"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny"
Still from the official music video for "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", featuring a large collection of pop culture characters
Song by Lemon Demon
from the album Dinosaurchestra
ReleasedDecember 22, 2005[1]
Genre
Length3:33
Songwriter(s)Neil Cicierega
Producer(s)Neil Cicierega
Music video
"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" on Newgrounds
"The Ultimate Showdown" on YouTube

"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", often shortened to "The Ultimate Showdown", is a comical song and video released on December 22, 2005. The song was written and performed by Neil Cicierega under the pseudonym "Lemon Demon", with art and Flash animation by Shawn Vulliez/altffour.

Music video

"The Ultimate Showdown" is a massive, citywide battle set in Tokyo started by Godzilla and Batman, ultimately lasting for a century and involving dozens of pop-culture icons, real and fictional, ending with Mister Rogers emerging victorious and then committing seppuku. It gained a large cult following among web enthusiasts[2] and became the "User's Choice" on December 22, 2005, on Newgrounds, where it has been viewed over 13.2 million times.[3] It appeared on several other websites including Albino Blacksheep,[4] YouTube, Flashportal, Transbuddha, and Weebl's Stuff. In 2006 it was included on Lemon Demon's fifth album Dinosaurchestra.[5] It had over 25 million views on YouTube as of November 2020.[6] A higher resolution fan upload has received over 5 million views on YouTube as of July 2023.[7]

The song topped the "Funny Five" on The Dr. Demento Show for several weeks and was the #1 Request for 2006. The video has since been parodied and referenced repeatedly in other flash videos. A new version of the song was later recorded specifically for the Rock Band Network and was released for the service on July 6, 2010, under the title The Ultimate Showdown (RBN Mix). In 2009, the song was rerecorded with a full band, and this track was included in Lemon Demon's 2011 EP "Live (Only Not)".[8]

In early January 2021, the first copy of the video to be uploaded on YouTube was taken down by Shawn Vulliez, the original animator of the short. He would go on to reupload the music video to his own channel 'Srsly Wrong'.[9]

Historical figures Abraham Lincoln (left) and Benito Mussolini (right) are both described as combatants.

Plot

As Godzilla is going on a rampage through Tokyo, Batman surprise-attacks him with a Bat-Grenade. Godzilla's attempt to retaliate is blocked by Shaquille O'Neal, who is attacked by Aaron Carter until Batman runs over them both with the Batmobile. Before Batman can return to the Batcave, Abraham Lincoln rises from the dead and shoots Batman with an AK-47. Lincoln is then forced to flee by Optimus Prime.

After Godzilla eats a piece of Optimus Prime, Shaq returns but is then attacked by Jackie Chan. Meanwhile, Lincoln attempts to finish off Batman with a machete, but is stopped by Indiana Jones. Jones is left defenseless against Godzilla as Batman steals his gun and unsuccessfully attempts to kill Chan. A somersaulting Chan and a pole-vaulting Lincoln collide in midair and are killed by a Care Bear stare.

Chuck Norris, presented as a godlike figure, descends from the sky to angelic tones, kicks Indiana Jones in the groin, and decapitates Batman (who has changed back into Bruce Wayne) with his thighs. Then Gandalf the Gray, Gandalf the White, The Monty Python and the Holy Grail's Black Knight, Benito Mussolini, the Blue Meanie, Cowboy Curtis, Jambi the Genie, Robocop, the Terminator, Captain Kirk, Darth Vader,Lo Pan, Superman,Every single Power Ranger, Bill S. Preston, Theodore Logan, Spock, The Rock, Doc Ock, and Hulk Hogan arrive and kill Norris.

Approximately a century later, the battle has officially ended and is implied to have claimed the lives of many more characters besides those mentioned, with only one contestant remaining: Mister Rogers, who commits seppuku.

Characters

Depicted but not mentioned

The latter two characters are animated in the same designs as they were in the music video for Lemon Demon's song "Ebaum's World Dot Com".

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "The Ultimate Showdown". Newgrounds. December 22, 2005. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ Rempel, Shauna (August 26, 2006). "Copy, paste, animate". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2010 – via PressReader.
  3. ↑ Sweeney, Emily (June 22, 2006). "He's a hit with Internet set". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
  4. ↑ Rini, Carol (April 11, 2006). "Seen & Overheard". Dayton Daily News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny". Bandcamp. Lemon Demon. July 20, 2006. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ "The Ultimate Showdown (with MP3 ♫)". YouTube. AlbinoBlackSheep. May 6, 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Lemon Demon - The Ultimate Showdown [4K Remaster]". YouTube. Cheesy Potatoson. September 27, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny". Bandcamp. Lemon Demon. April 28, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ "The Ultimate Showdown Of Ultimate Destiny (Original Video HD)". YouTube. Shawn Vulliez/Srsly Wrong. December 24, 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
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