Look, there’s two ways you can react to the announcement of MultiVersus, the upcoming Warner Bros fighting game. On one hand, you can be appalled at just how many IPs actually fall under the WB umbrella and have a serious discussion about the media duopoly of Disney and WB.
Alternatively, you could realize just how deep those WB roots go and just have some wild fun with deciding which characters you want to see appear in MultiVersus.
Admittedly, this is a much harder task than you’d think- the announced roster is already zany, spanning characters like Bugs Bunny, Sansa Stark and the Iron Giant. Heck, Ultra Instinct Shaggy is in there and he’s technically a fan character, although his mortal form is still owned by WB.
That being said, on this lazy afternoon look at our list of characters we want to see added to MultiVersus.
Murdoch (Gorillaz)
Look, if anything, this roster isn’t setting in *enough* just how far the WB umbrella reaches. Warner Music Group owns the Gorillaz- the number one band in terms of proto-vtubing that’s also canon to The Powerpuff Girls.The Gorillaz designs have stood the test of time, with songs like Feel Good Inc and Clint Eastwood still being absolute bangers (or so I’m told by people who haven’t updated their playlists since the early 2000s).
So why Murdoch? Short answer, cus it’d be funny. Murdoch is easily one of the most recognizable characters in the band, and anyone who was introduced to them via Feel Good Inc might mistake him for some cool suave sex demon when his actual persona is quite different.
Plus, it’s not like he’s got anything better to do, since he was replaced by Ace from The Gang Green Gang.
Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo is the perfect character to throw into MultiVersus, for little reason other than I really liked Johnny Bravo growing up and want to see him throw down against the Iron Giant. An Elvis-styled wannabe playboy, Johnny Bravo’s antics would be funny to see translated into a fighting game- especially since he’s supposedly good at Karate.
Look, we’re never gonna get some sort of spiritual revival of Johnny Bravo- the idea of some guy who hits on random women just isn’t going to fly in this modern day and age. His era is long gone. At least give him a proper sendoff by having him be remembered as a solid B-tier in a fighting game instead.
Plus it’s not even his first fighting game appearance. Let him be this game’s Terry Bogard, you cowards.
LeBron James/ Michael Jordan
If there’s any takeaway from Space Jam 2 is that WB owns a *lot* of IPs. And that that’s a good thing. I’m not picky on which of these basketballers gets in to MultiVersus- though given his absence from Space Jam 2 I’m guessing MJ isn’t too hot on rekindling his friendship with cartoon characters, no matter how hard they saved him from a career in baseball, the ingrate.
Assuming it’ll be LeBron, it’d be great for him to specifically carry his persona from Space Jam 2- a whiny by-the-book man constantly whining about fundamentals like a Street Fighter player who just found out his weeklies are hosting brackets for Persona 4 Arena this weekend instead. If it was MJ, though, we’d need to do a deeper pull and get out those elemental basketballs. After all, he’s the only one who can stop chaos.
I have a few important caveats for the inclusion of LeBron or MJ in MultiVersus. The most important one is simple- none of that CG art style that characters like Sansa got. I want a retro Mortal Kombat-styled sprite, with as few frames as possible. The stark contrast in art style ensures that the spirit of Space Jam lives on even in MultiVersus- that is, how weird it is that statistically, pro basketballers and cartoon characters have an almost symbiotic relationship.
Lion-O (Thundercats Roar)
Look. I don’t have a reason here, I just want even more animosity when Roar Lion-O has all the things that make Neco Arc great. I mean, maybe Lion-O could turn into one of the better Lion-Os as a super, but I’m not holding my breath.
That’s pretty much it for my picks for who I want to see added to the roster of MultiVersus. Given what we already know about WB’s ever-arching library of characters, it’s safe to assume your standard picks like Rick & Morty are going to appear somehow, especially since the addition of anything Game of Thrones related means age rating is no barrier.
Fingers crossed on MJ though, I want my Elemental Basketballs.