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Given that Smash Up parodies the hypothetical death battle concept, this game has a heavy amount of them.


  • The Aliens have "Beam Up", and are directly styled on the Martians from Mars Attacks!.
  • Some of the tech in the Dinosaurs card artwork have serial numbers 71N4 (Tiny) and C0RY.
  • The Pirates' Pirate King resembles Blackbeard; one of their bases is "The Grey Opal"; and their Titan, the Kraken, can only be played if the player says "Release the Kraken!".
  • The Robots' basic minion, Zapbot, is an orange, cubical robot with eyes that look like binoculars. Microbot Alpha resembles Johnny 5.
  • The Tricksters' "Flame Trap" card features a person opening a cereal box reading "UNLUCKY".
  • The Wizards have a base called "School of Wizardry".
  • The Zombies have the Tenacious Z and a herd of Walkers. On "Not Enough Bullets," a zombie has a traffic cone on its head, and the human has a nametag reading "Steel". "Overrun" features a recreation of a scene from The Walking Dead. The Zombie Lord has a Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. "Mall Crawl" refers to Dawn Of The Dead. The bases are Evans City Cemetery and Rhodes Plaza Mall.
  • The Awesome Level 9000 expansion references Dragon Ball Z.
  • The Ghosts have a base called "The Dread Gazebo". Their Titan is Creampuff Man.
  • Killer Plants' bio in the rulebook begins with "Feed them, Seymour! (Don't do it Seymour!)".
  • Elder Things have an action card, "Touch of Madness", whose artwork references The King in Yellow.
  • The Miskatonic University faction is a huge shoutout to Scooby-Doo, with cards such as "Jinkies!", "Those Meddling Kids", and "Old Man Jenkins". The Librarian minion is a parody of Velma Dinkley.
  • The Science Fiction Double Feature expansion is named after the first song in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
  • The Cyborg Apes have Furious George and Clyde 2.0.
  • Super Spies:
  • The Time Travelers have cards like 1.21 Gigawatts and Doctor When. They also have Repeater Perfect and Time Raider. Their Titan is the Time Box, which features a flux capacitor and parts from The Time Machine. They have actions titled "It's Astounding", "Time is Fleeting" and "Into the Time Slip".
  • The Geeks have Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day as minions, and Game Guru as an allusion to Bo Radakovich. "Force of Wil", in addition to depicting Wil Wheaton in its art, duplicates the gameplay effect of the noted Magic: The Gathering card Force of Will.
  • The Monster Smash expansion references the song "Monster Mash".
  • All of the Giant Ants' actions are named after Queen songs, including their strongest minion, "Killer Queen." The Titan card that they later got, Death on Six Legs, is likewise a reference to the Queen song "Death on Two Legs".
  • Mad Scientists' bio starts out with lyrics from "Monster Mash".
  • The Heavy Drinker and Nightstalker minions in the Vampire faction are Count Orlok and Blacula, respectively (with Nightstalker being named after Kolchak: The Night Stalker), and the Fledging Vampire and The Count are references to Elvira and Dracula as portrayed by the late, great Sir Christopher Lee. Their Titan, Ancient Lord, is a parody of Vlad the Impaler, who Dracula was based on.
  • The Werewolves have a minion named Teenage Wolf. "Moontouched" features a wolf with a moon symbol on its back, similar to the design worn by Iori Yagami.
  • The Fairies have "Titania" and "Puck" as two of their minions, along with some Disney Fairies allusions.
  • The Kitty Cats are based entirely around LOLCats, with a Grumpy Cat Captain Ersatz as one of their minions. Some of their cards reference the "Hang in there, Baby" poster and the Invisible Bike meme.
  • The Mythic Horses have plenty of references to My Little Pony (two of the minions are even named Pinkie and Rainbow), and most of their abilities revolve around the power of friendship (having more minions in a base). They also have an action based on Robot Unicorn Attack.
  • The Princesses minions are all obvious parodies of pop culture Princesses, including Elsa, Tiana, Peach and Zelda ("Heirloom" references the Triforce). Numerous references to Disney princesses as a whole abound in the whole deck.
  • The Elves have a Dancing Root.
  • The Dragons' Hatchling somewhat resembles Spyro the Dragon, and they have a base called "Wyrm's Desolation".
  • The Spartans of the Mythic Greeks are all depicted as buff warriors with crimson capes and full helmets but no body armor to speak of. Exactly like the Spartans from 300. Their depiction of Hades is a dead ringer for the Gods appearance in Disney's Hercules, albeit colored red instead of blue.
  • The Sharks as a whole are a reference to Street Sharks, along with cards called "Week of Sharks" and "Freakin' Laser Beams." Their Minion lineup of "Great White", "Hammerhead" and "Mako" is also the exact same set of sharks seen in Finding Nemo. Their bases are even a sunken sub in a minefield and a dark ocean trench with a vicious, luminescent anglerfish.note 
  • The Superheroes have minions based on Superman, Captain Marvel, The Flash and Jean Grey, and has an action called "Justice Friends", as well as several other superhero comic book references. The "Secret Base" action references the Batcave, and features a parody of the Larrymobile.
  • The Tornado deck has references to Kansas, as well as an action called "Gone with the Wind" and a minion called Twister. They are also billed on the box as the "Shark Delivery System."
  • The Astroknights are a parody of Star Wars and contain several references:
    • Space Knight is a genderswapped parody of Luke Skywalker, and somewhat resembles Rey. Her card's setting resembles Tatooine.
    • Walking Carpet is a parody of Chewbacca, and his name comes from a memorable line uttered by Princess Leia Organa in A New Hope.
    • Scoundrel is a genderswapped parody of Han Solo.
    • Space Prince is a genderswapped parody of Princess Leia, although he looks like He-Man more than anything else. His card references the scene in Return of the Jedi where Leia strangles Jabba the Hutt, whose parody on the card resembles Slimer.
    • Pupoks are a parody of the Ewoks.
    • Mannersbot is a parody of C-3P0.
    • Astro Robot is a parody of R2-D2 and BB-8.
    • Alien Guru is a parody of Yoda, and resembles a blue Kermit the Frog as a nod to Jim Henson, whose puppet designs helped inspire the original Yoda puppet. The card's background resembles Dagobah.
    • Annoying Alien is a parody of Jar Jar Binks, his cards background resembles the Great Rotunda.
    • Ghost Knight is a parody of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his appearance of being cut in half references the character's death.
    • "Yield to Rage" features a parody of Darth Vader.
    • "It's a Trap!" is entirely a reference to Admiral Ackbar, in its name and the artwork featuring a fishlike alien.
    • "Laser Sword" is a parody of lightsabers.
    • "Recycle the Trash" references the famous trash compactor scene.
    • The bases are "Hive of Scum and Villany" referencing the Mos Eisley Cantina, and "No-Moon™" referencing the Death Star. Both names are based on quotes from Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  • The Changerbots are a parody of Transformers and contain several references:
    • Leader Two is a parody of Optimus Prime and is named after Leader One.
    • Solarshout is a parody of Starscream.
    • "The Touch" refers to the Transformers movie song.
    • "Matrix of Bossiness" is a reference to the Matrix of Leadership.
    • "Change Up and Roll On" is a reference to the Transformers catchphrase "Transform and roll out!".
    • One of the bases is "Unicrave" referencing Unicron.
  • The Ignobles are a parody of Game of Thrones and contain several references:
    • Aunt of Drakes is a parody of Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons. She has an object resembling a Pokeball.
    • Foot of the King is a reference to the position of Hand of the King, and is a parody of Jaime Lannister.
    • Betrothed is a parody of Sansa Stark.
    • Sneaky Squire is a parody of Tyrion Lannister.
    • "Inevitable Betrayal" is a reference to Firefly.
    • "Red Birthday Party" references the Red Wedding.
    • "Repaying Debts" references "A Lannister always pays his debts".
    • The Titan is The Hill that Strolls, a parody of the Mountain.
    • The bases are "Spikey Chair Room" referencing the Iron Throne, and "Wintersquashed" referencing Winterfell.
  • The Star Roamers are a parody of Star Trek and contain several references:
    • Ship's Captain is a parody of James T. Kirk.
    • Science Officer is a parody of Spock.
    • Medical Officer is a parody of Christine Chapel.
    • Ensign is a parody of Red Shirts and resembles Wesley Crusher.
    • "Port Me Up" references "Beam me up".
    • "Whiplash Maneuver" is a parody of the Picard Maneuver.
    • One of the bases is "USS Undertaking" referencing the USS Enterprise.
  • The Explorers have Idaho Smith (Indiana Jones), the Guide (Hadji/Dora), and the Crypt Looter (Lara Croft). Furthermore, "I Said No Camels!", "It Belongs in a Museum", "X Never Marks the Spot" and "You Call This Archaeology?" are Indiana Jones quotes. Another card is "Dr Livingstone, I Presume?" referencing Henry Morton Stanley finding David Livingstone. One of their bases is "City of Gold".
  • The Rock Stars naturally have many references to classic bands and singers. Notably they have The Monarch (Elvis Presley), Classic Rocker (Lynyrd Skynyrd), and Rick Roll.
  • The Teddy Bears have Fun Bear, a clear Care Bears Expy.
  • The Itty Critters are a parody of Pokémon and contain several references:
    • Leafaroo is essentially if Pikachu was a grass-type.
    • Calicoin resembles Meowth.
    • Krakatoad is essentially if Bulbasaur was a fire-type.
    • Tadpour is essentially if Charmander was a water-type.
    • Shellshock is essentially if Squirtle was an electric-type.
    • Flooffairy is a parody of Clefairy.
    • The Titan, Rainboroc, is a parody of Ho-oh.
    • The Critter Champion resembles a female Ash Ketchum.
    • "Ittypedia" is based on Pokédex and resembles a Game Boy from the '90s.
    • "Critter Cube" is based on Pokéballs.
  • The Kaiju Titan is Gorgodzolla. They also have Kaijookey (Godzooky) and Johnny, and their action cards "The Folly of Men", "Oh, No!", "Pick Up A Bus", "There Goes Tokyo", "They Say He's Got to Go" and "Wade Through the Buildings" are based on lyrics from "Godzilla".
  • The Magical Girls contain many anime references, most notably Lunar Captain is a parody of Sailor Moon, Fancy Suit Lad is a parody of Tuxedo Mask, the Titan Walking Castle is a parody of Howl's Moving Castle, and the base "Q Point" is based on D Point and contains a Coca-Cola reference.
  • The Mega Troopers are a parody of Power Rangers. "Plan For More!" features a parody of Zordon, and "Beta 6" is a parody of Alpha 5.
  • The Sheep have "Wood for Sheep" referencing Settlers of Catan, "Hello, Dolly!" referencing Dolly the cloned sheep, and "Ewe Shall Pass".
  • The That '70s Expansion expansion is named after That '70s Show.
  • The Disco Dancers have Dancing King, based on Dancing Queen and Tony Manero; Disco Lou, based on Disco Stu; and their actions are "Celebration", "Disco Inferno", "Get Down Tonight", "I'm So Excited", "I Will Survive", "It's Raining Men", "Last Dance", "Stayin' Alive", "Turn The Beat Around" and "We Are Family". Their bases are "Boogie Wonderland" and "Funky Town".
  • The Kung Fu Fighters:
  • The Truckers' minions are all based on nicknames truckers use to refer to themselves and each other over CB Radio, some of which are references: "El Bandido" is based on Bo "Bandit" Darville, "Rubber Chicken" is based on Martin "Rubber Duck" Penwald and "Skinny Minnie" is based on Large Marge.
  • The Vigilantes' minions are based on crime fighters in '70s films and TV shows: Brojak is based on Theo Kojak, Death Wisher is a reference to Death Wish, Dusty Henry is a parody of Dirty Harry, Foxy Green is a parody of Foxy Brown, Jackie Bill is a parody of Billy Jack, Shift is a parody of Shaft, and Stoneford is a parody of Jim Rockford.
  • The whole idea of the All Stars faction is that they took the best, most iconic cards from all the other Smash Up factions, brought them all together... and made them play basketball in space.
  • The Ancient Egyptians have an action called "Seal the Tomb" featuring a Mummy wearing a t-shirt reading "Senpet 4 Life" referencing Legend of the Burning Sands. One of their bases, "Star Portal" is a reference to Stargate.
  • The Cowboys have Deputy, who is designed after Jessie; and a base titled So-So Corral.
  • The Vikings have an action called "Berserk", in which there is a tiny pixelated robot.
  • The Luchadors have Yellow Demon, a parody of Blue Demon.
  • The Mounties have Dudlee, a parody of Dudley Do-Right, and the action "Eh?" features him saving a bound woman from an oncoming train. Similarly, the action "Bring 'Em In" features a parody of Snidely Whiplash.
  • The Musketeers are directly inspired by The Three Musketeers, with Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan as minions, and Milady de Winter appears in "Token of Affection" and Cardinal Richelieu in "Make Way". "Biding Time" features The Man in the Iron Mask.
  • The Sumo Wrestlers have Yokozuna, a parody of E. Honda. "Fighting Spirit Prize", "Performance Prize" and "Technique Prize" are named after the Sanshō.
  • The Penguins have Surfing Penguin, referencing Cody Maverick; Command Penguin, referencing Skipper; Dancing Penguin, referencing Mumble, and the Titan Emperor Penguin referencing Emperor Palpatine, even having a name tag reading "The Senate". "Secret Mission" references the Penguins of Madagascar.
  • The Anansi Tales are Exactly What It Says on the Tin and revolves around the West African fairy tales.
  • The Ancient Incas have "Golden Condor" referencing The Mysterious Cities of Gold.
  • The Grimms' Fairy Tales contain references to Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and Rose Red, Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince, Rumpelstiltskin and The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage.
  • The Polynesian Voyagers have Maui and Wayfinder, parodying Moana.
  • The Russian Fairy Tales contain references to The Wooden Eagle, Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf, The Feather of Finist the Falcon, The Wonderful Birch, Baba Yaga, The Frog Princess, Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What, The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life and The Gigantic Turnip.

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