- —Tagline
Bowser VS Eggman is the 190th episode of Death Battle, featuring Bowser and his Koopa Troop from the Super Mario series and Doctor Eggman and his Eggman Empire from the Sonic the Hedgehog series in a battle between iconic army-leading video game villains. Bowser was voiced by Zack Watkins and Eggman was voiced by Arthur Romeo.
Interlude
The episode opens with Eggman's fleet flying down as the Koopa Troop and Eggman Empire oppose each other, which pauses and grays out as Ringmaster shouts...
The screen then statics into playing the Death Battle intro.
 |
Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates  
|
Boomstick: Bowser versus Doctor Eggman.
Wiz: The King of the Koopas and the baddest of Badniks, and they're not alone.
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.
Bowser
|
Christmas Morning by Kevin Cheung 
|
Wiz: Ah, the Mushroom Kingdom. A peaceful land of kindness, adventure, love.
|
|
Boomstick: Ugh, boring! Move aside, princess, it's time this place got way more awesome! Here comes King Koopa himself, better known as "Bowser".
|
Jungle Spirit by Francis Lockwood
|
Wiz: The moment this orphaned star child was found by Kamek, it was clear: Bowser would command the disparate outcasts of the Mushroom World, the Koopa Clan.
Boomstick: Sadly, not everyone's born a Toad, and they treat these critters like monsters, fated to a life of infinite jump-farming for 1-ups!
Fire Mario performs the infinite 1-up trick as an image of Toadsworth fades into view.
Wiz: Bowser wanted a different world, but Princess Peach Toadstool would never allow the evil king's day in the Sun. Her light was so bright, Bowser became infatuated with her.
An animated sequence featuring Bowser, Mario, and Princess Peach in their classic Super Mario Bros. sprites plays out, with Bowser kidnapping Peach in her castle and swatting Mario aside.
Boomstick: So, he turned all the Toads into bricks and kidnapped her, putting their princess in another castle, and another, and another — like 40 years of castles — only to be released if she agrees to marry him and his dad bod.
Wiz: Yet he was foiled time and time again by those pesky Mario Brothers. However, Bowser is nothing if not persistent.
Boomstick: Look AT him! Dude's built like a brick house strapped to a Saw trap! That spiked shell takes a lot of punishment. Not even the weight of a castle can scratch it, especially when he rolls up like a prehistoric Beyblade.
Wiz: And the Koopa King doesn't just breathe fire and control lava; he commands nature itself.
Boomstick: Spitting meteors from outer space, beckoning the earth with a snap, inhaling torrents of wind, straight-up calling down lightning! What else has he got?
Wiz: Oh, just a little dabbling in dark magic!
Boomstick: Hell yeah, wizard turtle!
Wiz: The original NES manual even describes him as a sorcerer king.[Note 1] Magic is how he turned the Toads into bricks, only countered by the Princess's heart magic.
Boomstick: But that's not all the magic he's mastered: telekinesis, creating perfect clones, reanimating his undead skeleton, and worst of all... ruining EVERY game of Mario Party.
Playing as Wario in Super Mario Party Jamboree, Boomstick promptly loses 15 coins to Impostor Bowser.
Boomstick: Hey, nonononono, I stole those coins fair and square!
Wiz: Bowser spent decades hoarding treasures, coins, magic Star Rods, warships, Clown Cars, you name it! This is the same guy that created multiple flying castles fashioned after his own face.
Boomstick: Yeah, he's definitely got an ego on him. He's talked about having a four-digit IQ...
|
|
Boomstick: ...but I've seen this moron put death traps in his own backyard. A man after my own heart.
Wiz: Despite his clumsiness, Bowser's charisma and leadership brought many to his side; not enough to defeat Mario, but his army doesn't make it easy on the red plumber.
Boomstick: They're the most wicked band of misfits this side of World 8-4: the Koopa Troop!
Wiz: An army spanning multiple territories across the Mushroom World and beyond.
Boomstick: Goombas, Koopas, the Troopas, and the others make up the infantry; some with wings, some in shoes, and some even in race cars. They're the redshirts, first in and... first out.
Wiz: Piranha Plants, Bloopers, and Lakitus use their surroundings to get the jump on unsuspecting prey, by land, sea, or sky.
Boomstick: We'd be here forever jotting down the small fries: Boos, Shy Guys, sentient bombs with feet, and more!
Wiz: It was imperative for Bowser to nurture a unit that covers their own vulnerabilities. For example, Kamek and King Boo both have magic, but Boo has battlefield control with illusions and destabilizing dimensions, while Kamek focuses on buffing allies, canceling enemy powers, summoning anything he desires...
Boomstick: Or swapping my items to SCREW UP MY MARIO PARTY LEAD! Not again...
Wiz: Speaking of items, most of the minions can use pretty much any power-up Mario can. The Goombas make frequent use of Tanooki tails, and Bowser can really get into the cat roleplay. But as the Koopa Troop grew and grew, it started to feel less like an army and more like a family unit.
|
Fairytale Frightmare by Richard Wells
|
Boomstick: Oh, you mean like his kids, the Koopalings!
Wiz: Eh, they're adopted.
Boomstick: What's the difference?
Wiz: Good point! Bowser took them in and even trained them in dark magic!
Boomstick: Though no one's as spoiled as his natural nepo baby, Bowser Jr., captain of the Koopa Troop.
Wiz: "Spoiled" is an understatement. Remember his escapades as Shadow Mario? He terrorized Delfino Plaza with literal evil paint. That whole debacle was basically his attempt at elementary school art class.
Boomstick: And I bet Bowser still has some on the fridge. But really, the king is very protective of his kids. If the fam's in trouble, he can will himself to transform into a giant kaiju, all to crush whatever bully's talkin' smack!
Wiz: Maybe a little overkill.
|
Final Prophecy by Ian Livingstone
|
Wiz: Just one punch from Giant Bowser launched a castle out of orbit. Taking into account the flight path and the scale of their universe, Bowser's punch must have hit with a force of over 125 trillion tons of TNT.[Note 2]
Wiz: Considering how Yoshi punted poor Raphael the Raven so hard he exploded into a constellation of stars, this isn't even CLOSE to Bowser's full strength.
Boomstick: So don't bully his kid, especially if he falls into some of Bowser Jr.'s set of black paint. That stuff's scary.
|
|
Wiz: Enough to unleash Bowser's dark fury, a form whose very steps caused widespread natural disasters.
Boomstick: Okay, seriously, how does Mario ever beat this guy?
An animation of Mario saying "Mamma mia!" plays on the bottom left of the screen as Boomstick finishes his sentence.
Boomstick: He's like Godzilla, Doctor Strange, and John Cena all in one big turtle!
Wiz: Oh, we're not even to the best part. Bowser's dark magic became so potent, he eventually learned how to warp the very fabric of reality.
Boomstick: Anything the king imagines, he makes happen. He turned all of Yoshi's Island into a storybook, and remember those painted worlds in Mario 64? Yeah, he made those! And the staircase that goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and— Oh god, does anyone know how to BLJ?
The infamous endless staircase theme from the game plays as Boomstick mentions the steps before the regular music resumes.
Wiz: He also stole ultra-powerful items like the Wonder Flower, which can mold reality like Play-Doh, and the Dream Stone, which can be used to wish someone out of existence.
|
|
Boomstick: But his most iconic thefts are those big, shiny Power Stars.
Wiz: Don't judge a book by its cover. Infant Power Stars, AKA Lumas, can become whole galaxies. They also ferry Mario across the universe in three seconds. That's 489 quadrillion times lightspeed.[Note 3]
Boomstick: Obviously, the big daddy Grand Stars are even crazier. Bowser used one to power his space kingdom, but then guess who showed up to ruin everything?! It's-a him!
Wiz: And when the Grand Star was freed, it caused a chain reaction that destroyed the entire universe via a massive black hole.
Boomstick: Thank space god that Rosalina showed up to save the day.
Wiz: Not that Bowser needed saving; he's been swallowed by another black hole[Note 4] and thrown into a star that went supernova.
Boomstick: Imagine if this crazy OP fire turtle had to fight himself! Oh wait, he DID, and he beat the hell out of him!
Wiz: With all his power, it's a wonder he still hasn't conquered the Mushroom Kingdom. Perhaps it's because his visions of grandeur were never really what he sought. Surrounding him is a crew of outcasts and miscreants like him! Ride-or-dies that can't be swayed against him.
Boomstick: Awwww, are you saying he's secretly happy 'cause he's got a big monster family now?
Wiz: Yes... but also, when they actually work together, they legitimately conquered most of the known universe, so...
Boomstick: He's a baddie through and through who will teleport through space and time to show you what's what. Because he's no ordinary Koopa; make way for the king!
As Boomstick finishes his sentence, an animation plays that shows Bowser standing triumphantly on top of the defeated bodies of Mario, Luigi, and a pile of Toads, with another pile of defeated Toads seen in the foreground and a torrent of flames raging on in the background. Bowser is also accompanied by Bowser Jr. in his Junior Clown Car and Kamek as the "Game Over" message from the original Super Mario Bros. appears.
Doctor Eggman
|
Bright Horizon by Ray Colcord
|
Wiz: Citizens of Earth, lend me your ears! Imagine a world of endless possibility, where people are free as the wind. Isn't it...
|
Answer the Call by Pitch Hammer
|
Wiz: Disgusting? Now, imagine a better world, one with proper guidance and the technology to bring about global peace!
Boomstick: "But Wiz, only a brilliant mind can make that happen!"
Wiz: Not just any brilliant mind; he's a genius at heart who knows the dangers within. He's Ivo Robotnik.
Boomstick: Doctor Eggman!
|
Spies "R Us by Richard Myhill
|
Wiz: As a mad scientist myself, his story is my inspiration, just as Eggman's was his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, who sought to create world peace through technology. But then, his beloved granddaughter, Maria, was killed by the Guardian Unit of Nations, better known as—
Boomstick: G.U.N. They're freakin' called "G-U-N".
An animation of an infant Eggman besides a dismantled Orbot and Cubot playing with a baby rattle plays.
Boomstick: Anyway, lil' Eggy grew up a lonely narcissist because all his family talked about was "Maria this", "Maria that", boohoo!
Wiz: Neglect and envy tainted Ivo's goals of following Gerald's footsteps. He distanced himself from his grandfather's legacy; instead of bettering the world, he would conquer it, to get the attention he deserved!
Boomstick: No, you mean craved. Desperately craved.
Wiz: Eh... tomato, tomato.
Boomstick: You just said it the same way twi—
Wiz: He aimed to establish Eggmanland, a capital of science, and this paradise would have worked just fine if not for that blasted Sonic the Hedgehog.
Boomstick: For years, Eggman's plans literally blew up in his face, and he's a very sore loser.
Wiz: But just like any good experiment, the doctor did more testing, seeking better results.
Boomstick: He's created plenty of knickknacks to terrorize the world with: a laser gun, a cloning ray, mind control cannons, a flying armada, typical evil scientist stuff.
Wiz: Then there's the big ones. He invented a Spatial-Displacement Trap which, while online, scatters a target's atoms across space. Oh, and then there's the Metal Virus, which transmutes organic tissue into living metal zombies. It's so deadly, it created a plague that nearly wiped out all life on Earth.
Boomstick: Shame Eggman never made himself immune to it. That's a whoopsie.
Wiz: And when he's not duping you with decoys, he's riding in style with the Egg Mobile. It's lightweight for maneuverability but tough enough to withstand moon-sized explosions and even the center of a black hole.[Note 5]
Boomstick: I mean... it's kind of lame-looking, but he can plug it into big bad mechs like the Eggwalker or the Death Egg Robot, whose giant laser once obliterated 77,000 cubic meters of rock in an instant![Note 6] That's like having an atomic bomb in your pocket all the time.
|
The Electric Spy by Gregor F. Narholz
|
Boomstick: Doh, okay, maybe this guy's pretty cool.
Wiz: Eggman built machines for a long list of combat situations. Some look like knights, others use extraterrestrial sources like the Wisps, and then there's the orbital bases, like the Death Egg.
Boomstick: The reference is obvious, but Darth Vader's version is like a toy compared to the Death Egg, which can annihilate stars. Poof! A whole constellation, gone in one shot.
Wiz: That's not to say Eggman doesn't enjoy scrapping with blue hedgehogs himself; enter the Egg Dragoon.
Boomstick: Hell yeah! The rawest of the battle mechs. It's got electric drills! It's got ice missiles! It's got a whole lotta bullets! My god, Wiz... I NEEEED it!
Wiz: And don't forget: Eggman built all of these things himself. Maybe world domination is in his grasp yet.
Boomstick: One problem: Eggman's a turbo loner. No hobbies, no friends, no wife, no nothing.
Wiz: Come on, he has friends; I mean, he's a feminist!...
A clip from Sonic Adventure 2 showing Eggman on his Eggwalker threatening Amy Rose with a gun briefly plays on-screen.
Wiz: ...O-okay, maybe not, but what about Infinite? Sure, they might have joined forces over a mutually sought revenge against Shadow, buuuut it counts! Sort of.
|
|
Wiz: Who needs friends when you can build friends?
Boomstick: Obviously, Eggman has a tough time collaborating with others, so he just built his own army instead.
Wiz: The Eggman Empire.
Boomstick: The Badniks are mass-produced foot soldiers. Buzz Bombers, Crabmeats, Caterkillers, Eggrobos, and don't forget those cute little Moto Bugs. The Badniks may seem simple, but they're led by an elite, multi-talented unit: the Hard Boiled Heavies. Really leaning into the egg thing, huh?
Wiz: The army has a wide variety of troops, even your classic comedy duo with Orbot and Cubot. They're Eggman's assistants and immense disappointments. Every genius has their duds.
Boomstick: Hey, at least they're not Scratch and Grounder. But, that's why he's made top-notch bots modeled after the Sonic cast, like everyone's favorite robo-faker, Metal Sonic.
Wiz: Metal Sonic has the most horsepower in the Eggman Empire. He has the moves and speed of Sonic, and then some. He's had his rebellious phases, but Eggman's reprogrammed Metal to better follow his commands. Additionally, when upgraded to his Neo form, Metal Sonic could copy biological data, including unique powers like Shadow's time stop technique, Chaos Control.
Boomstick: He could even copy Silver's psychokinesis, and with enough Chaos energy, he powers up into Super Neo Metal Sonic!
|
Do Or Die by Invasion from Mars
|
Wiz: Though everything would change with the appearance of the Phantom Ruby. One of many trump cards at Eggman's disposal, the Phantom Ruby alters reality by manipulating perception.
Boomstick: Basically, super OP illusions, but in Infinite's hands, it's a weapon of mass destruction. I don't know how illusions translate to body replicas, changing gravity, or making a fake Sun, but... go off, king!
Wiz: And when used on the planet's consciousness — which is a thing — the Ruby granted Eggman the Light-man form. Yep, apparently, Super Eggman is canon, though it is pretty complicated to manifest.[Note 7][Note 8][Note 9][Note 10]
Boomstick: But the Phantom Ruby isn't the only souped-up gem Eggman has. He's used the Jeweled Scepter to make the world-shattering Egg Wizard. Then, on more than one occasion, he's effortlessly gathered the super rare, super powerful Chaos Emeralds. You know, the things that power Super Saiyan hedgehogs!
Wiz: Eggman built, and built, and built, and eventually, he built something that started to build on him. Sage was originally designed as a mere assistant, but through an alien encounter, she was granted actual sentience.
Boomstick: Sage is already super powerful, but now, she's also super smart. She thought up millions of battle plans all at once to defeat the massive Titans.
Wiz: And you can barely remember where you put your dune buggy.
Boomstick: I know exactly where it is; it's at the police impound, thank you very much.
Wiz: Sage was Eggman's saving grace. He had previously found machines with personality lacking, but Sage's great adequacy in serving her function provided Eggman with something that, for the first time, he'd hate to lose. In essence, a-a sort of... daughter.
|
Man of Stone - Underscore by Eric John LaBrosse, Benjamin David Glascock, Cody Robert Jones, Shane Thomas Richlen, Jared Paul Steffen, Kolten Christopher Lee Taggart
|
Boomstick: So, like any good dad, he gave her the keys to his car, his spaceship, and his orbital death ray. Hell, now she controls the entire army!
Wiz: And this frankly unheard-of trust from Eggman became crucial in defeating The End, a primordial entity so mighty, even Super Sonic struggled against it.
Boomstick: Their battle can only be described as "peak fiction", 'cause charged by seven Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic's no joke!
Wiz: The power of one Emerald can shift continents. All seven together can shift the universe.
Boomstick: And kill some pretty terrifying bosses, like Eggman's Time Eater, which ripped apart space-time like tissue paper.
Wiz: In short, Chaos Emeralds give thoughts power. With them, Eggman's best machines can run indefinitely while matching the greatest powers ever seen, like when three supers battled Solaris, who tried to destroy time itself. Solaris extended its chaos across multiple timelines in about 20 seconds, or 73 quadrillion times lightspeed.[Note 11]
Boomstick: It's funny, though; while Eggman's smarts have sort of defeated Sonic here and there, he's pretty effective when he teams up with the Blue Blur to save the world.
Wiz: Well, recall how Professor Gerald was a good person before losing the granddaughter he loved. In Eggman's case, now that he has Sage, perhaps a similar story is playing out in reverse...
Wiz and Boomstick: ...Nah!
Boomstick: Eggy will always have a hare-brained scheme behind his cufflinks.
Wiz: So watch out, critters and plebeians of the world; he is the Eggman, and he's got the master plan.
As Wiz says his sentence, an animation plays that shows the camera panning up from an unconscious Tails and a collapsing Sonic to Doctor Eggman laughing triumphantly with Metal Sonic and Sage by his side as the "Game Over" message from the original Sonic the Hedgehog appears.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Death Battle
The scene opens over Bowser's amusement park-styled castle, where Bowser prepares to fulfill his dream of marrying Princess Peach. The audience consists of the entire Koopa Troop, including Goomboss, King Bob-omb, a bored and uninterested King Boo, the Koopa General, and Kamek peeking out from behind the pew chairs. Bowser himself, wearing his white tuxedo and top hat, looks happily at his bride-to-be as the marriage officiate is about to give his sermon.
However, this is suddenly revealed to be a ruse, as "Peach" falls over to reveal that she was actually a wooden cutout while the marriage officiate reveals themself to be Orbot and Cubot in disguise.
Bowser: Huh?!
Orbot: Hahahaha!
The message "OPERATION CATFISH WAS SUCCESSFUL" is momentarily flashed at the top of the screen before it disappears and Orbot's eyes project a holographic video of Doctor Eggman.
Eggman: I've come to make an announcement! This territory is now the base for my upcoming Eggmanland 2.
Bowser, understandably angry about this absurd declaration, tears off his wedding outfit and taunts Eggman as Orbot and Cubot run away from Bowser Jr., who charged at them with his paintbrush, then stands alongside his annoyed father.
Bowser: What a joke.
Bowser Jr.: Hmph!
Eggman simply chuckles at his adversary's frustration, the projection of him vanishing as his fleet quickly arrives with a sonic boom that parts the clouds, looming imposingly over the battlefield, along with a suspiously-looking moon as Eggman confidently makes another announcement over a broadcast speaker.
Eggman: I am Doctor Eggman, your new genius overlord.
Many of his troops then start flying down onto the battlefield, along with Eggman himself piloting the Egg Dragoon.
|
|
Eggman: Get a load of THIS!
The two armies stand off against each other until Bowser angrily orders his troops to charge at the enemy, with Eggman and his robots charging as well in response. With the war properly underway, Bowser dropkicks an Egg Hammer before throwing dark red balls of energy (the first of which destroys a trio of background Buzz Bombers that were attacking a group of Koopa Troopas who retreated into their shells for protection) and firing three flaming meteors at three of Eggman's robots, destroying them. The Egg Dragoon then flies down and fires a volley of bullets, with Eggman laughing maniacally as Bowser charges at him, annoyed at his maniacal laughter as he dodges each blast before withdrawing into his shell and spinning towards the Egg Dragoon while the bullets do nothing.
Bowser: Shut up, nerd!
Bowser, still in his shell, launches himself against the Egg Dragoon, damaging its Gatling gun arm. In response, the mech fires its drill missiles at Bowser and electrocutes him, but Bowser manages to jump off and catch another drill to throw it back at the Egg Dragoon, which cuts through the mech's mid-section and splits it in half. Then, Bowser stomps on the ground, causing earthly spikes to pierce the Egg Dragoon along with Eggman, killing him...
...or so it seems; a looping laugh and spring-loaded head popping up from the doctor's impaled stomach reveals that it was actually D3-COY that piloted the mech. Thinking it's still the real deal, however, Bowser taunts Eggman once more, effortlessly taking out an Egg Fighter that attempts to ambush him from behind in the process while a mysterious figure looms and disappears in the background.
Bowser: You call these toys an “invasion force”? I've seen Toads do better.
Through his broadcast speaker from above, Eggman suddenly insults his opponent, alerting Bowser that he is still alive.
Eggman: That's a decoy, you idiot. INFINITE!
Infinite then warps onto the battlefield in front of Bowser mid-air.
Infinite: This power is without peer. It is the ULTIMATE strength!
Using the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite increases the surrounding area's gravity, making quick work of some of the Koopa Troop — notably the Koopa General, Goomboss, and King Bob-omb — while Bowser uses his magic to protect other members in barriers (though one unfortunate Goomba gets knocked out of his by a Moto Bug, who he gives a glare to right before succumbing to the illusion) as he fights off the increased gravity himself.
However, being a ghost and well-versed in illusions himself, King Boo is immune to Infinite's abilities and laughs at the others' predicament before stepping in. Taking advantage of the increased gravity, he turns to Infinite, who is launching other illusionary projectiles across the field, and while he's distracted, uses his crown and summons a Thwomp above the jackal.
Thwomp: URGH!
Before Infinite notices it, the increased gravity causes the Thwomp to fall too quickly for him to react, promptly crushing him from above and causing his mask and the Phantom Ruby to fly off of his now-flattened and comically crushed body. With the Phantom Ruby now vulnerable, both armies take notice and fight for it; a Goomba and a Buzz Bomber are the first to reach it, though their inability to pick it up leaves a Chargin' Chuck to grab it as he charges through a Moto Bug. However, Orbot and Cubot suddenly appear behind him, with Orbot distracting him while Cubot snatches the ruby from his hand without him noticing before the Elite Trio — Corporal Paraplonk, Private Goomp, and Sergeant Guy — bombard the duo, creating a cartoonish dustcloud. As they fight to get the Phantom Ruby, the gem is launched into the air, where Metal Sonic boosts in and quickly snatches it, revealing himself as the mysterious silhouette in the background from earlier.
Noticing this, Bowser calls upon purple lightning to strike him down, but Metal Sonic easily avoids them, as well as a Koopa Paratroopa's thrown spear, a Hammer Bro's hammer, and a nearby Bullet Bill. Bowser then throws Broggy at Metal Sonic before Kamek teleports next to his leader with an idea, using his magic to call upon three slots above the two.
Meanwhile, Metal Sonic continues to evade a majority of the Koopa Troop, grabbing a Chain Chomp by its chain and throwing it at Broggy to knock him away in the process. Then, as King Boo shoots three fireballs from his crown, Metal Sonic swiftly avoids them and rushes at King Boo, flicking his crown off with his finger, leaving the ghost too shy to keep fighting as he bashfully covers his face. As rain starts to drizzle on the battlefield, Metal Sonic lands on the ground and begins charging himself with the Phantom Ruby, but before he can actually use it... he notices something up above.
TIME!
The Phantom Ruby suddenly disappears from Metal Sonic's hand. Shocked, Metal Sonic frantically looks around for it, even rotating his head a full 360 degrees in his search before realizing it is now in the possession of a laughing Bowser. Understandably upset at this (much like the average player in Mario Party), he summons the Green Chaos Emerald to his hand, transforms into Neo Metal Sonic, and slowly walks toward Bowser.
Neo Metal Sonic: It's too late...!
As Neo charges straight at him at massive speeds, Bowser crushes the Phantom Ruby to prevent it from being used against him and his forces again, but he gets caught off guard and thereafter gets kicked by the robotic hedgehog with enough force to pierce through his chest, leaving him screaming and sending him flying face-first into the ground, near-death, as Neo Metal Sonic flies away. Afterward, a nearby Bowser Jr. looks in fear at his father's condition before black goop manifests on his paintbrush. Bowser Jr. takes note of this fact before coming up with a idea.
Meanwhile, the real Eggman arrives on the battlefield in the Death Egg Robot alongside Sage, catching the attention of a Paragoomba and Slicer about to engage in their own battle and a few background Koopa Troopas running with their comrades as the rain begins to pour.
Eggman: All according to plan!
Sage: You've lost the battle before it has begun.
Neo Metal Sonic flies next to his master's mech.
Eggman: Excellent work as always, Metal!
Neo Metal Sonic gives Eggman a nonchalant thumbs up as the Death Egg Robot turns to Sage.
Neo Metal Sonic: Hmph.
Eggman: Ready to wrap this up, Sage?
Sage: As you command.
Eggman: You know what they say: "The more the merrier!"
As Eggman says this and lets out a laugh, Bowser Jr. jumps and flings the black paint at his father, splashing Bowser with the black goop, completely covering him in it and letting Bowser sink down into a black vortex-like void as Jr. follows suit. Within the dark vortex, Bowser's eyes reopen with fury as his eyebrows light on fire, left with only one thing to say:
Fury Bowser: Showtime!
Arising from the dark void as Fury Bowser, he throws a big punch at the Death Egg Robot, but Neo Metal Sonic kicks it out of the way and takes the blow for it with his Black Shield, which is subsequently shattered by the punch as Metal gets launched away as a result. Sage teleports away from their clash as Bowser rushes towards the Death Egg Robot, which takes a step back as the two make their stance against each other. Both go to throw a punch at the other, lightning striking between the two as the war rages on, but Bowser is quicker to connect his and breaks off a chunk of the giant mech's face, causing the its arm to twitch.
Following this, Bowser jumps high in the air and tucks into his shell to launch projectile spikes down on Eggman before Sage protects her father with an above-head force field. Bowser then launches himself downward for a full force collision through his spikes onto Sage's force field to destroy it, but he is suddenly stopped from crushing her and Eggman by a shimmering gold light.
Eggman: Huh?
Perplexed, a braced Eggman looks up to see the humongous Fury Bowser held up by a returning Neo Metal Sonic, who has used all seven Chaos Emeralds to transform into his super form.
Super Neo Metal Sonic: I'll crush you!
Metal Sonic launches Bowser into the air, dealing heavy blows that keep him spinning before knocking him down to the ground, though Bowser quickly recovers from the assault and lands on his feet. Sage then grabs a horde of Eggman's robots with her telekinesis and throws them all at Bowser, but Kamek reappears in front of him and uses his magic to summon elongating Warp Pipes, forming a shield that destroys the swarm and prevents them from reaching Bowser. Metal Sonic, however, instantly breaks through the pipes and throws a salt-fueled punch at a shocked Kamek — seemingly taking out his frustration for losing the Phantom Ruby to Chance Time — blasting him off into the horizon as Bowser takes notice before Metal Sonic rushes toward his opponent.
Fury Bowser braces himself as he returns his attention to Metal, preparing to defend against the incoming attack, only to show surprise as Shadow Mario jumps in the way and create an X-shaped paint shield. Rolling into a concussive ball, Super Neo Metal Sonic easily breaks through it and knocks Shadow Mario to the ground with a Homing Attack, much to Fury Bowser's concern.
Fury Bowser: Huh?
Shadow Mario then falls to the ground and explodes in dark blue paint to reveal Bowser Jr., whose transformation was undone by the attack. Seeing his motionless son on the ground, Fury Bowser goes completely berserk, swatting Metal away like a fly right as the robot rushes towards him.
Fury Bowser: How dare you! Keep YOUR hands OFF... MY... SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!
As he shouts this, Bowser summons the power of a Grand Star, becoming surrounded in a rainbow-colored aura as he channels its energy and uses it in combination with his fire breath to unleash a multicolored Fury Blast at Metal Sonic, who copies Fury Bowser's bio-data instantaneously and fires a yellow Fury Blast of his own in retaliation. However, the attack immediately proves futile; the Chaos Emeralds get overpowered, forcing them out of his body and leaving a depowered Neo Metal Sonic to watch in terror before he gets blown apart and blasted away by the beam.
Sage: No!
The Chaos Emeralds surround a distraught Sage as Bowser's blast destroys the Egg Fleet and the impact creates a black hole behind her and her father, sucking in a majority of the Eggman Empire's troops and heavily damaging the Death Egg Robot, knocking off it's arm and it's head piece. As the mech uses its jets and its remaining arm to avoid getting sucked in as well, Eggman orders Sage to unleash his last resort.
Eggman: Sage! The Death Egg! MAX POWER!!!
Nodding at her father's command, Sage warps away with the Chaos Emeralds as the black hole vanishes into air as the camera pans up to the "moon", revealing it's identity as the Death Egg by moving it out of the way of the real Moon after the gemstones flash around it. She then uses the Emeralds to charge its Final Egg Blaster, which fires not at Bowser, but at the Koopa Troop. As it approaches the Earth's surface, both armies watch in fear as a kneeling Koopa prays to himself over his impending doom and Eggman's remaining robots attempt to flee except for Orbot and Cubot, who are still fighting the Elite Trio and also watch in fear of the attack.
Bowser, on the other hand, looks at the oncoming laser and, as Eggman leaves in his Egg Mobile in maniacal laughter, leaps bravely in front of the Koopa Troop to protect them as he attempts to catch the blast with his bare hands. However, he quickly gets overwhelmed by it and is left screaming in agony as he gets reduced to a skeleton that gets blasted into pieces shortly afterward.
As the smoke clears, a large crater is seen with Eggman and his damaged Egg Mobile inside, having made it out safely. After catching his breath, he goes to his vehicle, thinking the battle is finally over...
...only for someone off-screen to fire a beam of magic at the Egg Mobile, turning it into stone. Startled, Eggman turns around to see that the beam was fired by a now conscious and tranquil but enraged Bowser Jr. holding Kamek's magic wand, having sustained minor wounds and his bandana partially ruined, who glares angrily at Eggman as Bowser — now as Dry Bowser due to the Death Egg's prior attack — reconnects his head to the rest of his skeleton body and some remaining Koopa Troop members gather behind them. Junior then fires another beam from the wand, which Eggman easily dodges.
Eggman: Curses! Sage! Fire it agai— Wuh-huh?
Turning around, Eggman realizes with shock that Junior's beam was aimed not at him, but at the Death Egg, which gets transmuted into a giant Question Mark Block by the attack, much to Eggman's horror and concern for Sage.
Eggman: Wait...!
Suddenly, Eggman starts getting sucked into Bowser's Vacuum Breath as he gives the last laugh to his opponent. Eggman attempts to escape the suction with his jetpack and even by running once the jetpack immediately gets sucked in, but when even that does not work, he pulls out his ray gun to shoot Bowser as the gap is closed. However, Bowser Jr. fires another beam at the weapon to turn it into a wooden cutout of itself as ironic karma for the Peach cutout that started the war in the first place, much to Eggman's surprise. With no remaining options left to save him from his rapidly impending fate, Eggman can only watch as he gets sucked closer to Dry Bowser.
Dry Bowser: Gah-hah-hah-HAH! So long, Doctor!
With all his hard-boiled fury, Dry Bowser throws a devastating punch into Eggman's chest, causing sparks and launching him far into orbit towards the giant Question Mark Block, leaving Eggman screaming at his own demise.
Eggman: WOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!
After a moment, his body collides with the block, blowing the two up in a massively magnificent golden explosion as Dry Bowser laughs triumphantly. Kamek and the rest of the surviving Koopa Troop regroup with their leader to join in the celebration as Orbot and Cubot look at the camera sheepishly over their creator's death and coins rain from the sky, supplying the victorious army with numerous extra lives with which to bring back their fallen soldiers.
Dry Bowser: GAH-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah!!
Cubot, Orbot, and Sage are seen applying to be in the Koopa Troop, with the text "currently deserting" above Cubot and Orbot and "currently plotting" above Sage as a Koopa guard with a spear glares at her sternly, Sergeant Guy handles the applications, and the injured Private Goomp and Corporal Paraplonk sit nearby with thousand-yard stares on their faces. Meanwhile, a Koopa drives in an excavator behind them with a Paratroopa holding a spear flying above everything as the remainder of Bowser's army starts repairing the damage to his castle and the surrounding area.
Results
|
|
Wiz: This war was not an easy one to win, which might seem surprising given how the Sonic series is not afraid to show how tough its cast is while Mario's comes across as more... cartoony.
Boomstick: But as it turns out, Bowser had everything he needed to take Chrome Dome down. Strap in; this one's a lot, so we'll break it down into five categories.
Wiz: First up is physical stats. Bowser pretty-handedly outmatched any of Eggman's usual mechs like the Egg Dragoon or the Death Egg Robot.
Boomstick: The Death Egg Robot could level cities; Bowser could punch a castle out of orbit.[Note 12]
Wiz: The Death Egg could destroy stars, but Yoshi could match that level of power, and Bowser's strength is certainly above the green dinosaur's. Plus, while both Bowser and Eggman's tech survived black holes, Bowser's was much larger.[Note 13]
Boomstick: So, he may win stats, but this could change with their powers. With so many items and minions, that could make all that a moot point.
Wiz: Aside from power-up items, both could manipulate minds, create duplicates, and alter space-time. However, Bowser had a significant edge in having access to the majority of his abilities at all times.
Boomstick: Yeah, Eggman can do some crazy stuff, but only across different mechs, fortresses, or space bases. Bowser's all-natural; he's got all his best powers built in, and he ain't even a robot.
Wiz: Meaning he wins the war of attrition. He even had counters for battle-enders like the Metal Virus and Spatial-Displacement Trap. Context matters for those weapons, and both backfired in the past, but more importantly, Bowser could simply reverse the effects with his transmutation magic.
An Alternate Scenario is shown of Bowser freeing his army from the Metal Virus by absorbing it into Kamek's wand.
Wiz: Conversely, most of Eggman's robots could get turned into, say, a frog or a block with no reliable way back. Bowser takes the edge in powers.
Boomstick: But definitely NOT for intelligence. Come on, you have a four-digit IQ, Bowser? Really? That's cute. I mean, don't get me wrong; Bowser's not an idiot... usually. Just really, really... clumsy... Poor fella.
Wiz: Meanwhile, Eggman's an engineering genius who rarely ever gets bested by brains.
Boomstick: Easy dub. Now, let's talk trump cards.
Wiz: As in, items so powerful they could decide the entire outcome on their own.
Boomstick: The Phantom Ruby was super dangerous but specifically targets perceptions, unlike Bowser's Wonder Flower, which mucks up reality for real.
An Alternate Scenario is shown of Light-man Eggman staring down Castle Bowser in the airspace of the Egg Fleet, only to be transformed into a Goomba by the Wonder Flower, causing the Phantom Ruby prototype to fly out of his body as it and Goomba Eggman fall from the sky.
Boomstick: The Ruby affected a whole planet, but the Wonder Flower had the power to alter the universe. Also, the Dream Stone's ability to wish anything out of existence would have no problem cleaning up Super Neo Metal Sonic or Time Eater.
An Alternate Scenario is shown of the Time Eater charging its gargantuan Sun Burst attack, only for a giant-sized Dreamy Bowser to punch the fireball so hard that it and the Time Eater simply vanish from existence.
Wiz: Their most prized possessions was a tougher call. Together, the Chaos Emeralds can break the universe, but so can the Grand Stars; arguably not as much given the Emeralds scaling to Solaris, though Power Stars and Grand Stars are far more plentiful.[Note 14]
One last Alternate Scenario is shown of Nightmare Eggman staring down at Bowser as he summons six floating arms that all point at Bowser, each charging reality-warping attacks. Bowser stands at the ready holding the Star Rod, using it to make himself invincible and fire a golden beam that clashes with the nightmarish Eggman's lasers, ending the brief glimpse with a white flash.
Wiz: Clearly, this is getting fairly abstract, and both had multiple options that could win the day instantly, so the safest bet is to call this category a tie.
Boomstick: Which means it's finally time to compare their armies. Eggman's seems deadlier at first glance. I mean, look at all those buzzsaws and rockets! Metal Sonic's speed and power alone could solo most of the Koopa Troop. But, the Eggman Empire lacked something Bowser had in spades: teamwork and loyalty!
Wiz: Eggman is a notoriously terrible team player; his alliances are practically guaranteed to fall apart.
Boomstick: Hell, in Sonic Generations, he could barely manage working with himself!
Wiz: Eggman's army is designed to be controlled by just him. To Eggman, it's harder to command those with free will, hence his rivalry with the free-natured Sonic.
Boomstick: Meanwhile, the Koopa Troop follows Bowser because they actually like him! They train really hard to cover each other's weak points.
Wiz: Giving them plenty of advantages as this war progressed, like battlefield control through King Boo's magic and Bowser Jr.'s paint. And since the Koopa Troop doesn't rely that much on technology,[Note 1] Sage's hacking potential had little use.
Boomstick: Also, secret weapon? Kamek is kinda busted; canceling Metal Sonic's power copying, stealing the Phantom Ruby, and potentially swapping the Chaos Emeralds were huge game-changers.
Wiz: Add on that Bowser and his army can use any Mario power-up item, and they had millions— no, BILLIONS of combinations that the Eggman Empire just could not actively plan against. Even with Sage's millions of plans to take down the Titans, she thought them to be unbeatable, which Sonic proved was incorrect.
Boomstick: Just comparing their conquests makes it clear; the Eggman Empire took over the whole planet, but Bowser's Troop conquered most of the universe.
Wiz: Eggman was no pushover! His wit, power output, and ridiculous machines gave Bowser the biggest fight of his life, but the Koopa King's ludicrous strength, abilities, and united forces ultimately prevailed.
Boomstick: Eggman tried to poach the king, and now, he's cracked and scrambled.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Bowser.
Comparison
Bowser
- + A truly loyal army
- + More useful inherent abilities
- + Stronger base form
- = Cosmic & reality warping powers
- = Equivalent strength via forms
- - Kamek's mind control magic was ineffective
Eggman
- + Far more intelligent
- = Cosmic & reality warping weapons
- = Equivalent strength via mechs
- - Less efficient leadership
- - Sage's technopathy was ineffective
- - Army is mostly vulnerable to transmutation magic
Original Track
|
|
Composition
The track for this fight is "Game Over" by Brandon Yates featuring Victor Borba on lead vocals, lyrics written by Tyler Anderson on backing vocals, and with mixing and mastering done by Anthony DiGiacomo. It is mainly a lyrical heavy metal track whose lyrics reflect Bowser's fiery brute strength and Eggman's technological ingenuity, showcasing their shared ambition for world domination and their clash as leaders of their own armies. It also features backing choirs, strings, steel drums, and techno music, all elements used to various degrees in the music for some of the boss fights from the combatants' home series (such as Fury Bowser's various themes from Bowser's Fury, "In the Final" from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, "Dr. Eggman Showdown" from Sonic Lost World, and the final boss theme from Sonic Forces, among many others). It also incorporates motifs from the Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 and "E.G.G.M.A.N." from Sonic Adventure 2 in the main melody (similar to "Hard-Boiled Fury", the fan-commissioned track for this matchup that Brandon previously worked on), and a loose rendition of "Infinite" from Sonic Forces plays for Infinite's appearance in the fight. The track's primary nature as a lyrical heavy metal track in the first place and its inclusion of guttural vocals may also pay homage to "High Times" by Jason Bowld, the song that played during the climax of the Goomba VS Koopa 2 DBX.
Title
The title references the iconic message seen when a player loses in many video games, befitting the fatal nature of Death Battle and both combatants' roles as two of the most iconic video game bosses in history, with the message even appearing at the end of their analyses.
Cover Art
The cover art depicts Fury Bowser in space using his Vacuum Breath to suck up the Death Egg (with parts of it already being pulled into the vortex), the seven Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald, two Question Mark Blocks, and even the Death Battle logo itself that's usually at the top of the track covers, the last of which likely serving as a nod to Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, which has Bowser doing the same to the game's logo on the title screen.
Lyrics
From my castle walls (From my castle walls~!) |
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Bowser and Eggman are that they are both iconic, cunning, and egotistical video game villains who are the main antagonists of their respective series and the arch-nemeses of their main protagonists (Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, respectively); their ideologies contrast with that of their nemeses’ (Mario makes efforts to peace while Bowser wages conquests and Sonic believes in everyone having their own freedom while Eggman wants to impose his will on others). Both are leaders of their own army (the Koopa Troop and the Eggman Empire, respectively) and plan to conquer their series' main settings (Bowser plans to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, while Eggman strives to rule the world under his Eggman Empire), but are always thwarted by their arch-nemeses and their friends. In addition:
- In their attempts to conquer the world, both have built theme park-like attractions (both Bowser Land and World Bowser and both Eggmanland and Egg Planet Park, respectively), technology-driven capital cities (Neo Bowser City and Eggperial City, respectively), and massive flying fortresses (Neo Bowser Castle, Bowser's Galaxy Generator, and Castle Bowser for Bowser and the Death Egg, Egg Fortress, and Egg Cauldron for Eggman).
- Both possess a knack for mechanical ingenuity (Bowser, although not as ingenious as Eggman, crafts airships, Mechakoopas, and various contraptions, while Eggman specializes in creating robots and machines), having even created multiple, ginormous mechanical versions of themselves (both Mecha-Bowser and Heavy Metal Mecha-Bowser for Bowser and both the Death Egg Robot and Giant Eggman Robo for Eggman).
- Both have flying armadas (the airships and the Egg Fleet, respectively).
- Both make frequent use of a spherical vehicle for flight (the Koopa Clown Car and the Egg Mobile, respectively).
- Both have used the power of mystical creatures for their benefit (Lumas and both Chao and Wisps, respectively).
- Both of them have used extremely powerful items for their mythical power (the Powers Stars, Grand Stars, Dream Stone, Star Rod, Shine Sprites, Vibe Scepter, Pure Hearts, Power Moons, and the Wonder Flower for Bowser and the Chaos Emeralds, Master Emerald, Time Stones, Dark Ring, Hyper-go-on, Reverie, Sol Emeralds, Jeweled Scepter, and Phantom Ruby and its prototypes for Eggman).
- Both have time traveled to the past where they encountered and teamed up with their younger selves to defeat their enemies, which included their arch-nemeses and their own younger selves (in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Yoshi's New Island for Bowser and Sonic Generations for Eggman).
- Both have kidnapped important princesses as part of their world-conquering plan (Princess Peach and Princess Elise the Third, respectively).
- Both command teams of minions who share similar traits but each has their own unique personalities and fighting styles (the Koopalings and the Hard Boiled Heavies, respectively).
- Despite their villainy, they aren't completely heartless and have a soft side to them, having established parental bonds with others (both Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings and both Sage and Metal Sonic, respectively), one of which is a dark mirror of their respective nemesis (Bowser Jr. as Shadow Mario and Metal Sonic, respectively).
- Both have been forced to ally with their arch-nemeses on several occasions to defeat a greater evil, such as alien invasions (the Shroobs and the Black Arms, respectively), insane mad scientists who wanted to take over their empires (Fawful and Doctor Starline, respectively), and ancient deities of darkness that were released from a long imprisonment whose powers were tied to princesses (the Dark Star and Mephiles the Dark, respectively) and transformed to resemble another character by absorbing part of their essence (the Dark Star absorbed Bowser's DNA and became Dark Bowser, and Mephiles absorbed Shadow the Hedgehog's shadow and turned into a copy of him).
- Both obtained contrasting sleep-themed transformations (Dreamy Bowser and Nightmare Eggman, respectively) in a game with "Dream Team" in its title (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Sonic Dream Team, respectively), where it serves as the final boss. They also created dark levels in their image using these forms (Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle and Ego City, respectively).
- Both star in the spin-off series Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, where they are seen to actually have a kindred relationship together and often team up for their schemes.
- Both have appeared together in the Super Smash Bros. since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with Bowser appearing as a playable character starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee, whereas Eggman has appeared as a sticker and trophy in Brawl, a trophy in 4, and a spirit in Ultimate.
- Both of their arch-nemeses have previously fought each other twice in Seasons 1 and 5, respectively.
- This episode was revealed in the Save Death Battle Kickstarter along with Omni-Man VS Bardock, with both episodes having been part of the base $75,000 stretch goal along with the then-unrevealed Joker VS Giorno and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This episode was originally meant for Season 10, with it being Djmah'di Rivers' passion project episode for the season's theme of such[1] and it even being hinted at during the season's teaser trailer via footage of a man playing chess in the "SIXTEEN BRUTAL EPISODES" text,[2] hinting at the inclusion of their respective armies (relating to the army of pieces found in chess sets).[3] However, it had to be delayed due to how much more work needed to be done for it.[1][2]
- OriginTheHero has previously made an unrelated animation for the matchup of Fury Bowser standing off against the Giant Eggman Robot from the second live-action Sonic movie after seeing it in theaters.[4]
- The episode's animator, MORØ, posted promotional artwork of the combatants done by Iku Aldena (who he has collaborated with before on several projects, most notably the Friday Night Funkin' mod Indie Cross, which he founded and originally directed, and the unrelated video series of the same name on his YouTube channel[5]) on Twitter as a teaser for the episode prior to its release.[6]
- Tyler Anderson, who wrote the lyrics for this episode's track, has previously worked with Brandon Yates on a few vocal versions of his "What If?" fan-commissioned tracks.
- Similar to Eggman's prior army fight, this episode received trailers highlighting members of both combatants' respective armies, namely Kamek,[7] Bowser Jr.,[8] Metal Sonic,[9] and Sage.[10]
- Bowser's analysis preview was originally titled "Bowser preps his Army for WAR!", though it was later changed to "Bowser's Army is HOW big?!".
- Similarly, Metal Sonic's promotional trailer was initially called "metal sonic has NO CHILL" on YouTube before being changed to "here comes the (metal) boooy!" to match with its tagline on Twitter.
- Beyond Unbroken, the band behind "The Madness" (the song used in the episode's sneak peek trailer shown in the 393rd episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast), has officially acknowledged the show's use of the song on Twitter,[11] in a YouTube short,[12] and in the episode's comment section.[13]
- This is the first episode since Captain Marvel VS Shazam to feature a post-fight animation, with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the first episode to have animations of alternate scenarios in which the battle could have played out, with four alternate scenarios being depicted in order:
- Bowser using transmutation magic through Kamek's wand to undo the effects of Eggman's Metal Virus on his minions.
- Castle Bowser using the Wonder Flower's reality-altering effects to turn Light-man Eggman into a moustached Goomba.
- Dreamy Bowser using the power of the Dream Stone to wish the Time Eater out of existence.
- Bowser using the Star Rod in combat to stalemate against Nightmare Eggman's many finger blasts.
- This is the first episode since Link VS Cloud (2021) to use recycled audio for at least one combatant, as both King Boo and Kamek reuse their laughs from the Super Mario series, the Thwomp's voice clip is reused from Super Mario 64, Metal Sonic reuses lines from Sonic Heroes, Infinite reuses lines from Sonic Forces, and Sage reuses lines from Sonic Frontiers.
- Despite never actually transforming into Metal Overlord in the fight, Neo Metal Sonic uses that form's voice clips rather than his own, likely due to Neo Metal only having two voiced lines in Heroes and neither fitting the animation.
- Hours after its release, MORØ hosted a 30-minute Q&A on Twitter for people to ask questions about the fight.[14] As revealed in it:
- MORØ worked on the animation for a few months without a background and did a week of compositing months after completing it,[15] with him being provided an Unreal Engine file for the background to speed up the process of adding it to the scenes.[16]
- The Koopalings were meant to appear in the fight, but their scenes had to be cut due to time restraints, being the only major thing from the storyboards to be cut from the final episode.[17] More information can be found further down.
- Infinite survived being crushed by the Thwomp and was simply lying still and questioning his existence after his defeat (though this may have been a joke).[18]
- Fury Bowser is a mix of 2D and 3D elements depending on the shot,[19] with his main 3D model being a re-textured modification of his one from Bowser's Fury.[20]
- Sage was originally meant to not be seen again after the Death Egg got transmuted, with Eggman's reaction to it suggesting it might've killed her. MORØ added the post-fight animation after the battle to show her survival and because he thought it would be a fun addition in general.[21][22]
- The Alternate Scenarios shown in the post-analysis were added at the last minute (with Djmah'di Rivers' permission) as an excuse for MORØ to animate things that didn't exist back during production of the fight (namely Castle Bowser, Light-man Eggman, and Nightmare Eggman), with all four of them being done in a single day.[23][24][25]
- The storyboards by John Mitchell reveal numerous differences and cut scenes compared to the final episode. In order, they are as follows:
- The fake wedding's reveal did not have Bowser and the wooden Peach cutout wear their respective wedding outfits, and the "OPERATION CATFISH WAS SUCCESSFUL" message was absent entirely.
- Eggman's "I am Doctor Eggman, your new genius overlord," line originally came right after he announced the plans for Eggmanland 2 instead of when his fleet arrives over the battlefield.
- Bowser's remark towards Eggman's announcement was originally "GWAHAHA! What a joke! Do you have any idea who we are, Chrome Dome?", with Eggman responding with "My new minions." In the final episode, Bowser's line was shortened to just "What a joke!", while Eggman's was changed entirely to "Get a load of THIS!"
- Boomstick calling Eggman "Chrome Dome" at the beginning of the post-analysis is likely a holdover from Bowser's original line for this scene.
- As mentioned previously, the Koopalings were meant to appear in the fight but were cut due to time constraints. In order, their scenes were as follows:
- In between the shot of both armies charging at each other and the shot of Bowser dropkicking the Egg Hammer before throwing dark balls of energy was originally a scene of Bowser Jr. working with the Koopalings to take out several low-level Badniks.
- During the scene of Metal Sonic evading the Koopa Troop's attacks while holding the Phantom Ruby, Metal was originally meant to take out Morton, Wendy, and Lemmy before being screwed over by Chance Time. This scene was replaced with the one of him throwing a Chain Chomp at Broggy in the final episode.
- Additionally, Metal Sonic originally sliced the jewel on King Boo's crown in two at the start of this scene instead of simply flicking the crown in its entirety off his head at the end of it.
- Iggy and Roy were originally meant to accompany Bowser Jr. and Dry Bowser after Bowser Jr. transmutes the Egg Mobile into stone.
- The orders of some events from when Bowser transforms into Fury Bowser to Super Neo Metal Sonic's death in the final episode were swapped in the boards:
- Neo Metal Sonic kicking the Death Egg Robot aside was originally after Fury Bowser fired his Grand Star-empowered Fury Blast at it, whereas in the final episode, he did so after Bowser emerged from the void of black goop and threw his first punch as Fury Bowser.
- The aforementioned Fury Bowser punch originally had Metal, Sage, and the Death Egg Robot jumping away to dodge it. The final episode instead has Metal take the hit by throwing up his Black Shield after kicking the Death Egg Robot aside.
- The entire scene from Fury Bowser and the Death Egg Robot having a punch stand-off to Super Neo Metal Sonic stopping Fury Bowser's downward launch toward the Death Egg Robot and Sage is absent from the boards.
- The order of Kamek and Shadow Mario's appearances during this scene is reversed in the boards, with Shadow Mario's X-shaped paint shield being what blocks the horde of Badniks thrown by Sage and Kamek's summoned elongating Warp Pipes being what tries and fails to block Neo Metal Sonic's charge attack at Fury Bowser, which was originally assisted by the Death Egg Robot's eye lasers and the point of the battle where Metal transforms into Super Neo Metal Sonic.
- Despite this change, Shadow Mario still takes the hit Metal meant for Fury Bowser and gets knocked back into Bowser Jr. in the boards. However, due to the aforementioned reversed order of his and Kamek's defensive maneuvers, the context is different; in the boards, he willingly jumps in front of the charged attack, while in the final episode, he suffers a Homing Attack after the paint shield gets broken.
- Fury Bowser's line before firing his Grand Star-empowered Fury Blast was originally "I'm the King here... So keep your hands OFF MY SON!" This was shortened to just "Keep YOUR hands OFF... MY... SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!" in the final episode.
- Super Neo Metal Sonic instantly dies and loses the Chaos Emeralds to Fury Bowser's Grand Star-empowered Fury Blast in the boards instead of engaging in a brief beam struggle to survive a few more seconds in the final episode, where the Chaos Emeralds instead leave Metal after getting overpowered by the blast right before his demise.
- In response to the Death Egg's Final Egg Blaster, Bowser stretched his arms out as far as possible to protect his army in the boards instead of actively trying to hold the blast back before he got overwhelmed in the final episode.
- Eggman's futile attempts to outrun Bowser's Vacuum Breath and his subsequent attempt to shoot him with his ray gun before Bowser Jr. transmutes it are absent from the boards.
- MORØ's "very professional pitch to the team" to extend the fight's climax features several differences compared to the final episode:
- Kamek summoning the Warp Pipes originally happened right after Neo Metal Sonic gets punched away, with it originally blocking the Death Egg Robot's eye lasers instead of Sage's thrown horde of Badniks. This is then followed by Fury Bowser and the Death Egg Robot's punch stand-off.
- The Death Egg Robot originally fired one of its rocket arms after getting punched by Fury Bowser, but it was stopped from hitting him by Kamek, who redirected the arm back at Eggman, only for it to be stopped by Sage before she threw the horde of Badniks at them.
- Notably, the Death Egg Robot's arm that would have been fired instead twitches after Fury Bowser's punch to the mech in the final episode, likely as a side effect of this change.
- As a result of summoning the Warp Pipes earlier in this pitch, Kamek instead used his magic to simply part the Badnik horde before getting punched by Super Neo Metal Sonic's sudden appearance.
- Super Neo Metal Sonic and Fury Bowser were originally meant to have a longer fight against each other that was similar to Super Sonic's fights with the Titans in Sonic Frontiers.
- As revealed by MORØ in a behind-the-scenes look on Twitter, all of Bowser's minions in attendance at the fake wedding are wearing bow ties at the start of the fight. However, they are mostly obscured by either King Boo or the pew chairs in front of them.[26]
- After the episode's release, MORØ posted an "alternate ending" to the fight as a joke, in which Eggman immediately fires the Death Egg's Final Egg Blaster at the beginning of the fight when Operation Catfish is announced, obliterating the planet and then Dry Bowser shortly after.[27]
- This makes it the fourth episode to receive an alternate ending, after Shao Kahn VS M. Bison, Omni-Man VS Bardock, and Joker VS Giorno, and with the next two being Among Us VS Fall Guys and Kratos VS Asura.
- Strangely, this episode initially lacked a tagline in the episode description before being given one a few days later.
- A similar situation previously occurred with Omni-Man VS Bardock, and later with Master Chief VS Doom Slayer.
Easter Eggs
- In Bowser's "Background" slide:
- The last person listed as part of his family is "his dead brother", referring to the blue fake Bowser from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, who several official sources label as Bowser's brother.
- His age is listed as "34", which comes from a since-unlisted video from 2023 on how to create a Nintendo Account that listed his birthday as February 5, 1989, with his age being the result of subtracting 1989 from the video's release date.[28]
- His favorite foods being cake, drumsticks, and steak is a reference to Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, where the three foods listed are part of his "victory feast" after beating Midbus in the Fawful Theater, as well as how drumsticks specifically are Bowser's exclusive healing items in the game.
- Additionally, steak being listed may also refer to the hyperrealistic steaks seen in the Sizzling Stakes and Prime Cut minigames from Super Mario Party and Super Mario Party Jamboree, respectively, with Bowser being a playable character in both games and the steaks often being lauded by fans for how good they look on a Nintendo console.
- The last thing listed as part of his hates is "swimming", referencing the World 2 Bowser intermission following Chapter 4 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and his hatred of the experience when asked about it by Kammy Koopa after the level's completion.
- An image of Toadsworth is seen fading into view during the clip of the infinite 1-up trick in Bowser's analysis, likely as a nod to how he hasn't made any new appearances in the Super Mario series (outside of remakes) since 2013's Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, with some fans jokingly claiming he's been dead since then.
- Boomstick remarking that Bowser "[put] their princess in another castle" after turning all the Toads into bricks and kidnapping Princess Peach is a reference to the famous "Thank you, Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" line from the original Super Mario Bros.
- Wiz describes Mario and Luigi as "pesky" in Bowser's analysis, referencing how Bowser described the two as such in the opening cutscene of Hotel Mario.
- Bowser's previous episode also made this reference in his analysis.
- Boomstick saying that Bowser can "[roll] up like a prehistoric Beyblade" in his analysis is accompanied by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gameplay footage of Bowser (with the player name "Jukem", the username of one of the researchers for the show) using Whirling Fortress on Lucina and Ivysaur, a reference to the fact that Jukem is a fan of Lucina VS Grovyle from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon as a matchup, as both Ivysaur and Grovyle are second-stage Grass-type starter Pokemon.
- Additionally, Ivysaur is seen using Pokémon Trainer's Generation III alternate costume that swaps out Red for Leaf with the color scheme of May's appearance in Pokémon Emerald in the clip, referencing the generation that Grovyle originated from.
- This is the third time this matchup has been referenced, after Killua VS Misaka and Guts VS Dimitri.
- During the Tournament of Champions back in 2023, Lucina VS Grovyle was one of the matchups available to vote on for Week 6, though it lost to X VS Optimus Primal.
- The sound of Squidward Tentacles screaming in pain after being set on fire by Mermaid Man's belt in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy IV" can be faintly heard in the background as Wiz mentions Bowser's ability to breathe fire in his analysis.
- Footage of Koopa Square from the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie can be seen on the Glitz Pit's jumbotron when Boomstick talks about Bowser's ego in his analysis.
- The clip of the Koopa Troopas used when Boomstick mentions them as part of the Koopa Troop in Bowser's analysis features the memetic clip of Chris Pratt saying he "spent hours of his life in an arcade stomping... Koopas" in the Nintendo Direct for the first trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie overlayed on the Question Mark Block seen in the clip.
- Right after this, he refers to the Spinies as "the others" despite name-dropping the Goombas and Koopas just moments earlier, referencing this scene from The Super Mario Bros. Movie where Bowser calls the Spinies "whatever those things are" after doing the same thing, with a clip of said scene even playing as Boomstick says it.
- Additionally, the full line Boomstick says during this part of the analysis, "Goombas, Koopas, the Troopas, and the others", is likely a reference to the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'s theme song, "The Mario Brothers Rap", specifically the lyric "You'll meet Koopas, the Troopas, the Princess, and the others."
- Footage of the start of the Goomba VS Koopa 2 DBX is briefly shown after Boomstick mentions said enemies during this part.
- Right after this, he refers to the Spinies as "the others" despite name-dropping the Goombas and Koopas just moments earlier, referencing this scene from The Super Mario Bros. Movie where Bowser calls the Spinies "whatever those things are" after doing the same thing, with a clip of said scene even playing as Boomstick says it.
- In Bowser's analysis, the Super Crown appears when Wiz brings up the Koopa Troop being able to use power-ups and is listed under the "Power-Ups" bullet of Bowser's "Arsenal" slide despite it only being usable in the Super Mario series proper exclusively by Toadette in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, referencing the infamous Bowsette meme that spawned from this comic by haniwa on Twitter.
- When Wiz mentions how the Goombas can use Tanooki tails in Bowser's analysis, an image of a Goomba from the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie is briefly shown near the top-left corner with Tanooki ears edited on its head.
- When Wiz and Boomstick bring up the Koopalings in Bowser's analysis, images of their heads plastered over Phineas and Ferb characters are shown on-screen with an image of a Koopa Kid plastered over Baljeet Tjinder walking in the background, referencing how the Koopa Kids haven't had any notable appearances in a Super Mario game since 2005's Mario Party 7.
- The picture of Fury Bowser shown on the fridge in Bowser's analysis is one of the paintings Bowser Jr. made near the start of Bowser's Fury.
- As revealed by Luis Cruz on Twitter, the animation he did of Mario saying "Mamma mia!" in Bowser's analysis is a recreation of this moment from the "Save Me Mario (Don't Save Her)" video by Yung Deci$ions.[29]
- As Boomstick compares Bowser to Godzilla, Doctor Strange, and John Cena in his analysis, footage relating to the three is seen going into an image of Junior from SuperMarioLogan. In order, they are:
- A clip of Godzilla's son Minilla in Destroy All Monsters.
- A clip of the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, where Doctor Strange holds up a single finger to Iron Man to indicate that they are in the single universe out of the 14 million ones he looked into in Infinity War where they beat Thanos.
- A clip of John Cena dropping Fred Figglehorn onto a table in Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred.
- An edit of this promotional image of John Cena playing the Nintendo Switch by OriginTheHero that adds in a Bowser hat on his head and Shigeru Miyamoto and Bowser Jr. into the scene.
- After bringing up the endless staircase in Bowser's analysis, Boomstick says "Oh god, does anyone know how to BLJ?", referring to the famous Backwards Long Jump glitch that is commonly used to bypass the endless staircase.
- Boomstick's "It's-a him!" line in Bowser's analysis is an obvious reference to Mario's famous "It's-a me, Mario!" quote from Super Mario 64.
- Wiz's opening line during Eggman's analysis, "Citizens of Earth, lend me your ears!", is a reference to the start of Eggman's speech from Sonic Adventure 2, which he opens with the same phrase.
- Following this, he prompts the audience to "Imagine a world of endless possibility, where people are free as the wind," simultaneously name-dropping the ending song of the same name for Sonic Unleashed and referencing lyrics from "Free", the theme song for Sonic Free Riders.
- Boomstick hypothetically saying "'But Wiz, only a brilliant mind can make that happen!'" is accompanied by the following footage in order:
- The opening of You On Kazoo!, which has since become a popular meme.
- Norman Osborn noting how he's "something of a scientist [himself]" in the 2002 Spider-Man movie, which has also since become a popular meme.
- A Sonic Unleashed-esque loading prompt, likely referencing the infamously lengthy loading screens from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
- Doctor Wily, specifically from the start of his and Eggman's prior Death Battle episode.
- Professor Pickle from Sonic Unleashed.
- Dr. Wheelo from Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest fighting himself in a mirror match in Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.
- Right before name-dropping the doctor's real name in Eggman's analysis, Wiz notes how "he's a genius at heart who knows the dangers within," referencing lyrics from "E.G.G.M.A.N.", Eggman's theme in Sonic Adventure 2.
- He references the song again at the end of the analysis with his line "He is the Eggman, and he's got the master plan," referencing a lyric from the song's chorus.
- The edit of G.U.N.'s logo behind the soldier who fatally shot Maria in Eggman's analysis is also accompanied by cropped footage of Reverend Clement Hedges saying "A bullet!" from this scene of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which became a minor meme during this episode's waiting period.
- When Wiz talks about Eggman choosing to conquer the world instead of bettering it in his analysis, the infamous scene from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episode "Boogey-Mania" where Eggman accuses Scratch and Grounder of "snooping as usual" is shown, with the scene in question having since become the popular "Pingas" meme.
- In Eggman's "Background" slide:
- His hobby of "woodworking" references his time spent as an amnesiac "Mr. Tinker" living in Windmill Village from the IDW Sonic comics, especially in regards to his creation of Belle the Tinkerer, a sentient wooden robot.
- His first three favorite foods — "Egg Dogs", "Egg Candy", and "Poppin Eggcorn" — are all references to items from the Eggshop in Sonic Unleashed, while his last one — "this delicious banana" — is a comical reference to this moment from Episode 56 of Sonic X, "An Enemy In Need", which has become a noteworthy Internet meme.
- His hatred for "That hedgehog!" (obviously referring to Sonic) references his consistent quote of "I hate that hedgehog!" from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
- Smaller text in parentheses by this hate also mentions him hating "cold soup", referencing this memetic scene from Episode 27 of the Sonic Boom TV show, "Chez Amy".
- When Boomstick starts talking about how Eggman is a "turbo loner" in his analysis, footage of Hololive member Korone Inugami wearing a Sonic costume (as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series' 31st anniversary) is briefly shown on-screen as a holographic video that Eggman is watching.
- Boomstick also mentions how Eggman has no wife during this part as this cutscene from Sonic Adventure 2's Hero Story plays, referencing SnapCube's Sonic Adventure 2 Hero Story Real-Time Fandub, where Eggman says "I miss my wife, Tails. I miss her a lot," over the same scene, which became a meme.
- As Boomstick finishes listing off some of the Badniks Eggman has built in his analysis, Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theater 3000 appear at the bottom of the screen alongside additional Badniks not verbally listed (namely an Egg Pawn, the Heavy Rider, an Egg Fighter, and a Spikes).
- Boomstick referring to Metal Sonic as a "robo-faker" in Eggman's analysis is likely a reference to Sonic calling Shadow (another lookalike of his) a faker during this cutscene in Sonic Adventure 2.
- Boomstick describing the super transformations as "Super Saiyan hedgehogs" in Eggman's analysis is a reference to how the former are seen as a rip-off of/homage to the latter, with previous Sonic episodes also making mention of this.
- The animation done by Luis Cruz of Sonic collapsing at the end of Eggman's analysis as the camera pans up to the doctor, Metal Sonic, and Sage is a direct recreation of the end of the opening cutscene of Shadow the Hedgehog, with the only addition to it being Tails' unconscious body below Sonic.
- The appearance of Bowser's Castle in the fight is directly modeled after World Bowser from Super Mario 3D World.
- The fight's setup of the Eggman Empire infiltrating Bowser's fake wedding contains several references:
- The wedding scenario as a whole is something that Bowser has tried to do with Peach on numerous occasions, namely in Super Paper Mario (where the design of the Wedding Peach wooden cutout originates from), Super Mario Odyssey (with Bowser even wearing his wedding outfit from that game), and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (with the panning shot of the Koopa Troop members attending the wedding being a reference to a similar scene in the film and King Bob-omb even sitting in the same pose he does in it).
- "Peach" turning out to be a wooden cutout is a reference to the one seen at the end of World 8-Bowser: Part 1 from Super Mario 3D Land.
- The name of the infiltration operation is "Operation Catfish", referencing the event of the same name from the second live-action Sonic movie, where G.U.N. staged a wedding to capture Sonic and Tails.
- Eggman's first line in the fight (which was also used during this episode's announcement trailer for the Save Death Battle Kickstarter) is "I've come to make an announcement!", referencing the infamous clip of Eggman's rant from SnapCube's Sonic Adventure 2 Dark Story Real-Time Fandub, which became a popular meme.
- Bowser ripping away his wedding outfit before Eggman's fleet arrives at the start of the fight is likely a call-back to Mario VS Sonic (2018), where Mario ripped off his "skin" to reveal his normal attire right before the "FIGHT!" announcement.
- Eggman's hologram briefly flashes into a silhouetted look resembling the logo of the Eggman Empire right before his fleet arrives, similar to how his silhouette appears in numerous issues of the Archie and IDW Sonic comics.
- When the Egg Fleet appears through the clouds, a TIE fighter from Star Wars can be seen in the background.
- Eggman's lines of "Get a load of THIS!" and "You know what they say: 'The more the merrier!'" are references to his infamous voice clips during his boss fights in Sonic Adventure and Shadow the Hedgehog, respectively.
- A drone from MORØ's Indie Cross series can be briefly seen in the background running alongside the rest of the Eggman Empire at the end of the last shot of them charging into the battle at the beginning of the fight, something that MORØ himself alluded to two weeks after the episode's release.[30]
- The dropkick Bowser uses against the Heavy-Egg Hammer at the beginning of the fight comes directly from his forward smash in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
- The last visible frame of Bowser's face seen before he retreats into his shell as he spins toward the Egg Dragoon is a redraw of his memed-upon face from the opening cutscene of Hotel Mario.
- This face also appeared near the end of Bowser's analysis.
- D3-COY's appearance in the fight is that of a perfect replica of Eggman with a spring-loaded head inside of it that pops up after its defeat, the appearance of the Eggman decoy Neo Metal Sonic assumed the form of in Sonic Heroes.
- Infinite getting defeated by being crushed by a conjured-up Thwomp is a reference to Scouthedog1 Animations' take on the matchup, where he dies the same way (only with Kamek summoning the Thwomp instead of King Boo),[31] something that Scouthedog1 has expressed approval of in the episode's comment section[32] and a community post on his YouTube channel.[33]
- Orbot and Cubot fighting the Elite Trio over the Phantom Ruby within a cartoony dust cloud is very similar to how Scratch and Grounder attacked Sheep Man in Eggman's previous episode (fittingly, as the former duo was compared to the latter in Eggman's analysis).
- Chance Time's appearance in the fight is modeled after its "slot reels in golden boxes" iteration from Mario Party Superstars and Super Mario Party Jamboree.
- The female announcer for when Chance Time is initiated right before the Phantom Ruby is stolen from Metal Sonic says it in a questioning tone, harkening back to the Bowser Space's Bowser's Chance Time event from the first two Mario Party games, where it is announced the same way and always rigged to benefit Bowser.
- When Metal Sonic attempts to use the Phantom Ruby right before it gets stolen from him, he is surrounded by yellow and purple outlines and sparks, much like when he transforms into Giga Metal in Sonic Mania.
- Neo Metal Sonic's transformation and the nonchalant thumbs up he gives to Eggman shortly afterward are references to his introduction in the IDW comics' Neo Metal Sonic arc and a flashback with him and Eggman later in that arc, respectively.
- The warning reticle that appears before the Death Egg Robot lands comes directly from its boss fight in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
- Bowser's "Showtime!" line as he transforms into Fury Bowser is a direct reference to his iconic voice clip from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story whenever he enters a battle.
- The way Fury Bowser emerges from the void of black goop is a direct reference to how he awakens in Bowser's Fury, even down to the white and purple light that briefly flashes behind him once he emerges from his shell at the apex of his rise like how he does so from the Fury Sun in the campaign.
- Bowser's "Character Select" voice clip from Mario Kart 64 is used when Fury Bowser rushes toward the Death Egg Robot for their punch stand-off.
- The following close-up shots of the Death Egg Robot and Fury Bowser's feet stepping on the ground before the ensuing punch stand-off are reminiscent of the end of the cutscene before Bowser's fight with the Tower of Yikk in Bowser's Inside Story.
- The use of Metal Overlord's "I'll crush you!" voice clip from Sonic Heroes (which was also used in Metal Sonic's previous fight) for Super Neo Metal Sonic's reveal is a reference to how Cooler's voice clip of the same line from Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, alongside many more of his from the game, were famously used for Turbo Mecha Sonic/Metallix in Super Mario Bros. Z.
- The X-shaped paint shield that Shadow Mario puts up to try and stop Super Neo Metal Sonic comes directly from Bowser Jr.'s Final Smash in the Super Smash Bros. series, Shadow Mario Paint.
- The Chaos Emeralds leaving Super Neo Metal Sonic after getting overpowered by Fury Bowser's Grand Star-empowered Fury Blast is similar to how the Emeralds do the same thing in this cutscene from the final battle of Sonic Frontiers' The Final Horizons update if Super Sonic 2 gets hit with one of The End/Supreme's energy spheres during its second phase, with the cutscene ending in Sonic's death should the player have less than 100 rings upon its initiation.
- The sound effect for the flashing stars on Sonic the Hedgehog 2's title screen is used for the Chaos Emeralds when they leave Super Neo Metal Sonic right before his death and when they later flash around the Death Egg before it moves out of the way of the Moon.
- Befitting of its inspiration, the Death Egg charging up and firing the Final Egg Blaster visually resembles the Death Star charging up and firing its own superlaser in the original Star Wars trilogy, with the framing of the shot being mostly based on when the Death Star destroys Alderaan in A New Hope.
- While likely just for comedic effect, the Koopa Troopa praying to himself while the rest of the Koopa Troop and Eggman Empire react to the Final Egg Blaster being fired at them may also be a reference to the praying Koopa seen during the ending of Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Koopas that worship the Earth Vellumental in its Temple from Paper Mario: The Origami King, the latter of which was likely a reference to the former in itself.[34]
- Bowser being disintegrated into Dry Bowser and blasted into pieces shortly after by the Final Egg Blaster in the fight's climax is likely a call-back to his previous episode, in which Ganondorf kills Bowser by reducing him to a lifeless skeleton and blasting apart his bones with magic, only here, Dry Bowser is put back together and comes back to life after the attack, staying alive for the remainder of the fight.
- Eggman's jetpack getting sucked into Bowser's Vacuum Breath is likely a reference to how Dark Fawful's Vacuum Helmet was similarly sucked up by it during his boss fight in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
- Eggman's futile run from Bowser's Vacuum Breath has him with his arms outstretched behind him, referencing his running animation from the classic Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy.
- The attack that Bowser uses to send Eggman into the giant Question Mark Block the Death Egg was transmuted into is his famous K.O. Punch that he used on Dark Bowser.
- Bowser's final line to Eggman right before he connects the punch, "So long, Doctor!", is a spin on Mario's infamous "So long, king-a Bowser!" line[Note 15] from Super Mario 64, which became a meme due to people mishearing it as "So long, gay Bowser!". It is also a reference to Shadow's "Goodbye, Doctor!" line before he kills Eggman in the evil endings of his game.
- This is the second episode to reference the former line, after Mario VS Sonic (2018).
- One of the impact frames used during this attack features Bowser and Eggman as silhouetted versions of their sprites from the original Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, respectively.
- According to MORØ, the black and red lightning that emits when the punch connects was meant to be a reference to the lightning seen in the Finish Zooms from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[35]
- After he was announced to be animating Shigaraki VS Mahito, MORØ joked that this was meant to be a reference to the Black Flashes from Jujutsu Kaisen[36][37] before later clarifying that he was merely joking and that it was in fact a coincidence.[38]
- Bowser's final line to Eggman right before he connects the punch, "So long, Doctor!", is a spin on Mario's infamous "So long, king-a Bowser!" line[Note 15] from Super Mario 64, which became a meme due to people mishearing it as "So long, gay Bowser!". It is also a reference to Shadow's "Goodbye, Doctor!" line before he kills Eggman in the evil endings of his game.
- Wiz noting how Bowser's win could be seen as "surprising given how the Sonic series is not afraid to show how tough its cast is while Mario's comes across as more... cartoony" at the start of the post-analysis is likely a nod to both series reputations within the versus community prior to this episode's release, namely on how the Super Mario series' more cartoonish nature and less frequent showing of cosmic level feats often had people underestimating the power of its characters in versus debates, especially when compared to other video game series like Sonic the Hedgehog that showcase their casts performing more consistent and blatant cosmic feats of their own.
- Boomstick noting that Kamek is Bowser's "secret weapon" and how "[he] is kinda busted" in the post-analysis may be a reference to Kamek's memetic reputation in the Death Battle community following the 2024 Discord Death Battle made for this matchup, where Kamek's abilities were considered such game-changers that it was joked that he was capable of carrying Bowser and the Koopa Troop to victory on his own.
Errors
- Eggman's analysis preview was originally titled "De. Eggman's SECRET backstory! - Can he beat Bowser in a DEATH BATTLE?", misspelling "Dr." as "De."[39] This was eventually fixed several hours later.
- In the "Koopa Troop" slide in Bowser's analysis, "Whimps" and "Whomps" are misspelled as "Wimps" and "Womps", respectively.
- The Chance Time reels Kamek summons during the fight are slightly inaccurate to how they appear in Mario Party proper, as the faces of the combatants and the events for certain items being transferred appear across all three slots instead of the former being exclusively on the left and right ones and the latter being solely on the middle one.
- When Eggman flees from the Death Egg's Final Egg Blaster, the windshield of his Egg Mobile is no longer cracked despite it sustaining such damages when most of the Death Egg Robot gets sucked into the black hole produced by Fury Bowser's Grand Star-empowered Fury Blast.
- Cyber Space is incorrectly spelled as "Cyberspace" (without a space between "cyber" and "space") in the sixth pop-up box of the post-analysis.
Other
- Excluding sprite animations with hand-drawn shots, this is the ninth 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, Saitama VS Popeye, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Goku VS Superman (2023), and Joker VS Giorno, and with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the sixth Nintendo VS Sega-themed episode, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), Luigi VS Tails, Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, Mewtwo VS Shadow, and Mario VS Sonic (2018).
- This is the fourth time that the Nintendo character wins, after Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, Mewtwo VS Shadow, and Mario VS Sonic (2018).
- This is the fifth Mario VS Sonic-themed episode, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), Luigi VS Tails, Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, and Mario VS Sonic (2018).
- This is the third time that the Mario character wins, after Donkey Kong VS Knuckles and Mario VS Sonic (2018).
- This is the second Army-themed episode, after Eggman VS Wily.
- This is the 11th episode to be animated in a hand-drawn style, after Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog, Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Deadpool VS Mask, Genos VS War Machine, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, Saitama VS Popeye, Omni-Man VS Homelander, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and with the next one being Shigaraki VS Mahito.
- This is the first episode to be animated by MORØ, with the next one being Shigaraki VS Mahito.
- This is the fourth hand-drawn episode to use a 3D background, after Saitama VS Popeye, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and with the next one being Shigaraki VS Mahito.
- This is the 35th episode to feature a returning combatant, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Excalibur VS Raiden, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, Goku VS Superman (2023), and Omni-Man VS Bardock, and with the next six being Kratos VS Asura, Ghost Rider VS Spawn, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the 24th episode to feature a returning loser, after Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next four being Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the 11th time that the returning loser wins, after Batman VS Captain America, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Shadow VS Ryuko, Link VS Cloud (2021), Thor VS Vegeta, and Boba Fett VS Predator, and with the next two being Kratos VS Asura and Master Chief VS Doom Slayer.
- This is the 14th time that the returning loser loses, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Black Panther VS Batman, Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Hulk VS Broly, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Batman VS Iron Man, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
- This is the 12th episode to feature two returning combatants, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next three being Ghost Rider VS Spawn, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the first episode to feature two returning losers.
- This is the second episode to feature a previous combatant working under another combatant (in this case, the Goomba and Koopa Troopa working as part of the Koopa Troop and Metal Sonic returning to the Eggman Empire after Metal Sonic VS Zero), after Pokémon VS Digimon, and with the next one being Ash VS Yugi.
- Due to Goomba and Koopa Troopa being part of the Koopa Troop, this is the first time in which two combatants who previously faced off against each other are now on the same team.
- This is the 24th episode to feature a returning loser, after Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next four being Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- Prior to this episode, Brandon Yates made a track for this matchup called "Hard-Boiled Fury" as part of his "What If?" commission tracks.
- This makes it the 10th episode that received its own commission track before its release, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, Galactus VS Unicron, and Joker VS Giorno, and with the next five being Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the ninth one to be done by Brandon Yates, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Galactus VS Unicron, and Joker VS Giorno, and with the next five being Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This makes it the 10th episode that received its own commission track before its release, after Blake VS Mikasa, Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, Galactus VS Unicron, and Joker VS Giorno, and with the next five being Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the second episode to feature a custom animated sprite segment during a combatant's analysis (in this case, for both Bowser and Eggman's), after Balrog VS TJ Combo.
- This is the third episode whose sneak peek on the DEATH BATTLE Cast was a trailer instead of a clip of the start of the fight, after Goku VS Superman (2023) and Galactus VS Unicron, and with the next one being Kratos VS Asura.
- This is the fourth episode where the loser kills the winner but doesn't end the fight (as Bowser came back to life as Dry Bowser after the Death Egg's Final Egg Blaster reduced him to his skeleton), after Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Phoenix VS Raven, and Joker VS Giorno.
- This is the second episode where a loser survives a battle that a winner does not (as Orbot, Cubot, Sage, and Infinite[18] survive while Goomboss, King Bob-omb, Koopa General, and numerous other Koopa Troop minions don't), after Red VS Blue.
- This is the seventh episode where a combatant attempts to escape a battle, after Eggman VS Wily, Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain, Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and with the next one being Shigaraki VS Mahito.
- This is the first episode to feature a Sonic the Hedgehog character's super form (in this case, Super Neo Metal Sonic) get defeated directly, as all prior episodes had the form get outlasted or win outright.
- This is the fifth episode since Balrog VS TJ Combo to feature at least one track from a combatant's source material outside of clips (as the infamous endless staircase theme from Super Mario 64 plays when the stairs are brought up in Bowser's analysis), after Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ben 10 VS Green Lantern, Weiss VS Mitsuru, and Skyrim VS Dark Souls, and with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the 10th episode in which Wiz comments on the results of the fight before Boomstick, after Fox McCloud VS Bucky O'Hare, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, Flash VS Sonic, Excalibur VS Raiden, Ant-Man VS Atom, Killua VS Misaka, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Galactus VS Unicron.
- A week before the episode's release, Eggman's analysis preview reached #35 on YouTube's Trending page for Gaming.[39]
- This is the fourth episode in which a combatant's analysis preview reached the Trending page, after Thor VS Vegeta, Frieza VS Megatron, and Goku VS Superman (2023), with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the first episode to do so on one of the Trending page's sub-categories (in this case, Gaming) instead of the main Trending page itself, with the next two being Among Us VS Fall Guys and Kratos VS Asura.
- Just three hours after the episode's release, it reached #1 on YouTube's Trending page for Gaming,[40] with it migrating to #2 on the main Trending page the following day.[41]
- This is the 12th 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, Guts VS Dimitri, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Frieza VS Megatron, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Galactus VS Unicron, and with the next one being Master Chief VS Doom Slayer (for Gaming).
- This is the first episode to do so on one of the Trending page's sub-categories (in this case, Gaming) instead of the main Trending page itself, with the next one being Master Chief VS Doom Slayer.
- Hours after the episode was released, "Bowser", "Death Battle", "#DEATHBATTLE", "King Boo", and "Metal Sonic" trended on Twitter,[42][43][44] and the episode as a whole received its own dedicated tab for Twitter's then-recent Explore feature a day later.
- Hilariously, "Thwomp" also trended on Twitter hours after the episode's release due to King Boo crushing Infinite with one shortly after his introduction in the fight,[45] with the moment adding onto the online humiliation Infinite has received since the release of Sonic Forces and it becoming a widespread Internet meme in less than 24 hours after the episode's release.
- A few weeks after the episode's release, MORØ posted an alternate version of this scene, in which Infinite manages to dodge the Thwomp right before it crushes him, causing the music to fade out as he looks in confusion at King Boo, who looks to his side in slight embarrassment as Metal Sonic throws away his crown, numerous Koopa Troop members scream in pain as they succumb to the illusion off-screen, and Bowser (reprised by Zack Watkins) vulgarly calls him out for the failed attack.[46]
- Hilariously, "Thwomp" also trended on Twitter hours after the episode's release due to King Boo crushing Infinite with one shortly after his introduction in the fight,[45] with the moment adding onto the online humiliation Infinite has received since the release of Sonic Forces and it becoming a widespread Internet meme in less than 24 hours after the episode's release.
- A day after its release, the episode's official track, "Game Over", reached #29 on YouTube's Trending page,[47] with it previously reaching #31 being acknowledged by Brandon Yates himself in a community post on his YouTube channel[48] and a tweet on Twitter.[49]
- This is the first episode to have its official track reach YouTube's Trending page.
- This is the third episode whose sneak peek on the DEATH BATTLE Cast was a trailer instead of a clip of the start of the fight, after Goku VS Superman (2023) and Galactus VS Unicron, and with the next two being Kratos VS Asura and Ghost Rider VS Spawn.
- This episode has the highest amount of active combatants in a single episode at 42, beating out Eggman VS Wily's 29 combatants.
- The non-Army-themed episode with the most combatants, however, is Power Rangers VS Voltron with 12.
- On December 19th, 2024, the DEATH BATTLE! YouTube channel uploaded the full fight animation of this episode on its own as part of a compilation of Sonic-related Death Battles alongside Trunks VS Silver, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, Shadow VS Ryuko, and Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers to commemorate the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film, which came out the following day.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin.
- —Super Mario Bros. (NES) Manual
- ↑ As of Super Mario Odyssey, Mario celestial bodies are of similar scale to our own.
Earth's Diameter: 12,991.07 km
Distance Traveled: 41,311.129 km
Peach Castle's Weight: 61,372,830 tons
Flight Time: 10 seconds
KINETIC ENERGY YIELD:
SPEED = MACH 12,044.06
125 TERATONS OF TNT - ↑ The Trial Galaxies are galaxies on the very edges of the universe.RADIUS OF THE UNIVERSE: 46,508,000,000 LIGHT YEARS
TRAVEL TIME: 3 SECONDS
POWER STARS FLIGHT SPEED: 489 QUADRILLION TIMES LIGHT SPEED - ↑ Normal Planet Size: 12,742 km
Event Horizon: 198,543.53 km
TOTAL BLACK HOLE WEIGHT: 33,606 SOLAR MASSES - ↑ Schwarzschild Radius: ~627.813 km
Space Station Length: ~1,255.63 km
TOTAL BLACK HOLE WEIGHT: 212.53 SOLAR MASSES - ↑ Trench Volume = 77,505,432,900 cm^3
Pulverization = 214.35 j/cm^3
DEATH EGG ROBOT LASER: 4 KILOTONS OF TNT - ↑ The "cognitive friction energy" flying in from all over the world was received by this antenna, reflected gently, and gathered at the tip of the glass tower in the center. The energy that converged there was then seen to descend intermittently and be stored in succession in the bulging portion at the base of the tower.
- ↑ The three of them cowered with their heads in their hands, not having time to pay attention to the anomaly around them. Eggman's triumphant voice descended from above them.
"Hohoho! Were you shocked as you watched and heard all that?! This is the miracle of my ultimate weapon, 'Egg Field'!" - ↑ "Heheheh, it really is a modified Phantom Ruby prototype... Just as I thought! If I put this on, I'll have power once again!"
- ↑ "This is an otherworldly space where I can change the world line that failed me a long time ago because I was a little careless, into the proper one that won't! I can even overwrite the memories of this planet... and all who live on it!"
- ↑ Omnidirectional spatial distortion of the Sonic universe
DISTANCE = 46.508 BILLION LIGHT YEARS
TRAVEL TIME = 20 SECONDS
SOLARIS' SPEED: AT LEAST 73 QUADRILLION TIMES FASTER THAN LIGHT - ↑ CASUAL DEATH EGG ROBOT LASER: 4 KILOTONS (4 Thousand) TONS OF TNT < CASUAL BOWSER PUNCH: 125 TERATONS (125 Trillion) TONS OF TNT
- ↑ BOWSER'S BLACK HOLE: 33,603 SOLAR MASSES (~6.69e+34 kg)
EGGMAN'S BLACK HOLE: 212.53 SOLAR MASSES (~1.98+30 kg) - ↑ CHAOS EMERALDS X7
POWER STARS (AND SHINE SPRITES + POWER MOONS) X 260+
GRAND STARS X 24+ - ↑ While commonly thought to be "So long-a, Bowser!" and memetically misheard as "So long, gay Bowser!", Mario's former voice actor Charles Martinet has confirmed on Twitter that the line Mario says is actually "So long, king-a Bowser!"
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://x.com/slashtiki/status/1818304196837560511
- ↑ 2.0 2.1
- ↑
- ↑ https://x.com/OriginTheHero/status/1514589295855603714
- ↑ https://x.com/Iku_Aldena/status/1840802420596617688
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1856381445616648455
- ↑ https://x.com/DEATHBATTLE/status/1851741278146302279
- ↑ https://x.com/DEATHBATTLE/status/1852459046198210656
- ↑ https://x.com/DEATHBATTLE/status/1854299770178674770
- ↑ https://x.com/DEATHBATTLE/status/1855060546418012274
- ↑ https://x.com/beyondunbroken/status/1858036823257145555
- ↑ Honored to have The Madness in Bowser vs Eggman trailer
- ↑ Bowser VS Eggman comment section (linked comment)
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858291856733339702
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858292592061943982
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858294714430111846
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858295399712260243
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858296994587918580
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858293709168935327
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858295821709549624
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858297867720359947
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858299252453368006
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858298251989946861
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858296041478500396
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858298368721670586
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1859252712665206960
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1859711083709427854
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/bowser-is-canonically-34-years-old
- ↑ https://x.com/JumpNJetz/status/1861451877847646490
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1863270753908502624
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1858290519584977176
- ↑ Bowser VS Eggman comment section (linked comment)
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxxciPQcoAWrGz_KDwGKLetjxWHffHNmQg
- ↑ https://x.com/MarioBrothBlog/status/1859693937663017077
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1902452473538777134
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1902452473538777134
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1902455819938992445
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1902771894253658515
- ↑ 39.0 39.1
- ↑
- ↑ https://x.com/AEthan48/status/1858513730856010165
- ↑ https://x.com/AEthan48/status/1858299887764541839
- ↑ https://x.com/AEthan48/status/1858309980610552070
- ↑ https://x.com/AEthan48/status/1858396841269973149
- ↑ https://x.com/AEthan48/status/1858320442806997149
- ↑ https://x.com/moro_production/status/1864387925909135736
- ↑
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSquKfL3MBHc360b_e5N2CA/community?lb=UgkxLysUQwowux3UZOrukygPYo_6Q3QRYbVo
- ↑ https://x.com/bmichaelyates/status/1858670397044174856
