Line #44 Recap/EpicRapBattlesOfHistoryRasputinVsStalin


1	The Season 2 finale features a shakeup in the show’s usual format: what starts out as a normal battle between [[UsefulNotes/RasputinTheMadMonk Grigori Rasputin]] (Peter Shukoff) and [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Joseph Stalin]] (Lloyd Ahlquist) becomes a battle royale when UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin (Peter Shukoff), UsefulNotes/MikhailGorbachev (Lloyd Ahlquist), and UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin (Peter Shukoff) jump into the fray.
2
3	----
4	!!TROPES
5	* AbusiveParents: Stalin’s father beat him like a dog, as Rasputin can attest to. He's also one himself.
6	* AbusivePrecursors: Gorbachev claims that Russia was put on the road to ruin because of the faults of the previous leaders.
7	* ActuallyQuiteCatchy: If you watch Rasputin during Gorbachev's and Putin's verses, he's half-heartedly dancing to the beat.
8	* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Lenin's opinion of Stalin sounds like something out of ''Franchise/StarWars'':
9	-->'''Lenin''': ''You let your heart grow dark, and stopped the greatest revolution since the birth of Marx!''
10	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Stalin threatens to shoot Rasputin's family, friends, and pierogi sellers.
11	* AxCrazy: Stalin is just as crazily sadistic here as he was in real life.
12	-->I'll leave your neck in a noose in a trench and shot!\
13	Your whole family, shot!\
14	All your wizard friends, shot!
15	-->Anyone who sold you pierogi, shot!
16	* BadassBoast:
17	** Courtesy of Stalin:
18	--->See the soul of the man who made ''Mother Russia his bitch''!\
19	Dropped a hammer on you harder than I bitch-slapped Hitler!
20	** A few from Putin:
21	---> "Doing judo moves and schooling every communist сука."
22	---> "The last man who attacked me has a half-life so comrade, come at me!"
23	---> "You'll find the ex-KGB is the best MC in the ex-CCCP!"
24	* BerserkButton: Lenin believes that Stalin completely ruined his revolution and is '''''extremely''''' angry about it. In particular, Stalin calling himself "pride of Lenin" after dismantling his life's work makes Lenin pissed enough to drop in.
25	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Gorbachev opened up relations with the West, and a can of whoop-ass too.
26	* BewareTheSillyOnes: Gorbachev may seem like a goofball, but he's got great raps.
27	* BigEntrance: Putin's introduced by his face on a jumboscreen that bursts to reveal him.
28	* BorrowedCatchphrase: Gorbachev "Tore down that wall like the Kool-Aid man, Oh yeah!"
29	* TheCameo: Ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (played by LetsPlay/PewDiePie) appears in the background of Gorbachev’s verse. Also, Gorbachev is seen shaking hands with UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and Ronald [=McDonald=] as he describes doing so, but only their hands are visible.
30	* CardCarryingVillain: Like Hitler, Stalin enjoys his reputation as one of the most evil men to ever live.
31	* ChestOfMedals: Stalin wears two Hero of the Soviet Union medals, three Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, and an Order of Victory. He's actually missing his Marshal's Star, a second Order of Victory, and an Order of Suvorov, not to mention several lesser medals and foreign awards. Oh, and one of his Gold Stars should be a Hero of Socialist Labour (also a gold star, but thinner and with hammer and sicle in the center). That's despite the fact that in real life Stalin usually wore only his Hero of Socialist Labour medal.
32	* ChummyCommies: Unlike Stalin and Lenin, Gorbachev "shook hands with both Ronalds: Reagan and [=McDonald=]”.
33	* TheComicallySerious: Putin’s stone-faced mug adds some silliness to his verses.
34	* CommissarCap: Stalin wears one, but he is technically a government clerk. He's still tough and commanding like the trope.
35	* DeadpanSnarker: Putin is [[DullSurprise incredibly deadpan]] and incredibly snarky.
36	* DeathGlare: Quoth Stalin:
37	-->"Look into my eyes, you perverted witch."
38	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Lenin is depicted in red and white, meant to represent his portrayal in Soviet banners. He lampshades it, naturally.
39	* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Stalin taunts Rasputin, the infamous hypnotist, with his eyes.
40	* DirtyCommunists:
41	** Stalin’s the filthiest of them all. Even other communists think he's dirty.
42	** Lenin gets lots of talk about fighting the bourgouisie and such, but compared to Stalin, he looks downright spotless.
43	** Gorbachev is not presented as cruel like Stalin or even intense like Lenin, since he's much more mellow than them, here. He insists that he's one of the ChummyCommies instead.
44	* DistinguishingMark: Gorbachev’s birthmark. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Was almost an]] [[TitleDrop "ERB"]] but it didn't work out.
45	* EarlyBirdCameo: Ronald [=McDonald=] makes a tiny cameo appearance in this battle, a decent 6 years before his official debut in the series.
46	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: DefiedTrope. Stalin flat out denies this when he scoffs at Rasputin's boast that he can get at him through his wife and ''brags'' about not saving his own son's life. See LackOfEmpathy below.
47	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Rasputin belonged to a sect that believed sin was finite, so [[InsaneTrollLogic sinning in abundance meant others couldn't.]] Even he thinks Stalin's an unforgivable bastard.
48	* EvilCripple: Lenin points out that Stalin has a withered arm in the same breath as his betrayal.
49	* EyesNeverLie: Stalin seems to believe this:
50	-->"Look into my eyes, you perverted witch.\
51	See the soul of the man who made Mother Russia his bitch!"
52	* FateWorseThanDeath: Stalin claims that the trope namer for RasputinianDeath ''got off easy'' (whether he means the embellished account of Rasputin's death or the more realistic one is unclear), and threatens to hang him, shoot him, starve him for days until he wasted away (either as a preparation for the execution or as a contingency if Rasputin survived both the hanging and the shooting), and leave him for dead in a trench, before moving on to [[AndYourLittleDogToo killing everyone Rasputin ever knew, loved, or bought pierogies from.]]
53	* {{Flanderization}}:
54	** Needless to say, Stalin wasn't a CardCarryingVillain in real life, unlike his ERB portrayal. In the battle, he threaten Rasputin with execution of his family, his "wizard friends", and anyone who ever sold pierogi to him. In real life he specifically noted that "the son is not responsible for the father", and, while he did order to arrest families of some of high-ranking "enemies of the people" purely by association, they were not executed, and some later had successful careers. Stalin also wears full ChestOfMedals here, while in real life he, as noted by contemporaries, preferred to wear only the Hero of Socialist Labour medal, parade portraits notwithstanding.
55	** Putin is a WalkingShirtlessScene here, referencing his famous horseback photo. The thing is, the photo was already 4 years old at the time the battle came out, and beyond this photo report he's almost never seen shirtless, or even in anything else than a business suit.
56	* FormulaBreakingEpisode: This episode had an unprecedented 5 rappers, each getting one verse.
57	* FreudianExcuse: As Rasputin put it to Stalin, "Your daddy beat you like a dog and now you're evil".
58	* FunPersonified: Gorbachev is the only one who looks like he's having a good time, is generally lighthearted and seems to have a permanent smile.
59	* GagPenis: Rasputin claims that he is a "big dick mystic", and Stalin makes reference to his "moose cock".
60	* GratuitousRussian: Putin punctuates his BigEntrance with a random "да" (yes), and later does ThisIsForEmphasisBitch in Russian.
61	* HitlerCam: Putin’s appearance on the jumboscreen.
62	* HypnoticEyes: Rasputin’s superpower, according to legend, was a form of hypnosis, and he threatens to use it to control Stalin's wife.
63	* HypnotizeTheCaptive: Rasputin brags of his history with this, but [[DefiedTrope Lenin doesn't care.]]
64	-->'''Lenin:''' "The Czar's wife can't do shit tonight!"
65	* IgnoredEnemy: Rasputin becomes increasingly disregarded by his opponents as the battle goes on. Lenin throws a verse his way but otherwise focuses entirely on chewing out Stalin, Gorbachev gives him one line about needing a shower, and Putin pretty much ignores him completely.
66	* ItsAllAboutMe: Putin never directly disses or even really addresses any of his opponents, spending his entire verse boasting about himself.
67	* ItsPersonal: While Lenin claims that he's there to beat both Rasputin and Stalin, he has a ''lot'' more to say to Stalin than he does Rasputin. [[WeUsedToBeFriends The reasons for this]] [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil should be obvious]].
68	* {{Jerkass}}: Stalin raps in a way that would indicate that his atrocities are ''something to be '''proud''' of''.
69	-->'''Stalin''': You think I give a fuck about my wife? '''My own son got locked up in prison and I didn't save his life!'''
70	* KnightOfCerebus: Inverted. Gorbachev’s predecessors were [[GagPenis still]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking pretty]] [[Literature/{{Goosebumps}} silly]], but they rapped about parental abuse, tyranny, murder, and betrayal. The darkest Gorbachev gets is blaming them for the Cold War.
71	* KryptoniteFactor: In reference to Stalin's [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Name to Run Away from Really Fast]], Rasputin brags:
72	-->"You're the [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Man of Steel]], I spit Kryptonite."
73	* KubrickStare: Rasputin’s creepy stare is part of his 'creepy mystic' vibe.
74	* LackOfEmpathy: Stalin just doesn't care how many people died because of him. Even his family wasn't safe.
75	* LargeHam: Lenin is ham served Russian style: powerful and grim.
76	* LethalJokeCharacter: Gorbachev seems like just a friendly, goofy guy at first, but he spits very hot raps.
77	* TheManBehindTheMan: Rasputin points out that he controlled Czar Nicholas II by hypnotizing his wife, and threatens to do the same to Stalin.
78	* NiceGuy: Comparatively speaking, Gorbachev's the contestant with the fewest skeletons in his closet. Most of his rhymes are good-natured and focused on his accomplishments instead of putting the other guys down.
79	* NoEyeInMagic: Much of Rasputin’s performance is in the eyes, between {{Kubrick Stare}}s and {{Death Glare}}s, as befitting his [[HypnotizeTheCaptive character]]. However, when your opponent is [[YellowEyesOfSneakiness Josef Stalin]], even the infamous EvilSorcerer is powerless.
80	* NoIndoorVoice: Lenin's voice is Lincolnesque in its volume.
81	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Lenin has this red and white rotoscope effect that makes him look like an animated propaganda poster.
82	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent:
83	** Rasputin’s voice is impressively deep, but there's only the tiniest hint of an accent in there.
84	** Lenin’s the same deal as Rasputin, just switch "deep" for "loud".
85	* OddNameOut: Gorbachev's the only contestant in the battle that doesn't have an "in" attached to the end of his name (or nickname, in the case of Stalin and Lenin).
86	--> "If your name end with "in", ''time to get out!''"
87	* OneSteveLimit: Averted-- there are two Vladimirs in this battle: Lenin and Putin.
88	* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Putin starts somewhere [[FakeRussian vaguely Russian]], ends up somewhere vaguely Creator/SylvesterStallone.
89	* PerpetualFrowner: Frowns and snarls are Stalin’s only expressions.
90	* PerpetualSmiler: Gorbachev's got a giant smirk on his face the whole time.
91	* PetTheDog: Gorbachev references his reforms, attempts to open the Soviet Union and its people to the West, and bringing down the Berlin Wall.
92	* ThePigpen: Gorbachev says Rasputin needs a shower.
93	* RasputinianDeath: Stalin says that his opponent’s trope-naming demise was getting off easy. It's also subverted -- Stalin threatens RasputinianDeath, but otherwise it's not even referenced -- [[GeniusBonus because Rasputin didn't die that way, contrary to his legend.]]
94	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Gorbachev insists that he's the only one in the Russian Five to use authority on an even heel.
95	--> "You all need to learn how to handle real power!"
96	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Lenin is ''very'' pissed about how the Russian Revolution was ruined by Stalin. In fact, his ''first line'' is to debunk Stalin's "pride of Lenin" remark.
97	* RedRightHand:
98	** Lenin compares Stalin's loyalty to his withered right hand... [[GeniusBonus which confuses Stalin]], because it's actually his ''left'' hand that was stunted due to a childhood accident.
99	** Inverted with Gorbachev, who has a birthmark on his forehead, but is the nicest of the Russian Five.
100	* ReligiousBruiser: Rasputin proudly mentions his status as a monk, and looks like he'd be more than happy to wring Stalin's neck.
101	* TheSociopath: Stalin clearly feels no regret for his evil actions, even being proud of them.
102	* SpeakOfTheDevil: Lenin pops in after Stalin claims to be "The pride of Lenin" to refute that remark. It also sets a precedent for Gorbachev and Putin to find an excuse so they can get in on the action as well.
103	* TheStoic: Putin seems relatively calm for the most part and expresses less emotion on his face than the others.
104	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Putin's "schooling every communist сука" is not actually a direct insult, as "сука" (bitch) is not declensed, meaning it's just here for emphasis
105	* TokenGoodTeammate: Gorbachev plays himself up as the most moral of the Soviet leaders, claiming the others were too aggressive.
106	* ToThePain: Stalin threatens Rasputin with pickled moose cock, hanging, shooting, and then laying in a trench. See FateWorseThanDeath.
107	* TrrrillingRrrs:
108	** Stalin makes a conjoined one in his second verse:
109	---> "See the soul of the man who made Mothe[=RRR=] [=RRR=]ussia his bitch!"
110	** Lenin rolls his R’s when he gets real emotional.
111	---> "You were supposed to be [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil my RRRIGHT HAND MAN]], but your loyalty shriveled up '''like your [[RedRightHand RRRIGHT HAND, MAN!]]'''"
112	** Even Gorbatchev uses some to scare the previous communist leaders:
113	---> "Shook hands with both Rrrronalds, [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Rrrreagan]] and [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds McDonalds]], no doubt!"
114	* {{Unperson}}: Stalin’s tendency to do this, specifically with Trotsky whom he literally "took out of the picture", is mentioned.
115	* WalkingShirtlessScene: Putin doesn't wear a shirt, referencing his 2009 horseback photo.
116	* WasItReallyWorthIt: Basically, Rasputin’s thesis regarding the history of the Soviet Union, from the revolution against the Tsarist empire to the "union of ruinous states" it [[WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell eventually became]], thanks to Stalin's dictatorial methods and WeHaveReserves mentality.
117	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Lenin is presented as somebody who really did believe he was doing the right thing.
118	* WeUsedToBeFriends: Lenin calls Stalin out for betraying his trust, but it's an historical imprecision, as Lenin and Stalin never saw eye to eye, despite what Stalin's propaganda said.
119	* WhamLine:
120	** Gorbachev's unexpected presence is heralded with a "Knock-knock-knock... did somebody say ''birthmarks?''"
121	** Similarly, Putin's surprise appearance starts with an abrupt "Did somebody say ''real power?''"
122	* WhamShot: Lenin abruptly dropping into the battle out of nowhere, Gorbachev's entrance through a door in the background, and Putin's sudden appearance on a jumbo screen all signify an unexpected shift in what was otherwise a normal battle.
123	* WizardBeard: Naturally, being a hypno mystic, Rasputin has the long beard for it.

Context Recap / EpicRapBattlesOfHistoryRasputinVsStalin