Marvel vs. Capcom series

North American box art of Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.

Marvel vs. Capcom (マーヴルVSカプコン, Māvuru versus Kapukon^?) is a sub-series of fighting games within the Versus series created by Capcom, in which characters created by superhero comic book company Marvel Comics and Capcom's own characters appear together. While it was the first Vs. series involving Capcom, the name Marvel exists to distinguish it from Capcom's other Vs. series.

Overview

The Marvel characters depicted in these games were often based on their incarnations in various early 1990s animated series and were often voiced by the same voice actors.

Many of the characters and fighting mechanics used in these games were first developed and refined in two other fighting games Capcom had developed earlier, serving as precursors to the series: X-Men: Children of the Atom, which featured characters strictly from the X-Men universe, and Marvel Super Heroes, which gleaned characters from Marvel's entire roster (X-Men included).

Although the tag-team fighting concept was not new, it was refined with this series. New fighting game terminology, such as the Aerial Rave (the act of performing a combo on an opponent while the opponent remains airborne) and the Variable Combination (the act of having two or more characters on the same team to perform their Hyper Combos at the same time) were added to the fighting game vernacular with this series.

Games

Precursor games

• X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994)
• Marvel Super Heroes (1995)

Main games

• X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996)
• Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997)
• Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998)
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000)
• Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011)
  • Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011)
• Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (2017)

Compilation

• Marvel vs. Capcom Origins (2012)

Gameplay

The basic gameplay of the Marvel vs. Capcom series was originally derived from X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes. Players compete in battle using characters with unique moves and special attacks. Using a combination of joystick movements and button presses, players must execute various moves to damage their opponent and deplete their life gauge, or alternatively, have the most cumulative health when the timer runs out. However, unlike the two aforementioned games, which focus on single combat, the Marvel vs. Capcom series revolve around tag team-based combat. Instead of choosing a single character, players select multiple characters to form teams of two or three. Each character on the team is given their own life gauge. Players control one character at a time, while the others await off-screen. Players are also free to swap between their characters at any point during the match. As characters take damage, portions of their life gauge will turn red, known as "red health", which represents the amount of health that a character can recover if the player tags them out. The off-screen, dormant characters will slowly replenish their red health, allowing players to cycle through their team members and prolong their ability to fight. Furthermore, as characters deal and receive damage, a colored meter at the bottom of the screen known as the "Hyper Combo Gauge" will gradually fill. By expending meter from their Hyper Combo Gauge, players can perform "Hyper Combos" – powerful, cinematic attacks that deal heavy damage to the opponent – in addition to several other special techniques. If one character loses all of their health, they are knocked out and the next available fighter will automatically come into play.

Each successive Marvel vs. Capcom installment has added, removed, or altered gameplay elements over the course of the series' history. X-Men vs. Street Fighter added two-on-two tag team features. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter introduced the concept of the "assist" by allowing the player to summon their off-screen partner to perform a special move without switching characters. This feature was replaced in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, which instead randomly allocated an unplayable guest character with a preset assist move before each match; in addition, assists were limited to only a few uses per round. The assist features from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter were re-incorporated into the following sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, once again granting players the ability to call in their off-screen characters at any time during the match without constraint. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 also increased the number of characters per team by one, providing a three-on-three battle format. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds introduced "X-Factor", a comeback mechanic which offers increased damage, speed, and red health regeneration for a limited time upon activation. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite reverts to two-on-two partner battles and removes traditional character assists. Infinite also implements the Infinity Stones as a gameplay mechanic, where each of the six stones grants unique abilities and enhancements to the player.

Another gameplay element that helps to distinguish the Marvel vs. Capcom series from other fighting game franchises is its emphasis on aerial combat. Every character in the Marvel vs. Capcom series is given a "Launcher" move, which sends the opponent flying up into the air. The player can then choose to follow up immediately by using a "Super Jump", which allows a character to jump much higher than normal, in order to continue their combo; these airborne combos are called "Air Combos" or "Aerial Raves". Marvel vs. Capcom 3 introduced a gameplay feature known as the "Team Aerial Combo" or "Aerial Exchange", giving players the opportunity to extend their Air Combos further by quickly tagging in their other characters while mid-air.

As Capcom's design philosophy for the series has changed to appeal to a wider audience, the control scheme has been repeatedly modified to accommodate people less familiar with the fighting game genre. The first three installments utilized the same layout of six attack buttons, separated as three pairs of light, medium, and hard punches and kicks. In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, in order to make the game more accessible, the layout was tweaked to four attack buttons, consisting of two pairs of light and heavy punches and kicks, and two dedicated assist buttons. The control scheme was further simplified with the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, which included three attack buttons designated to undefined light, medium, and hard attacks, two assist buttons, and an "exchange button" used to perform Launchers and switch between characters during Air Combos. In addition, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 included two different control scheme options: Normal Mode and Simple Mode. Simple Mode, designed for casual players, allows players to perform special moves and Hyper Combos with single button presses at the expense of limiting a character's available moveset.

Story

There does not appear to be a concrete story behind each game in the series (up until Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite), although several plot points run across the various games of the series. However, various pairs of characters - typically one Marvel and one Capcom, were often partnered with each other during game play (although later games randomized the partnerships so that it was possible to complete the game facing all-Marvel or all-Capcom teams). Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is the first game in the series to feature a proper story mode.

Throughout the earlier games, several interesting subplots emerge exclusively to the series, some of which contradict the others:

• Psylocke is the one who rescues the amnesiac Cammy, who lost her memory after the battle with Apocalypse in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, from The Hand and its leader, Matsu'o Tsurayaba.

• Zangief and Colossus defend Russia against Omega Red. In one ending, Omega Red apparently kills Ryu, prompting Ken to also seek revenge.

• Wolverine seeks Akuma as he believes Akuma has information about his own past. However, in order to get the information from Akuma, he must win a fight to the death.

• Chun-Li was made an honorary member of the X-Men, despite the lack of mutant powers on her part. Ryu is also offered membership in both the X-Men and Avengers, but turns it down both times, preferring to continue on his own path.

• When Onslaught emerges, Charles Xavier subconsciously calls the Capcom heroes to help stop himself. Jin Saotome is attacked by M. Bison after defeating him and is near death, but the two cyborgs, "Shadow Lady" (Chun-Li) and "Shadow" (Charlie), revive him as a being like themselves.

• In the Hulk's ending, Captain America makes the sacrifice. Meanwhile, Zangief battles Jin's Cyberbot, Blodia.

• Magneto and M. Bison team up, intending on betraying each other at a later time. In Magneto's ending, Magneto eventually manages to get the upper hand and kills him. Bison's Shadaloo henchmen (Balrog, Vega, and Sagat) join him afterwards, fearful of Magneto's power. The opposite happens in M. Bison's ending.

• Apocalypse captures Akuma and turns him into Cyber Akuma.

• Charlie is kidnapped by Bison, who uses Shadaloo's technology to transform him to a super-soldier henchman known as Shadow. However, Shadow turns on Bison, who then tries to subject Chun-Li and Jin Saotome to the same fate.

• In Sakura's Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter ending, she is seen as an adult and as a mother with a son.

• Akuma is hinted to be the father of Dan. However, this ending, much like Dan himself, is a parody of SNK's Art of Fighting series.

• In Ken's endings, the events of the games never actually happened. In X-Men vs. Street Fighter, he was playing the game itself with his son Mel, while the events of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter appear to be a dream. He wakes up and continues his training with Ryu.

History

Capcom's partnership with Marvel Comics began in 1993 with the release of The Punisher, an arcade beat 'em up based on the comic book series of the same name. Capcom then created their first Marvel-licensed fighting game, X-Men: Children of the Atom, in 1994. Marvel Super Heroes soon followed in 1995. Many of the gameplay mechanics used in the Marvel vs. Capcom series were first developed and refined in these two fighting games, serving as precursors to the series. In 2011, then-current Capcom USA Strategic Marketing Director of Online and Community Seth Killian stated that many fighting game aficionados, including himself, consider them to have laid the foundation for the series.

The idea for implementing tag teams was allegedly inspired by an easter egg from Capcom's own 1995 fighting game Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams. In a secret "Dramatic Battle" mode, two players, controlling Ryu and Ken, were able to fight against an AI-controlled M. Bison at the same time. The easter egg itself had drawn inspiration from the final battle sequence from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, which featured a similar fight scene. Recognizing the uniqueness of a team-up concept, Capcom began to work on their next project. After their earlier licensing ventures with Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes, the company decided to combine Marvel's X-Men franchise, their own Street Fighter franchise, and their team-up concept, leading to the creation of X-Men vs. Street Fighter. The game debuted in Japanese arcades in 1996, establishing the series' fast-paced, tag team-based gameplay style.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was then released in 1997, which replaced most of the X-Men cast with other heroes from the Marvel Universe and introduced the character assist mechanic. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes later followed in 1998, exchanging the majority of the Street Fighter cast with characters from other Capcom video games series, such as Mega Man and Darkstalkers. In 1999, Capcom announced the development of yet another sequel, called Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 heavily re-used assets from previous Capcom-developed games, including Street Fighter Alpha, Darkstalkers, and the earlier Marvel vs. Capcom titles, resulting in a large roster of 56 playable characters. Shortly after the release of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox ports for Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom lost the use of the Marvel license, putting the series on an indefinite hiatus. However, with the resurgence of the fighting game genre in 2008, owing to the success of Street Fighter IV, Marvel requested Capcom to collaborate with them once again. Capcom would announce the development of the next installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, in 2010. The game was eventually released in 2011. An updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, titled Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, was released later in the same year. The high-definition compilation game Marvel vs. Capcom Origins was then released in 2012.

Following the release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for the PlayStation Vita in 2012, Marvel's new parent company, The Walt Disney Company, which acquired Marvel in 2009, chose not to renew Capcom's license with the Marvel characters, instead opting to put them in its own self-published Disney Infinity series. As a result, Capcom had to pull both Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 off their online platforms in 2013. However, in 2016, Disney announced its decision to cancel the Disney Infinity series, discontinue self-publishing efforts, and switch to a licensing-only model, allowing them to license their characters to third-party game developers, including Capcom. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was revealed in 2016, and then released in 2017.

Related media

In 2011, a series of Minimates based on the playable characters from Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds were released by Art Asylum.

UDON Entertainment published Marvel vs. Capcom: Official Complete Works art book consisting of promotional artwork, sketches and bonus material from the video game collaborations between Marvel and Capcom, beginning with the 1993 arcade game The Punisher to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. It contains contributions from a variety of artists and illustrators, including Akiman, Bengus, Shinkiro, Joe Madureira, Adi Granov, Joe Ng, Long Vo, Chamba, Adam Warren and Takeshi Miyazawa. Official Complete Works made its international debut at San Diego Comic-Con on July 11, 2012, in an exclusive hardcover edition. The hardcover also featured a wrap-around cover designed by Udon Entertainment and Capcom artist Alvin Lee, and digitally-painted by Genzoman. A standard-format softcover was released in November 2012 by Diamond Comics.

Within the Marvel Comics multiverse, the Marvel vs. Capcom universe is designated as "Earth-30847".

Characters

Marvel vs. Capcom has featured over 100 playable fighters. In addition to the Marvel and Capcom characters, the games have introduced a few original characters, which include Norimaro from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, and Amingo, Ruby Heart, and SonSon from Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. Furthermore, other characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes make appearances in the games in varying capacities. Both Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes include secret characters which can be played by inputting specific sequences of joystick movements on the character select screen. These secret characters consist of palette swaps of existing fighters with different moveset properties. Clash of Super Heroes also has unplayable summon characters as part of its "Guest Character/Special Partner" assist system.

Many Marvel vs. Capcom installments also allow players to fight as the games' boss characters in special game modes, with the exception of Abyss from Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Characters that have not been playable frequently make cameo appearances in the games' cutscenes and stage backgrounds. Lastly, numerous non-playable Marvel and Capcom characters are featured as "Ability Cards" in the Heroes and Heralds game mode in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Out of all the playable characters, Ryu and Chun-Li are the only ones to have appeared in every game released thus far.

Symbol	Meaning
a	Playable
a	Downloadable playable
a	Hidden playable
a	Only computer-controlled / Assist
a	Not appear

Marvel Characters

This is a list of all the Marvel characters that have appeared in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, most of which have appeared in Marvel comic books.

Character	XvSF	MvSF	MvC	MvC2	MvC3	UMvC3	MvC:I	Series
Apocalypse	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	X-Men
Cable	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Colossus	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Cyclops	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Deadpool	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Gambit	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Iceman	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Jubilee	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Juggernaut	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Magneto	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Marrow	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Omega Red	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Onslaught	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Phoenix	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Psylocke	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Rogue	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Sabretooth	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Sentinel	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Silver Samurai	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Spiral	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Storm	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Wolverine	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
X-23	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Black Panther	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	The Avengers
Black Widow	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Captain America	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Hawkeye	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Hulk	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Iron Man	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
M.O.D.O.K.	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
She-Hulk	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Taskmaster	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Thanos	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Thor	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Ultron	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Ultron Drone	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
U.S. Agent	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
War Machine	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Winter Soldier	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Spider-Man	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Spider-Man
Venom (Eddie Brock)	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Blackheart	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Mephisto	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Doctor Strange	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Doctor Strange
Dormammu	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Shuma-Gorath	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Doctor Doom	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Fantastic Four
Galactus	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Super Skrull (Kl'rt)	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Iron Fist	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Heroes for Hire
Nova (Richard Rider)	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Nova
Gamora	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Guardians of the Galaxy
Rocket Raccoon	a	a	a	a	a	a	a

Notes:
Onslaught playable only on the PSX and Dreamcast versions
Galactus playable only in Galactus Mode

Capcom Characters

This is a list of all the Capcom characters that have appeared in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, most of which have appeared in other Capcom games:

Character	XvSF	MvSF	MvC	MvC2	MvC3	UMvC3	MvC:I	Game/series
Akuma	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Street Fighter
Cammy	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Charlie Nash	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Chun-Li	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Crimson Viper	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Dan	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Dhalsim	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Guile	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Ken	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
M. Bison	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Ryu	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Sakura	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Zangief	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Mega Man	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Mega Man
Roll	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Servbot	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Mega Man Legends
Tron Bonne	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Sigma	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Mega Man X
X	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Zero	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Anakaris	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Darkstalkers
Anita	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
B.B. Hood	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Felicia	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Hsien-Ko	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Jedah	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Morrigan	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Albert Wesker	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Resident Evil
Chris Redfield	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Jill Valentine	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Nemesis T-Type	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Arthur	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Ghosts 'n Goblins
Firebrand	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Dante	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Devil May Cry
Trish	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Vergil	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Strider Hiryu	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Strider
Ton Pooh	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Mike Haggar	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Final Fight
Nathan Spencer	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Bionic Commando
Frank West	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Dead Rising
Captain Commando	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Captain Commando
Devilotte	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Cyberbots
Jin Saotome	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Hayato Kanzaki	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Star Gladiator
Amaterasu	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Ōkami
Viewtiful Joe	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Viewtiful Joe
Phoenix Wright	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Ace Attorney
Monster Hunter	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Monster Hunter
Unknown Soldier (1P)	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Forgotten Worlds
Lou	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Three Wonders
Michelle Heart	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Legendary Wings
Pure & Fur	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Adventure Quiz: Capcom World 2
Saki	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Quiz Nanairo Dreams
SonSon III	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	SonSon
Abyss	a	a	a	a	a	a	a	Original
Amingo	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Cyber Akuma	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Dark Sakura	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Mech-Zangief	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Ruby Heart	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Shadow	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Shadow Lady	a	a	a	a	a	a	a

Notes:
SonSon III's design based the SonSon series, but character is original.

Other Characters

Character	XvSF	MvSF	MvC	MvC2	MvC3	UMvC3	MvC:I
Norimaro	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Xgardian	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Symbiote Soldier (B.O.W.)	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Ultron Sigma	a	a	a	a	a	a	a
Ultron Omega	a	a	a	a	a	a	a

External links

• Wikipedia article
• Marvel vs. Capcom Wikia
• Marvel Database article
• Capcom Database wikia article