“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” -Wayne Gretzky” -Michael Scott

Nintendo no longer has anywhere to run or anywhere to hide. With each new game announcement, not only does the time return in which we wish for our favorite characters to make it in, but so does the possibility of those characters making it in. As each new game is announced, there needs to not only be newcomers but substantial ones as well. With heavily requested characters like Little Mac, Mega Man, and Pac Man now a part of the series, does that increase the likelihood of other fan-favorite characters making an appearance? Will we finally see Ridley, or Geno, or more importantly, Michael Scott? “I really can’t say, but, yes.”

In the Summer of 2001, then up-and-comers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant created, wrote and directed (and in Gervais’ case, starred in) The Office (UK), focusing on the mundanity and infinite triviality of the day to day lives of office workers in a postindustrial society. Though it almost was canceled by BBC for low ratings, it has since become one of Britain’s most successful comedy television shows. In 2005, Greg Daniels, who had previously written for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons, was given the task of adapting the series for US audiences. As it progressed through nine seasons, the series developed its own identity, and became one of the most popular and recognizable shows on US television, even being remembered fondly today.

Who is Michael Scott?

Michael Gary Scott is the regional manager of the Scranton Branch of the paper supply company Dunder Mifflin. He is a successful entrepreneur, having formed the Michael Scott Paper Company, a beautiful iceskater, and writer, director, editor, and star of Threat Level Midnight. Being raised by his mother and stepfather, Michael had a very lonely childhood which greatly affected him even into his adult years, turning him into a man who desperately wants to be loved by others more than anything else.

The Office is a series that is not only a commentary on modern society, but a character study on its protagonist; an incompetent man who is debatably fantastic or horrible at his job depending on his mood that day. He is known to be incredibly petty and biased, and constantly brings personal matters into the workplace, but at his core, there is nothing he cares more about than the happiness and well-being of his employees (except Toby), and is happy to be able to lead them (except Toby). At his very core, Michael Scott is a man who forever tries to be a superman, even if he will never achieve it.

Importance to Nintendo

There is none.

How will Michael Scott play?

Michael Scott is much like the majority of Smash characters which come from extensive series, by which I mean that despite what you may think, there are actually a variety of moves that can be chosen from. In a comedy-driven series such as The Office, the majority of scenes are focused around some new object or new situation entering the view of our characters, and the humor is derived from seeing how they will react to it. In this way, you could say that the series is theoretically “prop-based”, as a variety of props are used not as the direct tool of comedy, but the energy source which the true observational comedy, the actions made by the characters, is based from. Because of this, it is not only important to choose memorable moments from the show to represent in the moveset, but also weigh and assign them accordingly based on their importance; this is something we see with all Smash characters. Since there are a larger quantity of normal moves and a larger quantity of restrictions on them by nature of being normal moves, it can be afforded to put more obscure references them. Special moves, however, require the most memorable references to be put here due to the importance of special moves in defining a character in Smash Bros. If it is the goal of a Smash Bros character to properly represent the character and the series they are from, it is only logical that the most memorable parts of the moveset would be derived from the most memorable parts of the original work.

Michael Scott is also what I refer to as a “representative” character, which in the Smash community is a bit confusing given its double-meaning. In most discussions pertaining to smash, a “representative” simply refers to any character from a series, usually in the context of playable character speculation. This new, secondary definition of “representative” is a type of moveset; a character from a series which uses moves from multiple characters in their series. In Smash, Ness and Lucas are great examples of this, as they never learn the moves PK Fire, Freeze, or Starstorm, but other characters such as Paula, Poo, and Kumatora do. They carry on and represent the memories of their friends and experiences as they enter the world of Smash Bros. Michael Scott uses moves based on iconic scenes and actions of all characters in the series; not just himself. No one truly fights alone.

Default costume Episode 1 Michael Prison Mike Classy Santa Jim Halpert Dwight Schrute Andy Bernard David Brent

Stats

Crawl Yes (This happens multiple times in the series, slow crawl speed) Wall Jump Yes (Based on Parkour Parkour, Michael yells “Parkour!” when performing this wall jump) Jump Count 2 Exclusive Abilities None Weight Class D Height Class C+ Speed Class C+ Mirrored Stance Yes Jump Height Aerial movement in general very similar to Little Mac, but with better moves Fall Speed Average, Fastfall speed not as quick as others Kirby Kirby receives Michael Scott’s haircut, and gains the ability to throw Jello like he does. Series Symbol (Original Image) (Original Image) Michael Scott’s series of origin is “The Office”, and the series symbol is the illustration used to represent an office in the opening credits. (The Dunder Mifflin logo was also considered, but Smash Bros does not use full words in series symbols.)

Moveset

Neutral Animations

Entrance Based upon his return to Dunder Mifflin from the Michael Scott Paper Company, a paper sign covering Michael’s upper body but not his legs is punched once unsuccessfully, then punched through a second time, and Michael says the line “It’s Michael Scottttttttt!” Two poles hold up each end of the sign instead of Pam and Ryan. Idle Stance Michael Scott stands upright. Despite other flaws, his posture is well maintained. Idle Pose 1 Michael puts his hands together at his waist by interlocking his fingers, only to break this formation a moment later. Idle Pose 2 Michael Scott looks at his watch. Run Michael Scott’s run is based off when he tested how fast he was using a speedometer in the parking lot. His speed is 37 miles per hour if a car is also passing by. Crouch Michael Scott gets onto the ground to be able to crawl. This move actually takes a noticeable amount of time to occur. However, standing back up does not take nearly as long. Other (PLACE AT BOTTOM OF THESE, AFTER SLEEP AND KO SOUNDS) Other neutral animations such as forward and back jump and double jump animations, walk animations, hitstun, tumbling, and launched animations can be made from original sources. He, however, does not ever tumble or flip forward or backward in his jump animations, similar to many other less acrobatic human characters.

Sleeping Michael lays in a sideways semi-fetal position with legs half curled, his lower arm under his head and his upper arm to his side. KO Sound 1 “NO GOD PLEASE NO” KO Sound 2 “I am dead inside” Star KO Sound “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

Ground Normals

Jab Combo This move is similar to Meta Knight’s jab in that the only state of the move is the multi-jab which is usually reserved for the end of other jabs. However, this move does not come out as quick as that move. In this move, Michael holds the bottom of a stack of paper with one hand which he hurls straight forward at multiple angles with the other, though the paper loses momentum and falls very quickly. The final hit of the move is a final piece of paper which flies outward, the rectangular face of it directly looking at the camera. This larger, singular hitbox is common for multi-jab enders in Smash 4. This move, unlike many jab combos in the game, has little enough launch power to lead into combos at low and mid percents. Side Tilt Michael takes from the identity of Michael Scarn from Threat Level Midnight and “Does the Scarn”, recreating the first move in which he “Jumps to the right and he shakes a hand”. Michael Scott will always directly face the camera when doing this move, similar to ROB’s up tilt. The animation is sped up compared to the show to make the move viable, and there is only a hitbox when the arm is going down, making this a two hit move. The launch and time between each hit is similar to Ryu’s heavy side smash, but does not have the same amount of hitlag producing the feel of being heavy. Michael does a miniscule jump at the start of this move. Side Smash Michael uses Dwight’s pepper spray to disarm an assailant. This move is a disjointed hitbox which goes about as far as Pikachu’s side smash, and also ends in a bit of a ball-like shape, though not as large. The move has about as much starting lag, ending lag, and launch power as Zero Suit Samus’ down smash, and causes the same stun effect. This move, however, is multi-hit. Michael’s arm is held a little bit higher than in this clip, so the angle of the pepper spray is slightly downward but the position is not. The direction of this move cannot be changed due to its focus on setting up into another smash attack. Normally in Smash 4, this effect can not only not be added on to, but the opponent becomes invulnerable to the stun effect for a brief period of time after. This move is an exception, in that each subsequent hit restarts the stun effect of the last, though the normal result will occur if Michael tries to hit the opponent with this same attack twice in a row. Down Tilt Michael looks toward the ground and pours coffee from his mug in front of him, as he did to Holly’s Woody doll (likely the worst thing he ever did in the entire show). (The coffee mug appears multiple times in this moveset, and always carries the same properties, which will be discussed in more detail in his back air description.) This move is similar to Doctor Doom’s Standing Medium in UMvC3 in hitbox size and placement, and like that move, this move is quick in startup and ending lag and does very little knockback. Though it does not jab lock, Michael can easily pick someone right up off the ground with this and combo right after, having slightly less knockback than Little Mac’s down tilt and like that move, only launching vertically. Down Smash Michael spill’s Kevin’s pot of chili all over the floor. This move only covers ground in front of Michael, but does a good job of doing so because of its range. The sweetspot of the move is the falling of the pot, which has similar power and knockback to the head of Dedede’s hammer in his side smash. The second hitbox is the chili being spilled on the floor, which covers more area in front of him and has good knockback but is not as powerful. A puddle of chili then lays on the floor for a moment before evaporating, similar to MODOK’s Crouching Medium, known as “The Booger”, im UMvC3. The puddle of chili is a separate hitbox, and can jab lock even at high percents, but this is impractical due to the opponent most likely being hit by one of the two former hitboxes first. However, there is a very small area in which this can be reliably mastered. The idea of this move is a reversal of one of Zero Suit Samus’ kill methods in Smash 4. This time, the stun is with a side smash and the knockback is with a down smash. Mittens do not appear on Michael’s hands during this move. Up Tilt Michael raises the roof in excitement. In concept it is inspired by ROB’s up tilt, but the feel of the move is closer to that of Mario’s up tilt, which has low knockback and can be done repeatedly at low percents. The hitboxes exist more on the sides than above, though they do reach above by the end of the move. Up Smash A bat which previously terrorized the office begins to rise from behind Michael (both a little bit behind the direction he is facing and the way the camera is facing), and he ducks down and covers his head. The bat then moves forward and backward above his head, with hitboxes very similar to Ike’s up air, then disappearing. There is no sweet or sour spot on this move, as the bat’s hitbox always remains the same. Since Michael’s hurtbox shrinks to about half his height when ducking, the bat is flying above the area where his head would normally be and not where it is now, making a small gap. There are no side hitboxes during this move, and since the hitbox is so far away and is out for so long, Michael Scott is vulnerable to attack during this move, even though it does not have poor starting or ending lag. Dash Attack Michael takes a page from the racing event of the Office Olympics, transitioning his run animation by stepping up onto two reams of paper that appear right before him. (He does not stop his run animation or stop moving when stepping up) He then moves forward with each one foot at a time, ultimately making three large steps forward before then stepping down. This move is similar to Pac Man’s dash attack in feel, but starts and ends with just a bit more lag in favor of larger hitlag with each step and more knockback. To not feel too unnatural after his run animation, Michael still puts his all into the race by putting his arms up with each step like he does in his run animation.

Aerials

Neutral Air Very similar to Ike’s neutral air, Michael Scott spins around his coffee mug, spilling coffee all around him. He does this clockwise (if facing right), and starts in the top right and spins around to the top left. He does not completely extend his arms during this, much like Ike. The coffee is always spilling outward; the mug is always kept close to the chest. Imagine the visual of the coffee spill looking similar to the visual effects of Bayonetta’s button held up air. There is a small amount of area directly above Michael Scott’s head which is not covered, like Ike’s neutral air. The move in general is quicker than Ike’s neutral air, and moves at a speed similar to Pac Man’s up air without the initial acceleration. The knockback power and angle is similar to Bayonetta’s up air. Michael curls up his legs somewhat during this move, enough for his legs to not be covering the coffee underneath him. This provides a feeling to the player that the hitbox covers all around and not just to the left and right sides. One of the many toys on Michael’s desk, the Hoberman Sphere is a famous and neat little contraption which Michael Scott utilizes for his forward air. Starting just a little bigger than his hand, Michael holds out the sphere which increases in size to just a bit bigger than the head of Dedede’s hammer. There is no acceleration on the growth of the sphere, it is constant at a pretty quick speed, though the nature of the move means there are a relatively large number of active hitbox frames for an aerial move. Because of the fast speed, there does not have to be a sweetspot / sourspot situation, as if the move lasted a long time, the player would likely wonder why the sphere is always producing the same knockback. The knockback and damage of this move is similar to Diddy Kong’s forward air. Michael Scott holds the sphere fully out in front of him with one hand; how exactly he is able to expand it with one hand is never revealed to the player as his hand is always kept behind the camera. There is a slight downward angle to this move, similar to his back air. Back Air (Original Image) Michael holds out his coffee mug backwards, striking with it very similar to Ganondorf’s back air, with a drop of coffee coming out of the side. Unlike other moves with similar animations in Smash 4, Michael Scott does not spin around after, and instead brings his arm back. The animation of the strike also comes out immediately, much like the animation for Ganondorf’s back air in Project M specifically.This move, though a good kill option, does not have the same general power as Ganondorf’s back air, and therefore has less ending lag, but does have the same angle of the arm. The range is also slightly extended because of the mug. There is no sweetspot on the mug. This is the only of the moves utilizing Michael’s mug which has a hitbox on the mug and not on the coffee. In this and a few other moves, Michael uses his “World’s Best Boss” mug found at “Spencer Gifts”, but there is a one in six chance of the Mug instead showing salesman Andy Bernard’s face, which Jim Halpert was unable to notice the likeness of. This one in six chance is separated for each move, and not in general, ultimately leading to seeing it less often. The mug will always show the design facing the screen, regardless of physical impossibility. This must be custom-made due to both mug images being asymmetrical. Down Air This move is inspired by but ultimately different from Mega Man’s down air. In this move, Michael Scott will face the camera and throw down a watermelon (in the same way as depicted in this gif), which covers 2.25 times the range of Mega Man’s hard knuckle down air (it also disappears after this point), though this cannot meteor smash. The move has a very short recharge time before the move can be done again. If the player attempts to do the move during this time, the same animation will play but without visual effects or the watermelon (the only hitbox of the move). If the watermelon lands on the ground within 1.75 the distance, it will simply break on the ground. However, if it lands on the ground within 1.75 to 2.25, the watermelon will bounce back up first, about as high as an upward Gordo throw from Dedede (The falling speed is not that of a Gordo, though) and then come back to the ground and break. The speed of the watermelon upon initially being dropped is less than that of both Mega Man’s down air and Villager’s bowling ball, but naturally accelerates as time passes, also increasing the power of the move. When the watermelon breaks on the ground (which has the same animation no matter what speed it is dropped), the bits have no hitbox. There are two states of power to this move. The first state is when it starts out, when it is bouncing up, and when it is coming down from the bounce. The second state is once it has accelerated to high speed after the 1.35 distance. Both states have the same hitlag, feel, etc but different knockback and percent power. Though it can KO, even the second, more powerful state is not nearly as powerful as something like Villager’s bowling ball and comes closer to Mega Man’s down air in terms of launch power, though the diagonal angle is more vertical than horizontal as to still allow opponents to get back on stage a bit more easily. Dropping the watermelon does not delay Michael Scott in the air for a few frames like Mega Man’s down air does. It also, as a plus, does not have the very large amount of both starting and ending lag that Mega Man’s down air does, though it still has some to make the move feel heavy. The watermelon breaks upon contact. Up Air Michael Scott holds Dwight’s paper shredder directly above him with two hands as a piece of paper enters the shredder, facing toward the camera but looking upward. There is no hitbox on either the shredder or the paper, but rather the line where the two meet and a bit expanding outwards of that. The shredder is relatively tall, so the hitbox is not directly above Michael’s head. This multi hit move is very similar in feel and power to Palutena’s up air, and can KO opponents. The shredder is always moderately full of paper scraps.

Throws

Grab In this move, Michael gains sunglasses and takes on the persona of Blindguy McSqueezy, one of his many riveting comedic characters. This grab, though it has normal range, is out for a very long time and has many active frames, as Michael Scott sticks his arms out and tries to grab on to something. Because of this, he is very vulnerable during this time. These attributes apply to his dash grab as well. Michael gains sunglasses during this move, but loses them if he successfully enters a grab state. Pummel Michael delivers an ineffectual slap, as he is known to do. The feel of this move must not only enforce the idea of weakness, but it must also do this to a comical degree, as not to cause disruption in the moveset between fun and eccentric moves (even his throw animaitons) and a physical attack which could be interpreted as a serious action. This pummel cannot be performed rapidly, only about as rapidly as ROB’s pummel, which is very slow. Forward Throw Michael’s forward throw contains a unique property among throws, but not among attacks; instead of launching an opponent, this move pushes them away. Michael waves his arms up and down, “hitting” the opponent in an ineffective way. He then pushes them away. Make no mistake, this is not a windbox, and the enemy still experiences hitstun. The move only pushes the opponent forward, similar to Jigglypuff’s down smash, and like that down smash, the distance can vary greatly depending on percent. This move is designed to have synergy with the George Foreman Grill special, more easily putting the enemies in contact with it. At high percents, Michael can do this from across the stage. Another strategy comes from a mechanic in newer Smash Bros games: a character falling from a platform in this state will put them in a footstool-like state, forcing them to fall directly onto the George Foreman grill straight below, as Michael did. Back Throw (Original Image) The start of this animation has Michael turning around and the opponent turning around as well, ending in a position where Michael has now turned around and has his arms holding the stomach of the opponent in front of him. He weakly smacks their chest from behind with the same arm both times, then launching them. The design goal of this move is similar to that of the previous throw; though it does not launch the opponent straight forward, it launches them at a reasonably low angle. Though it is not enough to kill until very high percents and does not scale up significantly with damage (meaning the base knockback is high), the distance that this throw sends the opponent is rather high. Unlike similar low angle throws, such as Sonic’s down throw, the goal here is not to force a tech situation but rather to hopefully launch the opponent into an already placed George Foreman Grill. Up Throw Michael Scott holds upward with both hands above his head his Hoberman Sphere, which he then expands as the opponent has been stuck to this whole time. Once it has reached full capacity, the opponent is let go and is shot upwards. Michael does this fast enough to grant enough believable power to the move. This move has too little knockback to KO and too much knockback to start combos, though the base knockback is not high so some combos can be done near zero percent. Down Throw (Original Image) Michael Scott executes “Typewriter Torture” on his opponent, in which He gets on top of them and pats both hands on them back and forth rapidly. This move is somewhat similar in animation to Bowser’s down throw in regards to how it puts the opponent into position and how they animate during this state. The move has low knockback, being a good combo throw, but launches at an angle a little higher than a completely diagonal forty five degrees.

Specials

Neutral Special “Jello” The most iconic visual joke in the show, it is only natural that Jim’s Jello would be Michael Scott’s neutral special. This move is essentially a projectile that acts as a reflector of sorts. The yellow Jello on a white plate is thrown forward at a weak angle, and any projectile, physical or elemental, that comes into contact with it then goes into and becomes stuck within it. The Jello can then be thrown as a standard item by any player. Depending on the percent damage of the item absorbed, it will be registered as an item of light weight (ROB’s Gyro, most small items), heavy weight (Peach’s Turnips, Link’s Bombs), or extra heavy weight (Wario’s Bike. Wario’s Bike specifically and not boxes or barrels, as Wario’s bike allows all characters to move when holding it). Like the majority of reflectors in Smash 4, the max damage it can hold is 50, and it has a damage multiplier of 1.3. The move exists as its own hitbox; there is no aura which pulls projectiles in like Villager’s Pocket or Rosalina’s Gravitational Pull. The Jello will increase in size if a larger projectile comes into it; the plate size will increase as well with no visual effects (the jiggling animation of the Jello diverts the player’s attention from this logical inconsistency). The Jello has a hitbox but is very weak, it causes the opponent to flinch but has almost no hitstun and low priority. In the throw animation, Michael drops it down in front of him, raising both hands as he does this. The Jello actually gains a bit of forward momentum from this, but not much. It is about half the length of Pac Man’s grounded Cherry throw, and the movement arc of the projectile in general is similar. It falls down on the ground, bounces once, maintaining the same forward momentum, and then disappears when reaching the ground this time, not lingering. The bounce is weaker in upward height reached than the inital drop is. Because it is considered a projectile, there is just a little bit of space in between Michael and the Jello, even on the first active frame. The move is rather quick but is not instant, it comes out just a few frames after a typical counter, but not nearly as long as Peach’s Toad. The starting hitbox of the move is actually in front of and a little above Michael’s head, but unless the projectile is especially small and hits the feet of opponents, the Jello hitbox should be large enough to take any projectile during these first couple of frames. The Jello hitbox is larger than it appears because it is able to morph to larger sizes, but only reasonably. If performed in the air, it stops most forward air movement rather quickly, like Palutena’s Auto Reticle. This is done so that B Reversing this move in the air is not a great option for getting around, thus empowering Michael Scott’s side special and up special. This move could hypothetically be used for edgeguarding, but due to its low priority, low hitstun, and low drop distance of about from the top Battlefield platform to the ground before expiring, it is not a great tool for such a situation. Unlike Pac Man’s Bonus Fruits, this move does not take physics into account if the Jello was thrown in the air. If it reaches the ground, it will always bounce the same height back upward, just like the watermelon from earlier. If the move catches a projectile, it will stop all forward (Because of this, if it catches a projectile on the throw, it will not perform the bounce afterward) Side Special / Up Special “Parkour Parkour” This move is as if Marth’s Dancing Blade was an aerial recovery, and in many ways, both Michael Scott’s side special and up special are merged as one. In the air or on the ground, Michael can initiate “Parkour Parkour”, which has three different sub-moves which move him straight forward, and three which move him upward with a slight forward slant. Michael can perform four of these six possible sub moves while in the air, with all other regular actions allowed in between. Michael Scott can perform his double jump after this move if not used perviously. The sub-moves can be performed back and forth in terms of side and upward, but cannot go backwards. (Michael can perform Side 1, Side 2, Up 1, Side 3 but not Side 1, Side 2, Up 1, Side 1). While each sub-move is not especially fast, they provide the ability to instantly change direction multiple times in the air, in addition to stalling in the case of the side sub-moves since they do not make Michael fall (aka they stop and reset all vertical movement). This move does not have many frames of startup and has almost no frames of ending lag in most cases. When these moves are performed in the air, Michael’s momentum resets to normal after each one. The low starting and ending lag and presence of a hitbox make these generally a better option than rolling, though the ending lag on the final upward sub-move and the final side sub-move (on the ground) does have a bit of ending lag. All of these sweetspot the ledge. Michael says “Parkour!” when performing each sub-move. The items that appear during these sub-moves disappear at the end of them. “Side Parkour 1” Michael lunges forward, executing an ungraceful roll. “Side Parkour 2” (Original Image) Michael kicks himself forward while sitting in a chair, depicted like the first action of this gif. “Side Parkour 3” Michael Scott lunges forward then kicks upward into the sky. If executed on the ground, there is a bit of ending lag to this as not to be infinitely able to keep doing the same move over and over, the opponent not knowing when it ends. “Upward Parkour 1” Michael Scott very carefully steps up onto a desk with both feet, then jumps up with both arms (a different animation from his standard jump, which does not have him swing both arms up). “Upward Parkour 2” Michael clings onto a piece of a metal gate suspended in air, then jumps diagonally forward (more horizontal than vertical) after turning himself a bit as he starts to make the jump. “Upward Parkour 3” Michael Scott lunges into a large Vance Refrigeration supply box. This move commits Michael to a special fall like in King Dedede’s Up Special, but can be cancelled by performing an action at the apex of the jump. If above ground, the box will automatically appear in the designated location Michael will jump into. If not above ground, the box will not appear. The different stages of this sub-move have similar damage and knockback to the stages of Dedede’s up special (general character weight and power not accounted for). Down Special “George Foreman Grill” Michael places down an open George Foreman Grill, which, if touched, will put an enemy in a special state for around 16 seconds in which their running speed is halved. Walking speed and rolls are unaffected. This is done with the intention of some players abusing rolls for this period, which can be punished. This move can hurt Michael Scott as well as opponents, but thankfully Michael’s walking speed is rather high. Air speed is also unaffected as not to become too powerful. This also increases landing lag on aerial attacks by 4/3 their normal length, but only on landing, and not upon a move ending. Air dodging is unaffected, with a similar logic in mind. This special move can only be performed on the ground. If performed in the air, there is no animation, similar to Peach’s Turnip Pull if attempted in the air. This move lasts about as long as Pac Man’s Fire Hydrant before expiring. There are fire effects upon getting hit with this move. The knockback and damage on this move is decent, and is enough to kill at very high percents, though the angle is more horizontal than vertical as it is important to get the opponent back on the ground so they feel the effects of the move. Final Smash “Pranks” In this Final Smash, Michael throws out a piece of paper in front of him, which covers about the same range as the majority of cinematic Final Smash starters, though the hitox here is smaller. Michael Scott then takes the opponent up above the stage as the camera focuses on the Final Smash, while not stopping the action of other players, similar to Greninja. Michael ascends into the air and above the screen as he says “Dwight! Jim!” who appear on both sides of the player, and attack together, similar to Robin’s Final Smash with Chrom. Dwight throws a lit match into a trash can (Inspired by his “fire drill”) floating in the air with them, which quickly creates a black smoke cloud as a background for the action taking place (though not nearly enough to cover the whole screen). As the two stay on each side of the opponent, they hurl paper at them, and Dwight uses his large variety of weapons he has hidden from around the office as Jim constructs a desk made of gift wrapping underneath the player. Michael emerges from the smoke cloud, hitting the opponent with his car as he did to Meredith Palmer, meteor smashing the opponent straight down, crushing the desk on their way.

Fanfare

Crowd Cheer The crowd cheers “Goooooo Michael Scott! Goooooo Michael Scott!”, saying the name quickly as if they are trying to fit it in. This is inspired by the Michael Scott Paper Company cheer. Up Taunt (Original Image) From Threat Level Midnight, Michael flips a silver coin upwards, looking at it as it travels, then catches it in the same hand, puts it on the other, and reads what it is. The first of seven times this is done during a match, Michael says “Best out of seven”. The coin will always start with heads, then go to tails, going back and forth each time like this, as it occurred in Threat Level Midnight, and Michael will announce the result each time. If the player does this seven times during a match, the seventh animation will have Michael say “Cleanup on aisle five!”, and Michael will regain 20% health. The eighth time resets the counter. There is no hitbox on the coin. Side Taunt Michael Scott holds up his “World’s Best Boss” mug as he does in this photo, smiles briefly, and, after a moment says “I found it at Spencer Gifts.” He then puts it back down. There is coffee in this mug, but can only be viewed if the screen is paused as there is no drip from the coffee visible during this animation. In this move only, there is no chance of the Andy mug appearing. Down Taunt Channeling his Michael Scarn persona, Michael turns his back to the camera dramatically, then turns his head to the side he is facing, eyes toward the camera, and says “Cleanup on aisle five!” Victory 1 Michael Scott holds up a famous Dundie award as he does in this picture. He looks toward the camera and says “Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both.” Victory 2 Similar to Robin’s victory animations with Chrom, Michael Scott stands with Jim to his left and Dwight to his right, all saluting the flag. Jim is smugly content and Dwight is suspicious. Michael is wearing a handmade gold medal from the Office Olympics, and is standing on a ream of paper (the same model as in his dash attack) to put him higher than the other two. They all have their hands over their heart, and Michael says to himself, not looking at the camera (none of the three are looking directly) “You have no idea how high I can fly.” Victory 3 The camera zooms around to and in on Michael, with his arms crossed. Floating in the background is a sign which reads “IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY.” Michael says directly to the camera; “An office is a place where dreams come true.”

Another small note is that in this game, the announcer says “Michael Scott” instead of simply “Michael”. His victory theme is the final seven main notes of the opening theme.

Closing

It only makes sense that Michael Scott would carry on the memories of his coworkers with him in his moveset. After all, they are the people he cares about most. They are the people who he seeks approval from, while also being the people he must bring leadership and joy to each day in the office.

What does a character “need” to get in to Smash, anyway? As we’ve seen in the past, it’s never been clear cut… that’s brought a lot of joy to people, made the impossible possible. Maybe one of the wonders of Smash Bros is that it does break all the rules. When people love a character, what should stand in their way? You don’t need to be disrespectful; all you need is honesty, empathy, respect, and open-mindedness. I’m glad if today spurred social change. That’s part of my job as a Smash fan. But, you know what, even if it didn’t, at least we put this matter to bed.

That’s what she said.

The article was written by jedisquidward. You can follow him on Twitter!