The Skulls was a twist introduced on Total Madness, which required players to win an elimination in order to qualify for the Final Challenge.
Twist History[]
Total Madness[]
In Total Madness, the players were given brands on their helmets. White skulls represented elimination wins, while daggers represented championships. After winning in Purgatory, the elimination winners will be branded with a Red Skull on their helmet which qualifies them for the Final Challenge. All finalists must have a Red Skull if they want to compete in the Final Challenge. Players who earn a Red Skull are not immune from elimination, and they can be thrown in again, and add another Red Skull to their helmet. By the end of Episode 14, all of the remaining players had earned at least one Red Skull.
| Episode | Purgatory | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air Strike |  | |
| 2 | Flip the Switch |  | |
| 3 | Take Shelter | | |
| 4 | Code Breaker |  | |
| 5/6 | Fire Ball |  | |
| 7 | Dust to Dust |  | |
| 8 | Pole Wrestle |  |
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| 9 | Bombs Out |  |
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| 10 | Charge the Wall |  | |
| 11 | Tunnel Vision | | |
| 12 | Launch Button |  | |
| 13 | Off with Your Heads |  | |
| 14 | Knots of War |  |
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| 15 | Hall Brawl | |
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Double Agents[]
In Double Agents, the Skulls are now gold. However, they are limited to 10 holders (five men and five women). After all the Skulls for each gender are acquired, players without one are forced to steal them from the current holder. By the end of Episode 8, all five men's Skulls had been acquired. The following male eliminations would require the men without a Skull to steal. By the end of Episode 13, all five women's Skulls were acquired, and the following female eliminations required the women without a Skull to steal. By the end of Episode 15, all remaining players held a Skull.
| Episode | Crater | Skulls | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 1 | Fire Escape |  |
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| 2 | Ring of Spies |  |
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| 3 | Snapping Point |  |
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| 4 | Hall Brawl |  |
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| 5 | Asset Destruction |  |
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| 6 | Dead Ringer |  |
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| 7 | Fire Escape |  |
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| 8 | Asset Destruction |  |
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| 9 | Snapping Point |  |
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| 10 | Hall Brawl |  |
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| 11/12 | Dead Ringer |  |
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| 13 | Ring of Spies |  | |||||||||
| 14 | Snapping Point |  | |||||||||
| 15 | Fire Escape |  | |||||||||
| 16 | Hall Brawl | ||||||||||
| 17 | Hall Brawl | ||||||||||
| Finalists | |||||||||||