It’s been more than two months since Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was unveiled, much to the delight of the fighting game community. Ever since the big reveal at PlayStation Experience 2016, fans of the series have been embroiled in a lively debate regarding which characters should be picked to represent each side of the conflict.
“Honestly the fact they announced this game two months ago and have given us basically no info since right after the announcement is kind of pathetic,” wrote one user in a thread discussing potential characters on popular video game forum NeoGAF — the 5,114th post in the topic. It’s clear that fans want answers from Capcom, but they’re happy to speculate in the meantime.
Many tenured fans of Marvel vs. Capcom are preoccupied with the status of the X-Men going into Infinite. Marvel let go of its cinematic rights to the team of mutants in the 1990s when times were tight, and the X-Men film franchise has since become a major success for its Hollywood rival 20th Century Fox, leading Marvel to discourage the use of those heroes in adaptations of its properties.
The X-Men have been absent from recent video game releases like Lego Marvel’s Avengers and Disney Infinity, casting doubt over whether they would be represented in Infinite. Given that the likes of Wolverine, Cyclops, and Magneto are stock characters for many players, this is cause for concern. The presence of Dr. Doom on the game’s roster is also in doubt, given that film rights to the Fantastic Four are also out of Marvel’s grasp.
While fans have their own priorities for the game’s roster, both Marvel and Capcom will likely be eager to promote current and upcoming projects with the characters who make the cut. For instance, given that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is out this summer, it seems almost certain that at least one representative will be in the game.
The smart money is on the team’s leader, Star-Lord, or fan favorite Groot, being given the spot. However, fans are seemingly more interested in the Guardians’ regular collaborator Nova being included, specifically the Richard Rider iteration of the character.
Venom is another character that seems to have a legion of supporters, with many requesting the more recent, militaristic take on the character, Agent Venom. A more far-out pick for a Marvel representative is Baymax from Big Hero 6.
On the Capcom side of the equation, fans are eager to see the Resident Evil series get its due, especially with Resident Evil 7 being such a return to form for the franchise. It might make sense for Jack Baker from this year’s installment to be included, although classic characters like Leon Kennedy and Nemesis have plenty of backing, too.
One of the biggest priorities for Capcom fans was seeing Mega Man get his spot, and Mega Man X was one of the four characters present in the game’s reveal trailer. Now, it seems that people are ready to go for broke in support of their favorite niche characters.
Asura’s Wrath has largely been forgotten since it was released in 2012, but there are plenty of vocal fans who would love to see the titular demigod join the Infinite roster. There are also plenty of calls for Phoenix Wright — who was added to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as a result of popular demand — to retain his spot for the next game.
Part of the appeal of Marvel vs. Capcom is that both companies have an enormous amount of characters that would be perfect for a fighting game showdown. Of course, that means that plenty of fans are going to be disappointed, since any roster can only be so large.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is scheduled to launch before the end of 2017, so hopefully official character reveals are coming sooner rather than later. As it stands, the combatants confirmed to be on the game’s roster are Ryu, Mega Man X, Morrigan, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, and Captain America.
