- —Tagline
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 superior robotic counterparts created by 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!♫
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?
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! 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.
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: All living things kneel before your master!
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.
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 FOOOOOOR?!
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.
Prelude
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: But first... robots can't really enjoy food. But for all the humans out there, do I have news for you!
Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for Blue Apron.
Boomstick: But right now, IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!
Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!
Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!Death Battle
In Stardust Speedway, Metal Sonic is seen blitzing through hovercars with his super speed. Meanwhile, a white and red light comes down towards the city and forms into Zero. The Maverick Hunter soon saw Metal Sonic approaching him.
Zero: Found a Maverick. I'll take care of it.
Zero then pulls out his Z-Saber and starts to swing it around, ready to fight.
Zero: Starting mission now!
Zero swings the Z-Saber towards Metal Sonic in slow motion.
Duality (Remix) - Mega Man X5
by Dr. Manhattan |
Metal Sonic hits Zero and carries him, Zero gets out of Metal Sonic and slashes him and then starts to rapidly slash Metal Sonic, The Hedgehog Killer manages to block the last one with a Knuckle Slam. Both rapidly attack each other in a blur, then both circled each other and bumped their heads as Zero groans, Zero then jumps over a hovercar, then actives his Z-Saber again and slashes down Metal Sonic. The impact made Metal Sonic roll back from Zero.
Zero: Just like a training program.
Zero dashes towards Metal Sonic and then he slashes him three times and finished with Ryuenjin. This makes Metal Sonic fall down the floor, but Metal quickly recovers and performs a Spin Dash towards the air, then fires a Plasma Pulse Laser towards Zero, knocking Zero away and causes The Reploid to hold his arm in exhaustion.
Zero: Ugh... How did this happen?
Metal Sonic then uses the Bat Guard technique and sends them towards Zero, The Maverick Hunter uses Yammar and sends the fireflies towards the bats, it manages to destroy four out of six bats, Zero then uses his Z-Buster and charges it.
Zero: CHARGE SHOT!
The Reploid shoots out a huge beam and destroys the bats. Metal Sonic then scans Zero and copies his ability, Metal Sonic charges a Rainbow Laser and shoots it towards Zero, the Laser sends Zero towards a building and breaking it, Metal Sonic then activates the V. Maximum Overdrive and dashes towards Zero and rams him on the floor, Metal Sonic then repeatedly hits Zero with his attack, but The Reploid manages to survive it and gets up. Zero raises his fist up as he's about to use Rekkoha, as Metal Sonic dashes down towards him.
Zero: REKKOHA!
Zero slams the ground and summons White Beams from above, but Metal stops his V. Maximum Overdrive and quickly activates the Black Shield to block the last beam that came below him, Zero then changes his armor color from Red to Black, becoming Black Zero. Zero jumps up and dunks Metal Sonic down the ground, and starts slashing at the Shield. But while the Black Shield blocks all of Zero's attacks the sky then starts getting darker.
Metal Sonic: I'LL CRUSH YOU!
Metal Sonic then summons lightning and knocks Zero away, Metal Sonic has now turned into Neo Metal Sonic. Zero then notices hovercar heading towards him but manages to dodge it.
Black Zero: Crap!
More cars come towards Neo Metal Sonic like a magnet and start to cover him. Zero covered his eyes for a brief moment, then as he looks back up to where his opponent was before, was shocked to see that The Hedgehog Killer had transformed into Metal Overlord.
Metal Overlord: *laughs* Take this!
Metal Overlord then shoots a bunch of crystals towards Zero, who managed to avoid all of them, he walks over one of the crystals, jumps up and turns into his Absolute Zero form. Metal Overlord continues shooting crystals towards Zero, but The Maverick Hunter manages to dodge all of them and dashes towards Metal Overlord, then slashes him in the throat with his claws. Metal Overlord roars in anger and shoots a missile towards Absolute Zero, knocking him back. Absolute Zero shakes his head and flies upwards, transforming back into his Black Zero form, takes out his Z-Saber, then creates a huge beam of it. Black Zero was about to slash Metal Overlord...
Metal Overlord: CHAOS CONTROL!
...But Metal Overlord uses Chaos Control to slow down Zero in his tracks. Metal Overlord then starts to charge a Laser to finish off Zero, laughing in victory but suddenly, Black Zero closes his eye and uses Dark Hold to counter Metal Overlord's Chaos Control, reversing the 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. Zero then lands on the ground while putting his Z-Saber behind his back. Zero walks away with his head down. as Dark Hold has exceeded it's limit, Metal Overlord splits into two pieces before exploding across the battlefield, putting down The Hedgehog Killer for good.
Black Zero: Mission accomplished.
Metal Sonic's head falls to the ground while Zero, back in his base form, gives a thumbs up and teleports away.
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. 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 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 and Mega Man, respectively) and are considered the pinnacle of their makers' work as the ultimate killing machine. Both have the ability to copy the powers of their opponents and have also rebelled against their creators for their own reasons.
- This is also a battle of opposites, as while Metal Sonic remains evil, Zero changed from evil to good.
- This episode is considered a spiritual sequel to Eggman VS Wily[1], as it features Metal Sonic going against another one of Doctor Wily's creations.
- 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.
Easter Eggs
- When Metal Sonic rams Zero to the ground using V. Maximum Overdrive, the door-closing sound effect used for the Death Battle transition card is heard.
Errors
- On Zero's "Alternate Forms" slide, "Power increased 100%" is written as "Powered increased 100%".
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 six being Optimus Prime VS Gundam, Deadpool VS Mask, Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man, Saitama VS Popeye, Bill Cipher VS Discord, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
- 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 25 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, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
- 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 17 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, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
- 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 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 17 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, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
- This is the third Sega VS Capcom-themed episode, after Eggman VS Wily and Dante VS Bayonetta.
- This is the second Sonic the Hedgehog VS Mega Man-themed episode, after Eggman VS Wily.
- This is the first time Mega Man wins.
- This is the second Sonic the Hedgehog VS Mega Man-themed episode, after Eggman VS Wily.