Boomstick: Ugh, we're really gonna talk about feelings and crying and stuff?
Wiz: Well, yes, and how they can fuel some pretty powerful magic.
Boomstick: Sounds good! Like with Raven, the half-demon sorceress from the Teen Titans.
Wiz: And Twilight Sparkle, the magical prodigy from My Little Pony.
Boomstick: Yep, really doing this again.
In the second episode of season five, a pair of reclusive purple-clad magicians who shine brighter alongside their allies must now tackle new challenges alone. The hosts will pit a manifestation of one's spirit against magic that stems from others, demonic lineage against godlike potential, for though they may be no strangers to the ways of magic and conflict, now, both Raven and Twilight Sparkle must use every skill at their disposal if they wish to attain victory in a death battle.
Starting the episode off is the backstory behind Raven Roth, the offspring of the demon king Trigon and Angela Roth, a cultist in his service. Angela was rescued by inhabitants of the dimension Azarath, where Raven was born. Angela left the infant in the care of Azarath's high priestess, who taught her to suppress all emotion so Trigon would be kept at bay from the universe at large. At the age of 18, Raven was brought to Trigon and learned he intended to invade her home dimension, and disgraced Angela by rapidly aging her as an act of humiliation; Raven returned to Earth in desperation and enlisted the aid of the Teen Titans to halt her demonic father's schemes. With their aid, Raven was able to gain better control over Trigon's influence on her and still prove to be an invaluable ally to the Titans in their own outings.
Her lineage from Trigon is the most vital aspect of Raven's character and the source of her power; with Trigon being the embodiment of hatred itself, his offspring bears a similar power in the form of an empath, a mage capable of manipulating and creating emotion. Raven's empathic abilities can allow her to control the mental status of her enemies, which makes for a powerful weapon in and of itself, but an even greater one lies in wait for Raven to unleash. After Angela was humiliated by Trigon, Raven gave in to despair for the first time, giving birth to her soul self, an extension of her spirit and the embodiment of the powers inherited from Trigon. The soul self, which manifests in the form of a large bird, is Raven's primary weapon in combat, even being able to act on its own accord should Raven herself be incapacitated; the soul self can grant its master flight and ram into objects with great force, accompanied by other more esoteric abilities such as a living surveillance system, leeching energy away from others, and even serve as a pocket dimension that can hold a small number of items should Raven so choose. The soul self is indeed a versatile power Raven wields, but the spellcaster herself is no slouch. Beyond the manifestation of her power, Raven possesses the powers of levitation, intangibility, the ability to project force fields, and concentrated beams of energy. However, the right to use this vast array of powers comes at a great risk, as doing so requires Raven to open up her mind to emotion, and too much emotion runs the risk of Trigon taking control of her. In this form, the fittingly christened Dark Raven, the daughter of Trigon bears an increase in her physical traits and a plethora of new talents; her soul self likewise becomes powerful enough to disintegrate people instantaneously. Rarer still are her selves when free from Trigon's control and garnering complete control over her magical abilities, and even shedding her body to take on astral golden form, granting exponential boosts in power with each.
The key to Trigon's destruction as well as his destroyer should not be overlooked when considering all that Raven is capable of and already performed. Her magic has shown feats of strength such as bending steel girders, shattering brick walls on impact no worse for wear, and even aiding fellow Titan Terra keep their tower base and the island it rests on from sinking into the sea. This last point stands out in that, on her own accord, Terra was only able to keep the island from sinking, with Raven providing most of the work in saving the tower. Assuming the island Titans Tower rests on as portrayed in the animated series is similar in geological makeup to Alcatraz, an island with similar size, the energy supplied by Raven's magic in rescuing the island is equivalent to 14 million megawatts per hour; enough to power the entirety of New York City for three years. Her soul self is likewise an imposing entity, surviving pressure underneath the ocean and laser beams that can stun even the Amazonian Donna Troy. Its speed is such that it can travel from New York City to the American Midwest and back in under five minutes, a feat putting the soul self's traveling speed at Mach 36. However, with as imposing as Raven may be in both body and soul, such power often comes at a tremendous expense. Should the soul self somehow take damage, Raven herself will sustain similar injuries. In addition, the aforementioned requirement of emotion fueling her powers is much more complicated than it may sound; she is forced to confront and absorb that emotion entirely, taking pain from negative emotions. Dark Raven is the most easily accessible of Raven's additional forms, but in channeling it, she also runs the risk of unleashing Trigon upon the universe. Thankfully, Raven has friends by her side, who helped her overcome Trigon's corruption and move on in her life, no longer chained by her demonic father's evil, free to live a life on her own terms thanks to the Teen Titans.
Raven: They're not demons; let me show you one. Azarath metrion zinthos! (summons her soul self, which soars above Raven and screeches)
From Raven, the hosts shift gears and move on to Twilight Sparkle, born as a young filly in to the prestigious city of Canterlot, capital of all of Equestria. At a young age, Twilight was eager to hone her magical talents at Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, but became the personal student of Celestia herself; made all the more impressive with Celestia's status both as ruler of Equestria and the entity responsible for the sun's journey across the cosmos. In her role as Celestia's pupil, Twilight earned her cutie mark, a unique symbol on each pony's flank symbolizing their purpose in life; the magenta starburst that decorates Twilight is indicative of her life goal, study the ways of magic. Twilight became a fully fledged unicorn by the time she acquired the knowledge of thousands of books on magic, becoming increasingly proficient with its use. Her magic would serve her well upon being tasked by Celestia to head to the more rural Ponyville and befriend the locals; further adventures would see her both saving the land from annihilation and appreciating the mundanity of her new life, culminating in her role as Equestria's newest princess.
Complex magic is at the fore of Twilight's skills, and she is fully capable of understanding the magic of others just by watching it be performed; so vast is her collection of spells, in fact, that it is said that it would take over an hour to list it in its entirety. For the sake of expediency, her premiere spells involve telekinesis, pyrokinesis, the formation of energy beams and barriers, and teleportation. Such a diverse mastery of magic is made possible by a unicorn's emotions, and Twilight is no exception. The stronger a unicorn feels about a given subject, the stronger their magic becomes at the time, and nothing amplifies this magic greater than the elements of harmony, aspects of friendship manifested as gemstones. Magic itself is one of the six elements of harmony, and in conjunction with the other five, the elements become powerful enough to overwhelm the greatest threats known to Equestria, such as the demonic centaur Lord Tirek even after he had stolen all the other magic present in Equestria. It just so happens that the elements of harmony are one form of friendship made manifest; Twilight and her friends are also living embodiments of the elements, and Twilight is none other than magic. When the element of magic is placed within its owner's rightful crown, it demonstrates the sheer potential power it holds, even introducing magic into a universe where it did not exist previously. Fortune continues to shine upon Twilight as, upon becoming a princess of Equestria, she also ascended into an alicorn; a rare species of pony that combines the strengths of the others into a single winged unicorn.
Kinship with others in Equestria is almost a magic as strong as that which Twilight possesses herself, a fact that is best exemplified with how Twilight has repeatedly tapped into the powers of the other alicorn princesses for some of her most remarkable feats. In her fight with Tirek alone, she survived being hurled into a mountain and Tirek plowing into her with 8 million newtons of force. Even on her own accord, Twilight has consistently been shown to lift heavy objects weighing hundreds of tons and fly at speeds well above 300 mph without the assistance of magic. But Twilight is still a student first and a fighter second, only venturing into battle when needed, and with reason. As impressive a display of accomplishments as Twilight's, she is still a neurotic figure, easily prone to mental breakdowns at the slightest setback and has a tendency to make matters worse before fixing them. It is well understood, however, that such flaws are minor setbacks when looking at all which Twilight has accomplished, and that they ultimately do nothing to detract from the noble spirit and plethora of talent that surges through her.
Twilight Sparkle: You're wrong, Tirek! I may have given you my alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship! (the ponies unleash color-coordinated rays at Tirek, who screams in agony)
The fighters have been studied and the time for battle is fast approaching. One advertisement for MeUndies undergarments later, and now, it's time for a death battle!
The sun's rays shine brightly above Ponyville, as within the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic, finds a spell regarding trans-dimensional teleportation, much to her interest. In a blind test, a flash of light fills the hollowed tree and deposits on the floor one Rachel Roth, better known as Raven. The daughter of Trigon, surrounded by toys of Twilight and friends, is taken aback by her new surroundings. Raven's embarrassment and Twilight's own confusion give way to unbridled fury, as the Teen Titan ascends into the air, blasting a shot of dark energy in an attempt to keep her secret safe. The princess nimbly dodges, regaining a steady footing as she faces Raven head on.
FIGHT!
Black rays of magic collide with Twilight's lavender beams, resulting in an explosion that sets the library ablaze. Even in her panicked state, Twilight shields herself from Raven's energy before the pony goes onto the offensive, telekinetically lifting up furniture to hurtle at Raven. The cloaked sorceress is unperturbed by this, summoning her soul self to envelop the oncoming projectiles and siccing the astral corvid upon Twilight. At the last second, Twilight teleports out the library and is promptly horrified by her home having burst into flames. Distracted, Twilight only remembers Raven's presence as the Titan teleports in after her and unleashes a volley of kicks, a spinning kick to the face sends the pony soaring and giving Raven an opportunity for the follow-up. Her magic forms a portal that sends Twilight careening past the thick canopy of the Everfree Forest and crashing into the dirt.
As Raven emerges through the portal, she finds a downed Twilight forcing herself upright. Raven keeps pushing the attack, using her magic to raise felled trees, and with her trademark chant, unleashes the plantlife in a barrage. Her quadrupedal foe acts quickly, swerving out the path of most trees and blasting a few away. As Raven unleashes a second volley of trees, the alicorn conjures her crown, and with it, the element of magic itself. Its power takes hold right as the trees reach Twilight, who blasts them into nothingness. Raven, however is far from impressed as she taps into the full extent of her powers freed from Trigon, her purple garments transforming into ones of the purest white. In the ensuing storm of dark magic, Twilight's shield begins to fracture as trees rain down upon her, but right beside Raven, the princess can eye a humble stone. Twilight focuses her magic into a massive heart aimed at the rock, drawing Raven's attention as it connects. The torrent of magic immediately dies down as Twilight shields herself, hoping the want-it-need-it spell will take effect on the Titan.
And that it has, as Twilight opens her eyes to see Raven salivating over the rock. Twilight tries to press her newfound advantage, but the daughter of Trigon, assuming the princess covets her beloved boulder, unleashes her wrathful soul self at the surprised Twilight. The bird's cacophonous chirping serves as a prelude to consuming Twilight whole; a ball of energy fired between the bird's closing wings as a last resort. In the murky blackness of the raven's pocket dimension, the color drains out of Twilight, who becomes sluggish and melancholy to match. Writhing tendrils close in on Twilight, but the ball makes contact with Dark Raven, transforming her into a potted plant.
The veil of darkness is lifted on the alicorn who tumbles to the ground and lands in front of the transformed Raven. She attempts a spell, but only faint crackles burst out the tip of her horn, the crown tumbling off. Twilight marches to the plant and raises a hoof, but Raven's soul self is faster in reaching the ground; the raven slams right into Twilight, smashing her into the ground. The soul self's head pokes out of the crater left behind and watches as the spells are lifted, turning Raven human and freeing her from her want of stone. As the raven returns to its master, the Titan undoes her hood and briefly muses on the strange happenings of the battle.
K.O.!
While Rainbow Dash, the element of loyalty, summons a thunderstorm to douse the fire in her friend's library to no avail, Raven, back in her room in Titans Tower, takes her Twilight Sparkle doll and crushes it in a final act of spite. The hosts note that as a result of both combatants having a large and roughly equivalent number of spells and techniques that could result in an easy victory for either party, the fight ultimately came down to matters of physicality. Raven did the majority of work between herself and Terra in raising Titans Tower from the sea, while the only feats in Twilight's collection of telekinesis spells matches it in sheer power; the act of controlling the sun and moon, it is restated, was done when Twilight was tapping into the powers of Celestia and her sister Luna, and it is made explicitly clear that the magic of the two alicorns is the only way the celestial bodies can be moved. In the realm of durability, Raven is Twilight's better to an even greater extent; her soul self is tougher than Donna Troy, known to withstand nuclear blasts with almost 300 sextillion newtons of force, outshining Twilight being hit into a mountain from Tirek by an astronomical margin. Even then, this feat serves as an outlier, as Twilight tapped into the magic of other alicorns in order to form the barrier that protected her to begin with. That said, Raven's soul self was her ultimate ace in this fight; it could disable Twilight's emotions and magic and also operate while Raven herself was incapacitated, and it could also double as an instrument of brute force, ramming into the alicorn. Even with Twilight being given the benefit of the doubt and assuming the soul self possesses the same mass as Raven, the fact it can reach speeds of Mach 36 gives it an impact force of 15 million newtons, almost twice the strength that Twilight's four-alicorn barrier has been shown to protect against. Capping the points in Raven's favor is that tapping into positive emotions yields no pain; against an optimistic character like Twilight, Raven could use magic freely without fear of pain or unleashing Trigon. Both purple magicians have talent and spells to spare, but while Twilight was limited in her own feats, Raven had much more to offer in many more ways.
Wiz: The winner is Raven!
Raven vs. Twilight Sparkle contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Ending: Word of God says Twilight's fate after the fight was deliberately left unclear, so as to not be Harmful to Minors. Whether she died or not is up for debate.
- Bloodless Carnage: All we see of Twilight Sparkle once the dust settles is an alicorn-shaped crater embedded in the ground.
- Breather Episode: Between the more straight-laced matchups of high-tech superhumans clad in black armor and hyper-masculine heroes with rapid-fire combat skills comes a fight with a half-demon spellcaster playing with pony toys being pit against the talking alicorn who inspired said toys.
- The Cameo: Prior Death Battle combatant Rainbow Dash pops in at the end, attempting to undo the damage caused by Raven and Twilight's battle using storm clouds.
- Continuity Nod: Boomstick actively dreads whatever shenanigans Twilight Sparkle can perform, citing how the show has already featured pegasi that break the sound barrier and an earth pony that actively defies physics.
- Gone Horribly Right: Twilight using her want-it-need-it spell to distract Raven. It works, but it also gives Raven something new to be emotionally provoked over— which translates to even more raw power to contend with!
- Hurricane of Puns: The hosts pull no punches with their onslaught of equine-related puns in the opening of Twilight's rundown:Wiz: Hold your horses, Boomstick, we're mare-ly out of the gate.
Boomstick: Ugh, rein it in, Wiz. Your lame puns are mustang with my script. - Merchandise-Driven: Poked fun at; Boomstick labels this as the exact reason why Twilight became an alicorn in the first place.
- Mythology Gag: Raven is introduced playing with pony toys, a recurring trait of her character from Teen Titans Go!.
- No One Could Survive That!: Many have speculated that Twilight survived getting smashed into the ground at the end of the fight, since it resulted in no visible blood or injury, just an Impact Silhouette hole deep enough to hide her body. The Ambiguous Ending leaves this as a possible outcome.
- No Ontological Inertia: When Twilight is pancaked by Raven's Soul Self, the transformation spell breaks on Raven and she turns back from a potted plant to her normal self. The effects of the want-it-need-it spell also wear off once Twilight is taken out.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Raven as soon as she gets teleported into Ponyville surrounded by her figurines.
- Twilight at several points in the end of the fight, namely when seeing Dark Raven and as the soul self divebombs her.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: Twilight's verbatim response to seeing her library set on fire.
- Production Foreshadowing: One of the combatants fights primarily with a familiar that exists as an extension of the user's soul. The very end of the episode reveals that Jotaro Kujo, who fights with a similar style and comes from a work closely identified with it, will be a combatant of the next episode.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: After Twilight inadvertently catches Raven with figurines of herself and friends, Raven is quick to issue a warning to the alicorn:"You. Saw. Nothing!"
- Spoof Aesop: Twilight's letter to Princess Celestia is spoofed and mocked by Boomstick during the fight aftermath:"Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that the only thing more powerful than friendship IS A GIANT BIRD SPIRIT COLLIDING INTO ME AT MACH 36!"
- Skewed Priorities: Twilight's initial panic from the fight stems not from the demonic sorceress currently attempting to kill her, but from her library burning.
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Had Twilight taken the time to study how the trans-dimensional teleportation spell works instead of jumping into it blind, she wouldn't have summoned Raven at a bad time and gotten herself (possibly) killed.
- Underestimating Badassery: Despite dreading another Pony analysis, Boomsitck is actually surprised how much destructive power Twilight has with the Power of Friendship.Boomstick: (upon seeing Twilight and Tirek's clash) When did it become Dragon Ball Z with baby girl horse toys?!
- Voice of the Legion: As always, a side effect of Dark Raven taking hold. In the fight proper, it appears when she attempts to force Twilight away from the rock she's currently infatuated with. (Have we mentioned that It Makes Sense in Context is always in effect when it comes to Death Battles?)
- Wizard Duel: The fight is more or less between two powerful magic users and the magic they use against each other.
- Yandere: In mid-battle, Raven becomes so obsessed with a nearby rock after Twilight casts her “I Want, I Need It” spell on her. It causes her demon side to take control and use her soul-self to kill Twilight after she assumes Twilight will take it from her.
