Bang's DC vs Non-Marvel Matchup Showcase

After the spectacle of Simon the Digger vs Kyle Rayner, I saw many fans among the community ask a burning question; What comes next? What is the next DC vs Non-Marvel superstar that’ll be propped up by the community, get a Nemesis video, and a Brandon Yates commission? Are there any big matches left? Are there any cool ones left? I’d like to at least try to answer all of these questions by doing a big showcase on the many great matches of DC vs Non-Marvel because yes, I think there are a lot of matches that we can rally behind, they just need the right kind of exposure. Thank you to Sirus for the inspiration to do this, he made a Kamen Rider Matchups showcase himself if you’d like to check it out here, and I hope you come out of this with at least a few more matches that you like or are at least curious about, and hopefully we can see more of these matches in the public eye!

Some Guidelines

• One matchup per DC character mentioned; if they have alts, yes I will try to acknowledge them, but I want to try to have it be one per person so I can give everyone as equal a spotlight as I can.
• Similarly to Sirus’s ruleset, I’ll try to put a cap on franchise pairings to about 4 matches per franchise. 
• At the end of the day, these are my personal picks for some of my favorite DC vs Non-Marvel matches in the community, which means that no, I will not have time to talk about every single one, nor will I give the spotlight to DC vs Non-Marvel matches that I’m not a fan of, so if I didn’t list a more obvious match that you may like, you can probably guess why it didn’t make this showcase. And if you really respond to this post with “erm, where’s [insert match]” with some smug undertone, I’m not gonna give you the time of day. This also means there are matches that I didn’t mention that I don’t hate, and if I didn’t it just means I didn’t have a whole lot to say about them.
• Like my previous post on Simon vs Kyle, I don’t want to focus too much on the debates of all these matches. This is because truth be told, I did this partially as a way to try and find fun and joy when I feel like I’m not having a fun time in this hobby, and in a post-Kylemon world, it's difficult to enjoy a match without antagonistic anti-DC people bringing up the “toUGh cONVersAtiONS” of DC cosmology/stat discussion, how broken heralds are, or how fraudulent the nerfs are, herald goalposts, and all the other annoying buzzwords. I want this to generate discussion on highlighting cool DC vs Non-Marvel matches, nothing more nothing less.
• If I did get information wrong on a character that you notice, please be gracious and don’t be a complete dick if you correct me. I did my very best to research and learn about characters here that I am not familiar with, and asked many friends and experts about them, that doesn’t mean I think I am perfect though.

The Big Ones!

Doomsday vs SCP-682

(DC vs SCP Foundation)

Connections

Two hideous monsters of mass destruction, born in a laboratory with a one-track mind that only knows hate for all of humanity, being able to adapt to anything that had previously killed them before and become immune to such attacks. If they are not stopped, then everything will die, ‘til the universe suffers death itself.

Why I Like This

This is by and large the best DC vs Non-Marvel fight to make happen in terms of the pecking order after Kylemon, and on the flipside is probably the final boss of SCP fights besides Scarlet King vs Zalgo. What more could you really dig deep for with a fight like this? Immortal monsters with spikes, teeth, raw moments, hype, and aura. Doomsday is by far one of my favorite DC characters since in my eyes, he’s the right amount of scary while not feeling ‘horror’ in the technical sense, and recent comics such as the Doomsday in Hell special have reminded us just how cool and dangerous he is, with Superman stating he had no gas in the tank, fighting a monster that he knew would kill him, and that “knowing you’re going to die” kind of feeling is a scary badass vibe that Doomsday gives off.

(Art by Supersebi-1)

I’m way less familiar with 682 but I do think his reputation precedes him for a reason. Seeing humans as cockroaches that it suffered torture under for years and embodying existential concepts, and possibly having Biblical origins adds a lot of depth to an otherwise feral looking reptile. I think this fight can easily write itself in a variety of interactions, you can have typical destructive clashes, tendrils and spikes going at it, them just cutting and ripping into each other and regrowing their limbs or entire bodies, and having the fight continuously adapt into even more chaotic forms and giving a funny post-timeskip to the end of the universe itself is just really sick.

While somewhat formulaic, having them adapt to their main powers like the deconstruction aura or reality warping could be really cool, having them bounce around with their teleportation powers to escalate the fight into higher cosmological structures could also be interesting, just showing the war they are waging across reality with Doomsdays constantly spawning in eggs in the Bleed or having the Time Trapper Doomsday face down against 6820-A in the Noosphere would go hard for a climax, I wonder if you could have a Kid Buu/Fat Buu moment like in Kirby vs Buu where TT Doomsday realizes the brute cannot win out, or maybe they work together as they face down the giant non-corporeal monster. There are so many ideas of what these guys can do since they’ve adapted to and gained abilities from lots of other beings.

Do They Have Alts?

Doomsday doesn’t really have anyone else I like or care about, besides Juggernaut from Marvel as a guilty pleasure. SCP-682 on the other hand doesn’t really have a solid other opponent I’ve ever seen in terms of actual thematics and hard pushing, in a powerscaling sense you’ll obviously see him being thrown against the most powerful characters in powerscaling like Godzilla or the entire Justice League.

John Constantine vs Raidou Kuzunoha XIV

(DC vs Shin Megami Tensei)

Connections

Paranormal investigators and masters of the occult that come face to face with demons for bargains or their very souls on the line. They are the latest in their mythical bloodlines (the Constantine bloodline which dates back to the Arthurian Era of the 1st century A.D and the Kuzunoha clan which dates back to the Heian Era), proving to be the very best in the supernatural cases they solve, batting outside of their weight classes against the threats of Heaven, Hell, and all in between.

Why I Like This

I am EXTREMELY passionate about this one, easily in my top 10 most wanted ideas period. Once again, John is easily one of my favorite DC characters. The only man to threaten God himself, knows so much powerful spells and magic but prefers to grab demons by their tongue and use trickery and cunning tactics, or just straight up con people. Now it may be tricky since from my understanding, Raidou is a silent protagonist where his actions are largely based on player choices, but someone with the humor and style of John can more than make up for it, as well as the many summons these two have.
And that’s why I love this fight so much is that it feels like a proper magic duel; one that feels like JoJo’s levels of “outsmart your outsmarting”, or like those old playground interactions where you and your buddy would say your attacks outdo the others and you continue to one up each other until recess is over. It isn’t a fight without contracts being made or John escaping/bargaining within an inch of his life, and I would love a moment where John makes a deal with one of Raidou’s demons to turn him against Raidou mid-battle, or have Raidou use the Negotiation mechanic to turn a demon against John, have the demons argue over whose contract is better until they both just get sealed, shit would be mad funny. In terms of named summons, the obvious Mahoraga in the room for John is Swamp Thing, and while unlikely, Swamp Thing just throwing hands with Beelzebub mid-way in the fight would…kinda go hard. I will say I’m not as big on the summons taking center stage since I feel like people undersell just how many other abilities John and Raidou have on their own, and I wanna list out a lot of cool interactions I think could be cool to see:

• John casts a universe-sized fake illusion like he did against Darkseid in New 52 to try and trick Raidou into thinking he won at the cost of the world being destroyed, only for Raidou to break out with demon perception or third-eye, literally slicing through the illusion.
• Raidou summons demons from all directions to overwhelm John, who is standing in a circle, and they’re all put in a stasis, John smirks and snaps his fingers and they all get eviscerated
• You can have a little magic montage where they trade spells, like Raidou shooting a bullet and it turns into a dove, or John using a binding sigil to trap Raidou’s soul, but Raidou transfers the damage to one of his demons
• Can have a funny moment where John breaks the fourth wall, similarly to how Zatanna reached out of the screen but just have John turn to the camera and say “They’ve got me in one of those crossovers, don’t they?”
• John summons Lucifer through smoke from his cigar or the First of the Fallen, making a standoff situation due to John’s soul being owned by one of these beings, only for Raidou to use divine judgement and literally break the holy politics binding John, leaving his soul vulnerable, which opens up the underworld, and John watches as the contract shrivels away as demons crawl out of the domain of Hell.
• Climax of the fight be a soul vs soul battle, John can use the Ace of Winchesters or House of Mystery setup to trap Raidou, who binds his own soul to one of his demons as a last resort in an all out final duel, hitting each other so hard their souls are left, splitting into multiple reflections and converging with each blow.

If Raidou wins you can have the demons drag John’s soul to Hell if there's a contract break in the fight and a demonic voice says “In this domain, the contract is void”, or Raidou purify the demon blood from John’s soul to turn him into holy light, and John cracks a one-liner before he goes like “Bloody typical…”.

And if John wins, have it be a fake out where Raidou appears to have killed John, only for the Synchronity Wave to trigger and activate a spell trap that that binds Raidou or puts all his demons in harms way, leaving Raidou vulnerable due to John warping Raidou’s demons, turning on Raidou and devouring his soul as John resurrects and says “Wasn’t sure that’d work…lucky me.”

Do They Have Alts?

John has a lot of pretty good alts. The Doctor from Doctor Who is probably the 2nd best John matchup, and if you were purely focusing on banter and interactions, I think it's a match made in heaven for these two, and the science vs magic dichotomy could lead to even cooler lines and dialogue, as well as some cool interactions and setpieces, it’d be cool if the TARDIS and House of Mystery somehow intersected as they fought to create a crazy labyrinth of constant revolving doors and rooms. As for Raidou…no idea. I don’t Shin Megami Tensei (but I should).

He-Man vs Shazam

(Masters of the Universe vs DC)

Connections

Once regular mortals who were chosen to wield the power of the gods themselves by magical gods (The Sorceress and Wizard Shazam), transforming in a bolt of lightning with a loud and proud phrase (“By the power of Greyskull” and “SHAZAM!”). Oh and they have pet tigers.

Why I Like This

Can’t go wrong with a classic, whimsical superhero comparison. I like the idea of this fight having a more old school vibe like Alan Scott vs Jim Hammond, calling back to Fawcett Comics era or Dennis O’Neil’s Golden Age artstyle, while still having some aspects of a flying brick fight, with moons or solar systems flying all over the place and stylish punches being thrown, and just having catastrophic forces of nature occur with their fight to show off how godlike they are, all the while you have fun comic vibes with the sound effects.

Do They Have Alts?

These guys share quite a few alts weirdly enough. Both are put up against Thor for starters, and I consider Thor a pretty good alt for He-Man, though not one for Shazam. Wonder Woman is also a fantastic option for He-Man, focusing more on the prince side of He-Man compared to Shazam. A long long time ago there was Pegasus Seiya for Shazam but that one has…kinda fallen off. Not sure why, it isn’t the worst thing in the world, orphaned boys who became the champions of Greek Gods. I imagine most of it is in part due to wanting Seiya to fight another anime character but I wouldn’t know.

Optimus Prime vs Superman

(Transformers vs DC)

Connections

The red and blue alien heroes who crash landed on Earth after the devastating loss of their homeworlds, serving as inspirations for humanity with iron wills and hearts of gold despite their immense power. They are beacons of hope that show what bringing out the best in us can be, putting their livers on the line to any threat that comes to destroy their newfound home. The Man of Tomorrow vs The Relic of War.

Why I Like This

While there is Goku, Optimus definitely puts up a really good fight for a good Superman opponent. These are some of the most iconic heroes in all of fiction period, and it feels like a pretty natural comparison, and if you were going to compare Optimus to any superhero, it would undoubtedly just be Superman (or Green Lantern). I don’t know if I’d necessarily gun for this to happen per say, but if it did, would I mind? Nope! This fights dope as shit.

I think for a fight like this, I would like to see a lot more of Superman’s iconic standard power set, like using his x-ray vision to detect Optimus’s energon pumps, or having a heat vision vs ion blaster exchange. Some other cool stuff to see would be Superman using a solar flare to break out of being crushed, or the energon axe temporarily disabling Superman’s energy field. And for line delivery, I feel like you can’t help but just make all of them raw as shit like Superman saying “Freedom should not be forced at the end of a blaster, machine” and Optimus responds with “I am no mere machine…I am the last line of freedom.”

Do They Have Alts?

It’d be kinda crazy if they didn’t. Superman vs Ultraman is one that’s kinda been growing on me, and is pretty similar to Optimus; red-clad aliens who protect Earth and draw power from solar energy, it’s pretty cool. Thor from Marvel Comics is a classic comparison that has everything you could possibly want, a crazy debate, connections that are actually cooler and deeper than meets the eye (hehe), and lots of cool fight potential. As for Optimus, I’m pretty sure he is also an opponent in Ultraman? He also has Green Lantern, which is a generally fun comparison, Lanterns and Autobots that you’ll see more of later.

Brainiac vs Shockwave

(DC vs IDW Transformers)

Connections

Cold, calculating robotic hyper-intellectual aliens who value logic above all other thoughts, viewing themselves and their grand plans as superior. These two otherworldly supergeniuses soar across the universe to seek out knowledge by usurping entire worlds as resources (Brainiac collecting entire cities from other planets to preserve their cultures while Shockwave would seed other planets with Energon-derived ores so that he could harvest them later on).

Why I Like This

This fight is a melting pot of cool ideas, like battles of intellect and outsmarting, hacking, robotic armies, and godlike climaxes. Weirdly enough there is a cool clash in ideals you can use for this fight, since Brainiac wants to control knowledge through containment, whereas Shockwave thinks logic is absolute and should be achieved by any means, no matter how destructive or bloody, basically having a battle over what intelligence should be. And their insults would also be intellectual! You can have Shockwave say “You are an alien virus masquerading as intellect”, and Brainiac reply with “And you are a calculator with delusions of godhood”, while they run trillions of simulations on their behavior and physiology, until it creates a feedback loop that breaks both of them out of the stalemate.

You can have some cool moments where Brainiac’s methods are trying to absorb Shockwave, and Shockwave tries to use what Brainiac has against him in hopes of finding fatal flaws in his system and setup. Brainiac tries to bottle up Shockwave’s lab, only for Shockwave to break out with an energy blast, or have Shockwave hack the Mothership’s robots or drones to turn them on Brainiac. Or you can have Shockwave try to atomize Brainiac with his cannons, until Brainiac splits into multiple bodies to counter.

Do They Have Alts?

Both have a pretty big pool of opponents, which makes sense since they’re pretty interesting and recurring antagonists. For Brainiac, the two I like the most are Ultron from Marvel and Trazyn the Infinite from Warhammer 40k. They hold true to the same theme as Shockwave in a few ways, being mechanical, seeking the universe's resources (or just the universe), amassing unstoppable robot armies, etc. As for Shockwave, he’s got Archie Eggman and Robot from Invincible which…are certainly choices? Not sure if I like them that much.
Edit: So midway into this being nearly done I completely neglected to talk about the Maker from Marvel, the Reed Richards of Earth-1610. Two former heroes and scientists betrayed and left with altered bodies, going down dark paths with new faces, becoming obsessed with reshaping their worlds, even if it threatens all of space and time.

Shredder vs Ra’s Al Ghul

(TMNT IDW vs DC)

Connections

Immortal leaders of secretive, deadly martial arts orders (The League of Assassins and the Foot Clan) that have centuries of knowledge. They are obsessed with order, and want to “save” the world from its chaotic condition, even if it means the death of many. Through mysticism, they continue to defy death via resurrection.

Why I Like This

This is a fairly obvious comparison that doesn’t get a whole lot of love, mostly because admittedly, Ra’s is not as cool or full of aura as Shredder lmao. Nonetheless, this would still be a pretty fucking cool fight. Two master martial artists, Ra’s can have a very classy swordfight against Shredder’s claws, and Ra’s actually has some pretty minor mystic abilities, such as being able to remove someone’s memories, or transferring his soul into the body of another that could be a cool last resort if Ra’s was to win. And obviously, you can absolutely highlight the League of Assassins vs the Foot Clan, since that’s a big part of the comparison, and learning about what they can do would also be pretty cool.

Do They Have Alts?

Shredder obviously has plenty of alts since he has so many different versions of the character (one of which I’ll talk about below), but I wouldn’t know any other alts for the IDW version specifically. As far as Ra’s Al Ghul, he’s often compared to other ‘centuries old immortals’ like Mandarin or Baron Zemo, but those matches aren’t as cool and don’t hit the right martial arts vibe as Shredder.

Some Matches You May Not Know

Kite-Man vs Mumen Rider

(DC vs One Punch Man)

Connections

Two ordinary dudes with green costumes and goggles, living in a world of superheroes with their only gimmicks being everyday modes of transportation (kites and bicycles). Despite being treated as complete jokes, they keep getting back up, fighting for noble reasons.

Why I Like This

This fight needs NO justification. It is simply too peak. Their movesets are extremely limited, so you can absolutely have some silly shit like a justice tackle off a building completely airballing Kite-Man, or Satoru just using his fucking bicycle as a projectile to throw at Chuck to disarm him of his gun. One fun idea I was told by Nemesis Bloodryche a long time ago is the fight taking a weird dark turn where they both fall from a great height in front of a crowd of people, who laugh at them and mock them for their appearance, and they have a fistfight until one of them dies, causing the crowd to go silent as rain starts to pour down, in an effort to prove they are serious. Goes kinda hard.

Do They Have Alts?

Kite-Man has a character called Stilt-Man from Marvel but damn bro Chuck fucking dies to Stilt-Man, dude just casually has a BFR to the fucking Microverse. I googled Mumen Rider alts and got Paul Blart. No further questions, your honor.

Bane vs Jack Hanma

(DC vs Baki Grappler)

Connections

Two deadly fighters that combine brains and brawn, using an addictive drug (Venom and X4) to enhance their physicality, at the expense of becoming mindless beasts.

Why I Like This

Bane was done dirty in Death Battle, and while he has the most bare bones moveset ever, doesn’t mean you still can’t try and get creative with this one. Have the setting be an underground fight club that Jack hears about since it sounds similar to the Underground Tournament, Bane is naturally the champion and just have the fight be a tactical or dirty fighting all-out brawl. Have Jack pull a Tyson Holyfield and bite the venom tubes or in Bane’s skin, have a tactical moment where either could fake their death (Bane can will his vital signs to appear like he is dying and Jack can attack even after losing consciousness or even dying), only to land the killing blow. You can have plenty of martial arts techniques like aiki or just wrestling, it’d be cool as shit, with blood and venom on the floor as they go to a brutal killing blow after beating the dogshit out of each other.

Do They Have Alts?

My favorite alt for Bane is Kraven the Hunter from Marvel. The classic hunters of two iconic storylines (Kraven’s Last Hunt and Knightfall), wanting nothing but dominance over the Bat and Spider without the need for any cheap magic tricks or powerful weapons, just their skills and sharp minds. It’s honestly dope as fuck, and I wouldn’t mind if Kraven or Jack happened. Can’t say I know any alts for Jack though.

The Question vs Takayuki Yagami 

(DC vs Yakuza)

Connections

Orphaned boys that grew up in mob-ridden criminal cities that pursued careers for the legal administration (Vic became an investigative journalist and Yagami became a defensive lawyer), becoming renowned for their ability to pursue justice. They would take these skills into their next career as a detective, picking up animal-style martial arts along the way (Dragon-Style Kung Fu and Tiger Kung Fu) and some spiritual techniques as well.

Why I Like This

While he may not look it at first, Question can get pretty flashy in terms of how he fights, and you can incorporate some chi based attacks from his knowledge of street shamanism, which also heightens his senses and lets him fight on the spiritual plane, which could maybe play off the more flashy moveset of Yagami, which consists of telekinesis, lightning, and energy blasts, and could just make for a cool climax, and you just have a majority of the fight be in an isolated building where they use stealth, trickery, and tactics to get the drop on each other.

Do They Have Alts?

Question vs Answer because its awesome and cool and epic and based and fire and peak.

Plastic Man vs Jake the Dog

(DC vs Adventure Time)

Connections

Two former thieves who reformed as heroes, they are the elastic comedic relief, capable of stretching to absurd lengths, being indestructible, and turning into anything they can think of. Oh and they’re both amazing dads!

Why I Like This

If you ever wanted a ‘comic character vs cartoon character’ match that didn’t feel like spite or anything, this one I think is an underrated pick. I don’t think there’s too much to explain for how fun and cartoony the fight could be, morphing into springs, vehicles, making giant fists, turning into giant kaijus, clones, silly stretchy Looney Tunes punches…yeah sign me up.

Do They Have Alts?

I must acknowledge here before I get crucified, in no way shape or form would I push this over Finn & Jake vs Mordecai & Rigby. That one will 100% happen over this anyways, I just think this is a really solid and fun alt, and that it is a funny match because Plas is one of DC’s funniest characters. As for Plastic Man himself, there’s the Scott Lang version of Ant-Man from Marvel, following the theme of former thieves given a second chance with whacky powers that allow them to alter their size (though this connection is a bit of stretch…get it?).

Raphael vs Arsenal

(TMNT vs DC)

Connections

Red-clad heroes with weapon specialties that fight battles to be the heroes they hope to be. They struggle with anger issues, storming off from their own teammates as they struggle internally with feeling subpar (Raph doesn’t like being only 2nd and Roy feels like an outsider to his fellow Titans), working alone to work out their own issues and overcoming self-destructive feelings and thoughts.

Why I Like This

It was a bit tough to try and sew together connections for this match but honestly, I think this one's a pretty decent underrated pick as far as a Ninja Turtle vs a DC vigilante. Raph has enough skills and maneuverability to play around Roy’s array of trick arrows and other ranged weapons, and Roy in turn can hold his own in close quarters combat, making a cool fight where neither refuse to back down while having the cheesy banter you’d expect from Roy’s days as Speedy or from more lighthearted TMNT iterations.

Do They Have Alts?

Arsenal unfortunately has nobody else that comes to mind, but like Shredder, Raph has plenty of alts since there’s many versions of him. Elektra from Marvel is probably the other big comic book one, and it's also a pretty solid match given it plays better into how Raph fights since they obviously both have sais. Others include Wolverine, Bakugo, and Knuckles, none of which I particularly care for.

Lobo vs Death’s Head

(DC vs Marvel/Doctor Who/Transformers)

Connections

Gritty comic book bounty hunters with a dark sense of humor, traveling the cosmos to carry out their contracts in ruthless fashion, all for a good profit. Their upbringings were a violent death of their own people/makers (Lobo was born so evil that he quite literally genocided his entire race just for fun, while Death's Head was born as the by product of his two creators trying to kill each other, one of which he would later kill with his own two hands).

Why I Like This

…Ok I know Death’s Head is Marvel but he’s also technically a Doctor Who and Transformers character so I’m gonna allow it. This fight is just glorious 90s space violence. You can have them settle who gets the profit from a contract by killing each other, have the space hog race the jet boosters, them blowing each other up with their guns and reforming, them insulting and cursing at each other, or them just doing minor things to annoy the other, like Death’s Head putting out Lobo’s cigar or cutting off his hair, or Lobo putting out his cigar on Death’s Head’s faceplate.

Do They Have Alts?

Lobo doesn’t really have any outstandingly good alts. Death’s Head has Durge from Star Wars which makes enough sense, cybernetic bounty hunters with a deadly array of laser weapons.

Gorilla Grodd vs Mammoth Mogul 

(DC vs Archie Comics)

Connections

Two hyper-intelligent immortal beasts in search of a greater power. When coming into contact with a meteor and bonding with quasi-mystical forces from another dimension, they rise up as rulers of their fellow evolved animal brethren, harnessing the Chaos Force and Speed Force in a variety of ways.

Why I Like This

Fights like these are fun, where you can look at it from different angles in terms of the debate or the animation. Giving Grodd access to the Speed Force from Perfect Storm or giving Mogul any of his forms would be cool because yeah its Sonic vs Flash, but really its the Speed/Chaos Force being channeled through a fucking telepathic gorilla with a spoon and a mammoth in a suit and a cane. That shit’s just so fucking cool. If you went even further with higher forms, having Mogul be this giant force that wipes away universes while Still Force Grodd stares him down in a crazy reality warping battle would honestly go kinda hard. And even in their base forms, Grodd has plenty of psionic abilities on top of his telepathy to play off Mogul’s energy-based chaos emerald kit, so there’s plenty to work with in terms of interactions. If Grodd loses you can even have a cool moment where Mogul reforms despite Grodd eating his brains, showing Grodd that he is only doing a cheap imitation of the true master of the Chaos Force.

Do They Have Alts?

Grodd’s biggest alt is Mojo Jojo from Powerpuff Girls, and while it isn’t bad thematically, I think the vibes for how I’d want a Grodd fight to go aren’t there, Mogul would probably fit it better if you wanted Grodd to be more primal and bloody. Not sure if there’s much Mogul fights out there on the flipside.

Donna Troy vs Pegasus Koga

(DC vs Saint Seiya)

Connections

Two warriors of mythical origin tied to the Greek Gods that are symbols of hope and rebirth despite being born with a divine destiny (Koga is Pegasus reincarnate, expected to walk Seiya’s path and Donna was made to serve a purpose as the playmate/shadow of Wonder Woman). In spite of this, they fought to define themselves outside their preordinated legacy. They are heroes of light that must wrestle with the shadow with the passion, heart, loyalty, and fight of a true champion.

Why I Like This

This is an egg I’ve been trying to crack for some time and honestly, I kinda dig it. It can be a pretty beautiful yet tragic fight, where Koga sees the pain of someone who never chose who she could be, and Donna sees Koga as a more reckless and younger version of herself, and the grandeur DC mythological pantheons can blend with the speed-streak anime style pretty well in all honesty. High-speed combat is something the Wonder Woman mythos have a surprising amount of, and you can have Donna do things like black cosmo energy with her bracers or shield Donna drawing strength from Olympus and making a shockwave that makes Koga turn into his New Cloth form, Pegasus Comet Fists, auras of light, and other cool close up shots could give this fight a surprising amount of aura!

Do They Have Alts?

Koga does have Gohan, meanwhile Donna has…nobody else.

Wonder Girl vs Leo Aiolia

(DC vs Saint Seiya)

Connections

The Daughter of Zeus vs the Saint of Athena. Two youthful heroes who inherited divine power from the Gods (Cassie draws from the Amulet of Zeus and later gets full blown powers and Leo has the Leo Gold Cloth), they are heroes with a strong sense of justice and a desire to prove they aren’t in the shadows of their brothers and sisters, but find that all along they believed in what they could do, growing stronger when they stand for what they believe in.

Why I Like This

I think a lot of what makes Donna vs Koga cool would probably apply here in terms of how the fight would look, though obviously these two have different powers and visuals, Cassie could even have her silent armor that she used to fight Trigon and the lasso of lightning could definitely clash well with Leo’s lightning plasma/bolt abilities.

Do They Have Alts?

Not that I know of.

Black Manta vs Depth Charge

(DC vs Transformers)

Connections

Cold, calculated and ruthless red-eyed underwater hunters fashioned after manta rays, armed to the bone with sharp blades and deadly lasers. They are fueled only by revenge on the men who were responsible for the death of their loved ones (Aquaman and Rampage), detaching themselves from others and their own emotions to further their end goal. Hero vs Villain.

Why I Like This

Finally, a Manta match that can work well underwater! Is it a requirement that Manta fight underwater? I mean it's certainly better considering this is a guy whose fights and gear are made for…underwater. I wanna see an underwater dogfight with torpedoes, harpoons, sonar senses, coral-canyon submarine and air skimmer chases, and of course some snazzy laser clashes, you can definitely have a lot of fun with this fight, on top of some cold lines about not getting in the way of their real target. A game of hide and ambush in the ocean could lowkey go pretty hard just saying, and Manta is an osmosis herald, aka he has really good stats from scaling but his weaponry is extremely street tier, and is very in like with the flying laser cannon melee weapon style of Transformers.

Do They Have Alts?

Not sure about Depth Charge but Manta has a fair amount of people. There’s the Lancelot dude from Fate, Pyke from League of Legends is pretty solid, and Kamen Rider X is also pretty good in terms of revenge. Killmonger is ass though.

Rain vs Ocean Master

(Mortal Kombat vs DC)

Connections

Two hydrokinetic prideful princes who believe they are owed the throne and will betray and manipulate everyone else to get the throne that they believe is their birthright.

Why I Like This

Chaos vs Kyogre can’t be the only fight, though admittedly these two aren’t as cool as water kaijus but they’re certainly very underrated. Obviously their water abilities could be pretty interesting to play off of, though Rain’s are more close up and in combat whereas Orm is more prone to just launching tsunamis, but they have a fair bit of other elemental and miscellaneous abilities. Orm’s adept in Atlantean magic, even going so far as to being able to rewrite history with just a spell cast on his brother’s skeletal hand, and he can use other elemental attacks like magnetism and electro-blasts to bounce off Rain’s own ranged attacks, or have a magic counter to the quantum slice. You can have lots of the scenery or epic climax be them controlling the weather from their fighting alone since they can both do that, have them fight within a water tornado, and have Rain’s intangibility or Orm’s illusions play into a possible killing blow where they outwit the other, or have a trident vs katar fight, and of course some martial arts.

Do They Have Alts?

Loki…exists for Ocean Master but nobody cares about that one. I know Rain had that one ninja dude named Zabuza from Naruto but I don’t know if that one is any good.

Sinestro vs The Fallen 

(DC vs Transformers)

Connections

Former members of a heroic peacekeeping order that betrayed their comrades to impose their own twisted will onto the universe, becoming cold and uncaring from lost loved ones, forming an evil faction of their own that seek subjugation through fear and terror. Fear vs Entropy.

Why I Like This

When I first heard this years ago, I was beyond thrilled that Sinestro finally had a worthy opponent, this one does everything I could ever want for a Sinestro opponent. You could definitely incorporate Parallax into this to match the multiversal singularity aspect of Fallen, the construct power set interacts well with Fallens destructive moveset, like the requiem blaster, an artifact that draws power from stellar anomalies like black holes, and the scale on which Fallen fights where his mere body burns a hole through Cybertron can work well with a Lantern who bends reality with his fight, and they can both teleport, telekinetically restrain people, make wormholes, and just manipulate fundamental forces of the universe, something Lanterns do a lot of surprisingly. I like the idea of the fight ending with Parallax Sinestro fighting a superheated inferno Fallen, as a reference to fighting a juiced up energy Hal in their final fight where Sinestro and Hal died. God this fight is so fucking cool.

Do They Have Alts?

Both share a matchup triangle with Ultraman Belial from Ultraman, sharing the theme of “noble heroes who fell from grace and amassed armies to cause fear and subjugation”, and Belial can definitely play off the causing fear in an opponent with his Ultra Card, which against Sinestro would always be interesting to see. Honestly if you just did a threeway royale with these guys in a blog or episode, I would not mind at all.

Black Hand vs Darth Nihilus

(DC vs Star Wars)

Connections

Villainous humans who bonded with a terrible darkness (Black Lantern ring and shadow generator), turning them into unliving monsters that crave death on a planetary scale, becoming immortal monsters drained of humanity that serve a greater evil, even having moves specifically meant to cause planetary devastation (Source Wall Touch and Force Drain), becoming threats to intergalactic peacekeepers (Lanterns and Jedis). In other words, space vampire vs space zombie.

Why I Like This

DC vs Star Wars feels like a somewhat obvious pairing but it’s weird to see this of all things as the best of the series pairing. But I’m not too upset. You can have lots of cool power interactions here, like force drain hollowing Black Hand into a corpse only for Hand to come back to life and envelope Nihilus in a thick black goo, Black Hand failing to scan the emotions of Nihilus and slowly going more insane due to Nihilus draining the life that Black Hand cannot toy with, Nihilus one man armying the undead corpses of fodder Black Lantern heroes, force lightning vs beams of darkness, or the source wall touch being the killing blow.

Do They Have Alts?

Nope.

Blue Beetle vs Geo Stelar 

(DC vs Mega Man Star Force)

Connections

Two young men who bonded to strange aliens that symbiotically bond with a host (the Scarab and the Omega-Xis), turning them into blue armored heroes wielding powerful technological capabilities, blending their very being with the tech they’re bonded too. These alien partners in crime would later turn out to be part of a greater race of alien invaders, but the bond shared, emotionally and physically, between the boys and their aliens formed a friendship that would stand up to the invaders.

Why I Like This

Blue Beetle is a fairly popular DC character with a lot of aspects about him, and Geo Stelar arguably does the Scarab aspect the best, while also offering a fight dynamic where they can adjust and adapt to whatever they throw at each other. Jaime can summon energy swords, and Geo can respond with the Sword Card. The Scarabs adaptability can make electromagnetic dampeners to try and counter Omega, have the two aliens mocking the other opponent without realizing it, Jaime making Mega Man style cannons to bounce off a Thunder Bazooka, and the many other niche weird abilities like neural scramblers or a cryo-freeze cannon, Geo trying to teleport into Jaime’s forcefield but it backfires…there’s a lot of fun to be had in this one, Geo Stelar’s battle cards being side effects when he uses his moves would be a cool transitional kind of vibe, the same way the Scarab’s scanning abilities from Jaime’s POV could be cool as they try to figure each other out and adapt to the threats. And of course, Jaime with an out of control Scarab vs Tribe King Geo Stelar would be pretty cool, can have a huge energy pulse clash against a wave of fire and lightning from Thunder Zerker/Fire Saurian.

Do They Have Alts?

Both have Ben 10 due to the whole “bonding with alien tech that gives them transformation” powers but it's probably best to keep either away from Ben. Jaime has Guyver, Generator Rex, Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes), and many more. I am somewhat surprised he doesn’t have a Kamen Rider opponent, the kind of vibe his movie had alone I would think a KR match would've come up by now.

General Zod vs Grand Regent Thragg

(DC vs Invincible)

Connections

Imperialistic tyrannical humanoid aliens that will kill entire planets to prove their superiority on behalf of their race, setting their eyes on Earth and coming to clash with their own kind (Superman and Invincible), clashing in ideals over who their people are.

Why I Like This

Surprisingly there is a lot you can try and do for a fight like this. Unfortunately it can come across as “Kryptonian vs Diet Kryptonian” since Thragg is very much a flying brick, and Zod would at least have the standard Kryptonian powers like heat vision or freeze breath, but I think the moves are simple enough that Thragg can either willpower through them for a cool moment, or use it as a means of propelling the fight to higher levels of climatic destruction. You can show smart atoms within Thragg’s body trying to adjust to the burning heat as Thragg screams, fighting while covered in blood. Zods more of a skilled Kryptonian so you could definitely get creative with their fighting styles. And to Thragg’s benefit you can definitely let him tear off a limb or gouge an eye, sure its not super accurate because its fucking Zod but it’d be raw as hell and in line with how they both fight.

I still to this day LOVE the ending idea of Zod beating the dogshit out of Thragg, yelling for him to kneel, and Thragg refuses to the bitter end, legit dying while still standing up, humbling Zod and making him put Thragg in one of his halls as the one man who stood up to him.

Do They Have Alts?

Thragg has Darth Malgus from Star Wars, which isn’t too bad connection wise since its brutal planetary conquerors to an extent but I feel like the Force interacts less well with a Viltrumite then Kryptonian powers. As for Zod, Zod vs Rassilon is an EXTREMELY close second. It's similar to Thragg in terms of cruel dictators but it differentiates in talking about how both want to restore their people to their former glory, only stopped by the symbols of hope. For the type of esoteric hax that Rassilon has, the “hax vs brick” dynamic kinda makes Zod the brick in this case, but I imagine you can get creative with how Zod uses his Kryptonian powers to stand up to a Time Lord, and I think Rassilon has enough of a brute to match Zod as well.

Starro the Conqueror vs Alien Baltan 

(DC vs Ultraman)

Connections

Invasive hivemind alien species fashioned after Earth lifeforms (starfish and arthropods) that attack in swarms, assimilating those it can into their race using total control.

Why I Like This

While not necessarily a kaiju, if there was ever an Ultramancore DC monster, it would totally be Starro. An army fight (not in the traditional sense) where these two go at it in all shapes and sizes, like giant building sized monsters or controlled/possessed humans, on top of having strange sets of powers can be pretty fun. While Starros are more basic and not named attacks necessarily, Starros energy, radiation, paralyzing, and heat based attacks and regeneration can definitely mesh well with Baltan’s energy based attacks like energy shields, anti-gravity beams, fireballs, and other attacks. You can even go super low scale and show Starros attacking the bloodstreams, have Baltan confuse Starros with illusions, show some mental battles, and have some bio-fissionary reactions to powerful attacks.

Do They Have Alts?

Not really.

Etrigan The Demon vs Devilman

(DC vs Devilman)

Connections

Two mortal men, by fate undone,
Now walk the line betwixt shade and sun.

With demon souls and hearts that burn,
They fight so others might not turn.

Through blood and grief, they bear the flame,
A cursed life, yet none to blame.

Though hell may claim the beast within,
They rise as heroes, not as sin.

Why I Like This

Ok sorry I had to make a rhyme but yes, the gist of it is haunted men chosen to be hosts for demonic entities that serve a greater power, fighting at odds and ends with the literal demon inside them. A lot of the more tragic elements of Akira’s backstory and struggles and relationships with the woman in his life are stuff that Jason shares a lot in common with, both being brought to snap by their deaths and becoming demons to be feared by all other demons. A dark and hellish fight like this can be really cool, and show off just how underrated both of these guys are, especially Etrigan.

I like the idea of the fight locations transitioning from a gothic church to Hell, and Etrigan is framed more antagonistic, taunting in rhyme and using magic and illusions to bring out the inner rage in Devilman, all the while Jason and Akira have an internal struggle of trying to contain the carnage as they destroy everything with hellfire and brimstone. And of course for general filler you can bring out the claws and apocalyptic punches since Etrigan is no stranger to devastation whenever he fights. A somber or sad moment could be both of them catching a glimpse of their human sides within their eyes before they engage in a beam clash or onslaught or fury.

Do They Have Alts?

Lots of them! Devilman’s more popular alt as of late has been Robbie Reyes from Marvel, which in itself is also a really good match that focuses more on their sibling relationships on top of fighting the dual nature of man and demon, especially since Reyes’ Spirit of Vengeance is far more of a corrupted one, it's a really good alternative. Conversely, Etrigans is often compared to Ghost Rider in terms of thematics and debates for the same reason. Devilman’s alts range from Hellboy to Denji to lesser known options like Akemi Nakajima.

Anti-Monitor vs Anti-Spiral

(DC vs Gurren Lagann)

Connections

Cosmic terrors who seek to balance the cosmos, but the methods of which they do are surprisingly a huge contrast. The Anti-Spiral uses fear and nihilism, the cold indifference of the universe to stagnate humanity from evolving, lest they doom themselves and the universe, whereas the Anti-Monitor threatens with complete eradication of everything, leaving no hope or memory. The menace who stops civilization from overstepping vs the ultimate overstepper. One wants to prevent the destruction, one wants to cause it.

Why I Like This

Here we have the evil version of Kyle vs Simon! Initially I was super hesitant on this one, because I didn’t really see a connecting tissue that makes the match good other than being “Antis”. But when you realize that this is a match of conflicting ideals based on their visions of how reality should be…then it becomes so fucking cool. The opening scene alone would be a confrontation where the Anti-Spiral proclaims “We choose stillness. You choose devastation. Which is the greater mercy?” and Anti-Monitor says something like “The Spiral Nemesis does not need containment or preservation. It needs to be destroyed.” And then imagine the fucking dialogue for the winner. If Anti-Spiral wins I’d want him to say something like “You end creation, but I prevented its collapse. I am the one and final logic.”, and if Anti-Monitor wins, he can say something like “Though we are the anti-thesis of life, I do not fear what must be undone.”

And as always the fight has plenty to offer. You can have the shadow demons fighting the human eradication army as backdrop scenery, and have Anti-Monitor start in his lamer looking forms before he eventually grows into the terrible face we saw in Crisis on Infinite Earths. You can have Anti-Spiral attempt the Multiverse Labyrinth on Mobius and show the COIE panel of the many earths being destroyed, but instead they’re being corroded by the Anti-Spiral to show AM is trapped, only for him to break out and appear to Anti-Spiral in a similar manner to his Death Metal appearance, giving a speech about how he was victorious in his universe, whereas Anti-Spiral will fail in his. Oh and Anti-Monitor brawling with Granzebomba…cinema.

Do They Have Alts?

My favorite Anti-Monitor alt is Chaos King from Marvel, its a cool story driven fight that is a past vs present crisis event comparison, it's really neat and can deliver a lot of what AS does as well. Anti-Spiral has a lot of alts like Bill Cipher, Yalbadoath from Persona, and Unicron. All of which are pretty solid.

Mr. Mxypltzk vs Lord English

(DC vs Homestuck)

Connections

Mischievous reality warpers who enjoy being tricksters and causing untold chaos, distinctly being considered as the most annoying of their own kind.

Why I Like This

This is a reality warping fight that would be pretty similar to Bill vs Discord, where everything is random, chaotic, across different planes of existence, and will probably mess with the narrative in some way, or just undo the building blocks of reality by giving each other a wedgie. Some specific ideas that could be cool (credit to Ninjamonkey for assistance) are Mxy and LE playing chess using the Felt (LE’s henchmen) and various DC heroes, have LE face down Mxys across the multiverse as a reference to the climax of Homestuck, have a kaiju Mxy that has slowly gone insane fight LE to the point where they breach the animation and destroy the animator’s pencil, and just having Mxy go more insane with LE’s mannerisms.

Do They Have Alts?

Mxy vs Bill Cipher is pretty cool, their personalities would be pretty similar in terms of their sense of humor and charm. Not sure about Lord English though.

Recently Made Matches

Deathstroke vs Storm Shadow

(DC vs G.I. Joe)

Connections

Vietnam veterans turned mercenaries motivated by self-serving revenge due to the loss of a loved one, masters of all manner of weapons that suit their employment as assassins.

Why I Like This

I think this is just the cooler version of Batman vs Snake Eyes, pretty easy notes you can hit with a martial arts fight, an arsenal of big swords, firearms, explosives, and probably some weirder equipment, such as Storm Shadow’s nunchuka and throwing stars, or Slade’s energy staff. For more specific stuff, I think an emphasis on Storm Shadow's faster then the eye can see fighting speed vs Slade's tactical mind, using foresight and emphasizing on his own strategic mind could be a really cool interaction within the fight, since its an important part of his physique. I think making it feel like a fast paced fight can be really cool, like have Slade shoot Tommy and Tommy slices a bullet mid-air, have a war of attrition until Slade tries to use dirty tactics with a flashbang. Depending on the location, could have a moment where both vanish from view, one sets a trap and the other uses it as bait, leading to a cat and mouse where they try to gain information from footprints or whispers.

Do They Have Alts?

For Deathstroke, Soldier Boy is a pretty good comparison, super soldiers that stormed the frontlines in war and have a bad attitude and lone wolf vibe, given they’re both put against Captain America it feels like the perfect douchebag version of the match. No idea about Storm Shadow though.

Jonah Hex vs The Deathslinger

(DC vs Dead by Daylight)

Connections

Disfigured bounty hunters that were framed, betrayed, and scarred, turning to a life of the hunt with an array of weapons in worlds full of monsters and deities. Honor vs Obsession.

Why I Like This

DC vs Dead by Daylight is very epic. Jonah definitely has more weapons but I’m sure you could keep it relatively simple, or afford Deathslinger some of his lore contraptions like his tunneling drill, railroad spike gun, and of course his iconic speargun, the Redeemer, though I can see it being tough for a Speargun to play off revolvers, its one of those fights where you may have to lean on the setting of like, an abandoned ghost town for them to play off each other in a fun and thrilling way that isn’t just that one Indiana Jones gif. Hex does have knives and up close combat experience though so it isn’t impossible.

Do They Have Alts?

Jonah’s got his fair share of gun-slinging western cowboys, such as Erron Black, Arthur Morgan, or John Marston. Deathslinger has the Engineer from Team Fortress 2 and uh…yeah that one is not very good because Engineer also just shoots him in his already crippled leg.

Mr. Freeze vs Singed 

(DC vs League of Legends/Arcane)

Connections

Mad scientists in protective armor who were once good men, who lost their loved ones to a deathly illness, seeking a cure to save them by any means necessary, even at the expense of their bodies, freezing and burning up and leaving them hollow and broken under their coldhearted and unrelenting nature, slowly doomed with hearts that can only be filled with seeing their wife/daughter again.

Why I Like This

Comics vs League of Legends has some surprisingly banger matchup combinations, and Arcane greatly enhanced this one in particular. I think poison attacks vs ice attacks can be an interesting mesh. Freeze using his cold aura to play on the backfoot and be more defensive and use his freeze gun to be more mobile could be pretty neat, he’s made plenty of big ice constructs. And while Freeze isn’t an expert in close quarters, his freeze breath and ice grenades could probably compensate enough for him to still play on the defense, and Singed’s shield vs the freeze gun is an exchange Singed can bulldoze through.

Do They Have Alts?

Singed doesn’t really have any to my knowledge, and Freeze has pretty outdated alternate options, like Doc Ock or Hawkmoth from Miraculous Ladybug, this match kinda saved Freeze from not having a The One.

Deadman vs Kyouji Kuzunoha

(DC vs Shin Megami Tensei)

Connections

Two spirit detectives whose untimely deaths seemed like the end, but were given a chance to return to the world to avenge their death, being brought back by deities (Rama Kushna and Charon), seeking out and avenging their deaths by tracking down their killers.

Why I Like This

You may be wondering how this differs from John vs Raidou and the easy answer is Deadman…is a ghost. This is not really a physical fight by any means unless you have Boston possess people to punch out Kyouji, whos more in like with Yusuke as far as how he functions as a spirit detective, and he can get more physical with swords and guns and attacks of his own. Boston possessing the demons in order to fight them would be cool, as would a possession/mind battle where Boston tries to tear Kyouji apart or invade his mind, have the fight take place in pocket dimensions and have it go across different planes of reality, not from their punches but merely show the fight as if it was from Boston’s point of view, changing the landscape with their struggle Spawnrider style.

Do They Have Alts?

Deadman has had many attempted alts and none are really good, but it is hard to try and make a ghost fight.

Saint Walker vs Ultraman Cosmos

(DC vs Ultraman)

Connections

Blue peacekeeping warriors that embody hope and compassion (Ultraman Cosmos suit is blue to represent kindness, Blue Lanterns represent hope), working for intergalactic organizations (Land of Light and Blue Lantern Corps). They represent a kindness that shows strength isn't about force, but about having control and empathy. They are beacons of kindness and healers to all who need it, and are emotional anchors when conflict arises.

Why I Like This

If anybody could come close to matching the Lantern of Hope, it’d be an Ultraman. They have similar powers based on emotion, like the Full Moon Rect is pretty similar to Saint’s healing and discernment abilities in terms of calming people down, though moves like that would be harder to pull off in a Death Battle. But even still, the energy based moveset of Cosmos involves some constructs such as the Net Track Box making a net of light, and Cosmo Force being healing can match with the kind of healing Saint Walker has, so there are a lot of fun move comparisons between these two.

The obvious elephant in the room is the crippling weakness of a Blue Lantern; they cannot access their full power unless they are within proximity of a Green Lantern, otherwise they can fly and make a personal forcefield but that is it. And with Death Battle’s no outside help rule, that makes some problems right? No. While Saint isn’t the most well known or most powerful Lantern, nobody wants to see him…fly and make a forcefield. Just put Oa or Mogo in proximity, you aren’t spitting on the face of every Ultraman fan and their family and dog by wanting to see Saint have access to all his abilities, because it’d be really cool to see.

Do They Have Alts?

Saint has a contrast match in Gorr the Godbutcher. Similar origin of faith and worship, one went down the path of good and one went down the path of evil. Not exactly a big fan of this one.

Jessica Cruz vs Kamen Rider Wizard

(DC vs Kamen Rider)

Connections

(Credit to Sirus for connections)

Jessica Cruz and Haruto Sohma are ring-bearing superheroes that are part of a long-standing legacy of heroes in their verses. Both of their special rings serve as the source of their immense magical/cosmic powers, granting them a wide array of abilities to readily adapt to the situation at hand and can harness an esoteric energy to fuel their attacks and techniques. Both suffered a traumatic incident in their pasts which they were left as the sole survivors, leaving them broken and haunted by such experiences that they struggled to move past from. Both ended up acquiring a dark corruptive power by tapping into their greatest turmoil but successfully rise-up from their lowest points in life through their willpower.

Why I Like This

Lanterns and tokusatsu characters have a lot of cool and similar vibes, and once again I think Wizard has the right kinda moves to play off Jessica due to the magic system of KR, which can be very flashy and colorful. You may be getting tired of the “standard Lantern powerset” but Jessica’s grown out of being a rookie so she has lots of cool stuff to set her apart from other Green Lanterns.

This is the fire flower construct she makes; it doesn’t have any special or cool properties other than it looking cool, and it's a signature move for her, so maybe just having a struggle among this fire flower could be cool, or have her make a ring of fire. The various Strike attacks that give Wizard a gun and sword can easily bounce off Jessica, who due to her experience in hunting, makes rifles and weapons like battle axes pretty frequently, so she has her own unique constructs that suit her, and Wizard can make dragon constructs out of mana, which could mesh well with Jess making constructs of heroes like Wonder Woman to fight a giant dragon construct.

The All Dragon version of Wizard’s Dragon Strike Wizard attack can send someone flying to the sun, so you can also make the fight escalate pretty fast. And Jess also has the ability to send someone to the Green Realm, a place where souls full of fear reside to drag others down with them.

Do They Have Alts?

Jessica vs Robbie Reyes is one but I don’t really want to talk about that one, I’m not the biggest fan of it, if only because I don’t like the idea of Jess getting destroyed by a Penance Stare as the killing blow, because I do really love Jessica. KR Wizard apparently has Naruto, though I don’t know if that’s any good.

Non-Comic DC Matches! 

Razer vs Armada Starscream

(Green Lantern: The Animated Series vs Transformers: Armada)

Connections

Noble warriors of alien supervillains that utilize weapons of incredible cosmic power that started as evil, but defected after suffering too much abuse from their leaders, leading to their arcs of revenge; they wanted their leaders dead, but the help of female companions made them see more in themselves, relinquishing their rage and fighting for the side of good with their new blue cosmic weapons, standing with the heroes against the final deity of the universe’s entropy.

Why I Like This

Those of us who grew up on Green Lantern: The Animated Series remember Razer fondly, and he’s even in the mainline DC continuity now! As always a Lantern vs Transformer fight is very cool, because of the anime, Starscream is more over the top and flashy despite being flight, lasers, and energy attacks, and the Star Saber being one of the most powerful and versatile objects in Armada would let him play off the wider array of Lantern abilities that Razer has, on top of his unique Red Lantern powers like Napalm Breath.

Do They Have Alts?

Razer vs Starkiller is another very solid alt, being the original cult classic character of already popular media perpetually torn between the light and dark side. Starscream has plenty of fights per nature of the character. I know Metal Face from Xenoblade exists but I don’t know a lot about them.

Slade vs Utrom Shredder 

(Teen Titans vs TMNT 2003)

Connections

The overarching enemies from the shadows of some of 2003’s finest cartoons. They manipulate and corrupt young heroes, act as the foil to the main protagonists, and grip their cities with fear and power. Their martial arts are unmatched, as are their iconic voice performances from Ron Pearlman and Scottie Ray.

Why I Like This

Teen Titans is probably my favorite childhood cartoon hands down, it was the pinnacle of my experience as a kid, and Slade is one of the most intimidating and interesting cartoon villains of all time, and while the topic of Deathstroke vs Shredder is more of an eye candy comparison, there's a version of these two that match each other in sheer hype and aura, as well as presence. If Death Battle was to open the gates to a more serious “alternate version of a comic character fight”, this is absolutely my first pick.

There’s a lot of fun to be had with this one, they’re martial artists that smoke the top tiers of their universes, so they’d feel dead even on confrontation, Slade has plenty of tech of his own and Ch’rell has the Sword of Tengu, and you can have great fake out moments where Slade pulls a Doombot, and the real Slade comes to ball, or have his henchmen face down against Foot Soldier bots. And while you probably wouldn’t give Slade his herald of Trigon flame powers, you can still give him the massive battle axe he used to fuck up Trigon to fight against the giant Turtles Forever Shredder. Even without the axe, its weirdly consistent for guys like Robin to run head first into giant monsters like Plasmus, or the even bigger goo kaiju in the Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo movie, or just Trigon himself, Slade absolutely can play off a big Shredder.

Do They Have Alts?

Well their comic counterparts do, read up above if you skipped over them.

Terra vs Toph 

(Teen Titans vs Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Connections

Exceptionally skilled earthbenders who faced early life challenges in their upbringings, experiencing a turning point where they join the heroes (though Terra ends up betraying them).

Why I Like This

This is a classic and straightforward comparison, Terra's more careful and timid personality could make a pretty unstable climax if pushed too far, especially with Toph’s own carefree, cocky laid back personality. A fun aerial rock battle, barrages of rocks, Toph trying to catch Terra off-guard with seismic sense, if you wanna incorporate some metalbending you could maybe include Terra’s combat suit she got from Slade for a sad killing blow.

Do They Have Alts?

Not that I know of.

Amazo vs Kars

(DCAU vs JORGE JOESTAR)

Connections

The perfect lifeforms, capable of copying abilities and started as unstoppable antagonists, only to turn to the side of good after being deep in space for long enough, philosophically changing in the process and battling the only other beings who achieved godhood like them (A.M.A.Z.O II and Ultimate Lifeform Dio).

Why I Like This

This is the lesser known brother of Infinity Ultron vs HA Dio. Its honestly a pretty cool fight, not too often do you see alternate versions of comic/manga characters being this absurdly powerful but these two are probably some of their most powerful alternate version characters of DC and JoJo. This fight is basically the powers of the Justice League (Green Lantern ring, Flashes speed, Clark’s heat vision, etc) vs a variety of Stand powers (Killer Queen, D4C, C-Moon, Whitesnake, etc), on top of both having unique powers of their own like reality warping, or light mode. While the League’s powers aren’t as complex in the show as they are in the comics, I’m sure you can have lots of cool comparisons and clashes, like Amazo using Flash’s absurd speed to try and keep up with Made In Heaven, and some Nth metal shapeshifting vs the Dune stand could be cool for more smaller basic interactions.

Do They Have Alts?

Not sure I’ve seen any genuine push for a Novel Kars match, DCAU Amazo has Infinity Ultron but that’s about it.

Special Thanks

Wanna shout out Flip, Ninjamonkey, Cabbage, and Sirus for helping out with the TNs, and also wanna thank Ninja, Dekhead, door-kun, and Maddie for helping out with some of the ideas for a lot of these fights.

Hope you guys enjoyed this, and I hope you come away from it wanting to learn more about just how cool DC vs Non-Marvel matches can be, feel free to discuss even more ideas for these fights when you talk about it with your friends and channels. And if this gets enough attention, maybe I’ll do a Marvel showcase too.