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Mythology Gag / DEATH BATTLE!

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Being a series that brings together many fictional characters from just as much media, Death Battle is bound to have more than a few tributes to their past moments:

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     Recurring 
  • In most fights featuring a Mortal Kombat character, one of the featured combatants will land a particularly nasty attack on the other; the sequence is shown to cause severe internal damage similar to the cinematics used by X-Ray Moves in later Mortal Kombat games.
  • An episode featuring characters from the Batman mythos will find a way to have Boomstick refer to Bruce Wayne as the goddamn Batman.
  • Fights with Mega Man protagonists will start off with a ground-level view of a building that rises up to show one of the characters standing on the roof.
  • In a fight with Shadow, either he or his current foe will use "Sayonara" as a Pre-Mortem One-Liner (or attempt to in Ryuko's case). In Sonic Adventure 2, the term is used after Shadow's apparent death and by Maria before hers.
  • Past Gaara vs. Toph, any fight that features a character from Avatar: The Last Airbender will feature a certain character as Running Gag, just like in the source material. Say it with me now: "Nooo! My cabbages!"
  • Both Thor vs. Raiden and Shao Kahn vs. M. Bison featured a character teleporting to avoid a thrown hammer; a move familiar to anyone who knows the final battle of Mortal Kombat 9.

     Season 1 
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Battle Royale
    • Leo gets his sword stuck in a pile of boxes while trying to attack Donnie. Don proceeds to hit him over the head with his staff. This is a reference to a trick from the Ninja Turtles NES game. When fighting against the second boss, Rocksteady, an easy way to defeat him was to stand on the boxes at the right side of the screen and repeatedly use his downward thrust attack. He couldn't hit you, and he'd die in a few hits.
  • Felicia vs Taokaka
    • The butterfly both fighters are enamored by seems to be a reference to the butterflies that appear in Felicia's official artwork.
  • Kratos vs Spawn
    • Kratos is once again hosed when his opponent isn't as dead as he thought it was.
  • Vegeta vs Shadow
    • Early in the fight, Vegeta asks Shadow if "a lab rat like himself experiences fear" after going Super Saiyan on him, the same question he asks Android 19 in the original series.
  • Rainbow Dash vs Starscream
    • Rainbow Dash says "Ohmigosh!" and "It. Is. On!" The first was said by her. The latter was said by her friend, Rarity.
    • Derpy Hooves appears behind a cloud when the battle takes to the skies, as a reference to her hidden background appearances in her original series.
    • When Starscream begs for mercy Rainbow comtemplates sparing him, saying "I know I should love and tolerate, but...", a reference to an anti-troll phrase used frequently in the fandom's early days.
  • Master Chief vs Doomguy
    • Wiz states that Master Chief's knack for finding weapons just about anywhere is attributed to "incredible luck". Dr. Halsey (the creator of the Spartans) states in Halo: The Fall of Reach to Cortana that the core difference between the Master Chief and other Spartans is that "He is the luckiest". Cortana later says the same in Halo 3.
    • Doomguy's analysis features the classic Doom cover art that replaces the generic-looking demons with monsters from Doom³ and Resurrection of Evil.
    • Master Chief teabags Doomguy at the end of the fight.
  • Link vs. Cloud Strife
    • Link gets the Master Sword knocked away from him and is forced to temporarily duel without it, which also happened in Ocarina of Time. He gets it back by using his Clawshot on it while Cloud is disoriented from his Boomerang.
  • Goku vs Superman

     Season 2 
  • Ryu Hayabusa vs Strider Hiryu
    • Ryu Hayabusa seems to take great pleasure in destroying Strider's robotic birds, given how much trouble birds have caused him in his home games. And even here, avians still mock the Dragon Ninja, as after his defeat, Strider's remaining birds dispose of Ryu's body (though it has been argued that that was actually an act of respect on Strider's part for a fellow ninja).
    • Also from that Death Battle, there's the allusion to the opening of Ninja Gaiden; two ninjas running towards each other with their blades drawn, then leaping into the air and having a Single-Stroke Battle, with the fallen ninja revealed to have faked his death later on. Ryu matched all these points, except for that very last one.
  • Ivy Valentine vs Black Orchid
    • The arena the fight is set on is based on the stages in the early Soul Calibur games.
  • Terminator vs Robocop
    • At the end of the fight, Robocop stands on what's left of the Terminator's head and crushes it in a fashion exactly like the iconic scene from the Terminator films.
  • Pokémon Battle Royale
    • After Venusaur's death Charizard and Blastoise lock eyes. A scene-transition plays with Pokeballs rolling across the screen, blacking it out. This is similar to certain transition to trainer battles in the Pokemon series.
  • Kirby vs Majin Buu
    • The killing blow is Kirby redirecting the latter's own Planet Burst at him; the Planet Burst is a massive energy ball similar to the Spirit Bomb that kills Buu at the end of Dragon Ball Z.
  • Ragna vs Sol Badguy
    • In the analysis, one of Ragna's traits is a 'frequent dine-and-dasher'. This references how many times he ends up bringing someone hungry to a restaurant (Taokaka, Platinum) and how they eat massive amounts of food, then leave him to pay the bill because they don't have the money to do so themselves. Obviously, he doesn't do so and runs out as quick as he can.
    • Sol uses a Dustloop on Ragna at the beginning of his fight. The "Dustloop" is a Fan Nickname for a combo performed by Sol.
  • Goku vs Superman 2
    • Two of Superman's attacks against Goku in their rematch are familiar, one being an attack Goku used against Buu in the opening cinematic of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, the other the same as how he hammered Zod through the sky in Man of Steel.
  • Hercule Satan vs Dan Hibiki
    • Dan Hibiki's canon attempt to use the Raging Demon fails when he trips over Sakura's backpack. This happens again in the fight when he trips on Hercule's jetpack.
  • Yang Xiao Long vs Tifa Lockhart
    • After Yang tanks Tifa's Limit Break attacks, she confusingly asks "Did I just explode?" Her sister Ruby asked the same question after accidentally setting off some of Weiss' Dust during their first meeting.
    • The scene where Yang gets knocked onto the main dance floor by Tifa and gets up bleeding from the right side of her head before getting serious directly mirrors a similar scene with Weiss and the Giant Knight in her "White" trailer, the only difference being Weiss is bleeding from the left side.
    • The buildup for the fight is basically a reenactment of the Yellow Trailer in which Yang made her debut as it starts with her heading into a bar, starting a ruckus, saying she's "looking for someone" and ordering a strawberry sunrise.

     Season 3 
  • Dante vs. Bayonetta
    • Bayonetta leaps up and wraps her legs around Dante in a similar way that Nero did in the opening fight of Devil May Cry 4.
    • The final part of the fight takes place on a crumbling remains of a clock tower falling in mid-air, like the iconic opening scene in Bayonetta.
    • Similar to her fights with Balder and Loptr, Bayonetta summons two different demons against Dante, only for him to shut them both down; he even breaks Gomorrah's neck the way Balder did.
  • Ratchet and Clank vs Jak and Daxter
  • Joker vs Sweet Tooth
    • In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1, the Mutant leader talks Batman into leaving his tank-like Batmobile to personally attack him. The Joker does the same by convincing Needles Kane to leave his vehicle, then one-shotting him with Joker Venom.
  • Tracer vs Scout
    • When Scout gets blown up, a dove flies away from where the body was, which has a rare chance of happening in the character's own game.

     Season 4 
  • Power Rangers vs Voltron
    • Every time the Rangers take damage, it cuts to the same stock footage of them being thrown around, referencing the same use of constant stock footage due to being an adaptation of Super Sentai.
  • Android 18 vs Captain Marvel
    • Android 18 breaks one of Carol's arms with a wide kick much like what happened with Vegeta.
  • Balrog vs TJ Combo
    • Balrog performs a Gigaton Blow and says "You won't hear the full ten-count! WHY DON'T YOU GO TO HELL?!", just like he does in Street Fighter V.
  • Sephiroth vs Vergil
    • When Sephiroth reveals the Supernova to Vergil, it features the same animation as the game, along with a small profile indicator for Vergil in the same style of Final Fantasy VII, but replacing his mana with the Devil Trigger gauge from Devil May Cry 4.

     Season 5 
  • Black Panther vs Batman
    • Black Panther briefly dukes it out with a rhino, as he did in the opening of his 80s miniseries from Peter B. Gillis.
  • Raven vs Twilight Sparkle
    • When Twilight teleports Raven into her home, the latter is surrounded with pony toys, refering a trait of her character from Teen Titans Go!.
  • Jotaro Kujo vs Kenshiro
    • The finishing blow pays homage to both series. Kenshiro says "You Are Already Dead", his iconic phrase, and Jotaro responds with "NANI?!" before exploding. The sequence is done in the same fashion that Kenshiro usually defeats his opponents. "NANI?!" is alongside something commonly said in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
  • Crash vs Spyro
    • At one point in the battle, Crash is seen frantically running towards the camera as Spyro chases him from behind; this harkens back to a number of levels from the original Crash Bandicoot games with similar chase sequences (e.g. Un-Bearable, Dino Might, Bone Yard).
    • When the Wumpa Fruit projectile misses and hits the cliff, it makes a splatter with purple and orange/yellow parts. Wumpa Fruits in Crash's series have had either purple or orange-yellow juice depending on the game.
  • Sora vs Pit
    • Donald and Goofy not getting involved in the fight mirrors Sora fighting Hercules alone in Kingdom Hearts. The same game also featured several solo versions of the regular Coliseum cups, which might explain why Sora was fighting alone before Pit showed up.
    • At different points, Sora and Pit both attempt to return the others' attacks; rather than devolve into a Tennis Boss situation, the attacks are evaded and/or nullified after the first bounce. This is true to both fighters' home series; Kingdom Hearts bosses with deflectable attacks can't deflect their own attacks, and reflected attacks in Kid Icarus: Uprising actually become entirely different projectiles that cannot be reflected.
    • Sora lands a Sonic Blade sequence followed by an overhead blow, mirroring Riku's signature Dark Aura attack.
    • Pit seems to activate the Power of Flight without Palutena's assistance, but later breaks out the Three Sacred Treasures. In Chapter 9 of Uprising, if Pit goes with a weapon of choice instead of the Treasures, Palutena insists on bringing the Wings of Pegasus so they can use the Power of Flight without a time limit.
    • For a literal mythology gag, both Hercules and the Kid Icarus series take influence from Greek Mythology. Coincidentally, Hercules' damage output is one of the key factors in Sora's victory.
    • The equipment Pit uses in the match consist of the Palutena Bow, Upperdash Arm, Guardian Orbitars, EZ Cannon, Power of Flight, and Three Sacred Treasures; sans EZ Cannon, these are also the same items Pit uses as his special moves in the fourth Super Smash Bros.. The EZ Cannon was also used by Dark Pit in Uprising. Similarly, although the Mirror Shield is present with the Three Sacred Treasures, Pit doesn't actually use it, which mirrors its presence in Smash.
  • Leon Kennedy vs Frank West
    • Leon's boast about having actually fought in wars in comparison to Frank saying that he's covered them is nearly similar to a line Captain America tells the Frank in the Marvel vs. Capcom games.
  • Samurai Jack vs Afro Samurai
    • Samurai Jack's rundown in both his preview and the episodes proper quote large portions of the series' original intro. In addition, his bio sheet mentions how "he's gotta get back to the past." Likewise, the opening of Afro Samurai's introduction is taken verbatim from the 2009 video game adaptation.
    • Jack encounters Afro on a long narrow bridge surrounded by mist and gets into a sword fight with him; hearkening back to the Scotsman's debut episode, where he fought Jack under identical circumstances. Even down to getting his hat split in two in an early clash of blades.
    • While creating Samurai Jack, Genndy Tartakovsky chose to have Jack fight non-human enemies so as to display the levels of intensity and violence in a standard Jidaigeki film while still making it family-friendly. Afro's extremely gory death can thus be seen as a callback to the way Aku's robot mooks are regularly dismembered and leak oil before falling apart or exploding.
    • The way Afro dies is the same way he defeated Justice: having both arms cut off and diced down to multiple pieces. It's also similar to how Aku's robot goons would regularly get dismembered, leak oil, and either fall apart or explode.
    • The match ends with the same eyecatch used at the end of every episode of Samurai Jack.
  • Optimus Prime vs Gundam
    • Optimus uses a axe-handle on Amuro, referencing his final strike against Megatron in the original series movie.
    • Amuro lands a serious blow on Prime by throwing his purple beam saber at Prime's "gut", again reminiscent of Prime's duel with Megatron, in which the Decepticon leader first hurls a shard of rubble, then cuts prime with his own purple energy blade there.
    • Optimus hits the Gundam with the rear end of his vehicle form while doing a full swerve, a common move of his in Transformers: Devastation.
    • At separate points during the episode, Wiz and Boomstick make references to "The Touch".
    • Amuro describes the Autobot Ark as "more than meets the eye".
    • Optimus paraphrases the iconic "One shall stand, one shall fall" quote when he is about to finish Amuro off.
    • In the same episode, Amuro tries to defeat Optimus by grabbing his head. It doesn't work.
  • Mario vs Sonic (2018)
    • Most of Sonic's taunts from the battle stem from his dialogue as a guest fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series.
    • The side-by-side tackling pose Mario and Sonic take during the clash that breaks the moon is a direct allusion to the same pose used◊ in the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games games.
    • Mario performing a hammer throw on his grappled foe is taken straight from the Bowser fights in Super Mario 64, right down to the dialogue ("So long-a, Bowser/hedgehog!").
    • Regarding Death Battle itself, the fight seems to end the same way the original did, with Sonic using a spinning attack on a disoriented Mario. Doesn't work out so well for him this time.
  • Ultron vs Sigma
  • Thanos vs Darkseid
    • Boomstick asks if the Ragnarok in Darkseid's story was the same as Thor: Ragnarok, and Wiz responds "No. Yes... Kind of.", referencing how Jack Kirby's original vision for New Gods was that of a sequel to the original The Mighty Thor.
    • The infamous Thanos-copter makes its appearance as one of the many objects hurtled by Darkseid in the fight.
    • Just to Avengers: Infinity War alone:
      • Thanos, with his tall stature and purple skin is compared to the Grimace; Star-Lord is the one to make the comparison in the film.
      • The Gauntlet's power is said to make Darkseid's physical forms "not feel so good." To further make the reference more obvious, the line is played over Spider-Man/Peter Parker's infamous death scene.
      • While the Infinity Stones keep their original coloration in the comics, in the fight itself, they're arranged in the exact same order as Thanos places them.
      • Thanos throws another moon at someone (this time whole). Sure enough, the target loses it.
      • The final battle of the season opens like the aforementioned film's final battle in Wakanda; with Thanos emerging through a black hole using the Space Stone.
    • During the battle, Darkseid says "You dare strike me!? Beg for the sweet release of death".

     Season 6 
  • Black Widow vs Widowmaker
    • In the fight, Natasha moves out the way of one of Widowmaker's bullets and barely avoids getting scope sniped, just as Widowmaker did to Ana Amari.
    • Natasha also performs the same kind of hurricanrana on Widowmaker associated with her counterpart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
  • Wario vs King Dedede
    • After Pop Star has been destroyed by Wario's waft backfiring, King Dedede is shown in his famous crouching pose that originated from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
    • Dedede, at one point, tries to pulls out a Gordo, but gets a Waddle Dee instead, an allusion to the Gordo being randomly pulled from his Waddle Dee Toss in Brawl.
    • When Dedede launches the Gordo at Wario, he does so using the Hammer Flip, a technique that he and Kirby share (His hammer is visibly on fire at this point, an effect of using the Hammer Flip).
  • Ben 10 vs Green Lantern
    • Alien X's presence brings with it plenty of references to his minimal appearances in Ben 10 canon:
      • The way he finger flicks Hal into space reflectis how Atomic-X (A fusion of Alien X and Atomix, two of Ben's most powerful aliens) defeated Vilgax.
      • The multiple clones that swarm Hal is reminiscent on how he defeated the Galactic Gladiator.
      • After Hal non-fatally stabs him, Alien X reverses time the same way he did in Alien X's first appearance.
    • Ben's bio features several lines of the original series' theme quoted verbatim.
  • Weiss Schnee vs Mitsuru Kirijo
  • Johnny Cage vs Captain Falcon
    • Both fighters briefly duke it out on top of the F-Zero machines on the racetrack, as characters do on the recurring Big Blue stage from several Super Smash Bros. games.
  • Aang vs Edward Elric
    • Like with Samurai Jack and Ben 10, several portions of the Opening Monologue from The Last Airbender are quoted during Aang's analysis.
    • Ed's constant goading of Aang isn't the first time someone who can control earth provokes Aang into unleashing the Avatar State: one-off antagonist General Fong did so in the episode The Avatar State trying to weaponize it. And just like Fong, Ed pays the price for it.
    • There's a handful of scenes in the fight featuring a poster of Aang's flying bison Appa; these resemble the missing posters put up around Ba Sing Se when he's kidnapped for most of book two.
  • Dragonzord vs Mechagodzilla
    • Dragonzord cramming a smokestack down Kiryu’s mouth is a nod to its first rampage in which it broke off and ate an identical one.
    • When Mechagodzilla jumps over the Dragonzord's second-to-last attack, the camera angle and its pose are more than a passing resemblance to the poster art of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.
  • Ganondorf vs Dracula
    Ganondorf: Your castle is lost, vampire. (charges a Warlock Punch) No man can challenge my power!
    Dracula: (laughs) But what is a man? A miserable pile of secrets!
    • The fighters briefly get into a round of dead man's volley, a staple tactic for bosses in the Zelda series, when they reflect Ganondorf's light beams back and forth.
  • Deadpool vs the Mask
    • The first use that Deadpool proposes for the Continuity Gem is stopping Hitler from being born.
    • One of Wade and Stanley's methods of restoring the fight's budget is livestreaming the former playing Fortnite, Wade's username for it? NoobMaster69.
    • The actual fight is littered with references to Big Head's big screen classic:
      • After Wade's attempted use of the Continuity Gem results in the animation budget going down the drain and changes the fight to the story boards, Big Head tells him, "Can't make the scene if you don't have the green." In the movie, Stanley as Big Head said the same thing when he prepared to head off for a party, only to realize he didn't had the cash and decided to "make a little stop."
      • The scene where he explodes some balloons into a mishmash of guns is a composite of two gags from the movie: one where he turns a balloon tommy gun into the real deal, while the mishmash is taken from his fight with Dorian Tyrell's henchmen at the end.
      • In addition, the final stage of his battle with Deadpool had him in his Cuban Pete outfit, and the timer on the bomb that he pulls from his coat pocket reads "Chick Chicky Boom", taken from the Cuban Pete number used to distract the cops looking for him.

     Season 7 
  • Miles Morales vs Static
    • One for the show proper: Jizz and Broomstick, the alternate versions of Wiz and Boomstick featured in the episode, were mentioned in Meta vs Carolina when Caboose got Wiz and Boomstick's names wrong.
    • Miles uses the shoulder touch from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on Virgil early in the fight, complete with "'ey."
    • The name of the track used in the fight, Watts Up Danger, is a play on the one used in the "rising" scene from Spider-Verse, What's Up, Danger.
  • Leonardo vs Red Ranger Jason
    • Upon being defeated, Leonardo's body explodes- just like any other Power Rangers Monster of the Week.
  • Genos vs War Machine
  • Gray vs Esdeath
    • Much like in her Final Battle of her home series, Esdeath loses an arm and quickly replaces it with an ice construct to keep fighting. The difference is that there it was a Life-or-Limb Decision against Akame's Murasame, while here it's an intentional attack by Gray.
  • Goro vs Machamp
    • Goro being fed up with Machamp's Pokémon Speak has a hint of hypocrisy to it: in one of Cassie Cage's fatalities in Mortal Kombat X, she posts a selfie of herself and her dead opponent on a Facebook knock-off; all of Goro's comments are just him saying his own name like a Pokémon.
    • Likewise, Goro getting his arms ripped off references what happened to him in the tie-in comics.
    • At one point, Machamp rips a pair of small boulders out of the ground and breaks them against Goro's body; this is how Charizard and Empoleon use Rock Smash in Super Smash Bros. and Pokkén Tournament, respectively.
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Kakashi
    • Just about all of Obi-Wan's lines are some meme from the Prequel Trilogy.
    • Obi-Wan uses the Force to repel Kakashi's fire jutsu, just like he did with Durge's flamethrower in Star Wars: Clone Wars.
  • Zuko vs Shoto Todoroki
    • Shoto finds the motivation to muscle through Zuko's firebending by telling himself to go beyond; the complete motto of U.A. High is "Go beyond, plus ultra!"
  • Winter Soldier vs Red Hood
    • In the climax of Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman blocks the barrel of Red Hood's gun with a Batarang, causing the gun to explode. Something similar happens in Winter Soldier vs Red Hood: Red Hood picks up Winter Soldier's gun, which then explodes and leaves Red Hood open for the killing blow.
    • Jason's take out bag at the beginning of the fight features the logo of DC fast-food chain Big Belly Burger.
    • As Bucky prepares to leave the hideout, he glances at Jason's corpse; the pose he bears doing so, slightly hunched over with his back to the camera, bears a similarity to his promotional picture◊ from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
  • Venom vs. Crona
    • It's more a call back to a past episode of Death Battle itself, but when discussing Venom's defeat, Boomstick makes the following remark, which calls back to Carnage's death at Lucy's hands back in season 5:
      Boomstick: Man, these symbiotes really need to stop picking fights with pink haired anime characters! They're f***ing crazy!
    • Speaking of that call-back, the fight ends with one fighter being vaporized after a fighter says "I hate you.", just like in Carnage vs. Lucy. In Carnage vs. Lucy, it's Carnage's Dying Declaration of Hate right before he's vaporized whereas in Venom vs. Crona, it's Crona's Pre-Mortem One-Liner before she vaporizes Venom (and then has Ragnarok consume the souls of Eddie and the symbiote, just for good measure).
  • Red vs Blue
    • Just like in the Season 1 finale, Sheila is blown up by a plasma grenade thrown by Donut. Unlike Tex in that season, however, Caboose is quick enough to eject before the grenade blows.
  • Batgirl vs Spider-Gwen
    • Spider-Gwen replicates Spider-Man's iconic scene of Spider-Man dodging Green Goblin's Pumpkin Bombs in slow motion.
    • The fight begins with Gwen complaining about her multiversal teleporter failing to take her to Miles Morales's home universe in reference to the rapport they developed during Into the Spider-Verse.
  • Sanji vs Rock Lee
  • Hulk vs Broly
    • Hulk subjects Broly to Metronomic Man Mashing like Loki in The Avengers (2012).
    • In a brilliant form that pays homage to both characters, this exchange.
      Broly: You are... monster?
      Hulk: No, the devil!
    • The above line is itself delivered after the Hulk is once-again decapitated by the opposing party ripping off his head, drawing a parallel to show just how far the Hulk's character has evolved since his first bout.
    • Much like in Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, the combatants destroy every planet in the galaxy they're fighting in.

     Season 8 
  • Yoda vs King Mickey
  • Shadow vs. Ryūko Matoi
    • When Ryūko charges at Shadow, he freezes time and kicks her in the back of the head- the exact same way he fought Silver in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
    • Ryūko and Senketsu end up plummeting from orbit after being knocked away by Shadow's Chaos Spears, which brings to mind similar situations from both series (Shadow's fall from orbit at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 and Ryuko's fall from orbit at the end of Kill la Kill).
    • Shadow calls Ryūko a "faker" when she uses Senketsu Kisaragi in response to Shadow's super form, which may bring back memories of Vegeta's "Wow, what a ripoff." comment upon seeing Super Shadow, as well as Sonic and Shadow's interactions throughout Sonic Adventure 2.
    • The post-fight analysis mentions the third Sonic Twitter Takeover, when noting that Shadow killed his favourite anime character.
  • Lex Luthor vs Doctor Doom
    • In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Doom's foot dive is infamous for how easily it can be spammed and chained into another foot dive. It sees just as much overuse when he pulls it off in the fight.
    • Ironically enough, Lex uppercutting Doom into the sky, grabbing his head, and diving back to the ground with him brings to mind his enemy Superman's Super Move in Injustice 2.
  • Heihachi Mishima vs Geese Howard
    • The fight takes place in a volcano like in Heihachi's final fight against Kazuya. As further references to that bout, Heihachi headbutts Geese in a similar manner shown in the Tekken 7 intro, while the climax begins after both men are resting on each other before entering the final stretch, akin to Heihachi's last stand. Both fights also feature a Cross Counter that leaves the characters momentarily stunned after a close up on the fighters punching each other.
    • A mythology gag to both series when Heihachi hurls Geese into the mouth of the volcano, referencing both the times that Heihachi and Kazuya did this to each other, as well as Geese's penchant for falling from high places after his original death in Fatal Fury. Bonus points here as, while it's not immediate, throwing Geese in there turns out to be the winning move.
    • Heihachi speaking in translated Japanese instead of adhering to Translation Convention; starting in earlier games, but especially pronounced by the time of TTT2, every character in the series speaks their mother tongue.
    • One of Geese's lines towards Heihachi is "I will stain my hands with your blood, old man".
    • Boomstick, watching Geese's remains frying in the volcano, comments it's time to bring out the "soy sauce for Geese", the name of his Leitmotif in numerous SNK titles.
    • Geese's Pre Ass Kicking One Liner calls Heihachi's match with him a nightmare, referencing both his Nightmare Geese identity and the utter hell it is to fight.
  • Blake Belladonna vs Mikasa Ackerman
    • Blake losing her arm in the fight parallels how Yang lost her arm against Adam, complete with a similar artstyle.
  • Iron Fist vs Po
    • Like in the first movie, Po takes a tumble down the Jade Palace's lengthy flight of stairs courtesy of Danny blasting him off.
    • Po catches Danny with the Wuxi Finger Hold and tries hyping it up like Master Shifu did to Po and Po himself did to Tai Lung; it doesn't quite work out because Danny's unfamiliar with the hold.
  • Steven Universe vs Star Butterfly
    • The $650 dollar prize is a reference to a running gag from Star vs. the Forces of Evil where $650 is the amount that Marco always tends to have on him.
    • The Iris Out used at the end of the fight is made to be similar to the one used in Steven's home series , even if Star was the victor. Also quite ironic since said iris out is in the shape of a star.
    • Like how he shattered Jasper, Steven throws barriers at Star and then tries to crush her with a Deadly Force Field. Unlike Jasper, however, Star shatters said Deadly Force Field.
  • Link vs Cloud (2021)
    • The beginning of the fight uses a transition similar to when battles start in Final Fantasy VII. At two different points, there's also a menu prompt showing Cloud's current HP, MP and Limit. The second one also has a command prompt showing him choosing to use Omnislash Version 5.
    • When Link uses the Four Sword, the facial expressions and emotions of each Link are noticeably different, just like how it was in the Four Swords manga, where each Link has a distinct personality.
    • Just like in ''Link vs Cloud (2012), Cloud attempts to finish the fight with Omnislash Version 5. Unlike that fight, however, this time it works, with Fierce Deity Link being bisected vertically from the final blow after trying and failing to block it with the power of the Triforce of Courage. This also doubles as a reference to Ganondorf vs. Dracula, where Ganondorf tried the same thing with the Triforce of Power... with the same result of it failing and the Triforce-wielder dying for their troubles (by being torn in half, no less).
    • Cloud's Pre-Mortem One-Liner before he finishes Link off with Omnislash V5, "Let's mosey, asshole." is a direct reference to Cloud's famously dorky "Let's mosey" line to his party in the original Final Fantasy VII. Thanks to the context and good voice acting from Adam Gibbs it is a good deal more effective, while still showcasing the cocky and flamboyant side of Cloud seen in the original game.
    • Speaking of the above, When Link dies, his body glows red and fades out as a damage number of 9999 is shown, much like what happens when a monster is defeated in Final Fantasy VII.
  • Batman vs Iron Man
    • Iron Man finishes Batman off by trapping him inside one of his suits and ordering his AI to self-destruct it, just like he did to Aldrich Killian.
  • Goku Black vs Reverse-Flash
    • It's more a Call-Back, but at the start of the fight, Reverse-Flash is reading a newspaper that reads "FLASH KILLED QUICKSILVER?!", a reference to Flash vs. Quicksilver from way back in season 3, and his boasting fulfils the "It was me, Barry!" meme. Later in the fight shows Reverse-Flash putting the samurai statue in place for Quicksilver to get impaled on... and then Goku Black chases him off RIGHT before Quicksilver arrives on the scene for his actual death as per that fight's results.
    • The way Goku Black enters the fight is the same as the way he shows up in Dragon Ball Super proper (which is later transferred over to Dragon Ball Fighter Z).
  • DIO vs Alucard
    • Alucard has faced someone similar to DIO in Luke Valentine, who is also a flamboyant blonde vampire who uses daggers in battle and shares the same voice actors (Takehito Koyasu in Japanese and Patrick Seitz in English). Ironically, the character that is similar to Luke Valentine kills Alucard this time.
    • Since they got Takahata to reprise his role from Hellsing Ultimate Abridged, they work in his first line into the fight; "A real fucking vampire."
  • Akuma vs Shao Kahn
    • When Shao Kahn kills Akuma, he says "Flawless victory!" This references his stint as the announcer of Mortal Kombat, as "Flawless victory!" is the classic line after the winner defeats their opponent without taking damage (although he has taken notable damage here as there is a hole in his chest). In other words, he performed a Fatality on Akuma.
  • Korra vs Storm
    • Much like in Korra's home franchise, an attempt to kill an Avatar is done with lightning while they're in the Avatar State. Unfortunately unlike Aang when Azula attempted to pull this off, Korra, along with the Avatar Cycle does NOT survive Storm's finishing lightning strike.
  • Madara vs Aizen
    • Aizen's "Don't get so full of yourself!" is the same line he said to Ichigo in their fight.
    • Madara's line "You almost had me there, you tricky bastard!" is a variation of what he said to Might Guy after taking his Night Guy attack.
    • Aizen impaling Madara from behind is a direct reference to when Black Zetsu did the same in canon.
  • Saitama vs Popeye
    Popeye: He took a big gamble, but now he is scrambled, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!~ *toot toot*

     Season 9 
  • Harley Quinn vs Jinx
  • Thor vs. Vegeta
    • As he's battling in Super Sayian God Super Saiyan Evolved, Vegeta tells Thor "I'm the Prince of all Saiyans, and you can burn in Hell!", a line he previously said to Frieza during their clash on Namek.
    • Upon transforming into Ultra Ego, Vegeta's first statement is "Tell me, does a god such as yourself feel fear?", referencing his threat to Android 19 as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. Doubles as a Call-Back as he said the same line to Shadow back in Season 1.
    • As Vegeta prepares to finish off Thor with a Hakai-infused Final Flash, he says "All you will feel is oblivion!", a line directly lifted from his Dragon Ball Z Abridged counterpart as he prepared to fire the Final Flash at Cell. Also counts as an Actor Allusion considering Vegeta's voice actor in the episode, Nick Landis, voiced Vegeta in that series.
    • Thor's Pre-Mortem One-Liner to Vegeta is "Always aim for the head...", similar to Thanos' "You should have gone for the head!" from Avengers: Infinity War.
    • The finishing blow is the fate that Thor threatened Loki with in both Thor: Ragnarok and the comics.
    • After transforming into Ultra Ego, Vegeta No-Sell's a headbutt from Thor, similarly to how Captain Marvel did the same against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.
    • Vegeta Instant Transmissioning right next to Thor before letting off his Final Flash is quite similar to Goku doing the same against Perfect Cell with his Kamehameha.
  • Omni-Man vs. Homelander
    • After Homelander demands Omni-Man to get out of his country, Nolan replies with, "Country? Seriously? I'm not here for your country." This is similar to the statement he made to the Flaxans when they attempted to invade Earth, "You don't seem to understand. Earth isn't yours to conquer.", hinting at the fact that he himself is here to take over the planet.
    • Omni-Man attempts to hold up Homelander in front of a moving plane much like he did with Invincible and a train in his own series, only for Homelander to cut it apart like he did in The Boys (2019).
    • Homelander uses his Eye Beams directly on Omni-Man's eyes, similar to how he murdered Madelyn Stillwell. And much like when Immortal tried to gouge his eyes out in their rematch, Nolan shrugs it off with little to no damage.
    • Homelander's death calls to mind Red Rush's own death at the hands of Omni-Man, with his eyes wide in pain before his head is crushed. The pose he's left in afterwards is also reminiscent of Mark's own body left after being beaten down by Nolan.
  • Magneto vs. Tetsuo
    • During the scene in which Tetsuo barrages Magneto with his thoughts, "Welcome... to... DIE!" can be heard, with this being a reference to Magneto's infamous line from the 1992 X-Men video game. However, unlike in the source material, this reference is made to show Tetsuo's chaotic thoughts, rather than being a translation error.
  • Hercules vs. Sun Wukong
    • After surviving his own decaptation, Sun Wukong enters a three-headed, six-armed form, just like his fight with Prince Ne Zha.
    • After Sun Wukong regrows 3 heads after his decapitation, Hercules laments about "Multiple heads. Of course.", referencing his fight with and slaying of the Lernaean Hydra.
  • Boba Fett vs. Predator
    • After tracking the invisible Predator, Boba exclaims "You're mine.", calling back to the Pre-Mortem One-Liner said to him by Samus Aran in the series premiere.
    • Upon seeing the Predator without their helmet on near the climax, Boba quotes Arnie's line in the 1987 Predator, calling him "one ugly motherfucker".
  • James Bond vs. John Wick
    • Before Bond attempts to apprehend Wick, Q parts ways with Bond by greeting him "happy hunting" — a line often told to Wick himself in his films.
    • Once again, Bond orders a vodka martini, "shaken, not stirred".
    • When Bond tells Wick that he'll be sure to keep up with him, Wick replies "No, you won't," the same blunt denial he said to Zero.
    • The DB5's miniguns emerging from the headlights and the donuts it goes into upon entering "deja vu" mode both serve as nods to the opening chase from No Time to Die. Its license plate number is also one letter away from the one used in Goldfinger.
    • The Quick Draw near the fight's climax is framed akin to the iconic Bond Gun Barrel (specifically, the variant from Casino Royale (2006)), with the POV inside the barrel of Wick's pistol. And Bond once again comes out on top here, complete with blood lowering down the screen.
    • Bond kills Wick in about the exact same way he did Zao — by having a massive chandelier drop on him.
  • Trunks vs. Silver
    • Trunks saying, "Ah, crap baskets." A signature expression by multiple characters, Trunks himself included, in Dragon Ball Z Abridged.
    • When Trunks pulls out his Dragon Ball Heroes cards, two of the three he gets are GT Goku and Pan- the two people his other self traveled alongside in Dragon Ball GT.
    • And of course, Silver saying perhaps his most iconic line: "It's no use!"
    • Calling back to Death Battle itself is Trunks' reaction to Super Silver, calling him a ripoff. Just like Vegeta did about Super Shadow way back in Season 1. It also doubles as a call back to the last time a Sonic character was on the show; Shadow calling Ryuko "faker".
  • SpongeBob vs. Superfriends Aquaman

     Season 10 
  • The Chosen Undead vs. The Last Dragonborn
    • When the Chosen Undead is hit by one of the Dragonborn's arrows, where else but it would strike them but the knee? This is a clear-cut reference to the ever-memetic line often said by the guards of the various holds in Skyrim: "I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee."
    • The scene where the Chosen Undead takes up the Moonlight Greatsword is a shot-for-shot Shout-Out to the scene where Ludwig takes it up in Bloodborne, a nod to its apparent universe-transcending nature.
    • The Chosen Undead's only spoken line, Prepare to Die, is a direct reference to the subtitle of the special edition release of Dark Souls.
    • Darkstalker Kaathe's final lines in the fight, minus the Evil Laugh, are the exact same lines he says in the Dark Lord ending in Dark Souls.
  • Darth Vader vs. Obito Uchiha
    • Two to the second half of Star Wars Rebels second season finale: Vader arrives on the scene via riding atop his TIE Fighter, then tells Obito "Then you will die." when the latter refuses to surrender his power, echoing what he told Ahsoka during their climactic duel.
    • After Vader stabs Obito at the beginning of the fight, he says "All too easy.", which is what he also said in The Empire Strikes Back when he had falsely believed he had just won his fight against Luke.
    • Vader and Obito's telekinetic clash is very similar to the formers one with Obi-Wan in their fight in Revenge of the Sith.
  • Guts vs. Dimitri
    • The shot of Guts and Dimitri standing off in front of a tree is a reference to this panel◊ from Berserk of Guts and Griffith's duel, with the setting of the duel also being an inspiration for the fight setting.
    • The infamous, overused Dragon Slayer "clang" sound effect from the Berserk (2016) anime plays when Guts smacks Dimitri's face with the weapon's flat end.
    • When Dimitri goes on the offensive after getting thrown back by Guts' spin attack, the Three Houses "unit attacks" sound effect can be heard right before the cut to Aredbhar's blade glowing green.
    • Guts tossing a dagger that hits Dimitri in the chest is a reference to the ending of the Blue Lions route in Three Houses, where Edelgard does the same action and strikes him in the same area.
    • After Dimitri launches Guts into the air, he says a Pre-Mortem One-Liner and a cut-in close-up of his face appears in the center of the screen, identical to the Critical Hit animations in Three Houses.
    • Right before he dies from the last of his blood being drained from the Brand of Sacrifice, Guts destroys Areadbhar, referencing the weapon durability mechanic found in most Fire Emblem games.
    • The shot of Guts' body standing over Dimitri as the latter realizes Guts has died is framed very similarly to the scene where Edelgard is about to kill him in the Crimson Flower route in Three Houses.
  • Martian Manhunter vs. Silver Surfer
  • Bill Cipher vs. Discord
    • This is outright Invoked by Discord during the fight's climax as by using his Medium Awareness of Gravity Falls, Discord goes into Bill's mind and begins to set it aflame to erase it, attempting to recreate the dream demon's canon defeat. Unfortunately for Discord, Bill turns this back at him as much like Stanley did to him, the sequence ends with Bill punching Discord into his physical self's hand to lead into the draconequis' death.
    • One of the worlds they enter is a sock puppet world. Back in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Discord attempted to send one pony into a dimension which had a Mexican sock puppet as an inhabitant.
  • Frieza vs. Megatron
    • The end of the fight happens almost exactly like the end of Frieza's fight against Super Saiyan Goku in the Namek Arc of Dragon Ball, complete with Frieza, who's been reduced to the upper-half of his body, reprising his "You will die by my hand!" line, and Megatron yelling "You fool!" as the two exchange energy attacks- again, like Goku and Frieza on Namek. The reason it's almost is because unlike in Dragon Ball proper, Frieza comes out victorious, his Death Saucers cleaving clean through Megatron's attack, then Megatron himself- before the planet explodes. Frieza survives, Megatron does not.
  • Scooby-Doo vs Courage
    • Just like each episode of his own show, Courage's rundown begins with "We interrupt this program to bring you...Courage, the Cowardly Dog Show!"
  • Rick Sanchez vs. The Doctor:
    • When Rick pulls out a sword against The Doctor, The Doctor outfences him with a spoon, like The Doctor did against Robin Hood in "Robot of Sherwood", which was mentioned in the analysis.
    • When The Doctor's regeneration begins after Rick shoots him, The Doctor outright says "I don't want to go.", the final lines of the Tenth Doctor before his regeneration in "The End of Time, Part 2".
  • Goku vs Superman III
    • An internal one. The fight ends with a radiant-gold Superman charging through Goku's final Kamehameha, even with Kaio-ken, and then the two clash in a massive Punch Parry that whites out the screen, just as with the first time Death Battle did this matchup.
    • While the animation starts already mid-fight, it begins with Goku and Superman flying into each other almost identically to how it happens in Dragon Ball Fighter Z's Dynamic Entry mechanic to reset the fight into neutral after one party loses a fighter. Coincidentally, the forearm-lock also evokes the Clash Combo Breaker mechanic in Injustice 2, with Superman's prior dash referencing how Clashes worked in the previous game.
    • Both of Superman's supers from Injustice show up in the animation, with the double axe handle from Injustice 1 being used to send Goku from orbit back to Earth and the Man of Steel-inspired second super being used against Ultra Instinct Goku only for it to be blocked. He also references two parts of the classic World of Cardboard Speech.
    • Goku for his part, pulls out the Dragon Throw, Super God Shock Flash (one inch punch), Glitter of Intuition techniques in their respectively apropriate forms, and enters Ultra Instinct as possibly-lethal attack is about to hit him.
    • Superman flies through star after star in sequence, drawing a trail of light behind him as he does, echoing the same act from Justice League Volume 4 against the Forger.

     Other 
  • The Seven Battle Royale
    • The Deep dies in the same way Robin Ward does in The Boys (2019): A-Train runs into him, bursting his body.
    • A-Train being blinded by Starlight is a reference to how his comics counterpart was similarly blinded through a failed Attempted Rape of Starlight.
  • Excalibur vs. Raiden
    • Raiden is surprised by Excalibur's lack of speaking, talking about how people like him "usually gotta monologue first.", poking fun at the pre-battle speeches made by the bosses in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
    • Raiden brags about his guns having "infinite ammo" when Excalibur's Twin Vipers run out of bullets, repeating the same line Snake told him in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty before they fought the Tengu on Arsenal Gear.

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