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In a game of infinite possibilities, these are the heroes we want to see in Capcom’s dream brawler.
Capcom’s long-running Vs. series is practically a geek’s fantasy, bringing together two totally different franchises in a fighting game with fixtures that you could only dream of – and a new entry is on the way this year in the form of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.
It’s rare that we see our favourite video-game characters cross over with the comic-book heroes we’re used to reading and seeing on the big screen, and each entry has been greeted with high praise from fans.
After six years, the two pop-culture powerhouses have a brand new entry on the way, which will give us the chance to see even more of our favourites duke it out – and if you can’t wait for the new title, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has been re-released on PlayStation 4, with Xbox One and PC versions on the way too.
There’s bound to be new additions to the series and our imaginations are already running wild with possibilities: Who will make the cut? Which characters will be the most powerful? Which character combinations will be the best? It won’t be long before we get to see these questions answered and played out on our home consoles though, but while we wait, we’ve clubbed together our collective intelligence and picked our favourite heroes for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite – read on for our top picks.
CapcomAsura – Asura’s Wrath
Asura should have been a shoo-in for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. At the time, Asura was the star of one of Capcom’s newest IPs, Asura’s Wrath, and was well on his way to conquering the Street Fighter universe after running into some familiar fighters in his game’s DLC.
It’s been almost five years since we’ve last seen the fighter, but a reappearance is much needed for such a unique character. Hot-headed Asura pretty much punched his way through the majority of his own game, so why should Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite be any different? With abilities like summoning numerous additional limbs and a penchant for a barrage of punches, there‘s a lot Capcom can do to make Asura fit perfectly. There’s even a chance for him and Ryu to clear the air as a team, after their savage fight in the Asura’s Wrath’s DLC content that left both fighters battered and broken.
Lord Raptor – Darkstalkers
It wasn’t too long ago that Capcom took to the stage at NYCC in 2012 and promised that “Darkstalkers are not dead” – yet they never did come back, aside from a digital release on last-gen consoles. This left a lot of fans wanting after Lord Raptor himself rose from his early grave. Nothing has emerged since then about a possible Darkstalkers 4, but at the very least Morrigan has proved a very popular character in UMvC3.
Already originating from a fighting game allows Lord Raptor to transition with ease to Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. With his trusty guitar and unique playstyle he would fit right in among his Capcom peers. In fact this hard-rocking zombie could shred with Dante and have a jam session together, or just team up with his already confirmed comrade in arms, Morrigan.
Necalli – Street Fighter V
The latest entry to Capcom’s hit fighting-game series, Street Fighter V, gave birth to Necalli, an interesting foe with a violent fighting style. Necalli instantly proved his worth against his competitors with his ability to land devastating combos, and adding a command grab to his repertoire made him a force to be reckoned with. With Necalli’s only goal being to conquer the most powerful warriors in the world, in the Marvel vs. Capcom universe, that would lead him straight to Marvel’s band of superheroes, as they would represent the pinnacle of strength and a delicious meal for the power-hungry warrior.
Necalli is already a powerhouse in Street Fighter V, but allowing him free roam in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite would let the devs capitalise on his V-Trigger transformation and expand on his already scary moveset. Capcom could even expand on his current super and amp it up to a move resembling Wolverine’s Weapon X super or Berserker Barrage to court returning fans with some nods to UMvC3.
Frank West – Dead Rising
Frank West, our favourite zombie photographer, is simply our boy: he can make the best out of any bad situation with as little as a few pieces of gaffer tape, some chainsaws and a quick selfie. The Dead Rising star was a fan favourite, long before he was playable in UMvC3, and with MvC:I, Frank could expand his moveset and applications with the new Gem System and really prove that all it takes to win is a bit of ingenuity.
With all the homages to the Mega Man franchise in Dead Rising it would be great to finally see Frank West come face to face with Mega Man or Mega Man X and team up together, or even talk about photography with Marvel’s very own web-slinging, photo-snapping Spider-Man, AKA, Peter Parker.
Armour Knight G (Grand) Kaiser AKA G.Kaiser – Tech Romancer
Capcom make a habit of resurrecting some obscure characters when it comes to their Vs. series, so why should Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite be any different? And for us, there’s no better time than now to reflect on Capcom’s underappreciated Dreamcast gem, Tech Romancer. G.Kaiser was the protagonist of the series and his iconic giant robot would surely entice any massive mecha fan. When it comes to gameplay, G.Kaiser could easily fill the role that might be left vacant with the potential exclusion of Sentinel, as X-Men characters are rumoured to have been given the chop.
With rocket punches, shockwaves, and relentless punches, G.Kaiser would give Tony Stark and his Iron Man suits a run for his money – or any character, really. With Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s focusing on two-on-two battles, we could even see G.Kaiser starring in a good few mechanical-themed teams with Mega Man X, Iron Man, or maybe even Sentinel, should it appear.
Zaki – Rival Schools
There are few things that Capcom fans have been wanting over the years, and other than putting their favourite character in Street Fighter V, it’s a brand-new Rival Schools entry. Although it’s not quite what they asked for, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite could be the beacon of hope they need to keep their passion for the series going by including any of the game’s characters. With a unique cast of characters in a quirky high-school world, we’d have to pick Zaki to appear in MvC:I.
With her unique launching kicks and chained whips, she’d be an interesting pick for the Capcom side. Being able to keep players away with long-range pokes or getting in their face before taking to the air with devastating combos would make her not only an interesting character to play as, but an interesting character to watch. Zaki could also team up quite nicely with Sakura as they both originate from the Rival Schools series, or even talk about teenage woes with the younger characters in the Marvel Universe, like Squirrel Girl.
MarvelPunisher (Frank Castle)
One sharp shooting vigilante who’s never made an appearance in a Vs. series is the Punisher. With training in close-quarter combat and a penchant for firearms, the Punisher would fit perfectly into Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. Similar to Resident Evil’s Chris Redfield in UMvC3, Frank Castle could alternate between firearms and launch an all-out assault as a super, and mix up between close-range combat or projectile-based combat.
As we’ve mentioned, there are some similarities in Chris Redfield and Frank, so naturally the two might be a good fit, or even combining the Punisher and Morrigan for the ultimate keep-away team by using their combined penchant for projectiles; the Punisher with his guns and grenades and Morrigan with her soul-fist projectiles. Either way, the Punisher’s unique backstory and skillset would allow him to be extremely malleable and an easy character to slot into the series perfectly.
Magneto
If there's one character that defines the Marvel competitive scene, it’s Magneto. Being a dominant force in both MvC2 and MvC3, as well as inspiring some of the most iconic phrases in professional fighting-game commentary ( Mahvel Baybee!) alongside being one of the best characters in every game he has shown up in, there’s more than enough reasons to earn him a position in the upcoming game. With rumours flying that there might not be any Mutant characters in the game, we’re hoping Magneto sneaks through.
Magneto himself has a backstory with almost every Marvel character throughout the years, so pairing him alongside that half of the cast would be easy, although on Capcom’s end nobody compares as a villain, aside from Mundus or Wesker. Magneto’s moveset is almost set in stone, but through the powers of the new Infinity Gems mechanic, there’s room for more gimmicks that could prevent his opponents from running away, or even locking them in position for a short period of time.
Squirrel Girl
When you star in a series called The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, it’s pretty hard to argue that you aren’t a badass. Even though she’s one of Marvel’s newer characters (only debuting in the early '90s), Squirrel Girl has already felled tons of villains, including one of Marvel’s big bads, Thanos, the original wielder of the Infinity Gauntlet, and in turn the Infinity Gems.
With spiked knuckles, a tail and the proportional strength and speed of a squirrel, Squirrel Girl would perfectly fit the archetype of a rushdown heavy character, and she could even replace Wolverine in that category. With the ability to talk to squirrels too, we imagine she could summon a load for her super, with them taking down foes in comedic fashion. Thanos had better watch out.
Groot
It was obvious with UMvC3 that Marvel thought Rocket Raccoon would have been the star of the show when it came to Guardians of the Galaxy, but it was really Groot who won our hearts. The monosyllabic tree giant proved that not only was he a dominant force, but his unique abilities allowed him to manipulate the shape of his body and regenerate, starting as a small sapling all over again.
Naturally, Groot would go hand-in-hand with Rocket Raccoon, but with his abilities being focussed in nature he would also perfectly complement the wolf sun goddess, Amaterasu. In a fight Groot could easily elongate his limbs to give himself an advantage, and his ability to regenerate could birth some interesting abilities akin to Dark Phoenix but not quite as strong.
Vision
Little is known about Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite at present, but what we do know is that there will be a focus on the Infinity Gems. Do you know who has an Infinity Gem right on his forehead in Marvel’s current movies? Vision. The android can fly, shoot laser beams from his mind gem, and phase through solid materials.
All of these abilities would be amazing in a fighting game: by phasing out he could avoid incoming attacks and riposte with counter attacks while flying about the arena. At full power very few people could contend with Vision, making him one unique character we’d love to see in the game.
Black Bolt
Last, but not least, in our list of Marvel characters is the Inhuman king, Black Bolt. As one of the more prominent members of Marvel’s royal group of Inhumans, there's a high chance that he will make an appearance as Marvel continues to push the group as an X-Men replacement of sorts, due to movie studios clashing over usage rights.
In any case, Black Bolt is an exciting possibility: he can manipulate particles and has a supersonic set of vocals that he can use to power himself up or project outwards. The usually silent Inhuman king can rock battleships with a mere whisper, or fell mountains with a murmur, making him one of the Marvel universe’s most powerful beings.
This means that Black Bolt could use his voice much like Sindel’s in Mortal Kombat and create particle shields or even projectiles to fight with. There are plenty of loudmouths in the Marvel Universe, but seeing Black Bolt and Magneto both team up and manipulate their surroundings together would be great.
Stan Lee – Additional boss/Gimmick character
Of course, what’s a Marvel vs. game without a secret character? In honour of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, which packed in Norimaro back in the day, a unique, secret joke character that was made in cooperation with Japanese comedian Noritake Kinash, we reckon Infinite could do with a little secret character too – and who else but Marvel legend, Stan Lee?
Lee has made an appearance in every Marvel movie in recent memory: from tidbits to slightly larger tidbits, Stan Lee has always been ever present in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and with Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite drawing so heavily from this universe it would be fitting to have the Marvel icon immortalised within.
Much like Norimaro, Stan Lee could be a joke character of sorts – bumbling about the screen and throwing whatever he had on him at his enemies, and even potentially breaking the fourth wall. As an homage to Phoenix Wright’s moves in UMvC3, Stan Lee could shout “Excelsior” at his enemies, or call in super heroes to assist him, potentially freeing up more space to give credit to some characters that didn’t make the cut. You could literally pair Stan Lee with anyone and have some cool creator/creation unique dialogue for win quotes or entrances – we reckon this is a winner...
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