Death Race is a Spin-Off of battleboarding web series DEATH BATTLE!. It is a Short-Runner consisting of 4 episodes released on 2020, during the mid-season break of its parent show's seventh season. Animated by Devil Artemis, the show features characters from various media racing to get to the finish line by any means necessary. Similar to fellow spin-off DBX, the results are decided solely by the writers' whim rather than by proper research. This results in generally more chaotic and nonsensical plots compared to the parent show, matching some of the weirder early DBX episodes. The rundown is done by DBX's Ringmaster, with commentary from the main show's hosts Wiz and Boomstick.
Death Race provides examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: The series has multiple examples thanks to its Comedic Sociopathy.
- Unlike the typical portrayals of Batman, who are known for their Thou Shalt Not Kill philosophy, all of the Batmen plus the Robin in "Batmobile BATTLE!" have no qualms of trying to kill one other, and all of them save for the Tumbler let loose their missiles on innocent Gothamites. Robin in particular delivers an Evil Laugh when he launches an ICBM on the Arkham-Mobile.
- KITT was always kind of cocky and assured of his own brilliance, but even considering this happens to almost everyone in DR, he's a far more sinister character here, being more akin to Hal 9000 driving a car. He even takes over Wiz's body through his cybernetically enhanced brain.
- In "Sonic VS Mario VS Star Wars VS Initial D", Mario is a lot more cruel than in canon as he has no qualms actually killing his foes, as evidenced by his use of a Bullet Bill and Bob-Omb against Sonic or him flipping Captain Falcon off after the latter saved Mario.
- Brick Joke:
- "Optimus Prime VS Thomas the Tank Engine?": In the introductions, Ringmaster jokes that if Harry and Ron manage to win the race, they are going to see their parents again; the joke is that Harry's parents are dead, so he won't actually see them. When Harry and Ron are killed during the race, Boomstick jokes that it looks like they are not going to see their parents again, while Wiz comments that one of them will (in the afterlife).
- Midway through "BATTLE CARS!", the Warthog gets sent flying, but it ends up taking so long that its driver reads a book titled The Art of the T-Bag Vol. 2 to pass time. Once they land right at the finish line and are declared the winner, they promptly teabags the ground in celebration.
- Comedic Sociopathy: Boomstick spends the whole series talking about how he is commentating and making up absurd obstacles mostly so he can watch the racers die. All characters are also happy to try to kill each other no matter what their canon morals are, such as all the Batmen blowing up a traffic full of innocent drivers that are on their way or Mario flipping off Captain Falcon who has just saved him, all Played for Laughs. Even Optimus being horrified by his killings gets followed up by an absurd "Autobot Seppuku".
- Cool Car: Most of the racers are driving fantastic cars, usually weaponized or having abilities such as the Flying Car from Harry Potter or the time-traveling car from Back to the Future.
- Noodle Incident:
- According to "BATTLE CARS!", Boomstick apparently did something in the past involving wrecked cars and splattered people to the point he is wanted in 50 states.
- In the finale episode, exactly what happened that led to the pizza that was supposed to deliver by the Delorean being switched by a bullet ridden replacement is unknown.
- Oddball in the Series: The fourth episode is notably the only piece of DEATH BATTLE media where there is no real connection between the opponents.
- Pyrrhic Victory:
- In "Batmobile Battle", the Adam West Batmobile wins... but only because it was propelled by the blast of an explosive dropped by the Tim Burton Batmobile, which also destroyed the vehicle.
- In "Optimus Prime VS Thomas the Tank Engine?", Optimus Prime wins by destroying Thomas the Tank Engine and Lightning McQueen... which goes against his strict code of honor, causing him to commit "Robo-Seppuku" by driving off the track out of shame.
- Rule of Funny: Unlike the parent series which typically tries to be as close to the source material as possible, Death Race has no such restraint and includes things that are impossible for the characters (such as Thomas becoming a Skyrim dragon) solely for laughs.
- Weaponized Car: All the cars in "Batmobile BATTLE!" and "BATTLE CARS!" are equipped with all sorts of weapons. In fact, this trope is the main theme of the latter episode.
