Banana Guards are minor characters in Adventure Time. They look like banana popsicles, and aren't an obvious pick for the ensemble roster of Warner Bros fighting game MultiVersus, which could include lots of better-known cartoon characters. The Powerpuff Girls are expected, for instance, but there's still been no reveal. Banana Guard, however, just made the cut, and some fans cannot accept it.
Before Banana Guard was confirmed with an introduction trailer today, the MultiVersus X account stoked rumors about the potassium-rich addition by mailing bananas to players and responding to speculation with banana puns like "we're peeling good about launch day." It was hard to seriously doubt that Banana Guard was coming, but some players frantically convinced themselves it was a ruse.
Banana Guards Assemble! Welcome to #BananaFriday, MVPs! #MultiVersus pic.twitter.com/IiS8CNdll3May 17, 2024
When Banana Guard briefly appeared in a trailer posted before the announcement, for instance, one player carefully analyzed the video frame and concluded that Banana Guard was simply a placeholder. Why tweet all the banana emojis, then? A red herring, meant to trick players before the true reveal of another character. Maybe the bananas were pointing toward the chimpanzee evil genius Mojo Jojo, arch nemesis of the Powerpuff Girls?
Another, more confident, Reddit poster declared: "If banana guard gets added I will cut my balls off." Sorry to their balls, but Banana Guard is definitely in the game.
The disbelief stemmed from Banana Guard's relative obscurity and the timing. Along with The Joker, this is the big MultiVersus release addition—it's out in a couple weeks—and Banana Guard isn't just an offbeat character, but a minor offbeat character from a show that already has two characters on the MultiVersus roster.
It's arguably the lack of a good reason to add Banana Guard that makes Banana Guard a good comedy pick, and lots of players appear to be enjoying the announcement, but as the reality of the incoming banana meta sets in, some of the former disbelievers are unimpressed.
"Pretty disappointed," said one fan. "I love that there's a joke character but I'd want it to be more interesting than a random background guard. At least some people are happy! I just don't care much."
Get ready for potassium-laced fury! #MultiVersus pic.twitter.com/BKgPJ7BjQ0May 17, 2024
I can understand the disappointment: Players were expecting a fan favorite character to hit the roster for launch and got a banana at a time when Fortnite has pretty thoroughly tapped the comedy potential of sentient bananas.
I'd have trouble staying mad at the goofy banana cylinders, though. It's hard to react to them with sober-minded analysis, but here's some anyway: Player First Games might've considered Banana Guard a solid roster pick not because of their esteem, but their gear. A lanky, spear-wielding weapon fighter with (presumably) a long reach is something new for the game instead of another DC hero or Cartoon Network character who'd probably just punch.
MultiVersus went into open beta in 2022, but last year Player First Games somewhat unexpectedly took it offline to work on the launch version, which will be out on Steam on May 28.
