You’ve heard of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and all its box office fortune, but what about the Marvel games universe?
It’s little more than a pipe dream at the moment, given Insomniac is fully focused on bringing Spider-Man to PlayStation 4. But similar to how Jon Favreau’s original Iron Man movie laid the foundations of what would become the modern MCU, there’s a real sense that September’s PS4 exclusive is the dawn of something great. Something truly special.
Back at E3 2017, for instance, Marvel Games Vice President Mike Jones confirmed that the developer has established a “roadmap” for its future games – console and otherwise – so that each fan-favorite character is paired with a gaming experience that best suits them. So, naturally, Spider-Man is given the keys to New York for a big, bold and beautiful open-world title. In addition, Square Enix looks set to spearhead an untitled Avengers game as part of a “multi-year, multi-game partnership” with Marvel.
A Shift in Attitude
Further details on the studio’s top-secret roadmap are being kept stowed away in the Marvel vaults. Be that as it may, let’s take that idea of pairing comic book characters with a gameplay template that best suits them and run with it. Because make no mistake, the industry giant is doubling down on its video game efforts – so much so, in fact, that Marvel’s Executive Creative Director Bill Rosemann wants that signature red splash screen to become a hallmark of quality.
It was a shift in attitude at Marvel Games – let’s be a leader. When you see that red Marvel brick on a game we want it to mean the same thing it does when you see it on a movie poster or on a comic book.
And with that in mind, here I present to you five comic book characters from the Marvel vaults worthy of their own video game adaptation. Let’s get to it.
Thwip! Spider-Man makes a beeline for PlayStation 4 on September 7, and it’s shaping up to be very special indeed.
Essential Reading:
- Tracing God of War’s Journey From Greek to Norse Mythology
- Detroit: Become Human Hands-On With the First Three Hours – Inherently Human
- Is Spider-Man the Start of the Superhero Reign?
Marvel Games Universe
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Marvel Games Universe
It's a project – nay, a vision – still in its infancy, but let's imagine what the future holds...
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Black Widow
Gameplay: Third-person stealth
Inspirations: Splinter Cell, Hitman
Natalia Alianovna Romanova, otherwise known as Black Widow, is arguably one of the cult favourites of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as evidenced by the studio's plans to spin out a standalone movie featuring Scarlett Johansson's agent in a post-Cold War america.
Now imagine if that same story template was applied to a video game, what would that look like? A third-person stealth title imbued with the spirit of Splinter Cell or IO Interactive's excellent Hitman reboot.
At least that's what we're rooting for.
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Doctor Strange
Gameplay: Third-person action
Inspirations: God of War, Hellblade, Tomb Raider
I’m just going to go ahead and tip my hat in the direction of Chandler Wood, PlayStation LifeStyle's Senior Editor, who dreamed up the idea for a Doctor Strange title in the style of Sony's most recent God of War. How's that for an elevator pitch?
The story of Papa Kratos is naturally much darker than most, if not all of the Sorcerer Supreme's material. But if the Powers That Be decide to adapt something in the vein of, say, Triumph & Torment, in which Strange comes to blows with Doctor Doom, it could deliver exactly the kind of spectacular, mind-bending adventure that Marvel fans so crave.
Frankly, there's never been a better time to green light a Doctor Strange title. Just imagine gaining experience to unlock all of the spells and tricks lining the Sorcerer Supreme's arsenal.
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Rocket and Groot
Gameplay: Third-person shooter
Inspirations: Kane & Lynch or Ratchet & Clank
Okay, I'm bending the rules a little here to nominate Groot and Rocket Racoon, but come on! A Kane & Lynch-styled shooter centring on the galaxy's greatest duo (sorry, Han & Chewie) as they stumble from one bad decision to the next? Where do we sign up?
Failing that, there's always a possibility to play on Rocket's softer side and skew toward a younger audience a la Ratchet & Clank. And we all know how successful that formula can be...
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Venom
Gameplay: Open-world action
Inspirations: inFamous, Prototype
Dark, brooding, unsettling – three words one would use to describe the latest trailer for Sony's Venom reboot, in which Tom Hardy wrestles with the alien symbiote.
Now imagine if that same storyline, one that draws from "Lethal Protector" and "The Five Symbiotes" was dramatically expanded by way of a fully-fledged video game.
And just like inFamous before it, a Venom game could potentially toy with Eddie Brock's tentative moral compass, and how it slips and sways depending on the situation at hand.
It would certainly lay the groundwork for a branching narrative, too, but Eddie Brock is a more layered, nuanced character than Cole MacGrath (and Delsin Rowe, for that matter), so there's plenty of dramatic potential here.
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X 23
Gameplay: Third-person action
Inspirations: The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls
Now that Hugh Jackman's reign as Wolverine has come to an end, everyone is beginning to ask the question: who is capable of wielding the adamantium claws in his absence?
It's a toughie, but as James Mangold's Logan proved, X-23 is just as intriguing and morally complex as Old Man Logan.
Dafne Keen played the young, conflicted Laura on the big screen for a story that is probably the closest we'll get to a Last of Us movie in quite some time.
Speaking of Naughty Dog's magnum opus, an X-23 game would do well to borrow gameplay cues from The Last of Us.
Give me the same post-apocalyptic world of Logan, in which the mutant population is on the rocks, along with the survival-based gameplay that makes The Last of Us so special.
Or, failing that, once the Disney-Fox merger is complete, Marvel Games may well decide to adopt a narrative-drive template in the vein of Beyond: Two Souls. Either way, it's about time X-23 was given her due.
