Excalibur VS Raiden (2024)

Excalibur VS Raiden is a Bonus episode of Death Battle, featuring Excalibur and The Lotus from the Warframe series and Raiden from the Metal Gear series in a battle between agile cybernetic swordsmen soldiers. The Lotus was voiced by Caitlyn Elizabeth and Raiden was voiced by Mornal.

Interlude

Instead of the usual opener, we cut to Wiz working in the lab at night on a run-down computer. On the monitor is a 24/7 music livestream video playing, displaying Jocelyn doing some assumed studying. DUMMI is shown sleeping next to her in his own corner, with some sticky notes saying "Dummi’s space. KEEP OUT." Boomstick then walks into the lab with a can of beer and a nightcap over his usual red hat.

Boomstick: Wiz, what are you doin' in here? It's our day off.

Wiz: Oh, just conducting some research. I've discovered a Tenno foundry in the process of crafting a new Warframe! Just about wrapped. ...What are you doing here?

Boomstick: Sometimes I have these horrible nightmares and I just wake up here in a cold sweat. I don't even think my car is in the parking lot. (chuckles nervously) But- but what you're doing sounds way more interesting, so, tell me, what Warframe's your favorite?

Wiz: Oh, a scientist doesn't play favorites.

Boomstick leans on Wiz's monitor, annoying the host slightly.

Boomstick: Oh, bullsh*t. Our job is the equivalent of banging action figures together. You've gotta have a favorite.

Wiz: Fine. If I had to pick... I'd go with the very first Warframe ever created: the death dealing techno-organic ninja Excalibur.

Boomstick: You mean he's a cyborg ninja? Like Raiden from Metal Gear?

Excalibur

Grind to Dust by Alan Jay Reed & Queens Road

Wiz: Wh- no, they're not technically cyborgs. More like superpowered biomechanical vessels that are unlike anything I've ever seen. Trust me, this is gonna get crazy, so spoilers ahead.

Boomstick: Yeah, yeah. Just gimme the lore already, Wiz!

Wiz: Long ago in the Origin System, the Orokin Empire discovered the Void, an extradimensional spatial realm that allowed for travel across vast cosmic distances. However, when they sent the first colony ship through it, the Zariman Ten Zero, the Void drove all the adults onboard into an insane murderous frenzy.

Boomstick: Ah, sounds like my first wedding reception.

Wiz: Okay. The children, though, absorbed the Void's energies, imbuing them with the powers they needed to defend themselves against their... mad parents and survive. When the Zariman Ten Zero emerged from the Void, the children were permanently changed. They had become... the Tenno.

Defend the Outer Rim by Timothy Peter Cole Stoney

Boomstick: Well, I'm sure those traumatized little whippersnappers received only the best of care.

Wiz: If only. Instead, the Tenno were taught to use their Void powers to control Warframes through a process called "Transference". But, their abilities were so powerful that the Orokin grew to fear the Tenno, and tried to have them destroyed. The Tenno were hidden from the Orokin and put into a deep sleep. That is, until one day, they were reawakened to defend a war-torn Origin System, guided by their adoptive mother, the Lotus.

Boomstick: So, they're basically sci-fi child soldiers.

Popup: The Tenno were placed in stasis pods for centuries at a young age. They controlled their Warframes from the safety of their pods through Transference.

Wiz: Sort of. Though, the Lotus does care deeply for her adopted children, and has devoted her efforts to protecting as many Tenno as possible. There are almost fifty different Warframes currently out there, each with their own unique abilities and combat styles. But I think that the very first created, Excalibur, is the deadliest.

Boomstick: He's kinda remindin' me of someone...

Wiz: A master swordsman with his razor-sharp Skana, Excalibur is an expert at racking up quick kills faster than the eye can track. He's unmatched in skill and precision with a blade, especially when augmented by his unique abilities. Like Radial Blind, which releases a flash of light to incapacitate nearby foes.

Immortal Sentence by Iliya Zaki Bin Aziz

Wiz: Or Radial Javelin, which blasts out a wide burst of energy spears. But his greatest, and most iconic, is easily the Exalted Blade; a sword of light that can slice just about anything to pieces. You don't get much cooler than that.

Boomstick: Huge ass laser guns, Wiz. Huge ass laser guns automatically make you cooler.

Wiz: Funny you should say that. While individual Warframes like Excalibur may specialize in certain fields, they all have access to an incredible suite of futuristic weaponry. Like the Nukor, which can fire concentrated beams of microwaves, literally cooking you from the inside out. Or the Glaxion, which halts molecular vibrations entirely, freezing you in place. There are guns that fire radioactive plasma, toxic barbs, even acidic needles. He has, and I'm not exaggerating here, over 500 different named weapons.

Boomstick: Man, he sounds like a one-man army!

Wiz: Oh, you think that's crazy? Excalibur can call down an Archwing, basically a futuristic space jetpack with missiles, forcefields, and even the ability to fire miniature black holes.

Boomstick: O-okay, yeah, that's pretty powerful.

Wiz: While Warframes usually battle alongside one another, they have had the occasional head-to-head scrap, where they've exhibited the durability to survive even the most powerful attacks that other Warframes have to dish out. For example, blasts of concentrated anti-matter from the Warframe Nova.

We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.

Boomstick: Sounds pretty unstoppable, but I think I have someone in mind that might put that to the test.

Wiz: Okay, do you really wanna talk about Raiden? Is that what this is?

Boomstick: Come on, Wiz. Child soldier, half-robot assassin, glorious Nippon steel, it's a perfect match!

Raiden

The Final Operation by Gabriel Saban

Boomstick: Raised from childhood to be a trained killer in the war-torn streets of Liberia by the future president of the United States, Jack never knew what it meant to control his own destiny. To live his own life. The only thing he knew... was how to kill. And he proved it when he accomplished one of the greatest feats in video game history: surviving the absolute mindf**k that was Metal Gear Solid 2! Legions of angry fanboys be damned! Solid Snake was yesterday's news, this was Raiden. Birthday suit and all!

Wiz: Too bad for him that a shadowy extra-governmental body known as the Patriots captured him and turned him into a cyborg for their own... complicated purposes. Even after the Patriots' downfall, Raiden struggled to build a life that he could call his own, pulled between his sense of justice and his genuine ecstasy for war.

Manic Machine Riders by Chris Goulstone

Boomstick: Well, at least he's got to put his weeb skills to work with the weapons he's pulled off the corpses of all the poor souls that dared mess with him. He's got Dystopia, a magnetic sai that pulls you towards your enemy. Or L'Etranger...

Popup: After obtaining his cyborg body, Raiden has mostly forgone his older weapons and firearms, but is still capable of using and accessing them.

Wiz: Wow, I-I think you actually said that right.

Boomstick: ...which is a convertible staff-slash-whip combination made of arms! Plus, rocket launchers, claymore mines, EMP grenades, and all his stuff from MGS2. But nothin' beats his high-frequency blade he inherited from Jetstream Sam: the Murasama.

Popup: Post-game items, such as Snake's infinite ammo bandana have been directly referenced in story cut-scenes, making then indisputably canon.

Wiz: I... have to admit, the high-frequency blades are marvels. They vibrate at such high speeds that they can destabilize the physical structures of metals on contact, greatly increasing their cutting ability. It's basically robot Kryptonite, if that makes sense.

Boomstick: Even with his original high-frequency blade, Raiden could cut through massive Metal Gears like tissue paper!

Wiz: And, of note, those Metal Gears were not made of ordinary steel, but carbon nanotubes, one of the strongest materials known to man. The bonds between carbon atoms are incredibly strong, which means that the tensile strength of carbon nanotubes is greater than even the toughest metals, like titanium. Using the high end of potential sheer strengths, slicing clean through a building size Metal Gear RAY would require an energy equivalent to, at most, 100 kilotons of TNT.

Boomstick: And the Murasama is red, which makes it even cuttier! How else would he have had a chance against our lord and savior, Senator Armstrong and his nanomachines, son?! Unlike those beltway pansies, this hulked out Ayn Rand can hit the ground so hard, it splits lava! He was somehow a vastly more difficult boss than the stadium-sized Metal Gear EXCELSUS Raiden tore to shreds minutes earlier. Don't F with this senator!

Wiz: That is, unless your nickname is Jack the Ripper.

Boomstick: Raiden spent years fighting for justice and denying who he really was inside. And it took his battles with Desperado Enforcement to finally realize it. He's a killer, plain and simple, and he lives to test his skills against others.

Wiz: When he enters Ripper Mode, any last shred of inhibition leaves his body, and his strength and skill skyrocket.

Popup: Ordinarily Ripper Mode has a strict time limit, but Raiden has used the mode for extended periods of time in the past, such as when fighting Monsoon.

Boomstick: And that's exactly what Armstrong saw in Raiden: living proof of his philosophy in action. Someone who pulled themselves out of hell with nothing but their determination to survive.

Wiz: But Raiden did not see it that way. Just because he had to fight for survival, doesn't mean the whole world had to, and it was only through an act of generosity from Raiden's slain rival, Sam, that he managed to win.

Boomstick: His sword may have been a tool of justice, not used in anger, but the Murasama wasn't that sword. And with it, he ended Armstrong once and for all, and lived the rest of his life on his own terms.

Prelude

In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg

Boomstick: Look, I-I know we're just shootin' the sh*t, but Raiden would definitely kick Excalibur's ass.

Wiz: You've-you've gotta be joking. Maybe I didn't sell it well enough with my spiel, but Warframes like Excalibur are unbelievably powerful, on a whole other level from cyborg ninjas like Raiden.

Boomstick: Oh, yeah? We're in the lab. We've got the research done... Prove it.

Wiz: Okay, the Murasama is impressive, sure, but Excalibur's futuristic arsenal is hundreds of years more advanced and leagues more varied. Raiden would just be overwhelmed.

Boomstick: Excalibur may win in quantity, Wiz, but quality is what matters most. And considering his weapons are mostly made of metal, it won't be any trouble for Raiden to melt right through 'em with the Murasama, especially with how crazy fast he is. Raiden can run up walls and breakdance with leggy, mooing robots attached to his feet. He can slice bullets out of the air and even boost his reactions with Blade Mode, where the entire world slows down to a near stop.

Wiz: Well, sure, Metal Gear characters like Revolver Ocelot can shoot bolts of electricity out of the air with regular pistols, which is probably around hundreds of times faster than sound. I guess that counts as... "fast".

Boomstick: Oh, please, that's nothing! Raiden can increase his perception to the point that raindrops around him aren't even moving! That might not seem as crazy at first glance, but he's also able to swing his sword dozens of times, while time is almost stopped! By my calculations, that'd be about 11% the speed of light!

Wiz: Oh-oh, is this happening? Is this actually happening? You want a calc-off, big guy?! Eh, let's go. Excalibur can literally block a beam of light with his sword. Judging by the distance it moved relative to how far the light beam traveled, Excalibur had to have been swinging at... 9% the speed of light. Sh*t.

Boomstick: Ahahaha! Calc "King" dethroned! Look at me. I'm the math boy now!

Wiz: Look, speed is only part of the picture. Another Warframe, Atlas, was strong enough to smash apart a giant asteroid. Now, Excalibur may not be one-punching asteroids, but he's proven more than capable of wiping out entire platoons of elite soldiers.

Boomstick: But remember Wiz, you said it yourself: Robot. Kryptonite. All old Jack needs is one good swing of that Murasama, and Excalibur's gettin' sliced to pieces. You really think your Warframe can take on a pure-blooded killer like Raiden?

Wiz: Oh, you really think your cyborg ninja can take on a ghost soldier from the future?!

Wiz & Boomstick by Brandon Yates

We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.

Boomstick: (with clenched teeth) Well, I guess we'll never know!

Wiz: (with clenched teeth) Forever a mystery!

Boomstick: (with clenched teeth) No way to determine a winner!

Wiz: (with clenched teeth) Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Boomstick: (normally) Oh yeah, I could definitely go for a beer right now.

Wiz: (normally) N-no, you idiot! Let's settle this the old fashioned way.

A red button on a grey pillar appears in front of Boomstick.

Boomstick: Oh- uh, yeah!

He hits the button and red light start flashing while an alarm blares.

Boomstick: IT'S TIME FOR A DEATH BATTLEEE!!!

Wiz flips over his desk as the camera zooms into the monitor's screen and the Death Battle transition card closes over.

Death Battle

The Metal Lotus by Therewolf Media ft. Brandon Yates

In a dark city, a foundry on the side of a building is crafting something. Suddenly, Maverick's top agent, Raiden, lands near it cracking the pavement. Retracting his visor, he contacts Doktor for answers.

Raiden: Doktor, are you seeing this?

On the roof of a building behind him, the Warframe Excalibur rises up from its crouch and watches as Raiden approaches the foundry. It then receives an alarming transmission from the Lotus.

The Lotus: Tenno, an enemy is ahead and... that foundry is crafting a Warframe!

With no hesitation, Excalibur pulls out a Glaive and leaps into the air, disappearing in a burst of speed. It reappears in the air behind Raiden, and throws its weapon. Raiden however senses the attack and with a small chuckle, draws his High-Frequency Murasama and spins around, deflecting the Glaive back at Excalibur.

Both cyber swordsmen repeat their motions until Raiden suddenly cuts the Glaive apart, causing it to explode. Raiden makes a slightly impressed comment to his opponent.

Raiden: Heh. Straight to the point. Metal freaks like you usually got a monologue first.

As Raiden's visor covers his face, Excalibur draws its Skana and leaps towards him to attack. Raiden dodges the attack twice before swinging at Excalibur, who blocks the Murasama. Both then jump onto the sides of buildings before running on the surfaces, clashing with each other as they move through the city. As Excalibur runs up another building, the Lotus contacts the Tenno and warns about Raiden's Murasama.

The Lotus: His sword, it's weakening yours!

As both reach the roof, Raiden turns to face Excalibur, who keeps a distance and pulls out its Twin Vipers to fire at him. Running towards his opponent, Raiden dodges the bullets and pulls out L'Etranger, leaping into the air for an overhead blow. Excalibur slides out of the way and continues to fire at Raiden, who twirls the staff to block the bullets.

Raiden then pulls out a pistol, firing back at Excalibur. It leaps into the air to dodge the bullets, firing a few more rounds at Raiden. However, as soon as it lands, Raiden fires one more bullet. Dropping one Viper to draw the Skana, Excalibur deflects the bullet and the barrage that follows after it. Excalibur tries to shoot at Raiden one more time, only for the Viper to have no more ammo left. Noticing this, Raiden chuckles and taunts his opponent.

Raiden: Ehehehehe... Infinite ammo.

Excalibur throws the empty Viper aside and blocks several more bullets, only to be knocked off the building when Raiden charges in and strikes it. Grabbing on to the side of a building, Excalibur regains control of its momentum and leaps away, just in time for Raiden to land where it previously was. As the two run up the buildings, they once again clash as they leap at each other.

Suddenly, Excalibur uses Radial Javelin, firing a barrage of light spears at Raiden, who quickly deflects them. While he blocks the javelins, he receives a Codec call. A screen appears to show that the caller is not a member of Maverick, but Boomstick instead. He is extremely excited to speak to him.

Boomstick: Yes! I'm in! Mr. Raiden, sir, or can I call you Jack? Big fan-

Raiden: Who the hell?! I'm busy here!!

The unexpected call from a random stranger distracts Raiden just enough for him to get hit by a light javelin, carrying him up into the air before he crashes on the roof of another building. As he recovers by rolling into the fall and stabbing his sword into the ground, Boomstick gives him some advice.

Boomstick: Wait, just- just listen! He'll never expect your secret weapon!

Excalibur lands on the roof, immediately noticing a cardboard box out in the open. Confused, it looks around when Wiz, also hijacking communications, pops in to give advice of his own.

Wiz: Alright, listen, he's definitely hiding in the cardboard bo-

He is cut off by the Lotus, who is angered by his actions.

The Lotus: Get out of here!

Heeding Wiz's advice, Excalibur uses Slash Dash to cut through the box, only for it to be filled with claymores. The resulting explosion knocks Excalibur off the building. Leaping down after it, Raiden draws the Murasama and breaks its Skana.

Before he can do anything else, he is forced to dodge as something shoots down past him, which attaches itself to Excalibur. Now with the Odonata Prime Archwing equipped, Excalibur flies up and deals a quick strike to Raiden. Hovering above him, Excalibur pulls out a Glaxion and fires a beam at Raiden along with a massive barrage of missiles. Raiden, having already recovered from being hit, runs up the side of a building, dodging the beam and projectiles. Leaping towards his target, he sends a message to Doktor.

Raiden: Doktor, it's time to let 'er rip!

Doktor deactivates Raiden's pain inhibitors, causing the now insane Raiden to cackle as he uses Dystopia to latch onto Excalibur and uses hit-and-run tactics to cut the Odonata Prime apart. Leaping at Excalibur, he goes in for a strike, only for Excalibur to call forth its Exalted Blade to deflect his blow at the last second. As the two clash during the fall, Raiden begins a manic monologue.

Raiden: THIS IS WHY I FIGHT! SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST! THE RULES OF NATURE!

Raiden stabs at Excalibur and manages to break through its energy shield and impale it through the chest. Excalibur, weakened by the attack, lets go of its Exalted Blade. However, the Lotus encourages the Tenno to keep fighting.

The Lotus: My child, you're not done yet! I'm surging your Warframe's power systems.

The burst of electricity emanating from Excalibur forces Raiden to withdraw his blade and distance himself. Reaching out for the falling Glaxion, Excalibur manages to grab it and fire at Raiden. He blocks the beam with his Murasama, which freezes over and turns blue.

As Raiden accelerates towards his opponent with a war cry and overhead swing, Excalibur summons its Exalted Blade once more and bullet jumps towards its opponent to go for a swing from the side, both approaching each other with their final hits to determine the outcome.

In a burst of speed, Excalibur uses Slash Dash again and bisects Raiden at the waist, who was unable to block the attack due to having the Murasama above him. Raiden explodes, and Excalibur lands safely on the ground. In front of it, Murasama falls and stabs into the ground, no longer blue from being frozen by the Glaxion. Getting up from its crouch, Excalibur receives one more transmission from the Lotus.

The Lotus: Excellent work, Tenno. Now for the foundry. Oh, it's finished.

The foundry finishes its construction, and the newly built Warframe approaches Excalibur, casting its shadow upon the ground.

Results

The Metal Lotus by Therewolf Media ft. Brandon Yates

Wiz: Chalk one up for the Calc King! The math boy... is back!

Boomstick: Oh, (sputters) infinite ammo, Wiz! He had infinite ammo!

Popup: Snake has directly referenced his infinite ammo bandana in story cutscenes. It is canon.

Wiz: Sure, and yes, that is 100% indisputably canon, but there was a lot more going on here that eventually gave Excalibur the win.

Boomstick: *sigh* I guess so. Both were super skilled swordsmen and ninja, and their speeds were almost even, so, the fight was ultimately gonna come down to whose tech was better. And *sigh* I've gotta say, it looks like Excalibur just had a lot more to pull from.

Wiz: Warframes have access to an absolutely absurd amount of varied weapons. Despite Raiden's unique armaments, they were never going to stack up in sheer quantity. And consider specific guns like Glaxion, which can halt molecular movement, a direct counter to Raiden's high-frequency blade. While Excalibur may not always be carrying it, every Warframe is proficient with each of their over 500 weapons.

Boomstick: One blast of that and Raiden might as well be workin' with a regular slab of steel. Excalibur was way stronger, too. Sure, Raiden could cut through giant Metal Gear RAYs made of carbon nanotubes, generating up to 100 kilotons of TNT.

Wiz: But not as much as Excalibur. Another Warframe, Atlas, was strong enough to smash apart a giant asteroid, meaning it would have to be at least 6 kilometers across, just like the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. Now, Atlas did not completely halt its kinetic energy. By exploiting fissures within the asteroid, he was able to pulverize it to dust.

Boomstick: That means his punch had to hit with an energy of at least 46 gigatons of TNT. Sure, in canon, Atlas is stronger than Excalibur, but they've fought and defeated similar enemies, so Excalibur would naturally have to be somewhere in Atlas' ballpark. Even if Excalibur only possessed 1% of Atlas' strength, he'd still be nearly 4,000 times stronger than Raiden. That's pretty consistent with the energy output of Nova's antimatter blast, too. Warframes are just that tough.

Popup: Both Atlas' and Excalibur's Warframe profiles have the same in-game power stat of 150, proving consistent parity between the two Warframes' strength.

Wiz: Furthermore, even with the high-frequency blade's unique vibrating ability, it cannot cut through everything. Raiden's original blade actually shattered against Armstrong's super hard skin, and required the stronger Murasama to finish the job. Against a foe vastly more durable than anyone Raiden's ever faced, it's unlikely the Murasama would score a kill in time.

Boomstick: Even if Raiden got enough hits in to break Excalibur's shields and eventually land a fatal blow, the Tenno Operator piloting would still survive unharmed.

We cut to Wiz and Boomstick.

Wiz: Raiden put up a valiant effort, but Excalibur's absurd arsenal, impressive durability, and raw power put an end to the silver-haired swordsman.

Boomstick: Excalibur had the metal and the gear to make Jack R.I.P.

We cut to the "Winner" card.

Wiz: The winner is Excalibur. Ha, told you so!

Original Track

The Metal Lotus by Therewolf Media ft. Brandon Yates

The track for this fight is "The Metal Lotus" by Therewolf Media ft. Brandon Yates. It is a fast-paced vocal metal track similar to the music in the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance soundtrack. It also contains lyrical references to "Rules of Nature" from the aforementioned soundtrack.

The title references Raiden's home series (Metal Gear) and the Tenno's surrogate mother, the Lotus. A lotus is representative of rebirth, so the title could also be referring to how both combatants were "reborn" as something metal.

The cover art depicts the Exalted Blade and the Murasama clashing and causing sparks to fly. Behind them are silhouettes of buildings that have the Warframe logo on them, all of which are slashed with red lines in reference to the Murasama's high-frequency cutting capability.

Lyrics

Trivia

Production

• The connections between Excalibur and Raiden are that they are both video game cybernetic ninja swordsmen and agile experts of combat who are capable of using almost any military ordnance and wield incredibly powerful swords that can cut through anything (the Exalted Blade and High-Frequency Murasama, respectively). Both were humans that were thrust into the role of child soldiers and later forcefully subjected to cybernetic enhancement to become deadly weapons (done by the Orokin Empire and the Patriots, respectively) and are briefed in missions by a close ally that was partially responsible for their cyber-nature (the Lotus and Doktor, respectively). Both are also the top agents of an organization that fights to keep peace within their worlds (the Tenno and Maverick, respectively) and as a result have repeatedly been in conflict against numerous factions. Additionally, both have lightning attacks and have names that are references to mythologies ("Excalibur" is the name of King Arthur's sword from Arthurian legend, while Raiden is the name of the Japanese god of thunder and lightning).
• This is the first sponsored episode where the company sponsoring owns one combatant featured but not both. In the past, both Ben Singer and Chad James have gone on record that there have been multiple times they've been approached by various companies to sponsor an episode (notably Capcom on at least one of those occasions), and had to turn down said company due to them either being opposed to the show's premise (their character would either have to die or commit a murder on their opponent), or wouldn't allow them to do an unbiased look at their character's potential without interfering. Digital Extremes was an exception to this, allowing them to do the episode regardless of whether the Warframe character won or not, thus giving the show the first opportunity to do so.
• This episode was confirmed at RTX 2022, where a sneak peek for the episode was shown at the Death Battle panel.^[1]
• Metal Gear's 35th anniversary was on July 13th, 2022, two days after this episode's release.
• Warframe's TennoCon event was on July 16th, 2022, five days after this episode's release.
• This is the fifth Bonus episode in the series, after DEATH BATTLE! vs The World, Vegeta VS Mewtwo?, ScrewAttack Steam Sale VS Your Wallet, and The Seven Battle Royale.
  • This is the second Bonus episode to be treated like a real episode and not like a joke, after The Seven Battle Royale.
  • This is the second Bonus episode to feature a returning combatant from the main episodes, after Vegeta VS Mewtwo?.
  • This is the first bonus episode to feature an original track.
  • This is the first 3D animated bonus episode.
• The storyboards for this episode by John Mitchell and Al McClelland Jr. reveal numerious differences and cut scenes compared to the final episode. In order, they are as follows:
  • Excalibur and Raiden were supposed to also shoot each other's bullets out of the air instead of just deflecting them with their melee weapons.
  • The Radial Javelin that knocked Raiden onto the roof was supposed to pierce through his armor, prompting him to pull it out when he got back up.
  • Excalibur was supposed to just cut the box open and have the claymores explode in front of its face instead of using Slash Dash to go through it and have the claymores explode after being scattered around it.
  • Excalibur was supposed to kick Raiden and use him as a springboard to fly into the air faster after equipping the Archwing instead of ramming him and flying up.
  • Raiden was supposed to jump across the missiles Excalibur fired at him before activating Ripper Mode instead of running up the side of the nearby building and jumping off it.
  • Raiden was supposed to be kicked away by Excalibur instead of being forced back by the electricity from the Warframe's power surge.
  • Raiden's Murasama was originally going to fall to the ground as shattered fragments.
  • One unused piece of the storyboards also depicted a bonus joke scene involving Raiden punching an unflinching Excalibur with no effect. This is a reference to Raiden repeatedly punching Senator Armstrong in his boss fight with the song "It Has to Be This Way" playing in the background, a moment of which that has since become a popular meme.

Easter Eggs

• Jocelyn's pose at the beginning of the episode is a reference to Lofi Girl.
• Boomstick references both the memetic "Nanomachines, son!" and "DON'T f*ck WITH THIS SENATOR!" lines from Senator Armstrong in Raiden's analysis.
  • This is the first episode to reference the "Nanomachines, son!" meme, with the next one being Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog.
• Boomstick's "Look at me. I'm the math boy now." line is likely referencing the memetic "Look at me. I'm the captain now." line from the movie Captain Philips.
• Raiden's line "Metal freaks like you usually got a monologue first." is a reference to how the bosses in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance give a speech before the boss battle begins.
• Raiden pointing at his Infinity Wig with his thumb while saying "Infinite ammo." to Excalibur is a reference to Snake doing the same thing with his Infinity Bandana to Raiden himself in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
• Judging by the shadow, the Warframe that is finished at the end of the fight is Atlas Prime.

Errors

• In Excalibur's analysis, the Artemis Bow is listed as one of the weapons in Excalibur's arsenal. However, it is an Exalted Weapon exclusive to Ivara and her Prime variant.
• In the downloadable versions of the song on YouTube and Spotify, a cut-off "UM" can be seen near the top left of The Metal Lotus' track cover.

Other

• This is the 29th episode to feature a returning combatant, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Batman VS Captain America, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Pokémon VS Digimon, Mewtwo VS Shadow, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Ryu VS Jin, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Mega Man Battle Royale, Captain Marvel VS Shazam, Dragonzord VS Mechagodzilla, Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, Thor VS Vegeta, and Boba Fett VS Predator, and with the next four being Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha, Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
  • This is the 19th episode to feature a returning winner, after Zitz VS Leonardo, Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Goku VS Superman 2, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, She-Ra VS Wonder Woman, Venom VS Crona, Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, and Thor VS Vegeta, and with the next three being Phoenix VS Raven, Guts VS Dimitri, and Goku VS Superman (2023).
    • This is the 13th time that a returning winner loses, after Metal Sonic VS Zero, Thor VS Wonder Woman, Black Panther VS Batman, Mario VS Sonic (2018), Ganondorf VS Dracula, Deadpool VS Mask, Leonardo VS Red Ranger Jason, Venom VS Crona, Link VS Cloud (2021), Batman VS Iron Man, Akuma VS Shao Kahn, and Thor VS Vegeta, and with the next one being Guts VS Dimitri.
  • This episode marks the third time two episodes featuring returning combatants have been released consecutively (following Boba Fett VS Predator), after Lex Luthor VS Doctor Doom (following Shadow VS Ryuko) and Batman VS Iron Man (following Link VS Cloud (2021)), with the next two being Phoenix VS Raven (following Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha) and Guts VS Dimitri (following Phoenix VS Raven).
• This is the 19th Hero VS Anti-Hero-themed episode, after Ivy VS Orchid, Terminator VS RoboCop, Godzilla VS Gamera, Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon, Ryu VS Scorpion, Kirby VS Majin Buu, Gaara VS Toph, Flash VS Quicksilver, Tracer VS Scout, Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, Ryu VS Jin, Samurai Jack VS Afro Samurai, Aquaman VS Namor, The Seven Battle Royale, Sabrewulf VS Jon Talbain, Hulk VS Broly, Shadow VS Ryuko, and Thor VS Vegeta, and with the next four being James Bond VS John Wick, Killua VS Misaka, Cole MacGrath VS Alex Mercer, and Rick Sanchez VS The Doctor.
• This is the sixth episode to be animated in Source Filmmaker (SFM), after Obi-Wan Kenobi VS Kakashi, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, Yoda VS King Mickey, and Saitama VS Popeye, and with the next two being Jason Voorhees VS Michael Myers and Darth Vader VS Obito Uchiha.
• This is the fifth episode to have Brandon Yates and Therewolf Media collaborate on its track, after All Might VS Might Guy, Beerus VS Sailor Galaxia, Shadow VS Ryuko, and Saitama VS Popeye, and with the next one being Galactus VS Unicron.
  • The Metal Lotus is the third collaboration track of theirs to have lyrics, after Mighty and Chaos Unraveled.
• This is the first battle in which Wiz and Boomstick interfere in the fight in an to attempt to affect the outcome of the battle.
• This is the fourth episode in which Wiz comments on the results of the fight before Boomstick, after Boba Fett VS Samus Aran (2015), Donkey Kong VS Knuckles, and Flash VS Sonic, and with the next four being Ant-Man VS Atom, Killua VS Misaka, Scooby-Doo VS Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Galactus VS Unicron.
• This is the fourth episode in which Boomstick is angered by the outcome of the battle, after Gaara VS Toph, Cable VS Booster Gold, and Batman VS Iron Man, and with the next one being Trunks VS Silver.
• This episode reached #3 on YouTube's Trending page.
• This is the fourth 3D fight to directly follow another 3D fight, after Dante VS Bayonetta, Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, and Yoda VS King Mickey, and with the next three being James Bond VS John Wick, Sauron VS Lich King, and Frieza VS Megatron.
  • This is the second 3D fight to directly follow another 3D fight in the same season, after Batgirl VS Spider-Gwen, and with the next three being James Bond VS John Wick, Sauron VS Lich King, and Frieza VS Megatron.

References