Warner Bros. Interactive announced a popular new character for its mobile game Looney Tunes World of Mayhem on Twitter today. The character is a reference to a particularly popular internet meme.
Looney Tunes World of Mayhem is a turn-based mobile RPG where the player collects and battle various Looney Tunes characters against each other for control of the Looney Tunes world.
A few days ago, the official Twitter for Looney Tunes World of Mayhem teased the addition of Big Chungus, a common meme interpretation of Bugs Bunny, to the game. They delivered on its promise today, revealing the character as well as some footage of his attacks.
Big Chungus' main attack seems to be turning into a colossal version of himself as he slowly raises up, over the horizon, and then crushes his opponent. Despite his massive size, the move seems to only hit one opponent.
The "Fat Bugs" design of the meme originally came from the Looney Tunes episode Wabbit Twouble, which debuted on December 20th, 1941. The term "chungus" was originally coined by video game consumer advocate Jim Sterling sometime around 2012. The meme labeling the "Fat Bugs" design as "Big Chungus" finally came together in 2018 when the image was shared on Reddit.
This isn't the first time a meme character has gotten into a mobile inter-series crossover game. In Fire Emblem Heroes' recent Choose Your Legends poll, one of the winners was the Gatekeeper, a minor, unnamed NPC from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Meme culture was once almost entirely confined to the internet, but more and more, corporations is beginning to pick up on memes like this and incorporating them into mainstream entertainment and advertising.
Looney Tunes World of Mayhem is out now for Android and iOS.