Spider Man vs Deku Review

Guys, why are we doing this? I know that in a vs debate show there will inevitably be matchups you don’t vibe with, but even so I still need to ask, why are we doing this?

In all my years as a Death Battle fan, and I’ve been a fan for a long time, I have never seen a match up that made me go “huh?” any more than this one did. Miles Morales vs Deku, or Spider Man vs Deku which is a little confusing since it doesn’t specify which Spider Man it is. Could have just used the Ultimate Spider Man name, then it would make more sense.

But anyway, I just do not get this one. I do understand some reasons why people wanted the matchup, especially given that the last episode featuring these guys weren’t exactly great. well Miles’ was ok, but Deku’s was bad, supposedly. Gotta be honest I thought Deku vs Asta was fine but a lot of fans of the characters really did not like how they were handled.

So, seeing Deku back was good for the MHA fans who wanted a better showing. Especially since both characters had new things to cover. But why this matchup? Surely there were better options for them. ignoring how unfair it is, the connections aren’t even that strong.

They’re superhero successors, I get that, but there are dozens of other matchups that fit that bill better. In fact, if you wanted that matchup with Deku and a Marvel character, why not use Kamala Kahn. At least then we’d have a new combatant.

I could not be less interested. The only thing that perked my interest was the fact Moro is doing the animation, but that loses its impact when you realise how many anime styled fights we’ve had this season. Wile vs Tom and Ghost Rider vs Spawn were the only exceptions, and coincidentally the episodes I liked most this season. Coincidence? I think not!

But ok, I’m going to try going into this with an open mind. Maybe it will surprise me and be the best episode in the series. Let’s just get through this and see how it holds up.

Analysis

You know, one of the issues with reviewing these segments individually is that I struggle to find anything about the analysis portion worth talking about. Because more often than not there really isn’t.

Unless the analysis does something completely wild like Bill vs Discord or has sublime editing like Bowser vs Eggman most analysis don’t stand out for me that much. Spider Man vs Deku is one such example.

Ok so there are things I like about it. The editing is great, it’s paced well, the jokes are decent and don’t get in the way, there’s some cute nods and jabs to both series in the side bar, and it goes through both characters story well. But those are all things that I can say about other Death Battle episodes. What does this particular episode do that makes it unique?

Nothing, and that’s the problem. It doesn’t really do anything interesting or cover anything new that makes these runbacks seem worth it. I usually don’t mind returning characters on Death Battle if they have new things that make it worth reanalysing them. But neither Miles or Deku really seemed to have that.

There are some new powers for Miles and they did bring up some new feats, but most of what was shown off was just stuff we’d seen in their previous episodes. Even the new stuff they did bring up didn’t seem to matter in the long run, so it came across as pointless.

It made this entire runback feel completely unearned, and when it’s a runback of two characters, that’s not good. Also, just a fair warning, the word pointless might appear a lot in this review, which should tell you everything you need to know about this episode, but let’s try to get through the rest of this.

Look, the analysis isn’t bad, it’s just very vanilla. It does what it needs to do and it does it well. There just isn’t enough here to really make it stand out, and to be honest, it didn’t make me that interested in the combatants either. It didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I have no interest in MHA, but at least Mahito's analysis made me a little interested in learning more about it. At least his story was one that hadn’t been covered.

Even the angle they took with the analysis wasn’t that interesting. I thought the focus was going to be on them as successors, which it kind of is, but it focuses more on them becoming their own heroes, and the power of friendship or something. It was a bit all over the place.

I sadly don’t have much to say on the analysis. It’s serviceable a rundown of both characters, but that’s about it. If I was a fan of these two then maybe I would get something out of this, but I’m not. I mean I like Miles fine but he’s not my favourite hero or anything and I hate shonen with a passion so, yeah not a fan of Deku.

I guess I will say that they did show off some of the inspirations these two had on the other Miles taking things from anime and the very obvious power inspiration for Deku, which at least helped show the connections between them, but those didn’t help much. I still find the connections weak and frankly them trying to sell me on them made them feel weaker.

Alright, bland analysis, boring and not much to talk about. Let’s get to the one redeeming part of the episode.

Fight Animation

Alright, let’s get this out of the way, no matter what I say about this episode or this matchup, this animation is damned spectacular. It’s a Moro animation so that should be unsurprising. I am convinced this man can do no wrong when it comes to animation and this is no exception.

First of all, this fight is oozing with style. Opening the fight with the comic book panels and ending with the manga panels was not only a great way to bookend the fight but also served as a great tribute to the mediums these two originated from. It really helped make this feel like a true comic book vs manga battle.

It also takes a fair amount of inspiration from the Spiderverse movies. The colours and shading work are amazing and I love the almost neon look the city has. It’s simultaneously very colourful and very moody at the same time.

But beyond having style, this fight has a lot of substance too. The character work is excellent with Miles’ swagger and Deku’s optimism and strategic thinking being depicted incredibly well. Banter was solid throughout, and the voice acting from Christian Marte and John Van Doren was absolutely on point. These two nailed the characters.

Then there’s the movement. Not the fluidity of the animation, although that is great, I mean the fight choreography. This fight has such a great sense of movement and flow. The way the combatants move through the air almost they’re gliding through it is one of the best pieces of animation the show has ever done and it’s like that throughout the entire episode. I don’t think these two touched the ground once.

This is one element that other Spider Man battles came a bit short in. I felt like the web swinging was always a bit stiff and not that visually interesting. This one though? This one fucking nails it. It’s like comparing the web swinging in Spider Man on PlayStation 1 to Spider Man 2 on PS5. In terms of visually depicting how Spiderman moves, this is the superior episode.

Don’t want to sell Deku short though. The way he dashes around and flies through the air is certainly impressive too. I found his web swinging a bit goofy. It just felt like it was something they did for this fight despite it not being a thing he really does, but it looks cool so whatever.

I’m also glad the escalation in this fight is kept fairly grounded. It starts out simple with them swinging through the city, but when they get to the old city, they start to get bigger with their attacks. It flows naturally and the pacing is fantastic. It never lets up and moves from one moment to the next seamlessly. In some episodes you can tell some things might have been cut, but you can’t with this one.

There’s a lot to love about this fight. I like the throwback they did to Spider Man vs Batman, I love the comic book effect around Miles and the manga effects around Deku, the way they use the environment is fun and creative, they show off nearly all their kit so it’s great fan service. This fight animation is one of the best in the show’s history. Easily a top 10 contender.

The only flaw I can think of is the fight track “You Say Danger”, and even that’s peak. I like this track a lot. It’s not only a great mix of the sounds of both series, but it’s just such a smooth and cool track that makes for a good listen. For the first half.

The problem I have is the song kind of drops in quality in the second half. It’s still good, it’s just nowhere near as good as the first half. Unlike a lot of other fight tracks where the song changes up but still feels like a coherent whole, this feels like two really good tracks haphazardly stitched together. Still good, but definitely one of the weaker elements.

The kill was great though. It was big, flashy, with a tiny bit a tragedy to show the respect Deku had for Miles. Oh yeah Deku won by the way. Not that you’re surprised.

This really is a great fight animation. Moro is three for three at this point, and this is definitely a close second in his work. Definitely a better fight than Mahito vs Shigaraki, and I liked that one a lot too. This animation almost made the episode worth it. Keyword being almost.

Result

Guys what was the point of this? Look, there’s no point in going over the arguments in why Deku won because it was already self-evident going in. He’s stronger and faster by considerable degree and Miles just doesn’t have ways around that. Unless you buy nonsensical comic book scaling which is wonkier that a one legged Jenga tower.

Deku and Miles aren’t even in the same weight class. One guy can punch continents and the other can punch buildings. It’s not even close to being a fair fight. You can make all the arguments you want about Miles’ shock powers debilitating Deku or the vibranium suit but all of that is missing the point that stat wise he’s hopelessly outclassed.

There is no debate here. Anyone with an ounce of common sense could see Deku was going to win this. Oh, they tried to paint it as a debate with Miles having more skill, but what the fuck does that matter when the strength gap is this wide. Captain America is more skilled than Hulk, and we all know that won’t help him.

Look, let’s just say it, this was a stomp. A very one-sided stomp. That’s the big reason I didn’t want this episode to happen. It’s so obvious as to be pointless.

Now, you could make the argument that Death Battle has had stomps before. Omni Man vs Homelander was a stomp and that episode was great, SpongeBob vs Super Friends Aqua Man was a stomp and that episode was good. Just because a matchup is a stomp doesn’t make it bad.

Here’s the thing, there’s a difference between a fun stomp and a boring stomp. Omnilander was a stomp, but it was satisfying. Homelander is such a prick that seeing him get wasted was immensely gratifying. And SpongeBob vs Aqua Man was so lopsided that it was funny. Like, the difference in power was so severe it went from being sad to being funny. They even played into that in the episode.

But Spidey vs Deku is not a fun stomp. It’s a boring stomp. There’s nothing satisfying about seeing Miles get wasted like this, and the difference in power isn’t so ridiculous either. It’s just one guy being way stronger than the other, and there being no way for the other guy to win. So why bother doing this then?

I know some will also argue that most vs debates are stomps, but I do not agree. I think that we consider “stomps” are actually just a clear-cut victory. Like, even if a character has more advantages and arguments for winning, the other side does at least have arguments of their own.

Joker vs Giorno wasn’t a stomp because Giorno at least had an argument for winning, same goes for Shigaraki. Ok they weren’t the strongest arguments, hence why they lost, but the point is an argument did exist. It’s why those debates were so interesting, and toxic. Dear god could they be toxic.

In every “stomp”, ii can at least see why there is a debate. That is what Death Battle is right? It’s a vs debating show. There must, therefore, be some form of debate around a match up. It’s why a lot of popular matchups gain traction.

Spider Man vs Deku has no debate though. Every argument made for Miles was so flimsy even the people making it online said it was cope. So, if there’s no debate, why do this episode?

Overall

That is the question I’ve been asking myself after watching this. Spider Man vs Deku is best described as a peak surrounded by two valleys. The animation is one of the series best. I have no doubt this will become a fan favourite for that reason alone. But everything else is the definition of mid.

The analysis is just there. It doesn’t do much to stand out, nor does it have much new information for the combatants. The result meanwhile is so obvious and straightforward that there’s no real debate to be had. The animation is the only thing it has going for it, and for some that will be enough.

I know that there are people out there who watch this show just to see characters they like fight each other. The only reason I think people wanted to see this matchup specifically was just to see what animation would come from it. There’s nothing wrong with that, I’m not going to tell you how to enjoy something, but for me Death Battle is more than just the animation.

I like learning more about these characters. Learning more about their powers and feats, their stories and even learning about other media I hadn’t heard about before. I love the debate aspect and seeing the arguments for why certain characters win.

My favourite episodes aren’t just because of the animation, it’s because the entire whole is great. I don’t mind a vs show being just the fights. I like XVX as much as the next guy, but that show presents itself as just the fights. It’s not trying to be a vs debate, just a fun animation.

Death Battle is the opposite. It does present itself as a debate, and ok it doesn’t always make the best arguments, but regardless of whether you agreed with an outcome or not you were still engaging with the debate.

A Death Battle without a strong debate, well it’s just empty calories. If the whole point of the show is seeing who wins a fight, and that result is obvious by just reading the names, then the matchup is pointless. There’s just no reason to go over it.

Spider Man vs Deku is not an awful episode. I can at least see MHA fans liking it, especially since it’s a better showcase of Deku than his fight with Asta. But Deku bros, was this really the comeback your boy deserved? A stomp victory against someone not even in the same league as him?

I went into this episode wondering what the point of the episode was but hoping that it would at least make a case for itself. It did not. The animation is spectacular, amazing, superior, friendly neighbourhood even, sorry I had to throw that last one in somehow, but everything else was just ok at best.

This was a wash for me. At least next time should be a fun one. Sadly, the review for that is going to get delayed because I’ll be away when it comes out. It is weird that’s it’s another double runback with another Marvel character though. Ok, Death Battle, you need to get a schedule together. This is getting ridiculous.

Sore: 6/10