Wiz: And Raiden, the deadly cyborg ninja from Metal Gear.
For the twenty-seventh episode of the second season, a pair of warriors born and bred in the way of the blade, having forged their lives around it, square off. The hosts will compare a series of claws made of an impenetrable metal against a sword that can destroy anything, an animalistic berserker rage against a mindset honed solely to kill efficiently, an ultimate healing factor versus an unrivaled strength, for as Wolverine and Raiden undergo analysis, no asset will be neglected, no ability undiscussed, to decide who is the superior of the two in a death battle.
Wiz and Boomstick first take us to Wolverine, who was born in the late 19th century as the small and sickly James Howlett. As he was growing up, the traits in his genes that granted him his mutant status also granted him mutant powers such as animal-like senses and his trademark robust healing factor. After the Howlett’s groundskeeper, Thomas Logan, killed James’ father John, another mutant ability manifested, his equally-iconic retractable bone claws; James would use these claws to kill Logan to avenge John, before being told that Logan was actually his father. Distraught, James ran away from home, assumed the identity of "Logan" and lived with his childhood sweetheart Rose before she would also meet her end at James’ claws. His healing factor substantially slowed down the aging process, enabling him to fight both World Wars and the Vietnam War before being enlisted in Canada's secret military program, Weapon X, under the supervision of Dr. Abraham Cornelius, one of the chief scientists on the program. It was under this program that Logan was given the alias of "The Wolverine", before being treated as a guinea pig. The experiments performed upon him here would lead Wolverine to destroy everyone at Weapon X, before, after his wandering through the wilderness and several bouts with The Incredible Hulk, he was found by Professor Xavier, and was inducted as a member of the X-Men.
The Weapon X program would not stop at giving Wolverine his alias. In addition to harvesting his DNA and having his memory wiped to hone his killing prowess, Dr. Cornelius supplemented Wolverine’s skeleton, including his bone claws, with a man-made alloy known as adamantium; a dense, stable metal with an impressive durability; the likes of Marvel’s heaviest hitters, such as Thor, have often struggled to even cause so much as a dent in it. The adamantium not only increases the durability of James’ already-tough bone claws, but even allows them to cut through several materials, including metal. Wolverine’s other mutant abilities affect also affect his physiology, granting him great strength and agility, a highly tenacious stamina that allows him to fight for days on end without exhaustion, and immunity to disease and resistance to mind control.
With as much as Wolverine has to offer, one would assume his track record against foes would be noteworthy, and one would be correct in that assumption. He has fought evenly against Captain America, can quickly catch up to the Speed Demon, who can run at the speed of sound, tanked hits from the likes of Thor and the Hulkbuster, and was once reduced to a skeleton by a nuclear blast from Nitro before regrowing his flesh and striking back. However, an equally-astute assumption would be that even Wolverine has a few setbacks to his name. He had died a few times and even struck a deal with Azrael for resurrection at moments where his healing factor get overtaxed. However, as Charles Xavier suggested, Wolverine's healing factor is linked to the brain, and should it be destroyed in any way, whether through physical force or oxygen deprivation, the power would be rendered moot and Wolverine would die. However, it is within his adamantium skull, making it highly difficult to do so through force. Wolverine also has a temper issue, and should he be pushed far enough, he will snap and reach a berserker rage, in which his animalistic instincts take over and he disregards his physical and mental well-being to hulk out and attack his foe with greater speed and veracity; combined with his combat skills, mutant abilities, and adamantium-enhanced anatomy, such a state of mind can make Wolverine a highly dangerous foe for anyone to face.
With Wolverine's bases covered, the duo take us to a man named Jack, who was born in Liberia and orphaned by a man knows as George Sears; in truth, George was Solidus Snake, the future president of the United States who manipulated world leaders towards his own gains of fueling the war economy, and Solidus soon took Jack under his wing. Solidus made Jack a commander of a special battalion known as the Army of the Devil in the Liberian Civil War, and it would be through here that Jack would attain a high body count at the mere age of ten and earned the nickname Jack the Ripper. He was then abandoned and fell in love with a girl named Rose; wanting to leave his dark past behind, he enlisted in the special forces unit Foxhound to assist Solid Snake in taking down Metal Gears and killing Solidus Snake under his new alias of "Raiden". However, he was manipulated by the Patriots, a secretive organization that manipulates American leaders from behind the scenes and seek world domination, with Rose in fact a spy for them. She and Raiden, however, did settle down and raise a son, though not before she tricked him into thinking she had a miscarriage in an effort to thwart the Patriots. It would not be until much later, however, that he would be captured by the shadow organization and subjected to their experiments that replaced most of his organs with cybernetics and transformed him into a cybernetic ninja.
Through the Patriots' machinations, Raiden was transformed from an expert spy to a highly-destructive killing machine, being able to outrun a bullet train and shrug off stabbings, even lifting and swinging around mechanical combat vehicles known as Gekkos that were tethered to him. The assets gained by his experimentation doesn't stop there either; in his new body, Raiden is also strong enough to lift and throw a Metal Gear RAY, which is estimated to be at least a thousand tons; roughly twice the weight of a Metal Gear REX. And yet, the most astonishing fact is that he was able to perform all of this before he got even better armor after nearly dying in a duel with Jetstream Sam; with it, he can throw a Metal Gear EXCELSUS, forcefully pull off one of its building-sized blades and then have a duel with and ending said with a quick succession of cuts with the same blade. His normal arsenal, while miniscule in comparison, is no less devastating; from Jetstream Sam did he acquire his Murasama high-frequency blade. The Murasama, once forged in the 16th century, was augmented with technology that allows it to vibrate at frequencies powerful enough to disturb the target's molecular structure; to put it another way, the blade can cut through almost anything. To help Raiden in combat is his Blade Mode (incorrectly called Zandatsu) that, when activated, slows down Raiden's perception of time, allowing him to cut either with precision or speed, depending on what may be required; but even then, when Raiden needs a true edge in battle, he can shut down his pain inhibitors, triggering his Jack the Ripper mindset from the Liberian Civil War, and in doing so, boosts the now psychotic-Raiden's speed and strength, even in Blade Mode.
But Raiden has never been perfect, neither before his fusion of man and machine nor after it. Both his Blade and Ripper Mode rely on a specific type of electrolyte fuel from enemy cyborgs and only has enough capacity to sustain these modes for a short amount of time. In addition, to operate at best performance, his artificial blood must be replaced manually. Still, Raiden has grown to become one of the Metal Gear universe's strongest combatants; able to lift and throw hundreds to thousand-ton Metal Gears, Raiden has even held back battleships and brought down entire mercenary organizations and even the faction that made him what he is today, and when pushed to his limit, Raiden can only become even deadlier than he could ever imagine.
Both men have had all fields of study accounted for, and now, nothing stands in their way. It's time for a death battle!
A scenic beachside town, in the midst of a clear day, is where the battle is set; this tranquil image is soon disturbed by hordes of Gekkos swarming through the streets, left to their own devices, save for a figure darting across the rooftops. As this being leaps onto the ground, the pavement shatters at the presence of the cyborg ninja, Raiden. He scouts out the terrain for a moment, but the bellows of a Gekko force him to draw his sword. Unbeknowst to either party, however, is a figure clad in yellow and blue, Wolverine. His trademark claws extend from their knuckles and with a leap, he cleaves the Gekko clean in half. The former child soldier warns the X-Man to keep his distance, but the Wolverine refuses to back down, seeing a new challenge in Raiden.
FIGHT!
Once mutant and cyborg clash in a flurry of blades, the first clear cut is landed on the former, but the X-Man continues to push on despite further injuries; even Raiden is surprised to see Wolverine carry on the fight. Both take a second to address the other and, after a second from Raiden to take the Gekko's fuel cell, the Ripper launches into a high-speed barrage, darting back and forth as he slashes Wolverine with the Muramasa. After a display of wielding the blade on one foot and slashing Wolverine with it, Raiden finally ends his assault by kicking his foe into a bus. Wolverine's mutant abilities soon work in tandem, his healing factor repairing his wounds, his enhanced senses allowing him to evade an ambush. The fight shifts more into the Canadian's favor, returning Raiden's onslaught with an array of slashes of his own. The fight carries on as Raiden tumbles across the street, barely dodging another strike before leaping onto a rooftop to check for any signs of blood.
The reprieve is short-lived, however, once Raiden spots Wolverine clawing his way to the top. Solidus' protege goes back on the offensive, catching Wolverine in a series of strikes and slashes before triggering his Zandatsu; dozens of sword swipes batter the Weapon X project, who soon falls to the ground. Raiden's work is done... or rather, that's what he would want to believe, as the healing factor puts Wolverine back in fighting condition, boasting about his adamantium skeleton. The duel continues anew, but things tip back into Raiden's favor, as he uses his cyborg limbs and high-frequency blade in a display of acrobatic maneuvers; catching Wolverine from all angles before smashing him into the pavement. Now his work is done.
... or at least, it would be, if Wolverine would have simply let the fight end there. But now, time for the groundskeeper's son to unveil his trump card; his berserker fury. In just a few clean swipes, Raiden finds himself one the business end of one set of Wolverine's claws; the other having made quick work of an arm. At the mercy of Wolverine, the X-Man bids his foe farewell. But just when things seem to be at their bleakest for Raiden, both he and Wolverine find him enveloped in a red aura, his voice more sinister. No more is Jack the man; now, it's time for Jack the Ripper to enter the fray.
The two warriors, their minds lost in a state of bloodlust, carry the conflict further. The adamantium blades and the murasama engage in a symphony of metallic sparks; both men swinging at rates almost incomprehensible to the naked eye, climaxing in a heated frenzy as yellow and red streaks light the air around the two before lunging at each other in a final thrust. Time seems to slow down for a moment before blood gushes out from Wolverine; this is Raiden's chance, and he is going to take it. In the first strike, he knocks Wolverine into the air; the second, he turns on Blade Mode once more and in a well-timed strike, cleaves the mutant's head from his body; the third, unleashing a barrage of swipes upon the head before, with but a sinister chuckle, kicking the cranium into pieces that litter the road. Raiden takes a moment to stare at the carnage, seemingly proud of both his handiwork and his victory.
K.O.!
Wolverine's healing factor can save him no longer, as Raiden picks up his disembodied arm and takes a close look at it. Despite Raiden's far superior swordsmanship, strength, and speed, Wolverine's adamantium blades and healing factor were able to carry him for far longer than anticipated. In fact, the hosts note that Wolverine could have been able to see Raiden run out of fuel, but before he could do so, there lied a major question: could the Murasama cut through adamantium? The answer, as it lies within Marvel lore, is yes; the heroine Misty Knight has a prosthetic arm made of Antarctic vibranium, which, unlike its Wakandan counterpart, emanates vibrations that weaken atomic bonds, which is exactly the key selling point of the high-frequency blade; given how she can liquefy an adamantium sword through these vibrations just by holding it, it's safe to say that Raiden's HF Blade can do the same thing. That, coupled with Raiden's combination of the Blade and Jack the Ripper modes, and the sheer strength to cut through objects designed to withstand an all-out nuclear war were the key tipping points in clinching victory from Wolverine.
Wiz: The winner is Raiden!
Wolverine vs. Raiden contains examples of:
- An Arm and a Leg: Near the end of the fight, Raiden gets an arm cut off by Wolverine, not that it would stop him.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The collection of Raiden's accomplishments is capped off by "survived the mindfucking story of Metal Gear Solid 2."
- Bait-and-Switch: Death Battle likes the Death by Disfigurement trope, so after Raiden loses an arm it's expected that he's doomed... except he quickly invokes Ripper Mode afterward, making a turnaround to win the fight.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
- Raiden manages to impale Wolverine with the HF Murasama. It doesn't seem to hurt him that much, and in fact manages to get it stuck in him, depriving Raiden of a weapon for a while and giving Wolverine a chance to counterattack. However, Raiden manages to hold his own in hand-to-hand for some time and reacquires his sword in short order.
- After Raiden gets his arm cut off, Wolverine runs him through with his adamantium claws, triggering the Ripper mode.
- The Nose Knows: One of Wolverine's mutant powers includes an enhanced sense of smell; he actually name-drops the trope after avoiding a sneak attack from Raiden.
- Off with His Head!: It's noted that as his brain is the source of his healing factor, physically injuring Wolverine's head is one of the few ways to put him down for good. And Raiden does exactly that. And later slices it to smaller meaty chunks to put Wolverine down for good.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Once Wolverine lets loose his berserker fury, which meets Jack with one of his own after he unleashes his Ripper persona:Wolverine: That's it, Terminator; now you've made me mad!
Raiden: It's time for Jack the Ripper, to let 'er rip! - Take That!: Boomstick jokes that Wolverine has "more mutant powers than Kim Kardashian has butt injections."
- Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object: The HF blade that can cut through any matter is pitted against the Made of Indestructium Adamantium skeleton. The blade succeeds at cutting the metal. After the battle is shown, the hosts note that the clash between those two options was the biggest deciding factor in the fight. It was Wolverine's massive durability advantage that allowed him to withstand almost all of Raiden's attacks; had the HF Blade failed, the fight could have gone the other way. Instead, it being the key to bypass Wolverine's Adamantium skeleton, amplified by Raiden's dominance in all other major areas, sealed the mutant's fate.
