Following games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, and of course the virality of Ultra Instinct Shaggy, Warner Bros. decided to use its own iconic creations for a game,MultiVersus. From classic timeless characters like Bugs Bunny and Batman to contemporaries like Arya Stark andMorty ofRick and Mortyfame, the game grabs impactful characters of all stripes. Additionally, the presence of aGame of Thronescharacter indicates that the game is open to having live-action characters in its roster, further separating it from its Nickelodeon counterpart, which only focuses on the company’s animated works.
WhileMultiVersusis showing a promising future with its roster, especially with the datamined characters for future updates, it is rather lacking when it comes to stages. Other fighters, whether they are traditional or platform-based such as the aforementionedNickelodeon All-Star Brawl, tend to dedicate entire stages to particular characters. Logically, this means that the number of stages is usually equivalent to the number of playable characters. WhileMultiVersusdoes have obvious inspiration behind its stages, there are only a few of them, meaning that several characters have yet to get a home stage.
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MultiVersus Stages and their Potential Future
Excluding the Training arena and Trophy’s EDGE, all theMultiVersusstages are based on preexisting properties. However, despite the obvious representation, it is unclear if certain stages are supposed to represent a certain character or not. For example, Scooby’s Haunted Mansion is named after Scooby-Doo, who isn’t even playable as of now. Instead, Shaggy andVelma are the franchise’scurrent representatives. The Tree Fort represents Finn and Jake’s house inAdventure Time, so it can easily be seen as both characters’ home stage. The same applies to Sky Arena, based onSteven Universe, a show the game represents through its titular protagonist and the character Garnet. Lastly, there is the Batcave, which obviously represents Batman, and the Cromulons Stage, which currently represents Morty.
There are plenty of characters in the roster that have yet to receive their own home stage. There is currently no evidence of the developer planning on doing so, but adding a few extra stages based on Scooby-Doo,Adventure Time, andSteven Universeto accommodate the additional characters would be welcomed by fans. Otherwise, there is plenty of material with franchises without any stage representation. Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil ofLooney Tunesfame, as well asTom and Jerry, have plenty of classic shorts for the game to pick from. Harley Quinn, despite aBatmanrepresentative, should also get a stage of her own, supported by the fact that she has her own show and the currentBatmanstage is clearly meant to represent Batman himself and not just the franchise.
Superman andWonder Woman, the other two DC superheroes on the roster, do not have any stages of their own, but their histories are extensive enough for the developer to be creative with the stage selection. That being said, their home worlds of Krypton and Themyscira are the obvious contenders. The remaining characters without dedicated stages include Iron Giant,Game of Thrones’ Arya Stark, theSpace Jam: A New Legacyversion of LeBron James, and an original character called Reindog.
Their works of origin, while not as prevalent or even long-lasting as some other franchises, still have plenty to work with. Anything Stark-related in Westeros could fit Arya, the “Toon” universe fromSpace Jam 2fitsLeBron’s depiction, andThe Iron Giantcould either be represented by the town of Rockwell or even space. Reindog is the only one that cannot be easily associated with a stage due to being an original creation for the game.
Overall,MultiVersusseems to be more into its characters than its stages, which is understandable. However, playing on the same few levels over and over again will get repetitive after a season, so hopefully more will be on the way soon.
MultiVersusis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
