One of the most exciting games coming out in 2026 is Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, whose X-Men trailer showed off both iconic and obscure characters from Marvel Comics history on its roster. Fighting games that adapt a known property have a unique opportunity to broaden an audience’s knowledge of characters, giving them a wealth of unique moves that show off their personalities and abilities. However, every good fighting game needs a memorable final boss, and this game’s latest trailer may have hinted at the best one possible.
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Past Marvel fighting games have used Onslaught, Apocalypse, Galactus, and even Ultron as their final bosses, taking world-ending villains from the comics and making them the final threat players face. Yet, as the X-Men in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls take center stage alongside four other teams of characters, it seems too easy to put such a roster of diverse comic figures against an enemy that simply wants to destroy everything. Brief clues at Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls‘ story might tell players that the villain of this game has a motivation that aligns with the genre to defy expectations.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls’ X-Men Trailer Shows Off Story Elements For The Fighting Game
The X-Men trailer doesn’t begin with the newly revealed characters, but rather a glimpse into the story, as was mentioned later in Sony’s State of Play for February 2026 by Arc System Works developers. Initial footage shows players Chandilar, the home world of the Shi’ar, an alien race of people from Marvel Comics seen recently in episodes of X-Men ’97 and other X-Men content. From the looks of things, Chandilar was being destroyed, with cities on fire and massive craters dotting the surface of the planet.
Images shift to the character Gladiator, an incredibly powerful warrior of the Shi’ar Empire, being defeated by an obscured figure who is holding him up by his collar. Other defeated figures from the cosmic side of Marvel are also shown briefly, indicating that whoever defeated Gladiator is someone of considerable strength. In the context of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and its roster, this is likely our first view into who the final boss of the game’s story or arcade modes could be.
Soon after this potential boss character is shown, Chandilar is seemingly destroyed, before perspective switches to Earth. A dense, violet fog rolls across a city that appears to be New York, while stunned onlookers begin to panic at the incoming chaos. Whatever force decimated the Shi’ar people also seems to have arrived to Earth, challenging heroes like the X-Men to rise up in the world’s defense. Even characters like Danger refer to themselves as “all that remains of Shi’ar technology,” raising the stakes of whatever threat has destroyed such a dominant Empire.
The Champion May Have Been Hinted As Marvel Tokon’s Final Boss
Many fan theories point toward one figure as Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls‘ villain — The Champion of the Universe. Also known as Tryco Slatterus, The Champion is an obscure character who first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 back in 1982, acting as an Elder of the Universe who plotted to overthrow Galactus in a cosmic-level scheme. This character is imbued with primordial powers, with some iterations even being the bearer of the Power Stone from the Infinity Gauntlet.
The Champion’s golden gauntlets might be seen on the hand holding up Gladiator in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls‘ trailer, with the skin coloration on the hand holding Gladiator also matching Slatterus’ original look. The Champion is tailor-made for a fighting game, as the character’s entire personality revolves around, well, fighting. As a nearly immortal warrior, all The Champion cares about is battle and defeating the most powerful fighters he can find throughout the universe.
An Obscure Villain Who Searches The Universe For Battle Is The Perfect Antagonist
While The Champion has been fickle in the past with who he fights, refusing to battle Thor because he used a weapon or The Hulk because he was too “simple-minded,” simple adjustments to the character’s mindset could craft a perfect final boss. The Champion is a master of multiple fighting styles and martial arts from across the universe, making him formidable against anyone he faces. His bombastic persona is almost akin to a WWE wrestler, which translates to the flair of a fighting game well.
Superhuman strength, durability, reflexes, agility, and some degree of immortality make The Champion intimidating as a foe too. The goal of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls might be simply to subdue The Champion to make him stop his crusade across the galaxy, with him relinquishing his title to whichever team of characters defeats him. The arcade-style endings of characters being imbued with The Champion’s cosmic power after beating him could make for fun “what-if?” storylines that reward players for their victory.
The Power Primordial of The Champion might make for a simple villain, but the straightforward might of this deep pull from Marvel Comics is really all the game truly needs. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls doesn’t require Last of Us levels of writing, but rather a character with intimidating presence and explosive might that crafts a worthy final boss that will have even veterans of the genre nervous to fight them.
Do you think The Champion will be the final boss of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
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Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme
