With only about 4 months away from August 6, Arc System Works’ Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has revealed a majority of the heroes and villains who have joined the roster. The latest trailer, The Amazing Guardians, introduced the adorable Japanese spider techie, Peni Parker. Plus, in honor of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Knowhere is the newest stage arena added to the upcoming 4v4 comic fighter. Here are all the confirmed challengers who will brawl till the end.
Captain America
Inspiring Marvel Tokon’s 4v4 tag team concept, it’s Captain America. His signature catchphrase, “Avengers, assemble!”, calls forth three other team members to jump in between and execute a special finishing blow. Taking inspiration from his Marvel vs. Capcom counterpart, Steve Rogers, he uses close-quarter combat and shield bashing to bring justice. Rogers exchanges his jumpsuit for his 2012 Avengers-era costume and a military jacket-and-pants pairing.
Iron-Man
Billionaire super genius Tony Stark flies into the fray. His iconic armor receives an upgrade compared to his slender, lighter build from previous iterations. Iron Man puts on a bulkier suit to withstand more damage while still dealing blows and carrying a full arsenal. He can blast his opponents with his lasers, tackle with his jet boosters, and deliver air finishers.
Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)
Making her first-ever console game appearance, it’s Ms. Marvel. The eccentric Pakistani American brings flair with her shapeshifting powers. She’s very agile on light attacks, then grows larger limbs for combo finishers or delivering heavy damage. Among Kamala Khan and her colleagues, she is one of the easiest to use on the roster.
Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man comes swinging into action. Like Ms. Marvel, Peter Parker has incredible speed and agility, making it impossible for his foes to land a hit. Arc System Works seems to have preserved most of his Marvel vs. Capcom movesets in their recreation. Thanks to his high jumps and web-slinging, air combos are his specialty. He also appears to be wearing Advanced Suit 2.0 from Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man 2.
Star-Lord
Peter Quill travels across the galaxy for the multi-dimensional stage. Rather than designing him after Chris Pratt, Marvel Tokon’s artists chose to make him a blonde version with a Guilty Gear makeover. Star-Lord relies on his quick thinking, brute gun force, and his jets to dash towards his enemies. He even shows off his own Jojo stance when he uses his special explosive finisher. The Amazing Guardians trailer presents Quill’s face, which will be viewable without his mask.
Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom makes his grand return to the Marvel space in Marvel Tokon. His green sorcery magic empowers him to inflict his foes with stunning strikes while still playing a little dirty with his satellite laser to keep them at bay. By timing his teleport, players are given an opportunity to counter. The Latverian ruler appears more regal with the new fur neckpiece on his cape.
Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes)
Alongside Doom, the walking flame from Hell, the Ghost Rider comes a-blazing. While fandom remembers the motorcycle rider, Johnny Blaze, Arc System Works chose the youngest of the bunch. Meet Robbie Reyes, the unluckiest out of the Ghost Riders. His finisher features a black muscle car that became his vehicle after being the Spirit of Vengeance. According to his official Marvel comic report, it once belonged to his uncle, Eli Morrow, who was a serial killer and was later murdered by mobster Yegor Ivanov.
Storm
The queen of the X-Men, Storm, bolts into the competition. She can manipulate weather patterns in the palm of her hand. Including whirling winds breaking her opponents’ combos and a bolt of lightning to stop them in their tracks. She can also briefly levitate above the ground to dash into her foes’ sights. Ororo Munroe’s costume feels like a modernized classic of the X-Men ’97 costume.
Wolverine
The ferocious, clawed mutant, Wolverine, pounces into Marvel Tokon’s fighter roster. From the looks of the Unbreakable X-Men trailer, he too preserves some of his hack-and-slash capabilities from Marvel vs. Capcom. Players must learn to observe his attacks and avoid his quick ground combos and deadly knockouts. The 4v4 fighter’s August release feels very appropriate to come out before Insomniac Games’ slasher.
Magik (Illyana Rasputin)
Bringing Dark Child from the depths of Limbo, Magik ensues chaos in the arena. Illyana Rasputin can swap between her inner demon and her mage form during combat. One is a valiant warrior that can inflict major pain, while the other can teleport and pressure players to block or be knocked senseless. Her blue Soulsword in her mage form threw some people off, especially for those who first knew her from Marvel Rivals. According to Redditor Snake, it switches from blue to yellow or stays yellow, depending on the writer.
Danger (The Danger Room)
Throughout Arc System Works’ fighting game properties, they show their love for robots. Marvel Tokon is no exception to the rule since its comic universe has numerous robots to work with. Rather than an iconic face, the developers dove deep into X-Men lore, choosing Danger as their robot representative.
She’s the embodiment of the Xavier Mansion’s Danger Room, whose AI reprogrammed a Sentinel and transformed it into her image. She has an appealing anime design and carries her own arsenal, such as a giant drill.
Peni Parker
Last is the Spider from Earth-14512, Peni Parker. As previously mentioned, she is a genius prodigy who developed her late father’s bionic suit, SP//dr. She joins the roster ranks as one of the heavyweight challengers. Marvel vs. Capcom veterans can think of her as the Tron Bonne for this IP. Peni and SP//dr will have slower movement unless they are going in for a dash attack. Try not to get caught by her spider drones, or you will lose your footing.
Who’s Hosting Marvel Tōkon?!
The Amazing Guardians trailer finally shows the main villain of Marvel Tokon. A dark-skinned woman dressed in formal pink-and-white attire. To the Marvel community, it was assumed she was an original character created by Arc System Works, as she shares a design similar to the guitar witch, I-No. Thankfully, producer Takeshi Yamanaka has the answer, and the preserved Marvel archives have theirs.
Yamanaka revealed the giant mistress’s identity on a PlayStation.Blog article. “[The Promoter, or her true name, Xirena Awhina, is an Elder of the Universe]. An ancient alien race that has existed across the cosmos since time immemorial. True to her title, Xirena travels the galaxy organizing entertainment events on a supernova scale.”
The Promoter, unfortunately, was forgotten by Marvel Comics, with no dedicated profile for her. The only remaining information about her is preserved in the Marvel Database. According to the fandom page, Xirena debuted in the 2017 Avengers spinoff comic, Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe. She’s responsible for sending them to steal Tuurgid’s The Unbeatable belt to prove they deserve their self-proclaimed titles as “mighty” and “the strongest there is.”
And it appears Xirena has made a name for herself. She showed Earth that if its heroes failed to protect the planet, they would face erasure. Chandilar, the Shi’ar homeworld, was previously eradicated by her cosmic powers after the enemies of the Imperial Guard were defeated. The Unbreakable X-Men trailer introduces Deathbird and the current Gladiator, Kallark, majorly wounded by a figure who wears golden bracelets around their wrists. Yamanaka also hints that the Promoter may not be acting alone.
