Wilt
Chance: 20%
This is, ultimately, how I view the chances of getting a Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends character in general. That's right; that means that I really do believe that IF we get a Foster's character, it will absolutely be Wilt. Why is that? Time for the write-up.
First off, why 20% for Foster's in general? Ultimately that has to do with my conservative scores across the board with characters and franchises with nothing in the data yet. However, out of the current no-shows, I actually think Foster's is in a really good spot. The IP is still being used, what with the Foster's Nursery preschool spinoff in the works, and historically it's an incredibly important Cartoon Network IP.
Craig McCracken sought to evoke within Foster's the same feeling as The Muppet Show, arguably its biggest inspiration: an ensemble cast of colorful weirdos with goofball humor and a range of personalities that could appeal to both kids and adults. And in that regard, he succeeded! Probably to a degree that's much more than people realize. Craig McCracken has been on the record saying that Foster's long life on the network (with six seasons and three TV movies) was all thanks to just HOW well the show did in ratings across a variety of demographics, to the point where reruns of older episodes were doing better than some contemporary shows' new episodes. He said they described it as the "workhorse" of the network. And if you look back at that era, it WAS everywhere. Foster's famously took part in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for three consecutive years, culminating in 2009's particularly memorable moment when out from the Foster's float emerged Rick Astley, who Rickroll'd the country on national television.
That aside, while I hope I've made clear the sort of pedigree Foster's has as a franchise, what about Wilt? Why Wilt in particular?
One important thing to remember is that Foster's is an ensemble show. Technically speaking, there are eight characters who the show itself considers main characters: Bloo, Mac, Wilt, Eduardo, Coco, Frankie, Mr. Herriman, and Madame Foster. That being said, I'm of the belief that a Mac and Bloo tag team won't happen. That style of tag fighter isn't the kind of thing this game does. They didn't glue Jake to Finn, or Morty to Rick. They even made the conscious decision to separate Stripe from Gizmo when they were originally together. The two instances of characters being together are Tom and Jerry, who explicitly have the gimmick of fighting each other, and the upcoming Powerpuff Girls, who are seemingly a Pokémon Trainer-esque swapping character (likely possible due to their shared, simple body type). If a Foster's character gets in, it likely won't be a tag team.
So with that, I go to the next point: the character will certainly be an Imaginary Friend, and not a human. So with that we can knock off Mac, Frankie, and Madame Foster. So that leaves Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo, Coco, and Mr. Herriman. Mr. Herriman I think can also be written off, if only out of respect to Tom Kane, who retired from voice acting after a tragic stroke. Recasting is possible, but considering just how iconic his voice was, it may be worth it to opt for a different character if possible.
Wilt is, over all, more prominent than either Eduardo or Coco. Notably, Wilt is the third most recurring character, appearing in all but two episodes (and he's mentioned in one of them). For reference, Bloo is in every episode while Mac is in all but one. After Wilt, the next most recurring character (Eduardo) drops down to four missed episodes. In addition, Wilt's status as a fan favorite character was able to net (no pun intended) him a TV movie all to himself: Good Wilt Hunting, which showcased his backstory. The fact that Foster's had three TV movies, one of which was the pilot, and another was meant to be the finale (though Destination Imagination ended up airing before Goodbye to Bloo), the fact that the third TV movie is a movie dedicated to Wilt shows that he's a character with a lot of pull.
To add onto this, Wilt is pushed a ton in the marketing. He's literally the second character (after Mac) that you see in the show's intro, and the first Imaginary Friend. When Cartoon Network celebrated Black History Month with an image showcasing some of the network's black characters, he was prominently featured, alongside Numbuh Five, Sunny Bridges, Darwin, and fellow Multiversus character Garnet. He was given a prominently-displayed statue at the now-closed Cartoon Network Store at the Atlanta CNN Center. And this prominence is not without reason: among fans of the show, Wilt tends to rank on fan rankings as the show's most or second most popular character, fluctuating back and forth with Frankie for first. Again, he got his own movie for a reason.
In addition, his voice actor, Phil LaMarr, is already attached to Multiversus, which is an added boon.
Wilt's biggest obstacle toward getting in is, naturally, Bloo, the show's de facto main character. However, Multiversus has shown that this isn't always cut and dry. Most famously, in the case of another ensemble cast, Scooby-Doo is still nowhere to be seen, while both Shaggy AND Velma are on the roster. Neo isn't here, but we have Agent Smith. We know that we'll soon be getting Beetlejuice and the Wicked Witch, but Lydia Deetz and Dorothy Gale are complete no-shows in the data. Bugs Bunny was in since day one, but we ended up getting both Taz and Marvin before Daffy Duck. Harley got into the game before Joker showed up, while Shazam is still nowhere to be seen despite Black Adam getting into the beta. Opting for Foster's second most prominent Imaginary Friend instead of the first wouldn't be unheard of.
This next part may be a bit subjective, but I feel it's worth bringing up. Bloo...is significantly harder to make "pop" in the context of a fighting game. Given that he's mostly a snarker, his physical capabilities leave a lot to be desired. A paddle ball attack can only bring him so far. Comparatively, Wilt, and even Eduardo and Coco, have much more to work with, both with their physical abilities, as well as their body types, all of which are much more suitable for a game like this than...a short, squat, thumb-shaped guy. Bloo's body type really doesn't lend itself well to this in comparison.
And this next bit is speculative, but I actually think the announcement of Foster's Nursery works AGAINST Bloo, at least a bit. Given that this show is intended for preschoolers, they seem to be toning Bloo down to match that audience. Of note, Bloo and Madame Foster are confirmed to be the ONLY returning characters. Mac, Wilt, Eduardo, Coco, Frankie, and Mr. Herriman all seem to be absent. It's possible that the higher-ups may not want to push the classic Bloo, who famously did things like getting another imaginary friend deported after blaming a prank on them, when they plan on retooling him for very young children. And in that scenario, it makes sense to add a character who WON'T be in the new show: a character like Wilt.
Genuinely, I think Wilt makes by far the most sense as a character to represent Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, given that he's a prominent and iconic fan favorite who also offers a lot in terms of moveset variety.
Also he'd get to have really fun dialogue with LeBron James, and that's too good to pass up.
Want: 100%
I mentioned during Tracy Turnblad's day that she and Wilt are my two most wanted characters for the game, and that remains true here. Growing up, Wilt was an immediate favorite of mine. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends started airing when I was eight, and finished its run when I was thirteen, so I was the exact demographic the show was trying to reach at the time. But as I got older, Wilt definitely stuck with me. He has been my favorite Cartoon Network character since his debut, and the show holds up very well to this day (not perfectly, mind you, since it WAS a show made in 2004, but it's aged better than most). I'd love to see him in Multiversus.
Abstaining from Swamp Thing.
Half of my nominations to T.O.M. from Toonami, and the other half to Don Lockwood
