Earthworm Jim (Smash Plus)

Earthworm Jim is a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Plus for the Nintendo Switch Plus. Representing the Earthworm Jim universe, he is the first revealed fighter for the Season 1 DLC pass, and as such has no number within the in-game list. He is also classified as a Heavyweight fighter. He can only be unlocked through individual purchase or by purchasing the Season 1 DLC.
The would be gaming icon of the 90s, Earthworm Jim makes his triumphant return in the world of Super Smash Bros, bringing his rather...surreal world with him. Jim's moveset is eclectic by nature, centered around his surprisingly good range and ability to tank damage. Jim uses his body as an extension of his Super Suit, literally using his head for a large number of his basic attacks and his Smash Attacks. This gives him some of the best range in the game for attacking foes, augmented by his Plasma Blaster special attack. He also boasts incredibly high defensive stats, due to his heavyweight status and the durability of his Super Suit. However, he does come with a few fundamental flaws. For one, his vertical recovery is very weak (despite his horizontal recovery being rather good). Furthermore, his suit can be destroyed (particularly through over use of his down special) if it takes enough sustained damage. If this happens, then Jim will be in his virtually useless worm form, very vulnerable for about 12 seconds before a new suit appears on stage. Finally, Jim's moves also lack offensive power, so while he excels at racking up damage, he can have trouble finishing opponents off. Jim's playstyle is about rushing in, meeting opponents head on, and hoping you survive long enough to see the next stock. Earthworm Jim has two normal jumps and no additional movement options.
==Moveset==
===Basic Attacks===
*Neutral Jab- Jim performs a three hit jab combo consisting of a one-two punch combo followed by a headbutt. This can lead into a rapid jab, where Jim rapidly spins his head around like a propeller, launching on the final hit of the multi-hitting attack.
*Side Tilt- Jim performs a simple forward punch at shoulder height. Comes out quickly, but has little power.
*Up Tilt- Jim performs a jumping uppercut that can actually connect up to three times if it is used right next to an opponent, similar to Ken's version of the Shoryuken. Has a lot of natural endlag.
*Down Tilt- Jim pulls out his head and whips it forward at a low angle, tripping foes at higher percentages.
*Dash Attack- Jim jumps forward and spins his head like a helicopter, hitting opponents multiple times before launching on the final hit.
*Grab & Pummel- Jim grabs opponents with both arms and pummels by performing a pseudo headbutt with his worm body.
*Forward Throw- Jim backhands the opponent, literally, smacking them with a fist that knocks them forwards but gives very little height on the throw.
*Back Throw- Jim jumps behind the opponent and then mule kicks them away. Does less damage than the forward throw, but grants far more knockback.
*Up Throw- A seesaw appears underneath the opponent, which Jim quickly jumps on, launching the opponent straight up into the air. The seesaw vanishes afterwards.
*Down Throw- Jim slams the opponent on the ground, jumps in the air, and then bounces off the opponent while riding Snott, who has blown up like a medicine ball. This knocks the foes away a decent distance.
*Neutral Air- Jim yells "Whoa, Nelly!," inflating his suit so that he resembles a large ball, spinning around in the air and launching foes on contact.
*Forward Air- Jim executes his Worm Whip attack (his Side Smash) directly in front of himself. This move can function as a tether grab.
*Back Air- Jim performs a back elbow spike directly behind himself. His most powerful basic attack in terms of KO potential.
*Up Air- Similar to his forward air, only with Jim whipping his head directly above himself.
*Down Air- Jim takes cover inside his Super Suit as he performs a flip in midair, causing the suit to crash head first to the ground, dealing massive damage to anyone below it hits.
===Smash Attacks===
*Side Smash- Jim pulls his head out of his Super Suit and whips it forward a surprising amount of distance. It doesn't quite reach the length of Belmont's Whip, but it hits just as hard, with a sweetspot right at the edge of the attack. It's also faster than Belmont's whip, making it the primary tool for keeping opponents distanced in Jim's Arsenal.
*Up Smash- Jim quickly removes his head from the Super Suit and lassoes it above himself, hitting opponents multiple times and launching them on the final hit. Like his side smash it comes out quickly and has surprisingly good range, but it is also the weakest Smash attack Jim has in terms of damage potential.
*Down Smash- Jim pulls out his head from the Super Suit and uses it to jump rope in place, rapidly jumping three times at full charge. Unique among down smashes, this move has a hitbox that covers Jim's entire body, though the hitbox in front of Jim is the strongest. It also comes out quickly, but it also has the most endlag of his Smash Attacks.
===Special Moves===
*Special Gimmick: Super Suit Self Destruction- Earthworm Jim's Super Suit has its own unseen damage meter, which will increase by absorbing a portion of the damage that Jim himself is dealt with each attack. This meter will regain health over time as well. However, if the damage meter racks up over 50% of damage (basically meaning Jim would have to take over 70% of damage in a roughly 9 second period), then the suit will self-destruct, leaving Jim in his Earthworm form. While in this form, Jim can jump high, but he cannot attack for 12 seconds, and is incredibly fragile (though with a much smaller hurtbox). A new suit will spawn on the stage, allowing Jim to resume his normal stance, though this suit can be tossed aside as a projectile by other players (it will reappear immediately afterwards if thrown off the stage in a different spot closer to Jim).
*Neutral Special: Plasma Blaster- Jim fires a rapid shot of bullets a good distance away. These bullets deal a decent amount of damage, but they do not have discernable knockback unless they hit opponents at near point blank range. This attack is semi-spammable by repeatedly pressing the special button, but its rate of fire prevents it from racking up damage too much, acting more as a distancing tool. Holding the special button will cause Jim to fire a Mega Blast, which travels a much shorter distance but does much more concentrated damage and knockback than his regular shot, but it by design as a much slower rate of fire.
*Side Special: Pocket Rocket- Jim pulls out his personal vehicle, the Pocket Rocket, and rides it along the stage. Jim can turn left and right, but only while on the stage riding the rocket, similar to the function of Wario's Bike. Anyone hit by the rocket will be launched on contact. Jim can jump off the rocket at any time, but doing so will cause it to fly off the stage in whatever direction he was facing. If using this move in midair, Jim will launch himself forward, but the rocket will fall towards the stage, affected by gravity. Once the Rocket is destroyed, it will not be available for use for roughly 6 seconds.
*Up Special: Helicopter Worm/Mucus Parachute- Jim spins his head like a helicopter propeller, elevating himself a short, fixed distance off the ground. Any opponent caught above him will take multiple hits of damage before being launched on the final hit. The attack does a surprising amount of damage, but as a recovery move it is severely lacking, due to the short vertical recovery it grants him. However, holding the special button will cause Snott to deploy out of Jim's Backpack, turning into a parachute. The parachute greatly slows down Jim's fall, allowing players to move horizontally left or right. The parachute will stay out for up to 3 seconds before falling, causing Jim to enter freefall. However, if he is hit while the parachute is out, the parachute disappears and Jim enters freefall.
*Down Special: Take Cover!- Jim dives into his Super Suit, which stands at attention in a heroic pose. As long as the special button is held down (or until 4 seconds pass), Jim's Super Suit will stay in place and will tank all damage and knockback from attacks that hit it. However, by doing this it absorbs all the damage that Jim himself would take, making it very easy to accumulate the over 50% of damage needed for the suit to self-destruct. Also the move has severe endlag once Jim resumes his normal stance, leaving him wide open to attack for a time.
*Final Smash: Earthworm Jim's Final Smash is unique in that it is one of 3 cinematic Final Smashes all based on levels from his games. The Final Smashes all begin the same, with Jim launching nearby foes into the air with a seesaw and a heroic cry of "Eat Dirt!" The Final Smash that plays will be entirely at random, and they all do the same amount of damage to foes. They are:
**For Pete's Sake- The launched opponents land on a planet in space, where they are confronted by Peter Puppy, who promptly transforms into his monster dog form and proceeds to pummel the trapped players, launching them as the Final Smash ends.
**What the Heck- The launched opponents wind up on the Planet Heck, where they are confronted by Evil the Cat. The demonic feline proceeds to blast the opponents with a powerful fire cannon, dealing massive damage and launching them as the Final Smash ends.
**Snot a Problem- The opponents find themselves falling down a nearly bottomless pit on the Mucus Planet. Jim himself bungees down, using Snott as a bungee cord. He blasts the opponents with his Plasma Blaster repeatedly, racking up the damage, before riding the bungee cord back up to the top while the opponents fall to their doom, being launched as the FS ends.
===Miscellaneous===
*Special Gimmick: Cow Launched- For all of Earthworm Jim's victory animations, if the player lingers on the victory screen too long (roughly a minute) without advancing to the battle statistics, then the cow launched at the beginning of the fight will crash onto Earthworm Jim, flattening him and causing him to say "I'll sue..."
*Entry Animation- Earthworm Jim jumps onto the stage, landing on a seesaw which strangely launches a cow high into the air. Jim ignores this as he readies for battle.
*Idle Animation 1- Jim tosses his Plasma Blaster from one hand to the other, before returning to normal.
*Idle Animation 2- Jim excitedly runs in place for a second before resuming normal stance.
*Side Taunt- Jim pulls out an accordion and plays it briefly before returning to normal stance.
*Up Taunt- Jim strikes a heroic pose, only for his suit to malfunction and explode, causing his charred head to briefly stick out of it before he shakes off the soot.
*Down Taunt- Jim poses Hulk Hogan style, only for his pants to drop, revealing his boxer shorts. He quickly puts his pants back on to great embarrasment.
*Victory Animation 1- Jim rides into the scene on his Pocket Rocket, twirling his head above his head like a lasso, before striking a heroic pose and yelling "Groovy!" at the screen.
*Victory Animation 2- Jim jumps out of his suit, which assumes its stance from his Down Special. Jim crawls in front of the suit and poses with a smile.
*Victory Animation 3- Jim casually tosses his Plasma Blaster in the air, as he cockily says "You got stomped!" Unfortunately the gun lands in his hand facing Jim, causing him to blast himself, leaving a confused Jim with a soot-covered face as he stares at the camera.
==Reveal Trailer==
Coming Soon...
Category:Super Smash Bros. Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. (series)
Category:Smash Plus Characters