Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls already has the ingredients for a memorable crossover fighter, but its roster could become far more distinctive by embracing Marvel’s strangest corners. Producer Michael Francisco has said popularity wasn’t the deciding factor in selecting fighters, yet the announced line-up still reflects the modern Marvel landscape, much like Marvel Rivals.
That approach contrasts with Capcom’s earlier Marvel arcade fighters. Those games arrived during the late superhero-comics boom, when flashy new characters, collectible-cover gimmicks and extreme designs were everywhere. Their rosters captured that anything-goes spirit by giving major fighting-game roles to characters such as Spiral, Blackheart and Shuma-Gorath long before Thor or Iron Man became standard crossover choices.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, by comparison, followed the direction of the Disney films so closely that the X-Men were excluded altogether. Tōkon has already made some intriguing choices: Spider-Man’s villains are receiving more attention, Blade has finally entered this style of Marvel fighter, and Danger appears as an anime-inspired android rather than the elaborate deathtrap associated with her usual portrayal.
A crossover fighting game lives or dies by the imagination of its roster. With that in mind, here are seven deeper-cut Marvel characters who could give Arc System Works’ fighter an even more unpredictable identity. For more fighting-game and industry coverage, browse the RETROCADE Arcade Blog.
Jamie Madrox
Jamie Madrox began as a Fantastic Four villain before becoming a key figure in X-Factor, but his real attraction for a fighting game is his mutant ability to create duplicates of himself, apparently without a fixed limit. The catch is that independent copies become increasingly resentful of the original the longer they remain separate.
That gives Tōkon plenty of room for a distinctive one-person army. Madrox could overwhelm opponents with multiplying bodies, substitute technical martial arts for rough-and-ready brawling, or turn every match into a chaotic display of improvised acrobatics.
Silvermane
Silvio Manfredi was once a powerful figure in New York’s criminal underworld. As age weakened his body, the gangster pursued an extreme solution and returned as Silvermane, a cyborg with a leathery, skull-like appearance.
Spider-Man’s mob-connected villains have rarely received enough attention in major team-up adaptations. Tombstone and Hammerhead could both make entertaining combatants, but Silvermane offers a more unusual concept: a single crime boss functioning as a vicious, cybernetic hit squad. His mechanical body and underworld history would also give the game a strong contrast to its cosmic and mutant fighters.
Dead Girl
Moonbeam was part of Mike Allred’s media-focused X-Force. She moved to the city hoping to establish herself in the arts, but was murdered by her boyfriend before her mutant powers emerged. She later awoke in her grave with complete control over necrotic tissue, including her own body.
As Dead Girl, she developed formidable necromantic abilities and eventually found that helping others suited her better than her former self-absorbed lifestyle. Her teammates had a habit of dying, while Dead Girl endured long enough to work alongside figures such as Doctor Strange. In a fighter, her ability to manipulate death and decay could produce a spectacular supernatural moveset.
Nightshade
Tilda Johnson is not a werewolf, but werewolves are central to everything she does. The Captain America villain is a scientist devoted to advancing lycanthropy, and she has used her research to transform Avengers into werewolves who serve as her enforcers.
Nightshade is dangerous even without a furry army, having maintained an anti-heroic presence within Marvel’s criminal underworld. She appeared in the Netflix series Luke Cage, although that version omitted her signature werewolves. Tōkon could correct that omission by making lycanthropy the centrepiece of her attacks, assists or special moves.
Goblin Queen
Madelyne Pryor is a clone of Jean Grey whose powers combine mutant psychic abilities with forbidden magic. Depending on the story, she may be the genuine Madelyne, a psychic construct or something in between, but the Goblin Queen consistently brings dangerous supernatural energy.
She can twist familiar surroundings into a personal hell, exploit hidden fears and summon grotesque demonic creatures. That combination of telepathy, sorcery and monstrous assistants would make her an ideal visual spectacle in an Arc System Works fighter. Fans seeking more ways to enjoy arcade-style games at home can also explore RETROCADE’s range of arcade machines.
Rom
During the 1970s and 1980s, Marvel published comic series based on toy licences including Transformers and Micronauts. Some licensed characters eventually became lasting parts of Marvel history, but few left a stronger impression than Rom, the Space Knight.
The toy itself failed commercially, while the comics succeeded well enough for Rom to team up with the Avengers after the product’s time on shop shelves had passed. His shining, armoured design helped him endure, even as the character’s rights became complicated and changed hands. A Spawn refugee is now appearing in Marvel Rivals, so a rights puzzle should not automatically rule Rom out. His energy weapons and space-knight identity would be a superb fit for Tōkon.
Turner D. Century
Marvel has already demonstrated that unusual choices can work, from Marrow and MODOK to Rocket Raccoon before mainstream audiences discovered how much potential he had. Turner D. Century would push that principle even further.
Clifford F. Michaels is a walking rejection of modern life. Nostalgic for America’s Gilded Age, he uses advanced science to create flying tandem bicycles, murderous mannequins and sonic phonographs, unleashing them on San Francisco. Despite those absurd ambitions, he has repeatedly proved a troublesome opponent for both Spider-Man and Spider-Woman and later joined the Hood’s indentured legion.
His strange gadgets could translate into a wonderfully theatrical moveset, turning an apparently ridiculous villain into a genuine tactical nuisance. He would be precisely the kind of left-field pick that makes a crossover roster feel authored rather than assembled. Before choosing a home setup for games like this, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide can help compare the available formats.
Why the deep cuts matter
Marvel’s history is broad enough to support far more than its most recognisable heroes and villains. Characters such as these would give Tōkon unusual silhouettes, unexpected mechanics and the same sense of discovery that made earlier Marvel arcade fighters so enduring. A roster that balances icons with genuine oddities could make every new reveal feel like an event.
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