MultiVersus turns LeBron James meme into a devastating weapon (2024)

MultiVersus turns LeBron James meme into a devastating weapon (1)

The collective internet tilted its head a few degrees to the left last week when MultiVersus announced that the next brawler joining a roster that includes Iron Giant, Batman, and Arya Stark would be four-time NBA champion LeBron James. On top of the weirdness of an actual human being duking it out with DC heroes, players wondered how LeBron's b-ball skillset could possibly translate into a fighting game.

It turns out: mostly how you'd expect—except for one move that I don't think anyone anticipated, inspired by a Twitter meme.

LeBron, featured in-game with his Space Jam 2 jersey, has a fun moveset with his basketball. He can bonk players in the face with the ball, pass it to teammates, dunk the ball to create a small earthquake, and spin it on his finger to smush enemies above him. Where things start to get weird is when he loses his basketball.

Until he can summon a new ball, LeBron has to fight with his hands. When you press the attack button, LeBron shoulder checks enemies with an intentional foul. If you hold the attack button and then let it go, LeBron flashes back to the night of May 31, 2018. It was Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the score was tied, and teammate JR Smith had just made a mistake that would cost LeBron the win. LeBron's immediate reaction to Smith's blunder was as unmistakable as it was unforgettable: a look of utter disbelief with outstretched arms and hands gesturing in the direction that Smith should have dribbled the ball.

In MultiVersus, LeBron recreates the meme in his main unarmed attack, harnessing his trauma into a shove that deals exactly 15 damage:

I wasn't entirely sure the attack was in fact a reference to the meme when I first saw it (after all, LeBron maintains a grin throughout the attack, not bewilderment), but upon closer inspection the arms, hands, and suggestive speech cloud of censored expletives convinced me. It's not hard to believe that MultiVersus would look to the internet for inspiration, either. Shaggy, the game's flagship fighter, has a moveset centered around the Ultra Instinct Shaggy meme that caught on a few years ago.

LeBron's meme attack arguably isn't even the weirdest, deepest cut move he has. When you don't have a ball, his upward attack becomes a flawless recreation of the LeBron James chalk toss (a thing I am only hearing about now).

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Developer Player First Games really did its homework when designing LeBron, which shouldn't come as a surprise given how lovingly crafted all of its other characters are. LeBron's successful MultiVersus debut officially has me excited for the arrival of Rick and Morty, who are slated to release alongside Season 1 in August.

MultiVersus turns LeBron James meme into a devastating weapon (2)

Morgan Park

Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.

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MultiVersus turns LeBron James meme into a devastating weapon (2024)

FAQs

Did LeBron voice LeBron in MultiVersus? ›

Finally, John Eric Bentley is the actor filling in for LeBron James.

What does LeBron's fence do in MultiVersus? ›

LeBron will slam his BASKETBALL as a PROJECTILE down into the ground, bouncing it into the air. Without a BASKETBALL he will create a fence that BLOCKS incoming PROJECTILES.

How do you dunk as LeBron in MultiVersus? ›

If LeBron hits an ally with his BASKETBALL PROJECTILE, it will attach to them. When LeBron's ally does a directional attack they will shoot the BASKETBALL PROJECTILE in the direction of their attack. If the BASKETBALL hits an enemy it will bounce upwards, giving LeBron an alley-oop dunk.

How much does LeBron James cost in MultiVersus? ›

How much does LeBron James cost? It costs 3000 Fighter currency or 1000 Gleamium to unlock LeBron James from the shop.

Who voices the Joker in MultiVersus? ›

Mark Hamill Is Returning To Voice The Joker In The Upcoming Video Game Multiversus - IMDb.

Who voiced Superman in MultiVersus? ›

Superman is voiced by George Newbern, who has played the character since 2001's Justice League. Newbern also voiced Superman in the Injustice games. Somewhat ironically, Newbern has also portrayed the villainous Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts 2 and Dissidia, as well as the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie.

What is taunting in MultiVersus? ›

Edit. Taunts are a sub-type of the Emote cosmetic items that can be collected in MultiVersus. Taunts take the form of short dances and poses made by the game's various Fighters, usually with the intention of mocking or trying to rile up their opponents.

What does face steal do in MultiVersus? ›

Face-Stealer

Arya grabs a fighter to steal their face. Once she has a face, press the input again to send out a shockwave that stuns enemies while Arya does a taunt disguised as that fighter. Taking an ally's face has a cooldown.

What does vertical mean in MultiVersus? ›

It's the primary direction the character tends to get kills to. Horizontal means their powerful kill moves tend to send sideways, vertical means their kill moves primarily send opponents up. Mixed means they have a decent number of both.

What does Finn do in MultiVersus? ›

Finn is an Assassin-type character specialized in pressuring opponents with his various sword strikes. His core mechanic lies in his coin system, where opponents that are damaged by Finn drop coins, which can be collected by him or his ally.

How much is Rick in MultiVersus? ›

That means that Rick will cost a healthy 3,000 gold coins to unlock. MultiVersus players best start saving now. Gold in MultiVersus can be earned in multiple ways, but the basic idea is the more someone plays the more gold they'll earn.

How much is Tom and Jerry in MultiVersus? ›

Tom & Jerry cost either 3,000 Fighter Currency or 1,000 Gleamium.

Who is voicing Rick in MultiVersus? ›

Voice Actors
Voice ActorCharacter(s) Played
Ian CardoniRick (replacing Justin Roiland)
Imari WilliamsThe Man in Black
Jeremy ShadaFinn the Human
Jim CummingsTaz
28 more rows

Who is voicing Jake in MultiVersus? ›

John DiMaggio is Jake the Dog. John DiMaggio voiced Bender in Futurama, so is no stranger to lending his pipes to iconic cartoon characters.

Who voices the man in Black MultiVersus? ›

The announcement of Imari Williams as the voice actor for The Man in Black.

Is Kevin Conroy in MultiVersus? ›

One notable issue the developers face is the death of Kevin Conroy, the iconic voice of Batman and Bruce Wayne in animated features and video games. In MultiVersus, Conroy is reunited with fellow Batman: The Animated Series actor Mark Hamill, the famous voice of the Joker.

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