Garfield is Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl’s First DLC Character

After weeks of speculation, data-mined rumours, and teases by developers, it’s now confirmed that Garfield will be the first new character added to Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl as DLC. The cartoon cat has made the jump from comic strips to fighting game star as part of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl’s first DLC.

Garfield will make his debut in-game as a free addition and the first DLC character. Available from December 9th, Garfield joins a cast of familiar cartoon characters in Nickelodeon’s Smash Bros. clone.

But Garfield’s inclusion will likely not come as a surprise to some, as big hints were dropped several weeks ago. Data mining previously identified that Garfield was very likely the next character. In addition, developer Thaddeus Crews hinted at the characters inclusion by tweeting “Huh. I wonder who that’s for.”

The developer, who has since changed his Twitter profile to He-Man with the head of Garfield, was referencing a common Garfield meme. And sure enough, Garfield is the next fighter. 

The cartoon cat, created by Jim Davis in 1978, has been a pop-culture staple for decades. But most recently the dull and formulaic humor of the Garfield comic strip has made the character a ripe target for memes and satire on the internet. Phenomena such as Garfield minus Garfield, the bizarre GarfieldEats virtual restaurant, a plethora of Garfield creepypastas, and the aforementioned “Huh. I wonder who that’s for?” meme has made Garfield an ironic favorite of many. 

However, it’s meme potential that Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl developers Ludosity are likely trying to capitalize on. Memes are the fuel that feed the fire of games like All-Star Brawl. This is the case with MultiVersus, Warner Bros. own classic cartoon arcade brawler. That game includes the likes of Shaggy from Scooby Doo to cash-in on the Ultra-Instinct Shaggy memes that have circulated for years. 

Ultimately, Garfield is just one of two promised DLC characters to hit the game at the close of this year. The other? Well Data Miners and fans have a pretty good idea who that is as well.

Prince Zuko, from Avatar: The Last Airbender was heavily featured in recent leaks. Meanwhile, other characters such as Shredder from TMNT, Jimmy Neutron, and a host of SpongBob SquarePants side characters are also hinted.