Mario VS Sonic (2018)

This article is about the re-examined version of Death Battle's 13th episode. You may be looking for the original version of Mario VS Sonic from 2011.
Mario VS Sonic is the 100th episode of Death Battle, featuring Mario from the Super Mario series and Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog series in a re-examination of the battle between iconic video game rivals. Mario was voiced by Kamran Nikhad and Sonic was voiced by Nicholas Andrew Louie.
==Interlude==
Wiz: Their rivalry is legendary, their fame unmatched. This battle has gone on for nearly three decades, but today, it finally comes to an end.
Boomstick: Mario, Nintendo's whimsical Italian turtle crusher.
Wiz: And Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega's specialist of speed.
The screen then zooms out to physically reveal Wiz, Boomstick, and the Death Battle Lab for the first time.
Boomstick: Time to find out if Sega really does what Ninten-don't.
Wiz: For this bout, we'll be using the same rules that Death Battle has had for the past three years. Most importantly, the original video games will be our primary source for analysis.
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.
==Mario==
Wiz: Plumber. Carpenter. Doctor. Mario has worn many hats throughout his life, but he always does so as a hero.
Boomstick: Except for that time he tortured an animal, but no one really talks about that.
Wiz: Born as one of the seven star children possessing an extraordinary amount of power—
Boomstick: —and extra horrible crying fits...
Wiz: Mario was assuredly destined for greatness.
Boomstick: Then he and his little bro Luigi wound up in New Donk City, where he spent his days throwing shit at monkeys and uh... fixing toilets. Not exactly the great heroic destiny I was expecting, but hey... at least his girlfriend was smoking.
Wiz: But everything changed after a chance meeting with Princess Peach Toadstool. Her Mushroom Kingdom had been conquered by Bowser, the tyrannical King of the Koopas, and her only hope of rescue lay in the hands of the Mario Brothers.
Boomstick: And Mario had all the power he needed to take the turtle terror down. He's super tough, super quick, and really, really strong. He can jump several times his own height, smash tanks to bits with his butt, and toss Bowser around as if he's a featherweight.
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Mario: So long, king-a Bowser!While commonly thought to be "So long-a, Bowser!" and memetically misheard as "So long, gay Bowser!", Mario's former voice actor Charles Martinet has confirmed on Twitter that the line Mario says is actually "So long, king-a Bowser!"
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Wiz: Needless to say, the Mushroom Kingdom was in good hands.
Boomstick: So was the princess! She even gave Mario a piece of her cake! Heh heh, if you know what I'm saying. Get in there, buddy, you deserve it all— 
The ending screen of Super Mario 64 appears on-screen. 
Boomstick: Oh, come on, it's an actual cake?! That's good, too, I guess...
Wiz: And if his strength doesn't cut it, Mario has plenty of extra weapons and powers on hand.
Boomstick: He can already shatter brick with his bare fists, but when he needs the power to break down the toughest walls, he busts out the Ultra Hammer. Sounds like a wrestling move Lou Albano would've used back in the day. Rest in peace, Cap'n...
Wiz: Forged by two master blacksmiths, the Ultra Hammer, combined with Mario's mighty swing, can break through practically any material.
Boomstick: And he's got a ton of awesome power-ups, like that spicy Fire Flower.
Wiz: Actually, while Mario used to need this flower, he has since learned how to use pyrokinesis without it.
Boomstick: Well, the Ice Flower lets him freeze enemies, the Lucky Bell turns him into a kitty cat, and the Super Mushroom gives him a power boost and increases his size. Ha, I bet the princess likes that one.
Wiz: With his Frog Suit, his swimming ability increases dramatically. With the Double Cherry, he can create clones of himself with no power decrease. With the Stop Watch, he can freeze time. With the Cape Feather or the Wing Cap, he can soar to new heights. And with the Starman or Rainbow Star, he becomes totally invincible... for a short time.
Boomstick: And with the Gold Flower, he never has to work another day in his life, 'cause he's got an infinite supply of money! Made of people...
Wiz: While he can carry several power-ups at once, Mario doesn't always need them to prove his potential.
Boomstick: He's quick enough to maneuver when transformed into a bolt of lightning, and skilled enough to pilot the Star Diver as it rockets through the atmosphere. He's so freaking manly, he took an explosion to the face that wrecked an entire castle, and even better, he was standing in the middle of this.
The massive explosion of the tennis court arena from the opening of Mario Power Tennis is shown on-screen.
Wiz: Based on a standard tennis court's measurements, we can determine the blast of this fireball covered a radius of over 2,000 feet. To reach this distance, the blast must have had an explosive yield of over 2.4 megatons.Average Tennis Court Size: 76 ftBlast Radius: 2,023 ft/616.6 MetersExplosive Yield: >2.4 Megatons of TNT
Boomstick: So, what you're saying is Mario could totally play tennis with a nuclear warhead for a ball and be totally fine?
Wiz: Probably. Also, he can throw a baseball so fast, it overloaded this speed gun, implying it was launched over 999 miles per hour.>999 mph/1,608 km/h In the Mario World cartoon, he hurled a dinosaur out of orbit. Assuming this creature is of similar size and weight to a Tyrannosaurus rex, this feat would require a force of over 135 tons of TNT.135.6 Tons of TNT
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: Wait, Wiz! I thought you said we're only using the games.
Wiz: Any official material counts so long as it's supported by the games, otherwise we'd be ignoring a huge majority of the character's history. Take a look at this Chain Chomp. It's actually made up of solid gold. Gold is ridiculously heavy. While one cubic foot of iron weighs 491 pounds, a cubic foot of gold is over 1,200 pounds.Iron Weight: 491 lb/ft³Gold Weight: 1,206 lb/ft³ Luckily, a Chain Chomp is a perfect sphere, so we can compare it to Mario's height to find that it weighs nearly 6,000 tons.Mario Height: 155 cmGold Chain Chomp: 5,731 Tons
Boomstick: Wait, did he just leave it in that hole? Cash it in, Mario! That thing's worth 366 billion dollars!
Wiz: That's... actually correct.
Boomstick: Well yeah, that guy on TV who always wants my gold told me.
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: This isn't even Mario's most impressive feat. At one point, he lifted an entire fortress and punted it through the air.
Boomstick: He does the same thing in the manga, and it's pretty on par with the strength he's shown against Bowser, who survived collapsing castles multiple times.
Wiz: Since this presentation makes the castle's size difficult to determine, we measured the entire interior based on maps from the game. By scaling these measurements to the castle's smaller avatar and conservatively assuming a limestone composition, we've determined the castle must weigh more than 61 million tons.61,372,830 Tons/55,676,494 Tonnes
Boomstick: And he just kicked it away like it was a friggin' soccer ball!
We cut to Wiz.
Wiz: Given the distance it was kicked, Mario must have exerted a force of around three and a half megatons of TNT.3.47 Megatons of TNT Do you realize what this means? Mario's foot is 231 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that dropped on Hiroshima!
A dumbfounded Boomstick blinks for a moment before revealing a can of beer in his hand.
Boomstick: Now seems like a good time for a beer. Or 12.
He takes a sip from the can just as we cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Honestly, Mario's absurd strength shouldn't be as surprising as you'd think. While he's fairly naïve and not much of a strategist, he's saved the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser's clawed grip time and time again, and the Koopa King is tough enough to survive a dip in the Sun, or even a black hole.
Boomstick: Don't underestimate Nintendo's powerful plumber!
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Mario: Here we go!
As Mario says this, he spins around and strikes a peace sign.
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==Sonic the Hedgehog==
Wiz: Somewhere out there on a strange alternate version of Earth, humans coexist with anthropomorphic animals. But this world has been assailed over and over by the vile Doctor Ivo Robotnik, otherwise known as Eggman.
Boomstick: Why the heck does he need such a dumb alias when he's already got a name as cool-sounding as "Robotnik"?
Wiz: But hope persisted... Whenever the Eggman hatched a scheme, one did not have to wait long for a certain blue streak to speed by... This was Sonic the Hedgehog.
Boomstick: ♫He's the fastest thing aliiiive!♫
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Singer: ♫He's the fastest thing aliiiiiiiiiiive!♫
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Wiz: While Sonic has a superhuman physique overall, speed is his specialty. In fact, superhuman speed is a natural trait for the anthropomorphic hedgehog, though Sonic's abilities are far superior to his kin.
Boomstick: Wait a minute, all hedgehogs have super speed?! That doesn't make any sense.
Wiz: Well, real hedgehogs are also nocturnal, not blue, and when they try to make friends with foxes... They get eaten. 
Wiz: So, I don't think Sega cares.
Boomstick: Alright, then... To stop Eggman from turning all his animal pals into batteries, Sonic cranked up that speed, and weaponized it. He can crush his enemies with the Spin Attack, strike multiple times with the Homing Attack, go zero to sonic boom instantly with the Super Peel Out, and plow through hordes of Badniks with the Spin Dash. Holy crap! You'd think this guy would just, like, vomit all the time.
Wiz: He's also used a number of power-ups throughout his adventures, including elemental shields. The Aqua Shield is especially useful as it grants him an incredibly high bouncing jump and protection against his greatest nemesis.
Boomstick: Robotnik?
Wiz: No. Water.
Boomstick: Seriously, Sonic, buddy, learn how to swim already and save our ears from that nightmare music.
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The drowning timer runs out and Sonic drowns.
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Wiz: The blue hedgehog can also gain abilities from small alien beings called Wisps.
Boomstick: They can turn him into a fireball, a Yellow Drill, a black hole... a bunch of stuff, really. Even a demonic Hungry Hungry Hippo!
Wiz: But before we delve any further, there is something vital which we need to discuss.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: It's time to figure out Sonic's speed.
Boomstick: (rolling his eyes) Oh boy, here we go!
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: While he has boasted that he is faster than light, Sonic has yet to prove this in canon without the aid of additional equipment or power-ups.
Boomstick: Oh yeah, like when he connects to a trail of rings, but you can't take his braggin' too seriously. He's still got some of that radical 90's attitude.
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Sonic: I'm outer here!While it's commonly assumed Sonic shouts "I'm outta here!" after staying idle for three minutes in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, it was confirmed to be "I'm outer here!" on Twitter by Masato Nishimura (who voiced Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog CD) years after the game's release.
Sonic then promptly jumps off the side of Palmtree Panic.
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Wiz: The highest official description of Sonic's speed labels him as hypersonic, or somewhere between Mach 5 and Mach 10.Mach 5 - Mach 10/6,126 km/h - 12,251 kh/m This actually isn't too farfetched; the game Sonic Unleashed records his speed, and he can reach a maximum around 3,500... Uh... SPD.
We cut to Boomstick singing into a microphone.
Boomstick: ♫Sonic he's got an STD. Sonic, it burns when he pees!♫
Wiz: Assuming SPD translates to metric meters, given the game's Japanese development, that puts Sonic's top speed over 7,872 miles per hour, over 10 times the speed of sound and just over the official hypersonic description.7,872 mph/12,669 km/h > Mach 10 
Boomstick: So is that it?
Wiz: Well, it's possible— no, likely that he's faster. 
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: In TV shows closely tied to the games, Sonic has dodged meteors, did this with a 10,000 frame per second camera, and even outran lightning, all of which implies that he can move and react around 200 to 300 times the speed of sound.Speed of Lightning: Mach 287 
Boomstick: How about that one time he caught up to a Cyan Wisp? He said that thing's almost as fast as him even without its laser mode!
Wiz: That's right. The laser is a power it grants Sonic, not itself. Still, Wisps are incredibly fast. At one point a group of them flew from Earth's surface to a black hole in orbit in the 20 seconds Sonic and Tails were talking. By measuring the planet's curve here we can find that the Wisp aliens must've been moving around Mach 200.Earth's Curve: 7,918 Miles/12,745 kmWisp Speed: Mach 209 As Sonic is faster than them, this supports his cartoon feats.
Boomstick: Why isn't that black hole suckin' up the Earth? That's what they do, right?
Wiz: It's more like a pseudo-black hole fueled by Hyper-go-on energy.
Boomstick: Yeah... If I didn't know better, I'd say you just made those words up.
Wiz: Its presence near Sonic does emulate that of a singularity, and Sonic actually outran its pull for 30 seconds. Due to chaotic accretion, black holes pull non-orbiting mass inward at 30% the speed of light. Sonic's clearly pushing his running speed to its limit here, or else the black hole wouldn't have pulled him in. With this in mind, it's entirely possible that without additional support, Sonic's maximum possible running speed must be around 200 million miles per hour.200,000,000 mph/321,868,800 km/h
Boomstick: That's insane. The fastest man-made object in real life was the New Horizon space probe, which took off at more than 36,000 miles per hour.
Wiz: It took nine years for this probe to reach Pluto, but with Sonic's speed, he could make this same trip to Pluto in less than 24 hours.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: While we're tracking speed, I've always wondered how fast I can chug a beer.
He holds up a can.
Boomstick: Start the clock, Wiz!
Wiz stares at him and even the camera as he doesn't move.
Wiz: Are you gonna start?
Boomstick: I'm already done.
He throws it onto a huge pile of cans.
Wiz: (groans) Moving on... 
We cut back to the analysis.
Wiz: Even with this unbelievable speed, Sonic has far more power hidden up his sleeves.
Boomstick: He doesn't wear a shirt... 
Wiz: He can achieve the form of Super Sonic by absorbing an enormous amount of positive energy from the seven legendary Chaos Emeralds. In this mode, he can teleport large objects, survive planet-level explosions, launch energy attacks and fly near the speed of light.
Boomstick: But guess what? This isn't even his final form.
Wiz: After the emeralds received a boost from the Master Emerald, Sonic could achieve his ultimate state of being: Hyper Sonic.
Boomstick: He's got all the abilities of Super Sonic plus total invincibility and a Hyper Flash that instakills everything around him. Oh and he's definitely faster than light now.
Wiz: Unfortunately, good things don't last forever. Without a steady supply of rings, these super forms can't even stick around for a full minute.
Boomstick: Sonic has resisted mind control from the Overmind, survived re-entry from orbit, and blasted apart a mountain; this would need more than 200 tons of TNT to pull off. And while fighting his evil robocopy Metal Sonic, they shattered this enormous stalactite. Holy sh*t just look at the size of it!
Wiz: By comparing it to the buildings in this city and applying the density of granite, the most common rock in continental crust, we've found that this stalactite must weigh almost 47 million tons, which means a break like this would need a force of almost 200 kilotons of TNT.~Skyscraper Height: 23 MetersStalactite Height: 425 MetersStalactite Radius: 188 MetersStalactite Weight: 46,726,976 Tons/42,389,999 TonnesStalactite Shattering Force: 199.5 Kilotons of TNT
Boomstick: Damn! He's definitely got what it takes to save the world from a madman scientist, even if he is... kind of a dick.
Wiz: Well, Sonic may be a bit arrogant and he's certainly a thrill seeker, but at his best, he's the definition of honest and heroic. He's used his powers to defeat Eggman time and time again, even against gigantic death machines and cataclysmic events.
Boomstick: Those cute and cuddly forest critters can rest easy when Sonic's gotta go fast.
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Infinite: I'll show you how outclassed you really are.
Sonic: I'm in a class all my own! Time to put up or shut up, Infinite!
Sonic then leaps towards Infinite.
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==Prelude==
==Death Battle==
Mario walks onto a beach with an umbrella and a beach chair. As he finds a spot, he looks to his right, then to his left. After doing so and sees that nobody is around, the red-capped plumber sets his chair and places his umbrella, only to find a resting Sonic on his chair.
Mario: Hmm? Hello? That's-a mine!
Sonic removes his sunglasses and gives Mario a smug smile.
Sonic: Finders keepers, pal.
Mario gets angry and closes the chair on the Blue Blur, kicking it a few feet forward.
Sonic: Whoa!
After the chair opens in the air, Sonic lands face-first in the sand. The Blue Blur then gets up and angrily looks at Mario.
Sonic: You asked for it, tubby!
Mario rips apart his chest to reveal his usual plumber attire and makes a small taunt at Sonic.
Sonic starts to do a Super Peel Out and throws sand in Mario's eyes, making him shriek a bit. While Mario is distracted, Sonic starts to attack him while he tries to attack with his eyes closed, missing every hit. Sonic then starts to run in circles around Mario.
Sonic: You're too slow~!
Mario then uses his Firebrand ability to throw fireballs at the speedy hedgehog, who dodges them before noticing a Red Wisp chirping above the fight. He then looks back at Mario, who starts throwing a flurry of fireballs at Sonic while letting out a war cry. Sonic avoids the fireballs once more, climbing up a nearby palm tree jumping at the Red Wisp to grab it mid-mair.
Sonic: Come 'ere!
Sonic transforms into the Red Burst using the Wisp and charges at Mario. Mario shoots out another flurry of fireballs at it, but since the Red Burst is already made of fire, it effortlessly barges straight through the projectiles and rams into the Italian plumber, knocking him into a tree. As Mario looks up after getting knocked back, he notices the Red Burst charging at him again and, thinking fast, grabs a Super Bell from his pocket and turns into Cat Mario, scratching Sonic out of the Red Burst, much to the Wisp's confusion, and sending him bouncing from tree to tree, knocking Double Cherries off of them before he skips into the water. Mario smirks before noticing the multiple Double Cherries on the ground, much to his joy. Meanwhile, Sonic comes out of the water with an Aqua Shield, only to see multiple Cat Marios jump out of the forest and charge at him.
Sonic: Oh, gimme a break...!
Sonic tiredly falls to his knees while multiple Marios are jumping towards him. His Bubble Shield is then burst open with a claw swipe and he is subjected to a heavy beatdown by the Cat Mario clones where he's punched in the stomach, slapped in the face, kicked in the groin, headbutted head on, and violently scratched at his back, all while a grey pigeon looks on from a distance, standing on the flipped over beach chair. The one-sided beating continues until a rainbow beam blasts out the dust cloud and knocks away some of the Mario copies as Sonic uses the Super Emeralds to transform into Hyper Sonic and rise into the air.
Hyper Sonic: Now I'll show you!
Hyper Sonic destroys the remaining Cat Mario duplicates one by one, while the real Mario frantically grabs out a Super Star as he dodges Hyper Sonic's attack from behind. Hyper Sonic then turns around and rams straight into Mario, who uses the Super Star right as he's hit, getting knocked out of his cat costume as the hedgehog pushes the plumber off the beach and over the ocean surface while his costume is left behind. Hyper Sonic throws a flurry of punches at Invincible Mario while dashing on the ocean, kicking up high tidal waves in the progress. Mario then holds off Sonic's head with his left hand while his right hand grabs out the Wing Cap and puts it on his head.
Invincible Mario: Let's-a go...
The two retro rivals fly straight into the sky as the pigeon from before continues watching from afar, now lying on the now-upright beach chair. Invincible Wing Mario and Hyper Sonic trade punches and kicks at each other until they reach the outer space, where they prepare for big swings of arms. As they clash into each other, the Moon behind them explodes, but as the two back away from each other to prepare another series of blows, their super forms run out of time, reverting them back to their base forms.
Sonic: Oh shoot.
Mario: Oh, mamma mia!
Mario screams as he and Sonic fall from orbit and back down to Earth, but Sonic still decides to dive towards Mario with a flurry of punches, only to get knocked back by one swing punch from the plumber, causing the nose of the Blue Blur to bleed a bit. The Sega mascot then wipes out the blood and, as small blue lightning crackles around him, uses the Homing Attack at the Nintendo mascot. Mario catches at the homing spin, but his gloves get grounded bit by bit as his hands take damage from Sonic's Spin Dash. Suddenly, Mario's hands as well as Sonic's body are set aflame from the intense friction. Mario grabs hold of the fire spin and swings it for a few rounds.
Mario: So long-a, hedgehog!
He then spikes a screaming Sonic into the ocean, while he lands on the beach in a three-point landing style and gets up as a giant mushroom cloud explosion goes off in the distance. Mario shakes off his hands to cool them down, seeing the damage done to them and his gloves caused by the Spin Dash before a leg of the now incinerated Sonic lands in his palms, putting a smile on the plumber's face.
Mario: Wahoo! I'm the winner!
Mario cheers and jumps for joy as the mushroom cloud, now sporting the face of a Poison Mushroom, continues blooming.
The victorious Mario lays back on his beach chair and puts on Sonic's sunglasses, finally getting a chance to relax as he watches the still-blooming mushroom cloud with a smug grin.
==Results==
Boomstick: Whoa-ho-ho! How did that happen? I know Nintendo won the console wars, but... I really seem to remember Sonic having this one in the bag.
Wiz: I'm sure Sonic could've won in specific circumstances, but more times than not, Mario takes the victory. Keep in mind, this analysis was done with the focus on the games and their closely tied media, excluding alternate contrary sources, like the Archie Comics or the Mario Brothers movie, where Mario and Sonic are essentially entirely different characters from their gaming counterparts.
Boomstick: Sonic had speed in the bag, obviously, but Mario was way too tough for him.
Wiz: Their top strength feats paint this picture very, very clearly.3,470 Kilotons VS 200 Kilotons
Boomstick: But, I know what you're thinking: "What good is Mario's strength if he couldn't even hit the Blue Blur? He's way too fast, right?"'''
Wiz: Yes and no. While Mario obviously couldn't match Sonic's relativistic top running-speeds, he's moved efficiently as a bolt of electricity and piloted the Star Diver. Based on our calculations, this puts him at the same level as Sonic's own reactionary feats.Flight Distance: 400 MilesFlight Time: 5 SecondsFlight Speed: Mach 375 Since Mario was tough enough to tank almost anything Sonic could throw at him, it was only a matter of time before he tagged the Blue Blur with a deadly blow.
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Boomstick: But what about Chaos Control? Couldn't Sonic just stop time and take care of things whi—
Wiz pulls out Mario's stopwatch and uses it to pause Boomstick in time, with the word "PAUSE" appearing on him.
Wiz: It's heavily implied he knows how to, but Sonic has never actually used the Time Stop ability in canon. Even then, Mario's Stop Watch does the same thing, putting them on equal footing.
He un-pauses Boomstick.
Boomstick: Gah! Don't do that! ...Where's my wallet?
Wiz: Actually, most of Mario and Sonic's power-ups counter each other in this way. Mario even had plenty of options for defending against Sonic's invincible super forms, but Mario also had a much wider variety of power-ups, offering multiple ways to overpower Sonic. For example, he could've frozen Sonic solid...
He pulls out an Ice Flower and touches Boomstick with it, freezing him solid.
Boomstick: Ah!
Wiz: ...or even turned him into gold.
He then pulls out a Gold Flower and touches Boomstick with it, turning him into coins in the shape of his frozen stance.
Wiz: His arsenal would always outlast Sonic's because he's been shown to carry more of them on his person.
Wiz then pulls out a remote and presses the button on it to turn Boomstick back to normal.
Boomstick: O-oh god! Ugh- I've seen things...!
We cut back to the post-analysis.
Wiz: But even then, Mario's durability blew Sonic's out of the water. Even if we assumed the 200-kiloton stalactite feat was entirely Sonic's doing, Mario survived an explosion that was 12 times more powerful.Sonic's Output: 199.5 KilotonsMario's Duability: 2,400 Kilotons [2.4 Megatons] Simply put, Sonic didn't have a lot of viable options that could take Mario down for good.
Boomstick: I always knew Sonic was impressive, but Mario is just ridiculous. Probably that moustache...
We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.
Wiz: Sonic was obviously incredibly fast, but he couldn't compete with Mario's superior strength, durability, and varied arsenal.
Boomstick: He got Mari-owned!
Wiz: Ugh... After a hundred episodes, you still can't think of a good pun?
Boomstick: No, but now they can see me do this!
Boomstick promptly flips the bird with both hands.
Boomstick: Aah! Check it out, Wiz!
Wiz is unamused by this. We then cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Mario.
==Original Track==
===Composition===
The track for this fight is "Retro Rivals" by Therewolf Media. It starts off with a tropical piece (since the fight takes place at a beach) before switching to a faster, jazzier tone that references several notable songs from both combatants' home series. In order, the songs referenced are the Green Hill Zone theme from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Underground, Overworld, and Invincibility themes from Super Mario Bros., "Fist Bump" from Sonic Forces, and the Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.
===Title===
The title is a reference to Mario and Sonic's long-lasting rivalry since Nintendo and Sega's console war in the 1990s.
===Cover Art===
The cover art done by Luis Cruz depicts a sparkly 100 to celebrate this episode being the 100th one of Death Battle. The first zero features Mario's signature "M" emblem, while the second zero has Sonic's spiky quills.
==Trivia==
===Production===
*The core connections between Mario and Sonic are that they are both some of the most popular and iconic video game characters in existence, having had a rivalry going on between them and their companies (Nintendo and Sega, respectively) in the gaming industry ever since the 1990s and having revolutionized the gaming industry ever since their very first game (Mario invented the platformer genre with the original Donkey Kong and Sonic sparked the 16-bit era with his eponymous first game). In addition:
**Both are adventure-loving, thrill-seeking, red and blue heroes who excel in a certain athletic ability (jumping and running, respectively) and have a variety of transformations from different items they come across, including invincibility power-ups (for example, the Super Star, Rainbow Star, and Invincibility Leaf for Mario and the Invincible item box for Sonic), some of which grant them super forms that make them invincible (for example, Invinicble, Rainbow, or White Tanooki for Mario and Super and Hyper Sonic for Sonic).
**Both are arch-enemies of tyrannical egotists ruling a large empire who are hellbent on conquering the world/universe (Bowser and his Koopa Troop and Doctor Eggman and his Eggman Empire, respectively) and would later fight each other in Death Battle '24.
**Both have younger sidekicks who are easily frightened (Luigi and Tails, respectively) and have previously fought each other in Season 2, dumb but powerful treasure-guarding rivals turned allies (Donkey Kong and Knuckles the Echidna, respectively) who also previously fought each other in Season 2, doppelgänger/counterpart arch-rivals and frenemies (Wario and Shadow the Hedgehog, respectively), and love interests associated with the color pink (Princess Peach and Amy Rose, respectively).
**Both have teamed up with an alternate version of themselves (Paper Mario and Classic Sonic, respectively).
**Both have traveled through space to help motherly figures and their factions (Rosalina and the Lumas, and Mother Wisp and the Wisps, respectively) and fought against alien invasions (the Shroobs and the Black Arms, respectively) and ancient deities that wanted to spread their worlds into eternal darkness (the Dark Star and Dark Gaia, respectively).
**Sonic was originally created by Sega to compete with Mario.
**Both characters star in the spin-off series Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
**Both have been playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. series together since Sonic's debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
*Coincidentally, both this episode and the original Mario VS Sonic were the 13th episode of their respective seasons.
*Starting with this episode, Wiz and Boomstick physically appear during the analyses and post-analysis, as opposed to voice-overs (or, as in Meta VS Carolina, in power armor).
*Currently, this is the only episode of Death Battle to have released official concept art online. The concept art can be viewed here and here.
*Some of the footage used in Mario's analysis was taken from other YouTube videos.
**This footage of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was taken from Evolution of Fire Flowers (1985 - 2018) by Nintendo Unity. It can be told by the blue box with text peeking out from the bottom left.
**This footage of Super Mario All-Stars has ProsafiaGaming's watermark in the bottom right corner. However, it is easy to miss due to it blending in with the lava and being partially obscured by the "Power-Ups" slide graphic.
**This footage of New Super Mario Bros. 2 has Best of Gaming!'s watermark in the bottom right corner.
**This footage of Super Mario Odyssey has ZackScottGames's watermark in the bottom right corner.
*This episode currently has the lowest like/dislike ratio of Season 5, with an 81% positive reception rate on YouTube. Some of the ire towards the episode came from the Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase, who questioned if Mario could put up with Sonic's Super and Hyper forms and Chaos Control, which resulted in having a Q&A that was longer than usual, boasting a total of 12 questions answered. This would later be topped by the Q&As for Ben 10 VS Green Lantern and Flash VS Sonic.
**That same episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast also said that a third rematch featuring fully composited versions of both characters could be possible down the line, but it would have to be another milestone.
***It also featured a bonus joke scene from Blind Ferret where Mario ripping off his skin realistically reveals his muscles underneath instead of his normal outfit as a thank-you gift to the team.
*An AMV montage of the deaths/endings from the first 100 episodes of Death Battle was shown in the 100th episode of DEATH BATTLE Cast to commemorate the release of this episode.100 Episodes of Death Battle | DEATH BATTLE Cast
*Boomstick's "kick entire castles like they were soccer balls" comment would eventually be reused by Jocelyn the Intern in Goomba VS Koopa 2.
*As part of the Save Death Battle Kickstarter, any backers who pledged for any of the reward tiers could vote in a survey to decide a rematch to be made for Death Battle '25, with this episode having been one of the available options, though it ultimately lost to Master Chief VS Doomguy.
===Easter Eggs===
*Being a re-examination of the matchup, this episode naturally has a few references to the original one:
**Wiz's first line in the interlude is a near-verbatim reference to the one in the original episode, albeit saying this time around that Mario and Sonic's rivalry has lasted 30 years instead of 20 as a natural result of time passing since its release back in 2011.
**Mario's epithet of "Nintendo's whimsical Italian turtle crusher" in the interlude is very similar to his epithet of "the whimsical Italian plumber" in the original episode.
**Mario hitting Sonic with an uppercut punch while falling from orbit is somewhat similar to a moment in the original battle, where he uses his Super Jump Punch at Sonic in the third part of a short montage near the beginning.
**Mario catching Sonic's Homing Attack and getting his hands shredded by the subsequent Spin Dash could be a call-back to how the original battle ended, in which Sonic grinds Mario to death with a Spin Dash during freefall. This time, however, Mario was able to hold Sonic back due to his extreme durability.
*Boomstick references the "Sega does what Nintendon't" advertising campaign from the early '90s when the hosts show up on-screen for the first time in the interlude.
*In Mario's "Background" slide, his species is listed as "Homo-nintendonus", referencing a 1993 character guide classifying Mario as such.https://web.archive.org/web/20140807074332/https://www.destructoid.com/yoshi-is-properly-known-as-t-yoshisaur-munchakoopas-279145.phtml
*The Whomp sound effect from Super Mario 64 can briefly be heard right before Boomstick says "Oh, come on, it's an actual cake?!" in Mario's analysis.
*During Sonic's analysis, Boomstick says that Sonic's Super form "isn't even his final form," a reference to the meme associated with Frieza.
*The Cheep Cheeps seen on Mario's boxers are a direct match with this piece of artwork from the original Super Mario Bros.
*Sonic relaxing on Mario's chair is a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.
*Sonic's signature lines from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, "You're too slow!" and "Now I'll show you!", are used in the fight.
*The bumper sound effect from the Sonic series is used when Sonic bounces from tree to tree after getting swiped at by Cat Mario.
*One of the Cat Mario clones uses Mario's pummel attack from the Super Smash Bros. series on Sonic during the montage where the latter gets beat up by them.
*Before he and Hyper Sonic destroy the Moon, Mario strikes a pose that bears a resemblance to his character artwork from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.
* is a reference to this piece of official artwork for Mario & Sonic at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
*The killing blow Mario deals to Sonic (engulfing him in flames before spiking him into the ocean) is similar to Mario's Fire Shot Special Shot from Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix.
*Mario's line "So long-a, hedgehog!" is a reference to his infamous "So long, king-a Bowser!" line from Super Mario 64, which became a meme due to people mishearing it as "So long, gay Bowser!", with the line in the episode likely intended to have a similar effect.
**This is the first episode to reference the line, with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
*Mario's line "Wahoo! I'm the winner!" is a reference to his victory line in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
===Errors===
*Sometime in 2024, the YouTube upload of this episode was edited in an attempt to remove the sponsorship segment at the beginning of the episode. However, whether by mistake of the crew or an error on YouTube's side, only the audio of the sponsorship was removed, but not the video, resulting in both the episode's audio being roughly 30 seconds early and the episode prematurely ending 30 seconds short. This was eventually fixed at a later date.
*The Star Driver is erroneously referred to as the "Star Diver" by both Boomstick in Mario's analysis and Wiz in the post-analysis.
**The next episode to feature the attack would also make the same mistake.
*Footage of Mario grabbing the Super Bell is used while Boomstick says he can use the Lucky Bell to turn into Cat Mario, despite the Lucky Bell being a different (but similar) power-up that grants two Cat forms: the regular Cat form (with a collar and a bell, which are unseen in the Super Bell's rendition of the Cat form) and a golden statue-like Cat form.
*The Vanish Cap is accidentally listed twice in Mario's "Power-Ups" slide.
*Naoto Ohshima's family name is mistakenly spelled as "Oshima" in a pop-up box in Sonic's analysis.
*The Heat Barrier is listed as one of Sonic's shield items in his "Power-Ups" slide, despite it only ever being obtainable during Shadow the Hedgehog, with Sonic being incapable of using it in that game.
*
**His figure 8 legs are also blue instead of the usual red.
*When Sonic is first launched into the ocean by Mario, two black lines can briefly be seen in the top left corner.
*After Mario punches Sonic hard enough to make his nose bleed during their fall from space, an outline on Mario's wrist can be seen unblurred.
*When Mario lands after slam-dunking Sonic into the ocean, , even though its effects have already worn off.
**Another error in that same frame is that the emblem on Mario's cap is floating in front of its brim.
*Despite them getting shredded by Sonic's Spin Dash, Mario's gloves revert back to being undamaged after the shot of Sonic's disembodied leg landing in his hands.
*During the post-analysis, Wiz claims that Mario's Gold Flower power-up would allow him to turn Sonic into gold as Gold Mario. However, this is partially incorrect; while Gold Mario can gain coins upon defeating enemies and transform brick blocks into coins, he can't transmute the enemies themselves into coins.
===Other===
*This is the third episode to be a redo of a previous episode, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015) and Goku VS Superman 2, and with the next three being Link VS Cloud (2021), Goku VS Superman (2023), and Master Chief VS Doom Slayer. 
**This is the first episode to be re-examined instead of being a remaster (like Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015)) or a sequel (like Goku VS Superman 2), with the next two being Link VS Cloud (2021) and Goku VS Superman (2023).
***According to Ben Singer, this is because the episode uses Death Battle's modern rules, which were established sometime around Season 3, instead of the old rules from Seasons 1 and 2.
**This is the first redone episode to have the opposite verdict of the episode it's a redo of, with the next one being Link VS Cloud (2021).
*This is the fifth Nintendo VS Sega-themed episode, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), Luigi VS Tails, Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, and Mewtwo VS Shadow, and with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
**This is the third time that the Nintendo character wins, after Donkey Kong VS Knuckles and Mewtwo VS Shadow, and with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
**This is the fourth Super Mario VS Sonic the Hedgehog-themed episode, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), Luigi VS Tails, and Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, and with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
***This is the second time that the Super Mario character wins, after Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, and with the next one being Bowser VS Eggman.
*This is the third episode to be animated in a hand-drawn style, after Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog, and Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, and with the next eight being Deadpool VS Mask, Genos VS War Machine, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, Saitama VS Popeye, Omni-Man VS Homelander, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, and Bowser VS Eggman.
*This is the 12th 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, and Ryu VS Jin, and with the next 28 being 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 fourth episode to feature two returning combatants, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, and Thor VS Wonder Woman, and with the next 10 being Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, Goku VS Superman (2023), Bowser VS Eggman, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
**This is the eighth episode to feature a returning loser, after Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Thor VS Wonder Woman, and Ryu VS Jin, and with the next 19 being Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Goku VS Superman (2023), Bowser VS Eggman, Kratos VS Asura, Master Chief VS Doom Slayer, Ash VS Yugi, and Hulk VS Godzilla.
***This is the fourth time the returning loser wins, after Batman VS Captain America, Thor VS Wonder Woman, and Ryu VS Jin, and with the next seven being Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Shadow VS Ryuko, Link VS Cloud (2021), Thor VS Vegeta, Boba Fett VS Predator, and Bowser VS Eggman.
**This is the eighth 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, and Black Panther VS Batman, and with the next 18 being 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 also the fourth time the returning winner loses, after Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, and Black Panther VS Batman, and with the next 10 being 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 fifth Super Smash Bros.-themed episode, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), Zelda VS Peach, Link VS Cloud (2012), and Bowser VS Ganon, and with the next four being Wario VS King Dedede, Ken VS Terry, Link VS Cloud (2021), and Sora VS Pit.
*This is the third fight to be animated in a hand-drawn style, after Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog and Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, and with the next seven being Deadpool VS Mask, Genos VS War Machine, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, Saitama VS Popeye, Omni-Man VS Homelander, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
**This is the second episode to be animated by Blind Ferret, after Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog.
*This is the third episode where the Moon was used, damaged, or destroyed in the fight, after Vegeta VS Shadow and Thor VS Wonder Woman, and with the next six being Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash, Black Adam VS Apocalypse, Trunks VS Silver, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
*This is the first episode since Balrog VS TJ Combo to feature at least one track from a combatant's source material outside of clips (as the Continue theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the Drowning theme from the original Sonic the Hedgehog play during Sonic's analysis), with the next four being Ben 10 VS Green Lantern, Weiss VS Mitsuru, Skyrim VS Dark Souls, and Bowser VS Eggman.
*This is the first episode to be reuploaded as a YouTube Short, with the next 36 being SpongeBob VS Aquaman, Deadpool VS Mask, Thanos VS Darkseid, Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Kakashi, All Might VS Might Guy, Omni-Man VS Homelander, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, Hulk VS Broly, Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, Saitama VS Popeye, Gojo VS Makima, Frieza VS Megatron, Bill Cipher VS Discord, Goku VS Superman (2023), Madara VS Aizen, Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor, Thor VS Vegeta, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Ghost Rider VS Lobo, Skyrim VS Dark Souls, DIO VS Alucard, Galactus VS Unicron, Guts VS Dimitri, Phoenix VS Raven, James Bond VS John Wick, Tanjiro VS Jonathan Joestar, Batman VS Iron Man, Excalibur VS Raiden, Gogeta VS Vegito, Iron Fist VS Po, Harley Quinn VS Jinx, Korra VS Storm, Killua VS Misaka, Ant-Man VS Atom, and Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia.
*On November 14th, 2024, the DEATH BATTLE! YouTube channel uploaded the full fight animation of this episode on its own to commemorate the release of Bowser VS Eggman (as both are hand-drawn Super Mario VS Sonic the Hedgehog-themed episodes), which came out three days later.
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Death Battles
Category:Season 5 episodes
Category:Mario episodes
Category:Sonic episodes
Category:Traditionally animated Death Battles
Category:Fights animated by Blind Ferret
Category:Fights with voice actors
Category:Death Battles with cameo appearances
Category:Death Battles with returning combatants
Category:Death Battles with multiple returning combatants
Category:Death Battle Rematches
Category:Milestone episodes
Category:'Mario VS Sonic' themed Death Battles
Category:'Rivalry' themed Death Battles
Category:'Super Smash Bros.' themed Death Battles
Category:'Nintendo VS Sega' themed Death Battles
Category:'Heroes' themed Death Battles
Category:'Protagonists' themed Death Battles
Category:'Video Games' themed Death Battles
Category:'Eponymous Characters' themed Death Battles
Category:'Mascots' themed Death Battles
Category:Death Battles with power-ups
Category:'Animal VS Human' themed Death Battles
Category:'80s VS 90s' themed Death Battles