When the 1.02 patch notes for the Warner Bros.-themed fighting game MultiVersus first went live online ahead of the actual update, it appears that they included an interesting change to Scooby-Doo’s Velma. The support character previously sometimes called the cops to come haul away the player’s opponents, a special move that generated some criticism and perhaps generated particularly awkward feelings when characters like actual Black man LeBron James were the ones being zipped away in cop cars. The new patch notes suggested that now, in perhaps a more thematically appropriate move, she’ll call on her pals at Mystery Inc. to take opponents away in their signature van, the Mystery Machine. So now, rather than having the police unquestioningly kidnap you, you’ll be taken away by a gang of teenaged vigilantes. Or so it seemed.
Previously, Velma could call the police on her foes if she accumulated enough evidence with her “Snooping” passive. Although the ability isn’t foolproof, the opponent could potentially be removed from the match entirely—something that some players have suggested is not exactly the most comfortable of features. The Mystery Machine would presumably work in the same way.
This is where the story gets weirder: This information was obtained from a video of the patch notes taken roughly 12 hours ago, and the exact text is referenced across the web in various screenshots and write-ups which sometimes note the website appears to have pulled the original text. Right now, the official patch notes page for version 1.02 doesn’t reflect those changes. It’s unclear whether the previously included change will actually take place, but Kotaku reached out to Warner Bros for clarification (and did not receive a response by the time of writing).
Here’s the exact text from the video:
Instead of calling the police, Velma now solves the mystery and calls the Mystery Inc. gang and the Mystery Machine to take the bad guys away.
Well! I guess it’s an improvement if Velma “Karen” Dinkley stops calling the police on her suspects. Here’s one Velma player who initially felt conflicted about her summon ability:
It still feels a little awkward that criminal suspects are being taken away by a van full of white teens. That doesn’t historically end well for Black and brown men who are just trying to exist in public. But if Warner Bros. goes through with the changes, the Mystery Machine would definitely seem less threatening than a literal cop cruiser.
The 1.02 patch comes out at noon E.T. today.