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Episode 17 - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic VS Transformers! Which of these two high-speed Hasbro toys will dominate the skies and win this epic duel? Can a tiny pony really stand up to a giant robot warrior?
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Starscream VS Rainbow Dash is the 17th episode of Death Battle, featuring Starscream from the Transformers series and Rainbow Dash from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series in a battle between Hasbro's fast flyers. Starscream was voiced by Zak Wilson and Rainbow Dash was voiced by Erica Mendez.

Interlude

Wiz: Television has been used to market toys to boys and girls for generations, ranging from G.I. Joe to Barbie and Transformers to My Little Pony.

Boomstick: Are we really doing this?

Wiz: Yes, yes we are.

Boomstick: Alright. Well, Starscream from the first generation Decepticons.

Wiz: And Rainbow Dash of the G4 Pegasus Ponies.

Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.

Starscream

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Attack On The Shuttle
by Lighting their Darkest Hour
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Wiz: Starscream is the air commander of the Decepticon Battle fleet. He constantly seeks power and often attempts to usurp Megatron's leadership of the Decepticons, with little success.

Boomstick: He has two forms: giant robot, and jet.

Wiz: His robot form is primarily meant for ground travel, though it can fly short distances.

Boomstick: This form's weaponry consists of cluster bombs, missiles, machine guns, and his trademark Null Ray, a laser that shuts down anything that uses electricity.

Wiz: He can transform into an F-15 Eagle; a twin-engine, all-weather fighter jet with top speeds reaching Mach 2.8, nearly three times the speed of sound.

Boomstick: In jet form, he can fire three different types of homing missiles, from short-ranged Sidewinders to long-ranged Slammers. And if those don't do the trick, he's equipped with an M61A1 Vulcan Gatling Gun, that fires 20-millimeter ammo at 6000 rounds per minute. Fun fact: it also works great for hunting!

Wiz: Starscream is a coward, and uses cheap tactics, often shooting his opponents in the back. However, his deadliest weapon is arguably his silver tongue. While he is not the strongest Decepticon, he is a clever and deceiving speaker, who can worm his way into favorable positions. Despite this, he is a terrible strategist. Most of his plans instantly go wrong.

Boomstick: Like when he took over the Decepticons because Megatron had a sore throat.


Megatron: (incomprehensible speech) Autobots!

Starscream: Too bad! He's blown his vocal components. I guess that makes me the new leader!


Boomstick: It was short-lived.

Wiz: And yet his persistence paid off, and he was eventually crowned leader of the Decepticon faction.

Boomstick: Again, short-lived.

Wiz: Starscream was king for a whopping twenty seconds, a personal record. However, after his death, Starscream discovered his spark, or life-force, was somehow indestructible.

Boomstick: And a good thing too, because since then, he's been dying nearly every episode.

Wiz: His ghostly spark can possess machinery. He has taken over several other Transformer, robots, and even a cybernetic schoolgirl while she was using the bathroom.

Boomstick: What?!

Wiz: Unfortunately, his poor knowledge of human society led him to forget to pull up the girl's underwear, making him the laughing stock of the school.

Boomstick: Props to you, Japan. I didn't see that coming.


Megatron: You're an idiot, Starscream!


Rainbow Dash

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Sonic Rainboom (Just An Old Mare's Tale)
by Daniel Ingram
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Wiz: Rainbow Dash is a Pegasus Pony from Equestria, the magical land of ponies.

Boomstick(groans)

Wiz: After dropping out of Flight School, Rainbow found a job in Ponyville as Weather Manager. She is a strong, agile flyer with great durability and resilience. She can smash through trees and solid rock and get right back up. She is also training to join the Wonderbolts, a superb team of flyers who are kind of like the Blue Angels.

Boomstick: Except they're PONIES.

Wiz: She is also a black belt in karate.

Boomstick: How does a pony learn karate, let alone master it?

Apple Bloom kicks a punching bag, only for her to shake a few seconds and fall to the ground.

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Iron Pony
by Daniel Ingram
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Wiz: As a Pegasus pony, Rainbow can control weather. She can use the clouds in the sky to manipulate lighting strikes and precipitation. Also, she can create and control giant tornadoes.

Boomstick: She's also got some other moves, like the Buccaneer Blaze, which is apparently so amazing it can't be shown on screen. And, somehow, it creates a huge explosion.

Wiz: Rainbow often brags that she is the fastest in the world. And you know what? She's right. By calculations according to this guy, Rainbow Dash can fly up to five times the speed of sound with ease. This is apparent through the Mach cone that often forms around Rainbow, which indicates that she has broken the sound barrier. And the angle of which proves she can reach up to Mach 5 speeds.

Boomstick: This is a pony, a baby horse girl toy. Why is it so awesome?

Wiz: And upon breaching Mach 5, she entered hypersonic speeds to create the Sonic Rainboom. With this, her speed doubles instantaneously to Mach 10. And somehow the resulting sonic boom completely shatters the visible light spectrum.

Boomstick: Not to mention the sonic boom itself is apparently strong enough to split solid rock and shake entire mountains.

Wiz: Rainbow is brash, athletic, and extremely competitive. But while she's steadfast and loyal, she sometimes cheats to get her way.

Boomstick: Well... let's make it fight a giant robot.


Rainbow Dash: Yeeeeaaaaahh!


Prelude

Wiz: Alright, the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all!

Boomstick: But first, apparently all of you haven't signed up for your free trial of GameFly yet! So we have to tell you about it again!

Wiz and Boomstick read out an advertisement for GameFly.

Boomstick: But right now, it's time for a DEATH BATTLE!!!

Death Battle

The F-15 Eagle Jet Fire flies in to reveal itself to be bumbling Starscream coming in for a landing in his humanoid robot form.

Starscream: Who dares challenge the mighty Starscream?

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Rarity's Fashion Show
by Daniel Ingram
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Out of the blinding sun, a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash flies down in a landing, seeing Starscream.

Rainbow Dash: Hi there!

Fight season 1

Starscream: (mockingly laughs) A pony? I'll crush you in an instant. Prepare to be annihilated.

Rainbow Dash: You talk a lot.

Rainbow flies around Starscream in many different directions, bucks him in the heel with no effect on him, Starscream backhands Rainbow out of anger.

Starscream: That's it. I am going to kill you!

Before Starscream can even move, Rainbow Dash flies up and tags him in the head.

Rainbow Dash: Tag, you're it!

Starscream shouts in anger as he turns back into the F-15 Eagle Jet Fire and chases Rainbow Dash in the sky. He proceeds to fire his Gatling gun, which Rainbow Dash easily evades. He then fires missiles, which also fail to hit their mark. In Starscream's POV, we see him preparing to lock onto Rainbow Dash.

Starscream: Alright, don't move...

Just as Starscream successfully locks on, Rainbow Dash flies off, immediately undoing it, causing his monitor to say "TARGET LOSS".

Starscream: Blast it!

After he says this, Rainbow Dash appears face-to-face with him, making multiple funny faces at him.

Starscream: Hey! What are you doing? Stop that!

This whole time, Rainbow Dash was standing on Starscream, who didn't even notice.

Rainbow Dash: You're not very good at this game, are you?

She leaps off of him, which Starscream clearly flees and then he proceeds to follow Rainbow Dash upward into the clouds.

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Spectrum
by Acoustic Brony
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Starscream then transforms back into his robot form and hovers.

Starscream: Where are you? Show yourself!

Rainbow Dash quickly flies in with a rain cloud and places it over Starscream.

Starscream: Hey!

Rainbow Dash repeatedly kicks the rain cloud, causing Starscream to be hit repeatedly with lightning, eventually causing him to fall to the ground. Rainbow Dash walks on the ground up to her downed opponent, but she is suddenly struck by the Null Ray, knocking her back and momentarily dazing her. Starscream laughs, but then Rainbow Dash recovers.

Rainbow Dash: Alright! It... is... on!

Rainbow Dash flies around Starscream multiple times, eventually creating a tornado, which he is trapped in. He attempts to escape by turning back into his jet form, only for one of his wings to break off, causing him to fall to the ground once again. Rainbow Dash lands and prepares to charge at him.

Starscream: Wait! Wait! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! Please!

Hearing this, Rainbow Dash slows and eventually stops in her tracks.

Starscream: I'll... I'll join the herd! I'll be a good Decepticon from now on!

As he is saying this, Starscream is preparing to lock onto the idle Rainbow Dash.

Starscream: Please, just let me go.

Rainbow Dash: Well, I don't know. I mean, I know should love and tolerate, but...

Starscream successfully locks onto Rainbow Dash, preparing to fire everything.

Rainbow Dash: Wait... what's that?

Starscream's chest reveals his homing missiles.

Starscream: Die!

He fires the homing missiles, which head toward Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash: Oh my gosh!

Rainbow Dash flies into the sky and up into the clouds as the missiles follow. Starscream stands, waiting with his arms crossed in his "Any minute now" pose.

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Sonic Rainboom
by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
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Rainbow Dash then flies downward with the missiles still following her, flying so fast that she has broken the sound barrier. She then unleashes the Sonic Rainboom. Starscream is stunned as Rainbow Dash flies right past him, leaving him too late to dodge the homing missiles. They strike, destroying his lower body, as Rainbow Dash smashes into Starscream and then uses her Buccaneer Blaze, which tears Starscream apart off-screen. Rainbow Dash then flies towards Starscream's torso.

Rainbow Dash: Aw yeah! That was awesome!

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Decepticons
by Steve Jablonsky
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Suddenly, Starscream's spark emerges from his torso, floating in the air.

Starscream: You haven't won! I'm invincible! My spark lives! You can never defeat Star-

He is cut off by Rainbow Dash, who eats and swallows his spark, promptly ending the battle right then and there.

Ko season 1

Results

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Rainbow Rhapsody
by Makkon
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Boomstick: Forget all doubt, that pony is a monster!

Wiz: Rainbow's speed and agility were more than a match for the clumsy Starscream, and it doesn't help that his aim is even worse than a Stormtrooper's. Not to mention the Null Ray is designed to destroy electronics, not living ponies.

Boomstick: She just ate a Transformer!

Wiz: Yes, and while Rainbow might experience some mild indigestion, Starscream's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Boomstick: Well, she put the "pwn" in "pony".

We cut to the "Rainbow Dash" winner card.

Wiz: The winner is Rainbow Dash.

Trivia

Production

  • The connections between Starscream and Rainbow are that they are both Hasbro-owned flyers with superb speed and a fairly large ego. Both are also members of a team (the Decepticons and the Mane Six, respectively) led by a strategic leader (Megatron and Twilight Sparkle, respectively), and both have the ability to control the weather. The two are also ironically opposites when it comes to loyalty (Starscream is known for constantly betraying Megatron, while Rainbow Dash represents the Element of Loyalty itself).
    • Their series would later crossover in 2020, where Rainbow Dash was given a transformable exosuit and teamed up with Starscream to confront Megatron.
  • This episode was remastered to have higher quality graphics, audio, as well as a re-edited analysis with additional information. However, the remaster is only viewable in the Rooster Teeth upload of the episode.
  • During a lunch break in 2011, when the topic of MLP in Death Battle was brought up, former ScrewAttack employee Jared Knabenbauer AKA ProJared suggested a pony fight a Transformer. The initial matchup they came up with was Megatron VS Twilight Sparkle, before Ben Singer scrapped it in favor of Starscream VS Rainbow Dash after realizing the lack of connections between the former two.
    • Ben also decided that because MLP had a large child audience, he would not only exclude swearing and gore from this episode, but also wouldn't do the episode if Rainbow Dash lost.[1]
  • In the show's second Q&A, when asked if Rainbow Dash really won the fight despite Starcream technically still being alive, Wiz replied that, once Starscream's spark got out, the only piece of machinery in Equestria for him to possess is a sewing machine, to which Boomstick added, "We like to think that's a fate worse than death."[2]
  • Famous internet personality Jim Sterling voiced Starscream's Spark.

Easter Eggs

  • Derpy Hooves makes a cameo as Rainbow Dash and Starscream disappear into the dark clouds. 

Other

References

DEATH BATTLE Episodes
Season 1 1 Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2010)2 Akuma VS Shang Tsung3 Rogue VS Wonder Woman4 Goomba VS Koopa5 Haggar VS Zangief6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale7 Zitz VS Leonardo8 Yoshi VS Riptor9 Felicia VS Taokaka10 Kratos VS Spawn11 Bomberman VS Dig Dug12 Vegeta VS Shadow13 Mario VS Sonic (2011)14 Justin Bieber VS Rebecca Black14.5 DEATH BATTLE! vs The World15 Luke Skywalker VS Harry Potter16 Chun-Li VS Mai Shiranui17 Starscream VS Rainbow Dash18 Master Chief VS Doomguy19 Eggman VS Wily20 Zelda VS Peach21 Thor VS Raiden22 Link VS Cloud (2012)23 Batman VS Spider-Man24 Pikachu VS Blanka25 Goku VS Superman 1
Season 2 26 He-Man VS Lion-O27 Shao Kahn VS M. Bison28 Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu29 Ivy VS Orchid30 Fox McCloud VS Bucky O'Hare31 Terminator VS RoboCop32 Luigi VS Tails32.5 Vegeta VS Mewtwo?33 Pokémon Battle Royale34 Fulgore VS Sektor35 Godzilla VS Gamera36 Batman VS Captain America37 Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon38 Ryu VS Scorpion39 Deadpool VS Deathstroke40 Kirby VS Majin Buu41 Ragna VS Sol Badguy42 Gaara VS Toph43 Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015)44 Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro45 Guts VS Nightmare46 Iron Man VS Lex Luthor47 Beast VS Goliath48 Solid Snake VS Sam Fisher49 Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom50 Goku VS Superman 251 Donkey Kong VS Knuckles52 Wolverine VS Raiden53 Hercule Satan VS Dan Hibiki54 Yang VS Tifa55 Mega Man VS Astro Boy56 Green Arrow VS Hawkeye57 Pokémon VS Digimon
Season 3 58 Dante VS Bayonetta59 Bowser VS Ganon60 Ratchet & Clank VS Jak & Daxter61 Flash VS Quicksilver62 Joker VS Sweet Tooth63 Mewtwo VS Shadow64 Meta VS Carolina65 Cammy VS Sonya66 Tracer VS Scout67 Ken VS Terry68 Amy Rose VS Ramona Flowers69 Hulk VS Doomsday70 Zoro VS Erza71 Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie
Season 4 72 Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake73 Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight74 Venom VS Bane75 Power Rangers VS Voltron76 Natsu VS Ace77 Sub-Zero VS Glacius78 Android 18 VS Captain Marvel79 Metal Sonic VS Zero80 Lucario VS Renamon81 Balrog VS TJ Combo82 Shredder VS Silver Samurai83 Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog84 Thor VS Wonder Woman85 Naruto VS Ichigo86 Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 209987 Sephiroth VS Vergil
Season 5 88 Black Panther VS Batman89 Raven VS Twilight Sparkle90 Jotaro VS Kenshiro91 Crash VS Spyro92 Sora VS Pit93 Leon Kennedy VS Frank West94 Doctor Strange VS Doctor Fate95 Ryu VS Jin96 Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai97 Carnage VS Lucy98 Optimus Prime VS Gundam99 Nightwing VS Daredevil100 Mario VS Sonic (2018)101 Ultron VS Sigma102 Roshi VS Jiraiya103 Thanos VS Darkseid
Season 6 104 Aquaman VS Namor105 Mega Man Battle Royale106 Black Widow VS Widowmaker107 Captain Marvel VS Shazam108 Wario VS King Dedede109 Ben 10 VS Green Lantern110 Weiss VS Mitsuru111 Johnny Cage VS Captain Falcon112 Aang VS Edward Elric113 Ghost Rider VS Lobo114 Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla115 Sasuke VS Hiei116 Ganondorf VS Dracula117 Mob VS Tatsumaki118 Deadpool VS Mask119 All Might VS Might Guy
Season 7 120 Miles Morales VS Static121 Black Canary VS Sindel122 Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason123 Genos VS War Machine124 Gray VS Esdeath125 Goro VS Machamp126 Cable VS Booster Gold127 Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Kakashi128 Danny Phantom VS American Dragon Jake Long129 She-Ra VS Wonder Woman130 Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia131 Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki132 Flash VS Sonic132.5 The Seven Battle Royale133 Winter Soldier VS Red Hood134 Venom VS Crona135 Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain136 Red VS Blue137 Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen138 Sanji VS Rock Lee139 Hulk VS Broly
Season 8 140 Yoda VS King Mickey141 Shadow VS Ryuko142 Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom143 Heihachi Mishima VS Geese Howard144 Blake VS Mikasa145 Iron Fist VS Po146 Steven Universe VS Star Butterfly147 Link VS Cloud (2021)148 Batman VS Iron Man149 Goku Black VS Reverse-Flash150 Macho Man VS Kool-Aid Man151 DIO VS Alucard152 Akuma VS Shao Kahn153 Korra VS Storm154 Madara VS Aizen155 Saitama VS Popeye
Season 9 156 Harley Quinn VS Jinx157 Scarlet Witch VS Zatanna158 Tanjiro VS Jonathan Joestar159 Thor VS Vegeta160 Omni-Man VS Homelander161 Magneto VS Tetsuo162 Hercules VS Sun Wukong163 Boba Fett VS Predator163.5 Excalibur VS Raiden164 James Bond VS John Wick165 Black Adam VS Apocalypse166 Trunks VS Silver167 SpongeBob VS Aquaman168 Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers169 Sauron VS Lich King170 Deku VS Asta171 Gogeta VS Vegito
Season 10 172 Ant-Man VS Atom173 Skyrim VS Dark Souls174 Killua VS Misaka175 Stitch VS Rocket Raccoon176 Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha177 Phoenix VS Raven178 Guts VS Dimitri179 Martian Manhunter VS Silver Surfer180 Bill Cipher VS Discord181 Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer182 Frieza VS Megatron183 Gojo VS Makima184 Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog185 Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor186 Goku VS Superman (2023)187 Galactus VS Unicron
Season 11 ??? Wile E. Coyote VS Tom Cat*
Unknown ??? Ruby VS Maka*
*Currently unreleased
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