7 Heroes That Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Needs To Bring To Their Roster

The upcoming Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls already looks like a dream come true for fighting game players and superhero fans, with an anime-inspired reimagining of some of the most iconic characters from the House of Ideas. The fighting game currently has twenty confirmed fighters filling out the roster (although many remain unconfirmed at the time of writing), along with the promise of DLC that could expand the options for players. The result is something that feels like it could do for superheroes what Dragon Ball FighterZ did for the classic anime series.

Given the breadth of the Marvel Universe, there are plenty of characters who could also be brought into the fold, expanding the fighting game roster and adding new wrinkles to the gameplay. Some would offer clever potential gameplay tweaks due to their abilities, while others would likely be a natural fit for the anime-inspired aesthetic. Here are the Marvel heroes who would be perfect additions to Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls.

Captain Marvel

One of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, the cosmically enhanced Captain Marvel, could be a great addition to the bombastic and vivid action of Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. Carol Danvers is a powerhouse combatant whose affinity for flight could easily be incorporated into her fighting style in the game. With juggling a frequently utilized strategy in this type of fighting game, having someone with a history of blending fast aerial combat and punishing physical blows would be a natural fit.

She’d also be an ideal figure to fit into the game’s team-centric roster design. She’d fit neatly alongside Captain America and Iron Man to form the Avengers or could join up alongside Ms. Marvel as one half of a mentor/student duo. Captain Marvel’s powered-up forms, such as Binary, would also be a great visual aspect to play with the character, giving Arc System Works a natural way to play with the aesthetics they had previously embraced with their older fighting game, Dragon Ball FigherZ.

Hulk

One of Marvel’s most iconic powerhouses, Hulk would be a natural fit for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. The game’s current confirmed roster has a lot of fast-moving and hard-hitting characters, but the Hulk could represent that Zangief-style slow mountain of a fighter. His sheer size could be incorporated into his playstyle, with a natural affinity for deflecting smaller attacks.

The various versions of the Hulk that exist in the source material could easily be reflected with distinct move sets or costume variations. Especially if he’s paired with a smaller hero who relies more on quick moves, the Hulk’s slow-moving approach could help him stand out in the larger roster. The Hulk could also become the game’s big grapple-focused character, with grabs and throws factoring into his overall game design.

Rocket Raccoon

So far, only one Guardian of the Galaxy has been confirmed for Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls — but hopefully, Rocket Raccoon can help flesh out that roster. His small size and massive arsenal could be reflected in a lot of different styles of combos, especially if the character had the ability to chain together his various weapons. He could also benefit from a smaller hit box that benefits a run-and-gun approach to gameplay.

Rocket would be a good character for the game, likely fitting naturally into the aesthetic and capable of deploying big, bombastic attacks. Using Rocket could also be a good way to put emphasis on different character approaches, as characters like Wolverine, who rely on broad physical attacks, could prove to be Rocket’s weakness. Rocket would be a naturally compelling and flexible character to fit into the roster.

Squirrel Girl

A fan-favorite Marvel hero who has found a new slew of fans thanks to her popularity in MARVEL Heroes, Squirrel Girl could be a great way to subvert the joke character archetype in fighting games. Squirrel Girl’s ability to communicate with squirrels is a silly power, but it’s also got a surprising amount of cute potential that could make the character a natural fit for the game’s art style. She could easily fit alongside Ms. Marvel as an example of the new generation of heroes, forming a team of younger characters.

There’s also the fact that, in the original comics, Squirrel Girl is quietly one of Marvel’s most accomplished heroes. Her attacks could seem initially disappointing, but the right application of combos could allow her to be a quick and devastating character to master. Especially with Doctor Doom among the game’s confirmed fighters, Squirrel Girl could be a silly and engaging addition to the roster.

Elsa Bloodstone

Marvel has plenty of supernatural characters like Doctor Strange and Blade to pull from, but Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls might be a great place to showcase Elsa Bloodstone. A monster hunter with a vast arsenal of weapons, Elsa would be a chance to bring a bit of bite to the roster thanks to her snarky personality and brutal methods. She could make for a compelling core figure in a supernatural squad, mixing a good amount of ranged attacks and up-close-and-personal moves.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls‘s anime-inspired art design could also be a good way to play with Elsa, reimagining a character who has a bit of grit within the larger scope of the game’s aesthetic. Elsa could follow a similar trajectory as Danger, a harsher character in the comics who has been given a serious makeover for the fighting game. Elsa, being less well-known than many of the other heroes in the roster, could give Arc System Works plenty of room to play with their version of the character.

The Fantastic Four

This might be a bit of a cheat, given that there are four members of the team. However, with Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls putting emphasis on teams of four, it would be a natural fit for the game to see Marvel’s first family take to the fight. The Fantastic Four’s varied powers could make for interesting takes on the fighting game mechanics, from the more obvious ones (like Human Torch’s ranged fire blasts and the Thing’s burly hits) to the more inventive applications (such as Mister Fantastic’s approach to stretching limbs in contrast to Ms. Marvel or Invisible Woman’s clever applications of force fields giving her lots of natural counters).

The team has also become a going concern for Marvel again, with the four properly introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe last year. It would also be a clever way to give someone to directly bounce off of the addition of Doctor Doom, who may be a universe-wide villain but primarily serves as the Fantastic Four’s nemesis. The team would be a great way to expand the roster and put more emphasis on the foundational teams of the Marvel Universe.

Deadpool

Silly but dangerous in equal measure, Deadpool’s distinct design and bombastic mix of fighting elements would make him the perfect addition to Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. Wade Wilson’s self-aware sense of comedy could allow Arc System Works to play with the medium in ways similar to Capcom’s use of the character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, where the character could use his own special bar as a weapon. His mix of ranged weapons and up-close swords could make him a useful blend of gameplay styles.

Deadpool could also be the key to introducing more anti-heroes to the roster. While he may be primarily affiliated with the X-Men, Deadpool’s experience with the Avengers and Thunderbolts could be played up — he could even be introduced in a more villainous light to distinguish him from other recent portrayals, fitting him neatly alongside the likes of Doctor Doom. Deadpool’s combat style makes him a perfect fit for a fighting game, especially one that seems to be leaning into the natural bombast of the genre like Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls.