Why Kyle Rayner Vs Simon the Digger Is My Most Wanted Matchup
Hey gang. BangJang96 on the podium. The Kickstarter for Death Battle has rekindled the show, full of matchups that make an absolutely stacked roster. Seriously, you have long time requests such as Ash vs Yugi, and some more unique picks like Aang vs the Traveler and Hulk vs Godzilla. But for me, no match has really been my most hype, as much as Simon the Digger vs White Lantern (weird display name but ok).
Many of my long time friends for the last four or so years are pretty familiar with how I feel towards Kyle vs Simon, but there’s a lot of people that don’t really know just why I love this conceptually weird but totally amazing matchup. Kyle Rayner vs Simon the Digger is my favorite Death Battle idea period. It has an amazing history that tells a story, a history that I have been really invested and involved in, and most importantly taught me a lot about what it means to just enjoy these characters that we pit against each other in fictitious encounters and fights to the death.
This is, Kyle Rayner vs Simon the Digger: A Tribute
Quick disclaimer, this blog will not talk about the debate at all. This will focus primarily on the fight, its connections, its animation potential, the matches history, and other things. Come around next week when I drop the Kyle blog that pertains to the debate though, it’ll be rad.
Kyle Rayner (DC Comics) vs Simon the Digger (Gurren Lagann): What’s The Deal?
The Connections
If there's any good place to start, it's going through the matchup’s connections, thematic appeal, and what it has to offer as a match. This won’t talk about the debate, or even the animation potential (yet), it is purely why the match exists, and what their connections are.
Kyle Rayner and Simon the Digger started as ordinary young everyman, living on earth in their mundane lives and down on their luck. For Kyle, he was a struggling artist, living freelance in Los Angeles. Simon on the other hand was a digger for his underground village in hopes of expanding it further.
Despite leading such boring lives, all it took was one day for all of that to change. In their possession would be a mysterious glowing object, and their new call to adventure would start. For Kyle, he would find a Green Lantern ring. For Simon, he would find a Core Drill, and the mysterious mecha of Lagann.
These objects were more than just simple technology, and Kyle and Simon would soon find that they were empowered with cosmic energies, full of limitless potential that allowed them to do or be anything they wanted. Each of their lights were represented by willpower and spiral energy, and can make anything from constructs and weapons from sheer will.
Early on into their adventures, tragedy would take another close to them, and the deaths of Hal Jordan and Kamina would plague them with self-doubt, feeling the weight of expectations, fears manifest, and insecurities rise up, as overcoming the death of their loved ones, which for Kyle included his girlfriend Alexander DeWitt, would prove to be very difficult to overcome.
And yet, they continued to mature. Continued to overcome. Dared to hope. By getting ahold of themselves, any obstacle, whether it was the embodiment of fear itself or the ruler of the anti-spirals, would only prove to be in the way of the men they would become, and this belief and self-love would bring them to tap into even greater power, one that turned Kyle into the White Lantern, and one that gave Simon the Spiral Power.
Both were the only & last of their kind (Spiral Warrior & Green Lantern), because the rest were wiped out by a fellow member long before their time (Hal Jordan & Lordgenome) corrupted by an entity (Antispiral & Parallax).
For a more or less important connection, both of them had romantic relationships with the daughter of their enemies (Soranik Natu, Sinestro’s daughter and Nia, Lordgenome’s daughter).
If you want this summed up more into a core theme however, it would be two ordinary young men who would come across objects that harness willpower, eventually reaching higher forms of power due to their sheer will and ability to overcome the opposition.
I’ll talk more about it in my history with the characters, but what I love so much about this core theme is simply the fact that it's two guys that are just like us wielding the most powerful weapons in the universe. And for these two, lots of them feel beat for beat similar, which can seem boring on paper, but actually draw a lot of interesting comparisons for how things were written out and done, and lots of matches benefit a lot from similar story progression, such as Darth Vadter vs Obito Uchiha. And sure, you can say happens often where there is an ‘unlikely’ protagonist wielding such power, we have plenty of examples but with these two it's a lot more different, especially in grandeur, scale, and the absolute flair of it. In a fight where the cosmic scale of it can reach space-time defying shots and scope, there is an impressive amount of things you can do between a Lantern and a Spiral wielder. But just how much can you do?
The Animation Potential
Jumping right into it, I think there’s a lot of fun ways you can start the fight out. There’s a couple of things that people do debate about regarding what should be included and to what extent, particularly for Kyle and if he should start as Green Lantern, or just start as White Lantern. You’ll often see ‘fight progress’ charts with the starting state as Green Lantern, middle state as transformation to White Lantern, and ending state as…something?
Personally, I’d love for the fight to start with Kyle as a Green Lantern. For a good amount of time, Kyle’s White Lantern form has been treated as a past thing, and is primarily used for the debate to match the type of transformative connections the match has. But it was never really something he could simply transform into like a super form on command, at least not until Green Lantern #17 by Jeremy Adams, where Kyle once again dawned the title of White Lantern…until he lost it off page? Yeah we’re not really sure what’s going on right now. Either way, I think you can definitely get creative with how you showcase a transformation in the animation.
This idea comes from Nemesis Bloodryche, one of my bestest friends and a very great Death Battle fan and YouTuber (please check him out)! It's one he shared with me while I was in Texas for two years, and it goes along the lines of Kyle emulating his first initial transformation into the White Lantern; you have him start as Green Lantern but you show off his usage of the Emotional Spectrum, a power he gains in the Post-Flashpoint continuity. Have him spit some napalm breath, multi-color some constructs, a Star Sapphire crystallization, and just showcase some of his powers. As a midpoint state, have Gurren Lagann’s Lagann Impact attack breaks Kyle’s ring, reducing him to his normal form with just his normal clothes. With no time to will back his ring, Kyle feels an onslaught of emotions, but leaves out the most crucial one; love and forgiveness, the final emotion he tapped into in order to achieve the form of White Lantern; his self-love replaces his fear, and he’s back in the fight! Obviously though, pulling this off all before a White Lantern transformation can be difficult, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Death Battle just had White Lantern be the start. Some people have even suggested Green be the finisher for one last final fist fight, a nod to the final confrontation between Simon and the Anti-Spiral in the Gurren Lagann movie Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars.
One of my personal favorite ideas for a start is Kyle simply rolling up to the fight in the Green Machine, which is one of my all-time favorite constructs Kyle has made.
Sure, it's just a cool car construct but in most Green Lantern stories, how Lanterns travel or cruise through space is often reflected in the constructs they make. Some Earth Lanterns like Hal do make airplanes, which is very cool, reflects who he once was, but Kyle is just so extra and I love him for that. The dude has a custom license plate and fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror in a Cadillac. What a guy. And if you want the introduction to be more brief dialogue-wise and not have too long of a set-up, you can honestly put the Green Machine in the fight as well, like having Kyle cruise in it in a flurry of probability-altering missiles or space-time breaking drills chasing after him through time.
Moving over to Simon, similarly to Kyle you can definitely have a lot of moments that emulate extremely important parts in the Gurren Lagann anime. One of the biggest ones I enjoy is Kyle sending Simon into the Source Wall (assuming you give him the Life Equation in the episode but with how Ghost Rider vs Spawn was handled I have a hunch that could happen), showing a moment of feeling trapped and struggle due to the Source Wall being a place where even primordial gods go to be taken, only for Simon to shout his amazing line of "My drill is the one to pierce the heavens!”, making a drill that pierces through the Source Wall and bringing him back to the fight, as a reference to Simon's escape of the Multiversal Labrynth
As far as general interactions between the two of them, the Green Lantern’s light and Spiral energy go hand in hand in a lot of fun ways. An idea from my great friend Dekhead is having them try to absorb each other’s energies in a tug of war style, as they fight construct mecha vs actual mecha, escalating constantly in power and even in size too, showing that the power they wield is theirs and theirs alone, breaking each others mechas apart and warping reality with their punches, constructs, and drills clashing.
Another idea from Maddie Antiqua that I like is to go along with homaging the ending bit of Gurren Lagann, with Simon pushing through Kyle's attacks, gradually going down the chain of Gurren forms but still being just as strong as (S)TTGL off of sheer willpower, breaking the White Lantern ring and sending Kyle back to Green Lantern form, yet keeps matching Simon's will and hitting just as hard as his amps did off of nothing but the drive to keep fighting, and that leading to them throwing hands.
And we may as well talk about the obvious, Kyle making construct mechas to match the many forms of Gurren Lagann, some of them I think could look really cool against even higher forms like Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Seriously, this Kyle guy is a huge fictional nerd and has made some amazing mechas.
These are just some of his own creative-looking mechas that he’s made without actually referencing anyone specific. For the mechas he has referenced, ohhhh mah god they are just so cool...
Look me in the eyes and try to tell me that it wouldn’t be totally awesome if Kyle made a VOLTRON OR EVANGELION STYLE MECHA TO FIGHT GURREN LAGANN. While there isn’t a hotly contested rivalry between Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evangelion, though they do share a slight connection, that being animator Hiroyuki Inaishi helping work on both franchises between Studio Trigger and Gainax. Even still, this opens the doors to so many possible fun ideas, like Kyle making mechas from animes that do share some comparisons with Gurren Lagann, such as Getter Robo or Mazinger Z, often debating if Gurren Lagann is a challenge or love-letter to the latter especially. After all, before there was Kyle, Gurren Lagann was put against his fellow mechas for many years, and for them to show up in the fight somewhere would be quite the homage to these old school rivalries.
Oh yeah he also made a Gurren Lagann construct. No further questions, your honor.
Also wanted to quickly mention Kyle’s also made plenty of kaiju and other tokusatsu constructs, which would just fit really nicely with his character and how he fights. Overall, and most people agree, but Kyle needs to go absolutely ham with construct creativity.
Finally, there’s two ideas I like for the ending. If Simon wins, have the finisher shot be a direct reference to Will of the Drills cover art where the super spiral galaxies are ignited with the lantern symbols as Simon raises the legacy of the White Lantern ring into the sky, promising to continue protecting the universe with a new respect for the emotions we as humanity have, and just how powerful they truly are. And if Kyle wins, have him clench the core drill in his hand and look up smiling at a constellation of Gurren Lagann, sworn to protect it as if it was as sacred an oath as is his Green Lantern oath.
My History With DC Comics
Growing up, of the many childhood routes like cars or dinosaurs, superheroes was definitely what I grew up with the most. Like many, it was the shows that really pulled me in. I’m very close with my cousins on my mom’s side of the family, and when they used to live in our hometown, I’d always go over there and watch the original Teen Titans cartoon with them, and eventually I discovered other shows on air, like Justice League Unlimited, Static Shock, and when I was a pre-teen, it was shows like Young Justice alongside Ben 10 Omniverse when I’d wake up for Saturday morning cartoons. I also had Marvel shows like Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, along with many Marvel animated movies on Netflix like Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, and eventually the Marvel movies took the world by storm, a storm that I gladly sailed across because it was quite the experience. But, I was recommended The Flash on the CW by one of my friends in middle school, and he swore up and down that DC was still better than Marvel, and admittedly I was a bit impressionable and easy to persuade when I was younger, so by all means I decided to take a look. Started on the first season and I liked it!
Eventually my actual dive into comics started around before I was a teenager, going head-first into the Flashpoint Paradox and The Flash: Rebirth written by Geoff Johns…and yes, I hear you, “I’m so sorry” but nobody's perfect alright. Most people know that this story naturally transitions into why I joined the wider vs community in the first place, wanting to place my stakes firmly on the debate between the Flash and Sonic the Hedgehog, but outside of the vs stuff, I’d taken quite the liking to reading comic books. My cousin Juan-Carlos collected comics when he was younger, and lots of Christmas presents would be vintage comics from the Silver Age. Here’s one of my favorites, the Flash vs Top in #141!
I made the mistake of reading more events rather than solo runs or more simple one-shots, and I especially read them out of order. But among my readings, I especially loved Blackest Night/Brightest Day. All I knew about Green Lanterns by that time was from Injustice and the Ryan Reynolds movie, and I was not aware at all that there were more colors besides Green and Yellow. The mythos of the Earth Lantern’s adventures have always been among my favorite stories, and similarly to the Flash, I loved the idea of mythos and titles being shared between different individuals concurrently, as opposed to one taking up the mantle from the other exclusively. The Green Lantern mythos do this really well in my opinion. These panels from Green Lantern: Rebirth #6 perfectly shows what I love about DC, is when they do try, they know how to make characters stand out even when they aren’t the only powerhouse in the room. I’ve always hoped and dreamed to one day see this on the big screen, but unfortunately we still may have to wait on that, but I have faith in Gunn. Nows a good time to transition into why I love one of these Green Lanterns in particular, however…
Why I Love Kyle Rayner
Despite being a longtime Lantern fan, Kyle was always a blindspot for me, even when I first started reading Lantern comics. Hal and John have always been the stars of the show, even outside of the comics, and I was greatly fascinated with the other Lantern Corps and their characters, namely Larfleeze and Atrocitus. I never really thought about or even noticed Kyle for a while! It wasn’t until I had really heard the match that my curiosity started, and it wasn’t until Hyperstarman did the very first Kyle vs Simon Discord Death Battle in 2020 that, after a very interesting debate, made me fold the cards and decide to check out what this Kyle Rayner guy is all about. And honestly…one of the best decisions I ever made in this hobby.
Kyle Rayner is probably one of my all-time favorite DC characters period. He’s my guy. Going back to what I love about DC, despite this being a debate all the time, I think DC has PLENTY when it comes to characters you can relate to, and Kyle Rayner is by far the biggest shining example, only possibly beaten out by Barry Allen but that’s another topic. Some of my favorite character moments by far come from his time as the Green Lantern in Green Lantern Volume 3, written by Gerad Jones and Pat Broderick, which features many amazing and iconic Green Lantern stories such as Emerald Twilight and Baptism of Fire, as well as tie-ins to other stories such as Reign of the Supermen, Underworld Unleashed, even DC One Million.
Why do I relate to Kyle so much? I’m someone that feels very self-conscious in how I present myself, in how I act, but especially how I sound, despite having big ambitions that require lots of presence. In #131, Kyle rewatches himself on the air, being interviewed about his new comic strip job, and he wants to turn the TV off, and he began to overthink everything he said. I did this just a few days ago when we shot our first episode of Bangcast, my new podcast! I said some stuff that I thought was extremely cringey and I thought I sounded like a nerd, and I immediately tried to ask Saul to re-record everything, despite everyone insisting that it was fine and that I did great. I have a lot of nervous energy when it comes to doing stuff that requires me to do a lot of explaining or convincing, and Kyle has that too so that's awesome. We see more moments of overthinking like this in #135, when Kyle tries to boldly prepare the Justice League for the worst with the threat of Nero and his constructs, only for the League to somewhat misinterpret what he says, and Kyle’s inner monologue feeling like he just picked a fight when that wasn’t his intention. I fumble a lot with my words, and sometimes people saying a basic “I know” makes what I said redundant, and god that shit grinds my gears.
This definitely isn’t unique to me, but I also like Kyle’s feelings of anxiety when it comes to dealing with a threat or being prepared for the worst. Sometimes you definitely ascribe things that seemingly aren’t that bad to the feeling of you’re about to enter a hurricane, though in Kyle’s case it's all the more justified with the cosmic threats he has to deal with. Especially when you remember that he’s a young lad that wants to draw art, just saying that out loud feels like you’re holding up the weight of the world. On the flipside though, his attitude about stepping up from the job is also pretty funny.
One thing I also love about Kyle is they do take their time with building him up both as a character and as a Green Lantern. Even after the odds-defying events of Parallax, Kyle still has so much to learn! The sparring match between Kyle and Alan in #141 was a fun moment, and a reminder to Kyle of the responsibility of a Green Lantern; while his creativity and construct abilities have become a valuable asset, how he uses it is still something he has much to learn from, and learning from the first to ever do it was a cool interaction between the two.
I think one of my favorite moments however is around the time he received the Ion power-up, which started in #143. When we first shown the full extent, Kyle still immediately has a swirling amount of thoughts in his head, namely the thought of losing Coast City, and what happened to Hal when he lost it. Now in the shoes of the great Hal Jordan, Kyle is left with a lot of choices. He’s later even warned about this by Superman; by this point, Kyle had stopped all crime on Earth, made superheroes obsolete, and pretty much solved all the world’s problems. After a blunt conversation with Superman, Kyle is told off that he is overstepping his boundaries, and while Kyle thought this was making a difference, in reality he was only living for people, rather than letting them find their own way or path. And Kyle takes that to heart, knowing that he can’t go on like this and agrees, and decides to go back on his own path and go back. And the last thing he did with his godlike power where time is meaningless to him? He found his father.
This part relates to me less unfortunately, but the way Kyle’s struggles with his parents go is very sad but touching. And keep in mind, Kyle was still Ion, but was still left with so many questions, and so many swirling emotions; why didn’t he stop loving him? Or why didn’t he go back? And when you get older, you wish for different things when you have a greater understanding, but ultimately, you wish that someone could’ve been something for you, rather than something for someone later. And with his mother, wishing that they weren’t collateral damage in your life, feeling responsible for it and wondering if the suffering will ever finish. But in the Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax, a little bit after his mothers death, those swirling emotions got into his own head, until he realized that Parallax was wrong; he does have hope, or rather…he has always had hope. A painting made by Maura Rayner was found, and Kyle remembered that he always had hope, and people that had hope for him. The hope and beliefs of others is how he could continue onwards despite the circumstances of when he grew up, and the light in the stars was that glimmer of hope watching over him.
Another part of what makes Kyle so endearing to me is that for the longest time, he was the only Green Lantern. I know I said that I love mythos with a shared name, but Kyle is the first Green Lantern to have been the only one for a long time, until he resurrected the Guardians of the Universe while he was Ion. All he had was the stories of those that came before him, and himself. The most powerful weapon in the universe was placed into the hand of…
As obvious as it is, I also love Kyle because hes such a fucking nerd. And the cool kind. He loves art, drawing, reading, making comics, and is just trying to learn his craft, and it absolutely reflects in his constructs, and really shows what would happen if you or I had a Green Lantern ring; we’d just make the coolest shit possible. I know I would. Everything about his personality is fun, witty, and full of creativity. Especially with corny panels like this;
Kyle’s a good representation that you don’t necessarily need someone to have appeared in a movie or TV show for you to try and get to know them. Sometimes you just pick up a comic book and go on an adventure.
My History With Gurren Lagann
A lot of people sometimes forget or don't know that yes, I also do like the other character! I had way less humble beginnings with anime. Constantly wrote it off as something only the most down bad and lame of nerds like, something I’d never associate with, I watched one episode of Bleach in middle school and past me had seen enough. I hate to admit it but it was the vs community that made me finally turn a new leaf on giving anime a chance, virtually every single one of my friends loved it and have watched more then one and the merits of it that were described to me made me eventually ask around some time in early 2021 (I know I know) to put me on an anime to watch. A non-vs friend of mine gave me Code Geass, and after watching it I realized I was so horrifically wrong. Anime is really cool. It didn’t take long before I decided to look at other anime like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and One Punch Man, but I figured; I like Kyle vs Simon, but I only really liked it for one guy. So why not give the other guy a chance? In the summer of 2021 is when I finally watched it, a little bit before I would leave for two years to serve an LDS mission in San Antonio, Texas.
While Code Geass takes the #1 spot, Gurren Lagann does take an extremely close second. An over the top mecha anime, yes, but one that has a place in many people's hearts for a reason. The opening theme song alone was enough to keep me coming back, the characters were fun even if the main focus was Simon, the Anti-Spiral was a very interesting and compelling villain that wants to avert evolution and progression, to beat the Spiral Nemesis by suppressing growth and life, and eliminating any Spiral power. That final battle was just pure, unadulterated hype and feels. I think the show is aware that lots of its characters and moments were pretty much fuel for those who loved older mechas, and the build-up to the final episodes of the show and how far everyone has come, despite the show not having many episodes, makes it a very amazing experience to watch and unfold! It inspires a lot of people with its inner themes regarding setting aside who you want to be, and embracing the best version of yourself. And of course, “Believe in the me that believes in you.” Like Kyle, using the belief and hope others have in you as the firm foundation for why you not only continue, but grow and surpass yourself. And it was done in a creative spectacle, I can’t wait to rewatch again (yes I rewatched it for this blog!) when the episode is on deck.
Why I Love Simon The Digger
Normally you wouldn’t do this because this anime is almost 20 years old, but I do want to put a spoiler warning here because I want to say this here rather than explain everything and then say it; if you have not watched Gurren Lagann, I would highly recommend you do so. It is a brilliant anime that takes a seemingly boring self-belief trope and theme and makes it into a surprisingly heartfelt, emotional, and badass anime.
Simon’s easily in my top 10 favorite characters of all time. Gurren Lagann absolutely centers most of its character growth around Simon compared to the other cast, and as you get older you especially appreciate Simon even more then before. Again, while the series is short you do watch Simon grow up to adulthood, and watch him lead an entire civilization as an adult thinking that we had seen all of his growth, but with the threat of the Anti-Spiral, we see him surpass himself even further against a threat where all odds were against him. For us that are in those secular years of high school, college, or hell wherever stage of adulthood you are, that means a lot to us, because it shows that even when we think we’ve outgrown our youth, you can’t outgrow the process of growth itself. We get to see the kid who had no confidence, all the fear in the world, losing the people he loved, turn into someone who will never again stop believing in himself, constantly surpassing himself even as the final battle rages on and spiral galaxies are chucked across a battlefield of universes.
And also similarly to Kyle, the way it's shown and expressed is insanely well done despite being a relatively short anime compared to most others. Kamina’s death was so early, and it hit Simon hard enough to bring down the entire morale of Team Gurren, and Simon’s self-anxiety, doubt, and fear was let loose without having anyone there to help him through it, because no one did quite like Kamina. He sank into depression very easily, to the point where he became bitterly hostile to his own teammates. While it felt soon, this sort of low point for Simon was by far the lowest point considerably. This sort of thing tends to happen a lot, the ‘certain people awakening the spark in someone with lost hope’ but I think there’s a reason for that. Sometimes it does take reminders from others that we do care about keeping moving forward, if not for yourself, maybe for them because there are people out there that do want you to keep going. In Simon’s case however, that person came in the form of Nia Teppelin, who Simon had just met. While not at first being just her, Nia was the reminder to Simon that he needs to believe in himself the way Kamina believed in him.
Which honestly, carried Simon’s drill and character for the rest of the anime in a great way. Simon realized that Kamina never saw him as someone weighing him down or as a tag-along; I think in a small, quiet way, Simon probably realized that he had meant as much to Kamina as Kamina meant to him. It took Simon to the battle against the Beastmen, affirming himself as Team Gurren’s leader, because he was willing to believe in them, the way Kamina believed in him, and the way he believed in himself, toppling Lordgenome and his Beastmen over.
I think the appreciation for life Simon gained is what made his arc in the second half of the show interesting. Despite building up Kamina City, I found it kinda weird that everyone just turned on Simon, the leader of literal humanity as they knew it, but after rewatching Gurren Lagann, it made sense really. As we see with the Anti-Spiral, people have different ideas of what life should be like. Some think it shouldn’t go on at all. Others do think it should go on, but with a healthy sense of concern for safety, survival, and welfare. Rossiou was the example of this, which conflicted with Simon wanting that same indomitable will that brought them out of the tunnels to be what stands for the people, but Rossiou cared more logically. Emotion vs logic. Logic won, and pretty hard because Simon got a death sentence which is a massive yikes. But even when the entire world has turned against him, Simon decides that he is going to keep going and evolving even further, but not so much that he abandons who he is. Sure, you need logic and rational thinking, but that doesn’t mean you abandon what you always stand for. Simon stood for humanity, and wanted to save everyone he possibly could, unlike Rossiou.
Even when he’s been spat upon, imprisoned, beaten up, or broken down, Simon constantly comes back to what it means to believe in yourself. That same drive that defeated the Beastmen is where Simon realized that humanity should also feel and be this way; a consciousness that fights for what they believe in, even when they’re backed against the wall. That scene where Simon says “finally, we’re all together” and ever-so-chadly walks up as the threat of the Anti-Spiral descends down upon them…peak fiction. In every way, shape, and form. Simon, the representation of humanity facing off against the halting of evolution itself. And as we all know, Simon kicks logic to the curb, and forms a double helix with the hopes of those who came before him, and those who will come after him; ensuring the Spiral power that resides in everyone will continue to make humanity all the more worthwhile.
That sort of positivity that comes from this character and series is something that impacted me a lot, especially as I was about to leave for two years of my life. I’ve always thought I had too much fear, no belief in myself, and even when I got back from Texas, I honestly realized in hindsight that I had made the mistake of thinking that the mission was some sort of finale to me in some weird mystic way, when in reality I was coming back with so much more to learn and grow from. Through the Spiral of those who believe in Simon past and present, Simon’s drill, his very soul represents something that all of us must try and aspire to be, otherwise we’ll be stuck in our own head, in our own minds, and make up make-believe realities where we can choose to stop going. Simon seeing Kamina again in those dark moments is easily one of the best moments on the show, and choosing to go back to reality and continue onwards was pure epicness.
Kyle vs Simon’s Matchup History
This match's history has had a lot of different eras and iterations. I tried doing some backtracking and research to find where it was first talked about, but reddit isn’t really very good at that sort of setting. What I do know however is that this match appeared on the scene somewhere in 2020 around March-May. Its presentation was one that a lot of people debated about, that being if it was a spite match made to kill a high tier DC character. Personally, I doubt it. Hell, when I used to be on a couple of discords like DB Wiki, most people were very respectful when talking about it, saying that sure Simon won, but it was very close since this was still a White Lantern. I can see why people may say otherwise, especially since this was actually one of the earlier accused matches of being spiteful against DC, but even if it was spite…who cares? At the time, nobody, myself included, would've known anything about Kyle Rayner to be blunt so I don’t think anybody was going to be up in arms that the least known Earth Lantern was going to die. Granted that picture is painted much differently now, but I don’t think it was spiteful.
Trailers were made, as were thumbnails, but there was never really any meaningful debate behind it. It wasn’t until late 2020 in the Official Death Battle Discord that my great friend Hyperstarman decided to make it his DDB, and this was shortly after I had finally joined that server and gotten to know more people. Kyle was the agreed upon loser, but at the time I was biased to my own franchise so I dug into Kyle’s respect threads and found some interesting stuff, and the debate felt really interesting now, even if Simon still won the vote. This would’ve also been around the time I met Rina during this debate, and us talking about it shortly after the DDB I think ignited the spark of wanting to learn more about this Kyle Rayner guy.
Much time would pass, and by far the biggest canon event for this matchup was the release…of Will of the Drill.
Not only did I get to see a lot of the BTS for wanting to make this happen, but the people who did make it happen are among some of my favorite people, and honestly it was one of the first things I was shown when I get back from my mission in 2023 was the full final product, because I unfortunately left before I could see it come to light finally. But thanks to some first hand accounts, this was single-handedly the catalyst for skyrocketing the match more into the public eye. The community had somewhat recovered from Hulk vs Broly, and the idea of there being a conspiracy against DC and their matches had faded away, so it couldn’t have dropped at a better time, especially when the shift in how matchups are made and enjoyed had also been changed. Lots of people were just in a stream when the song had dropped, and if you couldn’t tell, it was incredibly well received. Some people said that it felt like a theme song for an anime they had watched their whole lives, it made Origin want to actually do an animation to go alongside the song (granted it never happened), and it just brought a ton of hype to the match with just how much of spectacle it can be.
The effort that went into Will of the Drill was immaculate. It borrowed elements from iconic pieces from Gurren Lagann like Libera Me From Hell and Sorairo Days in a more mystical cosmic odyssey style, the build up and guitar solo were explosive, but the lyrics were a crowning jewel because in the efforts to make them match the vibe of space and time bending, part of the chorus being written was making their own version of the White Lantern Corps oath!
"In brightest day, as darkest ills
No heaven or space can stop my drill
We shine alight as power fills
CAUSE NOTHING CAN CONTAIN OUR WILL!"
In conjunction with this, was a very special video Nemesis Bloodryche put together, that was basically a Kyle vs Simon prediction video…for the G1 blog. G1 had some bonus blogs lined up and Kyle vs Simon, the natural fan favorite won the vote, and while Nem normally does prediction videos only for DB episodes, he decided to make an exception as one last parting gift for two years. This in conjunction with Will of the Drill was probably where the match began to reach the spike it needed to keep going as a matchup.
Will of the Drill brought a lot of people together, and I was sad to have not seen it but the fact that it continued ‘til I returned was amazing. Between 2021-23, it seems like there was a shift in the victor, and people now thought Kyle won due to many stat upgrades taken to lots of DC’s heavy-hitters, so it was a bit strange to be coming back to that, when I had left thinking Simon won in a close bout. Eventually of course, I came back. About a month after I came back, Death Battle Cast covered Kyle vs Simon, not a huge turning point but after so long, it was cool to see some official acknowledgement eventually.
For a time, there was some dormancy in the match, and lots of it made us wonder if Death Battle would ever do it, especially when we got into 2024…the kickstarter year.
There’s something about pings that gives me a tiny rush, but in this case, when you know what the pings could possibly be for, and you see multiple go off in different servers, your mind goes at a million miles an hour realizing what it could be. And surely enough, it was true; Simon the Digger vs White Lantern was one of the later matches announced for the kickstarter, and the matchup was once again reignited. We hit the goal of $450k, and Kyle Rayner vs Simon the Digger was, and still is, set to happen as an episode of Death Battle. Within the last eight months or so, a Gurren Lagann blog detailing its cosmology under new VS standards was made by one of my best friends, Kirbonic Pikmin. I’d recommend giving it a read, as it has completely flipped the debate on its head and is incredibly well put together. Fast forward to now, and the inner community is mostly waiting on a Kyle Rayner blog in response…made by me. Give me about a week and it should be out.
So Why Does This Match Mean So Much To Me?
Though Flash vs Sonic was always considered my favorite vs match, admittedly most of it was because of how intense the debate was and was almost exclusively because I liked Flash. And it wasn’t until after that episode happened that I realized that I’ve never really had a match where I liked both combatants in such a unique and personal way. The closest other example would’ve been Crash vs Spyro since I grew up on Gamecube/Playstation, but I do think it took me a while for me to remove my tinfoiling goggles and realize that there is a lot more to vs then just how intense a debate is. Most of us can agree that fiction and media at large for us is an escape for us, or a hobby for some, that we want to enjoy because the world has always been a pretty lame place.
And Kyle vs Simon in many ways was how I personally found more joy in the things that I loved, because for a while it felt like the comic book experience was just getting into slugfest debates with people I didn’t even like, and it also made me realize that there is so much more for me to experience and come to enjoy, and while I felt a little late to the party, ultimately everyone around me was happy that I was finding happiness in new ways. That meant a lot to me, especially with how I was feeling in the lead up to me just leaving for two years. Kyle vs Simon, as a result, is now probably my favorite VS matchup of all time. Some can come close sure, but nothing will beat the kind of experiences I’ve had with this matchup.
So I wanna take some time to thank some very important people who have also made this matchup so much more worthwhile.
Rina Antiqua
We pretty much properly met around the time we first debated this match, and it is surreal to me that we’re now closer than ever to this matchup happening, and I’m very glad that every step of the way you’ve been a part of it. Thank you for recommending me to watch Gurren Lagann, and I’m so proud of you now that you’re a researcher. Your Magneto vs Accelerator tribute blog also inspired me a lot when making this, don’t think it was yap that went unnoticed. Easily one of the best people in this silly little niche secondary hobby I’ve ever met, and you’re a tremendously talented person that I love so so much.
Nemesis Bloodryche
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first Kyle vs Simon prediction video we did with us and Rina, and having the opportunity to get to do that before I left meant the world to me. You never stopped believing in me even when I felt like I had hit some lows, and you stuck by me when I was gone for two years, keeping me up to date and checking in on me. One of the kindest and truest friends I could ever have asked for. I can’t wait to make the second prediction video with you.
Dekhead
Nobody has passion and ideas for matches quite like you, and the time we spent on this match, in the first G1 blog, in the art you made, and in the buildup to Will of the Drill. I’m forever grateful you made me a part of the fun, and I’m glad that you got to do something special with what is perhaps the biggest banger of Brandon Yates.
Guruguru
Not all matches have perfect histories, and lots of this lead up has been me being at odds with myself, but thank you for lifting me up when I constantly fell down, or beat myself up. You’ve never stopped giving up on me as well, and you’ve become like a brother to me through this fun little adventure and researching Kyle Rayner, and you helped me fall in love with this match and characters all over again.
Maddie Antiqua
Lots of more modern Kyle vs Simon discussions have always been up in the air for how fun they have been, but you have been among one of my favorite people to talk to about the match. It's been fun bouncing ideas back and forth with you, talking about the findings we’ve found so far, and you’ve been a very positive space for me to have talked about the match with more than you may realize.
These people and many more are a big reason why this match means so much to me; the experiences I’ve had with it have just been some very happy and good times. The summer of ‘21 was probably what most would say was the time to be alive as a Death Battle fan, but now the episode is actually happening! It feels almost bittersweet that the journey is almost over, and there’s still a lot left on the road map, but ultimately these people have reminded me that matches are also meant to be shared and enjoyed with others because we all have a lot for these characters, and these ideas that we want to have happen.
Conclusion
Kyle vs Simon to me embodies what a matchup should be; something that should be fought for; not out of malice against others but with just sheer, genuine passion for wanting to see it happen despite all odds. Sure that's a lot of boxes to check, but that's what makes this vs debating hobby fun, isn't it? I think matches can absolutely be a reflection of what we love in terms of our favorite media or characters, and we should be sharing that with as many people as we can. We are living in times where some matches may not have a chance to happen anymore, but I think it's a somewhat reductive mindset to give up on something wholly, at least if we’re talking about your favorite match. Kyle is a C-lister in terms of people knowing who he is, and here he is about to enter one of the most anticipated matches in a kickstarter with matches like Hulk vs Godzilla and Ash vs Yugi. I sincerely hope that the episode is my favorite Death Battle episode of all time.
If this scrimblo little fella can be in one of the most requested matches from the community, then your most wanted certainly can. Sure, it may take some time and effort, and maybe it may take a few years, but as Kyle vs Simon teaches us, even when we think we’re older and it's too late, you still have the spark in you. The hope from those that believe in you. Not even just wanting your favorite idea to happen, but you shouldn’t give up on the goal you want to reach because you think even for a chance it won’t happen. I honestly hope I see more blogs like this with people talking about their favorite matchup and why they want it to happen and what it means to them.
Whether it's just you, or your little group of friends, or an entire thread of people, never stop pushing for what you want to happen. We never stopped, and here we are now, in the midst of it almost being a reality. I hope you enjoyed reading about this match; if you don’t know much about it, I hope you do now. If you have a most wanted, I hope you cherish it a little more each day. Never let the spark go out, in brightest day or blackest night, and make a drill that pierces the heavens.
Thanks for reading. See you soon for the fireworks.
“We shine alight as power fills…Because nothing can contain our will."
(Credit to Cabbage, Garf, Yuix, SirusStuff, Flip, and Dekhead for the thumbnails and art).
this was incredible
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