The following contains spoilers for Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, now streaming on Paramount+.
Within the world of Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head, there are very few people who can truly match the duo for their ineptitude and short-sighted behavior. Repeatedly over the years, the two have more or less doomed any hopes they had for growth and change -- and they've laughed the whole time, cementing their comic personalities. But their latest film hints at the true potential they (or at least versions of them) had to change. Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (now streaming on Paramount+) includes a fun running gag about Smart Beavis and Smart Butt-Head, two reality-hopping heroes who find themselves stuck in the orbit of the film's titular duo. However, along the way, they also prove to be the greatest variants of the characters in the multiverse.
Beavis and Butt-Head spend most of Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe reminding everyone around them just how hilariously dumb they can really be. Everything from adolescent fantasies that quickly devolve into sex and gore to a broad misunderstanding of the concept of white privilege, Beavis and Butt-Head never find any new semblance of logic or reason -- which is where a lot of the film's comic energy comes from. After being mistaken for prodigies who could assist with an important launch, the two are blasted into space, only to quickly ruin it for everyone and get themselves stranded in space. Fortunately, they are drawn into a nearby black hole and warped through time and space -- landing back on Earth in present-day 2022.
However, they are surprised to discover they aren't the only Beavis and Butt-Head on the planet. Traveling from across the multiverse (and having an appearance based on Uatu the Watcher from Marvel Comics), Smart Beavis and Smart Butt-Head reveal they've arrived to repair the cosmic rift caused by their time-travel. Notably, while Smart Beavis and Smart Butt-Head are clearly more intelligent than their counterparts of the main universe, they're also far more patient and respectful. Both giggle at jokes, but their comedy is less about hurting one another or other innuendos. The two also repeatedly try to convince Beavis and Butt-Head to save all creation -- something the main two can't ever figure out because they just don't care.
Smart Beavis and Smart Butt-Head become some of the film's best running jokes, with their attempts to make saving the day easier only keep being ignored. But ultimately, the day is won without their help -- revealing that even the smartest versions of Beavis and Butt-Head in the multiverse are complete idiots who don't fully grasp their surroundings. However, Smart Beavis -- who, like his main counterpart, has fallen in love with Serena (Andrea Savage) -- makes an impassioned plea for her heart. She travels to his timeline with him in the end -- and although she quickly leaves to explore the cosmos on her own, she does sleep with Beavis, causing him to get celebrated as the multiverse's best version of the young man.
The best Beavis being the only one to actually "score" is a good button to the film's running gags about their obsession with sex. It's to the point even countless other versions of the characters choose to celebrate them freely. But what makes this the best Beavis may actually be his softer side. Unlike the core Beavis and Butt-Head -- whose static personalities are part of the comedy -- Smart Beavis reveals a poetic and thoughtful side that even displays an awareness of Serena's wants and needs. He actually knows her instead of just falling in love with the idea of her (as Beavis did with Siri on a cellphone). Actually having the ability to empathize and connect with someone else might be the real reason this version of Beavis is recognized in-universe as the best -- and speaks volumes to all the other variants of the two across space and time.
To see the best version of Beavis and Butthead, Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe is streaming now on Paramount+.