Finally, Shaggy can kill the Batman in WB’s MultiVersus

Warner Bros. finally has a Super Smash Bros. to call their own.

By Matt Schimkowitz | May 17, 2022 | 12:40am

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Finally, Shaggy can kill the Batman in WB’s MultiVersus

WB MultiVersus Screenshot: Warner Bros.

We’ve all had that dream. You know, the one where Batman stabs Bugs Bunny with a bat-a-rang and breaks every bone in his little body. Well, now that dream can be a reality in the WB video game MultiVersus, a jaunty little attempt at encroaching on other studios’ mixed-IP fighting games, like Super Smash Bros. and Marvel Vs. Capcom.

As we’ve seen with WB’s other IP excavations to compete with the Disneys of the world, the studio’s bench is deep. For the Multiversus’ trailer, they’ve pulled out some serious ringers, including Superman, Batman, Bugs Bunny, Shaggy (who goes Super Sayian and becomes Ultra Instinct Shaggy, which is a thing we’re all just going to have to live with), Taz, Tom & Jerry, Wonder Woman, Steven Universe, Araya Stark, something called Reindog, Adventure Time’s Jake and Finn, Garnet, Harley Quinn, and, of course, Velma Dinkley, who better be wearing her friggin’ glasses strap.

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Some familiar names will also voice the characters, such as Kevin Conroy, Tara Strong, Matthew Lillard, and Maisie Williams. But, of course, Iron Giant is roped into all this—sans Vin Diesel. WB is hellbent on canonizing Brad Bird’s loveable Tinman as one of their great heroes of intellectual property. It’s a surprising turn for a character that felt largely forgotten in our Always Be Sequelizing media landscape. We suppose Ready Player One counts as a sequel, for better or worse. Nevertheless, it still feels a little gross that this special little movie can’t just be its own thing.

There’s no gameplay footage in the trailer. But it more or less looks exactly like Super Smash Bros., with characters flying all over a memorable WB setting, like the Batcave, and button-mashing their way to victory. The game is free-to-play (with in-game purchases) and offers a “team-based 2 vs. 2 format, 1 vs. 1 matches, and 4-player free-for-all.” More game modes and roster additions are coming, though.

MultiVersus is available in “Closed Alpha” and will enter Open Beta this July. It will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.