- —Tagline
Galactus VS Unicron is the 187th episode and Season 10 Finale of Death Battle, featuring Galactus from Marvel Comics and Unicron from the Transformers series in a battle between colossal planet devourers. Galactus was voiced by Wolf Williams and Unicron was voiced by Brent Mukai.
Interlude
The episode opens with the Death Battle transition card closing before opening again to show Unicron grabbing and smashing the Earth into Galactus, which pauses and grays out as Ringmaster shouts...
The screen then statics into playing the Death Battle intro.
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Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates  
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Wiz: Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.
Boomstick: And Unicron, almighty Chaos Bringer. That's right, it's the day we've all been waiting for!
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.
Galactus
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Wiz: Boomstick, what is the nature... of evil?
Boomstick: Oh-ho. It's three and a half beers too early for that question, Wiz.
Wiz: No, seriously. Is the wolf that hunts the hare evil? What about the bear that kills the wolf, or the man that slays the bear? Is that evil... or nature? Perhaps this question was on Galan of Taa's mind as he hurdled toward the end of infinity.
Boomstick: I'm pretty sure the question on his mind was "HOW DO I TURN THIS GODDAMN SPACESHIP AROUND?!"
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Evil Nightmares by Matt Hill
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Wiz: Eons ago, the planet Taa was a paradise, the most advanced civilization the universe had ever known.
Boomstick: Too bad the universe was coming to an end. I hate it when that happens.
Wiz: The Taa-an scientist, Galan, watched as the rest of his race ignominiously perished, and decided to die gloriously on his own terms.
Boomstick: By flying a ship into the Sun, just like great Grandpappy Boomstick, the crazy ol' coot. But, instead of being vaporized on contact like great Grandpappy Boomstick, Galan got bitten by a radioactive god.
Wiz: As the last living thing left before the universe's end, Galan was visited by the Sentience of the Multiverse, who merged with him as part of a cosmic cycle of death and rebirth. As the old multiverse died, a new one was born, and the scientist Galan was no more. In his place was a being of untold power: the ravager of galaxies, Galactus.
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Destroyer Of Worlds by Christoph Allerstorfer 
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Boomstick: Well..., despite looking like a masochist's giant purple vibrator,[Note 1] G-Dawg here is one of the strongest beings in all of Mahvel, baby! And there's only one thing he wants to do: eat freakin' worlds!
Wiz: Galactus is so unbelievably, mind-meltingly powerful that "strong" doesn't really begin to describe him. Just being near him will begin to warp your perception of reality. In truth, he isn't even really a physical being with a soul anymore, but composed of energy itself: the Power Cosmic.
Boomstick: Basically your all-purpose space god magic that no-good almighty ass-whooping god can't go without. Sure, he can use it to blast your ass to unholy smithereens, but it's a lot more flexible, too.
Wiz: Described as being "in touch with every other living thing at once," the Power Cosmic allows one access to a near-infinite pool of knowledge and the ability to sense danger ahead of time.
Boomstick: I don't think there's a lot for him to be afraid of. He can manipulate matter, read and control the minds of gods, and teleport entire galaxies across the universe.
Wiz: The Power Cosmic allows him fundamental control over life itself: manipulating souls, creating new lifeforms from nothing, and even resurrecting the dead.
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Victory is Ours by Maxime Fortin
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Wiz: And because his body is composed of energy, he can't really be hurt in the traditional, physical sense.
We cut to Wiz, Boomstick, and DUMMI.
Wiz: This allows him to grow or shrink his body with seemingly no limit, and alter his appearance.
As he says this, he presses buttons on his metal arm that grow and shrink DUMMI, making him dizzy before returning him to normal size, before a metal claw places Galactus' helmet on him.
Boomstick: Wait, wait, wait. He chooses to look like that?
Wiz: His physical appearance matches the species observing him. So a human sees a human Galactus, a squirrel a squirrel Galactus, and so on.
Boomstick: Oh! So it's just like how I see the world.
We see that Wiz and DUMMI are now beer cans.
DUMMI: What are you staring at?
Boomstick: What matters most to me in the world. Awesome.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: No, not awesome. VERY not awesome. At least as far as Galactus is concerned, since witnessing his approach is itself the end of the world. You would only have enough time to pray to your paltry gods before Galactus consumed your entire planet, absorbing its energy into himself, then moving on to his next meal.
Boomstick: Man, I guess his costume is appropriate, because he sounds like a TOTAL dick! Like c'mon man, you watched your whole planet die, now you're gonna go around the universe doin' the same thing?
Wiz: It's not entirely his fault; Galactus' power is so immense that the only thing that can sustain him is the consumption of entire worlds. Without this constant feeding, he would perish, just as humans would without consuming plants or other animals.
Boomstick: Kinda like I hunt squirrels 'cause I hate each and every one of them.
Wiz: No, no, categorically the exact opposite, actually. Galactus isn't vengeful or cruel. If he could avoid any unnecessary death, he would. But just as the universe is bound by the laws of physics, Galactus is bound by his hunger.
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Vengeful Attack by Timothy Peter Stoney
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Boomstick: And that hunger has put him in conflict with some of Marvel's other heaviest hitters, like Odin and the Phoenix Force. Galactus' fight with the Other and the Scrier got so intense, they threatened the entire infinite multiverse just as a side effect of the battle!
Wiz: While Galactus himself can comfortably cross countless light years in seconds, some of these beings are more like abstract concepts than actual living things, many of which operate outside of linear time.
Boomstick: Like this alien bug dude who tried to use Galactus' energy to destroy two whole universes. Even after being drained by him, he still nuked three whole star systems before getting a snack.
Wiz: Should he somehow be threatened by beings beyond even the scope of his power, Galactus crafted a device to solve all of his problems: the Ultimate Nullifier.
Boomstick: In case that name isn't obvious enough, it's a teeny-tiny weapon that destroys anyone you think of.
Wiz: It doesn't just destroy them; it destroys everything! The entire multiverse is eradicated, then recreated without the target. An extremely roundabout way of winning, but it works! That's exactly what happened when Galactus used it on the abstract god of destruction, Abraxas.
Boomstick: He destroyed the god of destroying things with a Happy Meal toy. It's like my therapist said: great things come in small packages!
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Mutant Titan by Oriol Dalip Sirinathsingh
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Wiz: And the Nullifier was key to Galactus' first great defeat upon his inevitable arrival on Earth.
Boomstick: When that pesky Reed Richards managed to get his stretchy hands on the thing, Galactus finally backed down and spared the planet.
Wiz: Which makes no practical sense? The Ultimate Nullifier is a part of Galactus himself; it uses his own power, he can summon it at any time, and even escape its effects by hiding in a pocket dimension. It even had the safety on!
Boomstick: Maybe he was just bored.
Wiz: After billions of years of cosmic genocide just to survive, I'm pretty sure Galan forgot what it meant to be mortal. Perhaps that was the true evil all along: the slow death of Galan's humanity, because what could be more terrifying than a being that sees everything and everyone you know and love as nothing more than his next meal?
Unicron
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Soulsaver by Michael Werner Maas
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Wiz: In the beginning, before Heaven and Earth, before light and dark, there was Unicron. Created by the formless primordial being known as the One to explore the fledgling multiverse, Unicron instead... decided to consume everything.
Boomstick: Dude, come on! Bad Unicron! Bad God! Bad!
Wiz: The One decided to split Unicron into two beings: one of order and hope known as Primus, and the other of chaos and evil known as... Unicron! Again.
Boomstick: Like all good sibling rivalries, they pushed each other's shit in over the fate of all existence. That is, until the goody-little-two-shoes Primus tricked his bro into imprisoning their souls in giant asteroids. Classic sibling prank! For me, it was the dryer.
Wiz: Primus terraformed his asteroid into what would later be known as the planet Cybertron, while Unicron did something... different.
Boomstick: Yeah, he turned his planet into a planet that eats other planets! Not only that, it can change its form into a giant, badass robot Satan! He's literally the first Transformer!
Wiz: And with this new body, Unicron would travel the cosmos consuming planet after planet and universe after universe.
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Wiz: Not necessarily because of any hunger or need, but because Unicron is the physical embodiment of death and destruction. He is literally programmed to destroy everything.
Boomstick: God's got to do what a god's got to do. And good luck trying to fight back; Uni's robot body comes with a tractor beam, eye lasers, fire breath, a chest cannon, and an antibody system in case anyone tries to pull a Drax on him.
Wiz: Unicron can mentally dominate an entire race of beings, erase things from existence, warp the fabric of space and time, and even manipulate matter itself.
Boomstick: So, even if his big robot body is damaged or destroyed, he can repair it lickity-split or even send his spark out to find a new host.
Wiz: Essentially, the Transformers version of a soul, Unicron's spark is immensely powerful, and produces its own energy source: Dark Energon.
Boomstick: Unicron is so evil that he can literally turn his bad dude energy into weapons of mass destruction, like unholy blades or planet-busting lasers.
Wiz: This Dark Energon will corrupt any that consumes it, turning them into a puppet of Unicron himself.
Boomstick: It's also obviously the opposite of regular Energon, which is created by Primus and what fuels the Transformer race. So, Unicron basically runs on the opposite of life. If he's Death as a big robot, can he even be killed?
Wiz: Not by any conventional means. Even the destruction of his spark isn't guaranteed to end him; he will continue to exist as a necessary force that drives the cosmos. Anytime he's destroyed, he will appear again in a new universe. In fact, almost every Unicron you've seen in movies, TV, and comics, are the same Unicron.
Boomstick: Unicron is a literal force of nature. Ya' can't reason with a hurricane that hates you. All you can do is see it and get the hell out of the way. But this hurricane is never gonna stop until you and everyone you know is D-E-D dead. His mere presence drove an entire planet insane!
Wiz: I was trying to be poetic before but uh, this, THIS is what evil is! Incomprehensible, undeniable, inescapable. You can't even wait him out; he is unbound by the concept of linear time.
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Boomstick: The Chaos Bringer is so powerful, his mere presence wrecks the space-time continuum, and can erase galaxies from existence just by strolling by.
Wiz: To be clear, it isn't the force he's generating by moving that destroys things. It's his existence! His mere being is so overwhelmingly evil that the fabric of spacetime cannot fathom Unicron's presence!
Boomstick: Holy f**k, dude! No wonder he was able to devour nearly a quarter of the entire multiverse, one universe at a time!
Wiz: Estimates for the size of the Transformers multiverse vary, from over 15 quadrillion universes to an infinite number of universes, branching timelines, and planes of existence. And who better to portray a being who brings death to the universe than the man who gave birth... to modern cinema!
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick, with the latter drinking a bottle of champagne in reference to Orson Welles' infamous drunken outtakes when shooting for a commercial for Paul Masson California wine.
Wiz: A final role fitting for an artist so much larger than life... or deeply ironic that it's a feature-length toy commercial.
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Requiem Aeternam - Requiem In D Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Boomstick: (slurred) Mwaaaah, the Transformers... movie has always been celebrated for its excellence. I say—!
Boomstick then promptly passes out on the floor, falling in front of Wiz. We then cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Despite that unbelievable power, the Chaos Bringer's almighty rampage through reality has been halted a number of times, usually due to the Matrix of Leadership: the essence of Primus himself and the embodiment of all hope and light in the universe.
Boomstick: Are you telling me that Robo-Satan was defeated by the power of friendship?! Forget beer! I'm gonna need some of that shit going straight into the vein!
Wiz: As the abstract idea of evil actualized, any notion of "goodness" is directly antithetical to his being.
Boomstick: As incomprehensible to Unicron as he is to us.
Wiz: But despite the best efforts of heroic Transformers like Optimus Prime, Unicron has always returned from the smoldering ashes of defeat and risen to threaten reality again.
Boomstick: It's his very nature.
Wiz: Such as the time a united armada of Autobots, Decepticons, and an entire people created from his cells, the Mini-Cons, tried to destroy him once and for all.
Boomstick: They actually succeeded in killing him! Until Galvatron's hatred for Optimus brought Unicron back to life.
Wiz: Because challenging Unicron means challenging evil itself. Destroying destruction itself. An impossible paradox.
Boomstick: You can't kill Unicron because killing is literally what Unicron is! So... what does that mean for us?
Wiz: Every petty act of violence, every war, every cruelty, every Death Battle gives Unicron life. The life he'll use to kill us all. We are culpable in our own annihilation.
Boomstick: Unicron's not just some comic book villain; he's all there is and all there will be. He was there at the beginning, and he'll be there at the end. He's a law of physics. He's as inevitable as your dying breath!
Wiz: (softly) Jesus, now you got me scared...
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR THE DEATH BATTLE YOU'VE BEEN ASKING FOR FOREVEEER!!!
Death Battle
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A gigantic shadow looms over a city, which is quickly revealed to be none other than Galactus, who has arrived to consume the planet. Reaching his hand onto the buildings below, the people of Earth can only scream in terror as entropy now descends.
Galactus: As all things must, your world has come to an end.
However, he stops, sparks flying in his eyes as he notices another being seeking to consume the Earth: Unicron, who approaches menacingly towards the Earth in his planet form and sinks his teeth into it, much to Galactus' annoyance. Galactus then puts his hand on the planet to prevent Unicron from eating the Earth.
Galactus: Halt! This planet is mine to consume, so sayeth Galactus, Destroyer of Worlds.
Galactus raises his right hand, preparing for battle. However, Unicron is not the slightest bit intimidated or interested.
Unicron: Begone, thus decrees Unicron, Chaos Bringer!
Unicron activates his tractor beam and begins sucking up pieces of Earth until Galactus fires a beam from his palm, sending Unicron flying away. Unicron growls in annoyance and begins his transformation from a planet into a giant robot. As his eyes glow green he picks up Earth and slams it at Galactus, who blocks it with his left arm, resulting in the planet being destroyed.
Galactus: Madness! So quick to beg for oblivion's embrace?
Galactus lands a blow with his left fist to Unicron's face, knocking him back.
Unicron: I AM oblivion.
However, Unicron quickly recovers, rushing forward to grab ahold of both of Galactus' horns to slam him down into his knee, before promptly charging up Dark Energon and blasting Galactus away. Galactus grabs ahold of a nearby planet to regain his footing, before telekinetically throwing it and four other planets towards Unicron. A supermassive black hole sits in the middle of their battlefield.
Galactus: Begone!
After being hit by the planetary barrage, Unicron escalates the fight by enlarging his size and hurling a star at Galactus. Although initially minuscule compared to the star flying towards him, Galactus increases in size as well and deflects it with his arm before charging towards Unicron.
Prepared to counterattack, Unicron grabs a nearby star and condenses it in between his palms into a black hole. As Galactus arrives and punches him in the face, Unicron brings his fist to Galactus' stomach and crushes the black hole, although his foe is hardly fazed and delivers a blow to Unicron's head. Galactus then fires a massive, white beam from his entire body, which Unicron briefly endures before firing his own Dark Energon beam, causing a beam struggle that ultimately creates a mighty explosion.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Galactus delivers a devastating left hook to Unicron's face, causing some pieces of it to chip off. Galactus then begins charging up his massive energy attack again, while Unicron creates a Dark Energon sword. As Galactus fires, Unicron swings, sending a sharp projectile that cuts through both the beam and Galactus, bisecting him. He groans in pain before disintegrating, but despite now being a purple cloud of dust, he assures his enemy that he is very much still alive.
Galactus: I am the Power Cosmic incarnate, not so easily felled!
Galactus reforms himself from the dust, before charging forward and impaling Unicron with his arm. Unicron fires his mouth beam on Galactus's face, causing him to reel his face back before hitting Unicron again, returning the favor by bisecting Unicron in the process. Unicron's spark then leaves the massive corpse behind and flies away, which Galactus promptly mocks with a smug expression.
Galactus: Fleeing so readily, Unicron?
However, Unicron assures Galactus of his true objective.
Unicron: No, Devourer. Transforming!
A growing white light emits from Unicron as he absorbs all the nearby planets and stars of the galaxy into himself, the result causing a blinding light that Galactus shields his eyes from. As he opens them again, he witnesses Unicron's new form, starry and towering over him.
Unicron: Beg not for mercy. Behold, blackened skies, against mine chaos, even gods will die!
Unicron emits a shockwave of Dark Energon, scattering stars as Galactus blocks it. He then charges up a ball of white energy before hurling it towards Unicron, but it has no effect on the giant robot as it hits him in the face. Unicron begins reaching his hand down towards Galactus, destroying multiple galaxies in the way of his fist as he does so. Galactus tries to shield himself, but his efforts are futile as Unicron grabs him, leaving him helpless as Unicron blasts him with Dark Energon from his other hand. However, he quickly recovers as he grows to match Unicron's size and lands a right hook and uppercut.
Galactus: Galactus meets your challenge, hears your call. This world, we'll bring destruction to it all.
Unicron grabs a galaxy and punches Galactus in the chin with it, before delivering a Dark Energon-charged blow to his stomach. Galactus counterattacks with a Power Cosmic-infused uppercut, which he leads into an axehandle, although Unicron parries the last attack with yet another Dark Energon-infused blow.
Unicron: The end, destruction, pure finality... in first and last, true immortality!
Unicron telekinetically grabs a galaxy before chucking it at Galactus. Galactus responds by telekinetically sending multiple galaxies towards Unicron, although they seemingly do not affect Unicron as he charges a Dark Energon beam before firing it, which Galactus blocks with a Power Cosmic beam.
Galactus: I have no patience left. Return thy dreams. Enter the void where none may hear your screams.
Finally growing tired of the fight, Galactus summons the Ultimate Nullifier from his free hand. But as he prepares to activate it, Unicron's beam dies down, his body turning gray as his spark exits it and weaves around Galactus' own beam before going into the Ultimate Nullifier. Noticing this, Galactus stops firing his attack as he tries to reason with Unicron.
Galactus: You know not the power which you command.
Unicron: Of course I do. Your death I thus demand!
Now possessing the weapon, Unicron turns the Ultimate Nullifier towards Galactus and fires it, producing a blinding light that spreads across the entire universe and even beyond the borders of the fight itself until there is nothing but the Nullifer, which Unicron and the universe reform from before he proceeds to prematurely declare his victory.
Unicron: Finally. I have won.
However, from behind him, Galactus appears after tearing himself out from a pocket dimension in space. Now gargantuan compared to his adversary, Galactus surrounds Unicron with both palms before absorbing Unicron into them in the form of two green beams. Although Unicron attempts to resist, he can ultimately only scream in pain as he disintegrates and Galactus delivers one final monologue.
Galactus: I've seen your power, Bringer of Chaos, yet by my figure, thou hast much need. Witness the last fate that awaits you thus, for almighty Galactus must now feed!
As he finishes absorbing his foe, Galactus closes one palm as he holds out a galaxy in the other, presumably ready to properly feast upon after a hard-fought battle.
Results
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Wiz: We know Galactus and Unicron are beings who could manipulate reality itself into basically anything.
Boomstick: Older than the universe, unbound by time, they had each other matched in a lot of ways.
Wiz: So it ultimately came down to which of them was more powerful.
Boomstick: Both could threaten an entire infinite multiverse, but Unicron could only do so over time, devouring them one by one.
Wiz: While Galactus' battle with Scrier and the Other threatened to destroy the entire Marvel multiverse as just a side effect.
Boomstick: Not to mention, Galactus tussles with cosmic beings like himself all the time!
Wiz: While Unicron is usually the top dog in Transformers, he's a big fish in a relatively small pond. Relative to Marvel at least.
Boomstick: That might sound better for Unicron at first, but it means he has way less experience than Galactus in full-on fights against dudes his size.
Wiz: And while Unicron has used Dark Energon to infect and corrupt other beings in the past, Galactus technically doesn't have a soul thanks to his cosmic rebirth from Galan. And he's fended off mental attacks before, so there's no real reason to think that would work here.
Boomstick: And as lame as it is, the Ultimate Nullifier is just really, REALLY overpowered...
Wiz: Despite Unicron being able to survive the destruction of his spark, the Ultimate Nullifier is significantly more thorough. Consider the time it was used against Abraxas, a being that embodied the abstract concept of the multiverse's destruction.
Wiz and Boomstick: Hmmm...
Boomstick: Sounds like somebody you know? Even against someone like that, the good ol' Ully Nully had no problem erasing him from reality. And the same would happen to Unicron, while Galactus could always hide in that pocket dimension, just as he escaped the Nullifier before.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: Unicron was an insanely terrifying threat, but Galactus had the power, experience, and arsenal to ultimately annihilate him.
Boomstick: If you thought Galactus was going down in this fight, you were "Unic-wrong".
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Galactus.
Comparison
Galactus
- = Similar reality-warping powers
- + Much tougher and more powerful
- + Ultimate Nullifier destroys conceptual beings
- + Resists corruption by Dark Energon
- - Cosmic hunger drains stamina
Unicron
- = Similar reality-warping powers
- + Nearly impossible to kill traditionally…
- - …but cannot resist the Ultimate Nullifier
- - Weaker than a satiated Galactus
- - Harder to regenerate body
Original Track
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Composition
The track for this fight is "All-Consuming" composed and performed by Brandon Yates & Therewolf Media, featuring Tiggs as a vocalist, and with mixing and mastering done by Anthony DiGiacomo. It is a slow-paced, yet cinematic orchestral track with a reoccurring lyrical choir sung by Tiggs that reflects on the abstract scale of both Galactus and Unicron, almost as if acknowledging the cosmic horror one would see or feel just by being around said combatants.
Title
The title references the combatants' hunger for entire planets, regularly consuming all that the inhabitants know. "All-consuming" also refers to something obsessive and takes up all of someone's time, which could relate to how both Galactus and Unicron are always on the search for new planets to devour.
Cover Arts
The original cover art done by John Mitchell depicts Galactus and Unicron destroying an upside-down Earth; Galactus' hand is converting the planet into the Power Cosmic, while Unicron is using his tractor beam to eat the planet, sucking up the oceans and broken chunks of the Earth as his horns and teeth loom over everything. Stars litter the background, referencing the cosmic scale of the combatants.
- After the episode was released, alongside the original track cover, John Mitchell posted on Twitter an alternate version of it with the art rotated 180 degrees and slightly zoomed out, putting Galactus' hand at the top and Unicron's teeth and horns at the bottom while making the Earth right-side up.[1]
The cover art of the remastered version done by Iuminous_shadow (which was created for the track's remaster following Rooster Teeth's shutdown) simply depicts Unicron's planet form in space looming over the camera and covered in shadow, only being illuminated by a purple light coming from the core of his body and the surrounding purple nebula, referencing this piece of Galactus promotional art made for Fortnite's The Devourer of Worlds event.
Lyrics
BEYOND OUR SCOPE |
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Galactus and Unicron are that they are both colossal, horned, planet-sized entities who devour planets to empower themselves and are embodiments of primordial entities (Galactus houses the energy of the Black Winter that destroyed universes, and Unicron is a "multiversal singularity" embodying evil) with true forms that cannot be perceived by most living beings. In addition:
- Both have used several heralds they bestowed with power in order to find more planets (most famously, the Silver Surfer and Galvatron, respectively).
- Said famous heralds fought in their own episodes earlier in the season, which ended up heralding their masters' arrival (although Megatron specifically was not used as Galvatron, as they are separate entities within IDW Transformers canon).
- Both serve as fierce threats to their respective series' heroes of Earth (the Fantastic Four and the Autobots, respectively), as well as towards other worlds (for example Zenn-La and Cybertron, respectively).
- Both their names are alterations of cosmic locations (galaxy and universe, respectively).
- This is also a battle of opposites, as while Galactus only eats planets because he must do so to satiate his hunger and dislikes it, Unicron destroys planets out of nothing but pure malice and sadism, outright enjoying the chaos he causes.
- Both have used several heralds they bestowed with power in order to find more planets (most famously, the Silver Surfer and Galvatron, respectively).
- This episode was first announced by Chad James at MAGFest 13 in 2015.[2] However, it was later stated by Ben Singer in the 304th episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast that no previously announced off-hand episodes (aside from Ruby VS Maka) were considered as "confirmed" by the current team,[3] with Galactus VS Unicron not becoming reconfirmed until its official reveal at the end of Goku VS Superman (2023).
- As stated in the Next Time trailer in Goku VS Superman (2023), this episode was the #1 most suggested matchup in Death Battle history as of its reveal.
- This is the third episode to have been considered as such when it was announced, after Goku VS Superman 1 and Thanos VS Darkseid.
- This episode was previously referenced/teased a few times earlier in the season:
- In Gojo VS Makima, an image of a giant unicorn in space with a Japanese caption under it roughly translating to "Galactic unicorn. We have entered the solar system." (a pun on the matchup's name) can be seen on the front page of the "DEATH TIMES" newspaper the Japanese citizen was reading before Makima's death gets transferred to him.
- In Goku VS Superman (2023), Galactus and Unicron's planet mode make cameo appearances right before the universe blacks out from Goku and Superman's final clash, which would be alluded to by Billy B Burson III after this episode's proper reveal.
- During the 324th episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast, (in which the Season 10 Premiere was first revealed) Ben Singer "jokingly" claimed that they would be doing Galactus VS Unicron this season,[4] which ended up being true.
- This followed a history of the crew making jokes about the episode years prior to them actually doing it, such as joking that it would be the Season 8 Finale in Madara VS Aizen's commentary right before Saitama VS Popeye was revealed.[5]
- Curiously, the subtitles for Boomstick shouting "HOW DO I TURN THIS GODDAMN SPACESHIP AROUND?!" seen in Galactus' analysis preview are absent in the final episode.
- Gerardo Mejia is credited for editing this episode, despite having been let go from Rooster Teeth prior to the start of production on the season.
- Interestingly, the last episode to have a former editor's work credited after they left was also a Transformers episode.
- It was eventually revealed in the April 24th, 2024 Fireside Chat that this episode was meant to happen in Season 8 as its Season Finale, but was delayed and replaced with Saitama VS Popeye instead, explaining Gerardo's involvement with editing this episode.
- At the beginning of the season, a teaser trailer was released which included multiple hints for this episode:
- A Gravity Falls-inspired zodiac wheel with 16 symbols on it, each representing and hinting toward an episode in the season. After the release of this episode, the Death Battle YouTube channel began revealing the answers to the zodiac wheel by posting the answers in pinned comments under the symbols' respective episodes. This episode was revealed to be represented by the pentagram symbol.[6] While a demonic connection only fits one of the combatants (Unicron is so synonymous as "Robot Satan" that it was even referenced in the title of his analysis preview and in his analysis proper, while Galactus' only real connection would be through battling demonic characters like Mephisto), it's possible the symbol could represent the episode through a contrast between the original and inverted pentagrams (as the former represents life, which lines up with Galactus' goal at the end of the universe and temporary status as the Lifebringer, while the latter represents evil, which Unicron fundamentally embodies).
- A cryptogram, which, when decrypted using the key "PANTHEON", read "The end will come from what begins". This hinted toward how both combatants existed since the start of their current multiverses and how their presences signify the end of the world. Additionally, Season 10 started with Ant-Man VS Atom, a matchup featuring combatants who can shrink to become the smallest ones on the show, and ended with this episode, which featured two of the biggest, with both episodes ending with the winner (who coincidentally was the Marvel character on both occasions) growing to gigantic sizes before killing their opponent with an attack that ultimately disintegrated their bodies, thus starting and ending the season with episodes featuring extreme sizes and the same kill concept. The key of "PANTHEON" referenced how they are both godly forces of nature, as Galactus is often compared to abstract beings in Marvel and Unicron is the embodiment of evil in Transformers.[7]
- This is the last episode to be created under the ownership of Rooster Teeth.
- This is the last episode to be part of a seasonal format, as episodes after it will be categorized by year.
- Because of this, it is also the last episode to be considered a Season Finale.
Easter Eggs
- Boomstick calls Galactus "one of the strongest beings in all of Mahvel, baby!" in his analysis, referencing one of the many memetic phrases spouted by Marvel vs. Capcom competitor Michael "IFC Yipes" Mendoza.
- Boomstick's drunken speech in the cutaway gag of Unicron's analysis is a reference to the outtakes of the Paul Masson champagne commercial done by Orson Welles, who served as Unicron's first voice actor.
- A brief clip from the ending of Black Adam VS Apocalypse (specifically the moment when Apocalypse repeatedly stomps on Black Adam's face) plays at the end of Unicron's analysis as Wiz explains how Unicron lives off of any and all acts of violence.
- This may ironically reference the fact that Galactus' voice actor for this episode, Wolf Williams, voiced Apocalypse in that episode.
- The city seen at the start of the fight is the same one in which Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer took place.
- During the scene of Galactus' hand descending upon the Earth's surface, a stone carving of Bill Cipher can be seen on top of the steel framework to the right of the screen, while Columbo can be seen through the window of the building on the bottom-right of the scene before the camera pans upward (referencing how Liam Swan wanted Light VS Columbo to become an episode[8]).
- This is the ninth episode to hide a stone carving of Bill in the background of the fight, after Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Gojo VS Makima, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the eighth episode to hide Columbo in it as an easter egg in some form, after SpongeBob VS Aquaman, Sauron VS Lich King, Gogeta VS Vegito, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Gojo VS Makima, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
- Galactus' hand reaching out as he calls himself the Destroyer of Worlds is similar to the pose he has in his debut on the final page of Fantastic Four #48, which has become iconic for the character and has been heavily referenced.
- Similarly, Galactus's final attack of firing blasts of green energy at Unicron with both his hands calls back to the cover of Fantastic Four #49, which has been homaged throughout Marvel Comics' history.
- Galactus and Unicron speaking in iambic pentameter in the second half of the fight is meant to pay homage to the kind of prose Stan Lee wrote in the early comics that Galactus made his debut in, similar to Silver Surfer's speech in his own episode being made to homage different aspects of said kinds of prose.
- As Galactus and Unicron exchange physical blows on each other, an interstellar cloud in the shape of Discord's head and the constellation from the end of Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man can be seen in the background, the former to the left of Galactus and the latter as the camera zooms out.
- This is the sixth episode to hide a Discord-shaped cloud in the background of the fight, after Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the seventh episode to feature the constellation in the background of the fight, after Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Trunks VS Silver Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon, Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- Galactus and Unicron throwing galaxies in the second half of the fight could be a possible nod to the Death Battle community's "galaxy chuck" meme, which refers to community member Cyber thinking this image by DekHead that supposedly has Emperor Palpatine claim he'll hurl a galaxy through a Force Storm was a real panel from a Star Wars manga, as well as Rina Antiqua falling for a joke that Kingsly made on the subject, leading to it becoming a popular joke within the community that even some members of the show's staff have acknowledged.
- Unicron's use of the Ultimate Nullifier causing the universe to be destroyed and change the aspect ratio in the fight is a reference to Transformers: The Last Knight, in which Unicron made his original live-action debut, where the film would famously switch between three aspect ratios between shots.
Errors
- Despite the episode being titled "Galactus VS Unicron", the series names in the parentheses were written as "Transformers VS Marvel Comics" instead of the other way around to match the combatants. This error was fixed before the episode's premiere. YouTube then reverted it back once said premiere ended, though it was later fixed again.
- This makes it the fifth episode where this has happened, after Fulgore VS Sektor, Wolverine VS Raiden, Flash VS Quicksilver, and Aquaman VS Namor.
- Unicron's model, based heavily on his War for Cybertron Trilogy figure, is mistransformed—the mandible/spike array assemblies on his back are upside down, with the spike arrays on top and the mandibles at the bottom. This is a mistake that even Hasbro made when the figure was on display.
- The Solar System in the fight has several major inaccuracies, as it contains five additional rocky Earth-sized planets, a second star, and a supermassive black hole nearby.
- Additionally, the sizes of the various celestial bodies are inaccurate; the star thrown at Galactus should have been thousands of times bigger than the planet-sized Galactus, and the star-sized Galactus was around the size of the hand of the even bigger Unicron later in the fight, meaning they should not have dwarfed galaxies, which are several million stars wide.
- The map of the Marvel multiverse shown in the post-analysis is actually a fan-edit by Nova20X on DeviantArt, and falsely labels Earth-71 as "Riderworld" (Kamen Rider) and Earth-194 as "Kombatrealm" (Mortal Kombat) despite Marvel never having crossed over with either franchise.
Other
- This is the 13th Comic Book VS Cartoon themed episode, after Starscream VS Rainbow Dash, He-Man VS Lion-O, Beast VS Goliath, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Shredder VS Silver Samurai, Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 2099, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Ben 10 VS Green Lantern, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Iron Fist VS Po, Korra VS Storm and Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon.
- This is the sixth time that the Comic Book character wins, after He-Man VS Lion-O, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Ben 10 VS Green Lantern, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, and Korra VS Storm.
- This is the sixth Comic Book VS Movie themed episode, after Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Hulk VS Broly, Iron Fist VS Po, and Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon, and with the next two being Omni-Man VS Bardock and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the third time that the Comic Book character wins, after Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom and She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, and with the next one being Omni-Man VS Bardock.
- This is the 20th Marvel VS non-DC-themed episode, after Thor VS Raiden, Beast VS Goliath, Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom, Wolverine VS Raiden, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Android 18 VS Captain Marvel, Shredder VS Silver Samurai, Carnage VS Lucy, Ultron VS Sigma, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Deadpool VS Mask, Genos VS War Machine, Venom VS Crona, Hulk VS Broly, Iron Fist VS Po, Korra VS Storm, Thor VS Vegeta, Magneto VS Tetsuo, and Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon, and with the next two being Ghost Rider VS Spawn and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the ninth time that the Marvel character wins, after Thor VS Raiden, Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom, Ultron VS Sigma, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Genos VS War Machine, Korra VS Storm, Thor VS Vegeta, and Magneto VS Tetsuo.
- This is the third Disney VS Hasbro-themed episode, after Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie and Bill Cipher VS Discord.
- This is the second time the Disney character wins, after Bill Cipher VS Discord.
- This is the 27th episode where Boomstick yells a variation of his pre-fight catchphrase (via saying "IT'S TIME FOR THE DEATH BATTLE YOU'VE BEEN ASKING FOR FOREVEEER!!!"), after Akuma VS Shang Tsung, Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Felicia VS Taokaka, Eggman VS Wily, Terminator VS RoboCop, Pokémon Battle Royale, Fulgore VS Sektor, Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Guts VS Nightmare, Solid Snake VS Sam Fisher, Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Bowser VS Ganon, Joker VS Sweet Tooth, Meta VS Carolina, Mega Man Battle Royale, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, James Bond VS John Wick, Trunks VS Silver, SpongeBob VS Aquaman, Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers, Sauron VS Lich King, Gogeta VS Vegito, Phoenix VS Raven, and Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and with the next two being Kratos VS Asura and Ghost Rider VS Spawn.
- This is the sixth episode to have Brandon Yates and Therewolf Media collaborate on its track, after All Might VS Might Guy, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, Shadow VS Ryuko, Saitama VS Popeye and Excalibur VS Raiden.
- This episode marks the seventh time in which two vocal tracks were released within consecutive episodes (following Goku VS Superman (2023)'s "Super"), after the times with All Might VS Might Guy and Miles Morales VS Static, Batman VS Iron Man and Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Thor VS Vegeta and Omni-Man VS Homelander, Black Adam VS Apocalypse and Trunks VS Silver, Sauron VS Lich King and Deku VS Asta, and Bill Cipher VS Discord and Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer.
- This is the eighth episode whose track includes female singers, after Meta VS Carolina, Gray VS Esdeath, Blake VS Mikasa, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Skyrim VS Dark Souls, Gojo VS Makima, and Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog.
- This is the second episode to feature Tiggs in the track, after Blake VS Mikasa.
- This is the 14th episode to have an original track with a single-word title, after Goku VS Superman 2, Wolverine VS Raiden, Meta VS Carolina, Crash VS Spyro, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, All Might VS Might Guy, Hulk VS Broly, Saitama VS Popeye, Skyrim VS Dark Souls, Phoenix VS Raven, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next one being Kratos VS Asura.
- This episode reached #1 on YouTube's Trending page.
- This is the fifth Season Finale to reach Trending, after All Might VS Might Guy, Hulk VS Broly, Saitama VS Popeye, and Gogeta VS Vegito.
- This is the 11th 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, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and with the next two being Bowser VS Eggman (for Gaming) and Master Chief VS Doom Slayer (for Gaming).
- This is the third Season Finale to do so, after All Might VS Might Guy and Gogeta VS Vegito.
- Prior to this episode, Brandon Yates made a track for this matchup called "Entropy Now Descends" as part of his sponsored tracks.
- This makes it the eighth 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, and Gojo VS Makima, and with the next seven being Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the seventh 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, and Frieza VS Megatron, and with the next seven being Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This makes it the eighth 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, and Gojo VS Makima, and with the next seven being Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, Gurren Lagann VS White Lantern, and Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the third episode where the introduction comments on the match's status in the community (being a match that had been highly requested for years) rather than its actual connections, after Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer and Goku VS Superman (2023).
- This is the ninth 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, and Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
- This is the 10th episode to feature planetary destruction, after Goku VS Superman 1, Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro, Thanos VS Darkseid, Wario VS King Dedede, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, Hulk VS Broly, Saitama VS Popeye, Frieza VS Megatron, and Goku VS Superman (2023), and with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the fourth episode to feature universal destruction, after Thanos VS Darkseid, Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
- This is the second 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 with the next three being Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, and Ghost Rider VS Spawn.
- On January 9th, 2025, the DEATH BATTLE! YouTube channel uploaded the full fight animation of this episode on its own as part of a compilation of Transformers-related Death Battles alongside Optimus Prime VS Gundam, Frieza VS Megatron, and Starscream VS Rainbow Dash.
Notes
- ↑ A vibrating noise can be heard as Boomstick says this.
References
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DYWTBA_Brony/status/1736816768109236402
- ↑ DEATH BATTLE! @ MAGFest 13
- ↑ Kyogre vs Chaos! | DEATH BATTLE Cast #304
- ↑ John Wick VS Agent 47 | DEATH BATTLE Cast #324
- ↑ Madara vs Aizen w/ Commentary
- ↑ ⛧⛧⛧ PENTAGRAM ⛧⛧⛧
- ↑
- ↑ https://twitter.com/LiamRichardSwan/status/1577799718570233857
