Metal Sonic VS Zero

Metal Sonic VS Zero is the 79th episode of Death Battle, featuring Metal Sonic from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and Zero from the Mega Man X and Mega Man Zero series in a battle between the greatest robotic creations of evil scientists.
==Interlude==
Wiz: It is the duty of all who dedicate their lives to the science of robotics: make the coolest, deadliest machine you possibly can.
Boomstick: Just don't make 'em too smart, that never works out for you.
Wiz: Metal Sonic, Doctor Eggman's hedgehog destroyer.
Boomstick: And Zero, Doctor Wily's Maverick Hunter. 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.
==Metal Sonic==
Wiz: Doctor Eggman was a genius with a dream. A dream of a world ruled by his own iron fist. However, there was just one small problem. A speedy blue problem.
Boomstick: Sonic the Hedgehog, ♫ the fastest thing alive, yeah-yo... ♫
Boomstick: (clears throat) No matter how many times Eggman tried taking over the world, this Freedom Fighter just kept getting in his way.
Wiz: But like any respectable scientist, Eggman was a problem solver. Thus, he developed the ultimate hedgehog killer, a machine which would not just equal his speedy nemesis, but surpass him.
Boomstick: And Doctor Tubby called his greatest creation... Metal Sonic.
Boomstick: It's even got a sweet chest speaker to blast Slayer all day long.
Wiz: Speaker... What? No, no, no, he's just made of metal.
Boomstick: Oh. That's cool, too.
Wiz: To contend with his cool blue rival, Metal Sonic was built to reach and maintain incredible speeds.
Boomstick: And unlike most of his wacky inventions, Eggman actually got this one perfect. Metal Sonic is hella fast.
Wiz: Metal Sonic is also equipped with tons of tools and tricks specifically to overpower Sonic. He can fire a plasma pulse laser from his chest, construct a Black Shield which seems practically indestructible, and blast through obstacles by going V. Maximum Overdrive.
Boomstick: Black Shield? Maximum Overdrive?
Footage of Metal Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie edited with a Black Sabbath shirt appears.
Boomstick: You're sure he's not into metal? 'Cause those sound like some killer band names to me.
Wiz: To activate V. Maximum Overdrive, Metal overloads his own circuits to quadruple his speed, while simultaneously surrounding himself with a destructive energy field.
Boomstick: If all that wasn't enough, Metal Sonic can scan his opponents to copy their techniques. He copied the explosive Knuckle Slam from Knuckles, ESP from Silver, the Bat Guard technique from Rouge, and even copied Shadow the Hedgehog's signature Chaos Control.
Wiz: He can only copy specific moves at a time, but whatever power he takes is not limited by his physical body. This is because Metal Sonic can actually morph and manipulate his form.
Boomstick: He totally stole that from T-1000.
Wiz: Funny mentioning Terminator, because you're not too far off. Metal Sonic is so powerful that he's overcome his own programming, overthrown his creator, and attempted a global takeover all on his own.
Boomstick: And he can do it, too. He's shielded attacks from Shadow's deadly Chaos Spears, and Silver's telekinetic ESP. He's dodged attacks from Knuckles, Amy, and Espio at the same time, and he even competed in the Olympics! You know how tough it is to qualify for that? Like, really tough! Plus, he gives Sonic a "run" for his money whenever they race.
Wiz: Metal can match and sometimes even outpace Sonic's speed. Sonic's specific top speed is technically unknown. He boasts that he's faster than light, but he has yet to prove it in canon without the aid of additional equipment. Sonic's highest speed is officially described as hypersonic, and his best record comes from Sonic Unleashed, where he's recorded running up to 3,000 SPD. Assuming this translates to metric meters given the game's Japanese development, this puts Sonic in the high end of the hypersonic spectrum, clocking his highest recorded speed at a whopping 6,711 miles per hour.
Boomstick: That's over eight times the speed of sound!6,711 mph | 10,800.31 km/hr+8x Speed Of Sound Damn, I wish I was that fast. Could've escaped my ex-wife way before things got serious.
Wiz: This speed is likely what Doctor Eggman was aiming to beat when designing Metal Sonic. Even then, with his abilities like V. Maximum Overdrive, Metal Sonic can increase his speed up to 26,844 miles per hour. That's Mach 35, more than enough to reach escape velocity.Metal Sonic's Speed: Mach 35Escape Velocity = 26,844 mph
Boomstick: And this bot has a lot of power behind him. In one of his battles with Sonic, their conflict caused enough damage to break off that ginormous stalactite over the city. Look at the size of that thing!
Wiz: By comparing its size to the nearby buildings, and assuming a granite-based composition, we can estimate that the stalactite weighs over 46 million tons. The energy required to cleave a rock that size could be as high as 200,000 tons of TNT, 10 times the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
Boomstick: And if that's not powerful enough for ya, Metal Sonic has a couple different super forms. There's a red Titan form, his Neo form, and best of all, Metal Overlord. Again with the band names! By copying the powers of Sonic and his friends, Metal transformed into this flying dragon-looking thingamajig. It can fire missiles, shoot gigantic chunks of crystal, trap opponents, and destroy everything.
Wiz: Metal Overlord is so impressive, it took the combined might of Super Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to take him down.
Boomstick: Yeah, he may be metal as hell, but he's not indestructible.
Boomstick: Despite being Sonic's superior in almost every way, he still loses fights to him more often than not.
Wiz: Metal Sonic is extremely durable, but his internal systems are susceptible to overloading if pushed too far. For example, every time he uses his V. Maximum Overdrive Attack, he risks permanent damage. Also, even though he's mimicked multiple organic abilities, they're sorta simplified versions; he's never displayed any at their greatest potential.
Boomstick: Still, this is one of the deadliest machines we've ever seen. As long as Metal Sonic's around, even the fastest thing alive struggles to keep up.
----
Neo Metal Sonic stands atop the Final Fortress in a menacing fashion.
Neo Metal Sonic: All living things kneel before your master!
He then proceeds to fire a lighting bolt from his hand at the storm clouds in the sky.
----
==Zero==
Wiz: For decades, the robotic war between Doctor Light and Doctor Wily left destruction in its wake. No matter how many machines Wily created in his quest for world domination, Doctor Light's own Mega Man was always there to stop him. But like any successful genius, Doctor Wily was determined to have the final word, even if it came from beyond his grave.
Boomstick: Wily put all the smarts he could into creating the best robot he'd ever built. Its name... was Zero.
Wiz: Doctor Wily's plan to create the world's most powerful robot succeeded all too well. Designed for combat and violent by nature, Zero was primed to put Wily back on top.
Boomstick: Just one problem: because of a glitch, Zero was totally disobedient to Doctor Wily and attacked him.
Boomstick: I mean, I don't blame him. If that face was the first thing I saw when I woke up, I'd probably punch it, too, or send it back to the bar whence it came.
Wiz: How sad; all that hard work wasted over a single programming flaw. Wily was forced to seal Zero away, and he wouldn't be discovered for another hundred years.
Boomstick: But a long nap wasn't enough to calm him down. When he woke up, he wasted everything around him, until he was stopped by Commander Sigma, the leader of the peace-keeping Maverick Hunters.
Wiz: Sigma may have stopped Zero, but then things got complicated. For some reason, Zero's stasis pod also contained a mysterious virus. The virus infected Sigma and, for some reason, swapped Sigma and Zero's morality alignments.
Boomstick: So Sigma turned evil and Zero turned good, just like robot Freaky Friday.
As Boomstick says this, an edited image of the poster for the 2003 Freaky Friday film with Zero and Sigma's faces on Anna and Tess Coleman's bodies is shown on-screen.
Boomstick: Being a good guy now, Zero joined the Maverick Hunters, making it his mission to eliminate any machine which posed a threat to the world, because what else are you gonna do in robot world but fight crime with a laser sword?
Wiz: He's certainly well equipped for the job. The Z-Buster is Zero's go-to long-range weapon, with both rapid-fire and charged energy shots.
Boomstick: He's also got tons of deadly spears, hammers, and chains, but his favorite weapon is his trusty energy sword, the Z-Saber.
Wiz: The Z-Saber is arguably Zero's most essential weapon. With it, he can cut other machines down to size with a wide variety of grounded and airborne strikes. Furthermore, he can enhance his blade by mimicking the power of his enemies. This lets him use the Z-Saber for attacks imbued with fire, ice, electricity, and even metal.
Boomstick: But he can copy more than just sword stuff. Zero can use the Twin Dream technique to create a clone which mimics his every move. He can summon robot dragonflies to flight alongside him, call down beams of energy from the sky with Rekkoha, and even use Dark Hold to temporarily freeze time.
Wiz: If necessary, Zero can activate Black Zero mode. This form halves his defense in order to double his attack power and quadruple his speed. He can also transform into the stronger and faster Absolute Zero. Yes, that's what it's called. In this form, he loses access to his Z-Sword and acquired abilities, but he gains razor-sharp claws and the power of flight.
Boomstick: Check out those bat wings! You know, with all these cool powers, he's pulled off some crazy shit. He's defeated dozens of Mavericks, and even Sigma himself, multiple times.
Wiz: Not to mention stopping dozens of other threats to the entire planet, such as when Eurasia, an enormous city floating in space, fell to Earth in a crash course similar to the asteroid which annihilated the dinosaurs.
Boomstick: But that's okay, Zero took care of it. How? By flying a Space Shuttle right into it like a badass! And he survived! Suck that, asteroid city.
Wiz: Moreover, it's important to remember, Zero was specifically built to be far superior to the original Mega Man. We've analyzed Mega Man before, and learned he could keep up with the speedy Quick Man, and catch a 60,000-ton castle.
Boomstick: So, Zero's better than that.
Wiz: Zero is undoubtedly Doctor Wily's greatest creation, but like the mad scientist's other machines, he has his downfalls. Despite being a machine, Zero is susceptible to exhaustion, and if he receives too much damage, not even his auto-repair systems can return him from the brink.
Boomstick: Also, he sometimes comes down with a bad case of edgy anime protagonist.
----
Zero: WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOOOOR?!!!
Zero carries Iris's lifeless body, his anguished scream tearing through the air as pain grips him.
----
Wiz: And yet Zero is a fearless guardian who won't rest until his world's safety is secured, even if he has to be reincarnated multiple times to do it.
Boomstick: And kick his own ass!
----
Zero: I don't even need my sword for such an easy fight.
Zero then proceeds to teleport away from Tricell Laboratory.
----
==Prelude==
==Death Battle==
In Stardust Speedway, Metal Sonic is seen blitzing through hovercars with his jet propulsor, knocking aside the vehicles as he navigates the area with super speed. Shortly afterwards, Zero teleports into the city, preparing to eliminate the threat.
Zero: Found a Maverick. I'll take care of it.
Zero then pulls out his Z-Saber and swings it around, ready to fight.
Zero: Starting mission now!
The scene unfolds in slow motion as Zero swings his sword at Metal Sonic.
Before Zero can deliver a strike, Metal Sonic charges forward, slamming into him and lifting him off the ground. With a burst of strength, Zero breaks free, slashing in all directions with lightning speed. The robotic hedgehog deflects the final blow with a powerful Knuckle Slam. The two warriors engage in a flurry of rapid attacks, their movements a blur. They circle each other, then collide in a headbutt, with Zero grunting as a small jolt of electricity flashes between their heads. Leaping on a hovercar, Zero activates his Z-Saber once more, slashing downward with deadly precision. The impact forces Metal Sonic to roll back, staggering away from Zero.
Zero: Just like a training program.
Zero dashes toward Metal Sonic, delivering three rapid slashes and finishing with a devastating Ryuenjin. The force of the attack sends Metal Sonic tumbling to the ground, but he quickly recovers, launching himself into the air with a Spin Dash. With a burst of energy, Metal Sonic fires a Plasma Pulse Attack at Zero, striking him directly and sending him flying backward. The blast leaves Zero reeling, his arm held in exhaustion as he struggles to regain his footing.
Zero: Ugh...! How... did this happen?
Metal Sonic activates Bat Guard, summoning six bat-like projectiles glowing with a blue aura, and hurls them toward Zero. In response, the Maverick Hunter deploys his Yammar Option, releasing four Mechaniloids dragonflies to intercept the incoming bats. The two forces collide in a violent explosion, obliterating all but two of Metal Sonic's bat-shaped projectiles. As the smoke clears, Zero begins charging up his Z-Buster, preparing for his next move.
Zero: Charge Shot!
Zero fires a powerful beam from his Z-Buster, the intense energy making him to stumble as it destroys the remaining bat projectiles. In response, Metal Sonic charges up a multicolored laser and fires it directly at Zero, blasting him into a nearby building and causing it to crumble from the impact. Without hesitation, Metal Sonic triggers his V. Maximum Overdrive Attack, surrounding himself in a purple sphere of energy. Dashing forward at incredible speeds, he slams Zero into the ground, relentlessly pummeling the Reploid with a series of rapid strikes. Zero, however, endures the onslaught, rising to his feet. With a determined look, Zero raises his fist, preparing to unleash Rekkoha, just as Metal Sonic charges toward him once again.
Zero: Rekkoha!
Zero slams the ground and summons white beams of light from above, forcing Metal Sonic to protect himself with his Black Shield. Zero then transforms into Black Zero and jumps into the air, slamming him into the ground with a double hammerfist. He proceeds to unleash a flurry of slashes at Metal Sonic's Black Shield, but the force field absorbs each strike, leaving Metal Sonic unscathed. As the battle intensifies, the sky begins to darken ominously.
Metal Sonic: I'll crush you!
Metal Sonic summons a lightning bolt from the sky which crashes down on his Black Shield and knocks Zero away. As Black Zero regains his footing, the Black Shield dissipates, revealing Neo Metal Sonic, his sleek body crackling with intense electricity. Zero then notices a hovercar heading towards him, but manages to dodge it.
Black Zero: Crap!
Metal Sonic generates a magnetic force, attracting hovercars toward him before absorbing them. As Zero briefly shields his eyes, he is shocked to see that Neo Metal Sonic has transformed into the massive and monstrous Metal Overlord, who towers over the battlefield as he sparks with electricity.
Metal Overlord: (laughs) Take this!
Metal Overlord unleashes a barrage of giant blue crystals, but Zero deftly dodges them all. Stepping onto one of the crystals, he leaps into the air and transforms into Absolute Zero. Metal Overlord continues his crystal assault, but Zero remains evasive, flying forward to slash the Overlord's throat repeatedly. Enraged, Metal Overlord lets out a roar and fires a missile, knocking Absolute Zero back. Shaking off the attack, Absolute Zero soars upward, transforming into Black Zero once more and drawing his Z-Saber. As he prepares to slash Metal Overlord...
Metal Overlord: Chaos Control!
...Metal Overlord uses Chaos Control to freeze time, slowing Zero down in his tracks. The monstrous machine prepares a laser to finish off Zero, laughing in victory, but Black Zero closes his eyes and suddenly uses Dark Hold to counter Metal Overlord's Chaos Control, reversing the time freezing effect on Metal Overlord and causing him and the area around them to go gray.
Black Zero: This'll be over in a nanosecond.
Zero then slashes Metal Overlord in two before landing on the ground while putting his Z-Saber behind his back and walking away with his head down. As Dark Hold's effect wears off, Metal Overlord splits into two pieces before exploding across the battlefield, putting down the hedgehog killer for good.
Black Zero: Mission accomplished.
Now returned to his original form, Metal Sonic's head falls to the ground, with the red light in his eyes fading. Zero, back in his base form, flashes a confident thumbs-up before vanishing in a blur of light, teleporting away without a second glance.
==Results==
Boomstick: And boom goes the... giant flying robot monster.
Wiz: Metal Sonic was a worthy adversary, but Zero was simply better equipped for this battle.
Boomstick: At Mach 35 speeds, Metal seemed like a shoo-in for better speed, right? On paper, maybe, but remember, Mega Man beat Quick Man, and Zero was built to surpass Mega Man in every way.
Wiz: Quick Man's top speed was recorded at 224,000 miles per hour, over eight times faster than Metal Sonic.Quick Man's Speed: 224,000 mphMetal Sonic's Speed: 26,844 mph Scaled to the inferior Mega Man, Zero could certainly handle a machine of Metal Sonic's speed.
Boomstick: Zero's vast arsenal also gave him plenty of options for just about every situation, even when Metal tried screwing with time.
Wiz: Unlike Metal, Zero actually possessed multiple methods of stopping time, which were more instantaneous and just as effective as Metal Sonic's imperfectly copied Chaos Control.
Boomstick: So Zero definitely had the advantage in that field.
Wiz: The durability difference was pretty clear, too; Zero's feat with the Eurasia space colony trumps anything Metal's ever endured. The resulting explosion was similar to the asteroid impact which killed the dinosaurs, an event estimated to have equaled 100 trillion tons of TNT.
Boomstick: But even surviving a tiny fraction of that explosion was far more impressive than the 200 kilotons of TNT needed to break that giant rock, and that was from Metal Sonic and real Sonic's power combined.
Wiz: Even ramming Zero at full speed would not have done much. Moving at Mach 35, Metal's 276 pound body would only hit with enough force to destroy a building. To be blunt, not only was Metal Sonic outmatched in speed and durability, but he didn't have the means to truly kill Zero, whereas Zero's shown time and time again that he can destroy enemies just as tough and bulky as Metal Overlord.
Boomstick: Looks like Metal Sonic was the real Zero in this battle.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Zero.
==Trivia==
===Production===
*The core connections between Metal Sonic and Zero are that they are both video game robots created by evil scientists (Doctor Eggman and Doctor Wily, respectively) in order to surpass the blue-colored main protagonists of their series (Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man, respectively) and are considered the pinnacle of their makers' work as the ultimate killing machine. Both also can copy the powers of their opponents and have rebelled against their creators for their own reasons. In addition:
**Both of them have time freezing abilities (Chaos Control and Dark Hold, respectively).
**Both of them have appeared together in the Worlds Unite crossover events between the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comics by Archie Comics, although they didn't interact.
**This is also a battle of opposites, as while both robots were built for evil purposes, Metal Sonic remained evil even after rebelling against his creator and would eventually return to his side, while Zero would become a hero who spent centuries fighting against Wily's ideals.
**Both of their creators have previously fought each other in Season 1. Additionally, Ben Singer considers this episode as a spiritual sequel to said episode,https://twitter.com/BenBSinger/status/875104885322129408 as it features Metal Sonic going against the greatest of Doctor Wily's creations after previously defeating him and his classic era robots in that episode.
*At some point after the episode was released, the parenthesis was changed from "(Sonic VS Mega Man)" to "(Sega VS Mega Man)", presumably for SEO reasons, as Metal Sonic's name could make the series descriptor redundant for search results.
*The original thumbnail for this episode used an uncredited fan render of Metal Sonic by Nibroc-Rock on DeviantArt. As a result, it was changed years later.
**This makes it the 10th episode where at least one of its thumbnails uses fan art, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Kratos VS Spawn, Bomberman VS Dig Dug, Vegeta VS Shadow, Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, Ivy VS Orchid, Fulgore VS Sektor, Godzilla VS Gamera, and Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, and with the next 13 being 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.
===Easter Eggs===
*When Metal Sonic rams Zero to the ground using his V. Maximum Overdrive Attack, the door-closing sound effect used for the Death Battle transition card is heard.
===Errors===
*The idea that Metal Sonic's copied abilities are "imperfect" compared to the originals isn't suggested in Sonic the Hedgehog media, as Metal is shown using said abilities to the same level as their original user in each instance (such as his Copycat ability from Sonic Rivals and its sequel).
*In Zero's "Alternate Forms" slide, "Power increased 100%" is miswritten as "Powered increased 100%."
*Metal Sonic's Black Shield in the fight animation is depicted as being an opaque sphere, even though it has always been depicted as a translucid diamond in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
===Other===
*Excluding sprite animations with hand-drawn shots, this is the first episode to be animated in more than one animation style, with the next nine being Optimus Prime VS Gundam, Deadpool VS Mask, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, Saitama VS Popeye, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Goku VS Superman (2023), Joker VS Giorno, Bowser VS Eggman, and Among Us VS Fall Guys.
*This is the eighth 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, and Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, and with the next 32 being 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, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
**This is the fifth episode to feature a returning winner, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, and Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, and with the next 21 being 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, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Aang VS Traveler, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
***This is the first time the returning winner loses, with the next 13 being Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, Venom VS Crona, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, Excalibur VS Raiden, and Guts VS Dimitri.
*This is the third Sega VS Capcom-themed episode, after Eggman VS Wily and Dante VS Bayonetta.
**This is the second time the Capcom character wins, after Dante VS Bayonetta.
**This is the second Sonic VS Mega Man-themed episode, after Eggman VS Wily.
***This is the first time the Mega Man character wins.
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Death Battles
Category:Season 4 Episodes
Category:Sonic episodes
Category:Mega Man episodes
Category:Animated Sprite battles
Category:3D animated Death Battles
Category:Fights animated by Luis
Category:Death Battles with returning combatants
Category:'Video Games' themed Death Battles
Category:'Hero VS Villain' themed Death Battles
Category:'1990s' themed Death Battles
Category:'Sega VS Capcom' themed Death Battles
Category:'Protagonist VS Antagonist' themed Death Battles
Category:'Robots' themed Death Battles
Category:'David VS Goliath' themed Death Battles
Category:'Animal VS Human' themed Death Battles