Who should be in Marvel vs. Capcom 4?

Recently, multiple sources have confirmed to Polygon that Marvel vs. Capcom 4 will be coming in 2017.

The news came also with the expectation that fans should be seeing characters coming from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in place of the game’s usual roster of X-Men and mutants. This came as a shock to many fans, as fighters like Wolverine, Magneto and Deadpool are some of the most popular picks in the game. If the roster will have more of a Marvel Cinematic Universe flavor, then characters like Captain America, Rocket Raccoon and Dr. Strange would be left untouched.

While we don’t know who will be in the game until we get an official announcement, fans have already been discussing who could be in the game.

We asked several Polygon staff members who they would add to their wishlist, from untapped MCU characters, characters from Marvel Comics who haven’t had a chance to shine yet or personal favorites.

Feel free to add your picks in the comments.

JEFF RAMOS

If we’re talking about the MCU, I’d love it if the current roster of Marvel characters got updated to match how they look in the Avengers films. Iron Man is mostly on point, but it would be great if Captain America, Thor and Hawkeye looked more like their film counterparts. Speaking of the Avengers films, it would be interesting to see characters from those family of films join the cast of this game.

Image: Marvel Studios

Ant-Man would be my top pick for Marvel’s “weird character”. In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Capcom added Phoenix Wright to the game, fulfilling his role as Capcom’s “weird character”. Since he’s from a series of courtroom based video games, they figured out some whacky ways to add the mechanics from his game into a fighting game. With Ant-Man, the developers could use his abilities to allow him to change size during a fight. In one instance, he could grow large and slow like The Hulk or Sentinel or he could grow tiny and fast like King Arthur or Servbot. Much of his play style could focus on manipulating his size during a fight making him unpredictable and challenging to play as.

With the popularity of Netflix shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, it would seem like a smart idea to replace X-Men characters with The Defenders in this installment. Plus, Rocket Raccoon has already represented The Guardians of the Galaxy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we got Star-Lord, Groot or Gamora in this new installment.

SUSANA POLO

I don’t know crap about Capcom, but I can tell you all about who’s making waves in Marvel Comics right now. I’d love to see Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, crop up in Marvel vs. Capcom 4. In fact, I’d be shocked if she doesn’t. Kamala has been one of the company’s biggest new breakout characters of the past few years, and Marvel has responded to her prominence by including her on two major superteams, including the Avengers, and in high-profile additions to several of their big mobile games.

Marvel Comics

I’d also more personally love to see Squirrel Girl fill Deadpool’s absence as the whacky, fourth wall breaker of the Marvel lineup. She’s another Marvel character who’s been riding high on the strength of an offbeat solo series right now, and she and her squirrel friend Tippy Toe have already defeated Galactus, Thanos and Doctor Doom (twice), so you can’t say they’re underpowered for the game.

I second your hope that the Netflix Defenders are included in the MCU for the purposes of Marvel vs Capcom 4. I’d love to see Jessica Jones and Misty Knight up in the mix (but please not the Purple Man… please). I’m also holding out hope for some of Marvel’s big-selling legacy characters — characters who’ve taken on the roles and identities from classic versions of the superhero — in addition to the versions that were made famous in film: Jane Foster as Thor, Miles Morales as Spider-Man, Sam Wilson as Captain America and Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel.

JULIA ALEXANDER

The idea of bringing more characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise is pretty exciting. Since it began in 2008, Marvel hasn’t just reintroduced — or introduced — characters to audiences, but it’s also provided a different spin on each. Iron Man, for example, is far less of an alcoholic, misanthropic sulker in the movies than he’s made out to be in the comics. My new favorite, along with a majority of the Tumblr community, is Loki.

Marvel Studios

The demi-god of mischief, Loki is an intriguing character with a rich backstory, but let’s focus on how he’d be in the game. As a bit of a sorcerer, Loki has the ability to disappear and reappear wherever he wants. That’s got to come in handy when taking on a bigger opponent who might not be quite as fast — like Haggar. Loki’s also a trickster, and might be able to pull off a special maneuver that could disorient his opponent in battle. He’s got a ton of interesting — if not slightly dishonest — tricks that would make him a pretty good pick for the game.

Of course, Loki may not actually get chosen, but if they’re choosing MCU characters that haven’t been in the game yet, Loki seems to be an obvious choice. He’s popular with fans, he has a rich backstory, and from a logistical perspective, Thor: The Dark World comes out next year. With the game set to launch in 2017, it makes perfect sense to ride that hype train.

ASHLEY OH

I'd like to see Winter Soldier in Marvel vs. Capcom 4.

Marvel Studios

Why would you not want to pick the guy with the crazy mechanical arm and swift assassination skills? It'd be so fulfilling to see him fight alongside Captain America again — maybe with the rest of the Avengers on his side this time around. Imagine being able to grip an enemy by the neck and hold him there for a few seconds while your teammates go to town. It'd also be really cool to see a series of special moves where he goes into a berserk mode after you punch in a combo to recite Bucky's brainwashing activation code.

Who would you like to see in Marvel vs. Capcom 4? Let us know in the comments.