DEATH BATTLE! is a battleboarding web series owned by Ben Singer (formerly hosted by ScrewAttack until 2019, and then hosted by Rooster Teeth until 2024), and presented by "Wizard" (Ben Singer) and "Boomstick" (Chad James). The point of the show is to take two similar characters from different universes and pit them against each other, analyzing their respective strengths and weaknesses to see who would win, similar to Deadliest Warrior.

The series began releasing in 2010. The first 18 episodes were featured exclusively on ScrewAttack's YouTube account, and starting with episode 19, the series was posted to the redesigned screwattack.com, and later roosterteeth.com, with a subscription allowing viewers to see it before it premieres on YouTube. Episodes 20-29 were animated by Mr. Lange, aka Short Factor (Jordan Lange), with episodes 29-onwards were done by a wide variety of animators such as 3D animator Torrian Crawford (though since Season 7 he occasionally animated 3D episodes), sprite and hand-drawn animator Luis Cruz (currently the animation director for the show), a group of SFM animators (DevilArtemis, Daitomodachi, Doovad Hohdan) and a variety of others including some guests.

With the closure of Rooster Teeth on May 15, 2024, the fate of the series was originally up in the air, especially given both the nature of the series and the fact that, unlike properties like RWBY, Warner Bros. has not expressed interest in selling it. However, on July 25, 2024, it was announced that Ben Singer officially acquired the rights to DEATH BATTLE!, with plans to crowdfund the show on Kickstarter being announced to be in development as well. The Kickstarter can be found here, and began on July 30, 2024, with the initial goal to fund the first four episodes being met in 21 minutes, ultimately earning $737,393 out of an initial $75,000 goal. With the overwhelming support, DEATH BATTLE! shifted from a seasonal format to a monthly schedule.

Since January 2025, the dubbing group Voces Conectadas has been releasing official audio tracks of a few episodes dubbed in Latin American Spanish.

There is a character sheet for the combatants and hosts, as well as a recap page that lists the episodes.

The official Twitter / X can be found here and the official Facebook can be found here. Have an idea for a matchup? You can suggest it here.

Rules:

Episodes:

The fights so far, in order of airing. Please consult the Recap Pages for more in-depth analysis.

Screw Attack Era

Rooster Teeth Era

Kickstarter Era

Bonus episodes

Spin-offs:

Other spin-offs:

• 1 Minute Melee: Spin-off envisioned as just the fight animations with no research, so the winner would be decided solely based on the creator's preference. Due to "undisclosed mismanagement", One Minute Melee has split off to its own publisher (Hyun's Dojo) in 2016.
• DBX: A new "no research" spin-off created after the One Minute Melee split, with its pilot premiering alongside Death Battle's season 3 premiere.
• The Desk of Death Battle: Spin-off covering bits of trivia about characters discovered by the Death Battle researchers that wasn't presented in their episode.
• Death Race: Spin-off where characters race to get to the finish line by any means necessary, aired during Death Battle season 7's mid-season break.
• Ballot Banter: Member-exclusive live-stream series started in 2022 where the crew discusses their thoughts on matchups that have been pitched to them.

Death Battle provides examples of:

• Tropes A to C
• Tropes D to M
• Tropes N to Z

Tropes with their own pages:

• The Bad Guy Wins
• Bond One-Liner
• Crossover Foil
• Cruel and Unusual Death
• Curb-Stomp Battle
• Excuse Plot
• Mythology Gag
• No Body Left Behind
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner
• Shout-Out
• Take That!