Warner Bros.’ MultiVersus, a platform fighter like Super Smash Bros., has just been announced to be coming as a free-to-play experience in 2022, and according to a leak, Adult Swim characters Rick and Morty are already present. The game looks mechanically interesting, but the character list is essentially unknown outside of the leak of ten characters and the short trailer that released earlier last week. One thing that the leak did say, though, was that Rick and Morty would be playable fighters, and while this hasn’t been confirmed, it makes sense that one of Warner’s most popular animated shows would have a spot in their upcoming crossover fighter. However, stopping at Rick and Morty would be a disservice to the other great characters that have come out of Adult Swim’s programming.
Adult Swim’s catalog feels perfectly at home for the audience of video games and Smash clones in particular, being a style of video game that was very popular in the aughts for teenagers and young adults. Early entries for Adult Swim included Sealab 2021, Home Movies, Harvey Birdman, and more animated shows but their catalog has expanded even beyond that to feature live action shows like The Eric Andre Show, Loiter Squad, and many more.
Of course, it’s hard to overlook the importance Rick and Morty has to the network, but there’s more than just the scientist and his grandson. Adult Swim has given birth to a lot of classic shows like Robot Chicken and Check it Out! With Dr. Steve Brule. It’s even a large part of why anime is popular in the West, being the first network to air the original run of Cowboy Bebop and FLCL. There are many more characters that should be added to MultiVersus to deepen the selection and Adult Swim’s original content is a great place to start.
Tim and Eric might seem like a strange choice, but so are many characters from live-action shows like Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. Giving Tim and Eric a makeover to look more like animated avatars might be funny in and of itself, but with added gameplay references and voice acting, this duo could be a unique addition to the Multiversus roster. They might even be suited to a gameplay style similar to Ice Climbers or Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl’s Ren and Stimpy, where players somewhat control both of them at once as they do similar actions in different directions.
Tim and Eric sketches, especially those from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! lean into a unique low-budget public access aesthetic, like in the Universe sketches with the Mind Blown gif. Integrating that low budget television feel into the world of MultiVersus might be tough, but the payoff would be an interesting team of characters that work together to slap opponents with stickers and bad CGI. Whether wearing business attire or beach outfits, the two could be juggling between each other, expanding the universe, or just blowing up balloons together.
Home Movies is a strange show created by Loren Bouchard, the creator of Bob’s Burgers. The original show mixed improvisational lines with scripted stories to mirror real-life dialogue and the effect is uncanny at times. However, when the main character Brendon tries to work with his friends to make a film the awkward dialogue works and it feels like a real amateurish film student set. There are a lot of wonderful characters from the original run of the show, and with the Adult Swim still owning the rights, there’s a possibility that one could show up in MultiVersus alongside Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems, poorly animated and all.
The character of Coach McGuirk gives bad advice to the children in the show and is lovingly played by H. Jon Benjamin, voice of the titular characters from Archer and Bob’s Burgers. The voice performance and improv characterize him as somewhat of a loser, looking for friendship with Brendon, Melissa, and Jason just because his life isn’t going so well. His character is somewhat of a deep cut for Warner Bros. fans, but he’s found renewed interest over the years on the internet. Especially given a gag about his sword collection and his aptitude for teaching sports, there’s plenty that he could use to take down foes.
Hanna-Barbera was a point of parody for Adult Swim in its early days, as it was also owned by Warner Bros. and this paved the way for the success of three of their early shows – Sealab 2021, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. MultiVersus’ leaked character roster already leans into older cartoons like Tom and Jerry and Scooby Doo, so giving those characters foils through parody characters could create a fun dynamic. Harvey Birdman is different from Space Ghost in that the slightly higher animation budget not only allows for unique stories, but the entire show also takes place in a prototype cinematic universe itself. It’s based on a show simply named Birdman which follows the everyday experiences of being a bird-based superhero, but the premise of Harvey Birdman elevates the original concept and uses it to poke fun at old cartoons.
Harvey Birdman could still definitely be the grind-chasing busy attorney in MultiVersus, as at this point, his over-the-top persona has eclipsed that of the original character. His show was already somewhat of a crossover, spending most of its episodes defending various Hanna-Barbera characters from litigation. His moveset could lean into his wings and superpowers while also referencing his background in law. Just as Phoenix Wright keeps winding up in crossover games like Marvel vs. Capcom, he could throw paperwork and suitcases while raining justice down on his naysayers.
The Venture Bros. is probably the most fleshed out of the early parodies of Hanna-Barbera, being a satire and homage to Johnny Quest without using any of its original characters. Both brothers require protection through their various hijinks, and the main character to offer it is Brock Samson, a macho bodyguard who protects the Venture family.
For a fighting game, Brock would have a lot to work with. Being a member of Office of Secret Intelligence and having a license to kill means that he already has a loadout of traditional weapons, grenades, and knives that could be translated to MultiVersus. Patrick Warburton embodies the soul of the character, and has already come back for Poker Night at the Inventory, Samson’s only appearance in a video game. This would be a great addition to add as it gives a different style of fighting from the weapon-based gameplay of Arya or the slapstick of Tom and Jerry.
Adult Swim has its own style and edge which makes choosing characters for MultiVersus fun – not often do fans of platform fighters get to see a more mature and off-the-wall sense of humor directly influence a game’s roster. Warner Bros. must be at least somewhat aware of the older audience for this game, if the inclusion of Shaggy’s Super Saiyan-like moves are anything to go on. And given the large portion of the audience for MultiVersus crosses over with Adult Swim, some amount of representation beyond Rick and Morty is almost certainly going to happen.
Hopefully with the free-to-play cycle, the developers will have time to invest in creating characters that push the limits of what’s expected from a crossover fighter. The more characters that players get like Coach McGuirk or Tim and Eric, the more unique their game will be from, say, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. MultiVersus has a chance to bring together characters that would never have a chance to be in the same game, so hopefully Warner Bros. uses this as an opportunity to create something special for game and television fans alike.
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Author: Joshua Cole
