The MultiVersus Roster Showdown: Match 12

To learn more about the MultiVersus Roster Showdown, check out the introduction post here.

Contender 1: Bastian Bux

If you’ve only vaguely heard of The Neverending Story, you might not know who Bastian even is. Hell, you may only be familiar with the aesthetic of the film and think that all of the characters are forgettable on their own. However, as a huge fan of the movie myself, I wanted a way to shoehorn the world’s charming cast of characters into one playable fighter. Thankfully, I think I’ve found the perfect match for Bastian and his book of misfits.

The Neverending Story is, of course, a book discovered by Bastian Balthasar Bux at a local bookstore. Bastian is quite the loner, and he finds solace within the pages of this epic mythical quest. The story is full of colorful characters, and in Multiversus, I think Bastian could play the role of a “Pokémon Trainer” – pardon the Smash Bros. comparison – with the power to summon everyone from Falcor to Morla the Ancient One to The Nothing itself! Each of these summons would come with their own array of attacks; for example, Atreyu could hit opponents with that rock he kills Gmork with. You know, Gmork? The wolf? He’s there, too.

As for skins, well, that’s where I’m a little confused. Considering the whole film takes place in like one day, Bastian isn’t changing his clothes very often. However, the kid does appear in the Neverending Story sequels! I have never seen these, sadly, but I’m sure he changes his clothes in those movies! And hell, I bet there would be even more summons to choose from! This just reminded me those movies exist, and now I have homework.

I feel like in the greater Warner Brothers pantheon, The Neverending Story doesn’t get the love it deserves these days. Watching this movie was a big part of my childhood, and it would be really cool to not only see these characters regain some relevance in today’s society, but also to see how they are depicted in the Multiversus art style! But this does raise a concern… who could possibly take on every one of Bastian’s fairytale friends? Seems a little unbalanced, eh?

Contender 2: Ben 10

Enter: Benjamin Kirby Tennyson!

If you grew up in my time, you absolutely know what Ben 10 is. I barely even watched the show myself, but with all the hoopla my friends made about it and the steady stream of merchandise crammed down my throat, it was hard to avoid Cartoon Network’s massive money-making property. The story of a kid with a futuristic alien watch that grants him shapeshifting abilities is certainly one of the channel’s wildest concepts.

As mentioned before, Ben’s watch allows him to shift into multiple different alien life forms, each with their own special powers. Initially, Ben had 10 aliens to choose from, with powers that ranged from super speed to super strength to “all the powers of a traditional ghost.” Over time, some of these evolved, some of them swapped sides, and in the end, well, let’s just say there’s a lot of aliens to choose from. Ben 10’s inclusion in Multiversus would really feel like the parallel to a Pokémon Trainer, as he could shift forms at will, changing his abilities on the battlefield.

As for skins, I figure we could utilize the different forms of Ben across the many series. Since 2005, there have been three sequel series to the original and a reboot, and within the near future we may be getting a live action series, an anime, and yet another reboot. So… there’s a lot we could pull from in this department, as well. Ben’s look has ranged from cartoonish to realistic and everything in between, so this could offer a lot of unique skins to compliment the variety of unique aliens.

While researching this topic, I learned that Ben 10 seems to remain a lot more relevant than I’d imagined! After 15 years, there are still projects in the works to breathe new life into the world and its characters, and even though I’m not personally a huge fan, this still makes me excited for the future of the franchise. Multiversus could do its part to continue this revitalization, bringing Ben Tennyson to audiences old and new in a fighting game setting.

Fun little update for you: after writing this, I found out that Ben Tennyson has apparently been leaked/datamined already, but hey, I’m leaving this battle because it’s too fun not to speculate! Happy voting!