Web Animation / Monster Face Off

There will be no quarter given, no mercy shown. Only one contestant will get out alive...

Monster Face Off is a web series hosted by the youtube channel, Goji Center. In each episode, a climactic battle various giant monsters or powerful megafauna duke it out in unseen match-ups, similar to Deadliest Warrior and Animal Face Off with the latter serving as a Spiritual Predecessor.

Beginning in 2023, the series premieres in special events on Youtube before being formally uploaded. The format introduces the two combatants, be they real-life animals or fictional monsters, and going through a series of categories ^note (such as "Armor", "Speed", "Agility", "Intelligence", etc.) with the advantage per category going to one combatant or another.

Season trailer here.

Thus far, confirmed match-ups are:

• Episode 1: The Meg vs. InGen's Mosasaurus, released August 11th, 2023 ^{Winner (Spoilers)} :The Meg, sporting a more effective bite and greater resilience to shrug off the reptile's attacks long enough to land a critical blow
• Episode 2: Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Palaeoloxodon namadicus, released October 8th, 2023 ^{Winner (Spoilers)} :Palaeoloxodon, being much heavier, having better defense and a much longer reach. Though the T. rex could learn to hunt the giant elephants via pack-hunting or ambushes
• Episode 3: Porco Galliard vs. Skullcrawler, released March 10th, 2024 ^{Winner (Spoilers)} :Porco Galliard, being much more nimble, having more powerful jaws, and far greater intelligence to protect his one weak spot against the more brutish Skullcrawler.
• Episode TBD: Rodan vs. Camazotz
• Episode TBD: ARK Giganotosaurus vs. Skull Devil
• Episode TBD: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla^note (specifically between Godzilla at full power without having been winded fighting Kong like in the movie)
• Episode TBD: Jurassic Park III Spinosaurus vs. Indominus rex
• Episode TBD: Kong vs. Rodan
• Episode TBD: MUTO Prime vs. King Ghidorah
• Episode TBD: Behemoth vs. Valka's Bewilderbeast
• Episode TBD: The Bloop vs. El Gran Maja

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Tropes in this series:

• Animals Not to Scale: The ARK Giganotosaurus is magnitudes larger than the real thing, putting it on even scaling with the Skull Devil.
• Artistic License – Paleontology: Discussed in episode 1. Both The Meg and InGen Mosasaurus are not perfectly aligned with their real life counterparts, though The Meg is substantially closer to the real thing. This gets Deconstructed with the Mosasaurus, since not having a streamlined body and lacking a forked tongue for sensory input is one of the reasons it lost to the shark, which retained all of its essential abilities.
• Awesome, yet Impractical: Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Palaeoloxodon namadicus brings up the top speed of both animals when detailing their speed, but also that they would not run at their top speed when fighting. Doing so would consume far too much energy and only be done if they were running away or had a guaranteed hit.
• Behemoth Battle: Be it megafauna or kaiju, the combatants are all titanic to various degrees.
• Boring, but Practical: Compared to the monstrous looking InGen Mosasaurus, The Meg is essentially just a real life megalodon with extra gills and more cold tolerance. This means it is more fine tuned and has all of its abilities intact, helping secure the win.
• Brains Versus Brawn: Happens several times as "Intelligence" is measured between combatants.
  • In episode 1, The Meg is heavier, has better armor, and can bite harder; whilst the InGen Mosasaurus wins the "Intelligence" category and has better finesse with a win in the "Agility" category. "Brawn" wins.
  • In episode 3, Porco in his Jaw Titan form is every bit as intelligent as he is in human form; whereas the the Skullcrawler is a highly reactive, instinctive animal whilst being noticeably larger and more physically powerful. "Brains" wins.
• Clash of Evolutionary Levels: To a degree in The Meg vs. InGen Mosasaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Palaeoloxodon namadicus, which feature a Cenozoic beast going against a Mesozoic saurian. In both cases so far, the Cenozoic animal won.
• Cool Versus Awesome: Arguably the major point of the series, showcasing either crossover brawls or battles never depicted before.
• Cruel Elephant: Downplayed with the Palaeoloxodon. While it is defending itself from the Tyrannosaurus, being an herbivore does not mean it is any less violent when threatened than any carnivore. The Palaeoloxodon is not content to end the fight with the T. rex by simply driving it off, and after knocking the dinosaur over, it impales it with its tusk and then stomps on its chest, crushing it.
• David Versus Goliath: The Tyrannosaurus rex is roughly half the mass of the Palaeoloxodon namadicus, despite being of comparable overall size.
• Finishing Stomp: How Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Palaeoloxodon namadicus ends: the latter rears up and brings its massive front feet down on the former.
• Genius Bruiser: The Palaeoloxodon surpassed the Tyrannosaurus in terms of raw power, by merit of being double the mass, and intelligence thanks to a much larger brain to give it complex problem solving intelligence.
• Giant Flyer: Rodan, Camazotz, and King Ghidorah all feature. Valka's Bewilderbeast cannot fully fly, but can glide with its wings.
• High-Altitude Battle: Rodan vs. Camazotz involves both flying titans duking it out in the tunnels and atmosphere of the Hollow Earth.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: After knocking over the Tyrannosaurus, the Palaeoloxodon drives its unbroken tusk into it.
• Lightning Bruiser:
  • Compared to the InGen Mosasaurus, The Meg is both heavier and faster in a straight line.
  • The Tyrannosaurus rex is a huge powerful carnivore that is deceptively fast and agile despite its sheer bulk.
• Mighty Glacier: The Palaeoloxodon namadicus when compared to the Tyrannosaurus rex. It is up to twice as heavy, making it physically stronger and more defended. But is is much slower, losing both the "Speed" and "Agility" categories.
• Noisy Nature: Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Palaeoloxodon namadicus sees both animals making noises before the fight for no particular reason, even when there is nothing around them. The Tyrannosaurus at least does not make enough noise to give away its position to the Palaeoloxodon while sneaking up on it. When the fight starts, both make noises. The Palaeoloxodon trumpeting at least serves the purpose of trying to frighten the dinosaur away. All the noises during their fight, however, serve no purpose. After the Palaeoloxodon wins, it trumpets in triumph for no reason beyond looking cool.
• Outside-Context Problem: The combatants of episode 2 are this to each other. The Tyrannosaurus rex would never have encountered a gigantic mammal the size of a sauropod which can grapple with a trunk, and the Palaeoloxodon namadicus never would have encountered a dinosaur anywhere near its own size nor animals that large also being very agile.
• Ramming Always Works:
  • Both The Meg and InGen Mosasaurus employ ramming as a secondary means of attack other than biting, but the latter is more effective at it.
  • Whilst not a calculated weapon, the Palaeoloxodon also uses its head as a battering ram to stun the Tyrannosaurus.
• Roar Before Beating: The Palaeoloxodon trumpets at the Tyrannosaurus before their fight starts, and the Tyrannosaurus roars in return. The elephant making noise has the understandable purpose of frightening away the predator, the dinosaur roaring is just there to look cool.
• Sea Monster: Both The Meg and the InGen Mosasaurus in the first episode, with Godzilla, The Bloop, and Valka's Bewilderbeast also counting.
• Shown Their Work: Be it the research for the real-life animals, the in-universe lore for the fictional creatures, or the mathematical calculations for some metrics, the series has a lot of cited research and math behind it.
• Shout-Out: The title card animation seems to homage that of Jurassic Fight Club.
• Stealthy Colossus:
  • The Meg can swim almost silently thanks to its streamlined body and denticle covered skin. This is one of the reasons it won, as it could reliably ambush the Mosasaurus.
  • The Tyrannosaurus is stated to rely on ambushes, but the Palaoloxodon's Super-Senses mean a single T. rex sneaking up on it isn't feasible.
• Super-Senses: The Palaeoloxodon and Tyrannosaurus both possess excellent hearing and smell. The sense of smell of the Tyrannosaurus identifies different animals and its eyesight is superior to that of a human. In addition to its sense of smell and hearing, the Palaeoloxodon can also sense vibrations in the ground. The impressive senses of both animals mean that one ambushing the other is impossible.
• Terrifying Tyrannosaur: Tyrannosaurus rex, naturally. Whilst portrayed realistically, the raw power and abilities of the most powerful apex predator North America has ever seen are on full display.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Palaeoloxodon namadicus ends with the Palaeoloxodon knocking over the Tyrannosaurus and impaling it with its good tusk. While the T. rex was already dying from the wound, the elephant still stomps on it and crushes it to death.
• Threatening Shark: The Meg, naturally. Specifically the first shark seen in the movie, as to be around the same size as the InGen Mosasaurus for a fair fight.
• Wrecked Weapon: Discussed with Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Palaeoloxodon namadicus, where one of the points discussed is whether or not the dinosaur could break the elephant's tusks. The analysis says that it would be possible but not easy. In the fight, the T. rex does manage to break off a tusk with difficulty. However, getting close leads to Palaeoloxodon knocking it over and killing it.