Starscream VS Rainbow Dash

Starscream VS Rainbow Dash is the 17th episode of Death Battle, featuring Starscream from the Transformers series and Rainbow Dash from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series in a battle between Hasbro's fast flyers. Starscream was voiced by Zak Wilson and Rainbow Dash was voiced by Erica Mendez.
==Interlude==
Wiz: Television has been used to market toys to boys and girls for generations, ranging from G.I. Joe to Barbie and Transformers to My Little Pony.
Boomstick: Are we really doing this?
Wiz: Yes, yes we are.
Boomstick: Alright. Well, Starscream from the first generation Decepticons.
Wiz: And Rainbow Dash of the G4 Pegasus Ponies.
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.
==Starscream==
Wiz: Starscream is the air commander of the Decepticon battle fleet. He constantly seeks power and often attempts to usurp Megatron's leadership of the Decepticons, with little success.
Boomstick: He has two forms: giant robot and jet.
Wiz: His robot form is primarily meant for ground travel, though it can fly short distances.
Boomstick: This form's weaponry consists of cluster bombs, missiles, machine guns, and his trademark Null Ray, a laser that shuts down anything that uses electricity.
Wiz: He can transform into an F-15 Eagle, a twin-engine, all-weather fighter jet with top speeds reaching Mach 2.8, nearly three times the speed of sound.
Boomstick: In jet form, he can fire three different types of homing missiles, from short-ranged Sidewinders to long-ranged SLAM-ERs. And if those don't do the trick, he's equipped with an M61A1 Vulcan Gatling Gun that fires 20-millimeter ammo at 6,000 rounds per minute. Fun fact: it also works great for hunting!
Wiz: Starscream is a coward, and uses cheap tactics, often shooting his opponents in the back. However, his deadliest weapon is arguably his silver tongue. While he is not the strongest Decepticon, he is a clever and deceiving speaker, who can worm his way into favorable positions. Despite this, he is a terrible strategist. Most of his plans instantly go wrong.
Boomstick: Like when he took over the Decepticons because Megatron had a sore throat.
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Megatron: (incomprehensible speech) Autobots!
Starscream: Too bad! He's blown his vocal components. I guess that makes me the new leader!
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Boomstick: It was short-lived.
Wiz: And yet his persistence paid off, and he was eventually crowned leader of the Decepticon faction.
Boomstick: Again, short-lived.
Wiz: Starscream was king for a whopping 20 seconds, a personal record. However, after his death, Starscream discovered his spark, or life-force, was somehow indestructible.
Boomstick: And a good thing too, because since then, he's been dying nearly every episode.
Wiz: His ghostly spark can possess machinery. He has taken over several other Transformers, robots, and even a cybernetic schoolgirl while she was using the bathroom.
Boomstick: What?!
Wiz: Unfortunately, his poor knowledge of human society led him to forget to pull up the girl's underwear, making him the laughing stock of the school.
Boomstick: Props to you, Japan. I didn't see that coming.
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Megatron: You're an idiot, Starscream!
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==Rainbow Dash==
Wiz: Rainbow Dash is a Pegasus Pony from Equestria, the magical land of ponies.
Boomstick: (groans)
Wiz: After dropping out of Flight School, Rainbow found a job in Ponyville as Weather Manager. She is a strong, agile flyer with great durability and resilience. She can smash through trees and solid rock and get right back up. She is also training to join the Wonderbolts, a superb team of flyers who are kind of like the Blue Angels.
Boomstick: Except they're PONIES.
Wiz: She is also a black belt in karate.
Boomstick: How does a pony learn karate, let alone master it?
Apple Bloom kicks a punching bag, only for her to shake a few seconds and fall to the ground.
Wiz: As a Pegasus pony, Rainbow can control weather. She can use the clouds in the sky to manipulate lighting strikes and precipitation. Also, she can create and control giant tornadoes.
Boomstick: She's also got some other moves, like the Buccaneer Blaze, which is apparently so amazing it can't be shown on screen. And, somehow, it creates a huge explosion.
Wiz: Rainbow often brags that she is the fastest in the world. And you know what? She's right. By calculations according to this guy, Rainbow Dash can fly up to five times the speed of sound with ease. This is apparent through the Mach cone that often forms around Rainbow, which indicates that she has broken the sound barrier. And the angle of which proves she can reach up to Mach 5 speeds.
Boomstick: This is a pony, a baby horse girl toy. Why is it so awesome?
Wiz: And upon breaching Mach 5, she entered hypersonic speeds to create the Sonic Rainboom. With this, her speed doubles instantaneously to Mach 10. And somehow the resulting sonic boom completely shatters the visible light spectrum.
Boomstick: Not to mention the sonic boom itself is apparently strong enough to split solid rock and shake entire mountains.
Wiz: Rainbow is brash, athletic, and extremely competitive. But while she's steadfast and loyal, she sometimes cheats to get her way.
Boomstick: Well... let's make it fight a giant robot.
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Rainbow Dash: Yeeeeaaaaahh!
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==Prelude==
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: But first, apparently all of you haven't signed up for your free trial of GameFly yet! So we have to tell you about it again!
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for GameFly.
Boomstick: But right now, it's time for a DEATH BATTLE!!!
==Death Battle==
The F-15 Eagle Jet Fire flies in to reveal itself to be bumbling Starscream coming in for a landing in his humanoid robot form.
Starscream: Who dares challenge the mighty Starscream?!
Out of the blinding sun, a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash flies down in a landing, seeing Starscream.
Rainbow Dash: Hi there!
Starscream: (mockingly laughs) A pony? I'll crush you in an instant! Prepare to be annihilated!
Rainbow Dash: You talk a lot.
Rainbow hits Starscream several times as she flies around him, before bucking him in the heel to no effect. Starscream then backhands her out of anger.
Starscream: That's it. I. Am going. To KILL YOU!
Before Starscream can even move, Rainbow Dash flies up and tags him in the head.
Rainbow Dash: Tag, you're it!
Starscream shouts in anger as he turns back into the F-15 Eagle Jet Fire and chases Rainbow Dash in the sky. He proceeds to fire his Gatling gun, which Rainbow Dash easily evades. He then fires missiles, which also fail to hit their mark. In Starscream's POV, we see him preparing to lock onto Rainbow Dash.
Starscream: Alright, don't move...
Just as Starscream successfully locks on, Rainbow Dash flies off, immediately undoing it, causing his monitor to say "TARGET LOSS".
Starscream: Blast it!
After he says this, Rainbow Dash appears face-to-face with him, making multiple funny faces at him.
Starscream: Hey! What are you doing? Stop that!
This whole time, Rainbow Dash was standing on Starscream, who didn't even notice.
Rainbow Dash: You're not very good at this game, are you?
She leaps off of him, which Starscream clearly flees and then he proceeds to follow Rainbow Dash upward into the clouds.
Starscream then transforms back into his robot form and hovers.
Starscream: Where are you? Show yourself!
Rainbow Dash quickly flies in with a rain cloud and places it over Starscream.
Starscream: Hey!
Rainbow Dash repeatedly kicks the rain cloud, causing Starscream to be hit repeatedly with lightning, eventually causing him to fall to the ground. Rainbow Dash walks on the ground up to her downed opponent, but she is suddenly struck by the Null Ray, knocking her back and momentarily dazing her. Starscream laughs, but then Rainbow Dash recovers.
Rainbow Dash: Alright! It... is... on!
Rainbow Dash flies around Starscream multiple times, eventually creating a tornado, which he is trapped in. He attempts to escape by turning back into his jet form, only for one of his wings to break off, causing him to fall to the ground once again. Rainbow Dash lands and prepares to charge at him.
Starscream: Wait! Wait! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!
Hearing this, Rainbow Dash slows and eventually stops in her tracks.
Starscream: I'll... I'll join the herd! I'll be a good Decepticon from now on!
As he is saying this, Starscream is preparing to lock onto the idle Rainbow Dash.
Starscream: Please, just let me go!
Rainbow Dash: Well, I don't know. I mean, I know I should love and tolerate, but...
Starscream successfully locks onto Rainbow Dash, preparing to fire everything.
Rainbow Dash: Wait... what's that?
Starscream's chest reveals his homing missiles.
Starscream: DIE!
He fires the homing missiles, which head toward Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash: Oh my gosh!
Rainbow Dash flies into the sky and up into the clouds as the missiles follow. Starscream stands, waiting with his arms crossed in his "Any minute now" pose.
Rainbow Dash then flies downward with the missiles still following her, flying so fast that she has broken the sound barrier. She then unleashes the Sonic Rainboom. Starscream is stunned as Rainbow Dash flies right past him, leaving him too late to dodge the homing missiles. They strike, destroying his lower body, as Rainbow Dash smashes into Starscream and then uses her Buccaneer Blaze, which tears Starscream apart off-screen. Rainbow Dash then flies towards Starscream's torso.
Rainbow Dash: Aw yeah! That was awesome!
Suddenly, Starscream's spark emerges from his torso, floating in the air.
Starscream: You haven't won! I'm invincible! My spark lives! You can never defeat Star—
He is cut off by Rainbow Dash, who eats and swallows his spark, promptly ending the battle right then and there.
==Results==
Boomstick: Forget all doubt, that pony is a monster!
Wiz: Rainbow's speed and agility were more than a match for the clumsy Starscream, and it doesn't help that his aim is even worse than a Stormtrooper's. Not to mention the Null Ray is designed to destroy electronics, not living ponies.
Boomstick: She just ate a Transformer!
Wiz: Yes, and while Rainbow might experience some mild indigestion, Starscream's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Boomstick: Well, she put the "pwn" in "pony".
We cut to the "Rainbow Dash" winner card.
Wiz: The winner is Rainbow Dash.
==Trivia==
===Production===
*The core connections between Starscream and Rainbow are that they are both Hasbro-owned flyers with superb speed and a fairly large ego. In addition:
**Both are members of a team (the Decepticons and the Mane Six, respectively) led by a strategic leader (Megatron and Twilight Sparkle, respectively).
**This is also a battle of opposites regarding both of their relationships with loyalty (Starscream is known for constantly betraying Megatron, while Rainbow Dash represents the Element of Loyalty itself).
**Their series would later have a crossover comic series in 2020 and 2021, where Rainbow Dash was given a transformable exosuit and teamed up with Starscream to confront Megatron in the final issue of the latter.
*During a lunch break in 2011, when the topic of My Little Pony in Death Battle was brought up, former ScrewAttack employee Jared Knabenbauer, AKA ProJared, suggested a pony fight a Transformer. The initial matchup they came up with was Megatron VS Twilight Sparkle before Ben Singer scrapped it in favor of Starscream VS Rainbow Dash after realizing the lack of connections between the former two.
**Ben also decided that, because My Little Pony had a large child audience, he would not only exclude swearing and gore from this episode, but also wouldn't do the episode at all if Rainbow Dash lost.User blog:CrossoverKing96/Road to 100 Archive:Starscream vs Rainbow
*This episode was remastered to have higher quality graphics and audio, as well as re-edited analyses with additional information. This remaster can be viewed here.
*In the show's second Q&A, when asked if Rainbow Dash really won the fight despite Starcream technically still being alive, Wiz replied that, once Starscream's spark got out, the only piece of machinery in Equestria for him to possess is a sewing machine, to which Boomstick added, "We like to think that's a fate worse than death."Q&A #2 | DEATH BATTLE! | ScrewAttack!
*Famous internet personality Jim Sterling voiced Starscream's Spark.
===Easter Eggs===
*Derpy Hooves makes a cameo as Rainbow Dash and Starscream disappear into the dark clouds. 
===Other===
*This is the third joke episode, after Goomba VS Koopa and Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black, and with the next seven being Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro, Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog, Deadpool VS Mask, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, and SpongeBob VS Aquaman.
**This is the first joke episode to have an actual winner instead of ending in a tie, with the next five being Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki, Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog, Deadpool VS Mask, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, and SpongeBob VS Aquaman.
*This is the fourth Male VS Female-themed episode, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010), Yoshi VS Riptor, and Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black, and with the next 21 being Gaara VS Toph, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Dante VS Bayonetta, Meta VS Carolina, Tracer VS Scout, Zoro VS Erza, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Carnage VS Lucy, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Mob VS Tatsumaki, Gray VS Esdeath, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, The Seven Battle Royale, Red VS Blue, Shadow VS Ryuko, Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, Killua VS Misaka, and Gojo VS Makima.
**This is the second time the Female character wins, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010), and with the next 13 being Gaara VS Toph, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Meta VS Carolina, Tracer VS Scout, Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Carnage VS Lucy, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Mob VS Tatsumaki, Gray VS Esdeath, Red VS Blue, Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, and Killua VS Misaka.
*This is the first Comic Book VS Cartoon-themed episode, with the next 12 being 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, Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon, and Galactus VS Unicron.
**This is the first time the Cartoon character wins, with the next five being Beast VS Goliath, Shredder VS Silver Samurai, Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 2099, Iron Fist VS Po, and Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon.
*This is the second Cartoon-themed episode, after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale, and with the next eight being He-Man VS Lion-O, Danny Phantom VS American Dragon Jake Long, Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly, SpongeBob VS Aquaman, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat, and Gru VS Megamind.
*This is the first episode where the loser was still in the land of the living after losing, with the next five being Shao Kahn VS M. Bison, Ghost Rider VS Lobo, Danny Phantom VS American Dragon Jake Long, Venom VS Crona, and Yoda VS King Mickey.
**This is the first episode where the loser has their soul devoured, with the next three being Shao Kahn VS M. Bison, Ghost Rider VS Lobo, and Venom VS Crona. 
*WatchMojo.com listed this episode as an honorable mention on their "Top 10 Screw Attack: Death Battle Episodes" list alongside Vegeta VS Shadow, Terminator VS RoboCop, Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro, and Wolverine VS Raiden.
==References==
Category:Death Battles
Category:Season 1 episodes
Category:Transformers episodes
Category:My Little Pony episodes
Category:Animated Sprite battles
Category:Fights animated by Ben Singer
Category:Fights with voice actors
Category:Death Battles with cameo appearances
Category:Joke Battles
Category:'Male VS Female' themed Death Battles
Category:'Company' themed Death Battles
Category:'Magic VS Technology' themed Death Battles
Category:'Protagonist VS Antagonist' themed Death Battles
Category:'Hero VS Villain' themed Death Battles
Category:'David VS Goliath' themed Death Battles
Category:'Cartoons' themed Death Battles
Category:'Comic VS Cartoon' themed Death Battles
Category:'Earth VS Aliens' themed Death Battles