- —Tagline
Bill Cipher VS Discord is the 180th episode of Death Battle, featuring Bill Cipher from the Gravity Falls series and Discord from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series in a battle between chaotic cartoon reality warpers. Bill was voiced by John Patneaude and puppeteered by Candace Kei, and Discord was voiced by Paul Guyet and puppeteered by Billy B Burson III.
Interlude
Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates ![]() ![]() |
The show's intro starts off normally. However, this normality quickly goes away as it cuts to the combatants' name cards; Bill is seen floating in front of the box where his name should be (with said name floating out of the box next to him), whereas Discord's name card is entirely upside down.
Wiz: Bill Cipher, the triangular terror from Gravity Falls.
Boomstick: Discord, the devilish draconequus from My Little Pony.
An off-screen finger snap is heard as Discord's render changes to a different one right before his name card glitchily transitions to the rest of the intro.
Wiz: The mighty, the righteous, the profound, and the profane... We have featured all manner of warrior on Death Battle before.
Boomstick: But none as silly as these two apocalyptic goofballs!
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.
Bill Cipher
Striking Midnight by Takeshi Furukawa ![]() ![]() |
Wiz: Deep within the forests of central Oregon rests the rustic, lumber town of Gravity Falls.
Boomstick: Oh hey, there's Old Man McGucket! And would ya look at that, Mayor Befufftlefumpter! And who could forget that little polished turd, Gideon Gleeful?
Wiz: But despite its looks, Gravity Falls is less Mayberry and more Twin Peaks. I've been studying what I call the "Unified Theory of Weirdness". Much like gravity, weirdness acts as a force, warping space and attracting bizarre phenomena to certain areas.
Mystery At Midnight by Philip Guyler ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Boomstick: Like the Bermuda Triangle or Denny's at 3 a.m.
We see Djmah'di Rivers at Denny's before he pulls down the screen, transitioning into the next scene.
Wiz: And Gravity Falls is one of those places. In fact, it's the largest weirdness magnet in the entire world.
Quirky Killer by Shaun Jacob Deluzio Chasin ![]() ![]() |
Boomstick: Rainbow-vomiting gnomes, the fearsome Multi-Bear, the dilapidated Mystery Shack, and most terrifying of all, a trillion-year-old alien spoken of only in whispers, the foulest creature to ever blaspheme upon this beautiful land: Bill Cipher!
Bill can be heard laughing off-screen.
Boomstick: Oh, he actually doesn't look so bad. I like his little hat.
Wiz: Don't be fooled by Bill's goofy demeanor. Underneath the deadpan one-liners lies the cold, black heart of a genocidal madman.
Boomstick: After obliterating his home dimension and killing everyone in it, Bill was on the run from the interdimensional authority. So, he settled in the chaotic Nightmare Realm, turning it into his own personal kingdom.
Wiz: But he quickly set his sights on an even bigger prize: our own universe. Unable to break through the dimensional barriers on his own, he spent millennia trying to trick poor unsuspecting humans to open the front door.
Boomstick: And if Bill escapes, all of reality is screwed.
Wiz: He is a being made of pure energy, able to craft a physical body out of nothing, and then change that shape to grow to planetary scales. He can regenerate any part of himself, including his own spirit.
Boomstick: Bill can move objects with his mind, duplicate himself, and see into the future. He can bring inanimate objects to life, shoot lasers and fire, and control your dreams like Freddy Krueger.
Wiz: But Bill isn't just some magician. He can warp reality as much as he pleases.
Boomstick: He controls space, matter, gravity, time, and can even mess with the fourth wall!
Wiz: Though he's most known for his control over souls. He can see and interact with normally invisible spirits, blow holes through them, and even eradicate them from existence. And should an unwitting pawn make a deal with the Dream Demon, he can possess their bodies.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Power Of Magic by Rod Bowkett ![]() |
Wiz: Which... would have been good to know when I... started talking to him.
Suddenly, thunder cracks and lightning flashes as static fills the Death Battle Lab's monitor and Wiz gets possessed by Bill.
Bill: AHAHAHAHA! FINALLY! I'VE BEEN WATCHING YOU TWO BOOBS FOR A WHILE. THE PYRAMIDS, THE DOLLAR BILL, ANYTHING MADE IN MY IMAGE, I CAN SEE THROUGH. I. SEE. EVERYTHING! HAHAHAHA!
As Bill talks, footage of stone carvings of himself hidden in the previous three episodes are shown on the monitor. After this, a fascinated Bill begins inspecting Wiz's metal arm, only for Boomstick to go from shocked to excited.
Boomstick: Yay! New co-host!
He slaps the Bill-controlled Wiz on the back, knocking him down and making Bill leave his body. Wiz gets back up with a black eye and cracked glasses, a result of Boomstick's slap knocking his face into his metal hand.
Wiz: (groans) Why does my jaw hurt?
Static fills the monitor once more and Bill flies upwards in it before landing back down in front of everything in blue fire, transitioning us back to the analysis.
Boomstick: Welp, it wasn't long before Bill came upon Gravity Falls and the Pines family, namely the brilliant scientist Stanford Pines, who spent decades traveling the multiverse to find a way to defeat Bill for good, after almost accidentally unleashing him in the first place.
Wiz: Turns out it would be his niece and nephew, twins Mabel and Dipper Pines, who would end up being Bill's greatest enemies. Hard to believe, perhaps.
Boomstick: Especially when Bill finally managed to "ah, jeez" his way through the walls of our cosmos and enter Gravity Falls, reaching his full power, and kicking off...
Airhorns blare as a graphic for Weirdmageddon appears, showing two teams: "The Terrifying Weird Gang" and "The Loser Humans".
Boomstick and Ringmaster: Weirdmageddon!
Ringmaster: Hey! That's my line!
Boomstick: We've got henchmaniacs on the loose, madness bubbles flying every which way makin' things go all kinds of crazy, and a Weirdness Wave threatenin' to warp all of reality.
Wiz: And not just our universe. Without the Nightmare Realm holding him back, given enough time, Bill's power threatened the multiverse!
Boomstick: And given his control over time and space, Bill can move as fast as he damn well pleases! Especially when his mind can view an infinite kaleidoscope of possibilities all at once! As Bill says himself, he exists in a state of quantum uncertainty! Wiz... help.
The Beauty Of Magic by Francisco Becker ![]() |
Wiz: Right. Similar to Erwin Schrödinger's hypothetical cat, Bill exists in two possible states at once, perpetually unresolved. Everything he is, he is also not.
Boomstick: Though, he has one great weakness: unicorn hair! Yes, actually. What are- what are the odds?
Wiz: Similar to garlic or silver, unicorn hair serves as a key ingredient to barriers that can block otherworldly beings like Bill, which can also drain them of their power. While unicorn hair barriers did prevent Bill from breaking into the Shacktron, they failed to nullify his magic.
Boomstick: His actual greatest weakness is his unbelievable ego.
Wiz: His complete and utter disdain for humanity ultimately proved to be the opening the Pines needed.
Boomstick: Tricked into entering the mind of Ford's scumbag brother Stanley just as it was being erased, Bill invoked the almighty Axolotl in a desperate bid to survive.
Wiz: Bill's prayers were answered, but in a way he never expected. He would be reincarnated in another form, and another time.
Boomstick: Where exactly? No one knows. But we can only hope that this equilateral enemy of all that's holy and decent is never comin' back.
Discord
Tormented And Twisted by Sean Elder ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wiz: Once upon a time, Equestria was under attack, plagued by the rampaging Spirit of Disharmony, whose only goal was to spread chaos and unhappiness throughout the land.
Boomstick: Until the twin princesses of the Sun and Moon, Celestia and Luna, used the all-powerful Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone. Kickin' the can down the road, I see. Lotsa luck!
Wiz: Yes, because as with seemingly all magical prisons, it didn't last forever. Eventually, this being of madness and destruction broke free. Discord had returned.
Discord can be heard laughing off-screen.
Boomstick: Now, I know what you're thinkin': "Dear Lord, what in good God's name is that thing?!"
Wiz: Discord is a draconequus, or "dragon horse". And also deer, goat, snake, lion, eagle, lizard, and a bat!
Boomstick: All part of a complete balanced breakfast![Note 1] Despite lookin' like a Build-A-Bear grab bag, he doesn't seem so bad. Kind of annoying, but in a lovable "Mon Capitan" kind of way.
Q: Au contraire.
Wiz: There's certainly some truth in that. While initially one of our ponies' most potent foes, Discord is not inherently evil, just chaotic.
Boomstick: A big jolly jerk that sets fire to things that can't burn! Just like me.
Wiz: It's not like you to find a lot of common ground with with My Little Pony. I mean, you're usually like, (in a Southern accent) "Ah, the only good pony is the horse meat in my sandwich!"
As Wiz says this, a montage of monochromatic clips from the last three My Little Pony episodes and Pinkie Pie's cameo in Deadpool VS Mask appears on-screen.
Boomstick: That's disgusting, Wiz. Horse meat goes in burritos. But really, havin' a daughter changes a man. It softens your cold, hard edges. Kinda like with Discord, who became best buddies with the pony Fluttershy. And I guess pals with everyone else by default. Fluttershy is best pony.
Wiz: Discord is chaos incarnate, and is empowered by causing as much pandemonium as possible. Likewise, if he betrays his true nature, it can cause his soul to weaken and possibly cause him to fade away entirely.
Boomstick: Not a problem when his powers allow him to mess stuff up as much as he likes.
Snakes With No Ladder by Oliver Spencer ![]() ![]() |
Boomstick: He's a full-on reality warper and plays with the laws of physics like they were Silly Putty.
Wiz: Discord can manipulate space by teleporting, reshaping his body, and transmuting matter. He can mess with your mind and erase your memories. He can control time and travel through it. He can even remove mathematical dimensions, turning objects 2D.
Boomstick: He also has instant access to powerful items such as Grogar's Bewitching Bell, which can drain foes of their magic power and transfer it to others.
Wiz: Phasing, clones, possession, invisibility, the list goes on. He can move the Sun and Moon and rip apart the fabric of reality. And if his physical body is destroyed, he can keep going as a spirit.
Boomstick: Honestly, it'd be quicker to list off all the things Discord can't do, starting with uh... yep, the end.
Wiz: He can do anything he can think of, even obliterate the fourth wall. He's turned the page of the comic he's on, talked directly to the reader, referenced everything from Bob Ross to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and even changed the very genre of the story he's in.
At this moment, Discord's arm suddenly appears from the left side of the screen and snaps his fingers, resulting in it suddenly going monochrome as the music and various My Little Pony clips start rapidly playing in reverse.
Boomstick: Oh, my Boomstick Sense is tingling! I've matured enough to appreciate the cupcakes and rainbows, Wiz...
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: ...But there's no amount of character development that will ever make me ready for another De—
Discord himself suddenly appears between Wiz and Boomstick, albeit with limited animation.
Discord: Deadpool.
Boomstick: D'ah, dammit!
Discord: Oh please. Any similarity is down to your line producer refusing to greenlight complex animation.
As Wiz eagerly grabs a clipboard from off-screen and a pen from his pocket to take notes, the Death Battle Lab's monitor switches to the show the room of Death Battle's line producer, Erin Makela, who is seen working on her computer. She looks at the camera for a bit before going back to work as the monitor cuts back to My Little Pony clips.
Discord: I should be just as insulted by your attempt to force me into dreary fisticuffs. But, when it comes to my geometric rival, I'm not about to be upstaged.
As Discord talks, a snap of his fingers reveals his cameos in the previous three episodes in the monitor and horizontally flips the Death Battle Lab, resulting in the co-hosts switching places.
Wiz: Well, I find it fascinating that you seem to draw energy from disharmony. I'd love to study how it played a part in freeing you from eternal imprisonment, and even in resubstantiating your very essence!
Discord: Well, if all you want is to "experience substantiation"...
With another snap of his fingers, Discord turns Wiz and Boomstick into their respective voice actors, Ben Singer and Chad James, in a recording booth.
Boomstick (as Chad): What the—?!
Startled by the sudden change, both hosts look at each other before screaming in shock over their new appearances, with Boomstick looking and screaming into the camera in fear as it zooms in on his eyes.
Boomstick (as Chad): GOD, NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!
Ballad by Dick Walter ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The screen then cuts to the "TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES" screen from Harley Quinn VS Jinx for a few seconds before we cut back to the analysis.
Boomstick: Welp... I'm never recovering from that emotionally.
Wiz: I-I don't think anybody could.
Boomstick: Oh, look! Blissful ignorance at the bottom of this can.
A can of beer is heard being opened off-screen as Boomstick says this.
Wiz: With Discord's powers, Pinkie Pie could've turned the entire universe into icing. What that meant for the laws of physics is anyone's guess.
Boomstick: He's basically at the top of the pony power hierarchy, even compared to the alternate reality threat, the Pony of Shadows, who could overrun all existence in the multiverse given enough time.
Boomstick: Or his ex-partner Cosmos, literally malice incarnate with identical powers, whom he sealed away in the stars.
Wiz: Discord once flew from the Horsehead Nebula to Equestria, and kept accelerating so much, he went backwards in time.
Boomstick: And that was just him tryin' to make it to tea time with his bestie.
Wiz: But Discord's power may be his greatest weakness. Since almost nothing can threaten him, his carefree attitude can leave him vulnerable to being caught off guard. Like when Tirek, the magic-devouring demon centaur, tricked Discord and stole his powers.
Boomstick: Even still, Discord has shed his villainous past and been made an honorary hero, happy to help out his pony pals from time to time... or occasionally make things worse.
Wiz: That's what you get when you're best friends with the spirit of chaos incarnate. I would know.
Boomstick: Ah buddy, get over here!
Wiz: Yeah, yeah. That's... (grumbles) Agh, no, not the... noogie. (groans)
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
The Death Battle transition card then closes over. However, instead of it opening like normal afterward, it glitchily distorts into the fight.
Death Battle
The city of Canterlot. what was once the majestic capital of Equestria has now turned into distorted chaos. Weirdmageddon has been unleashed, with several demons terrorizing their new playground.
Up in the Fearamid lies the perpetrator of this apocalypse: Bill Cipher, who is seen sitting on his throne made of the petrified residents of Canterlot, with Princess Celestia and Luna each respectively transmuted into shiny gold and purple idols on each armrest. He proceeds to turn a poor male pony into a toy, then into stone, and telekinetically places him on the throne.
Bill: BOY, HEHEH... PASTING ALL THIS BOOTLEG MERCHANDISE TOGETHER SURE TOOK A LOTTA GLUE.
The camera pans up to reveal that the Mane Six have been turned into banners, having failed to stop Bill off-screen.
Bill: GOOD THING YOUR FRIENDS MAKE THEIR OWN.
The person Bill is speaking to, Discord, can be seen flying within the banners of the Mane Six. He stops at Fluttershy's banner, looking upset at the condition of his one true best friend. As he exits the banner and back into reality, Discord holds and pats Fluttershy's banner in lament.
Discord: Ugh, friends of a friend. Ah... But there's an idea!
His mood abruptly changes as he teleports to the steps to Bill and starts parodying Twilight's ending monologues by telepathically reading and writing a message on a scroll as he dons a chef's outfit and summons a flaming cream pie.
Discord: (telepathically) Dear Princess Celestia, today, Bill Cipher learned an important lesson... about friendship.
Bill is utterly disgusted by Discord's words and almost throws up from his eye from the sappy words as he turns green.
Bill: UGH, GAG!
Discord takes the opportunity to throw his flaming pie right at Bill's eye, destroying it and his left hand in an explosion.
Bill: OW! MY EYE!
The now frustrated Bill quickly regenerates his lost body parts, including his now-bloodshot eye, and wipes himself off as he summons a giant arm behind him. It then slams onto Discord, who had many more pies ready to throw, making an imprint of him pop out of the hand. Discord is sent flying out of Bill's Fearamid, and Bill himself angrily follows. However, as he is searching for Discord, he notices several Canterlot structures being turned into colossal desserts.
Bill: HUH?
He looks around to see that the one responsible for this is Discord, who telekinetically throws the confectionaries at him. Bill dodges an ice cream cone and cake but gets hit square in the face by a scoop of mint ice cream, bringing both him and it to the ground. This is followed by a carrot cake, muffins, another ice cream cone, a scoop of strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, and finally, a cherry on top of him with the sound of a bell dinging. Discord is seen enjoying his own more reasonably-sized sweets as he taunts his opponent with a service bell in his hand.
Discord: Enjoy your just desserts!
An explosion from the stack of sweets occurs, with Bill emerging from it as he smacks two drums and a cymbal from a drum set. Reality then briefly distorts as a laughing Bill levitates up to Discord. Afterward, things get wacky as Bill begins rapidly rotating the world around himself, causing buildings, ponies, henchmaniacs, and various objects to fly everywhere while he fires lasers at Discord. Bill soon avoids an anvil from Discord from above before shooting another laser down at him, laughing with enjoyment over the battle.
Bill: WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MAN? COME ON!
Bill suddenly stops rotating the world, leaving it upside-down. He looks around for his opponent, unaware that a gigantic Discord is behind him. Bill is then magically turned into a Dorito before Discord chomps, chews, and swallows. After wiping his mouth with a napkin, Discord gives a small food review to the audience.
Discord: Egh, a tad Euclidean for my tastes.
Suddenly, his head explodes in confetti thanks to a laughing Bill, now restored to normal. However, Discord quickly reappears back next to him by coming out of a tear in reality, mockingly laughing as he does so, surprising Bill.
Discord: Ohohoho... ha.
Angered, Bill tackles Discord and punches him repeatedly with multiple arms, causing the two to enter a Weirdness Bubble. Inside it, the animation switches to a claymation-styled dimension where Bill strangles Discord before the latter pushes him off, knocking aside two guns. Bill retorts by shapeshifting into a giant monster with a long tongue, but before he can attack back, the animation distorts yet again to a rubber hose animation-style 1930s cartoon-esque medium with dancing flowers in the background, where Discord grabs a resisting Bill and playfully gives him a noogie on his head.
Reality distorts once more for the two combatants to find themselves in a hand-puppet-styled scene, with Bill continuing to punch Discord.
Bill: BLAMMO!
Children's cheers are heard from off-screen, which leaves Bill and Discord to stop fighting and greet the viewers before returning to their playful conflict. Bill gains distance and shoots silly string at Discord, causing the children watching to laugh at the latter's humiliating appearance. After he shakes it off, Discord makes vomiting noises, only for a real human hand to emerge from his puppet mouth, much to the screaming children's horror. The hand then snaps its fingers, and a purple-white light covers the screen.
Finally returning to sprite animation, Bill and Discord emerge from a portal back in a right-side up Canterlot. However, it is noticeably different, lacking any Weirdness Bubbles and the interdimensional rift now blue instead of red.
Bill: TELL JEAN-LUC HIS SHOW IS WORSE THAN CODE OF HONOR!
Bill kicks Discord away a distance before stretching his arm to the left side of the screen, which suddenly grabs Discord from behind and squeezes him, leaving a squeaky party noise coming from his frilling tongue. After quickly recovering, Discord, in a more serious manner, responds to Bill's remark.
Discord: You are not qualified to work with the fourth wall!
Discord copies Bill's prior action, grabbing and squeezing him in return, his eye nearly bulging out and making a rubber chicken noise. The two then literally butt heads together, but the camera zooms out to show both combatants, now much larger, clashing each others' fists with bruised figurines of their foe. They briefly stop to look at each other before tossing the clones away in boredom. Discord, taking notice that they have not gotten anywhere, makes a request to his opponent for a different approach.
Discord: This stalemate is getting dull... How about a different game?
He summons a few dice of varying surfaces to reinforce his question.
Bill: SURE. I LOVE CHECKERS!
Bill raises his hands, and the slight moment of peace is suddenly interrupted by Discord getting crushed from above by, ironically, a giant knight chess piece.
Bill: GOOO~ FISH!
He tosses away the chess piece with his telekinesis, revealing a smear on the ground. From it, the carefree Discord emerges as a spirit, making silly ghost noises as he enters Bill's mind.
Discord: BOOO~!
In his mindscape, Discord continues to laugh as Bill is angered over his opponent trying his own trick on him.
Bill: YOU'RE MESSING WITH MY MIND?! OH, THIS IS MY SHTICK, YOU HACK!
The mindscape is then suddenly set aflame with blue fire as Discord talks him down.
Discord: We may be evenly matched, Bill, but I've seen your show, my two-dimensional nuisance.
Discord, still as a spirit, emerges from the flames and claims his prediction on Bill.
Discord: And I know how you die...!
Bill: OH, YOU THINK WE'RE EQUALS, THAT YOU'RE SAFE IN HERE, YOU LOW-EFFORT CLOWN?!
Bill turns red, shapeshifting into a larger form to try to attack and grab Discord. As Bill shoots an eye laser at him, Discord avoids it and slashes a chunk off of him with a larger hand, flipping him the bird as he flies away. Bill begins to uncontrollably distort before stopping, his missing chunk restored, and declaring to Discord...
Bill: I'M AN ALL-SEEING GOD!!!
In the real world, Bill has grown gargantuan in size and turned three-dimensional. He uses his left hand to reach into and break his own eye, which is now a stained-glass window, to enter his own mindscape. Discord notices this and attempts to flee, only for Bill to punch him into his physical self's hand, which locks Discord into place with a Prison Bubble before it pulls him back into the real world. As Bill's now-broken eye leaks a putrid black substance, he begins burning Discord's spirit with blue flames. The draconequus, fully aware of his impending doom, laments over his loss... and reveals his true victory.
Discord: Well... Heheheh... Heh... It was worth a try... But still! Hehehe, I'm surprised... you don't recognize... your old home.
Bill, whose eye is now regenerated, notices reality suddenly shattering around him, revealing that the "Canterlot" they were in was an illusion and that Discord had actually brought them both to the Nightmare Realm after their trip through the Weirdness Bubbles, leaving Bill in shock and horror.
Bill: NO. NO!!
As Bill freaks out, he hears a perturbed female voice from behind him.
???: Discord?
Bill turns around and looks through the interdimensional rift to see that Equestria and the Mane Six have been fully returned to normal, with Fluttershy expressing sad worry over Discord's lack of presence, the note he wrote at the beginning of the fight left at her hooves.
Fluttershy: (worried) Discord?
Bill: NO. NO! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NOOOOOOO!!!
Bill tries to fly towards and enter the rift, but he falls short of it collapsing in on itself and dissipating into particles in the shape of Discord's head blowing his tongue and audibly laughing at the dream demon, leaving him trapped in the Nightmare Realm once more. Satisfied with having saved his friends and his world, Discord lets out one final laugh over his adversary's true loss.
Discord: Oh-ho, Bill. AHAHAHAHAAAAA!
Having won the battle but lost the war, an infuriated and omnicidal Bill glares at his opponent one last time with black-eyed murderous intent, crushing Discord's spirit with his hand and leaving his distorted mocking laugh to echo throughout the realm as it turns blue, clenching his eye shut in rage after attaining his pyrrhic victory.
As things start to grow silent, Bill completely loses his composure, transforming into a twisted red abomination and screeching in three-dimensional rage over being back at square one as blue fire surrounds him. After a moment, he calms down and morphs back to normal, the blue backdrop burning back to blood red and the Weirdness Bubbles having caught on fire as the rest of the flames die down.
Bill: AHH, NO BIG DEAL. I'VE DONE THIS ONCE ALREADY...
With a disturbing drone sound, Bill slowly looks towards the camera before suddenly dashing towards and grabbing it, holding blue flames in his free hand and his eye turning blue as he makes an offer to the audience.
Bill: WANNA MAKE A DEAL?!

Bill: KO!
Ringmaster: Hey! That's MY line!
Results
Boomstick: Public Service Announcement: If a yellow triangle in a top hat offers you a Faustian bargain, please do not accept! He might be angry at us.
Wiz: This fight was almost dead even. They can both manipulate space and time to such a degree that speed is essentially meaningless, and both at their peak could control their universes, possibly even the multiverse.
Boomstick: Sure, Discord could potentially drain Bill's energy with the Bewitching Bell, but remember the Shacktron?
Wiz: While the unicorn hair barrier stopped Bill from entering, its magic-nullifying aura was not effective on him. If he wasn't drained of his power by extensive contact with that, it's unlikely the Bell would do the same.
Boomstick: So with two characters who can do basically anything, how would they even kill each other?
Wiz: Both can restore their bodies from nothing, but only Bill has been shown regenerating damage to his spirit. Likewise, even in a weakened state, Bill has been able to manipulate and damage spirits himself, which is extremely useful considering we know fully erasing Discord will kill him.
Boomstick: While Discord's trickery may frustrate Bill for a while, his ability to see an infinite kaleidoscope and literally tell the future would let him cut through the tricks and vaporize him, body and soul.
Wiz: Now, it is worth remembering that Bill has been defeated before, when he was trapped in a mind that was being erased.
Boomstick: And Discord had all the tools to replicate something like that.
Wiz: However, that scenario relied on Bill's tunnel vision on invading Ford Pines' mind specifically, as well as his myopic underestimation of us lowly humans. Against other cosmic beings like Time Baby, he went for the kill IMMEDIATELY.
Boomstick: For the record, Discord has been tricked in the past, too. They both had their fair share of embarrassing moments, and they're both smarter than their mistakes at their best. The real difference is that Discord is consistently more carefree in his approach; he's used to being superior to those around him, and has been shown not to take threats seriously until it's too late.
Wiz: Like with Tirek, another crafty, manipulative schemer, kind of like Bill.
Boomstick: With his trillion years of reality-destroying malevolence, Bill was able to take advantage of Discord's carefree attitude and get the opportunity to land a killing blow first.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: Discord was incredibly powerful, unpredictable, and fearsomely persistent, but Bill's powers and ruthless instinct gave him the edge he needed.
Boomstick: Discord could "tri"-every-angle, but Bill just had his eye on the pri—
Before Boomstick can finish his pun, the Death Battle Lab's monitor suddenly switches to a close-up view of the "victorious" dream demon still stranded in the Nightmare Realm, evidently unsuccessful in finding an unfortunate soul to take the prior deal he offered to the audience as he threatens the hosts.
Bill: LET ME OUT OR I'LL EAT YOUR DREAMS!!!
Boomstick lets out a yelp of terror, while Wiz is startled by Bill's threat. We then cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: Uh... The winner is Bill Cipher.
Bill: !EEEEYB ,DLOG YUB ,MARGOLOH A SI ESREVINU EHT ,NOISULLI NA SI YTILAER
As Bill says his closing line, numerous clips playing in reverse and images flash on-screen in rapid succession before the Death Battle transition card closes over the episode.
Ability Comparison
- - Both can affect the laws of physics
- - Both can manipulate their medium & genre
- - Both resist mental attacks & temporal alterations
- - Discord can turn things 2D; Bill can turn himself from 2D to 3D at will
- - Both can turn their body to and from stone at will, countering petrification
- - Both can teleport & duplicate themselves
- - Both can turn intangible & interact with intangible things
- - Bill would not enter Discord's mind if there is nothing there he wants
- - Discord would not willingly accept a deal from Bill
- - Most other abilities cancel out or can be countered
- - Despite having countless powers, both only have a few feasible win conditions
Comparison
Bill Cipher
- + More powerful
- + Can regenerate from all physical & some spiritual damage
- + More bloodthirsty and ruthless
- = Has equivalents or counters to most abilities
- - Complete spiritual erasure could kill him
- - Arrogance can get the best of him
Discord
- + Physical regeneration makes him hard to kill
- + Far more creative with his abilities
- = Has equivalents or counters to most abilities
- - Less powerful
- - Lacks regeneration feats beyond physical damage
- - Could not debilitate Bill by draining his powers
Original Track
Composition
The track for this fight is "Discordant Decipher" by Brandon Yates ft. Infotron and Mr. Goatee. It is an electronic techno piece that imagines a lyrical battle between both combatants, with the instrumentals likely reflecting the absurd reality-warping abilities the two have, using elements of the Gravity Falls theme song and "Discord" by Eurobeat Brony throughout the track. A backwards message akin to those found in Gravity Falls is also featured in the track in between the first chorus and Bill's verse. Brandon portrays Bill Cipher while Mr. Goatee portrays Discord.
Title
The title is a combination of both combatants' names (Discord and Bill Cipher) that means "unharmonious conversion" when taking the definitions of both words into account, reflecting the chaotic, reality-warping powers of both combatants.
Cover Arts
The original cover art done by John Mitchell depicts an updated version of Season 10's zodiac wheel with nearly all the symbols on it visually updated and the Death Battle skull logo in the middle replaced with a stylized rendition of Bill being wrapped around by Discord's body, which can also be seen within the sectors for the question mark, dollar sign, lotus, star, half-moon, yin-yang, crossed swords, atom, and waves symbols, with the question mark sector prominently showing his ears and horns, serving as an early hint that the symbols Discord passes through correspond to the episodes that have happened up to this point of the season. Surrounding the wheel are Bill's blue flames and Discord's chocolate milk rain pouring from his cotton candy clouds. A chromatic abbration effect can be seen applied to the cover art to further emphasize the combatants' reality-warping powers.
- If the track cover is brightened in a photo-editing software, a hidden cryptogram can be found under the track's title text written in Bill's symbol substitution cipher. When decrypted using an online decoder for the cipher, this message says "DLPYKSF JOHVAPJ". When further decrypted using a Caesar cipher decoder, the message translates to "WEIRDLY CHAOTIC", referring to Bill and Discord's respective associations with weirdness and chaos.
The remastered version (which was created for the track's remaster following Rooster Teeth's shutdown) features two different cover arts:
- The one in the video's thumbnail and used for the remaster's upload on music services done by Bee depicts 12 Weirdness Bubbles swirling around in the Nightmare Realm with parts of Season 10's zodiac wheel within them. As confirmed by Bee herself, the contents of each bubble as seen in the full, textless version of the cover are as follows:
- An old film reel, referencing the rubber hose Weirdness Bubble in the fight
- The claymation Kool-Aid Dimension from Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man
- A shot of space with a blue, red, and green trio of stars, referencing Amphibia protagonists Anne Boonchuy, Sasha Waybright, and Marcy Wu, respectively, in their super forms from the series finale "The Hardest Thing"[1]
- A sketch of the zodiac wheel on a piece of paper
- Hell
- The standard background of the official track covers
- A page from Journal #3
- A stained glass window, referencing how Discord flew through the ones of Canterlot Tower in "The Return of Harmony Part 1"
- A close-up shot of Bill in his monster form from "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls", undoubtedbly still angry over being stuck in the Nightmare Realm again. Also within the bubble is a cryptogram that, when decoded using an Atbash cipher decoder, tranlates to "LET ME OUT OR I'LL EAT YOUR DREAMS", Bill's threat toward Wiz and Boomstick at the end of the post-analysis.
- A "2000s cartoon"
- The moment of Bill summoning his own zodiac wheel to exit Stan's mind near the end of "Dreamscaperers", only with Discord in place of Bill. Also within the bubble is another cryptogram that uses the Atbash cipher; when decoded, it tranlates to "Oh be quiet Bill", a sentence seemingly being said by Discord himself to a still-raging Bill.
- A child's drawing, likely by Pinkie Pie
- The one featured in the video itself done by Tyrannii is an animated cover, depicting the pillar from when Discord first got petrified into a statue showing off a floating, rotating inverted pyramid in Bill's image that opens an eye before the cover glitches out to replace the pyramid with one of Discord's cotton candy clouds raining down chocolate milk and striking down lightning as his wings open and close periodically. In the background is Bill's blue flames against a black background with multiple Weirdness Bubbles in the background, the five closest of which periodically switch between the different symbols seen on Season 10's zodiac wheel. The track's title is also floating and rotating above the pillar, with "Discordant" switching from the Star Wars font to the Dragon Ball font, comic sans, and the Grand Theft Auto font before returning to the normal style, while "Decipher" constantly switches from the EarthBound font, the 1966 Batman font, the OMORI font, and the Great Lakes font (Death Battle's original font before they switched to Press Feeling Eroded for the Season 4 rebranding) before returning to normal. The artist credits at the bottom pay homage to both series; "Brandon Yates" is done in the My Little Pony font, while "feat. Infotron & Mr. Goatee" is done in the style of the Gravity Falls logo.
Lyrics
[VERSE 1-1: Discord (Mr. Goatee)] |
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Bill Cipher and Discord are that they are both ancient, eccentric, chaotic, godly, reality-warping characters from 2010s children's cartoons who hail from alternate dimensions that are chaotic and logicless (the Nightmare Realm and Chaosville, respectively) and wreaked havoc after being freed from long imprisonment (Bill escaped the Nightmare Realm into the Third Dimension and Discord was freed from his petrification). In addition:
- Both have been defeated as a result of a group effort by estranged siblings (Stanley and Stanford Pines and Princesses Celestia and Luna, respectively), which resulted in them being petrified.
- Ironically, other group-based methods of defeating them (the Zodiac and the Elements of Harmony, respectively) were undone by the acts of others (Stanford and Stanley got into a fight, undoing the Zodiac that would have bested Bill, while Fluttershy swore she wouldn't use her Element on Discord, preventing the others from activating).
- Both have attempted to manipulate others to obtain their freedom (Stanford Pines and Fluttershy, respectively).
- Both have transformed towns into chaotic landscapes (Gravity Falls and Ponyville, respectively).
- This is also a battle of opposites, as while Bill remained evil until his defeat and only ever cared about himself, Discord eventually reformed and became good due to learning to care about his newfound friends.
- The "Discord, Dubious Intent" card from the My Little Pony Collectible Card Game references Bill in its flavor text,[2] something that is both referenced by Discord himself in the fight and brought up by Boomstick in the post-analysis.
- Both have been defeated as a result of a group effort by estranged siblings (Stanley and Stanford Pines and Princesses Celestia and Luna, respectively), which resulted in them being petrified.
- As part of Death Battle's paid YouTube membership, members were able to vote for two matchups to become episodes in Season 10, with one being animated in 2D and one animated in 3D. This episode was the winner of the 2D poll, beating Captain America VS Kamen Rider Ichigo, Among Us VS Fall Guys, Kyle Rayner VS Simon the Digger, Ori VS The Knight, and Finn & Jake VS Mordecai & Rigby.
- This makes it the third matchup to be made due to fan-polling, after Zitz VS Leonardo and Hulk VS Doomsday, and with the next three being Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, and Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat.
- A teaser for this episode that featured voice acting was shown at the very end of the 345th episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast.[3]
- Starting with Bill and Discord's this episode, combatants' analysis previews no longer follow the format of having "DEATH BATTLE!" in the title.
- Due to the episode still being worked on at the time, the sneak peek for this episode shown in the 347th episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast did not have the Weirdness Bubbles surrounding Canterlot.
- One of Death Battle's 2D animators, Susie Combs, drew art as a teaser for the episode.[4]
- Discord's design in this artwork was used for his first cameo in Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer.
- This is the fifth episode she made art for, after Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, and Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, and with the next four being Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, and Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog.
- This is the second episode in which its thumbnail features completely custom-made renders for the combatants, after Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog.
- The storyboards by John Mitchell reveal several cameos in the fight that were cut from the final episode. In order of appearance, they are:
- Hedorah from Godzilla vs. Hedorah
- The Batter from OFF[5]
- Lord English from Homestuck
- Alice Arigato, an OC created by John Mitchell[6]
- Avenger (under the effects of Verg Avesta) from Fate/hollow ataraxia[7]
- Tinella Nosa from The Owl House
- The Chimimoryo from Berserk (nicknamed "Schnoz" by fans)
- Bulk Biceps
- ManBearPig from South Park (specifically as how Al Gore drew him in his eponymous episode)
- Leo, another OC created by John Mitchell[7]
- Pony versions of Death Battle YouTuber Nemesis Bloodryche (based off of the outline color) and Rohan Kishibe (with Cheap Trick on his back) from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable[8]
- A pony OC created by Pokeboy Infinitay[9]
- Peppino Spaghetti from Pizza Tower (in a cut scene where the first Weirdness Bubble Bill and Discord entered took them to the series' universe instead of the Kool-Aid Dimension from Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man)
- Pokeboy's pony OC, Nemesis, and Bulk Biceps would be added to the revolving scene of Bill firing lasers at Discord in an updated version of it that was shown on Twitter, as well as Biff Weed and pony versions of Alien X and Elemental HERO Neos fighting each other (a reference to popular Death Battle matchup Ben Tennyson VS Jaden Yuki, which OriginTheHero is a fan of).
- MORØ's behind-the-scenes shot showcase on Twitter revealed a few first-pass shots that feature some differences from the final episode:
- The transition to Bill's giant body after he shouts "I'M AN ALL-SEEING GOD!!!" originally had blue circuit lines form the shape of his eye before it turned into a void in said shape instead of the camera zooming out from the inside of Bill's mind to the outside shot of his body through his eye and it flashing into the eye-shaped stained glass window found inside the Fearamid.
- Originally, Bill simply turned red and grew giant in rage after crushing Discord's spirit instead of transforming into his monster form seen in the episode "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls".
- At the end of the fight, Bill simply floated closer to the camera and extended his right hand to ask the audience if they wanted to make a deal with him instead of suddenly grabbing the camera and proposing to shake with his left hand.
- The version of Discordant Decipher released on YouTube and Spotify and the version within the fight itself are significantly different, with the fight version cutting out both instances of chorus and the rest of the lyrics after Bill's verse, shortening the backwards section, changing the instrumentals during the Weirdness Bubble section to fit the themes of the first two (turning it into a dramatic string piece for the claymation Weirdness Bubble similar to Oh Yeah!'s section for when its fight entered its own claymation segment and something akin to early 1930s cartoon music for the rubber hose Weirdness Bubble), and adding in several sections not present in the downloadable version (such as a dramatic organ rendition of the Ny Little Pony: Friendship is Magic theme song when Discord's giant body rises behind Bill and turns him into a Dorito, the entire section during the hand puppet Weirdness Bubble scenes, and a piano version of the instrumentals during Discord's second verse that plays after Bill and Discird throw away their smaller selves), all of which were changes made so that the track better fits with the fight animation.
- Unlike with Guts VS Dimitri, Frieza VS Megatron, and Goku VS Superman (2023), the AMV for this episode exclusive to Death Battle Champions doesn't use the fight version of the track or even a version closer to it, instead using the downloadable version for unknown reasons.
- This is the first episode where this happened, with the next one being Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer.
- Unlike with Guts VS Dimitri, Frieza VS Megatron, and Goku VS Superman (2023), the AMV for this episode exclusive to Death Battle Champions doesn't use the fight version of the track or even a version closer to it, instead using the downloadable version for unknown reasons.
- Interestingly, this being the 180th episode connects it with the fact that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle (which is the shape of Bill's body) is 180 degrees.
- At the beginning of the season, a teaser trailer was released which included a Gravity Falls-inspired zodiac wheel with 16 symbols on it, each representing and hinting toward an episode in the season. After the release of the Season Finale, the Death Battle YouTube channel began revealing the answers to the zodiac wheel by posting the answers in pinned comments under the symbols' respective episodes. This episode was revealed to be represented by the question mark symbol.[10] This is because the symbol is an apt way to describe the crazy and unpredictable reality-warping natures of both combatants. The question mark is also a symbol on Bill's own zodiac wheel, with both wheels having it as the first symbol when starting from the top and going clockwise. This also confirms that Discordant Decipher's cover art was teasing this symbol as being representative of the episode, as Discord is shown entering the question mark symbol as his final stop, suggesting that it's the one related to it.
Easter Eggs
- During the interlude, Discord's upside-down render changes to the one found on the side of the box for the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con Guardians of Harmony figures of him and Fluttershy, albeit flipped, referencing an inside-joke involving 2ShyShy (a moderator on the official Death Battle Discord) getting peeved whenever seeing a thumbnail for the matchup with said render flipped.
- At the beginning of Bill's analysis, a clip of Gideon capturing the shrunken Pines twins in a jar from the episode "Little Dipper" is shown with the words "get in the jar" edited onto the bottom of it, alluding to an infamous My Little Pony meme.
- The corkboard shown when Wiz introduces the Unified Theory of Weirdness in Bill's analysis contains multiple easter eggs, specifically the following:
- A sticky note saying "THE BEAKER'S THE KEY (I THINK)", a reference to the flask symbol on Season 10's zodiac wheel, which was commonly referred to as a beaker by the Death Battle community (to the point that it was officially referred to as such when the symbol was revealed after the release of the Season Finale) and was a point of contention due to people disagreeing about which episode the symbol represented, which ultimately turned out to be Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.[11]
- A sticky note saying "ROYALE? MASCOTS?", likely referring to the Cereal Mascot Battle Royale, a matchup that the crew has talked about several times on DEATH BATTLE Cast.
- A photo of a Stretch Armstrong toy.
- A photo of Teyvat from Genshin Impact.
- A photo of the Predator, likely in reference to a meme within the Death Battle community that revolves around referring to them as "John Yautja".
- A photo of Mario crying on a step in the rain, which is a popular meme image.
- A photo of Skeletor, likely in reference to the "SKELETOBER!!!" event held in the October 2022 episodes of DEATH BATTLE Cast, in which Skeletor's the overall mascot of due to Chad James announcing it in his voice and shaking his arms in a similar manner to his. In fact, a group of "SKELETOBER!!!"-themed emotes are available for those who have a Death Battle Membership, with one of those being the Death Battle skull logo as Skeletor.
- A sticky note saying "Just changing this up for you, Wizard - Discord <3".
- A sticky note saying "SWAN VERSE?", referencing Liam Swan.
- A photo of Tai Lung, likely referencing his association with Death Battle YouTubers Nemesis Bloodryche (who is a known fan of the character) and Biff Weed (who occasionally puts the character in his videos' thumbnails).
- The man shown at Denny's when Boomstick mentions it in Bill's analysis is DJTiki, who edited this episode.
- In Bill's "Background" slide:
- The glitched-out text shown in place of Bill's real name (which is unknown) consists of the scrambled names of various Death Battle community members and content creators that constantly change. In order of when they first appear legible, the scrambled names in question and what they rearrange to are as follows:
- AledlaJacOksrTf (JackOfAllTrades)
- lnglGiuakVbmi (GumballViking)
- Cclxxooebkr (Clockboxxer)
- rooUamM (MomoUra)
- bMu (Mbu)
- ama4xevx (maxx4eva)
- ntinNe (Ninten)
- KFM4 (MKF4)
- uiNab (Nubia)
- ysliKng (Kingsly)
- fma03mltnAa (m3Atl0afman)
- ursauVnseu (Venusarus)
- J062457s (Js250476)
- mM wGnile GyNeus agahT (Mal The Gaming News Guy)
- Tcwie (Twice)
- Sa3gewsamJ3 (SwagJames33)
- ESsopsatcm (EctoSpassm)
- onhaWd (Whoand)
- teea-orJdmabnC (Carbonated-Jem)
- dkeHaeD (DekHead)
- emAsEtewoahn (AwesomeEthan)
- KfiSoutx-yLr (LK-Sixtyfour)
- lygTDiati (DigitalTy)
- areuGHgpy (HyperGauge)
- asanaroatnJ ftnhFot (Jonathan Frostathan)
- nmaraspteryH (Hyperstarman)
- wSfwindti (Swiftwind)
- ddauisMed (Meddadius)
- amnuDsHntL (HuntsmanDL)
- iwaororyndwL (Larrywinwood)
- SSatprctarle (SpectralStar)
- e acgtneRRsedea (Renegades React)
- nooacVAcRBro (RaccoonBroVA)
- SPre sSVJco (JPVS Scores)
- lcnctAeatyraoiGt (GalacticAttorney)
- rcaereAenrlbmeF (Freelancer Amber)
- mpeonotloEc (Ementopcool)
- eiTm (Time)
- hiAlk (Akhil)
- xyeaJM (MeyJax)
- nnjg9ga6aB (BangJang96)
- tgieSbupnru (Superbuting)
- nKgClopiaorr (KingCorporeal)
- nuheMic (Munchie)
- rldawtoeaachrelh (therealcalhoward)
- eaFd (Fade)
- fatdTiAmehhF (AdamTheFifth)
- hSShyy2 (2ShyShy)
- byeCr (Cyber)
- uqtAniRiaan (RinaAntiqua)
- eBe (Bee)
- urBatmsteiru (Buttersamuri)
- inXnneauk (Xenunnaki)
- lk ddoaBT (Todd Black)
- haReTreppt (TheRappter)
- oehnZTeohM (TheMohZone)
- atn tyne-en3EaJirmt (Jay-3 Entertainment)
- soorcbBsu (Brobuscus)
- 0RLN0YMETYAU (Y0UR0NLYMATE)
- RoOHiigneeTrh (OriginTheHero)
- olbmuSyt oeSi (Soul Symbiote)
- somhketogdeouc (theduckgoesmoo)
- roisTub (Tsubori)
- maeroreDDu (DuoDreamer)
- The "ROBBED BY SANS IN A TUMBLR SEXYMAN POLL" bullet point is a reference to the 2022 Tumblr Sexyman Tournament, in which Bill lost to Sans in the semi-finals.
- The "BIG FAN OF CRYPTOCURRENCY, NFTS, AI ART" bullet point is a reference to Bill's cameo appearance in the The Simpsons episode "Bart's In Jail!", in which he told viewers to buy crypto as Loki shows his different incarnations to the Simpson family.
- A clip of said cameo is shown in the prelude before the fight, and Bill's "BUY CRYPTO, SUCKERS!" line is referenced in Discordant Decipher's lyrics.
- When decoded using a Vigenere cipher decoder with the keyword "Sephiroth", the cryptogram bullet point translates to "I DON'T EVEN LIKE CHICKEN WINGS", referencing the Sephiroth VS Bill Cipher episode of Crossover Colosseum (another YouTube versus show), in which Bill calls Sephiroth "Chicken Wing" throughout the fight.
- The glitched-out text shown in place of Bill's real name (which is unknown) consists of the scrambled names of various Death Battle community members and content creators that constantly change. In order of when they first appear legible, the scrambled names in question and what they rearrange to are as follows:
- During Bill's analysis, the credits scene from the episode "The Last Mabelcorn" is shown with Goku's shockwave-inducing punch clash with Beerus edited into the orb Bill is looking at, likely both as a nod to and to poke fun at how infamous the feat has become in the Death Battle community due its continued usage for scaling in almost all modern Dragon Ball episodes since its introduction in Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia (with the exceptions being Gogeta VS Vegito and Omni-Man VS Bardock).
- This could also be referencing the fact that Beerus was formerly translated as "Bills", as well as how Bill himself was at times brought up as a potential opponent for Beerus during speculation when he was confirmed for Season 7.
- In Bill's analysis, when Wiz mentions how Bill tried to trick humans to "open the front door" to our universe, a clip of Bill edited into the Big Bird kicking down a door meme is shown.
- In Bill's "Powers" slide, after Boomstick says that he can "control your dreams like Freddy Krueger", the memetic clip of Freddy putting on sunglasses from A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master can be seen edited into Grunkle Stan's eyes in the clip of Bill entering his mind.
- When Bill possesses Wiz during his analysis cutaway, the monitor in the background reveals Bill's hidden cameos in the previous three Death Battle episodes: Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, and Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer.
- Discord later reveals his own cameos in these episodes during his analysis cutaway.
- In Bill's analysis, Boomstick mentions that he was able to "Ah, jeez" his way into the real world, referring to how Bill possessed Blendin Blandin, a character voiced by Justin Roiland. Roiland is known for the phrase "Ah, jeez", mainly as Morty in Rick and Morty.
- In Bill's "Feats" slide:
- When decoded using an Atbash cipher decoder, the cryptogram bullet point translates to "ELEVEN DEEZ NUTS HAH", referring to how Bill getting 11D scaling through dimensional tiering was a point of debate in the Death Battle community.
- The list of Bill's crimes is taken from his Villains Wiki page, with a few removals and a single addition at the end of the list.
- Said addition is "turned a man's coffee into decaf", referencing part of the lyrics of "It's Gonna Get Weird", a cut song by Neil Cicierega that Bill was going to sing in the episode "Weirdmageddon 1: Xpcveaoqfoxso".
- Bill's written comment about how he directed the episode and Discord's comment about how "not all Bills are created equal" refer to Billy B Burson III, who actually directed this episode.
- In Bill's analysis, after Boomstick mentions how Bill can view an infinite kaleidoscope of possibilities, a clip of the Dancing Triangle meme is shown edited into Bill's eye.
- In Bill's analysis, when Wiz is discussing the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, two copies of Schrödinger from Hellsing are seen spinning on the right side of the screen, likely as a nod to the contentious arguments made for Alucard beating Dio Brando via Schrödinger's quantum immortality that were brought up during discussions for DIO VS Alucard, which were debunked by Wiz in the episode's post-analysis.
- As Boomstick says "'Dear Lord, what in good God's name is that thing?!'" in Discord's analysis, Crossover X (another YouTube versus show that DJTiki, who edited this episode, works on) can be seen typing said phrase in all caps in Cable VS Booster Gold's comment section, with the addition of "also do ryu vs batman pls <33333333" to likely poke fun at comments under Death Battle videos that simply suggest matchups for the show to do.
- The "Allegedly lost a drinking contest to Sideways from Transformers" bullet point in Discord's "Background" slide is a reference to the final question asked on July 3rd, 2015 to serial liar Sideways when he took over the Ask Vector Prime Facebook feed, where he claimed to have drank more than Discord without getting drunk while at Maccadam's Old Oil House.
- During Discord's "Background" slide, as Wiz goes over what animals Discord's body is made of, clips of various characters are shown for each animal in small circles (outside of Adam West Batman). In order, they are:
- Deer: Buck the Deer and his family from Courage the Cowardly Dog
- Goat: Toriel from Undertale
- Snake: Craig from Sanjay and Craig
- The alert sound effect from Metal Gear is played when "snake" is said, referencing the series' protagonist, Solid Snake.
- Lion: Simba from The Lion King (2019)
- Eagle: Apollo from Animal Crossing
- Lizard: Rango from the eponymous film
- After mentioning these animals, a shot of a box of "Discord-O's" falling onto a table is played, with the front of the box featuring the episode's thumbnail on it.
- In Discord's analysis, when Boomstick says Discord is lovable in a "'Mon Capitan' kind of way," Q from Star Trek is shown, referencing how Discord's original voice actor is John de Lancie, Q's actor.
- This fact is also mentioned in Discord's "Background" slide.
- In Discord's analysis, while Boomstick is talking about his daughter, a Gak ad is shown, which is a meme among the My Little Pony fandom due to its repetitive showings during commercial breaks for certain episodes of the show.
- In Discord's analysis, Boomstick compares Discord to "another Deadpool" after Wiz brings up his instances of breaking the fourth wall. Discord then proceeds to invade his analysis cutaway, animated in a similar limited style as Deadpool in his first two episodes. Discord even mentions such, blaming it on Death Battle's line producer Erin Makela (who appears on the Death Battle Lab's monitor upon Discord mentioning her) "refusing to greenlight complex animation" for his sudden appearance.
- Boomstick saying "D'ah, dammit!" when Discord interrupts him is a call-back to Thanos VS Darkseid, where he had a similar reaction when Deadpool showed up during Thanos' analysis cutaway.
- A plushie of the Axolotl that Bill calls out to during his death can be seen in the background of Erin's room.
- The "pony power hierarchy" that Boomstick brings up in Discord's analysis is depicted in his "Feats" slide as several major My Little Pony characters on Mortal Kombat II's Arcade Ladder, with Discord at the top of the mountain in place of Shao Kahn.
- In Discord's analysis, when Wiz mentions how Discord "kept accelerating so much" to the point of traveling backwards in time, an edited comic panel of Discord is shown with an image of Thor's ever-increasing speed feats across Death Battle (which has become a meme among the community) edited into the chalkboard Discord is holding.
- At the beginning of the fight, various people and objects can be seen falling through the interdimensional rift. These include:
- Death Battle community members Redrunner and GumballViking (the latter appearing with Terry Bogard's legs from his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate render in a reference to this image)
- The two are later seen again during the revolving scene of Bill firing lasers at Discord.
- This is the second episode to feature the two as cameos, after Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, and with the next one being Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
- Anne Boonchuy's sword stabbed through Luz Noceda's hat from her Good Witch Azura costume (referencing both how Luz VS Anne is a popular Death Battle matchup and the interconnected fanbases of Gravity Falls, Amphibia, and The Owl House)
- Both Brandon Yates and Therewolf Media have previously made commissioned "What If?" tracks for this matchup called "Calamity At The Door" and "Titans of Calamity", respectively, prior to the release of this episode.
- The day after this episode's public release, Luz VS Anne was announced as one of the matchups for Week 1 of Season 11's Tournament of Champions, in which it could be voted on to potentially become an episode, though it lost to Monokuma VS Korosensei.
- Paci-Fire and Rumble McSkirmish from Gravity Falls
- Paci-Fire is later seen again during the revolving scene of Bill firing lasers at Discord.
- The ponysona of Death Battle community member m3Atl0afman
- He is later seen again during the revolving scene of Bill firing lasers at Discord.
- The white Range Rover Velar that Death Battle YouTuber Biff Weed uses as his avatar
- Death Battle community members Redrunner and GumballViking (the latter appearing with Terry Bogard's legs from his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate render in a reference to this image)
- Bill's throne of petrified ponies and the petrified statues of Celestia and Luna on the arms of it are respective references to his throne of petrified Gravity Falls residents and Stanford's golden petrified body from the episode "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality".
- Judging by the hat and cape they're wearing, one of the petrified ponies making up Bill's throne appears to be Trixie Lulamoon.
- She is later seen again unpetrified in the background of the shot of Canterlot near the end of the fight.
- As revealed by Billy B Burson III on Twitter, Derpy is another one of the petrified ponies making up Bill's throne.[12]
- She was meant to appear again in the shot of Canterlot near the end of the fight, but her placement in the final animation ended up with her off-screen in the final episode.[12]
- The pony that Bill petrifies and adds to his throne is Arbre Ken, one of John Mitchell's OCs.
- Judging by the hat and cape they're wearing, one of the petrified ponies making up Bill's throne appears to be Trixie Lulamoon.
- The designs of the Mane Six's banners over Bill's throne are based on the designs of the transformed resistance members' banners (outside of the Pines family) from the episode "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls".
- Rainbow Dash can be seen wearing sunglasses on her banner, referencing this image that's commonly associated with My Little Pony's "20% Cooler" meme.
- Pinkie Pie's large smile could be a reference to the infamous "SMILE HD" animation.
- Discord flying through the Mane Six's banners is similar to him flying through Canterlot Tower's stained glass windows in the episode "The Return of Harmony Part 1".
- Bill saying Discord's friends "make their own [glue]" refers to how glue is made from various parts of horses.
- Discord's writing a letter to Princess Celestia while reading it aloud in his head is a reference to how Twilight Sparkle does the same thing at the end of most My Little Pony episodes.
- When Bill gags after Discord's speech about friendship, he turns green in disgust, which is a possible reference to the fact that his initial design was green, even appearing similar to his cameo in the episode "Fight Fighters", where he appears green.
- His "UGH, GAG!" line is a quote said by Discord in the episode "The Return of Harmony Part 2" right before the Mane Six defeat him.
- Discord dropping desserts on Bill is likely a reference to how he dropped a giant cupcake on the Legion of Doom in "The Ending of the End, Part 2".
- The drum kit that Bill summons after Discord drops desserts on him has a logo on the bass drum saying "WEIRD DAY" with an image of a hand holding a heart accompanying it, both of which are references to Green Day's American Idiot album cover.
- During this scene, Sans and the Judge from OFF can be seen in the background to the right of Bill's drum kit, referencing how they are a popular Death Battle matchup.
- During the Tournament of Champions later that year, Sans VS The Judge would be one of the matchups available to vote on for Week 8, which it won, allowing it to move on to Week 10, where it then lost to Kratos VS Asura.
- During this scene, Sans and the Judge from OFF can be seen in the background to the right of Bill's drum kit, referencing how they are a popular Death Battle matchup.
- During the revolving scene where Bill levitates and fires lasers at Discord, many cameos can be seen in the background. These include:
- Starlight Glimmer
- A Unicorn Royal Guard
- A grey pony with white legs and maroon and pink hair, an OC created by an unknown individual[13]
- A dark grey pony with yellow and black hair, an OC created by Death Battle community member Phoenix821
- Pony versions of Columbo (referencing how Liam Swan wanted Light VS Columbo to become an episode[14]), Buttersamuri, OriginTheHero, Ringmaster, Zack Watkins, Luis Cruz,[13] Carbonated-Jem, Mabel, and Dipper (with Mabel being seen using her grappling hook to zip towards and catch Dipper as he falls)
- Journal 3
- Season 10's zodiac wheel within Bill's eye laser when it passes over the camera
- A pony version of Rick Sanchez (who was seen as a background pony in the episode "Grannies Gone Wild") fighting Dr. Hooves as they go through two green portals from the Rick and Morty series (alluding to popular Death Battle matchup Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor from Doctor Who)
- The matchup would later become an actual episode just five episodes after this one, where this allusion would be referenced in its fight.
- Dreamy Daze, a pony OC created by Death Battle Discord moderator 2ShyShy
- They are later seen again in the background of the shot of Canterlot near the end of the fight.
- Cobalt Hoodie, a pony OC created by BronyPonyDude
- Biff Jerky, a pony OC created by Death Battle YouTuber RaccoonBroVA
- Princess Eris
- Discord turning Bill into a Dorito before eating him is a nod to both how calling Bill such is a meme within the Gravity Falls community and a joke that Death Battle fans made over the matchup during its waiting period, in which most assumed this would be the method of how Discord would likely win the battle.
- After getting his head blown up from the inside by Bill, Discord returns to the battle by opening a portal and emerging from Wiz's side of the Death Battle Lab.
- For just two frames in the scene immediately after this, a stone carving of Bill can be seen on the balcony in the top left corner.
- This is the fourth episode to hide a stone carving of Bill in the background of the fight, after Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, and Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, and with the next six being Gojo VS Makima, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Goku VS Superman (2023), Galactus VS Unicron, and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- For just two frames in the scene immediately after this, a stone carving of Bill can be seen on the balcony in the top left corner.
- The scene of Bill and Discord switching art styles as they go through the Weirdness Bubbles is a reference to a similar scene of Dipper and Wendy experiencing the same thing in "Weirdmageddon 1: Xpcveaoqfoxso". As they go through the bubbles, various cameos can be seen:
- In the claymation bubble, Randy Savage and Kool-Aid Man can be seen fighting in the background, a call-back to when they were animated in claymation upon entering the Kool-Aid Dimension during their fight.
- Both scenes were animated by Luis Cruz.
- When Discord pushes Bill in this scene, two pistols spontaneously appear and get knocked out of his hands, referencing the "Bill has a gun" animation.
- After getting pushed, Bill transforms into a pupil-less, sharp-toothed form with an extended tongue and a mouth that opens from the side of his body, a reference to the Impostor from Among Us, who makes a cameo later on.
- In the rubber hose cartoon bubble, Bendy and Cuphead can be seen in the background, with the former appearing as one of the dancing flowers and the latter hanging onto another one of them, referencing how they are a popular Death Battle matchup, with the two even having previously fought each other in DBX, as well as Brandon Yates previously making a commissioned "What If?" track called "Ink-dulgence" for the matchup prior to the release of this episode.
- In the hand puppet bubble, plushies of the Impostor and a Fall Guy can be seen on the left in the very first shot, referencing how Among Us VS Fall Guys was a popular Death Battle matchup.
- Before it became an episode in Death Battle '24, this episode was ironically the one it lost the 2D Champion's Poll to.
- The hand puppet bubble in general is a reference to the sock puppet dimension Discord opened a portal to and tried to send Tree Hugger into near the end of the episode "Make New Friends but Keep Discord". It could also be a reference to how Bill possessed a sock puppet in the episode "Sock Opera".
- In the claymation bubble, Randy Savage and Kool-Aid Man can be seen fighting in the background, a call-back to when they were animated in claymation upon entering the Kool-Aid Dimension during their fight.
- Bill's line "TELL JEAN-LUC HIS SHOW IS WORSE THAN CODE OF HONOR!" is referring to Star Trek character Jean-Luc Picard, with Bill saying that Picard's spin-off show is worse than the infamous Star Trek: The Next Generations episode "Code of Honor". The line as a whole once again references how Discord's original voice actor is John de Lancie, who played Q in Star Trek.
- The set of dice Discord summons is likely a nod to the Dungeons & Dragons parodies from both combatants' home series (Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons and Ogres & Oubliettes, respectively).
- The scene of Discord invading Bill's mind is a reenactment of the scene of Bill invading Stanley Pines' mind in the climax of "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls", with blue flames surrounding the place, Bill glitching out and shapeshifting into similar forms seen just before he died, and Bill punching Discord out the same way Stan punched Bill. Discord even mentions the scene by saying he's seen Gravity Falls and knows how Bill dies, referencing the flavor text for the "Discord, Dubious Intent" card from the My Little Pony Collectible Card Game.[2]
- The barrier that's cast on Discord to prevent him from escaping the grasp of Bill's giant hand is the Prison Bubble Bill traps Mabel in at the beginning of "Weirdmageddon 1: Xpcveaoqfoxso", only with the shooting star symbol replaced with a lock.
- Researcher AkumaTh's OCs Fire Spark and Axilia can be seen in the background of the shot of Canterlot near the end of the fight, the former next to Celestia and Luna and the latter next to Dreamy Daze.
- Spike can also be seen in this shot standing next to Trixie in the far back.
- When Bill threatens Wiz and Boomstick at the end of the post-analysis, various things can be seen inside his eye, namely:
- Ben Singer and Chad James
- Columbo
- Alongside the pony version of him seen in the fight, this is the fourth episode to hide Columbo in it as an easter egg in some form, after SpongeBob VS Aquaman, Sauron VS Lich King, and Gogeta VS Vegito, and with the next four being Gojo VS Makima, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Galactus VS Unicron.
- What appears to be Ice King's crown
- The puppets of Bill and Discord used in the hand puppet portion of the fight
- When played in reverse, Bill's backwards message during the "Winner" card is "REALITY IS AN ILLUSION, THE UNIVERSE IS A HOLOGRAM, BUY GOLD, BYEEEE!", the same line he told Gideon in the episode "Dreamscaperers".
- The "BYE GOLD" portion of this line is included as part of the lyrics of Discordant Decipher's chorus.
- During this scene, various images and backwards-playing clips can be seen, including:
- Close-ups of the folder that was seen on John Jones' desk in the beginning of Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer
- Ben Singer and Chad James in what appear to be outtakes for their cameo at the end of Discord's analysis cutaway
- The Season 10 zodiac wheel, albeit with the dollar sign, lotus, star, swords, atom, and wave with a red glow around them
- These match with the symbols that Discord is passing through on Discordant Decipher's cover art, albeit with the question mark, half-black half-white circle, and yin-yang unmarked, though the latter two are obscured by the card's text box.
- A screen of repeating text saying "TRANSFORMTHEQUESTIONDEMONS"
- In the credits, Discordant Decipher's title has an encrypted message added to it: "JpavhojFskypld", which is the hidden cryptogram found in the track's cover ("DLPYKSF JOHVAPJ") written backwards, which translates to "WEIRDLY CHAOTIC" when decoded using a Caesar cipher decoder.
- When played in reverse, the backwards message heard in Discordant Decipher is "Why are you listening to this part backwards? Don't tell me you're some kind of tinfoiler. You do know the song doesn't decide who wins, right?". This pokes fun at how some Death Battle fans who listen to the tracks early try to determine the winner based on how they end, as previous fight tracks have heavily implied the winners before.
- The "Why are you listening to this part backwards?" portion of the message is also a reference to Bill's backwards message through Gideon in "Dreamscaperers", where the latter is made to say "backwards message" in reverse, as if to poke fun at the part of the audience who reverses the backwards message only to get nothing substantial.
- The song used in the Next Time trailer for Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer is "Legends Never Die" by Liquid Cinema, the same song used in the video revealing the matchups for the Chamipon's Polls and primarily associated with Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer specifically thanks to Redrunner's hype trailer for it that was made after it was announced as the winner of the 3D Poll.
Errors
- The last pop-up box in Discord's analysis is missing the period at the end of the sentence.
- In the YouTube version of the episode, the Wiz and Boomstick theme can barely be heard after Discord's analysis just before being cut off by the BetterHelp advertisement cue.
- Bill's bow tie is missing from his sprite just before he begins firing lasers at Discord in the revolving chaos scene.
- In the early access uploads of the episode for Champions/FIRST Members, the fight animation's frame counter could be seen in the bottom-right corner when Discord says "This stalemate is getting dull... How about a different game?" This was fixed in the public release of the episode.
Other
- Excluding sprite animations with hand-drawn shots, this is the sixth episode to be animated in more than one animation style, after Metal Sonic VS Zero, Optimus Prime VS Gundam, Deadpool VS Mask, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, and Saitama VS Popeye, and with the next four being Goku VS Superman (2023), Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the second episode to use the stop-motion style, after Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man.
- This is the second episode in which all traditional animation styles (sprites, 3D, and hand-drawn) were used, after Saitama VS Popeye, and with the next one being Goku VS Superman (2023).
- This is the first episode in which every style (sprites, 3D, hand-drawn, and live-action) was featured.
- This is the seventh Cartoon-themed episode, after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale, Starscream VS Rainbow Dash, He-Man VS Lion-O, Danny Phantom VS American Dragon Jake Long, Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, and SpongeBob VS Aquaman, and with the next three being Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat, and Gru VS Megamind.
- This is the sixth episode in which the track features a lyrical battle between its combatants, after Ryu VS Jin, Thanos VS Darkseid, Miles Morales VS Static, Gray VS Esdeath, and Black Adam VS Apocalypse, and with the next one being Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer.
- This episode marks the first time a voice actor has been cast for three consecutive episodes (Paul Guyet for Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Bill Cipher VS Discord, and Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer).
- This is the eighth episode to play an audio clip of the winner in between Wiz announcing them as such and the episode's credits, after He-Man VS Lion-O, Joker VS Sweet Tooth, Balrog VS TJ Combo, Ryu VS Jin, Roshi VS Jiraiya, Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Kakashi, and DIO VS Alucard.
- This is the first episode to do so using a clip from the winning combatant's voice actor instead of one from their home series.
- This is the 11th episode to have an Antagonist defeat a Protagonist, after Godzilla VS Gamera, Ryu VS Scorpion, Joker VS Sweet Tooth, Hulk VS Doomsday, Sephiroth VS Vergil, Gray VS Esdeath, Hulk VS Broly, DIO VS Alucard, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, and Black Adam VS Apocalypse.
- This is the sixth episode to have a Villain defeat an Anti-Hero, after Hulk VS Doomsday, Sephiroth VS Vergil, DIO VS Alucard, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, and Black Adam VS Apocalypse.
- Prior to this episode, Brandon Yates made a track for the matchup called "Deciphering Discord" as part of his "What If?" commission tracks.
- This makes it the fifth episode that received its own commission track before its release, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, and Guts VS Dimitri, and with the next 10 being Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the fifth one to be done by Brandon Yates, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, and Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, and Guts VS Dimitri, and with the next nine being Frieza VS Megatron, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- The name of the official track is likely a reference to the commission track, with the words "Decipher" and "Discord" being switched around.
- This makes it the fifth episode that received its own commission track before its release, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, and Guts VS Dimitri, and with the next 10 being Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, Galactus VS Unicron, Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- The episode reached #1 on YouTube's Trending page.
- This is the seventh episode to reach #1 on Trending, after Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon, Ganondorf VS Dracula, All Might VS Might Guy, Flash VS Sonic, Gogeta VS Vegito, and Guts VS Dimitri, and with the next six being Frieza VS Megatron, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Galactus VS Unicron, Bowser VS Eggman (for Gaming), and Master Chief VS Doom Slayer (for Gaming).
- This episode features the second-highest amount of cameos in a single episode, with 55 characters appearing throughout it outside of clips, only behind Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor's 63 cameos.
- On the 363rd episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast, in which the crew (with the help of the live chat) ranked every Season 10 episode on a tier list, this episode was the only one to be placed in the "GOAT" tier, deeming it the best of the season.[15]
Notes
- ↑ *discord-o's not sold anywhere. don't look
References
- ↑
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 I kept hearing these epic stories about defeating the bugbear and banishing the changelings. So I thought, what the hay, I'm sure my friends would absolutely ADORE the chance to tussle with an evil interdimensional triangle wearing a tophat! Oops?
- —"Discord, Dubious Intent" flavor text
- ↑ Pokemon Gen 3 Battle Royale! | DEATH BATTLE Cast
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DEATHBATTLE/status/1700597770338345014
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DYWTBA_Brony/status/1701852162588889388
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DYWTBA_Brony/status/1701686528693477497
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://twitter.com/DYWTBA_Brony/status/1705016447829741901
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DYWTBA_Brony/status/1701776622028816455
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PBInfinitay/status/1701828177704927467
- ↑ ❔❓❔ QUESTION MARK ❓❔❓
- ↑ 🧪🧪🧪 BEAKER 🧪🧪🧪
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 https://twitter.com/RingmasterDBX/status/1701472474125177271
- ↑ 13.0 13.1
- ↑ https://twitter.com/LiamRichardSwan/status/1577799718570233857
- ↑ Season 10 Tier List! Let's Rank Our Episodes! | DEATH BATTLE Cast