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Arguably the most demanded superhero video game ever is finally hitting shelves next week! Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is widely considered one of — if not the — greatest fighting games of all time. Next week we’ll see how the next sequel holds up, but this week we’re getting to know the new and familiar combatants in this legendary crossover series, and also see who’s missing.

Akuma

Game of Origin: Super Street Fighter II Turbo
The self proclaimed “Master of the fist” is the brother of Ryu and Ken’s sensei, Gouken. Originally a hidden character in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, players could take on Akuma before facing the final boss, M. Bison, but only after achieving specific tasks along your journey to the final fight. Not only is Akuma a deadly and fierce opponent, as a playable character, he’s one of the most difficult to master.

Albert Wesker

Game of Origin: Resident Evil
Originally appearing as the commander of the Special Tactics And Rescue Service’s Alpha unit, and double agent for the Umbrella Corporation, Wesker has grown from a simple agent lackey, to the Resident Evil series’ main antagonist, and a supervillain that even the most established heroes from any universe should fear. In his last appearance in the game Resident Evil 5, Wesker sought to jump start the evolutionary process by infecting humanity with a virus called Uroboros. Wesker’s command over the Uroboros strain has gifted him with super speed, and enhanced strength, but those abilities pale in comparison to Wesker’s powerful arrogance, and big mouth.

Amaterasu

Game of Origin: Okami
Part of Capcom’s new blood, Amaterasu is a white wolf reincarnation of the god of the sun who was summoned by villagers in Japan to lift an evil curse off the land. Using fire and lighting projectile attacks, along with a long sword, Amaterasu’s attacks appear both effective and beautiful. This will be a fun character to master.

Arthur

Game of Origin: Ghosts ‘n Goblins
Here’s one for the old school gamers! Arthur may not look very intimidating, but his attacks are explosive, and this isn’t his first time to the dance. Arthur appeared as a support character in the original Marvel vs. Capcom. I don’t honestly see myself giving Arthur much attention, but I’m sure there are some hardcore fans out there who appreciate his presence.

Chris Redfield

Game of Origin: Resident Evil
Arch-nemesis to Albert Wesker, Chris Redfield is an agent of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance where he foiled Wesker’s plot against humanity in Resident Evil 5. Chris uses a lot of the same artillery he uses in RE5, everything from a shotgun, pistol, flame thrower, grenades, grenade launcher, and RPG.

Chun-Li

Game of Origin: Street Fighter II
Chun-Li is a fighting game legend. You don’t need me to tell you who she is. Those viciously sexy legs tell the whole story.

Crimson Viper

Game of Origin: Street fighter IV
Crimson Viper is an agent for the CIA, as well as one of the Street Fighter brand’s newest characters. Though not quite the legend that Chun-Li is, if you’re any sort of serious fighting game fan, then you’ve already played Street fighter IV and felt the burn of Viper’s hot attacks already.

Dante

Game of Origin: Devil May Cry
If you’ve ever played any of the Devil May Cry games, then you know how fun playing as Dante can be. Part human, part demon, all mercenary killing machine. Dante returns with his long sword and pair of ridiculously huge pistols, and of course, that beautiful hair.

Felicia

Game of Origin: Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
If you’ve never heard of Felicia or the Darkstalkers series, you’re likely not alone since Capcom hasn’t released a new Darkstalkers game is about 12 years. Sexy cat lady is as much of an identity that this character will probably ever have, but old school fighting game fans will enjoy playing as Felicia.

Hsien-Ko

Game of Origin: Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge
Another character from the Darkstalkers games, this is probably the strangest looking character on the Capcom side. But for a Chines ghost zombie with giant claws, she’s incredibly adorable.

Jill Valentine

Game of Origin: Resident Evil
Though a veteran of the MvC series, Jill is actually one of the first MvC3 downloadable characters announced. She’s also sporting her latest blond Resident Evil 5 look after being resurrected from the dead and brain washed by Wesker. There hasn’t been much detail on if she’ll have her classic move set, but either way, it’ll be incredibly hot.

Mike Haggar

Game of Origin: Final Fight
Do you like wrestling? Haggar does! He’s got a devastating piledriver that makes Jerry Lawler look like a jabroni. However, as far as wrestling stereotypes go, I personally like Street Fighter’s Zangeif better. Just sayin’.

Morrigan Aensland

Game of Origin: Dark Stalkers: The Night Warriors
Morrigan is a very formidable character. That’s all I really have to say about Morrigan that’s positive…mainly because she’s my roommate’s best character in MvC2 and I always get my ass handed to me by her. But those bat-wings are crazy sexy.

Nathan Spencer

Game of Origin: Bionic Commando
Spencer, also known as “RAD,” is just your typical tough guy government operative who’s been betrayed by his own government and is searching for revenge against the terrorist organization that blew up his city. And he also has a crazy weaponized bionic arm. One of the moves Spencer performs in MvC3 with his bionic arm is launching a grapple line and pulling his opponent toward him while exclaiming “Get over here!” Sound familiar?

Ryu

Game of Origin: Street Fighter
Just like Chun-Li, Ryu is a video game legend you already know.

Trish

Game of Origin: Devil May Cry
The hot ones are always the craziest. Though she may not look like it, Trish is a super powerful demon and sometimes partner to Dante, and sometimes two-timer. Trish also has the hots for Dante, which you would think would be awesome for Dante, except Trish bares an incredible resemblance to Dante’s mother. How awkward would that first date be?

Tron Bonne

Game of Origin: Mega Man Legends
Another familiar Capcom face, Tron Bonne is a pirate with a mean streak, with her personal army of super cute robots called Severbots at her command. This is one of those characters I always felt embarrassed losing to. At least it’s an adorable defeat.

Viewtiful Joe

Game of Origin: Viewtiful Joe
Joe was just your average…Joe, until one fateful day when he was sucked into a movie, and gifted with special powers like speeding up and slowing time, and a few other super cinematic moves. He may look like a goof, but his previous platformers have been a blast, and I can’t wait to play more with this character.

Zero

Game of Origin: Mega Man X
He may be last on Capcom’s list alphabetically, but he’s likely one of the most popular and anticipated characters on Capcom’s roster. Originally meant to be a redesign for Mega Man himself, Zero made his first appearance as a new character in Mega Man X and then starred in four of his own games. In MvC3, he retains his same explosive energy attacks with the samurai-like flare.

So that’s team Capcom. I like it. I’m excited to see what future downloadable characters will come, and if they’ll be more new favorites or old legends. Here are the Capcom characters missing from the last game:

Amingo
Anakaris
B.B. Hood
Cammy
Captain Commando
Charlie
Dan
Dhalsim
Guile
Hayato
Jin
Ken
M. Bison
Mega Man
Roll
Ruby Heart
Sakura
Servbot
SonSon
Strider Hiryu
Zangief

I think it’s safe to say that most of our readers are big comic book fans and are already familiar with most of the Marvel side of the playable characters, so I’ll just bring you up to speed on what’s new and different with the game’s Marvel half of the universe.

Captain America

Two words: CHARGING STAR!

Deadpool

Deadpool is without a doubt the one character I’m most excited to play with. Along with his big mouth personality and unmatched trash talk, part of Deadpool’s arsenal of moves includes breaking the fourth wall, and pulling his Special Meter right from the HUD and hitting his opponent with it. He’ll even go so far as blaming you, the player, if you get beat when playing as him. I can’t wait.

Doctor Doom

Doom was always in my trio of fighters in MvC2, and if he’s as smooth to play with as before, he’ll be right back on my team.

Dormammu

This marks Dormammu’s first ever video game appearance, if I’m not mistaken. I’m all for the more obscure comic characters getting exposure, but, unless Dormy happens to be an amazingly easy and strong character to play as, I probably wont be selecting him much.

Hulk

Iron Man

Magneto

Hulk, Iron Man, and Magneto don’t appear to have changed much in ten years. I hope we get some interesting alternate costumes for these three.

MODOK

He’s without a doubt the creepiest looking character in the entire game, but as a fan of the character, I’m very excited to see how MODOK holds up.

Phoenix

I’m not sure who’s hotter, Phoenix or Morrigan. Given my bad history with Morrigan, I’m inclined to side with the firey red-head…though I do love those bat-wings.

Sentinel

I just love the fact that everything X-Men was so popular that even the Sentinels made the roster cut ten years ago, and were even a support character in the first MvC.

She-Hulk

Okay, so maybe She-Hulk is the hottest character in the game. I’m just not sure. I don’t know what I like more, the green skin, or the bat-wings, but what I love the most is She-Hulk’s alternate Fantastic Four costume.

Shuma-Gorath

Surprisingly, Shuma-Gorath is a returning character to this series, but not in the starting roster, as DLC. I’m a pretty big Marvel fan, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a single issue with Shuma-Gorath in it. I just find it funny that, as a comic book reader, I’ve had more experience with a character in a video game than I’ve had in the comics themselves.

Spider-Man

Black suit Spidy has already been spotted in demo videos, and I’m really excited to see what other alternate costumes may be available. I know I’m not the only one who wants to see Ben Reilly’s costume.

Storm

Many have considered Storm to be the best all-around character in MvC2. I can’t wait to see if that still holds up ten years later.

Super-Scrull

Bravo, Marvel and Capcom. I was sure the Fantastic Four would make it on this game in some fashion, but I knew they wouldn’t reserve four whole spots for Ben, Reed, Johnny, and Sue. It’s pretty smart throwing Super-Skrull in there to get all the FF in one character.

Taskmaster

Often recognized as Deadpool and Moon Knight’s arch nemesis, Taskmaster is another pretty obscure Marvel character on the roster. I’ll be honest, I don’t care much for Taskmaster. I’m more excited about the possibility of Moon Knight being DLC later on.

Thor

I’m pretty surprised Thor wasn’t in the last MvC, but I guess Thor wasn’t as popular ten years ago as he is now.

Wolverine

I’m just hoping bone-claw Wolverine is an alternate costume. It doesn’t get much more 90s than Ben Reilly and bone-claw Wolverine, right?

X-23

The most interesting thing about X-23 to me is that she wasn’t originally a comic book character. She made her first appearance in the animated series X-Men: Evolution, and from there her popularity grew. She’s a really cool character and I’m glad she’s fighting the good fight on Marvel’s side.

So that’s team Marvel…for now, until we get word on more DLC. There are a few standout characters missing that I’m disappointed didn’t make the immediate cut, like Cyclops, Juggernaut, and War Machine, but I’m sure we’ll see some as DLC. For now, here are the missing Marvel characters from MvC2:

Blackheart
Cable
Colossus
Cyclops
Gambit
Iceman
Juggernaut
Marrow
Omega Red
Psylocke
Rogue
Sabertooth
Silver Samurai
Spiral
Thanos
Venom
War Machine

The combined Marvel and Capcom roster in MvC2 had 55 playable characters (not counting bone-claws Wolverine), and that was before the age of DLC. So far MvC3 has 36 starting playable characters, and two confirmed DLC characters. I can’t wait to see what fighters are yet to come. Daredevil and Leon S. Kennedy are the two characters I’m most hoping for, neither of which have ever made MvC appearances. But the most exciting potential playable character is the game’s final boss — which I wont spoil for you — and unfortunately the leaked video has been taken off-line, but I’m sure you can do your own search to figure out who it is yourself.

So as you probably already know, MvC3, just like MvC2, is all about 3-on-3, and I’m curious what your three-man team will consist of. I have some experimenting to do with MODOK, Wesker, Chris Redfield, and Super-Skrull, but if I’m sticking to my MvC2 guns, then it’s all about Captain America, Dr. Doom, and Wolverine for me. Who are you excited about playing as?

Next week on The Comics Console, we’re playing Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds!

Andrew Hurst
andrewhurst@comicattack.net
@andrewEhurst