Galactus vs Unicron Review

 

VORE: the matchup makes its triumphant appearance in death battle after like 8 years as the finale to what’s possibly the best death battle season so far, you love to see it.

the so-called “most requested death battle matchup” ever, which is pretty surprising when you think about it. a matchup that has existed almost since the mere start of the show, wanted by many throughout all these years. the gigantic planet consumers, those who travel across the multiverse ready to feast on their next meal. the devourer of worlds vs chaos incarnate. Galactus vs Unicron.

nuff said, let’s go through each of these, this episode went hard af.

Analyses

something you’ll see commonly across the entire episode are metaphors and poetic lines. i’ll later talk about them more into detail when i get to the fight, but the analyses don’t fall short, absolutely they did not.

starting up, we start up with a simple question. “What is the nature of evil?” and following it up, sets the start to the one big man, Galan, better known as Galactus. Galactus’ analysis is very solid, it’s not amongst the best this season (at least currently for me, this is bound to change once i actually rewatch the season) but it’s good food, pun intended. the editing was phenomenal, and the jokes really hit for me, especially the cutaway gag and the “Happy Meal Ultimate Nullifier”. there were two main ideas i was hoping they would capture in the analysis:

• The Cosmic Horror Galactus emits in his all-mighty power (aka the comic book bs he has at store, but well handled)

• The nature of his character and why he’s like that.

and crap we got both! we got the comic book bs well explained and in a way it flowed with the nature of his being, like how he can’t be harmed by conventional matters. and on that note, they also went well with what he is, how he’s not really pure evil but more so a force of nature trying to survive. in fact, it all flows extremely well with each other, since, for example, they first mention the power cosmic and how his powers work, then the horror his presence means but how he isn’t inherently evil, to how the primordial thing that drives him is his hunger and desire to survive, to the feats and stuff like the ultimate nullifier. all flowing extremely well to one another enough so that it doesn’t just feel like a glorified respect thread, but as an actual character analysis going through each and every single main thing that characterizes galactus as a character. all ending in a chilling quote, talking about the death of humanity both metaphorically and literally, really speaks lengths of what galactus is in a way it truly makes you think. just imagine, a giant ass creature from outer space appearing out of nowhere with the intention of consuming a planet filled with life, but to him it’s only all but a simple meal.

after a heartwarming ad about taking care of yourself, we cut to talking about Robot Satan. now this, THIS is a peak analysis. while the humor here is… not too good (i still don’t get the citizen kane joke 😭), the editing still stands strong, and good LORD do they manage to get the absolute cosmic fear of unicron. this thing right here has no boundaries, he doesn’t do his stuff out of necessity nor does he have morals, he IS outright just the pure concept of evil. and it’s REAAAAAAALLY sold once they start talking about how a bunch of his biggest feats happened straight out of his presence and mere existence. he’s so evil not even reality itself can hold him up. that’s fucking hard. it’s a common theme amongst his analysis in what i call the “two halves” of it. the first half focuses on his origins and his arsenal, such as the dark energon, the different multiple lasers and crazy hax, and his spark. the other half focuses on not only his feats, but also the times he’s been stopped and defeated and how he always came back.

as a person who’s knowledge on transformers is very limited, god DAMN this analysis does a good job covering the character, and it shows a bunch of things i was actually surprised to hear, such as how every unicron iteration is the same. on the VS side of things, it’s pretty well handled even if it’s not the main idea, and the notes really serve well to add up onto key details, something i’ll also talk about more later. and damn that ending, that fucking ending of an analysis. on how every principle of “evil” only strengths him. violence, war, cruelty, death, all these behaviors so common to us human beings are only what inevitably will bring our destruction. and he’ll be there to pay, he’ll be there to once again ravage another world in his absolute mere aura of destruction, and his existence will keep appearing over, and over, and over again. because you can’t destroy destruction, and THAT’S how you end an analysis in a metal af way. all while the background music adds up to the atmosphere perfectly.

sidenote, in a way this makes it so that galactus is sort of the hero or protagonist in this situation. also unicron’s design fucks.

Fight and Results

after some bone-chilling analyses, it’s time for the fight we’ve all been waiting for, and good fucking LORD. if there’s one word that could describe the entire fight, it would be Cinematic. this is like everything thanos vs darkseid wanted to be but couldn’t be, because it hits every single fucking area so damn well. and after 3 YEARS, we finally get the return of the in-house 3D team. all this time, they’ve been cooking this fight, and they delivered. they absolutely did, and you can tell the dedication and hard work put into the animation. and also the budget.

entering the fight we get a very good strategy to add onto that cosmic horror the two possess, by making our own planet the target of their fight, as if it were the last slice in a pizza box. imagine just minding your own business, and the next thing you know, you and everyone you know is dead because two almighty cosmic gods decided to throw hands. sounds funny when i put it like that, but in truth, it’s absolutely frightening. and even so, the true horror comes from when you can see the towering figures of both from the perspective of inside the earth, imagine seeing all of that in the sky with no clue of what’s going on at all.

having both of them introduce themselves in their most iconic surnames in a menacing tone is pure awesomeness, and then the fight actually begins. unicron’s transformation is by far my favorite scene in the entire fight. the camera gives in shots to show the towering size, the sound design adds weight to the transformation, the music inducts into the atmosphere of doom, and finally his eyes light up now that he’s a whole different beast of its own. it’s what i said in the beginning. everything about it feels cinematic, and i adore it. and the next thing he does? well he uses the earth as mere environment to attack of course. and this is what drags us to the next big point of the fight. given these two are unstoppable forces the size of planets, you can expect the whole amount of destruction and impact they can leave in a fight like this.

everything that follows up is pretty much that. kinda. they use spatial bodies to attack each other, including multiple of their own abilities. i like how they progress in scale, going from planets, to stars, to a black hole, to later on galaxies. and it’s not just a game of interstellar dodgeball, they do use plentiful of their abilities such as their size manipulation or unicron’s chest laser and sword and galactus’ power cosmic abilities. the main thing selling the impact of every single hit and destruction is the sound design, oh my god is the sound design beautiful, from the planets being thrown and destroyed to the actual abilities themselves it’s all some good fucking food. something thanos vs darkseid suffered from back then was lacking impact due to a bad sound design, this fight instead shows how important it is in stellar fights to have a good and convincing sound design.

galactus rips unicron’s body in half, which proceeds to one of the hardest lines in the entire fight and transitions into one of the most glorifying parts of the fight in general.

“Fleeing so readily, Unicron?”

“NO, DEVOURER. TRANSFORMING.”

GOD we eating good here. what follows up is what to me is the most breathtaking part of the fight. the poetic yet threatening dialogue as galactus meets unicron’s newfound might, fighting each other when entire galaxies seem to be nothing but the size of mere toys amongst their palms, using what they have at store while fighting off at pure fist. but it’s not enough, as they have to use their own powers to finish off their opponent. galactus brings up the happy meal toy ultimate nullifier, claiming to put an end to it all. but it’s not enough, as unicron’s presence overrides it. but yet still, we’re met with the final environmental destruction of the fight, and what better way to do it than with a multiversal reset. and it’s done, but unicron still stands. but he’s not alone, as the Devourer of Worlds decides to consume his own energy, to put one final end to all the destruction the Harbinger of Chaos had brought onto the multiverse. And thus, he couldn’t fight back against the insatiable hunger of the one and only, Galactus.

and that’s it. JESUS CHRIST what a fight. it meets every criteria and expectation for this match and it does it absolutely so well. the exchanging of blows, the dialogue between one another, the way the camera pans, it all feels cinematic and i love it. i can totally imagine a fight like this happening in a movie-like crossover with high budget. it's pure entertainment while it captures the nature of both characters and their menacing presence. the animation is really good here, both of the characters’ models are shockingly well pulled and they look beautiful with the background and setting. galactus’ model is extremely expressive so that it can show his emotions well through his face. genuinely it’s my favorite part of the animation, because it manages to flow in perfectly well with the chilling dialogue. and unicron’s model is shiny, not too expressive but it moves in a way that it totally seems pulled out of an official transformers product.

and good lord the dialogue. oh my fucking god the dialogue. it’s my favorite thing in the entire episode by a longshot, it’s all extremely well made and it brings up the weight of the matchup at place. i legit cannot think of a singular bad line, or one i feel indifferent towards. every single line in this episode is memorable in so many ways and i REALLY wish i could gush about them all in detail, from the-

“I AM OBLIVION.”

to the-

“Galactus meets your challenge!”

they’re all great, they’re all so fucking great. but, to me, the absolute stand-out are their speeches. they truly sell the characters as these powerful mighty beings who will stop at nothing to accomplish their goal, as those who’s mere presence can dwarf entire solar systems.

“BEG NOT FOR MERCY. BEHOLD, BLACKENED SKIES, AGAINST MINE CHAOS, EVEN GODS WILL DIE.”

“I’ve seen your power, Bringer of Chaos, yet by my figure, thou hast much need. Witness the last fate that awaits you thus, for almighty Galactus must now feed!”

they say this in separate moments in the fight, but god do both fit so well with the moment they’re put in.

the track, “All-Consuming”, is like the cherry on the top. this brings such a good atmosphere to the fight, it shows the true feeling of otherworldly destruction taking place. something we as humans couldn’t normally comprehend, but a sight absolutely mesmerizing ignoring all the lives lost in the fight. tiggs’ vocals really sell the feeling too, she’s an amazing addition to the track. the synths adding the spacey feeling while the drums show the imminent devastation. and the other elements adding weight to the track just makes it more fitting too, and it works both as a background soundtrack and on its own.

if i had to mention a small gripe, it’s the cinematic bars. which, hell even they aren’t that bad, it adds to the cinematic feeling. but it’s on moments like the universal reset and galactus’ appearance in it that makes it kind of weird, since the effects go beyond the bars. if this was a more reality-warping centric match, i wouldn’t mind it, but it’s just kind of annoying seeing some effects outside the bars.

the transition from the fight to the verdict feels kind of inexplicably quick, but the part of the explanation itself is pretty solid overall. it goes over why unicron sadly barely had any chance at winning, how the ultimate nullifier just negs his entire existence and how marvel cosmology go brrrrr. huge props to the notes this time tho, the verdict is really well spiced and accompanied if you manage to read them, and it brings up a lot of small points that actually make the result more solid, in case it wasn’t normally getting you.

Overall

so, did galactron manage to meet the expectations? after waiting so much time, to finally have it as a season finale to such a good season, was the episode good enough? to that i say, absolutely! as someone who wasn’t going in expecting much due to not having a strong relationship to the matchup, this episode was a feast. from in-depth analyses that had some very strong writing, to a fight with an unprecedented dialogue within death battle and a level of impact that many fights its style would wish to have reached. a deep episode overall that tackled with the cosmic horrors beyond our comprehension and that absolutely gave the fans such a satisfying conclusion to such an amazing season. what else do i have to say? the small gripes i have with the episode are extremely irrelevant, so i’d say it’s pretty clear to give this a 10/10.

and with that, season 10 is over! from my part, huge thanks to ben, chad, and the whole DB team for delivering such a solid season. i cannot think of a single episode i disliked this season, genuinely, and it was all done so well with a matchup lineup that’s extremely solid. to me, this is easily the best DB season we’ve had, and i really doubt something will come and top it for a long time. you can tell the dedication behind each and every episode, and how much the team has learnt from their mistakes. my props to all of you, seriously.

and, before i go, thanks to you, the reader! if you actually manage to stick around my ramblings, thank you i really appreciate it. i might post some stuff outside of just death battle content in this waiting period, so look forward to that if you’d wish. until then, i’ll be seeing all of you. good luck y’all, have a nice day!