Boomstick: Mario, Nintendo's whimsical Italian turtle crusher.
Wiz: And Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega's specialist of speed.
The thirteenth episode of season five is a special occasion, for not only does it bear the honor of being the hundredth episode, it also marks the return of a time-tested feud; the longest-lasting rivalry in video game history, classic platforming stars from the medium's advent. Though they are no strangers to this arena, much has transpired in their worlds since their last appearances, and only a true rematch, with proper research and guidelines, is befitting these legends of gaming. To clarify, though the combatants' games are treated as the primary source, any supplementary material, provided it is consistent with the game canon, is treated as equally valid. The hosts, choosing to reveal themselves in person for this landmark event, will pit astonishingly intense strength against speed of unrealistic proportions, an infinite and varied arsenal of power-ups versus a selection of intensely reliable equipment, unstoppable toughness against tried and tested agility, for Mario and Sonic, two of the most iconic figures in the world of video games and even of popular culture at large, now meet in the ring once more, ready to prove their worth and their dominance, a challenge best met in a death battle.
To kick off the episode, the two hosts delve into the backstory of Mario, savior (as well as doctor, carpenter, plumber, etc.) of the Mushroom Kingdom. Born as one of the seven powerful Star Children, destined for a life of greatness. Until then, Mario grew up alongside his younger brother Luigi in the Metro Kingdom's sprawling New Donk City, making a living cleaning the city's sewers of vermin and protecting its populace from rampant gorilla attacks. This life may seem an unassuming and humble one by anyone's standards, but Mario's legacy would truly be cemented in history when the distant Mushroom Kingdom was besieged by the armies of Bowser, another one of the Star Children, now fallen under the grip of evil. The kingdom's venerated monarch, fellow Star Child Princess Peach Toadstool, was kidnapped by Bowser, leading her remaining Toad subjects to seek Mario's help in saving them from annihilation; alongside Luigi, the brothers ventured to the Mushroom Kingdom to do battle with Bowser's forces, sparking the first in a long line of conflicts against the Koopa king. Though the monstrous scourge was defeated and his conquest foiled, Bowser would return with newer machinations that would see Mario traveling around the Mushroom Kingdom and more exotic locales alike, thwarting Bowser's schemes every step of the way.
Despite being in his mid-20s, Mario has accumulated a tremendous arsenal and abilities over the years, with physical feats to match. On his own, Mario can react to sharp turns while transformed into lightning, singlehandedly lifts objects weighing hundreds of tons, and survive explosions with yields equivalent to several megatons. These skills alone would make him a formidable foe for most anyone to face, but when his journeys see him needing an extra boost, Mario relies on a lengthy series of objects that grant him fantastic abilities. The Fire Flower, for one such example, bestows upon Mario the ability to throw several small yet mobile fireballs; for a time, this was his chief method of controlling fire, but after a journey to the distant Beanbean Kingdom introduced him to the Fire God, Mario has since developed pyrokinetic abilities of his own. The assortment of power-ups Mario has collected is of such a length that it would be impractical to recount it in its entirety; but as a small sampling of the immense collection of power-ups he has to his name, it's noted that Mario has a similar Ice Flower to throw iceballs, a Gold Flower to transmute anything its fireballs touch into gold, a Stopwatch that enables him to freeze time, the Double Cherry that creates an identical clone of Mario with every instance, the Lucky Bell to don a more agile cat suit, the Frog Suit which amplifies his swimming to tremendous levels, the Cape Feather, Wing Cap, and Tanooki Suit, all of which let Mario soar into the air given enough momentum, and the time-honored Starman, which temporarily render Mario into an invincible epileptic juggernaut upon use. Combining all of these myriad tools with a handful of other weapons and equipment, such as an Ultra Hammer to demolish what few things Mario's strength alone fails to handle, and Bottomless Gloves for an infinite supply of power-ups guarantees that the Mushroom Kingdom's hero is well-prepared for virtually any situation.
Countless travels to new and mysterious lands and his encounters with the native creatures have proven Mario is no stranger to adventure, nor the means to survive it. His origins as a Star Child, though only a brief detail of his history, have blessed him tremendously, be it in the fields of strength, speed, or durability. The Star Driver, a massive star that soars across the atmosphere, can be effortlessly piloted by Mario, highlighting his spectacular reflexes. The New Donker can lift a golden Chain Chomp weighing nearly 6000 tons, which, while an impressive feat, pales in comparison to Mario's assorted acts of destruction committed on Bowser's castles, in particular, those from his would-be vacation to Dinosaur World. As a reference point, each of the aforementioned castles is assumed to have a limestone composition and thus weigh over 61 million tons; Mario survived being in the blast radius of one such castle, while another he effortlessly uprooted from its foundations and punted with a force of over three megatons. To match thes kinds of sheer strength and reflexes, he also has the necessary toughness to tank the brunt of similar explosions with force that match his own power; various other feats highlight Mario's durability, as several characters from across the Mushroom Kingdom have survived outlandish injuries. A small array of such go from his alternate self withstanding a cannon blasting him to the moon, to his former archrival Wario pulling through a continent-spanning explosion, to Bowser himself falling into both an active and the singularity of a black hole and emerging unscathed. As Mario has been in conflict with and against these figures, it is a fair assumption that he can be compared to their own accomplishments. While Mario has a key weakness in the sense that he can be fairly gullible and relies little on strategy while on his outings, it is supplemented by the fact that many fields of physicality he is matched and overshadowed in, highlighting his nature as a Jack of All Stats by the standards of his world. Still, he makes up for these faults with an assortment of weapons and powers and his kind-hearted heroism that sees him through every adventure, just as they have countless times before.
- Mario: (grabs a Power Star from Bob-omb Battlefield's mountaintop and flashes a peace sign) Here we go!
From Mario, the hosts move on to his returning foe, Sonic the Hedgehog, chief protector of the planet Mobius. Mobius, an alternate version of the real world, is populated by people that live alongside various humanoid animals, all of whom regularly live under the threat of colonization by the insane genius Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Robotnik and his army of robotic minions continuously hunger for a worldwide empire under his domain, and though there are brave heroes that pitch a constant battle against the madman, his truest nemesis is none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. At 15 years of age, Sonic's origins are shrouded in mystery; the anthropomorphic hedgehog was born on the Christmas Island of Mobius, but his journeys have taken him across the world and his travels are so diverse that there is no place he calls home. Even the origins of his heated feud against Robotnik are unknown, but the mythic artifacts known as the Chaos Emeralds are usually the centerfold of these conflicts, and from the first time they were involved onwards, Robotnik and Sonic's mutual vendetta has only grown, locking the pair in a continuous showdown between creation and destruction that surfaces time and again.
Having stopped Eggman's schemes countless times over, there is little question as to why Sonic is hailed as the bringer of hope that he is. His very name conjures up the image of blinding speed, and Sonic makes good on such a concept. The hedgehogs of Mobius have an inherent ability to reach excessively high velocities, but the blue blur is in a class seldom reached. Official supplementary media has labeled Sonic's highest speed as Mach 10, but various works set in the Sonic canon have proven he shatters this threshold with minimal effort, casually reacting to phenomena ranging from meteor showers to lightning strikes, performing increasingly ludicrous feats of speed still. Not quite as noted yet still a point of pride to Sonic is his strength, as best demonstrated when he and his robotic doppelganger Metal Sonic on Planet Freedom; in the ensuing bout, their combined effort tore apart a granite stalactite weighing nearly 50 tons. This mix of overwhelming speed and strength is put to good use in Sonic's healthy repertoire of moves, such as curling up into a ball and charging forward with the Spin Dash, break the sound barrier from a standstill with his Super Peel-Out, or targeting nearby foes with the Homing Attack. Like his foe, Sonic also comes into battle with his own share of power-ups; a brief listing would include specially-made Light Speed shoes that upgrade his already phenomenal speed, shields made of energy that protect him from the elements, magic gloves that shrink his foes, and Wisps, small alien creatures that transform Sonic into one of several different forms. However, his ultimate trump card comes when all seven Chaos Emeralds are assembled, as with their combined power, the form of Super Sonic is unleashed. As Super Sonic, the hedgehog can withstand planetary explosions, fire beams of pure energy, and teleport objects vast distances using Chaos Control, as well as gaining the ability to fly; the Chaos Emeralds would later receive a buff in power by the Master Emerald. By extension, the improved Super Emeralds further amplify Sonic's capabilities with the form of Hyper Sonic, which, on top of giving him all the powers of Super Sonic, enable him to exceed light speed and grant him total invulnerability when he flies and can instantly annihilate anything surrounding him with a burst of light titled the Hyper Flash.
Getting to become a hero the world over is no small feat, but Sonic has proven he can handle the pressure without problem. At his best, Sonic moves several meters per frame on a camera that captures ten thousand a second, keeps pace with Wisps flying at several hundred times the speed of sound and can even outrun the accretion disk of a black hole, albeit briefly, at speeds of nearly 200 million mph; suffice to say that Sonic has a name well lived up to. The blue hedgehog can survive a fall from atmospheric re-entry and once triggered a 200 ton blast that severed the orbiting Little Planet from Eggman's mountain that it was chained to. However, this doesn't mean Sonic is without fault. The rings that act as the chief currency on Mobius also double as the power supply for Super and Hyper Sonic, and both forms have a noted tendency to rapidly drain rings, taking effect at fifty minimum, and then quickly eating through one each second; the hedgehog himself, meanwhile, is arrogant to a fault, seeking thrills rather than ensuring his own safety. The day where these spell Sonic's demise, however, has yet to come. Eggman's various mechanical minions and even otherworldly beings that have their sights set upon Mobius have all met their end at the hedgehog's hand. Underneath Sonic's brash demeanor lies a just spirit and a constant desire to do right, especially if it means triumphing over his scientist nemesis to ensure the freedom and safety of living beings.
Both combatants have seen their time in the sun, everything that can be covered has been, and the time has come for a rematch long overdue. One advertisement for the Blue Apron cooking service later and now, it's time for a death battle!
The idyllic beaches of Yoshi's Island are greeted by a familiar face, as Mario, the champion of the Mushroom Kingdom, readies a spot upon the golden sands to relax in the midday sun. Though a sharp whooshing noise grabs his attention, the Star Child looks across his surroundings, but finds himself alone. Mario pays this seeming disturbance no mind as he goes about planting his umbrella into the coast, but turns around to see an intruder making himself comfortable on his beach chair; none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, self-proclaimed fastest thing alive is reclining on Mario's seat. The hedgehog mocks Mario's assertations that the chair is rightfully his, and for his insolence, Mario slams the chair closed onto Sonic and punts him away. Eggman's nemesis uprights himself, anticipating the opportunity to deliver payback; Mario rips apart his beachwear, revealing his trademark red shirt and blue overalls underneath. With a final gesture of confrontation, the two heroes glare at one another, ready for the first move to be made...
FIGHT!
... and that first move goes to Sonic, tossing a cloud of sand into Mario's face as he darts around the plumber. Too distracted and blinded by the sand, Mario is left unaware of Sonic's position, a fact that the hedgehog exploits by barreling into the plumber with several Spin Dashes. Sonic carries his momentum as he quite literally runs circles around his foe, all too eager to continue taunting Mario. The Star Child seems to reach his breaking point with Sonic's snide remarks, tossing fireballs Sonic's way. The blue blur swerves around the oncoming projectiles as he looks around for any way to turn the fight back in his favor; luckily for him, an upwards glance points him in the direction of a Red Wisp, floating aimlessly in the ocean breeze. As he sees Mario firing a heated volley in his direction, Sonic unleashes another Spin Dash, using a nearby palm tree as a ramp to launch himself towards the Wisp, absorbing it into himself. Mario now faces Burst Sonic, who barrels through an even rapider series of fireball blasts and knocks Mario into a palm tree. Seeing the massive fireball making a U-turn right back towards him, the plumber checks his pockets for any power-up to save him, when his gloved hands pull out a Super Bell. The charging Burst Sonic immediately halts in midair, too stunned with surprise at Cat Mario to do anything but let himself get swiped at, knocking the Wisp out of him.
The momentum from that single move sends Sonic rebounding off the greenery, jarring loose several Double Cherries with each impact, before he ends up skipping on the waters surrounding the beach and finally sinking to the depths. With a moment to catch his breath, Mario admires his handiwork before noticing the veritable harvest of cherries surrounding him, his eyes aglow with rapt excitement. Sonic bounces back out from the ocean within the safety of a Bubble Shield, but exasperation paints his face when met with a horde of Cat Marios stampeding towards him. An intense maelstrom of action follows in the Marios' wake, bursting the shield before they into launch into a conjoined mauling; a bloodied nose and a flayed back and smashed testes, just a handful of the injuries Sonic sustains from the Cat Marios' relentless assault. It is only with an intense pillar of rainbow light that the Marios are knocked aside; surrounded by the seven Super Emeralds, Hyper Sonic floating above the Mario swarm. One by one, each Mario is burst from existence as the hedgehog rams into them, the real Mario frantically searching for any other items on standby, this time pulling out the fabled Starman. Mario ducks beneath Hyper Sonic charging at him, giving the Star Child just enough time to clutch the Starman in his hands as Hyper Sonic darts into him once more.
Furiously does Hyper Sonic throw a series of punches almost too fast to see, but the invincible Mario skids above the ocean waves, only slightly registering Sonic's efforts. Without any way to harm him, the fastest thing alive is kept at arm's length, swinging fruitlessly at Mario; the Star Child, meanwhile, dons a Wing Cap, taking the fight to the skies above. The two heroes get into a rapid flurry of punches and kicks, blocking whatever they can which comes their way and shrugging off the rest. The back-and-forth of fisticuffs continues as the pair soar beyond the atmosphere and into low orbit. Time begins to take its toll on their powerups, Mario expressing surprise at Sonic's offenses, Sonic becoming increasingly ragged the longer Mario fights back. Still, their stamina is stable enough that the fighters soar a ways backwards and cock their fists before closing the distance. The ensuing punches collide with such an impact that the moon beside them is utterly annihilated from the force exerted behind their combined blows. Any further aggressions the two carry, however, come to an abrupt halt; the Starman and the Wing Cap have fully exhausted their time limits, while Sonic has run out of rings to fuel the Super Emeralds' Hyper transformation. Man and hedgehog alike offer begrudging resignation before they plummet back down to earth.
Engaged in freefall with his foe, Sonic glances at Mario, now determined to end the match once and for all. Mario's shock at seeing Sonic maneuvering towards him, fists swinging wildly, is quickly cast aside with sharp focus; a fierce uppercut proves more than enough to push Sonic back. This, however, fails to deter the hedgehog, curling up in midair and launching into a Homing Attack. Though Mario is able to catch his foe, the intensity of Sonic's attack soon proves to take its toll, shredding away the white fabric of the Bottomless Gloves, and moments later, grinding into the bare flesh of Mario's hands. With intense concentration, the Star Child fights through the pain, willing the Sun God's Firebrand magic into his bloodied palms. The Mushroom Kingdom's eternal savior spins about in midair to build up momentum, the protector of Mobius held firmly within his grasp. Sonic is engulfed in an inferno before Mario bids a sardonic farewell, catapulting the hedgehog into the depths. A violent eruption taking the form of a mushroom booms from the ocean as Mario touches down upon the beach, taking a second to shake off the searing friction burns from the Rolling Attack. Looking at his charred, smoking hands, the only remains of Sonic land perfectly in his grasp; one of his trademark shoes, a fraction of his shin still attached. With the mushroom cloud radiating behind him, Mario grips Sonic's severed limb and jumps skyward in celebration, knowing that this duel has come to an end, permanently.
K.O.!!!
Finally able to enjoy his day at the beach, Mario takes his fallen foe's sun shades, the still-erupting mushroom cloud that has since obliterated Sonic reflected in their visage. While Boomstick is vaguely confused, assuming Sonic would've won (as he had previously), Wiz clarifies his assumptions, stating that victory could easily have come to the hedgehog under certain circumstances. However, Mario simply had the overwhelming advantages enough times to win more often if given the chance. Once again, the hosts reiterate that this take on the match focuses predominantly on the games that both characters have starred in and any supplementary material that falls in line with those games' vision. Sonic, having a top possible speed of 200 million mph, still held that particular field in his favor, but everything else proved to tip towards Mario. Sonic and Mario both react to lightning similarly at their top speeds despite Sonic heavily outclassing Mario in movement speed, meaning their reaction speeds are roughly equal, and Mario could thus keep up with Sonic in fighting despite having no chance in a straight race. Comparing their best known feats of strength, Mario lifting and punting a castle of Dinosaur World away is clocked in at almost 3500 kilotons of force, trumping Sonic and Metal Sonic shattering a stalactite 17 times over; with the additional caveat of doing so under his own strength. In terms of durability, Sonic's greatest strength feat is far overshadowed once again by Mario's durability, having withstood an explosion that consumed a Mushroom Kingdom tennis stadium, a force nearly twelve times as powerful. Comparing their arsenals, the same verdict is granted under a general sense; the power-ups each have can cancel each other out. However, whereas Mario carries items on his person at all times, and the Bottomless Gloves grant him an infinite supply, Sonic has to actively search for his power-ups, and once they're used up, they're gone for good. Super Sonic, the hedgehog's ace in the hole, runs on a time limit, and Mario's much larger assortment of weapons and objects means he had more than enough ways to stall until the Super or even Hyper form ran out of time. Even in the unlikely event that Sonic could tap into the Emeralds' ability to manipulate time, Mario's stopwatch yields the same effect, negating one of the hedgehog's greatest weapons. In the end, while Sonic still firmly held the advantage of speed, it was the only thing that he had in his favor, as his foe was more versatile and just enough of an equal to prove to be his better.
Wiz: (Beat) After a hundred episodes, you still can't think of a good pun?
Boomstick: No, but now they can see me do this! (gives Wiz both middle fingers) Ha ha, check it out, Wiz!
Wiz: The winner is Mario!
Mario vs. Sonic contains examples of:
- Aside Glance: Sonic gives a determined look at the camera when he notices Mario is falling back to earth with him.
- Artistic License – Biology: Played for laughs regarding the hedgehogs of the Sonic universe, which in real life, as Wiz points out, are slow, don't inherently have blue coloration, and tend to be eaten by foxes rather than friends with them. But Sega doesn't really care about that stuff, now do they?
- Atrocious Alias: Boomstick doesn't particularly think highly of Robotnik's nickname of Eggman, especially considering he feels Robotnik is far superior.
- Battle Strip: Inverted, Mario starts the battle in swim trunks, but grabs his bare chest & tears it apart to reveal that it was a suit on top of his normal clothing.
- Breather Episode: In comparison to the episode beforehand (a gritty, more down-to-earth affair featuring two street-level vigilantes) and the one after (a brutal match-up between two malevolent robots seeking the destruction of organic life), this episode is more cartoonish fare in comparison with a much sillier fight.
- Canon Discontinuity: The hosts take great effort to detail that this fight is entirely independent of that from seven years prior. As such, that match's analysis and verdict are never brought up.
- Characterization Marches On: Despite Mario's nature as an upstanding hero, Boomstick still points out his one-time animal cruelty practitioner nature as the villain of Donkey Kong Jr., but nobody talks about that incident.
- Composite Character: Two-fold, at that. Any feats from different mediums, provided they're consistent with each combatant's games, are treated as equally valid to the canon; that said, they also take different aspects from their various games, many of which have no relation to one another, to create an overall profile of what they're capable of.
- Mario, for example, is given an Ultra Hammer and the Bottomless Gloves (which they allow usage of in conjunction with up to 36 power-ups) as some of his equipment, while his various powerups run the gamut from the Firebrand, the Double Cherry and Super Bell to the Metal, Wing, and Vanish Caps.
- Meanwhile, Sonic takes various Wisps into the match, as well as the Fire, Bubble, and Electric Shields.
- Continuity Nod:
- One of the only few nods to the original episode is when Boomstick makes an offhand comment about vaguely believing Sonic would take it.
- This isn't the first time an episode's combatants have wrecked the moon with their fighting.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Unlike last time, this trope is the chief reason why Sonic loses. He has speed in spades, sure, but beyond that, everything he has to offer, Mario does better and then some.
- Detonation Moon: The sheer power behind invincible Wing Mario and Hyper Sonic is enough to shatter the moon into pieces.
- Dressed in Layers: Brilliantly parodied when the fight starts. Mario tears apart his beach clothing, a la Superman, to reveal his classic get-up underneath... thing is, said beach clothes consist of nothing but some Cheep Cheep swim trunks, and he tears it apart at the chest. So, to clarify, his normal clothes were beneath his skin, and somehow there's another layer of skin beneath that.
- Everything Makes a Mushroom: Everything, in this case, referring to hedgehogs that are set on fire and then thrown into the ocean with the force of a nuclear bomb.
- Free-Fall Fight: The fight climaxes with Mario and Sonic falling into the ocean when their power-ups wear off.
- Groin Attack: One of the highlights of the fight stems from a Cat Mario nailing Sonic with a kick in the happy sack. It even plays the "rings lost" sound effect!
- A Handful for an Eye: Sonic opens up on the fight proper by tossing sand in Mario's face, leaving him open for the ensuing beatdown.
- Hell Is That Noise: Boomstick's very disturbed by the drowning music from the Sonic series, specifically calling it nightmare noise and asking Sonic to learn how to swim so it can be done away with.
- High-Altitude Battle: Mario evens the odds against Hyper Sonic by combining the Starman with the Wing Cap and taking the fight into low orbit.
- Hiroshima as a Unit of Measure: To emphasize how powerful Mario's defenses are, comparisons to the nuclear bomb that destroyed Hiroshima are regularly made in his rundown.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Boomstick, very understandably, needs a second to down some booze after coming to the conclusion that Mario's best kicking feats vastly overshadow a nuclear blast.
- Kung-Fu Sonic Boom: Quite fitting, no? In all seriousness, the final collision of punches between Wing Mario and Hyper Sonic is one of the most impressive in the series, given it completely shatters the moon beside them.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: After the fight is forced out into the ocean as Invincible Mario effortlessly holds back Hyper Sonic, he suddenly pulls out the Wing Cap:Mario: (as he puts it on) Let's-a go. (cut to both combatants going skyward)
- Mondegreen Gag: While describing the actual top speed Sonic can reach, mention is made of how Sonic Unleashed uses the unclarified SPD unit of measurement to gauge his in-game speed. Boomstick mistakes this as being STD and starts singing about how it burns when Sonic pees.
- Mundane Utility: It's nonchalantly suggested that, given Mario can survive a blast on par with nuclear weapons, he could easily use one as a tennis ball.
- Musical Nod: The fight music
contains various snippets of music from both fighters' series, especially the SMB1 ground theme and Green Hill Zone, but also unassorted themes like the Starman and drowning themes. - Mythology Gag:
- Most of Sonic's taunts from the battle stem from his dialogue as a guest fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series.
- The pose◊ Mario and Sonic take during the clash that breaks the moon is a direct Shout-Out to Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
- Mario performing a hammer throw on his grappled foe is taken straight from the Bowser fights in Super Mario 64, right down to the dialogue ("So long-a, Bowser/hedgehog!").
- Regarding Death Battle itself, the fight seems to end the same way the original did, with Sonic using a spinning attack on a disoriented Mario. Doesn't work out so well for him this time.
- Not His Sled: Unlike the only other remade episode (in which Samus defeated Boba Fett in HD), the outcome changes — Mario wins this time.
- Power Perversion Potential: Boomstick makes a joke about this regarding the nature of the Super Mushroom, namely, how it increases Mario's size. "I bet the princess'll love that one!"
- Smoldering Shoes: The only thing that remains of Sonic come match's end is one of his iconic running shoes, smoke from the erupting still pluming off it.
- Super-Reflexes: One of the major factors that led to Mario's victory this time. Wiz and Boomstick pointed out that with Sonic's greater mobility, you could argue Mario couldn't hit him. However, Mario has accomplished feats such as guiding himself as electricity to show that his reaction time is on par with Sonic, so he can hit him despite not running as fast.
- Super-Speed: A given with how one of the most iconic examples in all of fiction is present, and his competition is no slouch himself, but since the hosts are seen in person, we also get a look at how fast Boomstick can chug a beer. He's able to down several dozen in a matter of seconds.Boomstick: Start the clock, Wiz! (holds the same pose for several seconds)
Wiz: ... are you gonna start?
Boomstick: I'm already done! (chucks the now-empty beer can into a pile)- Sonic is calculated to be able to move and react at speeds over 200 million MPH without the use of special equipment. While he proves much faster than Mario in a mobility sense, they have near even reaction speed. So when their power-up arsenals were exhausted, the fight went downhill for the Blue Blur.
- Super-Toughness: Both characters have their durability drawn attention to in the analysis of their abilities, and both are very impressive. Mario is noted to have been in the center of a huge explosion and been completely unscathed, far beyond what Sonic has survived... And far beyond the amount of damage Sonic can do in most circumstances. Combined with Mario's Super-Reflexes letting him keep up with Sonic as he moves, this is a large part of the reason he wins.
- This Is Gonna Suck:
- A mutual example, with both Mario and Sonic clearly less than pleased that their flight capabilities have given out at the worst possible time— in low orbit.
- In the analysis, Wiz and Boomstick have this reaction to when they have to talk about and calculate Sonic's speed. Considering that the topic of his speed is widely debated and has proven to be a... divisive subject, can we really blame them?
