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Two of Nintendo's all-time favorite bosses square off in a battle of all that is evil.
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Bowser VS Ganon is the 59th episode of Death Battle, featuring Bowser from the Super Mario series and Ganondorf from the The Legend of Zelda series in a battle between iconic Nintendo villains.

Interlude

Boomstick: Ever since the invention of princesses, there have been princess kidnappers.

Wiz: And these two are certainty among the top tier in their trade.

Boomstick: Bowser, the king of the Koopas.

Wiz: And Ganon, the demon king.

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

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Final Bowser Battle - Super Mario 3D Land
by Mahito Yokota
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Boomstick: Once upon a time, a giant turtle had a dream. He would conquer the Mushroom Kingdom by turning everyone in it into brick. But one pesky princess had the gall to undo his mystical masonry.

Wiz: Naturally, King Bowser Koopa had only one sensible option: he snatched her up and locked her away in his castle.

Bowser's Castle from the original Super Mario Bros. is shown.

Wiz: No, not that castle.

The Great Tower of Bowser Land from Super Mario 3D World is shown.

Wiz: That castle.

Boomstick: Because what's a little kidnapping when you've already morphed thousands of innocents into brick?

Wiz: With the princess out of the picture, Bowser finally had it all. Until two pesky portly plumbers popped up out of nowhere and procured his petulant princess.

Boomstick: Nice job on that alliteration!

Wiz: I'm surprised you know what alliteration means.

Boomstick: Of course, my conspicuous co-host! Anyway, if there's one thing to say about Bowser, it's that he never gives up. He's always hatching a new scheme for domination with his army, and you know it's going to involve some princess pilfering.

Wiz: And not only is he tenacious, but he's also incredibly tough.

Boomstick: Probably due to his natural turtliness.

Wiz: That's not a real word, but you are correct. Bowser's seemingly indestructible shell can take an insane amount of abuse. As can the rest of him, really.

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Final Bowser Battle - Super Mario Sunshine
by Koji Kondo
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Boomstick: Not only that, but his shell's great for doling out damage. Probably because of the impale-a-man-sized spikes! Which he can shoot out of his shell like a goddamn cannon!

Wiz: Bowser also fights with his razor-sharp teeth and claws, and is capable of lifting and throwing massive amounts of weight.

Boomstick: He can probably even lift your mother, Wiz.

Wiz: Hey!

Boomstick: Lord knows I couldn't. He's also got a bunch of weapons to throw around, like hammers, spike balls, and Mechakoopas, all from the safety of the happiest flying machine ever, the Koopa Clown Copter.


We see Bowser fly off with a petrified Peach in the Subspace Emissary.


Boomstick: Is that spelled with Cs or Ks?

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Koopa's Road - Super Mario 64
by Koji Kondo
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Wiz: An impressive airborne vehicle which can somehow drop ammunition exactly the size of itself, probably via some kind of magic.

Boomstick: Oh yeah, have we mentioned that this is a magic turtle? He can breathe fire like a dragon, shapeshift into anything, and even grow at will to be as big as a castle. Which is also a Transformer. You think he can grow his—

Wiz: No, I don't wanna think about it. Have you seen a turtle penis? They're horrifying!

Boomstick: I haven't... Why have you?

Wiz: Science...

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Final Boss Phase 2 (Orchestrated) - New Super Mario Bros. Wii
by YoshiDude12
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Wiz: Anyway, with his size increase comes a tremendous boost in power. Not only can he fight a castle, he can pick the whole thing up and throw it!

Boomstick: He's tough enough to survive lava of any temperature, even when it melts off his skin! He's withstood a point-blank supernova, and being sucked into a black hole, multiple times!

Wiz: And consider, a black hole is a complete compression of space and time which stretches anything apart, even light itself.

Boomstick: Man, you'd think with all this awesome power, Bowser could take over the Mushroom Kingdom, like, no problem.

Wiz: Except he's an idiot.

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Final Bowser Battle - Super Mario Galaxy 2
by Mahito Yokota
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Wiz: He's constantly underestimating his opponents, he builds traps in his castles which always end up being used against him, and to top it all off, he's illiterate. Still, with his incredibly ferocity and brute force, it's no wonder Bowser strikes fear across the Mushroom Kingdom.

Boomstick: Until they all get together for go-karting or some tennis.

Wiz: Take it from me, Boomstick. You can't always be the bad guy.

Boomstick: Okay...


Bowser attempts to get a kiss from Peach after winning Mario Tennis, but Birdo comes up to kiss him instead, he sees and jumps back in fright, then runs off.


Ganondorf

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Ganondorf - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
by Koji Kondo
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Wiz: The peaceful kingdom of Hyrule is full of hidden terrors. Giant spiders, a dragon who eats rock people...

Boomstick: And that redheaded fairy with boobs that'll poke your eyes out and a laugh that can melt any erection.

Wiz: But the most dangerous fiend of all is the Demon King, Ganon.

Ganon appears and laughs.

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Ganondorf Battle - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo
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Boomstick: However, before he became a giant blue pig demon, Ganon was actually just a man named Ganondorf.

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Gerudo Valley - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
by Koji Kondo
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Wiz: Ganondorf was raised in the Gerudo Desert, as a student of magic under the tutelage of the Twinrova witches.

Boomstick: But while the Gerudo have got some pretty kickass music, growing up in the desert obviously wasn't the best. Because... you know... sand. I don't like sand. It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and gets every—

Wiz: DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE! (clears throat) Fortunately for Ganondorf, and our viewers, his destiny would take him beyond the sand.

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Battlefield of Demise - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
by Mahito Yokota, Hajime Wakai, Takeshi Hama
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Boomstick: See, turns out, he's the reincarnation of the demon Demise, who happens to be the root of all evil. Because what else would you grow up to be with a name like that?

Wiz: Upon his defeat, Demise cursed the Blood of the Goddess and the Spirit of the Hero to be forever plagued by a physical embodiment of his rage.

Boomstick: Wow, that's some hardcore shit. Talk about a sore loser. But for Ganondorf, being the lord of demons reborn has its upsides, like being really good at magic.

Wiz: Among the numerous spells he knows, he can summon phantoms to fight alongside him, freeze enemies with waves of darkness, cast deadly curses, teleport, fly, and create orbs of electric energy which can stop foes in their tracks.

Boomstick: And they double as a deadly game of Pong. Also, he's a master swordsman, capable of wielding two blades at once with extreme efficiency. But being the king of all evil with awesome skills wasn't enough.

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Gerudo Desert - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
by Toru Minegishi
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Wiz: Ganondorf grew jealous of Hyrule's prosperity, and, like any good reincarnation of pure evil, wanted to take it for himself, including the Triforce, a legendary relic said to grant the wish of any who may touch it.

Boomstick: But when it was finally within his grasp, two of its pieces rejected him harder than Wiz's last date. However, the one that stuck around, the Triforce of Power, was kinda the best. It gave him near invulnerability, incredible strength, and unlimited mystical power. Its only downside, or upside, depending on how you see it, is that it turned him into a giant demon pig.

Wiz: With this form came immense power, and a new name: Ganon.

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Final Battle Against Ganon - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
by Koji Kondo
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We see various scenes of Ganon's pig form.


Boomstick: Everything's better with bacon.

Wiz: Ganon is fast enough to dodge arrows point blank without even looking, he's strong enough to destroy stone walls and pillars with no effort, and he's tough enough to get back up after having an entire castle fall on him. But while the Triforce of Power supposedly grants him immortality, Ganon can still be slain and is specifically vulnerable to holy weapons, like the Master Sword. Though he has survived being impaled by one, and then killed his executioner with his bare hands. He's also extremely arrogant, often underestimating his smaller, weaker opponents, at least until they drive a sword through his head.

Boomstick: But hey, when you're a titanic, nigh-invulnerable pig sorcerer, you can afford to be a bit cocky.


Ganondorf laughs long and loudly.


Prelude

Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!

Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!... boss-style.

Death Battle

Inside Bowser's Castle, the King of the Koopas is resting on his throne with his arms folded. However, one of three Shy Guys walk up to Bowser with a piece of the Triforce, and places it down in front of him. Bowser opens his eyes, realizes this, and so he gets off his throne and lets out an evil laugh. Suddenly, the Triforce piece floats to the left, makes a high-pitched sound, then the sound turns low pitched and dark energy starts to grow around it.

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Blood on Broken Glass
by Brandon Yates
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Bowser notices this, and becomes worried about the situation. Then the Triforce piece starts to shoot dark thunder, and then the demon king Ganondorf arises from the Triforce piece, letting out an evil laugh. Bowser's emotion changes from worried to angry, and so Bowser growls. Ganondorf lets out another evil laugh, and launches an energy ball at four of Bowser's minions. One of the Koopas yells in fear before he hides in his shell while the Goombas start running for their lives and one of the Shy Guys turn around and notice this before they get hit by the attack, and die. Bowser clenches his fists, and lets out a breath of fire while he roars.

Fight season 3

Bowser tosses his throne at Ganondorf, but the Demon King destroys it with a punch and delivers a combo that sends Bowser to the chandeliers. Ganondorf hops on one of them and launches an electric projectile that Bowser deflects by spinning followed by a tossed hammer that takes down Ganondorf's chandelier, sending it down crashing.

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Bowser/Bowser Jr Victory Theme - From Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS
by Unknown
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Bowser celebrates too soon.

Ganondorf uses dark magic to menacingly teleport behind him and punch him down.

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Blood on Broken Glass
by Brandon Yates
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They trade blows with Bowser following up with a fire projectile that Ganondorf blocks but causes a smoke screen.

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Olympus Mons (Instrumental)
by Brandon Yates
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Bowser uses the opportunity to kick the Gerudo outside through the castle gates and onto the ground. Ganondorf regains his footing and fires an orb of electrical energy. Bowser notices his tennis racket lying on the ground and picks it up, using his tennis and shell deflecting skills to counter the dark wizard's projectiles. He delivers a slashing combo after Ganondorf's been hit with his attacks, but Ganondorf teleports himself and the Koopa King to the castle walls, where he tries dropping Bowser in the lava.

Ganondorf laughs, but Bowser survived the fall and boards his Koopa Clown Car. He lays down a bomb that rolls toward the villain, but Ganondorf uses the Warlock Punch to hit it back at him. Bowser falls again, but drastically increases his size to become a bigger threat. He unleashes a large punch, but Ganondorf uses the Triforce of Power to transform into Ganon to catch the punch and send the large turtle back. He then throws his trident which avoids Bowser's flames to stab the large Koopa in the eye. Ganon teleports in front of Bowser, and the Mario villain takes the opportunity to swallow the pig demon in his stomach. Bowser starts laughing, but his body slowly decays and shrinks until he's reduced to a skeleton. Ganon's magic explodes which sends his bones flying everywhere, and the Demon King laughs in victory.

Ko season 3

Ganon is seen using his magic to manipulate Bowser's bones like a puppet.

Results

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Demise - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
by Mahito Yokota, Hajime Wakai, Takeshi Hama
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Boomstick: That'll do pig. That'll do.

Wiz: Bowser may have had the advantage in brute strength, but Ganon's deadlier magic and superior intellect won out in the end.

Boomstick: Ganon had his fair share of brawn as well, but what really counts is his ability to form a strategy and plan of attack.

Wiz: Regardless of intelligence, both Bowser and Ganon were nearly invulnerable to typical means of harm. Ganon could only be killed by holy weapons like the Master Sword and Silver Arrows so, while Bowser could hurt him, he couldn't exactly kill him.

Boomstick: Meanwhile, Bowser could survive almost anything. Almost. In New Super Mario Bros. DS, after falling into some kind of super lava — it's gotta be, since he's survived molten dips before unscathed — he became Dry Bowser, and after a strong enough impact, not even his own magic could reassemble his body.

Wiz: You can even see the light missing in his eyes, so in this case, for all intents and purposes, Bowser was dead by magic and force. With Ganon's unlimited pool of magic power, he not only cursed Bowser's body to decay like he did the Deku Tree, but also blasted him apart with enough force to more than surpass that fall in the castle.

Boomstick: Ganon had this fight war-locked down.

We cut to the "Winner" card.

Wiz: The winner is Ganon.

Original Tracks

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Blood on Broken Glass
by Brandon Yates
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Olympus Mons (Instrumental)
by Brandon Yates
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The tracks for this fight are "Blood On Broken Glass" and "Olympus Mons", both by Brandon Yates. Both are instrumental rock tracks, but "Blood On Broken Glass" is more faster paced and utilizes the electric guitar more, while "Olympus Mons" is slower paced and utilizes the pipe organ more.

The title of "Blood On Broken Glass" possibly references both combatants' tendencies to break into castles to kidnap someone, while "Olympus Mons" (which translates to "Mount Olympus" in Latin) possibly references the sheer might and size both combatants can take, as "Olympus Mons" and "Mount Olympus" are also the respective names of the largest volcano on Mars and the highest mountain in Greece.

Trivia

Production

  • The connections between Bowser and Ganon are that they are both iconic, monstrous, nigh-immortal, villainous main antagonists of Nintendo video game series who kidnap princesses and try to overthrow magical kingdoms (Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Zelda of Hyrule, respectively), but are constantly thwarted by their archenemies, who are the heroic main protagonists (Mario and Link, respectively). Both also have knowledge of magic and sorcery, and a number of colossal transformations.
  • The Koopa Troopa sprites used in this episode were fan-made and go uncredited. The creator, Mike Tona, has complained about this on Twitter. The original sprite sheet can be found here.
    • The sprites for the Goombas (made by CyberShadow) are also fan-made and go uncredited as well, and can be found here.
  • This is the first episode to have two original tracks instead of just one, with the next two being Crash VS Spyro and Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia.
  • This episode's controversial verdict (Ganondorf effectively winning due to his inability to be killed without a holy weapon, which is often considered to be a no limits fallacy by the community and some members of the then-unofficial Research Team) is often cited internally as one of the main reasons for the additional Research Team eventually becoming the primary Research Team.

Easter Eggs

  • During Ganondorf's analysis, Boomstick quotes Anakin Skywalker's infamous "I don't like sand" speech from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, much to the dismay of Wiz, who cuts him off. Anakin even appears when Boomstick quotes the line.
  • When Ganondorf floats up behind Bowser after the latter celebrates his supposed victory, the kanji signs for "Menacing" start floating across the screen, which is a reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
  • Boomstick's quote "That'll do, pig. That'll do." is a direct reference to the film Babe.

Other

DEATH BATTLE Episodes
Season 1 1 Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010)2 Akuma VS Shang Tsung3 Rogue VS Wonder Woman4 Goomba VS Koopa5 Haggar VS Zangief6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale7 Zitz VS Leonardo8 Yoshi VS Riptor9 Felicia VS Taokaka10 Kratos VS Spawn11 Bomberman VS Dig Dug12 Vegeta VS Shadow13 Mario VS Sonic (2011)14 Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black14.5 DEATH BATTLE! vs The World15 Luke Skywalker VS Harry Potter16 Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui17 Starscream VS Rainbow Dash18 Master Chief VS Doomguy19 Eggman VS Wily20 Zelda VS Peach21 Thor VS Raiden22 Link VS Cloud (2012)23 Batman VS Spider-Man24 Pikachu VS Blanka25 Goku VS Superman 1
Season 2 26 He-Man VS Lion-O27 Shao Kahn VS M. Bison28 Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu29 Ivy VS Orchid30 Fox McCloud VS Bucky O'Hare31 Terminator VS RoboCop32 Luigi VS Tails32.5 Vegeta VS Mewtwo?33 Pokémon Battle Royale34 Fulgore VS Sektor35 Godzilla VS Gamera36 Batman VS Captain America37 Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon38 Ryu VS Scorpion39 Deadpool VS Deathstroke40 Kirby VS Majin Buu41 Ragna VS Sol Badguy42 Gaara VS Toph43 Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015)44 Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro45 Guts VS Nightmare46 Iron Man VS Lex Luthor47 Beast VS Goliath48 Solid Snake VS Sam Fisher49 Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom50 Goku VS Superman 251 Donkey Kong VS Knuckles52 Wolverine VS Raiden53 Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki54 Yang VS Tifa55 Mega Man VS Astro Boy56 Green Arrow VS Hawkeye57 Pokémon VS Digimon
Season 3 58 Dante VS Bayonetta59 Bowser VS Ganon60 Ratchet & Clank VS Jak & Daxter61 Flash VS Quicksilver62 Joker VS Sweet Tooth63 Mewtwo VS Shadow64 Meta VS Carolina65 Cammy VS Sonya66 Tracer VS Scout67 Ken VS Terry68 Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers69 Hulk VS Doomsday70 Zoro VS Erza71 Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie
Season 4 72 Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake73 Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight74 Venom VS Bane75 Power Rangers VS Voltron76 Natsu VS Ace77 Sub-Zero VS Glacius78 Android 18 VS Captain Marvel79 Metal Sonic VS Zero80 Lucario VS Renamon81 Balrog VS TJ Combo82 Shredder VS Silver Samurai83 Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog84 Thor VS Wonder Woman85 Naruto VS Ichigo86 Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 209987 Sephiroth VS Vergil
Season 5 88 Black Panther VS Batman89 Raven VS Twilight Sparkle90 Jotaro VS Kenshiro91 Crash VS Spyro92 Sora VS Pit93 Leon Kennedy VS Frank West94 Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate95 Ryu VS Jin96 Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai97 Carnage VS Lucy98 Optimus Prime VS Gundam99 Nightwing VS Daredevil100 Mario VS Sonic (2018)101 Ultron VS Sigma102 Roshi VS Jiraiya103 Thanos VS Darkseid
Season 6 104 Aquaman VS Namor105 Mega Man Battle Royale106 Black Widow VS Widowmaker107 Captain Marvel VS Shazam108 Wario VS King Dedede109 Ben 10 VS Green Lantern110 Weiss VS Mitsuru111 Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon112 Aang VS Edward Elric113 Ghost Rider VS Lobo114 Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla115 Sasuke VS Hiei116 Ganondorf VS Dracula117 Mob VS Tatsumaki118 Deadpool VS Mask119 All Might VS Might Guy
Season 7 120 Miles Morales VS Static121 Black Canary VS Sindel122 Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason123 Genos VS War Machine124 Gray VS Esdeath125 Goro VS Machamp126 Cable VS Booster Gold127 Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Kakashi128 Danny Phantom VS American Dragon Jake Long129 She-Ra VS Wonder Woman130 Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia131 Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki132 Flash VS Sonic132.5 The Seven Battle Royale133 Winter Soldier VS Red Hood134 Venom VS Crona135 Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain136 Red VS Blue137 Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen138 Sanji VS Rock Lee139 Hulk VS Broly
Season 8 140 Yoda VS King Mickey141 Shadow VS Ryuko142 Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom143 Heihachi Mishima VS Geese Howard144 Blake VS Mikasa145 Iron Fist VS Po146 Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly147 Link VS Cloud (2021)148 Batman VS Iron Man149 Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash150 Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man151 DIO VS Alucard152 Akuma VS Shao Kahn153 Korra VS Storm154 Madara VS Aizen155 Saitama VS Popeye
Season 9 156 Harley Quinn VS Jinx157 Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna158 Tanjiro VS Jonathan Joestar159 Thor VS Vegeta160 Omni-Man VS Homelander161 Magneto VS Tetsuo162 Hercules VS Sun Wukong163 Boba Fett VS Predator163.5 Excalibur VS Raiden164 James Bond VS John Wick165 Black Adam VS Apocalypse166 Trunks VS Silver167 SpongeBob VS Aquaman168 Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers169 Sauron VS Lich King170 Deku VS Asta171 Gogeta VS Vegito
Season 10 172 Ant-Man VS Atom173 Skyrim VS Dark Souls174 Killua VS Misaka175 Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon176 Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha177 Phoenix VS Raven178 Guts VS Dimitri179 Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer180 Bill Cipher VS Discord181 Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer182 Frieza VS Megatron183 Gojo VS Makima184 Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog185 Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor186 Goku VS Superman (2023)187 Galactus VS Unicron
Season 11 ??? Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat*
Unknown ??? Ruby VS Maka*
*Currently unreleased
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