History Recap / DeathBattleS09E11TrunksVSSilver

For years, fans of both ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' were familiar with the time-traveling escapades of these two oft-compared combatants: hailing from dark futures they wish to prevent, both have gone back in time to eradicate any and all threats - the space-time continuum be damned. Episode 11 of ''DEATH BATTLE!'''s ninth season realizes this duel of fates with a twist by taking both Trunks and Silver ''not'' as their most popular [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunks mainstream]] [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogRecurringCharacters counterparts]], but their alternate selves as guardians of larger multiverses with near infinite amounts of godlike power at their disposal. The half-Saiyan swordsman and Mobian esper have saved their futures time and time again, but only one of them can live to see it after they both clash in [[TitleDrop a death battle.]]

For starters, both Trunks and Silver possessed readily available means of travelling through time, like Trunks' arm band and Silver's Time Stone. While this meant that neither could really claim it to be an advantage over the other, Silver had the edge of being able to shut down Trunks' ability do so via telekinesis. This also had the added bonus of preventing Trunks from relying too much on summons to back him up.

In terms of brute strength, base form Silver had no chance of stacking up to Trunks in a straight fight. While going Super Silver let him keep pace with Trunks' various Super Saiyan transformations, trying to find proper quantifiable limits in this field would be difficult. That said, even if Trunks were to be deemed physically stronger, it would matter little as Silver's telekinesis allowed him to manhandle foes far more powerful than he is, such as Enerjak and Super Scourge - both of whom have proven themselves equal to the reality-warping Super Sonic.

The various opponents Trunks had slain throughout ''Heroes'' and ''Xenoverse'' have all at some point threatened the infinite timelines of ''Dragon Ball'' and even the Crack of Time outside it. Conversely, the Chaos Magic seen in the Archie Sonic multiverse could affect not only the infinite number of timelines for the ''Sonic'' series, but external realities on top of that, like the Chaos Force itself, Pocket Zones and even universes like Archie Mega Man's, which has its own set of infinite timelines as well. Considering that Silver had been trained since childhood in Chaos Magic by its very creator and that relative newcomers to its power like Mega Man could casually rewrite reality within minutes of attaining it, it could very well be implied that Silver can employ far more creative and deadlier uses against Trunks, especially given that ''Sonic'' cosmology dwarfing ''Dragon Ball's'' meant that Silver boasted far more power than his opponent when comparing the scope of their universes.

Trunks' ace in the hole was the Key Sword and its ability to nullify power, but such a weapon would likely to prove ineffective. As both Super Sonic and Super Mega Man survived the effects of the Super Genesis Wave when it managed to rewrite reality around them and even destroyed the Chaos Force from which their power spawned from, Silver could likely resist the Key Sword's effects to a degree, preventing Trunks from weaponizing the Eternal Time Labyrinth as well.

** Hidden inside the crystals in the Crack of Time in the climax are peeks into alternate universes with cameo appearances by other characters known for their time travel escapades, such as [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime the Hero of Time incarnation of Link]], [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger Crono]], ComicBook/BoosterGold, ComicBook/{{Cable}}, VideoGame/{{Blinx}} and even Archie Sonic himself, as well as [[ComicBook/SonicTheComic Fleetway Super Sonic]].

** Trunks in his Super Saiyan form calls Super Silver a ripoff, [[Recap/DeathBattleS01E12VegetaVsShadow just like what Vegeta said to Shadow back in Season 1]].

* CompositeCharacter: While these are not the canon versions of Trucks and Silver, many aspects of them from their source material still apply. While Xeno Trunks was recruited after defeating the androids and Cell, it's implied he lived through some variant of the arc in ''Super'' where canon Trucks fought Goku Black. While Archie's Silver has a different backstory than the canon version, it's implied he still went through events similar to canon Silver's introduction, including the battle with the time god Solaris.

As far as speed goes, Trunks would certainly upscale from feats that pegged characters from the original ''Dragon Ball'' canon to be several factors faster than the speed of light. As impressive as this may seem, Wiz notes that Trunks must have some kind of upper limit to his speed as per the rules of the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, and regardless of whatever number it could be calculated at, it would undoubtably pale in comparison to Super Silver considering that Super form characters in Archie Sonic have repeatedly been stated to hit speeds that are outright immeasurable. It may be argued that Trunks could achieve these same showings as characters like Goku have moved within stopped time, but time stops in ''Dragon Ball'' primarily succeed only if the caster is equal to or stronger than its intended target, and unfortunately for the Time Patroller, his potential limit in this area is lacking in comparison.

The various opponents Trunks had slain throughout ''Heroes'' and ''Xenoverse'' have all at some point threatened the infinite timelines of ''Dragon Ball'' and even the Crack of Time outside it. Conversely, the Chaos Magic seen in the Archie Sonic multiverse could not only affect the infinite number of timelines for the ''Sonic'' series, but external realities on top of that, like the Chaos Force itself, Pocket Zones and even universes like Archie Mega Man's, which has its own set of infinite timelines as well. Considering that Silver had been trained since childhood in Chaos Magic by its very creator, and that relative newcomers to its power like Mega Man could casually rewrite reality within minutes of attaining it, it could very well be implied that Silver can employ far more creative and deadlier uses against Trunks, especially given that ''Sonic'' cosmology dwarfing ''Dragon Ball's'' meant that Silver boasted far more power than his opponent when comparing the scope of their universes.

Overall, Trunks proved himself a very game warrior befitting his pedigree and would likely win a few scenarios here and there if this battle were to be run multiple times. However, Silver's superior skillset, strength and speed solidified that he would be the more probable victor more times than not, and in turn ensuring the Mobian freedom fighter stayed alive to see the future he swore to protect.

[[Recap/DeathBattleS09E12SpongeBobSquarePantsVSSuperFriendsAquaman Next time on Death Battle...]]

* CallBack: Trunks in his Super Saiyan form calls Super Silver a ripoff, [[Recap/DeathBattleS01E12VegetaVsShadow just like what Vegeta said to Shadow back in Season 1]].

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Silver's killing blow sees him teleporting Trunks's Sword of Hope away from him and impaling him with it, which causes Trunks to be [[NoBodyLeftBehind erased from existence]].
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: While Trunks' Super Forms made him much more physically stronger than Silver's, Silver's ability to restrain and redirect the attacks of vastly stronger beings than himself with his psychokinesis along with his literally infinite speed rendered the strength gap moot. Additionally, Silver being trained in the use of Chaos Magic for years by Mammoth Mogul meant that while in his Super Form he would be capable of all the feats of less experienced Super Form users, like Sonic and Mega Man who could resist the multiverse and Chaos Force affecting Super Genesis Wave and rewrite the multiverse and other universes outside of it, and much more, meaning that Super Silver could not only most likely resist Trunks' [[PowerNullifier Keysword]], he was also deemed to be much more powerful.

* BrokenWinLossStreak: Meta-example. In ''DBX'', along with other web animations pitting the two like in ''WebAnimation/OneMinuteMelee'', Trunks emerges victoriously. However, this is mostly due to the canon depictions of Future Trunks and Silver being used. Since these are the more powerful depictions of them from sources outside their continuity, Archie Silver's greater use of time manipulation and speed would finally mark psychic hedgehog a victory against the Saiyan hybrid he's based on.

* AlternateSelf: The versions of Trunks and Silver used here are alternate versions found in ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' (Xeno Trunks) and ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' (Archie Silver) respectively.

The first combatant the hosts look at is Trunks Briefs, one of the more popular characters of his series who famously made short work of previous villain Frieza. Hailing from a dark future where Goku had died of a heart virus and most of the world's population had been slaughtered by the murderous Androids 17 and 18, Trunks used his mother Bulma's time machine to travel back to an era where he could aid the Z-Fighters against Cell and the android menace. And having successfully completed his task, the half-Saiyan hero returned to his time and destroyed the android duo, though he would have no time to rest as Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, arrested him for his alterations to multiple timelines. Thus, Trunks would be pulled into the Dragon Ball Xenoverse, a multiverse where every story has its own canonical timeline, to serve his sentence as a member of Chronoa's secret Time Patrol and guard the Xenoverse against any threats to the timelines.

Besides the various Saiyan ki powers, the half-Saiyan swordsman also wields the Brave Sword, a blade handed down to him by the Hero of Time. As it's implied that this version of Trunks has experienced the events of the Goku Black saga, it can be assumed that he has access to all the powers his main counterpart has, including the golden-haired Super Saiyan transformations and the ability to gather ki from others to empower his sword with the Sword of Hope technique. However, he has also undergone a ritual to gain access to godly ki and assume the power of a Super Saiyan God, which has proved useful against foes such as Mechikabura, the ruler of the demon realm revived by the Time Breakers, Towa and Mira. These dastardly foes would cause all sorts of trouble across the Xenoverse and provide no end of grief for Trunks and the Time Patrol, who are able to travel throughout time themselves with special bracelets that prevent breaks in the timelines... though this doesn't prevent any rogue members of the Time Patrol from messing with time themselves, as when one such member attempted to rewrite the reality of both the world and the arcade game of the far-off future known as ''Dragon Ball Heroes''. The arcade game serves as a means of time travel in itself, allowing avatars of future warriors to revisit iconic moments of the past and summon copies of well-known fighters using collectible cards, and it just so happens that Trunks himself is an avid fan of the game, able to use the cards himself with his Hero Switch.

However, all these powers, weapons, and gadgets would prove to be insufficient against one of such might as Mechikabura, who was strong enough to withstand even the might of the ultra-powerful Super Saiyan 4 Vegito, and created a black hole to consume every timeline in the Xenoverse. To defeat him, Trunks had to unlock the power of the ultimate blade known as the Key Sword, which has the ability to nullify an opponent's abilities and, thanks to being empowered by Chronoa, can summon the power of the Eternal Time Labyrinth to trap foes within the Crack of Time, a space outside the timelines with crystals scattered about that offer glimpses into said timelines. Besides this, it was also powerful enough to allow Trunks to defeat Mechikabura with a single swing of it, firmly placing him within the higher ranks of ''Dragon Ball'' power levels. This would be enough to even surpass the main timeline's Goku, who attained power enough to potentially destroy the universe 13 times over upon initially channeling the might of a Super Saiyan God, pushed through Hit's time stops, and travelled to Hell from Grand Kai's planet in base form in under a minute, this last feat being even more impressive when taking into consideration the sheer size of the ''Dragon Ball'' universe. And many of Trunks's allies are just as impressive as he is, including the future warriors who battled Demigra and Shamel, both of whom could be considered the viewer themself.

Wiz and Boomstick then jump from the Xenoverse to the planet Mobius in the year of 3437 PXE, where an age of darkness has overtaken the world; from raging fires and massive monsters to biological disasters and general dystopia, the people live in fear. In this bleak age, only one hero remains: a silver-quilled hedgehog aptly known as Silver the Hedgehog. And while his Archie Comics incarnation may look and act similarly to his video game counterpart, this is where the similarities end. Without any family to speak of, Silver was adopted by the elders of his time, including Mammoth Mogul, the immortal wizard of Chaos, and the young esper eventually settled on the goal of becoming a Knight of Chronos: one who could save his broken future by changing the past.

Though Silver has enhanced strength and speed, he is not as proficient in either of these fields as their respective masters, Knuckles and Sonic. Instead, his specialty is in psychokinesis, able to lift and manipulate himself and anything else with a mere thought; rocks, skyscrapers, and even mountains are all within the realm of possibility for him. Though he also keeps a Super Warp Ring, a power ring which allows him to teleport wherever he likes even across dimensions, on hand, he can also access the insight, resistance to corruption, and power boosts that other Mobians can attain with ordinary power rings. With these powers at his disposal, he was a natural selection for Mammoth Mogul as a student, who taught him two other abilities, the first of which being Chaos Control, the magic Mogul created himself granting usage of Chaos energy and a Super transformation. The mammoth mage would later discover another kind of magic that he would teach to his young disciple: Chronos Control, allowing one to travel through time using a gem known as a Time Stone. Through much time spent performing research, both teacher and student would come across a revelation: their dark future had been caused by a member of the Freedom Fighters of ages past betraying their former teammates. With a goal now in sight, Silver traveled to the past of Sonic's age to eliminate the traitor and fix his broken world. However, the silver-quilled psychic would soon discover that his task was complicated by just how complex his world's multiverse was; the Archie Sonic multiverse is comparable to the DC Comics multiverse, having multiple layers with infinite universes with infinite timelines and characters each, even reaching beyond the ''Sonic'' franchise. With this in mind and considering the transportation abilities provided by Warp Rings, Chaos Control, and Chronos Control, no world is out of Silver's reach, though traveling so often through time had the side-effect of "decoupling" himself from it, ensuring that he wouldn't suffer adverse effects from messing with time and only needing to learn what's different in his current era. Though even with this benefit, Silver's job was not made any easier, especially with him not being very bright at times.

Fortunately for him, this version of the ashen-quilled esper has much more impressive feats than his mainstream counterpart, having fought various powerful foes across time and space, such as Enerjak, a godlike echidna who stole the souls of every living being on Mobius and threw the entirety of Angel Island at the psychic savior. Yet despite the immense gap in power, it was Silver who emerged victorious by turning Enerjak's own attacks back towards him. This result becomes less surprising when considering that Silver's psychokinetic powers allow him to teleport instantly, disrupt technology, close tears in reality, and prevent time from being pulled out of him. And this version of the silver-quilled psychic still experienced some version of the events of ''Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)'', where he fought the time-eating monstrosity Solaris alongside Sonic and Shadow, and first attained the power of Super Silver. This near-invulnerable golden form gains a boost in speed and power to match that of Super Sonic, whose base form, while transformed into Sonic Man, was fast enough to move while Flash Man had stopped time, thus meaning that Super Sonic (and Super Silver by extension) can move at literally incalculable speeds. Though this is hardly the most impressive feat a Super form has achieved, as the universe had been destroyed on multiple occasions using the same Chaos energy Super Silver possesses, most notably when Super Sonic and Super Mega Man fought to counter the Super Genesis Wave, which completely rewrote all of time and space. Despite being at the epicenter of the Super Genesis Wave, both heroes were immune to its reality-warping effects, giving them the time needed to save the multiverse. And even in the new world born from the aftereffects of this multiverse-spanning crisis, Silver was still nothing less than a hero.

The scene opens on our two combatants in pursuit, as ki blasts fly past the silver-quilled psychic, who dodges around buildings to evade them before lifting a skyscraper out of the ground with his mind, which is swiftly sliced apart. Trunks calls out to his quarry that he is under arrest for unsanctioned time travel, only for Silver to protest that this is what he does, before raising up cars and rocks to launch them at his pursuer.

The Time Patroller successfully avoids the barrage and unleashes a series of slashes that ends with the Knight of Chronos sent towards the ground. Silver dodges a follow up attack before throwing his Warp Ring towards his Half-Saiyan opponent, distracting him long enough for Silver to ram him through it into a ruined version of the city they were fighting in. Trunks recovers before firing a Masenko at Silver, only for the Mobian psychic to return the attack back to its sender who dodges it while noticing debris flying past him, revealing that Silver combined the surrounding rubble into a building-sized boulder to launch at him.

As the ashen-colored esper makes his escape from the Eternal Time Labyrinth with his slain opponent wiped from existence, Wiz and Boomstick express shock at the result, but begin to break down the tale of the tape to reach their conclusion on the match-up. Trunks may have been absurdly powerful to the point of thinking that he'd meet his end would be folly, but out of the many possibilities this battle could come to, Silver simply had far more going for him to secure victory.

* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: While Trunks' Super Forms made him much more physically stronger than Silver's, Silver's ability to restrain and redirect the attacks of vastly stronger beings than himself with his psychokinesis along with his literally infinite speed rendered the strength gap moot. Additionally, Silver being trained in the use of Chaos Magic for years by Mammoth Mogul meant that while in his Super Form he would be capable of all the feats of less experienced Super Form users, like Sonic and Mega Man who could resist the multiverse and Chaos Force affecting Super Genesis Wave and rewrite the multiverse and other universes outside of it, and much more, meaning that Super Silver could not only most likely resist Trunks' [[PowerNullifier Keysword]], but he also possessed more power than him.

''*work in progress*''

** Silver says "It's no use" twice in this battle, which was an infamous line of his from his game counterpart's boss fight in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''. This comes up again when Silver's voice actor ([[RoleReprise who is heavily implied to be]] Creator/BrycePapenbrook) is credited as "Esu Onsti", which is backwards for "It's no use".

* PreMortemOneLiner: "I told you... ''It's. No.'' '''''Use.'''''"

** When going over the ''Dragon Ball Heroes'' cards, Trunks is described as "going full [[Manga/YuGiOh Seto Kaiba]]".
** After the battle, an outraged Boomstick denounces Silver as a [[Film/TheTerminator furry Kyle Reese]].

The first combatant the hosts look at Trunks Briefs, one of the more popular characters of his series who famously made short work of previous villain Frieza. Hailing from a dark future where Goku had died of a heart virus and most of the world's population had been slaughtered by the murderous Androids 17 and 18, Trunks used his mother Bulma's time machine to travel back to an era where he could aid the Z-Fighters against Cell and the android menace. And having successfully completed his task, the half-Saiyan hero returned to his time and destroyed the android duo, though he would have no time to rest as Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, arrested him for his alterations to multiple timelines. Thus, Trunks would be pulled into the Dragon Ball Xenoverse, a multiverse where every story has its own canonical timeline, to serve his sentence as a member of Chronoa's secret Time Patrol and guard the Xenoverse against any threats to the timelines.

''*work in progress*''

->'''Boomstick:''' So the bad guys better watch out, 'cuz Trunks and his Time Cops will always be there to stop them and protect time itself!

The first combatant the hosts look at Trunks Briefs, who famously made short work of previous villain Frieza. Hailing from a dark future where Goku had died of a heart virus and most of the world's population had been slaughtered by the murderous Androids 17 and 18, Trunks used his mother's time machine to travel back to an era where he could aid the Z-Fighters against the android menace. And having successfully completed his task, the half-Saiyan hero returned to his time and destroyed the android duo, though he would have no time to rest as Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, arrested him for his alterations to multiple timelines. Thus, Trunks would be pulled into the Dragon Ball Xenoverse, a multiverse where every story has its own canonical timeline, to serve his sentence as a member of Chronoa's secret Time Patrol and guard the Xenoverse against any threats to the timelines.

For years, fans of both ''Dragon Ball'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' were familiar with the time-traveling escapades of these two oft-compared combatants: hailing from dark futures they wish to prevent, both have gone back in time to eradicate and all threats - the space-time continuum be damned. Episode 11 of ''DEATH BATTLE!'''s ninth season realizes this duel of fates with a twist by taking both Trunks and Silver ''not'' as their most popular [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunks mainstream]] [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogRecurringCharacters counterparts]], but their alternate selves as guardians of larger multiverses with near infinite amounts of godlike power at their disposal. The half-Saiyan swordsman and Mobian esper have saved their futures time and time again, but only one of them can live to see it after they both clash in [[TitleDrop a death battle.]]