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Death Battle
A black grunge-style text logo of the words "DEATH BATTLE!" in capital letters.
Logo
GenreBattleboarding
Created byBen Singer
Theme music composerBrandon Yates
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
Production
Production companies
Original release
Release2010 (2010) –
present

Death Battle (stylized as DEATH BATTLE!) is an American independent animated battleboarding web series. Originally published by the website ScrewAttack in 2010, the show has changed considerably over its history.[1] It is the oldest running web series in the battleboarding genre, and has gained a cult following.[2]

Format

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The show is narrated by fictional hosts named Wiz and Boomstick, respectively voiced by series creators Ben Singer and Chad James.[3] These characters were originally disembodied voices, but as the show progressed they became animated characters.[4] Wiz is a genius scientist who presents scientific information and mathematical calculations, while Boomstick is a street-smart redneck that discusses weapons, armor, and feats.[2]

Each episode of Death Battle features a matchup between fictional characters from different media that have similar powers, skills, or backstories. The majority of each episode showcases background information about each character while analyzing their abilities and feats, and ends with a fully-animated battle scene that decides the winner of the matchup, taking into account the prior analysis.[4] The show's formula is inspired by shows such as Animal Face-Off and Deadliest Warrior, but uses fictional characters in place of animals or historical warriors.[5] Notable episodes of Death Battle include Goku VS Superman,[6][7] Galactus VS Unicron,[8] and Gojo VS Makima.[9]

Death Battle has featured multiple styles of animation across different episodes, including 2D pixelated animations[3] and 3D animations integrating motion capture technology.[10][1] The show's battle animations typically feature high levels of graphic violence.[3]

Spin-offs

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Death Battle has had multiple spin-off series. ScrewAttack created the series Desk of Death Battle, which showcased pop-culture trivia that the ScrewAttack team found interesting while researching and writing the main show,[11] presented by Death Battle supporting character Jocelyn the Intern, who is voiced by Lisa Foiles.[12][13][14] Additionally, DBX is a spin-off series that, like Death Battle, features both 2D and 3D animated battles,[15] but with winners decided by a poll among fans rather than research.[16]

History

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ScrewAttack (2010–2019)

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Death Battle debuted in 2010 as a web series published by the website ScrewAttack. Death Battle became ScrewAttack's most popular show and the website began to shift its focus towards the show. In 2019 ScrewAttack rebranded to focus exclusively on Death Battle.[17][18] The show was acquired by Rooster Teeth,[19] and all of ScrewAttack's existing content was moved to the Rooster Teeth website.[20]

Rooster Teeth (2019–2024)

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Death Battle was published by Rooster Teeth from 2019 until 2024, at which point Rooster Teeth was shut down by its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.[1][21][22] From 2020 to 2022, Amazon Prime Video sponsored two promotional episodes of Death Battle to advertise the second season of The Boys.[23]

Rooster Teeth created a spin-off card game based on the show, titled Death Battle: The Game.[5][24]

Independent (2024–present)

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Following the closure of Rooster Teeth, fans of Death Battle speculated about the show's future, and the hashtag "#SaveDeathBattle" trended on Twitter.[4] The rights to the show were acquired by series creator Ben Singer,[25] and in July 2024, the staff of the show announced a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to fund future episodes.[26] The Kickstarter campaign surpassed its original goal of $75,000 within the first twenty minutes of launching.[27][28]

Reception

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Death Battle is one of the most popular web series dedicated to battleboarding, and the show's YouTube channel has been described as a "central hub" for fans of the genre.[9] The show has a cult following, and several online communities exist both for discussing the show and writing fan-made episodes.[5] It also inspired similar shows such as Super Power Beat Down and Grudge Match.[2] Death Battle is responsible for popularizing the use of mathematical calculations to determine the strength of fictional characters; in the battleboarding fandom, such calculations are called "calcs".[5]

The show has faced occasional controversy and backlash online surrounding the chosen winners of some episodes.[2][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Polvin, James (3 January 2022). "Death Battle!: The 10 Best Fights Ever". Screen Rant.
  2. ^ a b c d "Versus Sites and Battle Boards". Geeks. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Death Battle!". Plugged In. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Beckwith, Michael (12 March 2024). "#SaveDeathBattle trends as fans fear for Rooster Teeth show following closure announcement". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e Mountain, John (21 August 2023). "The 5 Best Battle Boards Online". Substack. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Goku Fights Superman Once More as Death Battle Decides the Ultimate Winner". fandomwire.com. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  7. ^ Gordon, Justin (6 December 2023). "Goku finally gets his second Death Battle rematch against Superman after eight years". EventHubs. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Death Battle Gives The People What They Want Via Galactus vs Unicron". www.theouterhaven.net. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b Barua, Anupam (10 October 2023). "Gojo vs Makima death battle: Everything to know about the Ultimate Jujutsu Kaisen Vs. Chainsaw Man clash". sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  10. ^ "iPi Motion Capture Key Creative Weapon for YouTube's 'Death Battle'". Animation World Network. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  11. ^ Gutelle, Sam (12 December 2014). "Gaming Channel ScrewAttack Announces Five New Web Series For 2015". Tubefilter. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Meet The Real Jocelyn". Death Battle Cast. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018. The cast is joined by Lisa Foiles to talk about the Desk of Death Battle, the new show Thundercats Roar, and determine who would win between R2-D2 and a Dalek. This episode is sponsored by Dollar Shave Club.
  13. ^ Foiles, Lisa [@lisafoiles] (17 October 2016). "Jocelyn's back with a new episode of Desk of DEATH BATTLE!! 💥 Head over to ScrewAttack's YouTube page to see it! #deskofdeathbattle #dodb #deathbattle #screwattack #comicbooks #stupidvillains". Retrieved 17 October 2016 – via Instagram.
  14. ^ Longwell, Todd (16 December 2014). "StreamDaily » Archive » ScrewAttack readies for battle with new series". StreamDaily. Brunico Communications. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  15. ^ Trumbore, Dave (17 January 2018). "Rooster Teeth's 2018 Shows Include RWBY Vol. 6, gen:LOCK and More!". Collider. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  16. ^ "DBX Brings Epic Clash Of Pokemon". www.theouterhaven.net. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  17. ^ Cooper, Dalton (5 February 2019). "ScrewAttack Officially Changes Its Name to Death Battle". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  18. ^ Comments, Gavin Sheehan | Last updated | (5 February 2019). "ScrewAttack Has Now Re-Branded Itself as Death Battle". bleedingcool.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  19. ^ Dominguez, Noah (7 March 2024). "Rooster Teeth Shutting Down, WB to Sell RWBY and Other IPs". SuperHeroHype. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  20. ^ Glagowski, Peter (5 February 2019). "ScrewAttack may be gone, but it will never be forgotten". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Rooster Teeth Is Shutting Down For Good". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  22. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (6 March 2024). "Rooster Teeth Shut Down By Warner Bros. Discovery, The Roost Podcast Network To Continue". Deadline. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  23. ^ Spangler, Todd (16 March 2022). "Rooster Teeth Hires Amazon Studios' Adam Bersin as Head of Marketing (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022. [Amazon Studios Head of Marketing, Adam] Bersin said he was attracted to Rooster Teeth after working with the company on custom-content partnerships for several of Amazon Studios['] launches, like the Death Battle for "The Boys" Season 2.
  24. ^ "Rooster Teeth Releases New Death Battle Tabletop Card and Dice Game - Gameindustry.com". Game Industry News. 15 October 2019. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  25. ^ Schwarz, John (26 July 2024). "Rooster Teeth's Death Battle To Continue On With New Owners". Bubbleblabber. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Death Battle Is Coming Back! Will Do Kickstarter To Make New Episodes". www.theouterhaven.net. 25 July 2024. Archived from the original on 29 July 2024. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Death Battle Kickstarter Launches, Already Almost At 250K Raised!". www.theouterhaven.net. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  28. ^ "Death Battle Kickstarter smashes expectations, raises over $250,000 in just 20 minutes". The Express Tribune. 31 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
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