Marvel Is Sitting on the Perfect Multiplayer Game (And Now Is the Right Time for It)

The characters from Marvel Comics are the inspirations for many stellar games, from Marvel Rivals and Marvel’s Ultimate Alliance. Superhero team-ups like these titles provide great co-op experiences, allowing you and your friends to join together and use unique powers to overcome a variety of obstacles. However, one of Marvel’s oldest teams could spearhead many different games, with the flexibility to exist in multiple genres due to their history.

Multiplayer Marvel games have taken various approaches, but many of them tend to use a larger ensemble cast rather than a small team of characters. Games like Ultimate Alliance have heroes and villains from across Marvel’s past, from united X-Men to iconic Avengers all in the same roster. Games like Marvel’s Spider-Man and Wolverine might even follow the journey of one character, but very few titles focus on multiple figures that exist on one team together.

The Fantastic Four Need A Proper Game Similar To Other Marvel Success Stories

The Fantastic Four are Marvel’s oldest group, with core members Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing, and The Human Torch all defining innumerable stories with the comics since their inception in the 1960s. Yet, despite the Fantastic Four accounting for huge chunks of tales within Marvel Comics, they barely have any representation within gaming. Beyond a few appearances in games like Marvel Rivals and Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, Marvel’s first family as rarely been seen.

This strange absence is due to a variety of factors, including the many, many copyright disputes related to the Fantastic Four over the years. For a long time, the Fantastic Four were under the umbrella of 20th Century Fox, before returning to Marvel after it was acquired by Disney later. To avoid conflicts with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the Fantastic Four were never mentioned or used in video game properties, at least for most of the last two decades.

The only games that ever featured the Fantastic Four prominently was an arcade beat-em-up from 1997 and two movie tie-in titles based on the Fox movies from the early 2000s. Of the three, only the beat-em-up followed some content from the Fantastic Four’s comic roots, while the other two basically just rehashed the plot of both films. Considering the multitude of stories written about the Fantastic Four, it’s almost disappointing to see them in so few games.

Four Player Co-Op Would Be Perfect For Marvel’s First Family

There are so many ideas that would fit a Fantastic Four game, but the core to the team is how well they work together. Therefore, it would make the most sense to craft a multiplayer game that allows four players to embody each member of the team, with each having unique abilities based on the powers of each character. For example, Invisible Woman could avoid being detected by enemies, while The Human Torch could soar into the sky and deal with obstacles that the others can’t.

The cooperation between The Fantastic Four’s founding family could be exciting, giving players ways to shine just as the comics do with individual heroes on the team. Anyone playing as Mr. Fantastic might be able to solve complex puzzles, while The Thing’s incredible strength would make him perfect for players who just want to brawl. Gameplay and dialogue could emphasize teamwork, much like other games like It Takes Two or Split Fiction thrives from players helping each other.

Many Different Genres Could Provide The Blueprint For The Fantastic Four To Follow

The concepts for a Fantastic Four video game are nearly endless, even with an almost required four player co-op element. An action-adventure title could see Marvel’s most recognized family travel to unique locations, traveling to the depths of space to fight Galactus or the heart of Latveria to confront Doctor Doom. Much like Marvel’s Spider-Man, cinematic cutscenes and a deep, yet linear, story could highlight the best reasons why the Fantastic Four are so beloved.

Alternatively, you could have the Fantastic Four in another beat-em-up, either as DLC for Marvel’s Cosmic Invasion or in a completely new game. Simply having four characters take down wave after wave of enemies has the chance to highlight each character’s powers in new ways as they eventually fight tough bosses in unison.

Really ambitious developers may even want to make an RPG using the Fantastic Four, with each character’s intelligence and tactical approach to situations coming out in full force. The Fantastic Four: First Steps MCU movie recently showed how ingenious each member of the Fantastic Four can be, so a turn-based game like Baldur’s Gate 3 where every character gets slowly stronger might be a unique way to portray each hero.

The roster of any Fantastic Four game could also portray other character from their stories, from the elusive Mole Man to Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s children Franklin and Valeria. The rich nature of The Fantastic Four’s history provides almost infinite possibilities, making it weird why Marvel hasn’t taken the opportunity to craft a truly great multiplayer title with these iconic characters.

What kind of Fantastic Four game would you want to play? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!