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Zitz VS Leonardo is the seventh episode of Death Battle, featuring Zitz from the Battletoads series and Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series in a battle between anthropomorphic team leaders.
Interlude
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Boomstick: Last time on Death Battle, the Ninja Turtles battled to find the deadliest of the team, and good old Leo used cunning strategy and swordplay to come out on top.
Wiz: But the fight isn't over yet. Leonardo must now face his most powerful imitator: Zitz, the leader of the mighty Battletoads.
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.
Zitz
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Wiz: Zitz was computer engineered as one of three ultimate amphibian warriors in a gladiatorial video game reality show called Battletoads. This accidentally opened a dimensional gateway to another galaxy. Every time the game began, the galaxy became the Battletoad arena for their superhero war against the Dark Queen and they-
Boomstick: Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?
Wiz: Three nerds made a video game, got sucked through it into another galaxy, and became toad superheroes.
Boomstick: 'Kay, got it!
Wiz: Zitz was originally colored yellow, to differentiate him from Rash, but he is now officially a blue-green hue. He leads the Battletoad team with a laid back yet strategic attitude.
Boomstick: He chooses to go with my personal favorite battle strategy:
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Ragnarok Canyon - Battletoads in Battlemaniacs by David Wise
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Boomstick: Beat the shit out of everything that moves! And as a Battletoad, Zitz can shapeshift his body into various weaponry: Giant fists, heavy weights, ram horns, you name it.
Wiz: Unlike his teammates, Zitz has used his inventive genius to mechanically advance his weaponry far beyond those of his fellow toads. By combining technology and brawn, Zitz has added blades, saws, and drills to his arsenal.
Boomstick: This guy could be the world's best handyman, if he always wasn't getting sucked into an alternate dimension every time someone turned on a video game.
Wiz: Despite almost having no actual combat training, Zitz has proved strong enough to power through some of the toughest games ever made. And yes, the game's excruciating difficulty is canon, as it was specifically programmed by the Battletoads themselves.
Boomstick: Yeah, try and wrap your brain around that one.
Zitz: I'm a big bad mother of all toads!
Leonardo
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Wiz: We briefly covered his abilities last episode, but there's plenty more to Leonardo. He's trained in Ninjitsu and Bushido all his life, shaping his body and mind to master close combat, swordsmanship, honor, and the art of invisibility.
Boomstick: He's also the strategist of the turtle team, who are now all dead. Sooo... yeah.
Wiz: Leonardo is especially skilled in use of environment to outsmart and outmaneuver an opponent. He is also the only Ninja Turtle in any timeline who has studied under two masters, Splinter the rat, and the Ancient one.
Boomstick: Hey Wiz, look! It's an Asian Yoda! ...What? Leo wields two Ninjaken swords, which are best for swift deadly strikes and are designed with the idea that a good offense, is the best defense. They're usually mistaken as katana in the shows and comics, even though they are obviously straight, rather than curved.
Wiz: The Ninjaken is, in fact, an invention of Hollywood, as there is no historical evidence of the weapon's existence.
Boomstick: Like the moon landing!
Wiz: Shut up. While he usually relies on his brothers' solid teamwork, he has proven to be a very effective warrior on his own, too, defeating all sorts of enemies like ninja robots, giant monsters, war-torn aliens, and even The Shredder.
Leonardo: (swipes his sword at a Foot Ninja) Gotcha.
Leonardo then kicks the Foot Ninja.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: But first, our shameless advertisement from our friends at GoDaddy.com.
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for GoDaddy.
Boomstick: But first, it's time for a DEATH BATTLE!!!
Death Battle
Zitz jumps over a wire fence and walks forward as Leonardo jumps out of the sewer. Zitz turns to face his opponent.
Zitz uses his ram horns to knock Leonardo into the fence and, as Leo bounces off, Zitz kicks him with an iron boot and then punches him away with a giant fist. Leo recovers just in time to avoid Zitz' drill attack and kicks him twice, only to get countered by a giant fist and a spiked wall. After pummeling Leo some more, Zitz throws him towards the wire fence...
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...only for Leo to flip onto his feet and defend himself from Zitz' giant fist. Leo hits Zitz twice and stabs him once, but Zitz turns into a weight to defend himself from Leo's swords. Eventually, Leo jumps into the sewer as Zitz returns to his normal form and jumps into the sewer.
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Next Level (Guitar and Bass Cover) - Battletoads/Double Dragon by Murilord
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As Zitz scouts around for Leo, the turtle jumps out of a hole in the wall, stabs Zitz with his sword and jumps away. Leo tries this again, but Zitz grows a chainsaw tail, which Leo dodges. Zitz gives chase and finds that Leo has disappeared. Leo jumps out of the wall and hurts Zitz. Enraged, Zitz rapidly attacks the wall that Leo jumps back into through the hole. This distraction allows Leo to swim through the water and then slice Zitz in half.
Results
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Season 8-10 Credits Theme - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) by Dennis C. Brown
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Boomstick: Damn.
Wiz: Zitz was more than a match for Leonardo in a simple brawl, using his brutal arsenal to overpower him. But when it came to using the environment, Zitz couldn't handle Leonardo's ninja skills and his lack of training left him frustrated and unsure of what to do.
Boomstick: While Zitz is a strategist, he always relies on his brute force, and once Leo went in stealth mode and turned the tides, Zitz decided to just bring the whole sewer down. And c'mon, Leo fights all kinds of mutants and monsters at least once a week.
Wiz: Of all the toads, Zitz certainly stood the best chance with his technologically advanced weaponry, but while the Battletoads are known for accomplishing impossible odds, so are the Ninja Turtles. Leonardo made quick work of Zitz as soon as he had the chance.
Boomstick: In the end, Zitz just needed to pull himself together.
We cut to the "Leonardo" winner card.
Wiz: The winner is Leonardo.
Boomstick: Again.
Trivia
Production
- The core connections between Zitz and Leonardo are that they are both green, anthropomorphic, animal heroes and leaders of a team of other animal warriors of the same species (Toads and Turtles, respectively), who fight against a villain who wants to conquer the world (the Dark Queen and the Shredder, respectively).
- This matchup was not specifically created with Leonardo in mind, but rather just whoever won the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale. However, Ben Singer originally planned the winner to fight the White Ranger instead as part of the original planned 26 episodes, but other ScrewAttack staff members suggested he switch it to a Battletoad. So, during the development of the Battle Royale, he put out a poll asking people whether they wanted to see the winning turtle go against the White Ranger or Zitz in the next episode, with Zitz winning the poll.[1]
- This makes it the first matchup to be made due to fan-polling, with the next five being Hulk VS Doomsday, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, and Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat.
- Ironically, despite not having a winner in mind when choosing who the follow-up fight would be, Zitz and Tommy's status as their teams' leaders would mirror that of the eventual Battle Royale winner, as this trait is shared with Leonardo.
- The White Ranger would eventually appear in a later episode, albeit against a different opponent.
- Funnily enough, Leonardo would later fight the other leader of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Red Ranger, in Season 7.
- This episode holds the second-shortest fight animation of the show, clocking in at 56 seconds, just one second longer than Yoshi VS Riptor.
- The third thumbnail for this episode used uncredited fan art of Zitz by theCHAMBA on DeviantArt. As a result, it was changed years later.
- This makes it the first episode where at least one of its thumbnails uses fan art, with the next 22 being Kratos VS Spawn, Bomberman VS Dig Dug, Vegeta VS Shadow, Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, Ivy VS Orchid, Fulgore VS Sektor, Godzilla VS Gamera, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Lucario VS Renamon, Raven VS Twilight Sparkle, Leon Kennedy VS Frank West, Nightwing VS Daredevil, All Might VS Might Guy, Black Canary VS Sindel, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki, Blake VS Mikasa, Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, Sauron VS Lich King, Frieza VS Megatron, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
Other
- This is the first Video Game VS Comic Book-themed episode, with the next 12 being Kratos VS Spawn, Thor VS Raiden, Fox McCloud VS Bucky O'Hare, Wolverine VS Raiden, Joker VS Sweet Tooth, Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers, Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight, Ultron VS Sigma, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Black Canary VS Sindel, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, and Trunks VS Silver.
- This is the first time the Comic Book character wins, with the next eight being Kratos VS Spawn, Thor VS Raiden, Joker VS Sweet Tooth, Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight, Ultron VS Sigma, Black Widow VS Widowmaker, Black Canary VS Sindel, and Trunks VS Silver.
- This is the is the second Cartoons VS Video Games-themed episode, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010), and with the next five being Fox McCloud VS Bucky O'Hare, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, and Aang VS Traveler.
- This is the first time that the Cartoon character wins, with the next one being Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight.
- This is the first episode to feature a returning combatant, with the next 40 being Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Excalibur VS Raiden, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Ghost Rider VS Spawn, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
- This is the first episode to feature a returning winner, with the next 26 being 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, Deadpool VS Mask, 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, Excalibur VS Raiden, Phoenix VS Raven, 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 first time the returning winner wins, with the next 11 being 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, Thor VS Vegeta, Phoenix VS Raven, Goku VS Superman (2023), Omni-Man VS Bardock, and Ghost Rider VS Spawn.
- Due to Leonardo returning in the immediate next episode after his debut, this marks the shortest gap in appearances for a returning character in the series' history, going two weeks and zero episodes between appearances.
- This is the first episode to feature a returning winner, with the next 26 being 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, Deadpool VS Mask, 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, Excalibur VS Raiden, Phoenix VS Raven, 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.
References