- —Tagline
Aang VS Edward Elric is the 112th episode of Death Battle, featuring Aang from the Avatar: The Last Airbender series and Edward Elric from the Fullmetal Alchemist series in a battle between young masters of the elements. Aang was voiced by Emily Fajardo and Edward was voiced by Alejandro Saab.
Interlude
Wiz & Boomstick
by Brandon Yates |
Wiz: The elements make up every aspect of the world we live in, and no average person can tame them.
Boomstick: But somehow, these kids can master them with a vengeance!
Wiz: Like Aang, the Avatar.
Boomstick: And Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Aang
Wiz: Water, earth, fire, air...
Boomstick: Heart!
Planeteers: Go, Planet!
Wiz: Once, the four nations lived in harmony, and some of their citizens could even learn to bend their nation's element. But only the Avatar could master all four, and it's their duty to protect the balance between these nations.
Boomstick: And since there's always gotta be an Avatar around, a new one is born whenever the last one dies.
Wiz: But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Attempting to conquer the other three nations, the Avatar would inevitably be their greatest obstacle.
Boomstick: Man, they'd even go after a kid?
Wiz: Living among the Air Nomads, Aang was an energetic and dutiful 12 years old when he learned of his destiny: he was the newest incarnation of the Avatar.
Boomstick: But he totally wussed out, ran away from home, and got frozen in ice for a hundred years. What the hell? That's not what I'd do if I found out I was an awesome elemental badass. I'd definitely find a way to make money off that.
Wiz: Boomstick... He's 12.
Aang: PENGUIN!
Aang is then shown sledding on some Otter Penguins with Katara.
Wiz: But running away actually saved his life, as the Fire Nation knew the next Avatar would be an Air Nomad, and slaughtered them all in a horrific surprise attack.
Boomstick: But the poor kid wouldn't be stuck in ice forever; he was eventually rescued by some new friends and began his quest to learn the other elements and save the world! And as an Air Nomad, he can really bend the wind to his will.
Wiz: (sighs) He can use airbending to create whirlwinds and tornados or slice through solid stone.
Boomstick: And he can fly! Wheee!
Wiz: Well, it's not exactly flying, Boomstick. What he actually does is manipulate the air currents to keep aloft. That's why he carries a glider, complete with snacks.
The Mechanist opens the snack compartment on a glider and eats what's inside it.
Aang: Oh, well, I'm sure that'll come in handy...
Boomstick: Whatever, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it's a duck. Or I guess, a flying Avatar guy.
Wiz: But ducks can actually fl... anyway, Aang can use air in every aspect of his life, like for shields, increasing his speed, improving agility, adjusting his body temperature, and even focusing his breath to use as an attack.
Boomstick: After he learned waterbending from Pakku and Katara, Aang can make whips, knives, and literal tsunamis. Hey, I can do that, too, just give me a pool and watch this cannonball fly. Does that mean I'm a waterbender?
Wiz: Uh, sure. Waterbenders can also manipulate steam and ice.
We cut to Wiz, Boomstick, and a large ice block drops in front of them.
Boomstick: Just like how I, the great Waterbender, Boomstick the Wet, will use my powers to swim through this frozen block.
Wiz: You — what?
Boomstick: Yep. (he stretches) Waterbending 101. You can be jealous.
Wiz: (sarcastic) Oh wow, I'm just bursting with envy.
Boomstick: Bending powers, ACTIVATE!
He leaps and lands on top of the block, but it crumbles to pieces under his weight. Despite that, he gives a thumbs up.
Boomstick: HA! Success!
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Like Airbending, Waterbending requires a nearby source of water to use, like a pond or a filled bottle. The same goes for earthbending, which Aang learned from his mentor, Toph.
Boomstick: Earthbending is all about throwing rocks at people, and a bunch of other cool stuff, like making walls and earthquakes and causing the ground to swallow you up, which is... kinda creepy, actually.
Wiz: Last but certainly not least, Aang learned the art of firebending from his longtime rival, Prince Zuko. Unlike the other arts, firebenders can actually create fire to use at will.
Boomstick: Firebending is so goddamn powerful! It's even got the deadliest bending technique of all: Shooting lightning!
Wiz: Well, only the most advanced firebenders can cast lightning, which is usually an instant kill move. While Aang never learned the move itself, he has learned how to redirect it through his body.
Boomstick: But even after learning the four elements, Aang got to meet one last master bender.
Wiz: Who taught him the art of manipulating a person's life energy, the purest form of bending.
Boomstick: It's super dangerous though, and one mistake could tear up Aang's soul.
Wiz: And with it, Aang defeated the Fire Lord and brought peace to the world at large.
Boomstick: Well, with that, and with his super form: the Avatar State!
Wiz: In the Avatar State, Aang's bending abilities grow immensely powerful. This is because the Avatar State lets Aang draw upon the power and wisdom of all previous Avatar incarnations. Though it is extremely risky, as dying while in the Avatar State ends the cycle of reincarnation permanently.
Boomstick: Why would he care if he's dead, anyway? Whatever, the coolest thing about the Avatar State is it makes you glow, like this!
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick, when Boomstick's upper body suddenly glows brightly.
Boomstick: Behold! (laughs maniacally)
Wiz: How are you doing that?
Boomstick: Oh, I drank a bunch of glowsticks.
Wiz: You need to go to the doctor. Like, right now.
Boomstick: (chuckles) My liver's processed way worse than this.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Well, with or without the Avatar State, Aang is plenty powerful; he has the ability to move gigantic stone columns, and even carve canyons around an entire city.
Boomstick: Not only has he survived hits from Earthbending kings and massive explosions, he threw this gigantic column of rock at the Fire Lord.
Wiz: To get the column's mass, we compared Aang's height against it, and determined it must weigh 9,500 tons.
Boomstick: Aang's super fast, too; with Airbending, he can run on water.
Wiz: Which, given his size, requires a movement speed of well over 67 miles per hour.
Boomstick: He used airbending to block a giant column-destroying explosive attack from the best-named character on the show: Combustion Man!
Wiz: And he's proven he could redirect lightning from the Fire Lord himself. Taking into account the distance between them and how far Aang's arm had to move to catch the lightning, he would have to react at least 155 times faster than sound.
Boomstick: He is pretty un-used to violence, though. I mean, he's a vegetarian pacifist for crying out loud! But, while he may seem like just a kid, Aang still saved the world and led it into a peaceful future. To him, bending is element-ary.
Aang: If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear.
Edward Elric
Wiz: Alchemists of old once tried to turn lead into gold, with... not great results. But in the country of Amestris, the ancient science of alchemy is actually possible, by using the Earth's natural energy to reshape the molecular structure of various objects.
Boomstick: And by drawing a circle thingy!
Wiz: A transmutation circle, which most alchemists use, except for the youthful prodigy, Edward Elric.
Boomstick: Aw, what a little badass!
Wiz: Careful, Boomstick, he's a bit touchy about his size.
Boomstick: Hey, if I lost my mom like he did, I'd get mad at the little stuff, too. But Ed and his brother Alphonse figured they could bring her back with alchemy. So they went for it, but things went south REAL fast; you know how people say they'd give an arm and a leg for something? Well, Ed literally did! And poor Al lost his whole body. Luckily, Ed managed to stick his brother's soul in a suit of armor, but still... Yikes.
Wiz: This horrible experience has forever marked the two brothers, No one is meant to transmute the human soul, and the boys were lucky just to escape with their lives.
Boomstick: But he got something good out of it, like super-secret knowledge, including how to do alchemy without a circle thingy. He just has to clap instead!
Ed's clap sound effect is heard.
Boomstick: So... worth it?
Wiz: With these new abilities, Ed and Alphonse began their quest to restore their bodies. Specifically, they sought the incredible power of a Philosopher's Stone, believing it to be their only chance. Eventually, Ed joined the military, and thanks to his amazing potential, he was named by the Führer, the "Fullmetal Alchemist".
Boomstick: Wh-wh-what!? Adolf Hitler?!
Wiz: Nah, it's just Bradley. He's okay. Until he isn't.
Boomstick: Spoilers! Also, since Ed lost a couple limbs, he got them replaced with Automail. Kinda like my leg!
Wiz: Automail is made from incredibly durable metal, ranging from his original steel one to a gas-powered one, to his best version, consisting of a mix of aluminum and carbon. Apart from being durable metal prosthetics, Ed's Automail limbs function just like normal ones. He can even reshape his arm as a weapon.
Boomstick: So, he can turn it into swords and saws and stuff, increase its durability by hardening its makeup, or turn it into an umbrella. Ah, truly a limb of many talents.
Wiz: But at the end of the day, Ed's true talent lies not in sword fighting or umbrella holding, but the art of alchemy.
Boomstick: He can do all sorts of crazy things with all the elements. He can basically make anything he wants, like spears and shields.
Wiz: So long as he follows the rule of Equivalent Exchange. Anything created with alchemy must have a source of equal value, and cannot be made fundamentally different. For example, lead can be molded into a statue, but it cannot be turned into water. Other than that, there are three principles needed to use alchemy well: Comprehension...
Boomstick: Which means you gotta understand what the thing you're using is made of.
Wiz: Destruction...
Boomstick: Breaking stuff down.
Wiz: And Reconstruction.
Boomstick: Putting stuff back together.
Wiz: Ed is only limited by the materials at hand and his imagination. At his full potential, he can do almost anything. He can purify water, create ammonium gas from ammonium nitrate, repair entire houses, and transform a gun into a trumpet.
Boomstick: Don't you EVER try and do that with any of my guns. Anyway, Ed's also learned Destruction Alchemy, which does exactly what you think it does, make a big old kaboom! Ed's used it to destroy stuff like Automail, but it can also be used to explode peoples' heads.
We cut to Wiz holding a watermelon.
Wiz: So using Destruction Alchemy, Ed should be able to destroy something like this on a molecular level.
Boomstick: Haaah!
Boomstick chops clean through it.
Boomstick: Or you could just do that.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Anyway, with all of his abilities, Ed has done some incredibly impressive things.
Boomstick: Not only has he blocked gunfire from a Gatling gun AFTER it started firing, he's dodged a pistol from nearly point-blank range, and his Automail arm even took a bite from a lion-headed chimera.
Boomstick: It was totally fine!
Wiz: Assuming this chimera has a similar bite force to that of a real lion, that means Ed's arm stood up to a force of 1,000 pounds per square inch.
Boomstick: He's created a gigantic cannon and then survived that cannon exploding while he was standing on it, and then he survived being on top of a huge boulder exploding, too!
Wiz: We can measure the boulder's explosion against Ed's size to get an approximate energy output. With a radius of 36 feet, this blast must've been equivalent to over 100 tons of TNT.
Boomstick: How's that for equivalent exchange, b*tches?! He also survived an explosion that took out most of a 10-story building.
Wiz: Even apart from being tough, Ed has shown considerable strength when using alchemy.
Boomstick: Like when he created a gigantic golem to crush his opponent.
Wiz: By measuring the size of the stone golem's thumb, comparing it to the size of the average human's thumb, and using that scale to estimate the size of the golem, that gives us an estimated weight of over 3,000 metric tons.
Boomstick: All this without any Philosopher Stone, because it turns out those things are really... really messed up.
Wiz: Right. Philosopher Stones are extremely powerful and can be used in many different ways. Kimblee the Crimson Lotus Alchemist, for example, used one to create a massive explosion equal to 157 kilotons of TNT. However, it turns out that these stones are composed of imprisoned human souls, so Ed and Al vowed to avoid them on principle. Although, Ed can boost his alchemic power in a similar manner by drawing on his own life force, increasing his potential at the cost of shortening his lifespan. But that's what Ed ultimately had to learn, what it truly means to let something go, and so he found another way to revive Al's body, sacrificing his own power for the sake of family.
Boomstick: Aw, what a nice guy. But all in all, so long as Ed knows what he's trying to transmute, he's an amazing force to be reckoned with.
Edward: (holding Alphonse in his human body) Now, let's go home. Together!
Alphonse nods in agreement before the brothers prepare to exit the Gate.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, thanks to Blue Apron, I've become a food-bender!
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick as they read out an advertisement for Blue Apron.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!(The transcript below is exclusive to the YouTube version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: But first, thanks to Blue Apron, I've become a food-bender!
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick as they read out an advertisement for Blue Apron.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
(The transcript below is exclusive to the Rooster Teeth version of the episode.)
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set and we've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!Death Battle
Elements of Alchemy
by Therewolf Media |
In an outdoor market, Aang uses his airbending to play with Momo and accidentally launches him into a nearby bust sculpture stand.
Aang: Hehehe. Sorry, Momo. You're just too little!
As Momo gets up, he leaps back after feeling something move under him. Edward, who was also behind the stand, angrily gets up and pushes the busts to the side.
Edward: Little?! Who you calling a pipsqueak, you stupid hairless kid?!
Momo then gets back on Aang's shoulder.
Aang: Uh, nobody?
Edward: I'll show you!
The Fullmetal Alchemist then jumps out of the stand and transforms a head statue into a club and strikes at Aang. The two clash as Momo gets off Aang's shoulder until the Last Airbender knocks Edward to a nearby stand. Edward then uses alchemy to transmute his automail arm into a sword, he then slashes at Aang only for the young Air Nomad to dodge each strike with Airbending.
Aang then used Earthbending with the statues and fires them at Edward. The youthful alchemist runs and dodges until he transmutes the wall and ground to destroy the statues before altering the earth to form spikes at his opponent. Aang dodges it and leaps back towards a fountain, where he Waterbends the liquids towards Edward.
Edward transmutes a wooden shop into a funnel to redirect the water at Aang, who turns the water into mist in order to surround the market. Aang struggles to find his opponent and starts calling out for him.
Aang: You know, there's actually a lot of advantages to being short! Like you'll never hit your head on door frames, and uh...
Edward: I'M STILL GROWING!
Aang sees Edward's silhouette and tosses a fireball in his direction.
Aang: Now I got ya...
The fireball appears to decapitate Edward and sends his head rolling towards Aang, who starts panicking.
Aang: Aaah! Oh no, I'm sorry!
But it turns out to be a decoy, as the "head" is a round stone with a demeaning face on it.
Edward: A classic misdirection.
Edward takes advantage of his distracted opponent and transmutes the ground to trap Aang in a stone cage.
Edward: That's advantage, Elric! Ha!
Edward dashes forward and attempts to transmute the cage, but Aang is able to leap out of it before he could touch it.
Edward: Damn it!
Aang begins hovering on his air scooter and is shocked when Edward is able to create a massive stone cannon.
Edward: How's this for small?
Elric fires a massive cannonball at the Avatar, who pierces through it with his Firebending and hovers through it.
Edward: What kind of alchemy is that!?
Aang lands on the cannon and tries attacking with Air and Firebending, but Edward counters by conjuring spikes on the cannon. He turns his arm into a sword again and tries swinging, but Aang pushes him back with his staff and Airbending. Edward claps his hands once more and prepares to transmute material, but before he can, Aang uses Earthbending to trap his hand in the same spikes he created.
Aang: OK, no more clappy magic!
Aang separates Edward from his Automail arm, causing the alchemist to keel forward and put his unstable functioning arm on the cannon.
Aang: Uh oh...
The cannon explodes, sending both combatants into a large, smoky cloud. The debris knocks down the stand of the always unlucky cabbage merchant nearby.
Cabbage Merchant: Noooo! My cabbages!
As Aang lands, he closes his eyes and begins concentrating.
Aang: I won't lose you again...
Using seismic sense, he is able to detect Edward creating a Transmutation Circle nearby.
Aang: There you are!
Aang begins dashing through the smoke towards his opponent as Edward finishes the ritual.
Edward: Nice try, shorty!
Edward transmutes the earth to summon dozens of pillars to surround the Airbender. Despite his efforts, Aang appears to be crushed by the ambush, with his glider now broken in half.
Edward: Phew. Can't believe that worked.
A light starts emitting from the pile of pillars. Aang, now in the Avatar State, eradicates all the pillars and summons all four elements to his side.
Aang: This ends now!
The Avatar summons a cyclone to surround him and his opponent, leaving Elric out of options. He then tosses a projectile containing all four elements to finish off the Fullmetal Alchemist.
Edward: At least I'm taller than you...
Edward smirks as his body is annihilated by the final attack, leaving nothing but a black spot on the ground.
Aang: You left me no choice...
Results
Elements of Alchemy
by Therewolf Media |
Boomstick: Looks like Ed didn't have a leg to stand on. Or arm, I guess.
Wiz: Ed may have been more quick-witted and inventive, and he certainly had more combat experience, but Aang's bending abilities were far more versatile and readily available than combat alchemy.
Boomstick: Yeah, Ed had cool stuff like cannons and gun-trumpets, but Aang was fast enough to react to lightning, which is way faster than dodging a measly bullet.
Wiz: Recall how Ed survived an explosion that destroyed most of a 10-story building. By examining the size of the building and thus the volume of the conical explosion, this blast must've equaled about 30 kilotons of TNT.
Boomstick: That's cool, but Aang did WAY more when he carved up a circle around that city in the Avatar State.
Wiz: The force to blast such a huge ravine around the city of Yu Dao was a massive undertaking. By measuring the width, length, and depth of the affected area compared to the size of the city, we've found it would take almost 160 kilotons of TNT to pull that off.
Boomstick: More than five times greater than Ed's best durability feat, so Aang definitely had the stuff to crush Ed's Automail arm, and the rest of him.
Wiz: Granted, Ed could reach this sort of power by sacrificing his life force. Remember Kimblee's explosion, the one empowered by a Philosopher Stone? A blast worth 157 kilotons of TNT? That's almost identical to Aang's feat, and theoretically, Ed could've been capable of this level of power. Theoretically. However, a Philosopher Stone uses many souls, while Ed could only draw from his one. Not to mention, drawing from his own life force meant his power-up had a very short and dangerous duration limit compared to the Avatar State, which has no such limit. But even so, Ed's tactics and creativity kept him in the fight. Yet, the Avatar's speed, power, and versatility was too much for him.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Aang may be a pacifist in canon and would hardly kill anyone, but unleashing his full power is a sight to behold.
Boomstick: Just when Ed thought he had the Aang of it, he alche-missed the mark.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Avatar Aang.
Original Track
Elements of Alchemy
by Therewolf Media |
Composition
The track for this fight is "Elements of Alchemy" by Therewolf Media. It is an Eastern-style piece (emulating the styles used in Avatar) with a heavy emphasis on violins and occasional electric guitar (similar to the Fullmetal Alchemist soundtrack). The Avatar theme is remixed at the end of the track to signify Aang's victory over Ed.
Title
The title combines the two key powers of Aang and Ed's respective universes (the four elements and alchemy, respectively).
Cover Art
The cover art depicts a transmutation circle surrounded by the four elements as the air surrounding the circle takes the form of arrows, representing Aang's airbending tattoos. The elements surround the circle in the form of rings that are reminiscent of Aang's Avatar State in the final battle of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Trivia
Production
- The connections between Aang and Edward Elric are that they are both young heroes with the ability to manipulate the environment through mystical disciplines dedicated to understanding the natural forces of their world known as elements (Bending and Alchemy, respectively), being able to do so to a greater capability than other such manipulators due to special traits (Aang is the Avatar, giving him the ability to bend all four elements, whilst Edward's Combat Alchemy and his connection with the Truth lets him use alchemy without the need for transmutation circles), and have had encounters with the supernatural (with Aang visiting and having a spiritual connection to the Spirit World and Edward having encountered the Homunculi, Father, and the Gate of Truth). Both of them have battled the unjust governments of their world responsible for waging the wars that they were involved in (the Fire Nation and the State Military of Amestris, respectively), and have fire-manipulating rivals turned allies associated with said regimes (Zuko and Roy Mustang, respectively). Both of them have sought to atone for something they believed resulted in the losses of the people close to them (Aang felt guilty for running away from his role as the Avatar and abandoning the Air Nomads to die at the hands of the Fire Nation, while Edward sought to restore the bodies of himself and his brother, Alphonse Elric, after a failed attempt at human transmutation to resurrect his deceased mother backfired). Both of them also share a contrasting tradition/modernity theme (Aang is a martial arts hero dedicated to learning the ancient arts of bending, while Edward is an alchemist dedicated to the use and study of alchemy as a science to understand the natural world).
- Additionally, this matchup features a strong contrast between East and West, since Avatar is an American-made animated series set in an Eastern-inspired fantasy world with influences from Asian culture and traditions, while Fullmetal Alchemist is a Japanese anime/manga set in a relatively modern European-inspired setting.
- According to the 135th episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast, this episode almost got a spot in Season 5, but was replaced with Sora VS Pit because Ben Singer wanted to make sure the studio had an animation team capable of animating the bending and alchemy.[1]
- Aang was originally planned to fight against Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series as part of the original planned 26 episodes.[2] However, at the time, Ben Singer had not watched the Avatar series yet. After doing so, he decided that Aang would be far too strong for Harry, and switched Aang out with Luke after remembering how it was a matchup he heard back when he was in high school.[3]
Easter Eggs
- In the background of the fight, Appa's missing posters from the Avatar episde "Lake Laogai can be seen, including the one that Toph aggressively glued to the wall backwards.
- The Cabbage Merchant makes a cameo appearance during the fight, shouting "NO! My cabbages!" when his beloved cabbage cart is tragically destroyed by the exploded pieces of Ed's giant cannon, as he does in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- This running gag, in itself, would become a running gag for future Avatar episodes, reappearing in Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki and Korra VS Storm.
Errors
- Ed's Automail Arm is initially placed on his left arm instead of his right. This gets fixed during later parts of the battle.
Other
- This is the fourth Cartoon VS Anime/Manga-themed episode, after Gaara VS Toph, Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, and Optimus Prime VS Gundam, and with the next three being Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki, Saitama VS Popeye, and Frieza VS Megatron.
- This is the first episode in which Boomstick spoofs the "Heart!" quote from Captain Planet and the Planeteers, with the next two being Sasuke VS Hiei and Korra VS Storm.
- This is the fourth episode to be taken down due to a copyright strike on YouTube, after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale, Ragna VS Sol Badguy, and Ultron VS Sigma, and with the next three being Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain, and Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro.
- This is the third episode to be restored, after Ragna VS Sol Badguy and Ultron VS Sigma, and with the next two being Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro and Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain.