is [[spoiler:Aerith's infamous PlotlineDeath]].
64	** From Amy VS Ramona, [[spoiler:Namona's bloody corpse with Scott in tears. Ramona [[MoneySpider explodes into coins]] and is shown in a spirit form with Scott still in tears kneeling at the coins.]]
65	** ''Balrog VS TJ Combo:'' [[spoiler:Balrog's severed head? Horrifying and {{squick}}-y. Balrog's severed head breaking the camera, ending the broadcast, and making the announcer sick? Hilarious.]]
66	** The concept of some fights will cross the line twice by default, like ''Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie '' and ''Smokey Bear VS [=McGruff=] the Crime Dog''.
67	** The "TMNT Battle Royale" was, in Ben's mind, the one that went too far. It wasn't that the turtles were killing each other brutally; it was how the people saw it as too remorseless. They weren't acting like the TMNT they grew up seeing. It didn't help that at the end of the fight [[spoiler:Leonardo sits in a pool of blood-filled water with a horrified look, knowing he just killed his brothers]].
68	** The DBX episode of Thor VS 100 Pikachu. Given his record against Raiden, [[spoiler:it's oddly funny to see the God of Thunder turn Pikachu after Pikachu into splats of blood with as much fervor as he would any tougher opponent.]]
69	** The DBX episode of Cuphead VS Bendy. [[spoiler:Bendy ripping off Cuphead's-ahem- cup head? Brutal. Drinking out of it to kill him and ending with a Cuphead-style "Game Over"? Priceless.]]
70	** Green Lantern [[spoiler:killing Ben by crushing him is cruel. Doing so with a giant light boot loops around to being hilarious. Doing so by taunting him with the quip the kid told him before and doing it before he could ever say it in the first place loops around twice to being just wrong in the best way. Hal briefly chats with his past self, leaving him confused, and makes it even better, in an even worse way.]]
71	** Optimus in Death Race [[spoiler:killing himself for having won through brutality]] isn't funny. Him doing so by [[spoiler:turning into a truck and backing up off the track to fall to his death ''is'']].
72	** Goro VS Machamp has [[spoiler:the finishing blow. Goro getting punched so hard by Machamp that he explodes into LudicrousGibs? Gruesome. Goro's gibs flying off into orbit? Hilarious]].
73	* DiscreditedMeme: Long story short, saying that ''Death Battle'' or [=ScrewAttack=] is biased against anime will get you more snark than support.
74	* EpilepticTrees: One theory about the mysterious "Adam Park" who voices Ichigo in his fight with Naruto: he is Creator/JohnnyYongBosch under the pseudonym of his character from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''.
75	** The show had credited "Park" as Ichigo; had they simply re-purposed voice clips from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', they would not have credited anyone at all for it. For example, Doomsday and Lucario lacked proper voice credits as they recycled voice clips from certain games. Their opponents, Hulk and Renamon, had voice actors who were credited.
76	** Bosch himself likely could not be credited as Ichigo due to legal repercussions over reprising the role outside of any official Bleach-affiliated media. For the same reason, Chris Rager could not reprise his role as Hercule despite wanting to. The hosts' noted interest in Nathan Vetterlein's offer to play Scout; he dropped out due to being late to the casting process. They have at least given some thought to the idea and perhaps finally implemented it with Bosch by hiding his identity and leaving behind an obvious hint.
77	* EsotericHappyEnding:
78	** Thanks to liberal amounts of FridgeHorror, the outcome of Guts VS Nightmare. [[spoiler:The ending depicts the heroic Guts slaying the evil demon Inferno and tearing Soul Edge asunder forever. All is well and good until you realize that Guts is almost certainly going to die/be malfested by Soul Edge's corruption very soon and painfully, thanks to his wounds and his cursed armor; Soul Edge will get reforged after being broken several times; Inferno's resurrected himself before, although it took quite some time; and all those combined could easily lead to Guts becoming the next incarnation of Nightmare, more potent than the last.]]
79	** From Dante VS Bayonetta, Dante was collecting the Left Eye, [[spoiler:which he fails to do since he kills Bayonetta, who literally ''is'' the Left Eye. If we are to take the events of DBX as canon, then during the end of his fight, his demon-slaying partner, Trish, died to Bayonetta's best friend, Jeanne. Plus, [[DarkIsNotEvil Bayonetta]] is doomed to an eternity of torment in Inferno as per her series' lore, although with Jeanne alive, it's possible [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 Jeanne can rescue her as Bayonetta did to her in her second game]]... provided a pissed-off devil slayer who is capable of killing Umbra Witches doesn't find her first.]]
80	* FandomRivalry:
81	** Mega Man VS Astro Boy sparked one with ''WebAnimation/FatalFiction'' whose episode on this match from two years ago had the opposite result. Both fandoms review-bombed each other's videos to no end.
82	** A rivalry with ''Cartoon Fight Club'' is scathing among fans, with many arguing about accuracy and quality with both. Conflicting results with similar fights don't exactly help matters.
83	** There's one with ''WebVideo/SuperPowerBeatDown''. Both have different ways of determining the winner: DB uses research, while SPBD uses fan votes. Notwithstanding, Aaron Schoenke from SPBD claims he loves Death Battle, is interested in the facts they give him, and his series doesn't insult Death Battle.
84	* FanficFuel:
85	** While fighting to the death is awesome enough, what would happen if said opponents ''team up''?
86	** With the copious amounts of FridgeHorror that a show like ''Death Battle'' provides, it's not hard to let one's imagination run wild. What happens when the villains of two particular works meet each other? Will a fallen fighter's friends and family attempt to hunt down the person who killed them and exact revenge, and if so, what consequences will that cause? When several characters from one franchise die over several episodes, what does that mean for their universe?
87	* FanMyopia: Because of the nearly endless amount of characters in fiction to choose from, many people will have different ideas about whom they want most to fight. People get baffled if the hosts don't know their character or use one they've never heard of despite their popularity. At worst, they'll blast the fight with complaints about how "obscure" the character or work is.
88	* FriendlyFandoms:
89	** With Creator/{{Funimation}}, as many of their voice actors appeared in a few Death Battle episodes. Chad James, the voice of Boomstick, co-hosts Funimation's Dubble Talk.
90	** ''Death Battle'' fans and ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' fans tend to get along well due to the VS nature of both shows in addition to the amount of overlap regarding characters and, in some cases, matchups used.
91	* GeniusBonus: In ''Balrog VS TJ Combo'', the boxing fighting method triangle shows Little Mac as a swarmer-type boxer. Those who have both played ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' and know their fair share about boxing can say that's not far from the truth. The swarmer's fighting style has them stay up close to their enemy, wait for an opening while taking hits, and throw windmill punches. That's the entirety of the gameplay of ''Punch Out''.
92	* GrowingTheBeard:
93	** The series improved when it dropped the LifeMeter on the fighters, making the fights less predictable, and when Wiz and Boomstick started to get their comedic quirks down.
94	** The fights have received a notable AnimationBump over the years. Starting with just sprite animations, by Link VS Cloud in Season 1, 3D animations debuted. For the next three seasons, sprite and 3D battles ran alongside each other and improved. Smokey VS [=McGruff=] in Season 4 introduced hand-drawn animations, further expanding the potential scope of cartoon matches and eliminating the restrictions of pre-made assets. And finally, by Season 5, Nightwing VS Daredevil introduced live-action battles with real actors. The show has four different methods of animations to choose from, showing how far the show has come since its debut in 2010.
95	** There's also the quality of voice actors to choose from, given their close ties to the Texas anime dubbing community. Creator/ChuckHuber, Creator/ChristopherSabat, Creator/ToddHaberkorn, Creator/KiraBuckland, Creator/JeannieTirado, and more have voiced them. The shoe can even be a place to show off younger talent before they become more famous elsewhere, like Creator/XanderMobus and Creator/EricaMendez.
96	** After a rough start, DBX animations became more well-received, with the first season culminating in a 3D fight in Prophet VS Predator. Since then, Season 2 has produced more of these treats: the 3D Genji VS Raiden and the likes of Guile VS Paul, Broly VS Doomsday, Aigis VS Noel, and Cloud VS Guts.
97	* HarsherInHindsight:
98	** In the [[ProductPlacement pre-battle ad]] in Luke Skywalker VS Harry Potter, Wizard mentions that eventually, one's computer could face disaster. The product in the advertisement helps avoid file loss. Three years later, Ben Singer's hard drive failed, losing the non-battle segments of Godzilla VS Gamera days before the airdate at the 2014 Screwattack Gaming Convention. [[ScheduleSlip This error delayed the fight several weeks and required the Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon battle, announced following the SGC reveal, to be pushed back until after Batman VS Captain America]].
99	** Crosses over into TrollingCreator: In the post-match video following the Yang VS Tifa match, Yang's voice actress Barbara Dunkelman said that what happened at the end would ''never'' happen in ''RWBY''. [[spoiler:Episode 6 of Volume 3, which has Yang provoked into shooting a weakened Mercury in the leg and the implications that Pyrrha might have to take a life to save another, proves otherwise. The 12th episode would prove that no matter what happens, she could have said that even with Yang's loss.]]
100	** Smokey Bear VS [=McGruff=] the Crime Dog was announced on the same day as [[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/obituaries/jack-keil-creator-of-the-crime-fighting-dog-mcgruff-dies-at-94.html the passing of Jack Keil, the creator and original voice actor of McGruff.]] [[https://twitter.com/BenBSinger/status/906250212720640002 Also, as Ben pointed out]], a wildfire breakout occurred around when they announced the fight.
101	** Sam Fisher's appearance in ''VideoGame/GhostReconWildlands'' has a surprisingly sad ShoutOut to ''VideoGame/MetalGear''. Fisher hears that an old stealth expert who wore a bandana and served in the army finally hung up his boots, referencing Konami's mishandling of ''Splinter Cell'''s old rival. He remarks with a mixture of fear and sadness that it's only him now, the last of the old guard of stealth-action games. [[spoiler:It makes his death at Snake's hands in Death Battle almost look like an outcome he'd prefer.]]
102	** Batman's matchups seem reversed in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, Spider-Man and Black Panther are among half of the universe's population that were wiped out by Thanos, while Captain America survives.]]
103	** On that note, [[spoiler:Strange's fate in his battle against Doctor Fate is eerily reminiscent of how he dies in the movie. In both cases, he's disintegrated, turned to dust, and essentially wiped from existence shortly after losing a battle against a physically more powerful foe. Given the relatively short time between the release of both works, it's unlikely that this was intentional.]]
104	** In [[Recap/DeathBattleS02E21IronManVsLexLuthor Iron Man VS Lex Luthor]], Boomstick misinterprets one of Wiz's statements and [[MistakenForPedophile briefly thinks Luthor is a child molester]]. Creator/KevinSpacey, who [[Film/SupermanReturns once played Luthor]], would later be accused of sexually assaulting multiple underage boys.
105	** In Season 5, when Wiz remarks that [[DisappearedDad Boomstick]] would know all about Ultron's problems with his father figure, Boomstick flips Wiz off and says, "Screw ''you'', Wiz! ''You'll'' never understand!" Season 6's preview for Mechagodzilla confirms that Wiz ''does'' understand Boomstick's problems because his father has died. Wiz is desperately trying to revive him with cyber-necromancy.
106	* IAmNotShazam: Sweet Tooth isn't the name of the serial killer with the flaming head. The man is called Needles Kane, and Sweet Tooth is the name of his truck. [[ZigZaggedTrope However]], Needles has been referred to as Sweet Tooth in his home series before. He goes by that moniker in ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale''. The hosts even call Needles by his name and his truck Sweet Tooth, meaning they at least ''do'' know which is named what.
107	* InferredHolocaust: Here's a fun drinking game if you're binge-watching. Take a shot every time a battle has or will result in the death of innocent people due to the combatants. Unless you have some immunity that rivals gods, ''you will die''.
108	* ItsTheSameSoItSucks:
109	** "She-Ra VS Wonder Woman" has been criticized for being the third episode to feature Wonder Woman, her portion of the analysis being very similar to Thor VS Wonder Woman.
110	** "Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen" is one of Season 7's less admired episodes, as it's a rehash of Batman VS Spider-Man.
111	* ItWasHisSled:
112	** [[spoiler:Superman won against Goku. ''Twice!'']]
113	** [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash stomped Starscream.]]
114	* JerkassWoobie:
115	** Lex Luthor, a megalomaniacal scoundrel of a man. When he was a boy, his parents abused and neglected him throughout his childhood. His father even went so far as to threaten him with death should he ever speak up. Even after freeing himself from his parents' hold and founding a powerful company, Superman, whom he desperately wants to be but won't admit, overshadows him. He's not far off when he claims that humanity will become a weaker race due to their reliance on Superman. Nobody believes him because they adore the Man of Steel. For all of his flaws, Luthor, in his way, truly does believe humans can stand up for themselves.
116	** To quote Boomstick, life just decided to shit all over Eddie Brock. He spent his life trying to earn the approval of a father who hated him. When he came across his one big break in a chance to expose a serial killer for the Daily Bugle, he was wrong, and Spider-Man found the killer. He was publicly humiliated and fired, his father disowned him, his wife divorced him, and he found out he had cancer. He bonded with a murderous symbiote who just so happens to hate Spidey as much as he does. All this happened in one day.
117	** Brock's opponent, Bane, didn't have a much better life, born and raised in a prison hellhole. The catalyst that resulted in him becoming the brutal tormenter he is today was a fall from several floors up that nearly killed him when he was just a boy. The experiment that introduced him to Venom (the drug) was supposed to kill him on the operating table, and he got addicted to the drug. It's hard not to feel a little bad for him, but he also became a mass-murdering gang lord after he broke out of prison, so he's not a sympathetic figure.
118	* JustHereForGodzilla:
119	** Some viewers don't even care about the research or who wins. They want to see two similar characters DuelToTheDeath or watch the fireworks in the comment sections as fans get into shouting matches.
120	** This is also a big selling point of the WebAnimation/OneMinuteMelee spin-off; fast-paced action without studying the lore and stats of the characters themselves.
121	** The animation proceeding the research is scripted and written well ''after'' a winner has been decided based on feats and statistics. The sequence is just for fun and does not have any impact whatsoever on who comes out victorious.
122	** The first season finale episode of ''The Industry'' gives a TakeThatAudience to fans who only care about who wins and who's fighting next and are thankless for the hard work and research involved in an episode.
123	* LesYay: {{ComicBook/Rogue}} using her KissOfDeath on [[Franchise/StreetFighter Cammy]] and Franchise/WonderWoman.
124	* MagnificentBastard: ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, real name Wade Wilson, is a recurring character, with his FourthWallObserver powers making him aware of the existence of co-hosts Wiz and Boomstick, thus beginning a campaign of Deadpool annoying them and the hosts trying to make him shut up. Deadpool's fight with ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} has him use bizarre techniques, dance mid-fight to overcome Deathstroke's skills, and nullify Deathstroke's HealingFactor with his Carbonadium sword. Later, Deadpool befriends [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Pinkie Pie]] after recognizing her as a fellow fourth-wall breaker, with the two managing to defy the creators by messing with their past videos and ending on a death-less match. When Wiz and Boomstick try to kill Deadpool with ComicBook/TheMask, Deadpool tries to level the playing field using the Continuity Gem. After realizing he stands no chance, he dies content before tricking the co-hosts into resurrecting him back to life.
125	* MemeticBadass:
126	** Creator/ChuckNorris VS Advertising/SegataSanshiro pits two of the biggest ones in history against each other. The result is nothing short of spectacular.
127	** Two ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fighters have received this treatment. Rainbow Dash [[spoiler:dished out an utter CurbStompBattle to Starscream]] while Pinkie Pie [[spoiler:befriended Deadpool and managed to ''beat the hosts''.]]
128	** Kirby, [[spoiler:for managing to beat ''Majin Buu'', one of Dragon Ball's most powerful villains. It would even lead fans to either jokingly or genuinely suggest he fight characters like Doomsday or Thanos.]]
129	** The hosts consider Archie Comics Sonic to be one. Not least of which includes him outrunning time, blowing up black holes by running around them, surviving the destruction of a universe, and canonically defeating fellow MemeticBadass Segata Sanshiro.
130	** Of the Marvel and DC supervillains that have fought in the series, none have reached the level of badass that Doctor Doom has, with his two matches against Darth Vader and Lex Luthor ending up being triumphant [[CurbStompBattle Curb-Stomp Battles]] with him on the giving end.
131	* MemeticLoser:
132	** The Franchise/PowerRangers are many viewers' childhood heroes. For years, they were also considered a laughingstock in the ''Death Battle'' fandom due to losing three battles in a row: Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon, Power Rangers VS Voltron, and Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla. It wasn't until Jason managed to defeat [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Leonardo]] in Season 7 that they managed to shake off this reputation. Even then, many watchers were dubious about his chances before the episode's release.
133	** Shadow the Hedgehog has it rough even compared to other ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' characters. His first two appearances, which pit him against Vegeta and Mewtwo, ended with him losing. Although his third showing against Ryūko had him dish out a CurbStompBattle to her, this didn't do much to rescue his reputation. People saw the fight as a "pity win" with an easily-predicted outcome, ''and'' Shadow had to kill his waifu to get it.
134	** Of the Holy Shonen Trinity (''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''), ''Bleach'' has always had the short end of the stick, as not only did the franchise's characters lose twice in a row but both of the matches the characters engaged in ended up being humiliating [[CurbStompBattle Curb-Stomp Battles]] with them on the receiving end.
135	** [[Franchise/DragonBall Son Goku]]. This is the first combatant to lose four times including his Goku Black variant with only a single win to his name. Not helping that said win was basically a MirrorMatch between two of his most iconic [[FusionDance fusions]] (Gogeta VS Vegito) so he was going to lose that match no matter who won.
136	* MisBlamed: The disappointment at best and anger at worst to Mewtwo VS Shadow's short length was a case. The fight was short and underwhelming, but not because the writers were lazy. It was mediocre due to Donimation not wanting to make animations anymore. Chad and Ben had recorded many unused lines and planned to show more powers as the fight progressed.
137	[[/folder]]
138	[[folder:N-W]]
139	* {{Narm}}:
140	** Ganondorf turning into Ganon ''should'' be spectacular in theory. However, since it uses Ganon's sprites from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', it looks silly to some people. How he gets ''smaller'' doesn't help.
141	** Thor going into his [[UnstoppableRage Warrior's Madness]] is very threatening. Notwithstanding, the line "I'll kill you! I'll kill you dead!" makes things a little silly. ''Especially'' because that quote comes from Superboy-Prime.
142	* NarmCharm:
143	** The close-ups used in Cammy VS Sonya. Sure, they look ridiculous, but it only helps give the fight a feeling of a classic fighting game.
144	** Venom is so over-the-top psychotic in Venom VS Bane that he becomes simultaneously hilarious and horrifying to watch.
145	** Darkseid folds his arms behind himself with his face unmoving as Thanos barrages him. It's silly but effective at showing how powerful he is and how little of a chance Thanos has.
146	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap:
147	** Even the hosts claim [=RoboCop=]'s jetpack gave him the power to [[JumpingTheShark jump the shark]]. However, its inclusion in the battle took away all its silliness, making it awesome and practical.
148	** Godzilla's unique style of flight. He uses it to unbalance Gamera as Gamera pushes him into orbit and again to slow his descent into the water after escaping Gamera's SuplexFinisher.
149	** After Pokemon VS Digimon, many people began to see Ash Ketchum in a more positive light. [[spoiler:This is due to Red's loss being attributed to him treating Charizard as a pet, while Ash has gone out of his way to show he treats his Pokémon as friends and tries to keep them out of their Pokéballs as much as possible, and how Red is utterly incompetent at hand-to-hand fighting when he's the receiver of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Tai, while Ash actually ''has'' jumped into a fight and thrown a punch if the need arises, making him seem surprisingly more competent. Also, Ash's Pokémon can think and react for themselves during a battle.]]
150	* RetroactiveRecognition:
151	** Creator/EricaMendez, known for playing [[Anime/KillLaKill Ryuko Matoi]] and [[Manga/HunterXHunter Gon Freecss]], previously played Rainbow Dash in her fight against Starscream.
152	** Creator/XanderMobus was a recurring voice actor around the time he got the role of [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Master Hand]].
153	* RonTheDeathEater:
154	** Superman gets treated as a monster by some because his battle with Goku [[spoiler:caused the Earth's destruction, ignoring the fact that Goku both instigated the fight and escalated it; Superman was ''minding his own business'' and tried to talk Goku out of fighting ''twice''.]]
155	** Tai gets crap from the Death Battle fanbase for assaulting Red, with many considering it dishonorable and unnecessary. Many seem to forget that ''Red'' was the one who started the fight by trying to capture Agumon and that ''Red'' was the one who kept escalating the fight. He had plenty of time to back down, either through realizing Charizard couldn't keep up or that Agumon already had a partner. Tai has attacked people many times before in canon for intentionally trying to hurt his friends. It isn't uncommon for the ''heroes'' of the Pokémon franchise to attack the ''human'' villainous trainers (How many times has Ash ordered Pikachu to thundershock Team Rocket?).
156	* RootingForTheEmpire: Lampshaded by Wiz and Boomstick at Godzilla VS Gamera's premiere. Most of the viewers in the audience were rooting for Godzilla even though the fight clearly showed him rampaging through a city.
157	* ShockingMoments:
158	** Eggman VS Wily, especially after [[spoiler:Metal Sonic decimates both of them]].
159	** in-universe: Boomstick Lets out a big "OH SHIT!" after seeing Mjolnir's raw power in action.
160	** Superman VS Son Goku; even the hosts can't contain themselves.
161	--->'''Boomstick:''' HOLY FUCKING SHIT I DON'T BELIEVE IT!\
162	'''Wizard:''' OH MY ''GOD!!''\
163	'''Boomstick:''' SOMEONE GET ME A MOTHERFUCKING [[FlippingTheTable TABLE TO FLIP!]]
164	** The ending of the Goku VS Superman fight is a TearJerker too. [[spoiler:The planet explodes]].
165	** He-Man's feats, like burrowing to the center of Eternia with a stalactite, get a "The fuck!?" and a "The ''double'' fuck!?" from Boomstick.
166	** Fox [=McCloud=] [[spoiler:''strangling'' Bucky O'Hare and then blasting the latter's head off with a laser pistol.]]
167	** Zelda [[spoiler:getting kicked in the face with enough force to make her head splatter like a melon.]]
168	** Blastoise [[spoiler:ripping off Charizard's wings.]]
169	** Godzilla [[spoiler:[[NoSell Tanking]] Gamera's Mana Cannon.]] Gamara [[spoiler:getting his arm ripped off caused this reaction in a live audience.]]
170	** The whole Captain America/Batman fight. [[spoiler:Steve had the upper hand for the entirety of the match due to his superhuman abilities. He curb-stomps Batman for a while, not realizing that Batman is studying his opponent. Once Batman figures out the situation, he delivers quite possibly the swiftest beatdown Cap will ever receive before using his Batclaw to ''snap Captain America's neck''!]]
171	** Link [[spoiler:using Z-Targetting to block Cloud's Omnislash then slashing him mid-air during the final move.]] Anyone watching that for the first can easily miss what's going on there. It happens so incredibly fast, which is canon to what both of them can do.
172	** The Terminator[=/=]Robocop: a run-and-gun battle through the city that wouldn't feel out of place from a climax in their movies. Since they're both {{Killer Robot}}s, [[ImplacableMan they all continue to walk off increasing levels of damage]] [[ImmuneToBullets from bullets]] [[EnergyWeapon to lasers]] [[StuffBlowingUp to explosions]]. [[spoiler:At the end of the battle, Robocop straps what's left of The Terminator to his jetpack and launches him into the sky to explode - but The Terminator still gets one last one-liner by yelling "[[DefiantToTheEnd I'll be back!]]"]]
173	** Deadpool VS Deathstroke was a long-requested battle, and the final product lives up to expectations. Two insanely talented assassins with a metric crap-ton of weaponry each, a mutual HealingFactor, and an entire city as their playground. It only gets better when the battlefield shifts to the roofs of cars in rush-hour traffic, and even more so after [[spoiler:Deathstroke shoots out the tires of one of the buses, causing a wicked nasty traffic accident that both fighters utilize to their advantage, even while some of the cars are still flying through the air.]] The result is something that would fit in wonderfully as the climax of an action movie.
174	** Kirby [[spoiler:inhales a blast powerful enough to annihilate planets without a scratch and shoots it back at Kid Buu, launching him into the sun for the kill.]]
175	** Ragna, [[spoiler:now the [[EldritchAbomination Black]] [[AndIMustScream Beast]]]], and Sol, [[spoiler:now using his [[PowerLimiter limiter-free]] [[DraconicHumanoid Dragon]] [[SuperMode Install]]]], charging at each other for the [[SingleStrokeBattle climax of their fight]]. [[spoiler:In an explosion that takes out the entire city they were fighting in, Sol ''one-shots'' the Black Beast, a world-destroying beast of destruction, ''and it's implied he was still holding himself back despite all that''.]]
176	** Raiden [[spoiler:slicing off Wolverine's head, dicing it up, and kicking it into a gory mess.]]
177	** Yang Xiao Long [[spoiler:shrugging off Final Heaven, shattering Premium Heart with one punch, and violently breaking Tifa's neck]].
178	** Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro escalated from showcasing their badassery on Earth to [[spoiler:the Earth getting cleaved in two alongside several planets. Chuck Norris destroys the sun, causing a massive black hole]]. The fight ends in [[spoiler:the two colliding in the middle of it, destroying the space-time continuum in the process]].
179	** [=WarGreymon=] and Mega Charizard X going at each other with seemingly equal strength, which escalates to [[spoiler:[=WarGreymon=] stabbing Charizard to death with his Dramon Destroyers and incinerating him, along with his trainer, with Terra Force.]]
180	** Hulk VS Doomsday is a blast of pure rage and violence from start to finish. The climax stands out as the two beat up each other with undying rage until something finally dies, [[spoiler:which eventually results in Doomsday ripping off Hulk's head after stabbing him enough to leave him in a pool of radioactive blood.]]
181	** Zoro and Erza [[spoiler:showing off just how overpowered they are by first destroying the town they're fighting in, then destroying a ''mountain'' at the climax]].
182	** Deadpool and Pinkie Pie [[spoiler:destroy the rules of Death Battle - intervening in past matches and eventually confronting the hosts of the Death Battle Cast before calling it a draw and having a party.]]
183	** Power Rangers VS Voltron was a '''''long''''' time coming, and they made sure to pull out all the stops, apparent with just a few words in the climax.
184	--->'''Keith:''' (As [[spoiler:Pidge's lion head flies over to grab the Blazing Sword after the Red Lion's fallen off]]) Give [Pidge] cover fire!
185	--->'''Allura:''' With what?!
186	--->'''Keith:''' '''''[[AllOfThem EVERYTHING!]]'''''
187	** Sub-Zero VS Glacius features Glacius [[spoiler:melting off]] Sub-Zero's hand and then [[spoiler:consuming/melting him.]] [[spoiler:Only for it to be an Ice Klone, letting Sub-Zero ''rip Glacius' spine out''.]]
188	** Sephiroth [[spoiler:unleashing the Supernova on Vergil, burning him up with an exploding sun to the face. Vergil manages to escape and survive for about 10 seconds before being impaled from behind and split in two.]]
189	** In Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, [[spoiler:Twilight manages to turn Raven into a flower pot and escape from Raven's soul self. At this point, it looks like it might be another Yoshi VS Riptor scenario. Then, right as she's about to smash the flowerpot, Raven's Soul Self slams into her at Mach 36, leaving an ImpactSilhouette. Game over.]]
190	** Thanos VS Darkseid makes sure not to undersell the full power both combatants possess, with levels not seen since the likes of Goku VS Superman or even Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro when near the climax, [[spoiler:'''''the two cause a second Big Bang.''''']]
191	** The climax of ''Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon'' has [[spoiler:Cage land a wicked high-speed combo on Falcon courtesy of the boost pads on the racetrack. A badly injured Falcon calls in the [[CoolCar Blue Falcon]] and rams the actor at speeds likely greater than ''1500 KM/H''[[note]]994 MPH, and well over Mach 1[[/note]]. Johnny survives the impact and gets a few good punches on the windshield. Captain Falcon activates Boost Fire, horrifically shredding Johnny Cage with the friction against the race track and the centrifugal force of the Boost Fire's spin before [[LudicrousGibs blasting him to giblets]] with a Falcon Punch in a homage to the famous [[Anime/FZeroLegendOfFalcon Falcon Punch that killed Black Shadow in the anime]].]]
192	* SpiritualLicensee: In 2010, Website/ChannelAwesome tried out a pilot for [[https://thatguywiththeglasses.fandom.com/wiki/Deadliest_Character "Deadliest Character"]] (a Deadliest Warrior knockoff pitting fictional characters against each other, with the first being the Franchise/PowerRangers piloting the [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers Dino Megazord]] VS [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Mecha-Godzilla]]). Later that year, Screw Attack created Death Battle (a Deadliest Warrior knockoff pitting fictional characters against each other, with the first being [[VideoGame/{{Metroid}} Samus Aran]] VS [[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett]]). According to Creator/NoahAntwiler, ''Deadliest Character'' was never meant to be the start of an ongoing series; it was just a one-off parody of ''Series/DeadliestWarrior''. It's also very different from Death Battle in that none of the "research" presented factored into the decision. The end of the fight is interference to parody the unlikely victories and faulty research of ''Deadliest Warrior''. Noah states plainly in his commentaries if he thinks the match would have gone the other way and ended the way it did just for the joke.
193	* SpoiledByTheFormat: Whoever uses their trump card first tends to lose. Because the animation should showcase both fighters' abilities and weapons, the first fighter to exhaust their list of moves to show off leaves their opponent poised for a comeback victory. While this rule isn't absolute, it predicts the winner more often than not.
194	* {{Squick}}:
195	** [[DiscussedTrope Boomstick himself]] doesn't know whether to be [[FetishRetardant turned on or grossed-out]] by Bayonetta's hair and clothes. He disgusts himself by imagining her firing the guns on her feet with weird, misplaced thumbs.
196	** In Roshi VS Jiraiya, Jiraiya transports himself and Roshi inside a toad. Roshi's feet get stuck to the squishy, red, fleshy floor of the toad's throat, which stretches upward as he tries to pull himself out. The squishy noises don't help.
197	** Wario lets out a [[{{Fartillery}} WAFT]] when his ass gets stuck in King Dedede's mouth. That definitely would ''not'' taste good at all, and after the explosion, Dedede coughs out some of the gas.
198	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The first few notes of "Kings of the Sea" sound strikingly similar to the first few notes of All Star by Music/SmashMouth. [[WordOfGod It was intentional]].
199	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: Link VS Cloud's animation is choppy, even by WebAnimation standards. Goku VS Superman is a definite improvement in terms of graphics.
200	* TakeThatScrappy: Slippy Toad, a character infamous for his DistressedDude tendencies, quickly dies to Bucky O'Hare (who mistakes Slippy for a soldier of the Toad Empire). Boomstick comments how much he loves his job after getting to "croak the worst toad of all time."
201	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
202	** Some old-school fans are upset to see the opening theme (Invader) changed into a newer opening theme as of Season 5. They see the original theme as an iconic piece of the show that has been around for seven years.
203	** The show's use of original music instead of iconic tracks from the original franchises starting from Season 4 made some fans feel less charmed.
204	** Some felt that removing the "FIGHT" before matches from Season 6 onward removed some of the fun, especially in cases where it could easily go without interruption.
205	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: At an early point during the ninth season, Boomstick began a mini-series on social media called Death Battle Feats, which usually is about fun facts about the combatants in an episode, similar to the old series Desk of Death Battle. It's odd, considering that it's usually Boomstick narrating for this rather than Jocelyn. It's not that much of an issue anymore, as Desk of Death Battle returned with Jocelyn for 2022's summer.
206	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
207	** During Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers, Ramona pulls Amy into her subspace bag to fight her [[MesACrowd emotional clones]]. What could have been one of the most attractive sequences of the season quickly goes out the window, and Amy defeats them all within five seconds off-screen.
208	** A minor one with Natsu VS Ace: before the episode's release, Ben's teaser showed the setting almost the same as the previous Fairy Tail VS One Piece fight; Zoro VS Erza. It led many people to assume that the fight would start due to [[spoiler:Natsu going on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge for Erza's death]]. Instead, Erza doesn't get so much as a mention, and the fight starts because Ace stole food.
209	** ''DBX''[='s=] Vegeta VS Zod fight has an interesting one. After hearing Lanipator's angry roars as Vegeta pummels Zod over kidnapping Trunks, many fans wished they used ''Bulma'' instead. They wanted Lani's take on Vegeta's famous "[[Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods THAT'S MY BULMA!]]" line.
210	** Many were disappointed that Crash didn't say "WOAH!" at ''any'' point during his bout with Spyro. [[spoiler:Not even in death.]]
211	** Likewise, it's a bit disappointing not to have [[spoiler:Pit say "I'M FINISHED!" upon death]]. Fans of ''Kid Icarus Uprising'' were also disappointed that Pit didn't get to break the fourth wall during the fight.
212	** Many fans wanted Mitsuru to use the infamous Marin Karin during the fight because of how hilarious it could have been to see Weiss charmed by Mitsuru.[[note]]Not to mention the... [[GirlOnGirlIsHot implications.]][[/note]] Unfortunately, Marin Karin never got mentioned by name. It was only part of Mitsuru's background screen, though they say how much she uses it.
213	* ToughActToFollow:
214	** Being the most requested, longest, most extensive, and most viewed video of the series to date, Goku VS Superman casts a heavy shadow in terms of production and scale. Not so much that the rest is not enjoyable, but just OvershadowedByAwesome. As of Season 5, this status seems to include Thanos VS Darkseid.
215	** Many felt that the Season 2 finale, Pokémon VS Digimon, failed to live up to the hype that comes with a season finale. Not helped by the fact that Goku VS Superman 2 was a regular episode earlier in the season.
216	** The Season 3 premiere episode featured a gorgeous 3D animation of Dante VS Bayonetta. Immediately after that fight, the pilot episode of the new SpinOff called DBX premiered with Dante and Bayonetta's partners Trish and Jeanne fighting with a completely different animator. The shift is downright jarring, especially since Jeanne and Trish were also fighting in the premiere, only for their match to resolve in a much lower quality.
217	** DBX was not well-received compared to One Minute Melee when it first began in 2016. A common complaint for the first season was that many of the fights felt slow and stiff compared to OMM (owing to less experienced animators). Individual episodes like ''Ryu VS Lucario'', ''Bruce Lee VS The World'', ''Jotaro VS Yu'', and ''Predator VS Prophet'' were generally well-liked. Even "joke" episodes like ''Ronald [=McDonald=] VS Colonel Sanders'' and ''Donald Trump BS Hillary Clinton'' were well-received. [[GrowingTheBeard Overall, it's generally agreed that the show improved significantly during its second season, with most fights gaining much more praise.]]
218	** Torrian's 3D animations are largely considered to be the best in the show's history. Following 3D animations done by other animators after Torrian stepped down have garnered mixed reactions.
219	* UnintentionalUncannyValley:
220	** Donkey Kong's sprites may be this for some. His body is disturbingly realistic, with the overly muscly build and Popeye-tier arms that seem too long for the body. His head looks like it could pop off from it at any second. Borders onto NightmareFuel thanks to some of DK's deranged expressions, which makes him look less like a cartoonish and friendly gorilla and more like a feral and rabid creature.
221	** The character models for the Voltron Paladins stick out as being rather uncomfortable to look at compared to [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome just about everything else]] in their fight.
222	* UnconventionalLearningExperience: We get a generous handful of math, science, and history lessons throughout the series. Many viewers also gain interest in the more obscure combatants and their franchises. The more obscure combatant of the battle typically draws more interest from fans who go on to learn about them, such as Bucky O'Hare and Gamera.
223	* UnexpectedCharacter: According to Ben, they often invoke this every few episodes so that they get to look into a variety of other franchises and surprise viewers with more bizarre ideas.
224	** Sektor, who's a secondary villain in the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' mythos and not as popular as the other cyborgs. Even Boomstick thinks Cyrax should've fought Fulgore.
225	** While many fans requested ''Manga/OnePiece'' characters over the years, the fact that the manga has yet to finish had almost everyone dismissing them for a long while. Then came Roronoa Zoro's announcement, which caught many people by surprise. Almost nobody expected him (or any ''One Piece'' character, for that matter) to appear this early. It also applies to Erza Scarlet to a lesser extent, as ''Manga/FairyTail'' hadn't finished its final arc yet.
226	** When [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge [=McDuck=]]] was announced, nearly everyone expected his opponent to be either [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Wario]] or [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Mr. Krabs]]. They share similar traits to Scrooge, like greed, obsession with wealth, and treasure hunting. Almost nobody expected VideoGame/ShovelKnight. Similarly, Scrooge was an unexpected choice to appear as a combatant because nearly everyone thought he was either unfit, too obscure, or just unlikely.
227	** No one could have called ComicBook/{{Carnage}}'s opponent: Lucy from ''Manga/ElfenLied''. Though they're both incredibly similar in abilities and personality, Elfen Lied is a CultClassic, with Lucy not having nearly the amount of requests or popularity as Carnage would.
228	** Though many requested ComicBook/{{Ultron}} for the series, most fans expected him to go against ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} rather than [[VideoGame/MegaManX Sigma.]] It's also HilariousInHindsight after the two joined forces as a BigBadDuumvirate and [[FusionDance merged]] in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite''. The hosts cited Ultron-Sigma's existence as why 'the match grew in popularity over time.
229	** While thematic, Black Widow and Widowmaker had their fair share of alternate requested opponents before they fought each other. People expected the latter to continue the ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''/''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' rivalry against the Sniper or fight another sniper like ComicBook/{{Deadshot}} and the former to face off against someone like ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}.
230	** WesternAnimation/Ben10 VS ComicBook/GreenLantern caught many off-guard. While both have their requests, it was more common to pit Ben against someone like WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom and Green Lantern against ComicBook/{{Nova}}. The former is from a youth-oriented action animated series, while the latter is from a cosmic comic book series with a wide mythos aimed primarily at adults. While thematically they make sense, it was a fight few would even ''conceive'', let alone request.
231	** Weiss VS Mitsuru is a downplayed example. Though many have asked for a ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' character, they expected Joker, Yu, or Aigis over a supporting party member like Mitsuru. Downplayed, as the show doesn't like RPG characters, citing the genre's emphasis on choice introducing too many variables to know what a character can canonically do. It makes sense to include a character like Mitsuru, who has a more concrete powerset and a greater focus in games like ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena''.
232	** Yoda (of ''Franchise/StarWars'') and King Mickey (of ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'') were both very unexpected characters due to the unlikely odds of having either in the show. For the former, Ben Singer mentioned that he disliked Yoda's fighting style in the prequels and couldn't deal with focusing on it to make an episode. As for the latter, it's because Disney is notorious for suing people over the use of Mickey Mouse. As such, having ''both'' characters fight each other in the debut battle of Season 8 was quite a surprise, especially to those who thought it could never happen.
233	** Season 6 of DBX features a RunningGag with Ringmaster alienating his co-workers when he invites them to be ''his'' guest announcers. They then steal the spotlight because they don't do what he says. After exhausting Wiz, Boomstick, and DUMMI, Ringmaster brings in Perfect Cell from Creator/TeamFourStar and [=DevilArtemis=]'s ''Cell VS'' series. He comes out of the left field and humiliates Ringmaster because dressing up and acting like [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit the Frog]] was part of ''his own'' contract for appearing.
234	** The announcement of "[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Hercules]] VS [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]]" caught almost everyone off guard, as it's the show's first time drawing from mythology as a source.
235	** When Trunks appeared in the mid-season preview for Season 9, many people expected him to take on Silver the Hedgehog. While some people were expecting Silver's ''[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Archie Comics]]'' variant, almost nobody expected Trunks' ''VideoGame/DragonBallHeroes'' incarnation. That series has never appeared in any ''Manga/DragonBall''-related fight before outside of really brief snippets of the anime shorts in analysis segments.
236	** The announcement that WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants would be on the show was a major shocker, as said character rarely gets into fights in his home series. That his opponent is ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}, and more specifically his MemeticLoser incarnation from ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' was just as much of a surpise, as those who did want [=SpongeBob=] to be a combatant tend to match him against characters from cartoons in the same genre, such as [[WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball Gumball]].
237	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: In Goku VS Superman, Superman is arrogant, disrespectful, cocky, and quick to anger, all common traits of DBZ villains. Superman is usually a chill and reasonable person in the comics. His attitude here is because he doesn't like to fight, and Goku is forcing him, which most people either don't see or disagree with the hosts on the topic.
238	* VindicatedByHistory: Kirby vs Majin Buu was one of Season Two's most disliked episodes upon release, many due to the belief that there was no way Kirby could actually beat Majin Buu and that the creators of the show high balled him so that a hero could win. As Kirby's reputation as an EldritchAbomination killing BadassAdorable became more common knowledge, however, people began to realize that, if anything, the results were ahead of their time. In addition, people took another look at the animation and found a fun fight with a lot of fast paced action while still managing quite a bit of humor. Now, the battle is viewed as one of Season Two's highlights, with many ranking it among the best of the season.
239	* VocalMinority: There may be episodes with their fair share of detractors, some more extreme than others, but for every person who hates the fight or thinks it's wrong, there are probably five more who don't care, agree, or want to see another one.
240	* WinBackTheCrowd:
241	** When the show announced Meta VS Carolina, many expressed disappointment at having two characters from the same series ''and'' being a {{crossover}} with Creator/RoosterTeeth. When the actual fight came, many of those people enjoyed the unique nature of the match, the beautiful animation, and the humor.
242	** To a lesser extent, the announcement of ''Balrog VS TJ Combo'' received derision from fans of the series, many of whom thought it was a decision no one wanted. Torrian animating the fight as a boxing match quelled some of the matchup's critics. When the episode was finally released, it received critical acclaim, considered by many the best fight of Season 4.
243	** After ''Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie'' was considered anticlimactic as a finale for the third season, the fourth season finale ''Vergil VS Sephiroth'' was praised as more fitting and epic upon announcement.
244	** Season 2 of DBX got much better reviews than the previous one. The jump in quality is so big that some fans say DBX has surpassed its direct competitor, ''WebAnimation/OneMinuteMelee''. The reduced experimentation and experience the new animators have gained contributed to the shift.
245	* TheWoobie:
246	** Luigi and Tails are probably the two most pitiable combatants ever. Luigi is in a perpetual state of fear and s never recognized, while Tails had his parents killed mere minutes after his birth. Putting the two in a fight to the death feels wrong. [[spoiler:In particular, Luigi's last scream is chilling, and there's a [[WildMassGuessing Wild Mass Guess]] that he's doing this out of grief-induced madness over his brother's death. Not only that, but Tails must now live with the fact that he had to kill a man at such a young age to survive.]]
247	** Zechs Merquise could count. [[spoiler:Ocular Gushers or not, it's still sad to see him pitifully crying over his dead girlfriend among the ruins of her Gundam.]]
248	** Guts has had more shit heaped on him than the last three characters combined. He started as an infant birthed from a corpse, and things somehow went downhill for him from there. [[spoiler:Considering the entries on EsotericHappyEnding, FridgeHorror, and NightmareFuel, he's not going to have a good fate even after destroying Nightmare and Soul Edge.]]
249	** Hank [=McCoy=], AKA [[ComicBook/XMen The Beast]], was rejected by his hometown and even his parents when it became apparent he was a mutant. He was so distraught that he tried to use his scientific knowledge to "cure" his mutation and ended up looking even more inhuman than before.
250	** [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} Goliath]], his opponent, is no slouch in the sadness department. He lost most of his clan to a bunch of [[UngratefulBastard ungrateful bastards]] they were supposed to protect. The remnants of this family were cursed only to wake when the castle they slept on flew above the clouds. A stroke of luck made it fly, but Goliath and the last of his clan now had to adjust to a foreign land.
251	** It's hard not to feel sorry for Dan Hibiki. Nothing the guy tries ever goes his way; he's a natural klutz who always ruins his chances at looking good, and upon [[spoiler:making it to the afterlife, his father shuns him in disappointment.]] [[ThrowTheDogABone His opponent, in contrast, actually manages to score an actual victory.]]
252	** He's only a Woobie in the fight, but [[spoiler:Red got it so hard. Sure, he tried to capture Agumon, but getting the crap kicked out of him by Tai, having his legs broken by [=WarGreymon=] throwing Charizard at him, and being burned alive along with his Pokémon in Terra Force ranks among one of the most disturbing fates a Death Battle combatant has suffered, especially since he's only '''16 years old'''.]]
253	** [[spoiler:Red]] also stands out as unique among combatants in that he never seemed to realize, at any point during the fight, that it was a fight to the death.
254	** If you're familiar with ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', you'd know Twilight Sparkle's had a lot of BreakTheCutie moments. She can become a NervousWreck whose actions sometimes [[NiceJobBreakingItHero end up making a situation worse]]. [[spoiler:The fight proper ends up with her having to fight for her life against a royally pissed off Raven due to an accident, end up inadvertently making the situation worse with the "Want It Need It" spell, have all her emotions drained by her Soul-Self, and then get rammed into the ground by said Soul-Self at Mach 36. At the very least, it's [[AmbiguousEnding ambiguous]] as to whether she perished from the impact, but then that leaves a MortonsFork: are you okay with her being dead and watching as all of Equestria is forced to move on without their beloved princess, or do you want her to survive and see [[BrokenPedestal a disillusioned Raven]]?]]
255	** Spyro ends up becoming this, even more than in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' trilogy: [[spoiler: even though he won, he watched his adoptive brother get squished by Crash before the battle began and now remains stuck as [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Spyro]] due to Cynder being nowhere in sight.]]
256	** Poor Volnutt was given no mercy. Being outclassed by all the other Mega Men in the fight, [[spoiler:Volnutt was quickly determined to have no chance of winning, as his power, while impressive, was nothing compared to even Mega Man Classic. In the end, he was ignored like a nuisance by all the other Mega Men and went down with little fanfare.]]
257	** Steven ends up getting it BRUTAL, especially if one had watched ''Steven Universe Future'' before watching Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly. [[spoiler:He had already gone through a crapload of hardships in his life in his series with blatant trauma. And now, Star accidentally starts a fight with him that leads to her unintentionally triggering said traumas. He releases his Pink Steven form, yelling at her to leave him alone. The result of the battle? Steven gets murdered harshly. It doesn't help that the episode portrays him as a nice guy too before his transformation, with him requesting Star to stop attacking and even pausing in the fight to tend to some Watermelon Stevens.]]
258	** Tanjiro and Jonathan Joestar get this treatment hard, [[spoiler:especially at the end. After a brutal battle over Nezuko, Jonathan lands a killing blow on Tanjiro, prompting Tanjiro to tell Jonathan weakly that Nezuko is his sister. Jonathan is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone devastated about this]] and promises to protect her in Tanjiro's stead, except when he reaches his hand out to her, she appears to be nervous about taking it. All this over a misunderstanding.]]
259	[[/folder]]

Context YMMV / DeathBattle