- —Tagline
Ken VS Terry is the 67th episode of Death Battle, featuring Ken Masters from the Street Fighter series and Terry Bogard from the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series in a battle between American martial arts champions.
Interlude
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Boomstick: Hey Wiz, what has blonde hair, wears red, and fights like hell?
Wiz: Uh, today's fighters?
Boomstick: Aww, you guessed it. Ken Masters, the street-fighting family man.
Wiz: And Terry Bogard, the orphan turned king of fighters.
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.
Ken Masters
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Ken's Theme - Street Fighter II by Yoko Shimomura
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Wiz: As the son of a rich hotel tycoon, young Ken Masters wanted everything for nothing.
Boomstick: Stupid rich kids, why don't their parents ever teach 'em any real values, like squirrel cooking or how to throw a punch?
Wiz: Well, turns out, Ken's an exception. Eager to teach his son some discipline, his father sent him to Japan to train in martial arts.
Boomstick: Yeah, turns out Ken's dad was buddies with the master karate hermit Gouken, who Ken trained under for a decade, alongside a young warrior named Ryu.
Wiz: Under Gouken's eye, Ken was taught the ways of the Ansatsuken or "Assassination Fist", albeit Gouken's own non-lethal variant.
Boomstick: He learned techniques like the blast of ki energy known as the Hadoken, and also the Tatsu-monkey Senpu-kyaka.
Wiz: Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, also known as the "Hurricane Kick", a spinning kick that leaves opponents reeling, but is also pretty good for getting past projectiles.
Boomstick: But the move he excels at the most is the Dragon Fist, the SHORYUKEN! It's a devastating rising uppercut, and Ken's so damn good at it, he can set his whole damn fist on fire!
Wiz: At his best, he can perform the Shinryuken or "Divine Dragon Fist". Not only is this attack engulfed in flame, it also creates a vacuum effect, drawing opponents in for multiple strikes. The Shinryuken is the most powerful natural form of the Shoryuken technique.
Boomstick: Well, so long as you're not possessed by evil murder energy, but you should watch Ryu VS Scorpion to learn all about that. With his training complete, Ken returned to America, proving his new discipline and kickassery by winning several fighting tournaments.
Wiz: Including the premiere U.S. Martial Arts Tournament, where he won the finals and met his future wife, Eliza.
Boomstick: Oh-ho-ho! That is certainly what I would call a win.
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Main Theme - Street Fighter V by Hideyuki Fukasawa
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Wiz: Proud of his victories, Ken returned to Gouken's dojo to tell his former master the good news.
Boomstick: But he got there a little too late. Dang, missed out on all the fingerpainting.
Wiz: After meeting up with Ryu to mourn their master's apparent death, Ken decided to enter the prestigious world warrior tournaments, just for the chance to fight Ryu again.
Boomstick: But Ken's always fighting, both in and out of tournaments. He takes on anything, from crime lords to professional assassins, and he's strong enough to send a man flying 15 feet in the air with a single punch.
Wiz: The force of which would definitely kill an average person, which Ken is anything but. He's strong enough to beat the dictator Bison with Ryu, and he's fast enough to dodge attacks from Akuma, one of the most powerful characters in the Street Fighter universe.
Boomstick: Then there was his cage match against the claw-wielding Vega, where he punched him so hard, he completely reversed the guy's momentum after he leaped from the ceiling.
Wiz: Doing so after losing tons of blood from dozens of lacerations, and with both of his feet broken and impaled. Considering much of a punch's force comes from the lower half of a person's body, this is practically unbelievable.
Boomstick: Talk about endurance, I can see how he got his wife. The guy's tough enough to fall over 100 feet into the mud and then just get up, more pissed then anything else.
Wiz: But when it comes down to it, Ken's strongest asset is his conviction to win. Only made stronger when it comes to defending his friends.
Boomstick: Though he is pretty cocky. If he's feeling good about a fight, he'll sometimes just laugh at his opponents instead of finishing them off, leaving himself wide open.
Wiz: Still, if you enter the ring with Ken Masters, chances are you're gonna get burned.
Ken: Come on! Let's turn up the heat!
Terry Bogard
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Terry & Andy & Joe Theme - Fatal Fury by Hiroshi Matsumoto, Kazuhiro Nishida & Toshikazu Tanaka
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Boomstick: Terry Bogard was born with nothing to his name. Hell, he didn't even have a last name!
Wiz: Stranded with his brother Andy, Terry grew up an orphan on the dangerous streets of South Town.
Boomstick: Until they were adopted by Jeff Bogard, who immediately introduce them to a regimen of bonding and kicking ass. Now that's a good dad! Well, until he got murdered.
Wiz: When he was only 10 years old, Terry and Andy watched helplessly as their foster father was murdered before their eyes by Geese Howard, a notorious crime lord. Swearing vengeance, the brothers spent the next decade training to one day take down Geese.
Boomstick: What did water fowl ever do to 'em?
Wiz: N-no, not-not birds, Geese-Geese Howard, the bad guy.
Boomstick: Look, Wiz, I know you're not a poultry science degree holder like myself, but you should know that the singular term for geese is goose. It's just common sense.
Wiz: Ugh, let's just move on. As the years went by, Terry became an exceptional martial artist, mastering boxing, karate, kung fu, and kickboxing. He developed an impressive list of techniques, like the Burn Knuckle, a fierce punch surrounded by energy.
Boomstick: And the Crack Shoot, a jumping axe kick. Or he can just punch the ground so friggin' hard, he makes a Power Wave, where he sends a deadly wave of energy through the Earth toward whatever poor bastard he's fighting!
Wiz: But even after learning all of these, Terry knew he would need more to defeat Geese.
Boomstick: Goose.
Wiz: No.
A goose honks.
Wiz: So he sought out his foster father's old master, who taught him the secret technique of the Hakkyokuseiken, the art of the Eight Extremities Holy Fist.
Boomstick: Holy Fist, huh? Is that like, punching the Jesus into people or something?
Wiz: No, but he is punching with the power of earth.
Boomstick: Fire, wind, water, heart! Go Terry! Okay, sorry, couldn't help myself.
Wiz: Anyway, with Hakkyokuseiken, Terry can literally pull and channel energy from the earth beneath his feet, and with the earth's chi, he can enhance his attacks to extreme level.
Boomstick: Like turning his ordinary Power Wave into the monstrously titanic Power Geyser.
Wiz: Apart from that, his Buster Wolf punch puts his Burn Knuckle to shame, and with the Star Dunk Volcano, he slams his foes down in a fiery explosion.
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Follow Me (Instrumental) - King of Fighters XIV by Kando Bando
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Boomstick: So when Terry was ready to take Geese down, he figured, what better way than in the worldwide tourney Geese himself was hosting? The King of Fighters tournament.
Wiz: And in the end, he most certainly got his revenge, in a battle which was apparently so intense, its spectators compared it to fight between starving wolves, earning Terry the nickname: The Legendary Hungry Wolf.
Boomstick: That's a badass nickname. Although, it turns out Terry didn't kill Geese hard enough, so he got to do it a second time.
Wiz: Not that Terry was too weak or anything. For example, in his fight with Jamin, he took a huge explosion in the back, got a car thrown at him, jumped up an elevator shaft as it was blowing up, got blasted in the face with a wall of fire, which smashed him into a concrete wall, and answered by Power Geyser-ing so hard, he wrecked the factory he was standing on.
Boomstick: He bled everywhere, but then this chick made him better with a good old strip and cuddle. Oh, and that guy Jamin? He's fast enough to catch bullets.
Wiz: And strong enough to shoot them back. With his fingers.
Boomstick: Not good enough for you? Well, how about the time Terry saved a coworker from six falling I-beams, by smashing them one by one in mid-air.
Wiz: Keep in mind, a single I-beam is designed to support over 3,000 pounds of pressure.
Boomstick: And he took care of it so fast, the would-be victim didn't even notice.
Wiz: It's a bit of a shame then, that at his worst, Terry's a pretty sore loser. Even though his willpower is enough to match the power of Mars, the god of war, an unexpected failure can still really shake him up.
Boomstick: But when Terry Bogard sets his mind to something, he'd rather bleed out than walk away.
Terry charges at an opponent and punches.
Terry: BURNING KNUCKLE!
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: But first, Wiz has got somethin' to tell you about savin' time and... eatin' food, so... what's not to love?
Wiz reads out an advertisement for Blue Apron.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Death Battle
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Theme of Terry Bogard - Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition by SNK Sound Theme
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In a dojo surrounded by cherry blossom trees, Ken is cheered on by fellow Street Fighters Blanka, Sakura, and his student Sean as he defeats Dan Hibiki with a punch to the face.
Ken: Challenge me after some practice!
A shadowed figure arrives to the dojo's door and quickly turns it open, surprising everyone.
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Jungle Outpost - Tekken 7 by Rio Hamamoto & Taku Inoe
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The figure, revealed to be Terry, challenges Ken to a fight.
Terry: C'mon!
Ken leaps backwards and accepts.
Ken: Come on, show me what you're made of!
The dazed Dan joins the other Street Fighters to watch the two American martial artists duel.
Ken: Here I go!
Ken dashes for Terry and tries delivering some blows, which Terry blocks. He manages to get Terry on the ground with a low blow and a backwards throw. Ken leaps up in the air as Terry gets up.
Ken: See ya!
Ken tries pounding Terry's face on the ground, but Terry evades the blow with a Rising Tackle. The two trade blows until Ken punches Terry back with a low, flaming punch.
Ken: Come on man! Take this seriously!
Terry adjusts his hat and regains his stance.
Terry: All right!
Terry then steps up his game by increasing the speed and power of his punches, Ken dodges a flaming blow which cracks one of the dojo's pillars. Terry then leaps in the air to deliver a powerful blow, but Ken dodges, resulting in Terry completely taking out one of the wooden pillars.
Ken: This'll hurt!
Ken throws a Hadouken which Terry avoids. The fireball makes a giant hole in one of the dojo's windows, surprising the other Street Fighters. After missing a Crack Shoot, Terry runs up to Ken, who counters one of Terry's punches and tries hitting the evading Terry with a Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. Ken and Terry then repeatedly counter each others blows at such high speeds and power that the whole dojo starts falling apart. The other Street Fighters abandon the arena, with the exception of Dan, who gets crushed by one of the pillars.
Dan: My leg!
Terry finally lands a hit in with an overhead Crack Shoot, which knocks Ken in the head so hard he starts coughing blood. Ken starts breathing heavily out of exhaustion. Terry, seeing an opportunity, unleashes his Buster Wolf on the weakened Masters.
Terry: Buster Wolf!
Ken manages to stop the attack with his signature uppercut, knocking Terry into another pillar.
Ken: Shinryuken!
After regaining himself, Ken starts charging up his Shinku Hadouken, which Terry responds by charging up his Hakkyokuseiken.
Ken: All yours!
Ken releases his projectile, which Terry responds by activating his Power Geyser. The Geyser manages to tear through the Hadouken and seemingly dies out when it reaches Ken's feet.
Ken: All right!
However, it unleashes a powerful beam that nearly tears Ken apart. The two attacks cause a massive cloud of dust to fill the dojo. When it settles, Terry is exhausted, but still able to fight.
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Jungle Outpost (Final Round) - Tekken 7 by Rio Hamamoto & Taku Inoue
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Ken on the other hand was critically injured by the Power Geyser and is barely able to stand. Terry turns his cap backward.
Terry: You're dead!
Terry knees Ken into the air hard, and blows Ken's head off with his Star Dunk Volcano attack. Terry then adjusts his cap.
Terry: Okay!
Terry does his signature victory pose in which he tosses his cap, which lands where Ken's head used to be.
Results
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Follow Me (Instrumental) - King of Fighters XIV by Kando Bando
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Boomstick: Bummer. So... on the bright side, this means Eliza's single now, right?
Wiz: Boomstick!
Boomstick: Just saying what we're all thinking, Wiz.
Wiz: Both Ken and Terry had been fighting since they were children, and each won their fair share of tournaments. However, Terry's sheer power proved too much for Ken to handle.
Boomstick: Outside of tourneys, Ken's most notable victories were usually only possible because he had help. Sure, Ken's taken down Zangief, Hugo, and Vega multiple times, who are extremely deadly in their own right, but they aren't nearly as heavy hitters as those on Terry's résumé, like Krauser and Mars.
Wiz: Also, keeping up with and surpassing Jamin, who can effortlessly catch bullets, proves Terry can match someone over twice the speed of sound, much faster than anything Ken's ever shown.
Boomstick: Man, when Eliza hears about this, she's gonna feel Terry-ble.
We cut to the "Winner" card.
Wiz: The winner is Terry Bogard.
Trivia
Production
- The connections between Ken and Terry are that they are both fighting game icons who are blonde, red-clad martial arts experts from the United States and the Japanese stereotype for an American character in appearance, personality, and speech. Both also served as foils to more stoic but friendly Japanese rivals (Ryu and Ryo Sakazaki, respectively).
- This is also a battle of the opposites, as Ken grew up in a wealthy family while Terry grew up in poverty on the streets.
- Ken and Terry have appeared in multiple crossover games between SNK and Capcom and are considered rivals in those games.
- After the episode aired, both Ken and Terry became playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
- As of 2021, both characters have been portrayed in live action by British martial arts actor Christian Howard.
- Deadpool and Pinkie Pie traveled to the events of this episode in Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, along with Batman VS Captain America and Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers.
- For no discernible reason, the dark overlay over the results footage is much more prominent in this episode than any before or since.
Easter Eggs
- This episode makes several call-backs to previous episodes:
- Boomstick mentioning Akuma's "fingerpainting" in Ken's analysis is a call-back to Akuma VS Shang Tsung.
- Boomstick brings up his Poultry Science degree from Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom in Terry's analysis.
- Boomstick breaking out into the Captain Planet theme song in Terry's analysis is a call-back to Shao Kahn VS M. Bison.
- When Dan gets crushed by the pillars, he shouts the iconic "My leg!" voice clip from the Spongebob Squarepants series.
Other
- This is the 10th Fighting Game-themed episode, after Akuma VS Shang Tsung, Felicia VS Taokaka, Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui, Shao Kahn VS M. Bison, Ivy VS Orchid, Fulgore VS Sektor, Ryu VS Scorpion, Ragna VS Sol Badguy, and Cammy VS Sonya, and with the next six being Sub-Zero VS Glacius, Balrog VS TJ Combo, Ryu VS Jin, Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain, Heihachi Mishima VS Geese Howard, and Akuma VS Shao Kahn.
- This is the second Street Fighter VS Fatal Fury-themed episode, after Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui.
- This is the seventh Super Smash Bros.-themed episode, after Mario VS Sonic (2011), Zelda VS Peach, Link VS Cloud (2012), Bowser VS Ganon, Mario VS Sonic (2018), and Wario VS King Dedede, and with the next two being Link VS Cloud (2021) and Sora VS Pit.
- This is the first Smash-themed episode where both combatants got into Smash after the episode released.
- This is also the first Smash-themed episode where both combatants are third-party fighters.