The first character for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls‘ DLC has been revealed in Phoenix Cyclops, a specific version of a character many players were hoping would be added to the roster. A fighter inspired by a darker era for Scott Summers, Phoenix Cyclops opens the door for many variants of different Marvel characters to be included as creative DLC choices. That being said, there are some figures who would be perfect for the fighting game, whether it’s a different version of them or not.
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Currently, it is unknown if the DLC for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls will be structured similarly to the main roster, which organizes characters into five teams of four fighters. Phoenix Cyclops may lead a team themed after the Phoenix Five, a group he led in the Avengers vs. X-Men comic series that saw Scott take on the powers of the Phoenix Force. On the other hand, the other three characters in the game’s DLC may be completely unrelated to Phoenix Cyclops, instead acting as independent fighters who didn’t quite fit into a team distribution.
5. Daredevil
Daredevil has already been teased on a couple of stages in Marvel Tōkon, perhaps suggesting that Matt Murdock will only exist as a cameo. However, the popularity of Daredevil in Marvel’s library makes him an easy candidate for DLC, with his high-flying acrobatics and martial combat skills lending him perfectly to a fighting game. This character has never been featured in a Marvel fighting game before either, opening up creativity for gameplay that stands out from other fighters.
Daredevil’s radar sense and quick movements are nothing like Spider-Man’s, rather focusing on a brawling fighting style throughout most of his appearances. Much like Marvel Rivals, developer Arc System Works could take inspiration from Daredevil’s past possession by The Beast entity to grant him extra powers, much like Phoenix Cyclops. Regardless of how the Man Without Fear is presented, him simply showing up would instantly make him one of the game’s most bought DLC additions.
4. Jubilee
There are many, many other X-Men characters who could easily be added alongside Cyclops as DLC, including other Phoenix Five characters like Emma Frost, Colossus, or others. Yet, Jubilee is a stark contrast to someone like Cyclops, or even Gambit, Psylocke, and other “serious” mutants from Marvel’s vast universes. Jubilee’s pyrotechnic powers are often joyful and vibrant, reflecting the abilities of The Promoter mini-boss within the game.
As a result, Jubilee could serve as a foil to Phoenix Cyclops and The Promoter, building an interesting DLC character off story alone. Jubilee’s powers are varied enough to create fascinating gameplay as well, with inventive uses of the plasmoids under her control to create explosive attacks against enemy teams. The mutant abilities of Jubilee could be translated into a character with many far-reaching projectiles, or as someone who knocks opponents around with forced movement due to the force behind her fireworks.
Either way, Jubilee has a great amount of potential, perhaps even joining Phoenix Cyclops on their team, should the DLC be organized in that way. Once again, Marvel Rivals has taken creative liberties with Jubilee’s history, bringing back her status as a vampire at some point in the past. Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls could do the same thing, creating a connection with Blade and expanding what Jubilee might be capable of in battle.
3. Thor
Loki is already in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, which begs the question — where is his brother, Thor? Thor is one of Marvel’s most iconic heroes, wielding the hammer Mjolnir and commanding lightning as a god of thunder from Asgard. References to Thor are already in Marvel Tōkon, most notably in a statue of The Avengers seen in the game’s New York City stage. Thor’s absence has been felt, but perhaps his intentional separation from the roster could give rise to an unorthodox wielder of Mjolnir to take his place.
Other characters like Jane Foster and Beta Ray Bill are both worthy characters to take up the mantle of “Thor” in Marvel Tōkon, for they have already done so in the comics in different ways. Jane Foster would perhaps be the most accurate depiction of someone with Thor’s skills, as she wields the same powers as the son of Odin while using Mjolnir. In many ways, this could reflect how Black Panther in Marvel Tōkon is not T’Challa, but rather his sister Shuri adopting the mantle like she also has in Marvel Comics.
Beta Ray Bill has a different fighting style in comics that almost make him a separate character, but Jane Foster’s take on “Lady Thor” could be a unique approach to the character in the lens of a fighting game. Having Jane Foster opens up interesting dialogue options with other characters that might feel uninspired with the normal version of Thor. At the same time, players wouldn’t be unhappy with the original Thor coming to the game through DLC either, as the Avenger has always been a fan-favorite in Marvel’s history.
2. Agent Venom
Agent Venom is far different from fans’ normal understanding of Venom, the villain turned hero whose powers reflect a strong bond between human and alien symbiote. Agent Venom refers to the version of Venom when the symbiote was bonded to Flash Thompson, former bully of Peter Parker turned disabled war veteran. At first an experimental soldier for the army, Agent Venom later formed a strong bond with the symbiote to forge a new type of Venom, one who is less monstrous and more tactical in their heroism.
Flash uses an arsenal of weapons alongside classic Venom symbiote powers, first appearing in a battle against Carnage when that red symbiote and serial killer pairing took over a small rural town. Given Carnage’s spot on Marvel Tōkon‘s roster, there’s plenty of room for conflict between the Carnage symbiote and the Venom symbiote that produced it and has tried to kill it many times. Agent Venom could be the perfect twist on what players know, creating a character that doesn’t mimic Carnage too much in gameplay.
1. Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is a character that is simply too good of a fit for any fighting game, with a vast array of magical powers as the Sorcerer Supreme that could lead to infinite gameplay possibilities. However, a twist similar to Phoenix Cyclops that Marvel Tōkon could pull for its DLC is having Clea Strange be introduced to the game in the role of Sorceress Supreme, fulfilling the mantle for her husband as she has done excellently before.
Clea Strange is the daughter of the Dark Dimension’s Dormammu, an entity of shadow and flame who was a playable character in past Marvel vs. Capcom titles. Naturally, Clea has abilities from the Dark Dimension herself, reflecting both her mastery of the mystic arts and her shadowy origins with skills beyond Stephen Strange’s capabilities. Much like how Phoenix Cyclops wields the Phoenix Force to broaden his abilities in Marvel Tōkon, Clea Strange could be an alternate Doctor Strange with far more specialties than the base version of the character.
Any form of Doctor Strange would be impressive to the roster of the fighting game no matter how they’re implemented, especially since Loki is the only magic user in the title right now. With Midnight Sons interactions with Ghost Rider and Blade too, Doctor Strange is easily a character who would fit alongside others. For now, it remains to be seen which fighters will be chosen for DLC in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, but there are many exciting choices Arc System Works has likely already picked.
Who do you think will be added as DLC to Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
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Courtesy of Crystal Dynamics and Amazon Games
