- —Tagline
Phoenix VS Raven is the 177th episode of Death Battle, featuring Jean Grey from Marvel Comics and Raven from DC Comics in a battle between bird-themed psychic superheroines. Jean was voiced by Corey Pettit and Raven was reprised by Kira Buckland.
Interlude
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Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates  
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Wiz: Jean Grey, the Marvellous Phoenix of the X-Men.
Boomstick: Raven, the Azarathean demon witch of the Teen Titans.
Wiz: If absolute power corrupts absolutely, in our quest to contain the beast within, we may well be consumed by-
Boomstick: Bird battle time! BA-CAWW!!!
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.
Jean Grey
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Sown In Tears by James Seymour Brett 
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Wiz: In Greek mythology, the majestic phoenix bursts into flames upon its death, then rises from its own ashes. It's a symbol of nature. Rebirth. The dawning and setting of the Sun. The beginning and end of life.
Boomstick: A cycle poor Jean Grey was thrown into way too young when her best friend was struck by a car right in front of her.
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Wiz': Just like a phoenix, the trauma of Annie's death was the start of something new: her mutant power of telepathy. In Annie's fleeting moments, Jean bonded with her mind, and they experienced her death together.
Boomstick: By the way, Jean was 10.
Wiz: Enter Professor Charles Xavier, who hoped to help Jean through her trauma.
Boomstick: And was also a telepath. He taught Jean how to control her X-Gene, and she used her powers to find other troubled mutant kids around the country.
Wiz: Thus, the first iteration of these marvelous mutant superheroes was born: the X-Men.
Boomstick: Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and of course, Marvel Girl!... We can... we can workshop that name.
Wiz: Jean's potential as a telepath was incredible. So far beyond Xavier's, in fact, that he installed psionic blocks in her mind to limit her full power. At least, until she was mature enough to wield it safely.
Boomstick: She can read and control thoughts, communicate telepathically, rewrite and erase memories, manipulate each one of your senses, and project her mind into the astral plane!
Wiz: Jean is also an expert telekinetic, capable of forming energy barriers, deconstructing giant machines, and even halting the blood flow to your brain.
Boomstick: Startin' to feel like the guy with big hands who can climb good is a little out of place.
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Cold Ground by Tim Garland
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Boomstick: But, Jean's life would change forever... again, on one fateful mission.
Wiz: Trapped piloting a ship through a solar storm, the Marvel Girl came into contact with an incredible energy. It merged with her, greatly enhancing her power.
Boomstick: But, there was a catch. This thing wasn't just a power boost. It was a giant space bird!
Wiz: More like a cosmic being which is the embodiment of the Big Bang, destined to consume all of existence at the end of time. This is the Phoenix Force.
Boomstick: Well, mergin' with the fire chicken didn't turn out so great, 'cause all it wanted to do was blow shit up. Hey, why don't I get a Phoenix Force? That sounds awesome!
Wiz: The Phoenix Force desires destruction. Its fire will one day consume all of existence, that's its purpose. Unfortunately, this need for annihilation would prove too much for Jean, manipulating and corrupting her, until a thoughtless moment where she obliterated an entire civilized planet. Billions of lives simply erased. This was the dawn of the Dark Phoenix.
Boomstick: Yeah, when Jean figured out what happened, she was not okay. No matter how hard she tried to kill the Phoenix's influence, it would always rise back up. 'Ca- 'cause it's a phoenix.
Wiz: And so, rather than allow this absolute power to consume her, Jean heroically sacrificed herself, ending the threat.
Boomstick: Gah! What a beautifully tragic story about the corrupting influence of power on the human spirit.
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A Broken Empire by Harry Lightfoot
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Wiz: Eh, not really. Turns out that wasn't actually Jean. The Phoenix was just kind of pretending to be her? She came back later. Oh, and she merged with the Phoenix again.
Boomstick: Well, that's stupid. But hey, absolute power may corrupt absolutely, but it also absolutely owns!
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Tensile Point by Noah Sorota
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Wiz: As the Phoenix, Jean can channel vast amounts of cosmic energy, absorb power from others, manipulate matter down to the subatomic level, and even scorch your soul with psionic flames.
Boomstick: Flames that take the shape of the Phoenix itself, grow to the size of a universe, and burn hotter than a supernova. The Phoenix can basically do anything. Stop time, open portals, see the future, raise the dead, and create pocket realities just for fun!
Wiz: She can fly at massively faster than light speeds and wage mental battles across infinite distances in seconds.
Boomstick: El Pollo Loco even boosted Jean's natural mutant abilities to the max. She's physically strong enough to fight the Thing, and she's a stronger telepath than Moondragon was with the Mind Gem. Y'know, the Infinity Gauntlet bling that controls all minds in the universe?
Wiz: And should Jean fall, the Phoenix can always resurrect her. So long as her soul remains intact, it will reform her body no matter how many times it's destroyed.
Boomstick: Which is good, since she's died literally 15 times. As of this recording at least. She probably died again in 2024...
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The screen suddenly grays out and pauses as Grand Theft Auto's "WASTED" sound effect is heard and Scottish bagpipes music begins playing, with the following text appearing on-screen:
As of July 26th, 2023, some time after this recording took place...
Jean Grey has died a 16th time.
Comics are f*kin crazy.
The music stops and the screen suddenly cuts to Boomstick.
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Witness by Philip Guyler
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Boomstick: But hey, when Jean's not around, the Phoenix has jumped into other people. Rachel Grey, Hope Summers, Firehair... i-it's got a thing for redheads.
Wiz: Oh. Do you think it was a bad idea to have Jocelyn study it?
Wiz presses a button on his robot arm to switch the TV screen to Jocelyn's room, which is burning and the latter looking at the screen demonically with fiery eyes, clearly corrupted by the Phoenix Force.
Jocelyn: I... demand... A RAISE!!!
Wiz switches the screen back to the analysis pages.
Boomstick: Nah, she's fine.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Well, even with plenty of hosts to choose from, the Phoenix would often end up back with Jean.
Boomstick: Like a clingy, codependent ex. While Jean might be stuck in a kind of love ouroboros with Scott, Logan, Emma, basically everyone, her true bestie is the Phoenix.
Wiz: Because according to the Phoenix Force, she is its perfect vessel. The Phoenix is powerful enough to stalemate Galactus and defeat the being Necrom, who was going to collapse the multiverse with a singularity. With Old Man Logan as its host, the Phoenix saved the entire omniverse from destruction.
Boomstick: Yeah. Basically, the embodiment of the previous multiverse got mad and tried to flood reality with his evil juices, so Old Man Phoenix held back a tsunami that would have erased all of Marvel Comics.
Wiz: Let's move on. Even after multiple possessions, Jean was never quite free from the influence of the Dark Phoenix, and the threat of its ultimate destruction.
Boomstick: But Jean's, like, the nicest and most patient person ever, so she eventually sort of got through to the Phoenix Force.
Wiz: And with their combined power emotionally stabilized, Jean reached her ultimate state of being: the White Phoenix of the Crown.
Boomstick: Sounds like a Dark Souls boss and just as bullshit. White Phoenix is a perfect merging of Jean and the Phoenix Force, allowing her to control time and space and hold freakin' universes in her hand.
Wiz: And giving her dominion over the White Hot Room, the highest plane of existence and the center of the Phoenix's power. Beyond the far shore of reality, it is a dimension the Phoenix has complete control over and even gets stronger while in it.
Boomstick: But, Phoenix could never get out of that "Let's kill everyone!" mindset, so Jean finally confronted it and dumped his ass! Yeah, she dumped a cosmic god of destruction! You go, girl, time to take back the good ol' days of— wait, they're calling her "Marvel Girl" again?! Roll it back!
Wiz: But like a phoenix, the two will inevitably rise again and reunite, refresh and renewed, with a passion that can melt stars and set our souls aflame.
Raven
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Boomstick: Once upon a midnight dreary, the demon lord Trigon had a plan to escape his extradimensional prison.
Wiz: By manipulating a poor young Gothamite named Angela Roth, he would spawn a half-demon child that would summon him to Earth.
Boomstick: See, this is one of the many reasons ya don't live in Gotham. Thankfully, Angela was rescued and taken to a dimension called Azarath, filled with a bunch of smelly space hippies.
Wiz: And there, she would have her doomed daughter, Raven.
Boomstick: The Azarathians were terrified of Raven. If she ever lost control of herself, even for a moment, she could release Trigon into the world and kickstart the apocalypse.
Wiz: So, they trained her to control her mind, forbidding her from feeling any emotions whatsoever, and thus suppress Trigon's influence. Which is smart, since even without Trigon, she's strong enough to accidentally destroy the universe.
Boomstick: I don't know, Wiz. Being told if I get too mad or too happy, I'd let loose the actual devil might just make me a tad bit stressed out of my goddamn mind. I call it the "Prequel Trilogy School of Psychotherapy", and much like a Jedi, Raven learned some sick magical powers.
Wiz: Raven is an empath and can sense the emotions of others, even from across the universe. She can shape those emotions so precisely, it acts as a form of mind control.
Boomstick: She can sense your presence, absorb and redirect your pain, steal your energy for herself, communicate telepathically, erase memories, or just turn your brain off and put you to sleep.
Wiz: Her telepathy is so strong, she could resist a mental attack from the H.I.V.E. Queen, whose psionic abilities could overpower even Superman's mental defenses.
Boomstick: God, I could use that some nights.
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Boomstick: And he can resist mind control from dudes who can destroy the multiverse! Seems like she's got this emotions shit locked down. What's the problem?
Wiz: Her very soul. While her body is ostensibly human, her soul is the locust for Trigon's corruption, and she can separate it from her own body in the form of her silhouette.
Boomstick: It's a bird, it's a plane, no that's... just a bird.
Wiz: This Soul-Self is non-corporeal and can be controlled from an interstellar distance away. She can use it to fly, teleport across dimensions, possess people, smash ponies like a battering ram, and even absorb things into a pocket dimension of infinite darkness.
Boomstick: Or the nightmares.
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Dark Synthesis by Jody Jenkins
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Wiz: It can also regenerate from complete disintegration.
Boomstick: Sorta like a soul healing factor. Y'know, they probably should've thought twice about makin' the person who could accidentally end the world such a badass!
We cut to Wiz, holding a black concoction in a flask that slowly changes to purple.
Wiz: Given Raven's fear of her dreaded destiny, it's fitting that her Soul-Self should take the form of her namesake: a raven. Across multiple mythologies and cultures, the raven symbolizes prophecy, death, and ill omen.
Boomstick walks in from the left, carrying Mecha-Goose Howard in his arm.
Boomstick: Hey, if uh, ravens mean bad news, what about gooses?
As he holds the robot out, Wiz uncorks the flask, and the liquid inside moves itself onto Mecha-Goose Howard, corrupting it and turning its eyes purple, to the hosts' shock as Boomstick continues to hold it.
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #1: AAAAAAGH!! You wanna fight me, motherf**kers?!
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #2: Bring me!
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #1: I'll nibble you!!
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #2: It! Well, he's it.
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #1: I'll nibble your eyes out!
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #2: Gon' nibble you!
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #1: See ya', suckas~!!
As Wiz drops his flask to shatter on the ground, Mecha-Goose Howard jumps out of Boomstick's hands and runs off to the right.
Mecha-Goose Howard Head #2: (off-screen) Okay, bye.
Boomstick: Oh, right. They symbolize assholes.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Upon turning 18, Raven feared Trigon's growing presence and went to Earth to form a super team capable of combatting him.
Boomstick: Screw you Satan, it's the Teen Titans! These kids may seem like the Justice League: Junior Edition, but with Raven as their White and Black Mage combo, they were out kickin' butt and savin' the world!
Wiz: You can add Warrior too. On one of their adventures, Raven's physical body was enhanced to match Donna Troy, an Amazonian strong enough to withstand a blast from the universe buster Monarch.
Boomstick: Well, that's just bad game design.
Wiz: Raven's vast arsenal of magic includes lightning, force fields, illusions, telekinesis, shape-shifting, matter manipulation, stopping and traveling through time, and most dangerously, her control over souls.
Boomstick: She can rip your soul out of your body and absorb it to get stronger. Even controlling a universe full of souls all at once is no big deal.
Wiz: And should someone attempt to possess her, she can tether their soul to hers, absorbing them.
Boomstick: Like in a possible future timeline where she did just that to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. She got strong enough to destroy all of creation. She was called the Unkindness, which is actually the term for a group of ravens. Neat.
Wiz: All of these powers made her an incredible asset for the Titans. No longer alone in Azarath awaiting inevitable doom, Raven found a new home with new friends.
Boomstick: And a potential green-skinned love interest that DC is too cowardly to commit to! Come on, guys! We all ship it!
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Lie Low by Tim Garland
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Wiz: Alongside Raven, the Titans have defeated the Church of Blood, the alien conqueror Mongul, and the Brotherhood of Evil. However, the more Raven used her powers, the more Trigon's influence grew, unleashing a frightening transformation: Dark Raven.
Boomstick: Yeah, you can throw empathy out the window. As Dark Raven, she's a force of pure destruction, a perfect vanguard for her pop's hellish army.
Wiz: Like in the New 52 era, where she led Trigon's forces conquering worlds for, quote, "an eternity."
Boomstick: Even destroying her body won't do much. She'll just keep fightin' as a messed up demon ghost!
Wiz: But the Titans were not fair weather friends. With their love and support, Raven overcame her dark side and purified her soul to battle her all-powerful father.
Boomstick: We've been talkin' around him for a while, but Trigon is one of the biggest, baddest, mothereffers in DC Comics; literally, evil personified! He's wiped out the Justice League with no effort, including our old pal, Pre-Crisis Superman.
Wiz: The same Superman who flew so fast he broke the bonds of infinity. Trigon's destroyed entire universes, matched the Fifth Dimensional imp Mister Mxyzptlk, and even killed Doctor Fate in an alternate dimension. The same Doctor Fate who flew across reality at the velocity of God.
Boomstick: Yeah, he's pretty strong. But so is Raven! You see, Raven was raised as a pacifist, afraid that if she let loose, her father's powers would kill everyone she loved.
Wiz: But in truth, Raven's powers never belonged to her father in the first place. It was hers, and Trigon had no idea how strong his daughter really was.
Boomstick: With the Rings of Azar, Raven bonded with Azarath to overpower Trigon and destroy his soul. Even though her body got nuked in the process, she just kept superheroing without it. That's right, as a ghoooost~!
Wiz: But even without her father's direct influence, Raven's incredible power continued to prove impressive, like the time she fought the Spectre, an unbound angel of wrath whose conflicts often threaten all of reality.
Boomstick: Long have the legends of old proclaimed the awesome might of the goth GF! But I never knew they were true until this day, Wizard!
Wiz: ...Okay. Hortons of doom are nothing new for this shadow-clad sorceress. With her teammates at her side, there's no future this Titan can't overcome.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. We've run the data through all possibilities.
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A BIRD BATTLEEE!!! CA-CAW!!
Death Battle
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Forevermore by Therewolf Media
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In her home dimension of Azarath, Rachel Roth, also known as Raven, is calmly meditating, before her tranquil state is interrupted by a premonition of fire engulfing her surroundings, warning her of an incoming threat. The flames are extinguished as she opens her eyes just in time to see Jean Grey, arriving via the Phoenix Force.
Raven: Come to burn my home to ashes?
Phoenix: The demon inside you is too strong to be left alive. I'm sorry, this is for the good of the universe.
An unfazed Raven quickly manifests her Soul-Self to crash into Jean, who creates her own Phoenix. The two birds exchange high-speed blows until the Phoenix binds the Soul-Self, giving Jean the opportunity to emerge and land a powerful punch, knocking Raven to the ground and causing her Soul-Self to dissipate. Phoenix quickly flies toward Raven, who prepares her next attack.
Raven: Azarath Metrion Zinthos!
Raven uses her telekinesis to send two pillars flying towards Phoenix, only for them to be quickly incinerated. Phoenix flies faster towards Raven, but she uses another trick.
Raven: Darkness take you!
Before Phoenix can land a hit on Raven, she is suddenly teleported into the X-Mansion, causing her to look back where Raven was in confusion before crashing headfirst into a door. Recovering, Phoenix sees the hallways surrounding her are being engulfed by darkness, accompanied by Raven's ethereal taunt.
Raven: What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?
Raven's eyes glow red in the shadows. Phoenix attempts to escape, but is swallowed by the shadows herself.
Phoenix: You don't control my mind!
Suddenly, a small flame is lit in the darkness and is revealed to be Jean now sporting the wings of the Phoenix, setting the place ablaze. Back in Azarath, both are grappling each other and crash through a building, before Phoenix fireballs them downward onto a rooftop.
Raven's Soul-Self knocks Phoenix away before forming a cocoon around the former. It dissipates to reveal Raven has entered her Dark Raven state, laughing sinisterly before charging at Phoenix and pulling out her Ebon-Sword.
As Phoenix tries to defend herself, Raven stops time and slashes her at the waist, causing a screaming Phoenix to be bisected. However, her cry of pain quickly transitions to maniacal laughter as her body pulls itself back together, growing more powerful than before. The Dark Phoenix has taken control.
Dark Phoenix: It's too late for you now!
Dark Raven tries to swing her blade at Dark Phoenix again, but she casually catches and breaks it with her bare hand before grabbing Raven by the neck, laughing even more as flames surround them.
The scene transitions to two Moons, where Dark Raven finds herself alone. She then notices Dark Phoenix with her Phoenix avatar swooping in above her. Undeterred, she forms her Soul-Self and tries to charge head on, only to be effortlessly knocked away, crashing into one Moon and landing on the other as a result.
As she recovers, she sees Phoenix duplicating herself before blasting away with more psionic flames at her, forcing her to form a shield to defend herself. As Raven is surrounded, she reaches out to an object behind her before swooping her arm at Phoenix.
She is revealed to have telekinetically hurled a Moon towards the multiple copies of the Phoenix, which crashes into all of them. The last and real Phoenix only smirks as she gets hit by the Moon into another celestial body. Raven turns away, only to find the Phoenix having sped towards her location and grabbing her by the back of the head.
Dark Phoenix: Let me cleanse you of your demons! Sear and scorch it all away!
Dark Phoenix then blasts fire through Dark Raven's head, with flames erupting from her eyes as the fire envelops the screen once more. Dark Raven suddenly finds herself back at where she was meditating, only to be greeted by a massive point-blank psionic flame blast to the face from the Dark Phoenix.
Dark Phoenix: BURN!!!
Raven's body is left charred into coal. However, a golden crack appears on it. Raven's golden soul then reaches out to Jean's forehead.
Golden Raven: No. I'll take this pain from you.
She then starts absorbing a pained Phoenix's power. This ends up backfiring for Raven however, as it allows Phoenix to erupt a fiery pillar of light and completely merge with the Phoenix Force, becoming the White Phoenix of the Crown.
White Phoenix: Enough! I'm taking everything that twisted you to somewhere white, hot, pure!
As flames begin to envelop the area, Raven quickly and telekinetically pulls two objects from her own corpse towards her as the screen fades to white. In the White Hot Room, White Phoenix notices her foe's soul has taken on the appearance of the White Raven, equipped with the Rings of Azar.
White Phoenix: Scott! Charles! Everyone! Give me strength!
She then shoots out a powerful blast of fire at White Raven, who calmly composes herself and her power.
White Raven: I am not the daughter of a demon. I am a daughter of Azarath! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!!!
A pillar of powerful blinding light emerges from White Raven's soul, which expands and begins destroying a screaming White Phoenix. The Phoenix Force emerges to try and protect Jean, but she along with its fiery existence is blown away into nothing but a small flame as the light in the White Hot Room dies down. Raven approaches the flame, and after an inhale, blows it out, turning everything pitch black.
Back in Azarath, Raven's golden soul returns and falls to the ground, panting heavily.
Golden Raven: I'm home...
Relieved from her battle, she watches on as a shooting star flies through the Azarathian sky as the screen cuts to black.
Results
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Forevermore by Therewolf Media
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Boomstick: Y'know, I think they coulda just talked this one out.
Wiz: This was a nail-biter, and perhaps that's surprising, since Raven's reputation hardly matches that of the almighty Phoenix.
Boomstick: Probably 'cause Raven's always holding back. When she doesn't, you don't have to dig too deep to see that these two are evenly matched in power.
Wiz: The Phoenix Force was strong enough to hold back the destruction of all creation, but Raven had multiple showings of battling similarly powerful characters like Trigon and the Spectre. And both could compete with speeds exceeding infinity.
Boomstick: Sure, Jean got a power boost in the White Hot Room, but that didn't make her invincible. The Phoenix has been overpowered there before, like by this big green cat! So, throw stats out the window, this fight came down to their abilities.
Wiz: Both were immeasurably powerful telepaths, both could control matter and time, and both could absorb each other's energy. However, Raven's ability to survive and fight as just her soul meant that most of Jean's offensive arsenal could not end the fight.
Boomstick: The Phoenix Force could have attempted to possess Raven's soul, but Raven has tethered her essence to other similarly powerful beings and absorbed them in the past.
Wiz: And while the Phoenix's fire has been shown to burn souls, Raven's has regenerated from complete disintegration.
Boomstick: On the flip side, Jean actually had very little defense against Raven's soul manipulation. The Phoenix could regenerate Jean's body, but not her spirit.
Wiz: When Rachel Grey's soul was shattered, the Phoenix was actually incapable of healing it on its own. And while the Phoenix Force itself will be reborn in the White Hot Room, this can take months, years, even centuries.
Boomstick: So it could be one hell of a war of attrition, but ultimately, only Raven had the ability to finish this battle.
Wiz: Jean Grey was one of the strongest beings we've ever seen, but Raven's own awesome might, brilliant magic, and unique soul-destroying powers snuffed out her fire for good.
Boomstick: Will the Phoenix rise again, returning from that far, far shore? Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore".
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Raven.
Comparison
Phoenix
- + More showings of high-end power
- + Phoenix Force has more experience
- - Lacks spiritual defenses
- - Couldn't destroy the Soul-Self
Raven
- + Counters most of Jean's abilities
- + More options to end the fight
- + Soul-Self would always regenerate
- - Theoretically less stamina & experience
Original Track
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Forevermore by Therewolf Media
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Composition
The track for this fight is "Forevermore" by Therewolf Media. It is an orchestral rock track that heavily incorporates the theme songs of both the '90s X-Men animated series and the Teen Titans cartoon.
Title
The title references the arc words of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven": "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore'," (which is also referenced in Boomstick's ending pun for this episode), with "Never" replaced with "Forever" to reference the constant cycle of death and rebirth associated with the mythological phoenix and Phoenix herself, as well as the X-Men Forever comic series.
Cover Art
The cover art done by John Mitchell depicts the Phoenix Force and Raven's Soul-Self encircling each other in a yin-yang formation, possibly referencing/inspired by this page from Avengers vs. X-Men #12, where the Phoenix Force and Scarlet Witch's Chaos Magic form a yin-yang in the last panel.
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Phoenix and Raven are that they are both extremely powerful bird-themed superheroines born with psychic abilities who gained their powers from ancient, cosmic, godly beings who have a history of corrupting them and turning them evil (the Phoenix Force and Trigon, respectively), though they would ultimately learn to control their abilities and remain on the side of good. Both are founding members of a superhero team originally comprised solely of teenagers (the original X-Men and the New Teen Titans, respectively), and have historically had their powers kept in check by their mentors (Professor X and Azar, respectively). In addition:
- Both had close romantic relationships with other costumed superheroes on their teams who are the connective thread for their humanity (Cyclops and Wolverine for Phoenix and Beast Boy for Raven).
- Both had a child of their own born through unorthodox means (Cable, who was born from Madelyne Pryor, who is a clone of Phoenix, and Wyld, who was artificially created as a byproduct of Raven's powers, respectively).
- Both have powerful dark and white forms (Dark Phoenix and White Phoenix of The Crown for Phoenix and Dark Raven and White Raven for Raven).
- Both have previously crossed over in the comic The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans, where Raven and the X-Men worked together with the Teen Titans to stop Dark Phoenix, who was resurrected and controlled by Darkseid.
- Ironically, despite her winning this episode, Ben Singer has previously stated that the reason Raven fought Twilight Sparkle in Season 5 instead of Phoenix or Scarlet Witch was because either of the two would easily beat Raven.[1]
- This would be elaborated on in the 341st episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast, where Ben revealed that their limited exposure to Raven's full abilities in the comics at the time led to them using Twilight rather than Phoenix; it wouldn't be until the crew saw how much more to both Jean and Raven there was that led to this episode's creation.[2] It's possible that Wiz's line in the post-analysis about Raven's reputation not matching Phoenix's despite sharing similar power could be a reference to their initial viewpoint on the match.
- One of Death Battle's 2D animators, Susie Combs, drew art as a teaser for the episode.[3]
- This is the second episode she made art for, after Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, and with the next seven being Guts VS Dimitri, Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Frieza VS Megatron, Gojo VS Makima, and Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog.
- This episode was publicly revealed two days before the 20th anniversary of the Teen Titans animated series, which prominently features Raven as one of its main characters.
- This episode makes a cameo appearance in Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, as a shot of Dark Raven from the fight can be seen playing on one of the "Death Battle Arcade Battle" arcade cabinets in the Blips and Chitz that Rick Sanchez and the Doctor wound up in partway through their fight.
- At the beginning of the season, a teaser trailer was released which included multiple hints for this episode:
- Footage of pigeons in the "SEASON 10" text, hinting toward this matchup's bird theme.
- A Gravity Falls-inspired zodiac wheel with 16 symbols on it, each representing and hinting toward an episode in the season. After the release of the Season Finale, the Death Battle YouTube channel began revealing the answers to the zodiac wheel by posting the answers in pinned comments under the symbols' respective episodes. This episode was revealed to be represented by the yin-yang symbol.[4] This is because yin and yang represent light and darkness, and both combatants are heroes who struggle with their own inner demons made manifest (Dark Phoenix and Dark Raven, respectively). This is even referenced in the cover art for the episode's track, "Forevermore", as it depicts the Phoenix Force and Raven's Soul-Self encircling each other in a yin-yang formation. It may also reference this page from Avengers vs. X-Men #12, where the Phoenix Force and Scarlet Witch's Chaos Magic form a yin-yang in the last panel.
- A cryptogram, which, when decrypted using the key "PANTHEON", read "The end will come from what begins". This hinted toward how both combatants' powers herald both the beginning and end of their respective multiverses, while the key of "PANTHEON" referenced how they both wield the powers of gods, as Phoenix wields the power of the Phoenix Force and Raven wields the power of her dad Trigon.[5]
Easter Eggs
- Boomstick starts Raven's analysis by quoting the first line of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven".
- He later references the poem again in the post-analysis for this episode's ending pun.
- In Raven's analysis, Wiz states that one of the applications of her Soul-Self is to "smash ponies like a battering ram", referencing how Raven killed Twilight Sparkle in Raven VS Twilight Sparkle.
- Wiz and Boomstick make reference to the White Mage, Black Mage, and Warrior classes from the Final Fantasy series when describing Raven's role in the Teen Tians during her analysis.
- In the very first shot of Azarath at the start of the fight, a design of Bill Cipher is seen on a tower, with a cloud in the shape of Discord's head just above it. A stone carving of Bill is also later seen on one of the bookshelves in the X-Mansion when Phoenix is running from Raven's darkness in her mind. Although hardly visible in the episode itself, close-ups of the cameos were revealed in Bill Cipher VS Discord.
- This is the first episode to hide a stone carving of Bill in the background of the fight, with the next nine being 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, Goku VS Superman (2023), Galactus VS Unicron, and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- This is the first episode to hide a Discord-shaped cloud in the background of the fight, with the next six being Guts VS Dimitri, Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Goku VS Superman (2023), Galactus VS Unicron, and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- Raven saying "Darkness take you!" before attempting to control Phoenix's mind references what she says when she activates her Demon Stance in Injustice: Gods Among Us.
- She previously used this line in Raven VS Twilight Sparkle.
- Raven's quote of "What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?" and her glowing red eyes is a reference to the same line she questions to a terrified Doctor Light in the Teen Titans cartoon.
- Raven's charred body can be seen lying in the Family Guy death pose as she retrieves her Rings of Azar from it.
- This is the second episode to reference the death pose, after Deku VS Asta, and with the next one being Among Us VS Fall Guys.
- The way Raven kills Phoenix at the end of the fight mirrors how she defeated Trigon in both the The New Teen Titans comics and the Teen Titans animated series.
Errors
- In Phoenix's "Background" slide, her height is stated as 5'6"/186 cm. However, 5'6" would be equivalent to 168 cm.
- While Phoenix's base form sprites' eyes are mostly black in the fight, some scenes depict her having green eyes instead, particularly when she first approaches Raven and when Dark Raven sprints at her with the Ebon-Sword.
- During the preview, from the moment Raven first uses her Soul-Self to begin the fight to Phoenix fighting off Raven's dark mind control, the animation's frame counter can be seen in the bottom right corner. This was fixed in the episode's official release.
Other
- This is the 28th Marvel VS DC-themed episode, after Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Batman VS Spider-Man, Batman VS Captain America, Deadpool VS Deathstroke, Iron Man VS Lex Luthor, Green Arrow VS Hawkeye, Flash VS Quicksilver, Hulk VS Doomsday, Venom VS Bane, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 2099, Black Panther VS Batman, Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate, Nightwing VS Daredevil, Thanos VS Darkseid, Aquaman VS Namor, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Ghost Rider VS Lobo, Miles Morales VS Static, Cable VS Booster Gold, Winter Soldier VS Red Hood, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Batman VS Iron Man, Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, Black Adam VS Apocalypse, and Ant-Man VS Atom, and with the next one being Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer.
- This is the 14th time that DC wins, after Batman VS Captain America, Flash VS Quicksilver, Hulk VS Doomsday, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 2099, Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate, Nightwing VS Daredevil, Thanos VS Darkseid, Aquaman VS Namor, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Miles Morales VS Static, Cable VS Booster Gold, and Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna.
- This is the second X-Men VS Teen Titans-themed episode, after Deadpool VS Deathstroke.
- This is the first time the Teen Titans character wins.
- This is the 20th Females-themed episode, after Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Felicia VS Taokaka, Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, Zelda VS Peach, Ivy VS Orchid, Yang VS Tifa, Cammy VS Sonya, Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers, Android 18 VS Captain Marvel, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Weiss VS Mitsuru, Black Canary VS Sindel, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, Blake VS Mikasa, Korra VS Storm, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, and Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna, and with the next one being Ruby VS Maka.
- This is the fourth female Marvel VS DC-themed episode, after Rogue VS Wonder Woman, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, and Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna.
- This is the 31st 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, and Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, and with the next 11 being Guts VS Dimitri, Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Ghost Rider VS Spawn, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Spider-Man VS Deku, Aang VS Traveler, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the 20th episode to feature a returning winner, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ganondorf VS Dracula, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, and Excalibur VS Raiden, and with the next seven being Guts VS Dimitri, Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, Ghost Rider VS Spawn, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the ninth time that the returning winner wins, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, and Thor VS Vegeta, and with the next three being Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, and Ghost Rider VS Spawn.
- This episode marks the fourth time two episodes featuring returning combatants have been released consecutively (following Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha), after Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom (following Shadow VS Ryuko), Batman VS Iron Man (following Link VS Cloud (2021)), and Excalibur VS Raiden (following Boba Fett VS Predator), and with the next two being Guts VS Dimitri (following Phoenix VS Raven) and Ghost Rider VS Spawn (following Kratos VS Asura).
- This is the 20th episode to feature a returning winner, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ganondorf VS Dracula, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, and Excalibur VS Raiden, and with the next seven being Guts VS Dimitri, Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, Ghost Rider VS Spawn, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This episode marks the first time Boomstick refers to Wiz by his full name of "Wizard" since Deadpool VS Deathstroke.
- This is the seventh episode where a combatant sends their opponent to his or her turf (via Phoenix bringing Raven into the White Hot Room), after Ryu VS Scorpion, Flash VS Quicksilver, Thanos VS Darkseid, Iron Fist VS Po, Korra VS Storm, and Trunks VS Silver.
- This is the third episode in which the home turf combatant loses, after Korra VS Storm and Trunks VS Silver.
- This is the sixth episode in which one or both combatants die more than once (as both combatants end up killing each others' physical forms at least once before Raven snuffs out Phoenix and the Phoenix Force's souls in the White Hot Room), after Hulk VS Broly, Link VS Cloud (2021), Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, DIO VS Alucard, and Skyrim VS Dark Souls, and with the next three being Gojo VS Makima, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat.
- This is the second episode where the loser kills the winner but doesn't end the fight, after Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, and with the next two being Joker VS Giorno and Bowser VS Eggman.
- This is the 25th episode where Boomstick yells a variation of his pre-fight catchphrase (via saying "IT'S TIME FOR A BIRD BATTLE!!! CA-CAW!!"), 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, and Gogeta VS Vegito, and with the next four being Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Galactus VS Unicron, Kratos VS Asura, and Ghost Rider VS Spawn.
- This is the first episode since Nightwing VS Daredevil that doesn't cut to Wiz and Boomstick at the end of the post-analysis, with the next one being Frieza VS Megatron.
- This is the 10th 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, and Skyrim VS Dark Souls, and with the next five being Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Goku VS Superman (2023), Galactus VS Unicron, and Kratos VS Asura.
- On the 363rd episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast, in which the crew (with the help of the live chat) ranked every Season 10 episode on a tier list, this episode was the only one to be placed in the "basic" tier, deeming it the weakest of the season.[6]
