Description[]
Season 11 Premiere. Mario vs. Sonic. But of different versions of our contesting video game mascots.
Introduction[]
Wiz: The Mario of Paper.
Boomstick: The Sonic from Boom.
Wiz: When a video game character has had a spread of fame as the likes of Mario and Sonic, it's only natural they would get different versions of them for a different series of adventures.
Boomstick: He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.
Wiz: And it's our job to analyse their weapons, armour and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle!
Paper Mario[]
Wiz: One might that a world made out of paper would be pretty, well, flat but there is one that has far more depth to it than you may expect.
Boomstick: We're talking about ancient happenings, surprisingly dark storylines and background lore that's used to piece together one's progress. Really, it's all surprisingly deep. And the one to experience all this wonder and adventure, and maybe give a little of his own, is Mario Mario.
Wiz: Or in this case, Paper Mario.
Boomstick: But really, what's the difference?
- Background
- Height: 5'1
- Occupation: Plumber
- Paper version of Mario (duh)
- Has his own adventures parallel to Luigi's
- Once turned into his own shadow
Wiz: That's...actually a good question. Whilst it's feasible that Paper Mario is of a different canon, canon itself has never been too much of a fixed thing in Mario. Just look at Mario Party and all the sports games, so it's entirely possible that Paper Mario is the mainstream Mario, just seen through a different art style.
Boomstick: Well, you do need paper for different art styles. Hay-Oh! But there's also the fact that Paper Mario has interacted with Mario and Luigi's...Mario and Luigi. So, possibility different canon, or canon all over the place. Who can tell?
Wiz: Regardless of whichever one is Paper Mario's concrete origin, the fact remains that he has just as many adventures as his mainstream counterpart.
Boomstick: It's the standard rescue the Princess and in the process, find the MacGuffins sprinkled throughout the world. And both kinds of quest offer up some steep obstacles to overcome. Fortunately, every Mario is equipped with the right tools for the job, and Paper Mario is no exception.
Wiz: Like any Mario, Paper Mario is notable for jumping on his foes to damage and defeat them, and yet he takes it a step forwards with the collection of different boots he has at his disposal.
- Arsenal
- Boots
- Shiny Boots
- Flashy Boots
- Legendary Boots
- Gold Boots
- Iron Boots
- Shiny Iron Boots
- Flashy Iron Boots
- Legendary Iron Boots
- Hammer
- Shiny Hammer
- Flashy Hammer
- Legendary Hammer
- Gold Hammer
- Fire Hammer
- Ice Hammer
- Hurlhammer
- Shiny Hurlhammer
- Fire Flower
- Shiny Fire Flower
- Ice Flower
- Shiny Ice Flower
- Tail
- Shiny Tail
- POW Block
- Mushroom
- Shiny Mushroom
- Flashy Mushroom
- 1-Up Mushroom
- Boots
Boomstick: He has normal boots, Shiny Boots, Flashy Boots, Legendary Boots and Gold Boots that, instead of drawing blood from enemies, draws coins. Whilst each type aside from his normal ones can only be used for a limited number of tries, they make up for it with an increase in power.
Wiz: The same principle applies for all his hammers. In fact, he has one he can use indefinitely even outside of battle. And of course, they both have alternate variations for different situations.
Boomstick: The Hurlhammer helps with covering distances the normal hammers can't, and the Iron Boots, which have Shiny, Flash and Legendary versions as well, can help squash enemies with spikes.
Wiz: To harness the elements, Paper Mario can bring out Ice or Fire Flowers and to shake the Earth, hits the portable POW Blocks.
Boomstick: His Tail, or the Shiny version, can be used to hit areas in a wide area and in past cases, has even used them to knock back projectiles. But his most powerful weapons of all aren't even weapons; they're Things! Real world objects which he can use to take out droves of enemies, counter boss attacks and even reshape the world.
Popup: This is mainly the arsenal available to him during the Origami King, which is fairly similar to the power-ups available in the past two Paper Mario games.
Wiz: Whilst he needs special means in order to obtain them, such as by Flinging them onto a screen or by colouring them in. But when they are unleashed, ones like the Fan are able to generate massive Tsunamis and Scissors slice enemies to ribbons. Because in a world of paper, the one who can snip is king. And being made of paper, Paper Mario has a few abilities based around using his malleable body.
- Paper Powers
- Plane Mode
- Paper Mode
- Tube Mode
- Boat Mode
- Flip
Boomstick: He can turn himself into a Plane, Boat, Tube and flatten himself for easier access. What's more, he's able to Flip himself, so to speak, to go from 2D transversal to 3D.
Popup: The Flip ability was accessible to Paper Mario in a purely 2D area in Color Splash.
Wiz: Abilities available to him as early as The Thousand Year Door, long before the later instalments that focused on paper themes, like Stickers, Paint and Origami.
Boomstick: Origami...guh! Gives me the creeps, that Ollie does. And he was just the latest in a long line of challenges Paper Mario had to deal with.
- Feats
- Found the Crystal Stars, Royal Strikers and Big Paint Stars
- Survived being launched to the moon
- Dodged lightning from the Thunder Sumo
- Pure of heart enough to obtain the Crystal Map
- Faster than Mario
- Defeated Bowser, the Shadow Queen, Dimentio, King Ollie
Wiz: He's fought against the Shadow Queen and her demonic legions, tracked down numerous legendary relics with massive power that are utilized by several ne'er-do-wells and proved pure of heart enough to-
Boomstick: Use the Pure Hearts!
Wiz: Actually I was going to say gain the map to the Crystal Stars. In spite of being made of paper, which isn't very well known for being durable, Paper Mario withstood being launched to the moon in an impact that equalled over a megaton of force.
Boomstick: He's quick enough to dodge Scissors, the enemy, not the Thing, and fast enough to avoid a surprise attack from a Sumo Bro. An attack that just so happened to be a lightning strike.
Wiz: Meaning he would of had to avoid an attack that moved at over two-hundred times the speed of sound. He's also incredibly tenacious and strategic in battle, having fought through a fighting tournament and dived deep into a pit of 100 challenges.
Boomstick: And of course, mastering the line-up system of the Origami King. Blasted thing basically requires you to have mastered depth perception.
Wiz: Not even being made of paper, and thus being vulnerable to logical weaknesses like really sharp items, is enough to stop this version of Mario from doing what he does best, including taking on not just your standard Bowser, but also his Royal Sticker and Black Paint versions.
Boomstick: Like I said, is there really a difference between this Mario and any other?
Sonic Boom[]
Wiz: What's the one word that's best used after the word Sonic?
Boomstick:...the Hedgehog?
Wiz: I said word.
Boomstick: Oh; Hedgehog!
Wiz: Ugh, no, Boom. You know, Sonic Boom.
Boomstick: Oh yeah. But you know what, I say we're both in the right, because we're talking about a Sonic the Hedgehog and a Sonic Boom combined. Sonic the Hedgehog Boom!
Wiz: Basically...yes. With such an obvious pun crying to be made, it's no wonder Sega decided to roll out the carpet for another interaction of their mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. Complete with a...radical new design.
- Background
- Age: 16
- Height: 3'3
- Likes chilli dogs and root beer
- Like his canon counterpart, is afraid of water
- Went he wants to go slow, he drives an automatic car
Boomstick: Wiz, if we've learned anything from this decade, it's that Sonic can have much worse designs. Much worse!
Wiz: Agreed. Anyway, regardless of any overly revisited designs, the Boom version of Sonic is pretty much, well, just another version of Sonic. He fights Eggman, protects people-
Boomstick: Even if they aren't exactly grateful for it.
Wiz:-And of course, still has the same cocky and thrill-seeking attitude as his mainstream counterpart.
Boomstick: He'd need it too, since not only was there a much slimmer Eggman to battle against, but also a sinister snake called...Lyric? What the heck kind of name is that? Who on Mobius thought, "You know what's a good name to strike fear into the hearts of Sonic fans? The word that describes lines in songs."
Wiz: Lyric's plan was to radically alter the world using Chaos Crystals, so naturally, Sonic and his friends had their work cut out for them. Fortunately, whether it be in a team or going solo, Sonic had the stuff to take on whatever his adversaries threw at him.
Boomstick: Like, for starters, his incredible speed! He's so fast, he needs an actual car just so his friends can keep up with him. When he wants to actually go fast into an automobile, he converts it into a peddle car. And unlike the usual sort of Sonic, he's not afraid to engage in melee battles.
- Abilities
- Super speed
- Hand-to-hand combatant
- Spin Dash
- Spin Jump
- Spin Attack
- Homing Attack
- Dash
- Air Dash
- Ground Pound
Wiz: Not unlike the Werehog Sonic. Just without the stretching limbs. And he has many means of attacking that aren't to dissimilar from his main counterpart's techniques. He can Spin Dash, Spin Jump and Spin Attack.
Boomstick: He can charge forwards with a Dash attack or shoot at his opponents with the Homing Attack. And he can slam down with Ground Pound, which can produce a small shockwave.
Wiz: And just like the original Sonic, he can make use of power-ups he can find randomly.
- Equipment
- Wrist Communicator
- Enerbeam
- Fire Mode
- Ice Mode
- Objects
- Battle Trumpet
- Cyclone Blaster
- Explosion Switch
- Feather Blade
- Hand Gun
- Wrist Communicator
Boomstick: He can use the Battle Trumpet to unleash damaging sound blasts, send out whirlwinds with the Cyclone Blaster, throw out a bomb called an Explosion Switch, shoot out knife-like projectiles with the Feather Blade, and best of all, he has a hand-gun! Suck it Shadow!
Wiz: It's not actually what you think. It's literally a Hand-Gun. It's a gun that shoots a grasping hand.
Boomstick: Oh. Eh, I still rank it high for the pun alone. And you know what else I rank highly? Sonic's Wrist Communicator, which I'm pretty sure Tails made.
Wiz: Thanks to that nifty little device, Sonic can not only remain in contact with his friends but make use of the abilities most vital to him during two different adventures; the Enerbeam and Element Modes.
Boomstick: The Enerbeam is a tether of energy that Sonic can use to grab enemies and swing them around to send them flying. Plus, it's handy for navigation and exploration.
Wiz: To harness the elements of ice and fire, Sonic uses the respective Element Modes, which do exactly what you expect them to do.
Boomstick: Freeze and shatter, or burn and vaporize! Guess he needs all he can to make up for the fact that he doesn't really have a Super Mode. Since you know, the legendary relics are Chaos Crystals, not Chaos Emeralds. They may have better alliteration but they don't really imbue anything other than machines with power. Not Hedgehogs unfortunately. Still, Sonic has plenty of other abilities to his name, and several accomplishments, without the need for Chaos energy.
Wiz: Especially where his speed is concerned.
Boomstick: Hmm, let me guess, he's even faster than Sonic? I mean, his legs are certainly longer.
- Feats
- Knocked back Metal Sonic, a feat Knuckles failed to do
- Tracked down and found all the Chaos Crystals
- Dodged lightning and meteors
- Generates shockwaves with his attacks
- Tanks attacks from giant robots
- Defeated Shadow, Eggman, Metal Sonic, Lyric
Wiz: Well, whilst Boom Sonic hasn't exactly mimicked the same feats as mainstream Sonic like, say, outracing a black hole, he has been able to sidestep a meteor and out speed lightning, requiring a movement speed of over Mach 200. What's more, this Sonic also has a great deal of power behind his attacks.
Boomstick: And it's all thanks to Metal Sonic tanking a hit from leg-day-skipping Knuckles.
Popup: Whilst Knuckle caused a volcanic eruption in the Boom opening, it's highly unlikely to be canon.
Wiz: Knuckles was able to smash apart a giant meteor with only a single strike and whilst he failed to do any significant damage to Metal Sonic, Flesh Sonic was able to do knock him around no problem.
Boomstick: To destroy that meteor, Knuckles had to hit it with nearly 50 kilotons of TNT so Sonic must hit with at least double that power.
Popup: Only 4 times weaker than a version of Sonic who dislodged a giant stone spike.
Wiz: He's defeated many giant machines, as per the course, and not only did he foil Lyric's reignited plans, he also foiled the first and original time he implemented them.
Boomstick: So time travel was involved? Sounds a lot like the plot of-GAH!
Wiz: What?
Boomstick: Sonic 06...
Wiz: Oh yeah, yikes. Speaking of, Boom's Sonic pretty much has the same issues as main Sonic; mainly, he cannot swim and his own cocky attitude can get him into sticky situations.
Boomstick: Still, this version of Sonic has carved out a path for himself as a Sonic nevertheless. Plus, his show isn't half bad. Certainly more witty than most animated versions.
Wiz: He truly does put the Sonic in Sonic Boom.
Interlude[]
Wiz: Alright the combatants are set, time to end this debate once and for all.
Boomstick: It's time for a Death Battle!
The Battle[]
Setting: Valley
Paper Mario travelled through the primarily barren valley, so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice a car zooming towards him. Although that was to be expect, since there was no engine to make noise. It was being peddled by Sonic, who didn't see Mario until he could only yell;
Sonic: Look out!
Mario frowned and turned to see the car barrelling towards him and shrieked before it zoomed over him. Sonic brought his vehicle to a halt, swinging around in panic to see what damage had been done.
Not physical damage though, since Mario had fallen onto his flat side to avoid getting run over, but emotion-wise, he was none-to-happy at nearly being run over.
Sonic: Uh...sorry.
Mario simply drew out his hammer and brandished it, prompting Sonic to roll his eyes.
Sonic: Well, exercise is exercise I suppose.
He jumped out of the car and curled up into a ball before Spin Dashing towards Mario.
FIGHT!
To counter Sonic's Spin Dash, Mario swung out with his hammer, striking the hedgehog-turned-projectile and knocking him away. Sonic unfurled to stop himself from going back too far before jumping into the air for a Homing Attack. Mario blocked the attack with the head of his hammer and when Sonic landed back on the ground, swung the weapon down at him. Sonic stepped backwards to avoid getting flattened before lashing out with a triple-punch combo which nailed Mario in the face. Mario attempted to retaliate by swiping the hammer back upwards, a move Sonic also countered by doing a Spin Jump off the hammer head itself. He came down onto Mario's head, landing behind him and the plumber swung around with the hammer, prompting Sonic to duck beneath the attack.
Sonic: You, my friend, are way too slow.
He lashed out with a sweeping kick but Mario was able to jump over the attack and land on Sonic's head with a jump attack-only to launch backwards with a yowl of pain, clutching his quill-pierced foot. Sonic chuckled at his distress with hands on his hips as Mario massaged his foot.
Sonic: You know, I'm starting to feel sorry for you. So I'll give you one free hit!
Mario glared up at him and stood back up, but not before equipping Iron Boots. So when he next jumped onto the stationary Sonic's head, this time he did real damage. Sonic was reduced to seeing spots as he stumbled backwards, Mario landing on him numerous other times with the Iron Boots, before finishing with a somersaulting jump off the hedgehog's noggin'. Sonic shook his head to clear the stars in his vision, fixed Mario with an annoyed glare and instantly followed up with a Dash attack. He planted straight into his opponent, carrying him several meters with an attack until coming to an abrupt stop, sending Mario flying backwards. Sonic himself looked around at his new surroundings, seeing that he was surrounded by several crates; punching through one, he pulled out a Hand Gun.
Smirking, he fired the hand gun straight at Mario as he climbed back to his feet. He was able to act quickly enough to equip his Tail and spin around to knock the hand-projectile of the gun back towards Sonic, resulting in it hitting him in the face. Sonic staggered back, dropping the gun. Mario took advantage of the Hedgehog's stunned state to jump forwards and hit him with a Tail spin, sending him tumbling away. Sonic smashed into another crate and from it gained the Feather Blade, from which he sent several knife-like projectiles at Mario; when he attempted to Tail whack it away, the temporary appendage when sliced to ribbons and Mario had to make do with throwing himself to the side to avoid sharing its fate. Sonic then switched it up with another smashed crate and the Cyclone Blaster unleashed a gust of wind that naturally sent the paper-composed Mario flying through the air with a yell. Watching his involuntary travel, Sonic tossed aside the weapon and took after him with a triumphant chuckle.
But Mario's trajectory took him straight into the middle of a large pond, and just before hitting the surface, he transformed into his boat self and settled safely down on the water's surface. As Sonic approached, his eyes went wide at the sight of the dreaded body of water and he screeched to a stop just before he could go in. Mario, in his boat form, shook with laughter, prompting Sonic to glower at his opponent.
Sonic: I think you should come out there pal, I'm not finished!
He activated his Ice Mode and touched the pond, freezing it over and forcing Mario to jump back into his original force. He struggled to find his footing as Sonic took the opportunity to jump into the air and slam down on the frozen pond, shattering it to pieces that flew upwards, Mario among them and ripe from Sonic to air dash into him. Mario flew backwards, back onto normal land, and drew out a Fire Flower, sending out fireballs at Sonic. The hedgehog ducked and weaved around them upon landing, before he started running around the plumber, slowly but surely creating a tornado from his own motion. Mario, who had been preoccupied with throwing fireballs at the moving Sonic, took notice as he was nearly lifted into the air. Acting quickly, he pulled out a POW Block and hit it, the resulting shockwave tripping Sonic and cancelling out his tornado-generation.
As Sonic picked himself back up, he saw that Mario appeared to have vanished from his sight. As he looked around in confusion, Mario suddenly reappeared in front of him, having Flipped so that Sonic could only see his 2D side, and whacked him with his Hammer. Sonic stumbled backwards as Mario rained down blow after blow, each time with a different hammer; first the Shiny, then the Flashy and finally the Gold, which left Sonic lying on his back with a bruised head surrounded by coins
Mario: Let's-a-finish this!
He swung down with his Legendary Hammer, but before it could make contact, Sonic rolled backwards and flicked his wrist out to conjure the Enerbeam, which latched onto Mario's nose. In his confusion, Sonic ran around Mario, wrapping the Enerbeam around him until he was fully restrained. As he jabbered in annoyance, the plumber fell onto his front as Sonic revved himself up before him.
Sonic: I'm going to turn you into confetti!
He shot towards Mario, intending to make good on his promise.
That was when Mario pulled out a Scissor Stricker and activated it, the conjured tools cutting through his restraints and enabling him to roll out the way of Sonic's Spin Dash. And when the hedgehog's attack had come to an end, it became clear that cutting the Enerbeam wasn't all the Scissors had done, since Sonic's eyes was listless before he fell to pieces. Mario dusted himself off and trotted away, leaving Sonic's pieces in the dirt.
KO!
Mario drove off in Sonic's own car, after converting it to its automatic mode, running over the hedgehog's remains in the process.
Outcome[]
Boomstick: Huh, I just got the strangest case of Deja Blue.
Wiz: That's not too surprising actually. In fact, "previous findings" on the Mario and Sonic rivalry helped to prove this to use. But before we get onto that, let's discuss some new factors.
Boomstick: Such as this time around, Mario being able to work around Sonic's spikey quills. His Iron Boots would let him avoid any possible danger of the hedgehog's natural defences and with his Ice and Fire Flowers, he could counter Sonic's own Elemental modes.
Popup: Whilst he has been harmed by the spikes of enemies, Mario has never been in danger of them being able to slice through him. And given the Scissors' ability, it's likely they are the only means of cutting paper characters, so even the Feather Blade Sonic could potentially find would unlikely be an instant win.
Wiz: And whilst Paper meeting Fire isn't the best formula for survival, Mario isn't instantly defeated by Fire based attacks and he's even survived being hit after being encased in ice, which is one method of offence Sonic had.
Boomstick: And with the ability to work around Sonic's more esoteric abilities, that would let Mario put his other advantages to the test. Like, most surprisingly, his speed.
Wiz: Paper Mario was able to dodge bolts of lightning, which puts him in the same ballpark as Sonic as the very minimum. In fact, mainstream Mario was able to pilot the Star Diver at similar speeds, and Paper Mario is said to be faster than him.
Boomstick: So this Mario would have an easier time matching Sonic's quick movements. And when it came to strength, Paper Mario also had Sonic Boom beat.
Wiz: You see, regardless of if Paper Mario is a reskinned Mario or a composite version, what ties the scaling between them together is how there was a Paper Mario and a normal Mario who interacted together and fought side-by-side on even footing.
Boomstick: Footing which, based on main Mario's feat of kicking a castle, enables Paper Mario to rub elbows with those who can dish out 3 megatons of TNT at the very least. Making him 60 times more powerful than Boom.
Wiz: And to be frank, it's that same clear-connection that truly defines Paper Mario's advantage, since Boom Sonic has never interacted or truly reflected the feats of his mainstream counterpart.
Boomstick: And even if he did, we all know that wouldn't change the results either way. Paper Mario was just too strong, too well equipped and too capable of matching Sonic's speed. He was just a Paper Cut above the rest.
Wiz: The winner is Paper Mario.
Next Time[]
Hunting the most dangerous game
Regardless of their size
Trivia[]
- Connections: Both are alternate versions of pre-established video game characters who serve as the mascots of their companies. Both can make use of the elements of ice and fire in battle and have fought alongside teams of allies.
- Animation Style: 2D.
- OST Idea: 'Paper Boom'.