Webcomic Character Analysis Blog: Berrybelle Chews Up the Competition in DEATH BATTLE!

Berrybelle, the Pink Menace

Berrybelle was created by Shalom, it used to be available to read on Adventure Webcomics before the website shut down. Many of its surviving pages can still be read on the Stories by Shalom Wayback Machine link

DISCLAIMER: The Imgur Purge of May 2023 deleted most of the linked scans. Until I am aided in reclaiming all missing images, this message will remain here. Regardless, the blog will continue being updated with new scans.

Welcome back to the blog! If you read my last blog, you'd know that the character I teased is not the same as the one I'm focusing on in this blog. That's because it's a group effort and our schedules aren't aligning at the moment. Life interferes, and that's that. While that blog is on hold, I wanted to make a blog on this character, as it's kind of an emergency. While I find the webcomic Berrybelle… less than stellar to say the least, I found the unique setting, the protagonist's candy-themed powerset, and the shockingly emotional fourth chapter engaging enough to keep me reading. But after a lack of updates for months, its host website Adventure Webcomics expired. Some of its pages can be found on its abandoned Facebook, DeviantArt, Tapas, and Duck Webcomic pages, and the Stories by Shalom site on the Wayback Machine does feature a lot of the missing pages, but some of the chapters that were posted on the Adventure Webcomic site are still missing! Unless the author returns, Berrybelle would be deemed partially lost media. While I'm unable to reread the updates past 6/26/19 to refresh myself for the blog, I saved many screenshots of feats when I read it back in July of 2022 and onwards. My blog may not be entirely accurate to the original story since I can't access the pages beyond what the Stories by Shalom Wayback Machine links can provide, but I recall enough of the plot to confidently write about the protagonist. If the website returns, I will make any necessary changes. With no further delays, I present to you the lost story of a doll named Berrybelle.

Background

"For just like a caterpillar is never called a caterpillar once it has morphed into a butterfly, you shall be referred to by your new name… But never forget who you were, Onaya Zenithia Mah."

A living doll made of candy falls into the bizarre and colorful world of Ona Zenith with no recollection of who she is, what she is, or how she ended up here. As she awakens, a talking white raven flies to her. Calling her Berrybelle, the bird instructs her to follow the Streets of Gold, a golden road that covers all throughout Ona Zenith. Before the bird can tell her anything else, a flying drone spots her and dispatches dinosaurs to kill her, forcing the bird to flee. After defeating the reptiles herself, she knew she had to find answers to who she is and why she's being hunted down. And so she begins her adventure, following the Streets of Gold.

As she becomes more accustomed to her candy powers, she runs into a young boy named Pim Pim, who is the prince of the Ugni Kingdom. As it turns out, both she and Pim Pim were targeted by the Emerald Empire. Led by the Emerald Emperor, it is a malicious and power-hungry empire that has dominated Ona Zenith for twenty painful years.

Berrybelle found Pim Pim in a hiding spot to evade kidnapping, so she took matters into her own hands to stop return him home safely. After that, she would perform many good deeds while following the Streets of Gold. She'd stop an Emerald Empire general from crashing Pim Pim's birthday party, liberate a village of dogs from Emerald Empire soldiers, and even provided strawberry-flavored sweets to people on her travels. She retains her generosity and thoughtfulness everywhere she goes. However, there are some situations she couldn't handle on her own, and found friends to assist her. Some include a pug who trains her in combat and a swan who sacrifices herself to help Berrybelle escape a dangerous dimension. She even reunites with Pim Pim, who accompanies her on the rest of her journey.

As she plods through the Streets of Gold and opposes the Emerald Empire's forces, she learns more inklings of her past. Her physiology resembles a member of the candy kingdom, yet she looks like a resident of the Emerald Empire. She'd find many answers to her questions once she reaches the town of Barrybell, reuniting with the white raven. As it turns out, the bird told her to go to Barrybell, not naming her Berrybelle. Her real name is Onaya Zenitha Mah and she is the daughter of the now deceased rulers of Ona Zenith—who were killed by the Emerald Emperor to seize control over the land and be rid of potential threats. Thus, Berrybelle is the rightful ruler of Ona Zenith. The reason she is a candy doll has yet to be revealed, but she was likely created by a mysterious man named the Toymaker. Now she has her resolve to find the Toymaker to find out how she was reborn and take down the Emerald Emperor to reclaim the power she was robbed of and free Ona Zenith from his wrath.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, that's because this story lifts many elements from the Wizard of Oz. Berrybelle follows a yellow road to find her destination, an emerald kingdom is involved, she visits lots of mystifying locations along the way, and she even squares off against flying monkeys and witches of the east and west–taking one of the eastern witch's magic shoes like Dorothy did.

Unfortunately, we never get to see the end of Berrybelle's journey. Before Adventure Webcomics expired, Berrybelle lost a grueling match against a witch that was part of the Emerald Empire, and was angry the candy heroine killed her sister. The fight was so violent and debilitating that it cost Berrybelle her arms. Before the witch could splatter Berrybelle in the pavement, a mysterious new ally took her unconscious and injured body underground and whisked her away. A bittersweet cliffhanger for sure, but hopefully the webcomic will return to properly conclude her story.

Equipment

Enalora's Shoes

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Berrybelle wearing her shoes, but I'll summarize what I remember. Enalora wears Berrybelle's shoes, which she used to own as Onaya. After killing her, her body shriveled up and her shoes shrunk down to Berrybelle's size. Wearing them gives Berrybelle Enalora's electricity powers.

Abilities

Candy Manipulation

Berrybelle's powerset centers around her ability to manipulate strawberry-flavored treats. If she thinks of something, Listed below is every kind of usage Berrybelle has with her candy powers.

Candy/Food Creation

Berrybelle can make pretty much anything she wants out of candy. If she thinks of it, her powers will obey her command. Her candy creation can range from strawberry-flavored foods she can spawn, to the very clothes she wears. Even her skin is actually an outer layer of candy protecting her candy doll body. She can alter the shape and properties of them at will, like changing her suit into a sparkly dress. Everything she makes is pink and strawberry-flavored, but can add additional flavoring to things like chocolate.

Bubbles

She can either trap people in giant bubblegum bubbles or create streams of bubbles from her hands to glide through the sky. She can even make a variant of bubble balls that are explosive.

Bubblegum Manipulation

She can fire beams of sturdy and sticky bubblegum. Anyone caught in it likely won't be getting out of it any time soon.

Stickiness

Thanks to her gummy body, she can stick to and climb walls.

Shield Generation

Remember when I said that her bubblegum can be really sturdy? Yeah, it's durable enough to create a functional shield.

Inorganic Physiology

Because she's made out of candy, many things that would be dangerous to average humans may not have an effect on her.

Liquid Generation

She's able to produce strawberry champagne and strawberry-chocolate milk. While she hasn't utilized this in combat scenarios, she very well has the potential to.

Cotton Candy Manipulation

She can shoot cotton candy out of her hands to soften falls.

Gumball Projectiles

She can shoot gumballs out of her hands and feet.

Rope Creation

She can make ropes out of candy, either to lasso foes, pull up heavy objects, or swing to other locations.

Candy Spikes

She can shoot small spikes made out of candy.

Candy Sticks

They're big, they're tasty, and they're rolling straight towards you!

Sugar Towers

Stomping the ground can summon a cluster of sugar towers to send her opponents into the air.

Enhanced Agility

She can run faster than the average person

Super Strength

She's way stronger than she looks.

Acrobatics

Her body may not be stretchy like bubblegum, but it's capable of spectacular acrobatic feats.

Martial Arts

Berrybelle is trained in basic martial arts, mainly using punches, kicks, and acrobatics to get the job done. Her master Mastaquincy taught her the value of blocking attacks, maintaining discipline and focus in combat, and channeling energy into her strikes. All are still hard to retain when she loses her temper.

Healing and Regeneration (Mid-High)

Berrybelle has an excellent healing factor. She once passed through a portal that fully disintegrates everything that passes through it, and her body was able to regenerate fast enough for her to outlast its effects.

Electricity Manipulation

While I don't have a picture of Berrybelle donning Enalora's shoes, I thankfully saved a picture of the electric bubblegum projectile she now has.

Techniques

N/A

Feats

Overall

She singlehandedly defeated two velociraptors owned by the Emerald Empire.
She destroyed two Emerald Empire combat ships with her fists and candy powers alone
She returned Pim Pim to his family after the Emerald Empire attempted to kidnap him
She defeated General Azna, a shapeshifting enforcer of the Emerald Empire
She took Azna's tracking device away from the Ugni Kingdom so it can avoid the Emerald Empire's fleets
She escaped the Lost Lake, a magic realm where its only exit is a portal that completely tears apart anything that passes through it
While she was a talented fighter when she first woke up, her training under the pug Mastaquincy greatly improved her capabilities. She somehow completed her training all while wearing high heels.
After being trained by Mastaquincy, she defeated the bounty hunter Blockhead, who she spectacularly failed to beat before
Being the greatest threat to the Emerald Emperor, she has a bounty of E 40,000,000 and her name has spread through the furthest reaches of Ona Zenith
She was able to meditate on top of spikes, balancing on her pinkies with ease
She freed the enslaved inhabitants of Dogtown after killing Enalora, the tyrannical witch who ruled the eastern quadrant of Ona Zenith under the Emerald Empire
She fought a bounty hunter that invaded Barrybell
She barely survived a fight against Enalora's sister Evalore, who ruled the western quadrant of Ona Zenith

Strength

Speed

Durability

Her body can withstand bites from velociraptors
She endured a barrage of bullets
Berrybelle survived moving through the portal out of the Lost Lake, which completely destroys all who pass through it. Nirvana the Swan states that can destroy anyone by ripping their skin off, but in the portal, it shows the bugs that pass through it exploding and Nirvana disintegrating
She was slammed by Blockhead, causing her to fly back and cause a small wall-level explosion
Blockhead stomped on and threw her onto the ground, causing cracks (wall level)
She endured an electric shock from Enalora
She narrowly survived a fight against Evalore, which resulted in Berrybelle losing her arms (sadly I don't have a screenshot of the damage she sustained)

Weaknesses

Healthy food repulses her. She's only able to consume sweets.
Berrybelle is very foolhardy. She doesn't know when to back out of a fight she can't win
On a similar note, she can't think straight when she's lost her temper. She'll just keep wailing on her opponent without any strategy or precision
Acid bypasses her regenerative properties

Matchup Potential

Berrybelle is surprisingly a tricky character to find matchups for. Not only would they have to bounce off of her candy powerset well, but also share connections with her amnesia quest where she discovers she is the rightful ruler of the lands. Bonus points if their story lifts a lot of elements from another story like The Wizard of Oz, but that's optional. I'd imagine the first character that would come to mind is Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time, but aside from pink candy people and sorta being rulers, there isn't much of a thematic throughline and she doesn't really banter well against Bonnibel.

I have an acquaintance on Discord that vibes with Berrybelle vs Yerin Ma from The Warrior Returns. While I do kind of vibe with that one, it doesn't check the boxes for what I want the most. The connections may be "candy manipulating heroines who stand against an evil empire they were once affiliated with," but it doesn't function well when it's comparing a side character spy who turns on her own kingdom to join the heroes VS the protagonist who doesn't remember her ties with the antagonistic empire, but stands against it when they pursue her and hurt innocent people.

While I really don't think Berrybelle is that good of a series, I think Berrybelle herself would be cool on Death Battle for her candy powers, the potential for the setting to really play with color schemes, and the connections her best matchup may have.

NEXT TIME ON WCAB… whenever I feel like it

Monday, February 13, 2023

Berrybelle Chews Up the Competition in DEATH BATTLE!