Arc System Works' Marvel collaboration stands as a technically competent fighting game, but its character roster leans conservative. The developer has prioritized recognizable MCU properties over the wild, unhinged personalities that define fighting game culture. Adding seven specific character archetypes could transform this fighter into something legendary.
The roster needs characters who break conventions. Marvel's catalog contains personalities far stranger than what Arc System Works has deployed. Think Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking chaos, Howard the Duck's absurdist energy, or Gwenverse's reality-warping weirdness. These characters would inject unpredictability into matches and create genuinely unique move sets that can't exist elsewhere in the fighting game landscape.
Arc System Works built its reputation on Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ by embracing spectacle and personality. Both franchises succeed because their rosters feel deliberately unhinged. Characters like Faust perform impossible actions. Rosters like these celebrate the weird. Marvel's deeper bench includes personalities capable of matching that energy, yet remain unexplored in this fighter.
The safe approach has worked commercially. The game draws Marvel fans and fighting game enthusiasts. But true crossover fighters transcend their licensing. Street Fighter x Tekken succeeded because it respected both franchises' distinct identities. Marvel's fighter needs to do the same. It requires characters that feel authentically bizarre, not just mechanically sound.
These unhinged additions would differentiate the game from other Marvel fighters. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 thrived partly through its chaotic roster construction. Adding characters like Rocket Raccoon's partner Groot, the Living Tribunal, or cosmic horror elements would push this fighter toward that territory.
The current roster plays it safe. Adding seven wild cards would immediately elevate the game's identity and give players reasons to explore movesets built on unconventional mechanics.