[ REACTION ] Alexander the Great vs Ivan the Terrible & ERB Behind the Scenes

[@NyxDiscordia33]

Fun fact. All of those countries Alexander listed as being in his "expansion pack" are genuinely DLC for Total War: Rome. Talk about attention to detail.

[@extras7718]

PrincessNia underrated comment

[@theexplorer7139]

That's what I thought when I first heard but wasn't sure. Thanks for the clarification.

[@nybethobdilord6912]

But Alexander the Great is a Greek not a Roman.

[@subpar3462]

Ty Lewis No, he was Macedonian

[@The23520]

@@subpar3462 He was from Macedonia which is a part of Greece. Therefore Greek.

[@damianmendoza352]

“I’ll school you like Aristotle “ great line because Aristotle the philosopher was Alexander’s home school teacher.small but nice line

[@blackleaf31]

You missed the death by sex with a horse reference for Catherine the Great

[@Lauren.E.O]

Yeah, we all knew he was gonna bring that up in his rap.

[@CheNovaOffical]

@@Lauren.E.O i cant belive he didnt catch that line or the Russian roulette line

[@djrealdyl6894]

Mastery 7 Jhin he did catch the roulette line look at his face. He just didn’t pause it

[@bus6292]

@@CheNovaOffical He knew what an anastole was though. I had to google that.

[@ComicBookNerdOutCBNO]

He missed the killing of Ivan's son.

[@thenuclearreactor9334]

I think you’re the only KZbin or who reacts to the behind the scenes as well as the rap battle in the same video that’s kind of cool. I love your reactions

[@dannythemysterious8221]

I'm pretty sure he is and I've seen a lot of reactors

[@bphater31]

Agreed

[@Darthvaderouge]

Doc rich

[@TheChosenFBI]

try Knox Hill

[@thenuclearreactor9334]

@@TheChosenFBI go away nobody likes you 😂😂😂

[@coltonmartin2690]

Admit it man! When Fredrick and Catherine both started hitting their flow, it sucked you in!

[@Saijansfavorites]

it did, and not only that, he missed some fire lines in quite a bit of that, as well as a good bit of interesting facts.

[@michaelmayo2489]

The density of the bars for fredericks were crazy

[@michaelhopkins6610]

Yes the germans were great

[@GhastlyG]

Alexander the Great fucking killed it in the flow department

[@ahlpym]

I really like the way Alexander started his verse. A lot of consonance and assonance, which really compliments the rhythm. (I think those are the best words to describe what I like about it. I had to look up "consonance" and "assonance", because I felt like "alliteration" wasn't the right word.) "Hey fella, swell diss but now you got the Panhellenist from Pella hella pissed"

[@Insaneian]

That's ALL Zach Sherwin. That's like his trade mark when he raps. If you listen to his other battles (or even his solo stuff as Zach -- formerly known as MC Mr Napkins) he layers that shit into them. He also co-wrote a ton of battles he wasn't in.

[@skibbydibby1365]

Love that opening line "Hey fella swell diss. But now you've got the panhellenist from Pella hella pissed" Also in the first verse the word play for "serve Ivan" and "no survivin' "

[@Blaqueword]

The saddle line: it was a rumor that Catherine the Great slept with horses

[@dezx3531]

And died while doing so.

[@fryry2978]

AFA Films she didnt actually though thats why catherine said the story was fake

[@TheNylter]

She liked her young studs, but the two legged type.

[@Mysticalfox]

I don’t know why it made me laugh when i heard that

[@gorespentwell4489]

Steven Underwood I saw her do it lol

[@shadowwriter329]

this is an amazing battle and a lot of historical details you have to look to see. besides Ivan dying in the middle of a game of chess, all the others rappers died or were mentioned how they in real life. Alexander was rumored to died from a poison drink, Fredrick died in a chair without anyone knowing and even Pampey was said to have been killed before he could give a great speech so him dying before his rap is just another detail the team manage to work in so well. and Cat with her rumored death....actually that is better left unsaid.

[@ConnellxSilverfur]

The rumor alluded to here is, as stated in the battle, known to be false. That was the whole point.

[@3Rayfire]

The brilliant thing about Catherine and the horse is, since it was a rumor and not how she actually died (it was actually a stroke while she was in the bathroom and she died after in bed) it didn't actually kill her allowing her to win the battle.

[@Roma-kp4qg]

​@@3Rayfire That's GENIUS

[@NoOne-wz2ht]

My favorite game .... chest

[@shadowwriter329]

@@NoOne-wz2ht god damnit autocorrect. How the hell did I not notice that for over a year. Thanks for the heads up.

[@seekerhound]

I've been waiting for THIS RIGHT HERE. One of my favorites.

[@seekerhound]

BTW, Meghan Tonjes is AMAZING. You should check her out even if you don't do a reaction to her.

[@smokybear4204]

Hannibal Lector vs Jack the ripper 😈

[@wiremuhira3500]

Yes please

[@MrMurdock86]

That one’s pretty savage too

[@SpiritedHeart94]

Hannibal Lector vs Jack The Ripper & Steven Spielberg vs Alfred Hitchcock 😊

[@lordomacron3719]

@@SpiritedHeart94Siren if you watch most of TMFs ERB reactions the Steven Spielberg vs Alfred Hitchcock one is almost always the next Video Queued up with Auto-play I'm beginning to wonder exactly when he will get round to it?

[@nero8392]

All I have to say is that I think the opening few lines won it for me

[@smokybear4204]

Also what Alexander meant by "cut you in half like the Gordian Knot" in a town Alexander was going through as he got into the Syrian desert region was two pillars was two rope tied together in a huge knot the size a man's head. There was a legend whoever could untie the knot would conquer all of Asia when his general showed him this and told him the story he thought for a moment before drawing his sword and cutting it in half too the shock and amazement of his generals plus the priest at the alter nearby for pilgrims

[@SomethingScotty]

I heard about this back in the day in high school. Maybe I am wrong but could that have been the first recorded case of douchebagerry in history?

[@requiem6465]

@@SomethingScotty or the first recorded r/madlad?

[@bobobo7730]

@@SomethingScotty First case of douchebaggery: The caveman to take cooking fire and set someone on fire with it

[@SomethingScotty]

@@bobobo7730 That's not what I mean by douchebagerry. That's more torture/murder. I'm talking about someone who just does something dickish to something a group of people seem to revere.

[@Medic99z]

According to the legend how the knot was suppose to be undone was never mentioned. It's really just an example of occams razor: cut it open and its undone. Simple and effective

[@MrMurdock86]

Catharina the Great thrashed Ivan’s sorry butt lol. But the raw amount of history nuggets they dropped is insane, because half of them were nuanced

[@b.entranceperium]

He making us wait for Hannibal and Jack lol...

[@amandapanda5087]

I almost don't want to wait tbh lol

[@realgrant5951]

Fr

[@logandelaharpe6362]

He’s done it

[@riicky83]

"That checkmate line", Alexander said similar first by saying "whilst you died in the middle of a game of chess".

[@GhastlyG]

damn I’ve never seen someone use whilst lately

[@frizzie123456]

okay but that very first line.....creme de la kremlin's arrivin. beautiful. magnificent. knew i was in for a good one right out the gate. this is seriously one of their very best.

[@Insaneian]

One of my favorite battles. Catherine the great killed it. But any battle with Zach Sherwin in it is always great. Zach is literally a lyrical genius. Those bananagrams he does...just making anagrams out of names...he does that all the time. FOR FUN. Super smart dude. He also co-wrote a bunch of the ERB stuff...even battles he's not even in. Maybe check out some of Zach's solo songs like you've done with Watsky. He does great stuff. I'm a big fan of his "Legatto Gelato" song, or "Flab Slab".

[@tfosss8775]

Love the research and attention to detail they put in every line. The most subtle dis has to be Frederick The Great's "tear out my eyes" line. Its a reference to the architect who designed and built St. Basil Catherdral in St Petersburg. When asked if he could design a more beautiful building, he said "Yes". Upon hearing he could build a more beautiful building, Ivan The Terrible ordered his eyes gouged out as to prevent him from building a more beautiful building

[@ObiWanShinobi917]

Alexander: Destorys Ivan with his insane flow alone but also with superior disses. Frederick: Absolutely roasts Ivan with a flurry of fire jabs and a fire flow with no comeback from Ivan Catherine: Ends Ivan's entire career by attacking his mental state. TMF: I gotta give it Ivan. 😑 ok my dude

[@ElijahW2003]

Pompey: Exists.

[@Oddity2994]

Pompey: I T S M E

[@donttrustnoone3921]

@@Oddity2994 POMPEY! YEAH!

[@rkstevenson5448]

Your reaction to Frederick the Great was exactly mine. One of the greatest verses in ERB history.

[@arklytte]

This is one of my favorite battles! I love all the additional characters, and the ERB guys bring in a TON of history into this one. My wife has degrees in Russian (history and language) and because of her I learned a lot about Russian history. I'm a major military history buff so I knew a lot about Alexander and Frederick the Greats, and this battle made me look up stuff on Pompeii the Great. The historical references are both overt and subtle and there are a TON of them in this battle. Two thumbs way, WAY up for ERB for this one, and two thumbs just as WAY up for your reaction L!! I love that you're doing the BTS vids after the main battle vids...you're one of the only reactors I've seen who does that, and it's really cool to watch. Keep doing what you do fam, we'll keep watching!

[@Artemas_16]

Ivan didn't kill his son tho, it was only a rumor, which was popular in Europe.

[@doanhoangvan5009]

The video led Friedrich to claim that he defeated Russia in Seven Years War. In reality, he was heavily defeated. Throughout the wars, Prussia fought Russia in 4 battles. Only the battle of Zorndorf was a Prussian victory, albeit a pyrrhic one. The remaining 3 ended with humiliating Prussian defeats. How could you image a well-led and superbly trained army, which had just been feared in every corner of Europe, be massacred by the army of a poor country ? Russia captured Berlin in 1760 and Friedrich was only spared by the death of Empress Elizaveta in 1762.

[@sayascarlett3187]

Fun fact: Alexander was NEVER defeated in battle. And i think it's fair to say he wasn't here either... Keep these coming!

[@Lauren.E.O]

Sees Catherine: Oh, it’s on.

[@DwarvenWarriorz]

JRR Tolkien vs RR Martin .

[@gabrielesolletico518]

Hell yeah!

[@AdamPFarnsworth]

Please!

[@burningstar1793]

If he doesn't trust your suggestion he should just ask Led Zeppelin

[@donaldhickman4549]

Yes!!!

[@jacksonjames2712]

Best battle

[@tjcombo86]

This is one of my faves actually so glad to hear it finally

[@stonecoldsteveaustin6485]

“Respect the flow” *Proceeds to pause the video*

[@mariamccoy-justiniano9479]

😎 cool like anyone gives eighteen craps

[@stonecoldsteveaustin6485]

Maria McCoy shut up bint

[@thenuclearreactor9334]

Also they can do the “ epic rap battles of history” in the beginning is loud or is quiet depending on the beat of the rap battle.

[@amandapanda5087]

I just thought of that, and I'm almost disappointed in myself for not realizing sooner. I thought of Wolverine vs Freddy Kreuger (quiet beat at first) and Kim Jong-Il vs Hulk Hogan (louder beat) and you're right. I've been watching ERB since season 4 and never noticed that

[@thenuclearreactor9334]

Amanda Panda it’s ok lol I only realized it yesterday

[@hmnorton]

The sample song you recognized was "Gold" by Kiiara. She has quite a few songs that I love!

[@lewishewitt943]

Man I normally hate reaction videos but watching this just made me smile

[@rosereggie5901]

Fredrick the great was gay “ain’t exactly straight” is such a small line but is so good. God I love the work that goes into ERB

[@admiralrogers1157]

Fredrick acted all prancy and such because it is highly likely that he was homosexual. Hence the line "ain't exactly strait".

[@idontknow5249]

That's not true. Oblique means sloping. Sloping attack tactics. Basically, not straight. That's what the line meant.

[@admiralrogers1157]

@@idontknow5249 but why would he say ain’t exactly straight if he already said oblique? That would be redundant. Also a line can have more than one meaning.

[@WafleEnterprises]

@@idontknow5249 It’s a double my guy

[@johnbraucher1499]

I think if they made an entire history series about this and made each one cryptic like have people have to figure things out to FIGURE things out, and crack the codes, this would be revolutionary in learning. Youd be takin care of 6 greats at one time. Lol

[@jamieg1669]

Peter is chillingly good as Ivan. The accent and the way he can act with just his eyes, "..hit that bottle..." Whoooo shivers down the spine. My favorite of his performances, and Lloyd as Hannibal. Deliciously creepy.

[@NorybDrol82]

That was a pretty good catch on your part at the end with the checkmate verse. Just like you it took a second or two for me to catch that. I had to read the Frederick the Greats wiki to get any of those verses.

[@trealosgaming3345]

Gotta say i lived Frederick's bit the best. Gets you pumped up before he even starts up

[@thesuminer]

I love learning a bit every time one of these battles comes out, its the same reason I love Sabaton, every time I listen to a new song by them I learn something new

[@Lauren.E.O]

I love that you pause the video to make comments. It’s SO much better than reviewers who talk over the videos they’re supposed to be reviewing!

[@Last555555555]

I always loved the part where Catherine said "you couldn't spin in my chamber if this were Russian Roulette"

[@LowbrowDeluxe]

You pick up way more of the history AND word smithing than any other reacter. Kudos. Plus the behind the scenes is awesome but I rarely watch them on my own.

[@leonvalenzuela4096]

"Greek from all the glory I got from winning every single war that I fought" all of Greece hated Macedonia at the time, then loved it after Alexander clamed so much prestige for the Greek way of life, as he won with no other forces in the field then his personal army that he lead from the front such a incredible line

[@maplehockeylove6339]

This is probably my favorite one because there is just SO MUCH packed into every single line Notable examples: "Bucephalus" was Alexander's horse that he loved so much, he named a city after it (might have been two, I forget) "Oblique attack tactics ain't exactly straight" has a double meaning, referring to both his great battle strategies as well as his sexuality (his lover was, however, killed by his father who disapproved of his son being "unmanly" etc.) "Old Fritz" was a fond nickname given to Frederick by his people, and he was generally very well loved (by the public) "That horse story is a pile of shit" - The men of the court spread a rumour after her death that she had died from trying to have sex with a horse, in an attempt to discredit her many (MANY) achievements. It was unfortunately pretty successful (you'll find people even today who believe it). She actually died of a stroke, which is why Ivan failed to kill her with the horse There's a whole lot more like Pompey and the speech and etc. but I think everyone else has those covered

[@sebastianb4sh]

Also big s/o to Zach Sherwin (Alexander The Great here), he not only played a few characters but he's always helping writing the lyrics with Peter and Lloyd. You should check some of his songs like Legato Gelato, Drop Bars and Circumcized Wolverine.

[@captaincory9133]

This is why you are one of my favorite reactors most watch it before hand and act as they get the references you watch it and give it a honest opinion and admit you might not know all the details. You are the best

[@bphater31]

I glad u made a playlist of ur erb reactions. Easy for me to watch ur reaction in order

[@infinitymystery21G]

I should've paid attention to history class for real every major diss flew over my head

[@rebeccahopkins9522]

Catherine The Great took that ish. This is when art imitated life right here 😂

[@sharkdentures3247]

I agree about the "stuff like this would actually get kids learning" - thing. The most excitement I ever had about 'History' was years after I graduated & discovered the History Channel. (which actually brought up weird, unusually & interesting historical facts!) I also think Public School English classes should play Weird Al Yankovic's "Word Crimes" song!

[@the_spyderwebb]

Can you please react to Stan Lee vs Jim Henson. It's one of my favorites

[@burningstar1793]

That shit moves you

[@JaredtheRabbit]

That was basically ERB's "bye bye bye" to Disney, based on the comments I saw on other reactions.

[@Flummeristic]

Do a double feature of Goku vs Superman, for both ERB and Deathbattles.

[@jlokison]

Deathbattles has done two, the first in one otheir earliest seasons and the second within the last 2 years. Same results but a lot more research went into the second one, however a lot more canonical lore has been added to both characters even since the second one so they are still getting requests to do it again.

[@nickmccoy85]

Man your facial expressions through this one are priceless. The best reactions are those unfiltered faces

[@jonathanmartin8716]

I love the face at the end you made :) Had to think about that one. I think your best line to describe this whole battle was "You gotta respect the flow," each of them had some great flow.

[@mikuisoshi539]

I've really been enjoying the reactions to the behind the scenes in particular. Keep it up!

[@AzNZinc]

This whole battle from start to finish is one of the best ones they've had, I think its great you finally got around to watching this one.

[@thetwitchywitchy]

this is my favorite Epic Rap Battles of History video, I'm a sucker for world history and this one took the cake.

[@Blackguy-de5eh]

Frederick The Great rolled up playing his flute and stole the show he was straight fire

[@sombertone395]

Been waiting for this one!

[@steveunderwood9307]

I love the historic accuracy with this one. It would be a fun way to learn something in school, what with the world leaders dying as they did in history more or less. Ivan: died while playing chess. Alexander: poisoned booze Fredrick: passed away sitting on his throne and no one noticed until a bit later Pompey: beheaded Catherine: supposedly died from complications with being intimate with a horse

[@NinjaKu23]

"Look alive, Kreme de la Kremlin's arriving; Try to serve Ivan, no survivin" (no serve Ivan) is one of the hardest lines in ERB history. THAT is wordplay!

[@orbitalsummer]

Such an underrated line: brought his foes to their knees in Phoenicia...

[@swiftsorrow428]

hannibal lector vs jack the ripper.. beat is FIRE!!! For real doe. bar are on point!!! you WIll not be disappointed.

[@AdamPFarnsworth]

This one flows sooo smoothly, I'm not even mad you didn't stop it continuously like you usually do lol

[@bradenr867]

I like how Fredrick said “ain’t exactly straight” in a kinda stereotypical gay voice

[@koba163]

He wasn't actually killed in a game of chess. He passed away naturally from a stroke during one.

[@benjamingrieco3928]

TMG "Respect the flow" Also TMG *Pauses in the middle of said flow*

[@tristen4923]

Walter white vs Rick Grimes Epiclloyd ve Nice Peter 2 They both are savage af and have good sounding flows and music

[@SSingh-nr8qz]

Oh wow! Walter White and Rick Grimes! I totally forgot about that one.

[@AirByJer]

1.Freddrick 2.Catherine The Great & Alexander 3.Ivan 4.Pompey

[@ItsAuntNiNi]

There is a show on BBC called Horrible Histories its this kinda stuff to teach kids history. I learned more from that show than I ever did in school! Divorce, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived!

[@paulwagner688]

Babe Ruth vs Lance Armstrong, Rasputin vs Stalin,Thomas Jefferson vs Frederick Douglass

[@brianvance1178]

I usually give this one to Catherine the Great, because she’s the only one to last two verses against Ivan the Terrible without dying/getting killed

[@TheFreedomer]

I mean, not untrue but also not the correct way to judge a rap battle imo.

[@sea-envy3137]

this is why we wanted you to see this one. Alexander's flow and Catherine's everything

[@vitani16]

I was so happy to hear you know the movie Drop Dead Fred. That made my friggin dayy

[@lol23lol16]

Fredrick Douglas vs Thomas Jefferson

[@simonawilson2546]

Oh I LOVE that one!!!

[@simonawilson2546]

Yes! Thomas Jefferson vs Fredrick Douglas...easily one of the BEST!

[@lol23lol16]

And Stevie Wonder vs Wonder Woman

[@gruu]

That one was gooood

[@jpenrique504]

The delay at the end, that broke me men, had a huge laugh jajaja

[@andreasblom432]

Rasputin vs. Stalin and great reaction as always

[@paulwagner688]

Just for Stalin's first line. That's just terrifying.

[@transmorphgod6738]

I’ve never clicked so fast

[@saww8713]

Frederick the Great’s verse will always be my favorite

[@arch5220]

Surprised you didn’t get the horse story one

[@GodUniverse-or8xg]

Amazing video 😎✌👊

[@Sidistic029]

It was crazy to see Zach Sherwin had an even longer version of his crazy flow

[@blockmasterscott]

For me, the unsung heroes in the behind the scenes part are people like the girl at 11:34. They do a kickass job at making this work. Mad props!

[@David_Alvarez77]

Ivan's comment about Novgorod refers to the city that Ivan sacked and utterly devoured.

[@David_Alvarez77]

Ivan the Terrible is also called Ivan the Dread.

[@HaunterOfKanto]

So many historical references in this battle. It's very well put together!

[@johnnypatrickhaus890]

Is there any doubt that these guys are Masters of the Art?

[@ashenclover6425]

Fredrick the great broke it down on the pipe, his was my favorite flow, but I loved Alexander the greats rap though too it was brutal Loved the reactions! Thanks for the video!!

[@МихаилСирманов]

Fun fact: In russian, Ivans nickname is "Грозньl" (Groznui), which translates as "Scary"

[@robbiewild7620]

love this stuff mane

[@itsmezed]

"Respect the flow!" That needs to be a shirt.

[@hllawilton2]

The thing about Pompey is that although he was a skill military strategist he was best known for being part of the first triumvirate with Caesar (which he brings up in his rap), after everything that happens with all that he was going to give a grand speech but before he could he was beheaded.

[@sarahdrake3007]

Amazing

[@JustOneSue]

My early morning rush!👏👏👏😁😁😁

[@awesomeaustin2348]

Awesome !!!

[@mr.v8467]

Best bars gotta go to my boy alexander "hey fella, swell diss! But now youve got the panhellinst from pella hella pissed" is fucking gold X)

[@bananableach6685]

Yuhhhhhhhhhhh he uploded

[@broccoliben7961]

Hold the hell up. You gave the win To Ivan? Out of every reaction I’ve seen of this, you are the only person to give it to him.

[@kimfield7335]

I had to move out of state from Chicago to Detroit. Do I know anyone??? No. But I got to take you with me! Thank you!! 😘😘

[@ernestoescobar3378]

I know its not ERB but you should react to the Epic Rap Battle of Manliness by Rhett and Link. Plus, it does feature cameos from Nice Peter and EpicLloyd.

[@ErdTirdMans]

Oh, hell yes. Finally.

[@isaacyeon6334]

1:59 that beat drop gets me everytime

[@danieldavis8228]

Though he died peacefully in his chair, no one can beat the mightiest Prussian.

[@jacksonfogo2]

Ay don't forget to give a shoutout to all singers, everyone there made an amazing job (especially Sherwin, he's usually one of the writers in most of the rap battles, also does a great job whenever he's part of the cast)