The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

"Ultimate Showdown" redirects here. For the unrelated video game, see Megamind: Ultimate Showdown.

"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, appearing as the fifth single of the project's fifth studio album Dinosaurchestra. The song describes a massive and citywide battle set in Tokyo started by Godzilla and Batman, involving dozens of pop-culture icons and ultimately lasting for a century. The music video's animation was made by Shawn Vulliez.

"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny"
Still from the official music video for "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", featuring an array of characters from across pop culture
Single by Lemon Demon
from the album Dinosaurchestra
Released	December 22, 2005
Genre	Novelty comedy rock
Length	3:36
Label	Self-released Needlejuice
Songwriter(s)	Neil Cicierega
Producer(s)	Neil Cicierega
Lemon Demon singles chronology
"Stick Stickly" (2005) "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" (2005) "Snakes on a Plane" (2006)
Music video
"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" on Newgrounds
"The Ultimate Showdown" on YouTube

Background

In the early 2000s, Neil Cicierega popularized animutation, a form of flash animation that humorously depicts pop-culture images set to upbeat music.^[1] Steven Lerner, the owner of Albino Blacksheep, later stated that as the genre grew more popular it had begun to advance in effort, with creators drawing the characters rather than editing publicly available photos.^[2] Cicierega adapted to this development, publishing the song "The Ultimate Showdown" to Newgrounds on December 22, 2005,^[3] with Shawn Vulliez credited for the video's animation under the name altffour.^[2] The song was additionally released under the full name "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" as the fifth single of Lemon Demon's fifth studio album Dinosaurchestra,^[3] which came out on July 20, 2006.^[4]

Reception

"The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" gained a large cult following among web enthusiasts.^[5] It ranked on Newgrounds as the "User's Choice" upon publication, amassing 6.5 million views within its first six months of release.^[3] It appeared on several other websites including Albino Blacksheep and YouTube,^[6] receiving over 25 million views on the latter before a takedown and replacement by Vulliez in early 2021.^[7] A higher resolution fan upload has received over 9 million views on YouTube as of March 2025.^[8] The song topped the "Funny Five" on The Dr. Demento Show for several weeks and was the #1 request for 2006.^[9] In 2009, the song was re-recorded with a full band, receiving inclusion on the compilation Almanac 2009 and Lemon Demon's first EP Live (Only Not) (2011).^[10] It additionally appeared on the Rock Band Network, releasing to the service on July 6, 2010.^[11]

Plot

While most of the characters named in the song are fictional, several real people are also described as combatants. Top: Shaquille O'Neal, Aaron Carter, Abraham Lincoln. Middle: Jackie Chan, Chuck Norris, Benito Mussolini. Bottom: Dwayne Johnson, Hulk Hogan, Fred Rogers.

As Godzilla moves through Tokyo, Batman surprise attacks him with a Bat-Grenade. Godzilla's attempt to retaliate is blocked by Shaquille O'Neal's Shaq Fu, followed by Aaron Carter attacking Shaq, and Batman running 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. After Lincoln expends his ammunition, he flees the arrival of Optimus Prime.

After Godzilla eats a piece of Optimus Prime, O'Neal 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, but Batman's shot misses and Chan deflects it. Lincoln, attempting to pole-vault onto Optimus Prime, collides with a somersaulting Chan in midair before both men are struck down 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 crushes Batman's head with his thighs. Dozens of additional characters arrive all at once 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 Fred Rogers left standing. The music video additionally features Rogers raising a katana in victory before committing seppuku with it.

Characters

• Godzilla
• Batman/Bruce Wayne
• Shaquille O'Neal
• Aaron Carter
• Abraham Lincoln
• Optimus Prime
• Jackie Chan
• Indiana Jones
• A Care Bear
• Chuck Norris
• Gandalf the Grey
• Gandalf the White
• Black Knight (Monty Python)
• Benito Mussolini
• Chief Blue Meanie
• Cowboy Curtis
• Jambi
• RoboCop
• The Terminator
• James T. Kirk
• Darth Vader
• Lo Pan
• Superman
• The Power Rangers
• Bill S. Preston
• Ted Logan
• Spock
• Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
• Doctor Octopus
• Hulk Hogan
• Fred Rogers

Depicted but not mentioned

• Robin (not a participant)
• Samuel L. Jackson and some snakes
• Mario
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Santa Claus
• The DeLorean time machine
• Goku
• R2-D2
• C-3PO
• A Jawa
• Tobias Fünke
• Han Solo
• Freddy Krueger
• Jason Voorhees
• Pac-Man
• Eric Bauman
• Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka

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".

Mentioned but not depicted

• Scruff McGruff

Personnel

• Neil Cicierega – vocals, instruments, programming, engineering, production
• Angel Marcloid – remastering (Needlejuice pressings 2022–)

Live (Only Not) version

• Neil Cicierega – vocals, piano
• Alora Lanzillotta – bass
• Charles "Chooch" Sergio – guitar
• Dave Kitsberg – guitar
• Greg Lanzillotta – drums, recording, mixing