It’s time for the next season of Death Battle! You can bet that there’ll be a good amount of action here as always. The seasons are definitely getting more modern here and of course that also means the episode counts are starting to shrink. I don’t think we will see any seasons with 20+ episodes like the old days. A lot of these fights are still brand new to me so that’s always fun.

16. Scrooge McDuck VS Shovel Knight: Verdict Incorrect

This is one of those retro fights. It works pretty well when trying to emulate the style of the old Duck Tales game as well as Shovel Knight though. It’s not going to rank higher since it lacks the verbal back and forth of other fights but is solid overall. In some ways it feels like such a random fight compared to others but of course you could make some comparisons between the two of them.

15. Venom VS Bane: Verdict Correct

This is one of those really classic power battles all the way. Both combatants have a whole lot of physical power between them even if it would seem obvious that Venom has the edge right from the start. His physical specs are just way too high for Venom. good amount of back and forth though so this was a good fight even if it didn’t end up being ranked super high.

14. Sub-Zero VS Glacius Verdict: Correct

This is very much a retro fight all the way. Both combatants do their best to destroy the others. No real setup or banter, they’re just trying to claim victory and get the upper hand. I can definitely respect that. The fight itself is also really short so this one goes by quickly. Visually it holds up quite nicely and that raises this fight up in general.

13. The Shredder VS Silver Samurai Verdict: Incorrect

This was a very high intensity sprite fight with a little prelude added in for good measure where the Shredder crushes his opposition. The fight definitely has that retro violence to it as well. I don’t see the Silver Samurai losing to the Shredder but this was clearly an intense battle all the way. Certainly a fight that ages pretty well even if I do tend to be a bigger fan of the 3D slugfests.

12. Natsu VS Ace Verdict: Correct

Having a guy who eats fire fight someone who shoots it out definitely tends to make for a very one sided blowout. The fight feels a lot older than the others in the season though so I wonder if it would have been meant ore as a season 3 fight initially. I like the matchup and I’m always a big fan of fire abilities so that helps out here. It may not be the best fight of the season but it does have a lot of explosions and flare to it.

11. Android 18 VS Captain Marvel Verdict: Correct

I remember being surprised that they got this fight correct. Android 18 is an absolute beast in combat and deserved to win. I would have liked some more dialogue in the fight but otherwise have no real issues. This is an intense battle all the way and that’s why it is fun to have both combatants who can fly and move around at super speeds. It sure opens up a lot of doors on what you can do within the battle.

10. Lucario VS Renamon Verdict: Correct

A fun Pokemon vs Digimon battle. Those are always classics and you could see why these two would be matched up against each other. Ultimately I would always be leaning on Lucario here but could see it being a fun fight. His energy projection and sheer speed are just too tough to beat though. He would always have the upper hand in the end. The fight showcases both of their high speed levels really well throughout.

9. Smokey Bear VS McGruff the Crime Dog: Verdict Correct

A whole fight being in flash style was definitely not something I expected to see. This was a pretty fun way to do it though and each fighter got their hype. You never knew who was going to be claiming victory until the end. I’m not super familiar with McGruff, but Smokey definitely seemed like he should be winning this one.

8. Power Rangers VS Voltron: Verdict: Incorrect

This fight was pretty fun because I kept mixing up both teams over and over again. They just look so similar in the mechs, especially while they are fighting. I’m sure a bigger fan could keep track of them better but hey what are you gonna do right? The action was intense and both groups got to really show off their teamwork. You really can’t go wrong here as one of the stronger battles.

7. Balrog VS TJ Combo: Verdict Incorrect

This was a surprisingly good fight. The 3D part gave it a true buff compared to what it would have been otherwise. I also liked the boxing angle here. The fight was really fast and the music worked well within the arena. So even though I’m not a big fan of either character, the fight ended up going over really well and this became one of the best fights of the season out of nowhere. Now that was a true twist.

6. Metal Sonic VS Zero Verdict: Correct

I go back and forth on who would really win this a whole lot. I’d say it was fair to have Zero win this, particularly back in the day. Nowadays I would have Metal Sonic win thanks to his continuing to get more appearances and powers while Zero hasn’t gotten anything of note. I would have liked to have seen Neo Metal show up here but again this was an old fight. Visually it holds up really well and there’s a lot of action here. No complaints from me.

5. Batman Beyond VS Spider-Man 2099 Verdict: Correct

This was a pretty fun fight and if you’re going to do a sprite battle, it’s important to keep in this level of fun. Solid effects all around and a good amount of banter. Each fighter got to bring his tech support in as well which also added to the effect. Made this feel like a fancy 2 v 2 battle. The backgrounds were also really striking, definitely a really enjoyable battle all around.

4. Naruto VS Ichigo Verdict: Incorrect

I think we all know that Ichigo absolutely slams Naruto, but the fight itself was really cool anyway. I liked all of the zoom in shots that were done to enhance the sprite animation parts. Really made the whole thing feel like it had a bit of hybrid animation going on. The fight also has a solid length so both fighters were able to put in their best effort. That’s why this fight holds up so well.

3. Lara Croft VS Nathan Drake: Verdict: Correct

This was a really fun fight. I still haven’t seen much of Nathan Drake in general so I was really rooting for Lara in general. Additionally, she should probably win since she tends to go up against crazy powerful fighters. A lot of good banter here and the animation has absolutely held up. Right off the bat it’s one of the best fights of the season.

2. Thor VS Wonder Woman Verdict: Correct

Another intense battle here, this one really went all out on the animation. It was also one of the longest fights this season even if I didn’t grab the exact runtime. Both fighters got to show off a whole lot of their abilities. I was actually surprised at the outcome here but ultimately the speed does feel like it would be the biggest factor here. Speed will always beat power in the end.

1. Sephiroth VS Vergil: Verdict Correct

It’s no surprise that this would be a top tier fight. The battle got incredible 3D animation and both characters have a ton of charisma under their belt. The fight looks like something that could have happened within a cutscene and they’re just fighting at such a high level. This would be a great fight in any season.

That’s all the season 4 fights! 11/16 had the correct fighter win which is pretty impressive. I’ll be back soon with season 5 as we edge ever closer to the present day. It’ll be a real feat to finally be able to say that I’ve seen all of the Death Battles! It’s also been fun to see how the series has steadily improved throughout each season.