Fortnite‘s recently launched The Simpsons season is almost perfect. There was a bumpy takeoff on Nov. 1 when players either couldn’t log in or queue up, but once those issues were taken care of, it was smooth sailing. But there’s one missing ingredient to make it absolutely perfect. Why isn’t Fortnite giving us a Back Bling of The Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s signature?
For as long as The Simpsons has been a cultural staple, Matt Groening’s scrawled signature has been seen all over the property. From press images and key art, to practically every piece of marketing and merchandise, if you look closely enough — usually in the lower right-hand corner of the image, Groening’s name will be scrawled there. If, by chance, you’re not sure what we’re talking about, check out the images below from the current season of The Simpsons.
The signature isn’t exclusive to The Simpsons, though. Groening’s name is similarly emblazoned on nearly all marketing images of both Netflix’s Disenchantment, as well as Futurama — both of which he created — as well as many issues of his comic strip Life in Hell, which he first launched in 1977.
This is a topic Groening himself hasn’t really spoken about in the past. However, it was a big enough joke for fans that it was turned into a couch gag in a season 11 episode of The Simpsons. In the gag, the Simpson family gathers on the couch, with Marge noticing the Groening signature in the corner. She springs into action, scrubbing it away before an animated Groening appears on-screen to scrawl it back on the image.
It’s the sort of joke that plays well with longtime fans of The Simpsons because it’s been a part of the show for so long. And the Springfield map in Fortnite is bursting at the seams with jokes from the show — from stepping on a rake, a la Sideshow Bob, to a drawing of Groening himself adoring the “banned for life” wall at the comic book store. So why wouldn’t Fortnite include it?
Perhaps the idea didn’t dawn on anybody or Groening simply said no, though saying no to the money that comes with selling your autograph seems like a strange choice. Then again, maybe he doesn’t want his name attached to properties he had no hand in creating given the wide range of characters available in the game. Another potential reason is the signature itself. While Fortnite has cel-shaded Back Blings that look more at-home next to the various Simpsons items being added into the game, Groening’s signature is a 2D flat image that simply might look strange on a Fortnite skin’s back.
One possible reason is Epic Games has, we just haven’t seen it yet. There’s plenty in the key art for the season that hasn’t been released yet — including skins of Lisa, Moe, and Scratchy. There will no doubt be plenty more content from the show coming in the days and weeks to follow.
Keep your fingers crossed because, while we don’t have it yet, The Simpsons season is still young and anything is possible. Even purchasing a digital rendering of a 71-year-old’s autograph to wear as a backpack on whatever random skin you choose, like Jar Jar Binks or Zendaya in character as Chani from the Dune films.
