It's only been a few days since Terry Bogard, SNK mascot and star of the Fatal Fury fighting game series, finally joined the roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as its latest DLC character, bringing with him a new stage, new music, and a lot of fan-service for long-time fans of SNK's work. But that's not all apparently, as some fans have noticed that Terry's inclusion may have a slight reference to the popular manga and anime series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
The series has become somewhat notorious for being referenced by other media, intentionally or not, prompting its fans to joke "Is that a JoJo reference?," which has since become one of many popular memes. As for the reference in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems to come from one of Terry's taunts. The stance that Terry makes is very similar to a pose made by Jotaro, one of the main protagonists from the JJBA series. A fan even shared on Twitter how Terry's taunt almost looks exactly like Jotaro's win pose from the JJBA fighting game released in 1998.
It is, however, unlikely that this is a direct reference, as Terry has performed this pose in his own games, ever since 1999's Garou: Mark of the Wolves. It's possible that the pose was inspired by Jotaro, since the Stardust Crusaders manga originally ran from 1989 - 1992, but there has been no official confirmation.
This isn't the only time fans have found references in Smash Bros. One of Zelda's special moves involves summoning a Phantom to her aid, which many have compared to a Stand from JJBA (even noting that she makes a JoJo-like pose) and two of Banjo-Kazooie's color palettes somewhat resemble those of Jotaro and his arch-enemy DIO. Considering that director Masahiro Sakurai is a self-admitted fan of the series, it's possible these are deliberate choices or it's helped to color fans' perceptions and find references where there are none.
With Terry now available, the discussion has quickly moved onto who will be next to be included as DLC. The current Fighters Pass still has one character left to be announced, and an unknown number of new fighters are planned to be released next year. Recently, a supposed leak seemed to confirm the identities of the next two fighters, but there is still plenty of doubt surrounding it so it can't be read as factual.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available right now for Nintendo Switch.
