Death Battle (stylized as DEATH BATTLE!) is an American animated web series about battleboarding. Originally published by the website ScrewAttack in 2010, the show has changed considerably over its history.[1] It is the longest-running web series in the battleboarding genre, and has gained a cult following.[2]
Format
The show is narrated by fictional hosts named Wizard (usually shortened to Wiz) and Boomstick, respectively voiced by series creators Ben Singer and Chad James.[3] These characters were originally disembodied voices, but as the show progressed they became animated characters.[4] Wiz is a genius scientist who presents scientific information and mathematical calculations, while Boomstick is a street-smart redneck that discusses weapons, armor, and feats.[2][5]
Each episode of Death Battle features a matchup between fictional characters from different media that have similar powers, skills, or backstories. The majority of each episode showcases background information about each character while analyzing their abilities and feats, and ends with a fully-animated battle scene that decides the winner of the matchup, taking into account the prior analysis.[4] The show’s formula is inspired by shows such as Animal Face-Off and Deadliest Warrior, but uses fictional characters in place of animals or historical warriors.[6] Notable episodes of Death Battle include “Goku VS Superman“,[7][8] “Galactus VS Unicron“,[9] and “Gojo VS Makima“.[10]
Death Battle has featured multiple styles of animation across different episodes, including 2D pixelated animations[3] and 3D animations integrating motion capture technology.[11][1] The show’s battle animations typically feature high levels of graphic violence.[3]
Spin-off shows
Death Battle has had multiple spin-off series. ScrewAttack created the series Desk of Death Battle, which showcases pop-culture trivia that the ScrewAttack team found interesting while researching and writing the main show,[12] presented by Death Battle supporting character Jocelyn the Intern, who is voiced by Lisa Foiles.[13][14][15] Additionally, DBX is a spin-off series that, like Death Battle, features both 2D and 3D animated battles,[16] but with winners decided by a poll among fans rather than research or debate.[17]
History
ScrewAttack (2010–2019)
Death Battle debuted in 2010 as a web series published by the website ScrewAttack; Death Battle became ScrewAttack’s most popular show. The website began to shift its focus towards the show, and in 2019 ScrewAttack rebranded to focus exclusively on Death Battle.[18][19] The show was acquired by Rooster Teeth,[20] and all of ScrewAttack’s existing content was moved to the Rooster Teeth website.[21]
Rooster Teeth (2019–2024)
Death Battle was published by Rooster Teeth from 2019 until 2024, at which point Rooster Teeth was shut down by its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.[1][22][23] In 2020, Amazon Prime Video sponsored a promotional episode of Death Battle to advertise the second season of The Boys.[24]
Rooster Teeth created a spin-off card game based on the show, titled Death Battle: The Game.[6][25]
Independent/Party Up Media (2024–present)
Following the closure of Rooster Teeth, fans of Death Battle speculated about the show’s future, and the hashtag “#SaveDeathBattle” trended on Twitter.[4] The rights to the show were acquired by series creators Ben Singer, Chad James, Austin Harper, and Sam Mitchell, making it an independent series.[26] In July 2024, the staff of the show announced a Kickstarter campaign to fund future episodes.[27] The campaign surpassed its original goal of $75,000 within the first twenty-one minutes of launching.[28][29] The campaign ended on August 29, 2024, and raised a total of $740,000 from 7,836 backers.[30]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 25 † | December 6, 2010 | January 10, 2013 | |
| 2 | 32 † | May 31, 2013 | December 15, 2015 | |
| 3 | 14 | March 16, 2016 | December 21, 2016 | |
| 4 | 16 | February 1, 2017 | December 20, 2017 | |
| 5 | 16 | February 7, 2018 | December 19, 2018 | |
| 6 | 16 | February 6, 2019 | December 18, 2019 | |
| 7 | 20 † | January 27, 2020 | December 28, 2020 | |
| 8 | 16 | March 8, 2021 | December 20, 2021 | |
| 9 | 16 † | March 28, 2022 | December 21, 2022 | |
| 10 | 16 | May 22, 2023 | December 18, 2023 | |
| 2024 episodes | 4 | October 6, 2024 | December 8, 2024 | |
| 2025 episodes | 12 | February 2, 2025 | December 7, 2025 | |
| 2026 episodes | TBA | February 8, 2026 | TBA | |
†: Plus bonus episode[31]
Season 1 (2010–2013)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | “Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010)”[a] | 6:56 | Samus Aran | December 6, 2010 |
| 2 | 2 | “Akuma VS Shang Tsung“ | 8:04 | Akuma | December 21, 2010 |
| 3 | 3 | “Rogue VS Wonder Woman“ | 6:31 | Rogue | January 3, 2011 |
| 4 | 4 | “Goomba VS Koopa Troopa“ | 7:01 | Draw[b] | January 17, 2011 |
| 5 | 5 | “Mike Haggar VS Zangief“ | 7:15 | Zangief | January 31, 2011 |
| 6 | 6 | “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale (Leonardo VS Donatello VS Michelangelo VS Raphael)” | 8:44 | Leonardo | February 15, 2011 |
| 7 | 7 | “Zitz VS Leonardo” | 5:47 | Leonardo | February 28, 2011 |
| 8 | 8 | “Yoshi VS Riptor“ | 6:38 | Yoshi | March 14, 2011 |
| 9 | 9 | “Felicia VS Taokaka“ | 7:16 | Taokaka | March 29, 2011 |
| 10 | 10 | “Kratos VS Spawn“ | 8:39 | Spawn | April 11, 2011 |
| 11 | 11 | “Bomberman VS Dig Dug“ | 7:05 | Dig Dug[b] | April 25, 2011 |
| 12 | 12 | “Vegeta VS Shadow“ | 9:02 | Vegeta | May 9, 2011 |
| 13 | 13 | “Mario VS Sonic (2011)”[a] | 9:39 | Sonic | June 13, 2011 |
| 14 | 14 | “Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black“ | 7:46 | Draw | July 11, 2011 |
| 14.5 | 14.5 | “DEATH BATTLE! vs The World”[c] | 2:41 | Death Battle t-shirt | July 27, 2011 |
| 15 | 15 | “Luke Skywalker VS Harry Potter“ | 7:54 | Luke Skywalker | August 11, 2011 |
| 16 | 16 | “Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui“ | 6:56 | Mai Shiranui | August 30, 2011 |
| 17 | 17 | “Starscream VS Rainbow Dash“ | 9:32 | Rainbow Dash | September 23, 2011 |
| 18 | 18 | “Master Chief VS Doomguy (2011)”[a] | 11:47 | Master Chief | October 28, 2011 |
| 19 | 19 | “Doctor Eggman VS Doctor Wily“ | 14:35 | Metal Sonic | December 25, 2011 |
| 20 | 20 | “Princess Zelda VS Princess Peach“ | 8:45 | Princess Peach | March 29, 2012 |
| 21 | 21 | “Thor VS Raiden“ | 9:34 | Thor | May 12, 2012 |
| 22 | 22 | “Link VS Cloud Strife (2012)”[a] | 9:56 | Link | July 13, 2012 |
| 23 | 23 | “Batman VS Spider-Man“ | 9:38 | Spider-Man | August 10, 2012 |
| 24 | 24 | “Pikachu VS Blanka“ | 9:27 | Blanka[b] | September 20, 2012 |
| 25 | 25 | “Goku VS Superman (2013)”[a] | 32:40 | Superman | January 10, 2013 |
Season 2 (2013–2015)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 1 | “He-Man VS Lion-O“ | 14:58 | He-Man | May 21, 2013 |
| 27 | 2 | “Shao Kahn VS M. Bison“ | 13:10 | Shao Kahn | June 27, 2013 |
| 28 | 3 | “Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu“ | 11:14 | Strider Hiryu | August 2, 2013 |
| 29 | 4 | “Ivy Valentine VS Black Orchid“ | 10:22 | Black Orchid | September 13, 2013 |
| 30 | 5 | “Fox McCloud VS Bucky O’Hare“ | 12:57 | Fox McCloud | November 8, 2013 |
| 31 | 6 | “The Terminator VS Robocop“ | 19:43 | Robocop | February 28, 2014 |
| 32 | 7 | “Luigi VS Tails“ | 13:17 | Tails | March 24, 2014 |
| 32.5 | 7.5 | “Vegeta VS Mewtwo?”[d] | 1:51 | The Internet | March 28, 2014 |
| 33 | 8 | “Pokémon Starter Battle Royale (Venusaur VS Blastoise VS Charizard)” | 12:40 | Blastoise | April 12, 2014 |
| 34 | 9 | “Fulgore VS Sektor“ | 12:15 | Fulgore | May 17, 2014 |
| 35 | 10 | “Godzilla VS Gamera“ | 19:20 | Godzilla | August 17, 2014 |
| 36 | 11 | “Batman VS Captain America“ | 14:43 | Batman | September 7, 2014 |
| 37 | 12 | “White Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon“ | 20:00 | Gundam Epyon | October 5, 2014 |
| 38 | 13 | “Ryu VS Scorpion“ | 16:44 | Scorpion | October 31, 2014 |
| 39 | 14 | “Deadpool VS Deathstroke“ | 18:56 | Deadpool | December 12, 2014 |
| 40 | 15 | “Kirby VS Majin Buu“ | 20:20 | Kirby | December 19, 2014 |
| 41 | 16 | “Ragna the Bloodedge VS Sol Badguy“ | 15:15 | Sol Badguy | January 9, 2015 |
| 42 | 17 | “Gaara VS Toph Beifong“ | 18:18 | Toph Beifong[b] | February 7, 2015 |
| 43 | 18 | “Boba Fett VS Samus Aran” | 13:28 | Samus Aran | February 26, 2015 |
| 44 | 19 | “Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro“ | 15:51 | Draw | March 18, 2015 |
| 45 | 20 | “Guts VS Nightmare“ | 18:46 | Guts | April 8, 2015 |
| 46 | 21 | “Iron Man VS Lex Luthor“ | 23:35 | Iron Man | April 29, 2015 |
| 47 | 22 | “Beast VS Goliath“ | 15:18 | Goliath | May 20, 2015 |
| 48 | 23 | “Solid Snake VS Sam Fisher“ | 21:57 | Solid Snake | June 2, 2015 |
| 49 | 24 | “Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom“ | 17:59 | Doctor Doom | July 1, 2015 |
| 50 | 25 | “Goku VS Superman 2”[e] | 20:25 | Superman | July 18, 2015 |
| 51 | 26 | “Donkey Kong VS Knuckles“ | 18:30 | Donkey Kong | August 12, 2015 |
| 52 | 27 | “Wolverine VS Raiden“ | 17:57 | Raiden | September 8, 2015 |
| 53 | 28 | “Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki“ | 20:39 | Hercule Satan | September 30, 2015 |
| 54 | 29 | “Yang Xiao Long VS Tifa Lockhart“ | 15:09 | Yang Xiao Long[b] | October 20, 2015 |
| 55 | 30 | “Mega Man VS Astro Boy“ | 16:52 | Astro Boy | November 11, 2015 |
| 56 | 31 | “Green Arrow VS Hawkeye“ | 19:10 | Hawkeye | December 2, 2015 |
| 57 | 32 | “Pokémon VS Digimon (Red & Charizard VS Tai Kamiya & Agumon)” | 20:13 | Tai Kamiya & Agumon | December 15, 2015 |
Season 3 (2016)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | 1 | “Dante VS Bayonetta“ | 22:26 | Dante | March 16, 2016 |
| 59 | 2 | “Bowser VS Ganon“ | 14:20 | Ganon[b] | April 6, 2016 |
| 60 | 3 | “Ratchet & Clank VS Jak & Daxter“ | 19:49 | Ratchet & Clank | April 27, 2016 |
| 61 | 4 | “Flash VS Quicksilver“ | 17:26 | Flash | May 18, 2016 |
| 62 | 5 | “The Joker VS Sweet Tooth“ | 18:35 | The Joker | June 8, 2016 |
| 63 | 6 | “Mewtwo VS Shadow” | 14:15 | Mewtwo | July 1, 2016 |
| 64 | 7 | “The Meta VS Agent Carolina“[f] | 17:55 | Agent Carolina | August 3, 2016 |
| 65 | 8 | “Cammy White VS Sonya Blade“ | 12:23 | Sonya Blade | August 17, 2016 |
| 66 | 9 | “Tracer VS Scout“ | 15:37 | Tracer | September 7, 2016 |
| 67 | 10 | “Ken Masters VS Terry Bogard“ | 13:34 | Terry Bogard | September 28, 2016 |
| 68 | 11 | “Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers“ | 15:29 | Amy Rose | October 19, 2016 |
| 69 | 12 | “Hulk VS Doomsday“ | 20:50 | Doomsday | November 9, 2016 |
| 70 | 13 | “Roronoa Zoro VS Erza Scarlet“ | 15:56 | Roronoa Zoro | November 30, 2016 |
| 71 | 14 | “Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie“ | 17:20 | Draw | December 21, 2016 |
Season 4 (2017)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 1 | “Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake“ | 18:03 | Lara Croft | February 1, 2017 |
| 73 | 2 | “Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight“ | 17:47 | Scrooge McDuck | March 1, 2017 |
| 74 | 3 | “Venom VS Bane“ | 18:35 | Venom | March 22, 2017 |
| 75 | 4 | “Power Rangers (Megazord) VS Voltron“ | 21:44 | Voltron | April 12, 2017 |
| 76 | 5 | “Natsu Dragneel VS Portgas D. Ace“ | 19:11 | Natsu Dragneel | May 3, 2017 |
| 77 | 6 | “Sub-Zero VS Glacius“ | 16:22 | Sub-Zero | May 24, 2017 |
| 78 | 7 | “Android 18 VS Captain Marvel“ | 19:27 | Android 18 | June 14, 2017 |
| 79 | 8 | “Metal Sonic VS Zero“ | 18:02 | Zero | July 5, 2017 |
| 80 | 9 | “Lucario VS Renamon“ | 14:52 | Lucario | July 26, 2017 |
| 81 | 10 | “Balrog VS TJ Combo“ | 19:29 | TJ Combo | August 16, 2017 |
| 82 | 11 | “Shredder VS Silver Samurai“ | 18:46 | Shredder | September 6, 2017 |
| 83 | 12 | “Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog“ | 17:10 | Smokey Bear | September 27, 2017 |
| 84 | 13 | “Thor VS Wonder Woman” | 19:47 | Wonder Woman | October 16, 2017 |
| 85 | 14 | “Naruto Uzumaki VS Ichigo Kurosaki“ | 28:17 | Naruto Uzumaki | November 8, 2017 |
| 86 | 15 | “Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 2099“ | 19:44 | Batman Beyond | November 29, 2017 |
| 87 | 16 | “Sephiroth VS Vergil“ | 21:58 | Sephiroth | December 20, 2017 |
Season 5 (2018)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 1 | “Black Panther VS Batman” | 17:25 | Black Panther | February 7, 2018 |
| 89 | 2 | “Raven VS Twilight Sparkle“ | 20:18 | Raven | February 28, 2018 |
| 90 | 3 | “Jotaro Kujo VS Kenshiro“ | 16:17 | Kenshiro | March 21, 2018 |
| 91 | 4 | “Crash Bandicoot VS Spyro“ | 19:58 | Spyro | April 11, 2018 |
| 92 | 5 | “Sora VS Pit“ | 20:57 | Sora | May 2, 2018 |
| 93 | 6 | “Leon Kennedy VS Frank West“ | 19:41 | Leon Kennedy | May 23, 2018 |
| 94 | 7 | “Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate“ | 20:24 | Doctor Fate | June 13, 2018 |
| 95 | 8 | “Ryu VS Jin Kazama“ | 20:23 | Ryu[b] | July 4, 2018 |
| 96 | 9 | “Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai“ | 17:56 | Samurai Jack | July 25, 2018 |
| 97 | 10 | “Carnage VS Lucy“ | 19:49 | Lucy | August 15, 2018 |
| 98 | 11 | “Optimus Prime VS RX-78-2 Gundam“ | 21:02 | Optimus Prime | September 5, 2018 |
| 99 | 12 | “Nightwing VS Daredevil“ | 20:15 | Nightwing | September 26, 2018 |
| 100 | 13 | “Mario VS Sonic” | 20:34 | Mario | October 17, 2018 |
| 101 | 14 | “Ultron VS Sigma“ | 20:25 | Ultron | November 7, 2018 |
| 102 | 15 | “Master Roshi VS Jiraiya“ | 20:03 | Master Roshi | November 28, 2018 |
| 103 | 16 | “Thanos VS Darkseid“ | 26:43 | Darkseid | December 19, 2018 |
Season 6 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 104 | 1 | “Aquaman VS Namor“ | 18:26 | Aquaman | February 6, 2019 |
| 105 | 2 | “Mega Man Battle Royale (Classic VS X VS Mega Man Volnutt VS MegaMan.EXE VS Star Force Mega Man)” | 27:36 | MegaMan.EXE | February 27, 2019 |
| 106 | 3 | “Black Widow VS Widowmaker“ | 20:33 | Black Widow | March 20, 2019 |
| 107 | 4 | “Captain Marvel VS Shazam“ | 19:01 | Shazam | April 10, 2019 |
| 108 | 5 | “Wario VS King Dedede“ | 21:52 | King Dedede | May 1, 2019 |
| 109 | 6 | “Ben 10 VS Green Lantern“ | 22:14 | Green Lantern | May 22, 2019 |
| 110 | 7 | “Weiss Schnee VS Mitsuru Kirijo“ | 20:40 | Mitsuru Kirijo | June 12, 2019 |
| 111 | 8 | “Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon“ | 19:01 | Captain Falcon | July 3, 2019 |
| 112 | 9 | “Aang VS Edward Elric“ | 20:07 | Aang | July 24, 2019 |
| 113 | 10 | “Ghost Rider VS Lobo“ | 22:04 | Ghost Rider | August 14, 2019 |
| 114 | 11 | “Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla“ | 21:46 | Mechagodzilla | September 4, 2019 |
| 115 | 12 | “Sasuke Uchiha VS Hiei“ | 22:51 | Hiei | September 25, 2019 |
| 116 | 13 | “Ganondorf VS Dracula“ | 22:38 | Dracula | October 16, 2019 |
| 117 | 14 | “Mob VS Tatsumaki“ | 22:18 | Tatsumaki | November 6, 2019 |
| 118 | 15 | “Deadpool VS The Mask“ | 20:52 | The Mask | November 27, 2019 |
| 119 | 16 | “All Might VS Might Guy“ | 21:36 | Might Guy | December 18, 2019 |
Season 7 (2020)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 1 | “Spider-Man (Miles Morales) VS Static“ | 17:36 | Static | January 27, 2020 |
| 121 | 2 | “Black Canary VS Sindel“ | 16:29 | Black Canary | February 10, 2020 |
| 122 | 3 | “Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason“ | 17:40 | Red Ranger Jason | February 24, 2020 |
| 123 | 4 | “Genos VS War Machine“ | 17:12 | War Machine | March 9, 2020 |
| 124 | 5 | “Gray Fullbuster VS Esdeath“ | 18:28 | Esdeath | March 23, 2020 |
| 125 | 6 | “Goro VS Machamp“ | 16:27 | Machamp | April 6, 2020 |
| 126 | 7 | “Cable VS Booster Gold“ | 19:31 | Booster Gold | April 20, 2020 |
| 127 | 8 | “Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Kakashi Hatake“ | 18:38 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | May 4, 2020 |
| 128 | 9 | “Danny Phantom VS American Dragon Jake Long“ | 15:01 | Danny Phantom | May 18, 2020 |
| 129 | 10 | “She-Ra VS Wonder Woman” | 18:15 | Wonder Woman | June 1, 2020 |
| 130 | 11 | “Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia“ | 18:04 | Beerus | August 10, 2020 |
| 131 | 12 | “Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki“ | 18:21 | Shoto Todoroki | August 24, 2020 |
| 132 | 13 | “Flash (Wally West) VS Sonic (Archie Comics)“ | 21:09 | Flash | September 7, 2020 |
| 132.5 | 13.5 | “The Seven Battle Royale (Queen Maeve VS A-Train VS The Deep VS Starlight VS Billy Butcher)”[g] | 19:01[h] | Billy Butcher | September 17, 2020 |
| 133 | 14 | “Winter Soldier VS Red Hood“ | 22:02 | Winter Soldier | September 21, 2020 |
| 134 | 15 | “Venom VS Crona“ | 20:01 | Crona | October 5, 2020 |
| 135 | 16 | “Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain“ | 20:01 | Jon Talbain | November 1, 2020 |
| 136 | 17 | “Red VS Blue“ | 20:18 | The Blue Team | November 16, 2020 |
| 137 | 18 | “Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen“ | 17:53 | Spider-Gwen | November 30, 2020 |
| 138 | 19 | “Sanji VS Rock Lee“ | 19:07 | Sanji | December 14, 2020 |
| 139 | 20 | “Hulk VS Broly“ | 23:31 | Broly[b] | December 28, 2020 |
Season 8 (2021)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 140 | 1 | “Yoda VS King Mickey“ | 19:01 | King Mickey | March 8, 2021 |
| 141 | 2 | “Shadow VS Ryūko Matoi“ | 19:50 | Shadow | March 21, 2021 |
| 142 | 3 | “Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom” | 19:36 | Doctor Doom | April 4, 2021 |
| 143 | 4 | “Heihachi Mishima VS Geese Howard“ | 19:52 | Heihachi Mishima | April 15, 2021 |
| 144 | 5 | “Blake Belladonna VS Mikasa Ackerman“ | 17:58 | Blake Belladonna | May 2, 2021 |
| 145 | 6 | “Iron Fist VS Po“ | 17:56 | Po | May 16, 2021 |
| 146 | 7 | “Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly“ | 20:11 | Star Butterfly | May 30, 2021 |
| 147 | 8 | “Link VS Cloud Strife” | 18:41 | Cloud Strife | June 13, 2021 |
| 148 | 9 | “Batman VS Iron Man” | 21:56 | Iron Man | September 12, 2021 |
| 149 | 10 | “Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash“ | 22:39 | Reverse-Flash | September 26, 2021 |
| 150 | 11 | “Macho Man Randy Savage VS Kool-Aid Man“ | 14:13 | Kool-Aid Man | October 10, 2021 |
| 151 | 12 | “DIO VS Alucard“ | 24:10 | DIO | October 24, 2021 |
| 152 | 13 | “Akuma VS Shao Kahn” | 19:06 | Shao Kahn | November 7, 2021 |
| 153 | 14 | “Korra VS Storm“ | 20:51 | Storm | November 21, 2021 |
| 154 | 15 | “Madara Uchiha vs Sousuke Aizen“ | 23:22 | Madara Uchiha | December 5, 2021 |
| 155 | 16 | “Saitama VS Popeye“ | 22:11 | Popeye | December 19, 2021 |
Season 9 (2022)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 156 | 1 | “Harley Quinn VS Jinx“ | 20:27 | Jinx | March 28, 2022 |
| 157 | 2 | “Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna“ | 21:02 | Zatanna | April 11, 2022 |
| 158 | 3 | “Tanjiro Kamado VS Jonathan Joestar“ | 18:31 | Jonathan Joestar | April 25, 2022 |
| 159 | 4 | “Thor VS Vegeta” | 21:28 | Thor | May 9, 2022 |
| 160 | 5 | “Omni-Man VS Homelander“ | 18:19 | Omni-Man | May 23, 2022 |
| 161 | 6 | “Magneto VS Tetsuo“ | 20:20 | Magneto | June 6, 2022 |
| 162 | 7 | “Hercules VS Sun Wukong“ | 20:47 | Sun Wukong | June 20, 2022 |
| 163 | 8 | “Boba Fett VS Predator“ | 18:40 | Boba Fett | July 4, 2022 |
| 163.5 | 8.5 | “Excalibur VS Raiden”[i] | 18:51 | Excalibur | July 11, 2022 |
| 164 | 9 | “James Bond VS John Wick“ | 22:12 | James Bond | September 5, 2022 |
| 165 | 10 | “Black Adam VS Apocalypse“ | 20:21 | Apocalypse | September 19, 2022 |
| 166 | 11 | “Trunks (Xenoverse) VS Silver (Archie Comics)” | 20:59 | Silver | October 3, 2022 |
| 167 | 12 | “Spongebob Squarepants VS Aquaman (Super Friends)” | 22:04 | Spongebob Squarepants | October 17, 2022 |
| 168 | 13 | “Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers“ | 17:42 | Jason Voorhees | October 31, 2022 |
| 169 | 14 | “Sauron VS Lich King“ | 21:35 | Sauron | November 14, 2022 |
| 170 | 15 | “Deku VS Asta“ | 21:34 | Asta | November 28, 2022 |
| 171 | 16 | “Gogeta VS Vegito“ | 19:26 | Vegito | December 21, 2022 |
Season 10 (2023)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 172 | 1 | “Ant-Man VS Atom“ | 20:59 | Ant-Man | May 22, 2023 |
| 173 | 2 | “Chosen Undead VS Last Dragonborn“ | 22:25 | Last Dragonborn | June 5, 2023 |
| 174 | 3 | “Killua Zoldyck VS Mikoto Misaka“ | 20:08 | Mikoto Misaka | June 19, 2023 |
| 175 | 4 | “Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon“ | 18:41 | Stitch | July 3, 2023 |
| 176 | 5 | “Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha“ | 20:16 | Obito Uchiha | July 17, 2023 |
| 177 | 6 | “Phoenix VS Raven” | 20:53 | Raven | July 31, 2023 |
| 178 | 7 | “Guts VS Dimitri“ | 20:59 | Dimitri | August 14, 2023 |
| 179 | 8 | “Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer“ | 23:09 | Silver Surfer | August 28, 2023 |
| 180 | 9 | “Bill Cipher VS Discord“ | 19:57 | Bill Cipher | September 11, 2023 |
| 181 | 10 | “Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer“ | 18:33 | Cole MacGrath | September 25, 2023 |
| 182 | 11 | “Frieza VS Megatron“ | 21:43 | Frieza | October 9, 2023 |
| 183 | 12 | “Satoru Gojo VS Makima“ | 22:44 | Satoru Gojo | October 23, 2023 |
| 184 | 13 | “Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog“ | 20:12 | Draw | November 6, 2023 |
| 185 | 14 | “Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor“ | 21:50 | The Doctor | November 20, 2023 |
| 186 | 15 | “Goku VS Superman” | 25:27 | Superman | December 4, 2023 |
| 187 | 16 | “Galactus VS Unicron“ | 21:21 | Galactus | December 18, 2023 |
2024 episodes
After Death Battle became independent, the show stopped using the original season format, with episodes instead being internally categorized by year of release.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 188 | 1 | “Omni-Man VS Bardock“ | 21:10 | Omni-Man | October 6, 2024 |
| 189 | 2 | “Joker VS Giorno Giovanna“ | 17:57 | Joker | October 27, 2024 |
| 190 | 3 | “Bowser VS Doctor Eggman” | 27:09 | Bowser | November 17, 2024 |
| 191 | 4 | “Among Us VS Fall Guys“ | 19:24 | Fall Guys | December 8, 2024 |
2025 episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 192 | 1 | “Kratos VS Asura“ | 28:57 | Kratos | February 2, 2025 |
| 193 | 2 | “Ghost Rider VS Spawn” | 24:12 | Spawn | March 2, 2025 |
| 194 | 3 | “Tomura Shigaraki VS Mahito“ | 24:08 | Tomura Shigaraki | March 29, 2025 |
| 195 | 4 | “Master Chief VS Doom Slayer” | 23:43 | Doom Slayer | April 27, 2025 |
| 196 | 5 | “Simon the Digger VS Kyle Rayner“ | 24:51 | Simon the Digger | May 25, 2025 |
| 197 | 6 | “Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat“ | 21:41 | Wile E. Coyote | June 22, 2025 |
| 198 | 7 | “Spider-Man (Miles Morales) VS Deku” | 19:58 | Deku | July 20, 2025 |
| 199 | 8 | “Hulk VS Godzilla” | 25:30 | Hulk/Bruce Banner | August 24, 2025 |
| 200 | 9 | “Ruby Rose VS Maka Albarn“ | 22:33 | Maka Albarn | September 21, 2025 |
| 201 | 10 | “Blade VS Buffy“ | 27:47 | Buffy | October 12, 2025 |
| 202 | 11 | “Dante VS Clive Rosfield“ | 23:50 | Clive Rosfield | November 9, 2025 |
| 203 | 12 | “Ash Ketchum VS Yugi Muto“ | 30:40 | Yugi Muto | December 7, 2025 |
2026 episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Length | Winner | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 204 | 1 | “Ichigo Kurosaki VS Yusuke Urameshi“ | 24:22 | Ichigo Kurosaki | February 8, 2026 |
| 205 | 2 | “Cell VS Metal Sonic” | 25:22 | Metal Sonic | March 8, 2026 |
| 206 | 3 | “Bakugo VS Reze“ | 22:13 | Bakugo | April 5, 2026 |
| 207 | 4 | “Gru VS Megamind“ | TBA | TBA |
Reception
Death Battle is one of the most popular web series dedicated to battleboarding, and the show’s YouTube channel has been described as a “central hub” for fans of the genre.[10] The show has a cult following, and several online communities exist both for discussing the show and writing fan-made episodes.[6] It also inspired similar shows such as Super Power Beat Down and Grudge Match.[2] Death Battle helped popularize the use of mathematical calculations to determine the strength of fictional characters; in the battleboarding fandom, such calculations are called “calcs”.[6]
The show has also inspired a number of fan fiction sites and crossover fiction, most notably Death Battle Fanon Wiki.[32] It has also faced occasional controversy and backlash online surrounding the chosen winners of some episodes.[33][2][6]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Episodes with a year listed after the title indicate the matchup was reexamined in a later season.
- ^ a b c d e f g h On a 2025 episode of their weekly podcast Death Battle Cast titled “Death Battle episodes we got WRONG?” these episodes were brought up as having different verdicts under modern standards, either due to the updated research on the Death Battle team or subsequent material after the episode aired that gave the loser an edge over the winner.
- ^ This bonus episode was an advertisement for a t-shirt.
- ^ This bonus episode was a response to a Death Battle parody made by the YouTube channel Silvermania.
- ^ This episode acts as an extension of the original with both the research and animated fight.
- ^ This episode was an official crossover with Rooster Teeth’s Red vs. Blue.
- ^ This was a bonus episode sponsored by Amazon to commemorate the second season of The Boys
- ^ Unlike other episodes, the breakdown explaining the fight’s results was released in a separate video.
- ^ This was a bonus episode sponsored by Warframe. At the end of the episode, Singer disclosed that the game’s developers did not dictate the victor of the episode or the matchup and were fine with the result going either way.
References
- ^ a b c Polvin, James (3 January 2022). “Death Battle!: The 10 Best Fights Ever”. Screen Rant.
- ^ a b c d “Versus Sites and Battle Boards”. Geeks. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ a b c “Death Battle!”. Plugged In. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ a b c Beckwith, Michael (12 March 2024). “#SaveDeathBattle trends as fans fear for Rooster Teeth show following closure announcement”. Dot Esports. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Johri, Saarthak (28 September 2022). “‘Reach’ culture: The online malaise on media literacy”. The Michigan Daily. September 28, 2022
- ^ a b c d e Mountain, John (21 August 2023). “The 5 Best Battle Boards Online”. Substack. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ “Goku Fights Superman Once More as Death Battle Decides the Ultimate Winner”. fandomwire.com. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Gordon, Justin (6 December 2023). “Goku finally gets his second Death Battle rematch against Superman after eight years”. EventHubs. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ “Death Battle Gives The People What They Want Via Galactus vs Unicron”. www.theouterhaven.net. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ a b Barua, Anupam (10 October 2023). “Gojo vs Makima death battle: Everything to know about the Ultimate Jujutsu Kaisen Vs. Chainsaw Man clash”. sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ “iPi Motion Capture Key Creative Weapon for YouTube’s ‘Death Battle’“. Animation World Network. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Gutelle, Sam (12 December 2014). “Gaming Channel ScrewAttack Announces Five New Web Series For 2015”. Tubefilter. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ “Meet The Real Jocelyn”. Death Battle Cast. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
The cast is joined by Lisa Foiles to talk about the Desk of Death Battle, the new show Thundercats Roar, and determine who would win between R2-D2 and a Dalek. This episode is sponsored by Dollar Shave Club.
- ^ Foiles, Lisa [@lisafoiles]; (17 October 2016). “Jocelyn’s back with a new episode of Desk of DEATH BATTLE!! 💥 Head over to ScrewAttack’s YouTube page to see it! #deskofdeathbattle #dodb #deathbattle #screwattack #comicbooks #stupidvillains”. Retrieved 17 October 2016 – via Instagram.
- ^ Longwell, Todd (16 December 2014). “StreamDaily » Archive » ScrewAttack readies for battle with new series”. StreamDaily. Brunico Communications. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ Trumbore, Dave (17 January 2018). “Rooster Teeth’s 2018 Shows Include RWBY Vol. 6, gen:LOCK and More!”. Collider. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ “DBX Brings Epic Clash Of Pokemon”. www.theouterhaven.net. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ Cooper, Dalton (5 February 2019). “ScrewAttack Officially Changes Its Name to Death Battle”. Game Rant. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Sheehan, Gavin (5 February 2019). “ScrewAttack Has Now Re-Branded Itself as Death Battle”. bleedingcool.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Dominguez, Noah (7 March 2024). “Rooster Teeth Shutting Down, WB to Sell RWBY and Other IPs”. SuperHeroHype. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ Glagowski, Peter (5 February 2019). “ScrewAttack may be gone, but it will never be forgotten”. Destructoid. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ “Rooster Teeth Is Shutting Down For Good”. Paste Magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (6 March 2024). “Rooster Teeth Shut Down By Warner Bros. Discovery, The Roost Podcast Network To Continue”. Deadline. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (16 March 2022). “Rooster Teeth Hires Amazon Studios’ Adam Bersin as Head of Marketing (EXCLUSIVE)”. Variety. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
[Amazon Studios Head of Marketing, Adam] Bersin said he was attracted to Rooster Teeth after working with the company on custom-content partnerships for several of Amazon Studios[‘] launches, like the Death Battle for “The Boys” Season 2.
- ^ “Rooster Teeth Releases New Death Battle Tabletop Card and Dice Game – Gameindustry.com”. Game Industry News. 15 October 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ Schwarz, John (26 July 2024). “Rooster Teeth’s Death Battle To Continue On With New Owners”. Bubbleblabber. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ “Death Battle Is Coming Back! Will Do Kickstarter To Make New Episodes”. www.theouterhaven.net. 25 July 2024. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ “Death Battle Kickstarter Launches, Already Almost At 250K Raised!”. www.theouterhaven.net. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ “Death Battle Kickstarter smashes expectations, raises over $250,000 in just 20 minutes”. The Express Tribune. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ “Death Battle reaches over $700,000”. www.theouterhaven.net. 25 July 2024. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ “New DEATH BATTLE!”. Youtube.com.
- ^ Frederickson, Laurence A. (April 21, 2020). The Elegant World of Fan Fiction: Its Effects on Literature in the 21st Century. University of Texas at Austin. p. 6
- ^ “Death Battle episodes we got WRONG? Death Battle Cast”. youtube.com. Retrieved 16 December 2025.