Summary
The rich history ofMarvel Comicsbecame attractive sources of inspiration for video games, with most gaming consoles having a game or two based on a Marvel Comics character or team that was popular at the time. With hits such asMarvel vs. Capcomand recent successes inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, fans of the comics publisher might be wondering if there are Marvel Comics games that don’t take characters through an original story and instead recreate an existing storyline in a video game format.
While recent games likeMarvel’sGuardians of the GalaxyandMarvel’s Avengersboast unique stories, older Marvel Comics video games were built on the backdrop of a story that already happened in the comics. While these games didn’t follow these stories to the letter, fans who try these experiences may recognize familiar faces and plotline Easter Eggs that enhance the experience.
Storyline Basis
Secret Wars(2015)
Touted as Marvel’s first fully open-world action RPG,Marvel Future Revolutionis set on Primary Earth where players join the Omega Flight as a superhero from different Earths. As with other mobile RPGs,Marvel Future Revolutionemphasizes both unlocking and upgrading characters. The game also features an auto-play option, allowing players to repeat missions with ease should they have powerful enough characters.
While it’s true thatMarvel Future Revolutionended up having an original story, its premise takes cues and concepts from 2015’sSecret Warscrossover storyline. In the original comics, Doctor Doom becomes the god of Battleworld, a patchwork of universes that he managed to salvage during the Beyonders’ plan of destroying the multiverse via Convergences. Meanwhile,Future Revolutionhas Primary Earth, an amalgamation of universes from Vision’s sacrifice after the heroes also fail to stop the collision of different realities. Both stories feature heroes working to “restore” order across the multiverse, but each game features Battle-eseque worlds with different types of Earths.
The Infinity Gauntlet(1991),The Infinity War(1992)
While playing mostly like a traditional beat-em-up title,Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gemsgives gamers the opportunity to use up to five characters to tackle its many levels. Starring Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Wolverine,War of the Gemswill have the unlikely alliance team up under orders from Adam Warlockto secure the Infinity Gemsbefore they fall into the wrong hands.
As players unlock Infinity Gems at the end of each stage, they can use them to receive gameplay perks when playing other stages. While the heroes having to defeat Thanos resemblesThe Infinity Gauntletsaga, characters such as Adam Warlock and his evil counterpart the Magus taking center stage also make the story similar to the evolved conflict involving the Gems inThe Infinity War.
X-Men
X-Men: Fatal Attractions(originally released in 1993 but collected into trade paperbacks in 1995, 2012)
It’sX-Men: Children of the Atomthat laid the foundations forX-Men vs. Street Fighter, with its improved mechanics becoming the basis for the hitMarvel vs. Capcomseries. While takingSuper Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s six-button layout and supers system,Children of the Atomboasts longer combos and a multi-tiered stage system. ThisX-Mengame lets players control the X-Men or the Brotherhood of Evil mutants, with Juggernaut serving as the sub-boss and Magneto as the final boss.
The main plot of the game involves Magneto controlling humanity after releasing a powerful EMP to cripple the world’s electrical systems. This story is loosely based on the second half of theFatal Attractionsstoryline of theX-Men, where Magneto uses the same plan to stop the UN Security Council from prohibiting him from using his powers. In the larger scheme of things, the X-Men also stop Magneto-worshipping Acolytes from killing all humans in Avalon, their space station.
The Infinity Gauntlet(1991)
Building upon the core mechanics ofChildren of the AtomcomesMarvel Super Heroes, this time featuring more iconic Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America alongside smoother visuals and amore refined combo system. Moreover,Marvel Super Heroesfurther diversifies playstyles with Infinity Gems that spawn randomly throughout matches. Based on the Infinity Gems that players acquire, their characters may become faster (Time Gem), get super armor (Space Gem), stronger attacks (Power Gem), attack effects (Reality Gem), and recovery (Soul, Mind Gem).
The inclusion of the Infinity Gems alludes to the main story ofMarvel Super Heroes, where Thanos aims to collect all Infinity Gems within his Infinity Gauntlet to conquer the world. This plot is largely based on 1991’sThe Infinity Gauntletcrossover event, where Thanos wants to eradicate half of the universe’s life to impress his love interest, Mistress Death.
Secret Invasion(2008)
Despite the mediocre reviews forMarvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, it does a decent job integrating a comic book storyline into giving popular Marvel characters reasons to fight with each other. Adapting theSecret Invasionstoryline,Battle for Earthdepicts the struggles of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in identifying and eliminating the Skrull impostors before they begin their invasion from a portal above New York City.
While the game possesses motion-based gameplay expected from its Wii U and Kinect compatibility, its plot points deserve exploration by avid comic book fans. The storyline detail of a portal above New York isn’t fromSecret Invasionbut ratherfrom the 2012Avengersfilm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was possibly a reference forBattle for Earth’s development after the cancelation of a tie-inAvengersgame for the team-up film.
Dark Reign(2009)
Contrary toother Marvel games,Marvel Puzzle Questplays like a casual match-three puzzle combat title. When players assemble a team of three Marvel characters, they need to match color-coded stones to deal damage and accumulate action points to perform special skills. While the game’s multiplayer option can be challenging for puzzle enthusiasts, it’s theMarvel Puzzle Queststory that comic book fans may enjoy.
The arrival of Isotope-8 as an upgrade material in 2012’sAvengers Alliancemade its way across various Marvel video games as a plot point, this time becoming the crux of Norman Osborn’s attempts to control SHIELD inMarvel Puzzle Quest. Minus Iso-8, this premise is largely based onDark Reign, the 2009 miniseries where Osborn’s defeat of the Skrulls becomes his argument for replacing Tony Stark as SHIELD Director. This storyline would lead to the creation of the villainous Cabal and the Dark Avengers.
Fall Of The Mutants(originally released in 1988, trade paperbacks released in 2002, 2011, and 2022)
Despite its age,X-Men 2: Fall of the Mutantsas anMS-DOS titlebecomes a dynamic exploration of the strategy, RPG, and action-adventure genres. InFall of the Mutants, players select a team of five from a 15-person roster that includes members of both X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil mutants. Players then explore an overworld littered with items and obstacles, where each level only ends when they encounter and defeat a villain in the game’s top-down strategy mode and side-scrolling combat mode.
When X-Men Storm and Forge go missing, Xavier’s pupils run into the Freedom Force, who want to catch them for not following the Mutant Registration Act. While this premise follows a large portion of the Fall of the Mutants crossover event for theX-Men, Uatu the Watcher appears at the beginning of the game to hint at a “What If?” scenario. In it, he asks what could happen if a different mutant team rescued the two missing X-Men, hence the justification of players choosing their own team.
The Punisher, Vol. 5(2000),The Punisher, Vol. 6(2001)
Being a video game adaptation of the eponymous Marvel anti-hero, it’s no surprise that thethird-person shooter mechanicsofThe Punisherhave a heavy reliance on violence and gore. Armed with an assortment of lethal weaponry, the Punisher constantly attacks enemies, tortures them for information, and brutally executes them to finish his mission.
However, while the game has a rather “generic” antihero versus criminals storyline shared with other action titles,The Punisherbecomes a deeper experience for comic fans when they start connecting the dots with its storyline inspirations. On top of taking inspiration from the basic storyline of the 2004The Punisherfilm, Frank Castle’s encounters with villains such as Bushwacker, General Kreigkopf, the Russian, and even Bullseye resemble narratives from Volumes 5 to 6 of his recent comic book runs at the time.
Contest Of Champions Is A Canon Tournament
Marvel Contest of Champions
Prepare for epic versus-fighting action with your favorite Marvel Super Heroes & Super Villains in the ultimate cosmic showdown! Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine & more await your summons to battle! Assemble a team & begin your quest to become the Ultimate Marvel Champion!The greatest battles in Marvel history are in your hands! The greedy Elder of the Universe known as The Collector has summoned you to a brawl of epic proportions against a line-up of vile villains including Thanos, Kang the Conqueror, and many more! Experience the ultimate free-to-play fighting game on your mobile device…Marvel Contest of Champions!Assemble a mighty team of heroes and villains (choosing Champions such as: Iron Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Storm, Star-Lord, Gamora, Spider-Man, Deadpool, Magneto and Winter Soldier). Embark on quests to defeat Kang and Thanos and face the challenge of a mysterious new super powerful cosmic competitor, ultimately to prevent the total destruction of The Marvel Universe. Improve your team’s offense and defense with multiple Mastery trees.
Marvel Super Hero Contest Of Champions(1982)
In a bid to compete with mobile fighting games such asInjustice: Gods Among UsandMortal Kombat X, it’s unsurprising forMarvel Contest of Championsto also feature team-based matches involving a straightforward three-button control scheme. All characters in the game’s roster of 250+ combatants possess unique abilities and special moves across unique classes and traits, with bonuses when paired according to popular comic book teams.
However, whereContest of Championsraises the bar is its narrative foundation. Both the name and its main story are based on the 1982 limited seriesMarvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, where the Grandmaster and Death use Marvel characters as pawns to fight for the life of the recently deceased Collector. While the 1982 miniseries had a short run, the ongoinggameplay ofContest of Championsexpands on its initial premise, eventually including original characters with different agendas that affect the multiverse.
Secret War(2004-2005),Civil War(2006-2007)
Unlike the original narrative of theteam-up crossover prequel, the plot ofMarvel: Ultimate Alliance 2connects two Marvel stories: 2004 to 2005’sSecret War, and 2006 to 2007’sCivil War. The game also adaptsUltimate Alliance’s team-building system to let players experience the separate stories of Anti-Registation and Pro-Registration superhumans.
Ultimate Alliance 2begins with a covert “invasion” of Latveria as depicted inSecret Warin a bid to stop the country’s new prime minister from supplying supervillains with weapons. The game follows up with a unique connection to the events ofCivil War, this time with Latveria’s attack on New York City motivating the consideration of the Superhuman Registration Act, followed by its immediate passage with the comics-accurate fatal attack involving the New Warriors. Events afterward differ due to the game’s separate endings, but the core themes and narrative ofCivil Warremain intact throughout the experience.
