Hidden Details: Taunting Talent (Patreon)

We're once again one week closer to the release of Smash Ultimate. I hope the Everyone is Home comics are making the wait a bit easier for you if you're as hyped as I am!

By the time you're reading this, I'm actually on a holiday in Paramaribo, Suriname with my dad. I've gone ahead and drew two comics and four (!) Tuesday Choosedays and I've written three of these Hidden Details blogs, so I could completely unwind while traveling through the jungle of South America. This comic is the first one of the batch. Hope everything is going well back home!

But enough with the holiday greetings. Allow me to show you some juicy smashy hidden details!

The first hidden detail is the most obscure one. That bunch of silhouettes in the first frame contains a character that's become a meme ever since Dunkey mentioned him in his tongue-in-cheek video:

Jimmy Neutron from Nickelodeon.

Among the prizes the fighters can win in the Big Taunt-Off are:

A Nintendo Switch, a huge golden prize cup, a medal, a Triforce amulet, the Super Crown (yeah, the one that turns Bowser into Bowsette) and the custom Saturo Iwata amiibo made by the very talented GandaKris. GandaKris made that amiibo when Iwata passed away and has since sold it. The profits went to charity. I still miss Satoru Iwata (and probably will for the rest of my life) so I really like putting tiny tributes to him in my comics.

In case you're wondering why Marth talks so weird, allow me to give you some context. Marth has always been a Japanese character in Smash. Not only in the sense that he originated in a Japanese game, but he has never even had English dialogue or any other languages except for Japanese. Until Smash Ultimate! I've always been a staunch supporter for English Marth since I thought it was stupid that other characters with a Japanese origin did receive translated dialogue but Marth (and Roy didn't), so I'm happy my wishes have finally been granted. In my comics though, Marth is still learning English. The taunt he performs is actually in Smash. He swings his sword (Falchion) around and exclaims "Minna mite ite kure!" which translates to "Everyone watch me!". I'm curious to what he will say in Ultimate, when he finally speaks English. If he actually says "Every Person! Pureasu Watch At Me!" I will eat a GameCube controller, okay?

If you flip your screen and look at the notes Sakurai is taking, you'll notice Shulk, Wii Fit Trainer and Bayonetta already performed their taunt, "off screen". They've received a 9, an 8, and an 8.2 respectively. Marth's score is not a number, but simply the word "weeb".

If you think I'm making up Palutena's sexy pole dance act, you're wrong. It's actually in the game!

Okay, I'll admit I've made her a bit more sexy and her clothes a bit more revealing in this panel, but that's only because otherwise the next panel wouldn't have had as much impact. Really!

Speaking of the next panel: in panel six, I've changed every background character to be flustered by Palutena's pole dance. Except for Greninja, who's more into sexy frog ladies. He blocks Young Link's view with his tongue, just like Sakurai and Captain Falcon are blocking Popo's and Ness' view and Bowser is blocking Jr.'s. Pit and Dark Pit also appear from out of nowhere to see Palutena perform. Little perverts.

Once again, if you flip your screen, you can see Sakurai's notes. He doesn't really know how to grade Palutena though: he has written down three question marks.

Just like Marth and Palutena, Dedede's taunt is also in the game:

Although I have to clarify: this beautiful pose isn't actually a taunt. It's supposed to be King Dedede crouching. Which is why it's funny: the best taunt in the game isn't even a taunt.

The fighters that are walking away in frustration in the final panel are the other contestants. They weren't picked randomly by the way. I searched for a lot of taunt tier lists and I think Shulk ("I'm really feeling it!"), Bayonetta (long, complicated dance moves and snarky comments) and Wii Fit Trainer ("Let's get a good stretch!") are among the most popular in terms of humiliating taunts. So it's only natural they're this pissed of: they're supposed to be the best and they've been beaten by a taunting penguin.

You can also see all the prizes from the second panel being carried away by Dedede. Marth is saying "rubbish" in Japanese.

And that's it! I love that Smash comics give me so much room and material to create hidden details with. It's not even hard to come up with this stuff! It's just… there. It really feels like I just have to reach out and grab it without thinking too hard.

Anyway, I'm taking a one week break from Smash. Next week's comic will be a Fortnite comic again. After that, I'll be back with Everyone is Home again.

All the best from Paramaribo! Enjoy your weekend!

- Abel