Revealed at the end of Madara vs Aizen, the Season Finale of DEATH BATTLE Season 8 has been announced and it's not what many expected. A lot of people thought the season finale was going to be between two planet destroyers but rather this season is going to end with two bald fighters whose powers defy comprehension with their physical strength being off the charts to the point that they are seem as the strongest..it's Saitama aka the One Punch Man from the One Punch Man Series versus Popeye from the Popeye Series. Now I know you might have some questions so I am going to try and answer them.
Why this of all matchups for the season finale?
I will admit this was a very surprising matchup (though I did call it through a chat with my friends) but when you think about it, it makes sense. In terms of who is the most requested character for any DEATH BATTLE - I would make an argument that Saitama is near the top of the list - easily Top 10 and maybe even Top 5. Saitama has been wanted in a DEATH BATTLE for a looong time and it makes sense that his debut in DEATH BATTLE would be a big episode. As for why it is Popeye fighting Saitama and not Superman/Goku..well i think DB looked at Saitama's options and felt that Popeye made the most sense especially since they can play up how insane the two of them are - not making it a joke matchup per say but going into the sheer insanity of both combatants like Chuck Norris vs Segeta Sanshiro. Ultimately i do think this was the best option that DEATH BATTLE could go with in terms of a Saitama episode though personally there are a couple of fights i would have preferred as the season finale - mostly Samus vs Master Chief or Galactus vs Unicron but this is still a hype as fuck matchup.
Why wasn't this Galactus vs Unicron/Samus vs Master Chief?
I will admit, I was very surprised that the season finale didn't end up being Galactus vs Unicron. This is pure speculation on my part but my guess is they didn't have the budget to pull off Galactus vs Unicron in this season without negatively affecting the other matchups in the season so they decided not to do it for this year. As for why Samus vs Master Chief didn't happen this year, my guess is simply they wanted to wait till both Metroid Dread and Halo Infinite is out - i assume that we will likely get Samus vs Master Chief eventually (maybe even next year)
Who wins this matchup?
I will say that I think that Popeye definitely wins but i do think it's a lot closer than people give credit for - mostly due to the fact that a lot of Popeye's feats are kinda overblown (I personally would not put Popeye at Universe level). Granted I also think a fair amount of Saitama's feats are also overblown. I think at the end of the day - Popeye's durability and versatility give him the win but I could see Saitama winning.
That's everything that needs to be covered. I am curious to know who you think is going to win this matchup. Please let me know in the comments below :D.