Grotesque Steve

*This article is about the grotesque version of Steve. For the actual Smash fighter, see Steve.*

**Grotesque Steve** is, as the name suggests, a grotesque and realistic model of Steve from the video game *Minecraft*. Grotesque Steve is one of, if not the biggest, memes to come out of speculation over *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*. First spawning on 4chan, he soon to spread to other sites, with SmashFAQs becoming a major stomping ground. He would appear very often on the board, ranging from once a week to, at most, several times a day. On SmashFAQs, he is largely remembered for the many anti-Steve posts that occurred during the great Banjo vs. Steve war of 2019. He's also known for his appearances in the Bransteele Simulator series, where he infamously won both the First and Second Hunger Games Simulators.

## Background

It is unknown who created Grotesque Steve, but his first official appearance was on 4chan's /v/ board on October 1, 2018. His design was apparently proposed as a way to make it seem possible for Steve to be in *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*, with the design being closer to the more "realistic" designs of many characters in the game.

## History on SmashFAQs

### The First Month

Since his initial post on 4chan, Grotesque Steve would appear in an almost inhuman amount of posts on GameFAQs and Know Your Meme. Many of his most notable appearances on the former included his constant pop-ups in JigglyPunk's many threads. Grotesque Steve would receive vastly more attention, however, upon the release of the Grinch Leak, an alleged leak showcasing the final roster banner with a number of unannounced fighters. Chief points included the inclusion of Banjo & Kazooie from their titular series and the absence of Steve from *Minecraft*. As both characters were owned by Microsoft after the acquisitions of Rare and Mojang, respectively, the two had been seen largely as anti-theses to one another. This led to many painting Grotesque Steve as a direct rival to the Grinch Leak, often being paired with Incineroar due to it being pushed as one of the final fighters by refuted leaker Vergeben alongside some form of content from *Minecraft*. The amount of original content that came about featuring the character was ludicrous, though in the end the only fighters revealed in the final Smash Direct on November 1, 2018, were Ken, Incineroar, and the very unexpected Piranha Plant. Despite this, the "Steveposters", as posters of Grotesque Steve had begun to be called, would not relent and soon attached themselves to speculation over the confirmed DLC for *Ultimate*.

### The Banjo vs. Steve Wars

While Grotesque Steve had already grown infamous from his involvement in speculation surrounding the Grinch Leak, he and his legion of supporters would soon become far more notorious in the rivalry they formed against Banjo & Kazooie for a spot in *Ultimate*'s DLC. Many had begun to speculate over Microsoft earning a fighter due to the strong relations they had formed with Nintendo, with most pushing for one of the two to fill this slot. Vast amounts of original content depicting the war would come out, usually putting the two rivals against one another. The most infamous of these was a video of Banjo (in his *Nuts & Bolts* art style) getting lost in *Minecraft*, only to encounter Grotesque Steve holding Kazooie's head before Steve began "having his way" with Banjo. Further jokes came out from this video, often cutting out right before the final scene. The copypasta associated with the Grotesque Steve would soon become imprinted in the minds of nearly everyone on SmashFAQs and /v/, and many began to paint him as the "villain" of Smash speculation.

### The Final Battle

Eventually, speculation would come to a head during Nintendo's showcases for E3 2019. Many had been convinced of Microsoft being a frontrunner for Smash DLC, and this belief had been further pushed by a number of theories and debatable leaks pertaining to Steve and Banjo. Eventually, Sakurai confirmed that the next fighter would be shown during Nintendo's Direct for the event on June 11, 2019. Some picked up that the animated Smash logo next to him in the video footage looked vaguely like the Xbox logo, with Sakurai himself commenting on it looking a little funny. Eventually, the Direct would air, and many prematurely dismissed a Microsoft rep being revealed after the oft-speculated Hero from *Dragon Quest* were confirmed as the focus for Challenger Pack 2. With Steve being another commonly assumed rep, a number of Steve supporters celebrated Hero's reveal while a number of Banjo fans (some more "vigorously" than others) began to lament his absence. Less than half an hour later, however, both sides were shook when Banjo & Kazooie were given a surprise reveal as the next DLC fighters coming after Hero. The Steveposters ended up melting down before they were soon silenced by their clear defeat. While a few tried to stagger along through a copypasta here and there, it was clear that Grotesque Steve's heyday was permanently over. A number of original content depicted Banjo's triumph over Grotesque Steve, with a couple even envisioning the real Steve being purified from his grotesque form.

### Legacy

Despite losing his immense trolling power, Grotesque Steve would continue to be a memory in many people's minds and still got brought up decently often by users. A number of similar imposters inspired by Grotesque Steve would spawn in an attempt to recapture his "magic". While a few like Floyd Irving got some traction among people, none came close to the original. He would also continue to have a fairly present role in forum games on SmashFAQs.

A huge twist of irony came, however, when Steve actually did join as a DLC fighter in the following year after Banjo's addition, rendering the entire argument from before nearly pointless. In what was likely a coincidence, Steve was revealed on October 1, 2020, exactly two years after Grotesque Steve made his first public appearance.

### Forum Games

Outside of his main role in Smash speculation, he would also gain even more infamy on SmashFAQs from his role in Bransteele Simulator series. To many's shock and disgust, he ended up as the winner of both the First and Second Hunger Games Simulators. Despite this, hs winning streak was quickly cut short when he was the second character voted off in the first Survivor Simulator season.

In Season Six of the Hunger Games, run by Saga\_\_Shade, Steve was C4'd by King Dedede, cutting his run short.

## Personality

Grotesque Steve is depicted by many as a being of pure evil, a creature that takes pleasure in bullying the majority of the playable Smash Bros. roster. One particular image depicts G.S. banging Isabelle's head against a desk, emphasizing his cruel and violent nature. This, combined with many users abusing the many images of Grotesque Steve, led him to become the most despised and lamented character on the entirety of SmashFAQs, even beating out Geno from *Super Mario RPG* and Floyd.