Marvel vs. Capcom 4 feels inevitable — here’s who should be in it

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Marvel and Capcom have a rich history of collaboration dating back to The Punisher, a side-scrolling beat-’em-up in the Final Fight style that was released in arcades in 1993. The companies would quickly team up again for a pair of 2D fighting games, X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes.

Then the real crossover happened: Capcom’s fighting game royalty and the superheroes and villains of Marvel Comics went head-to-head in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, a landmark fighting game that kicked off a decades-long series of Marvel vs. Capcom crossovers.

Capcom’s recently released collection of some of those early games, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, reignited interest in the Marvel vs. Capcom series, which hasn’t seen a new entry since 2017’s coolly received Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. The fourth main MvC game had its share of curious choices: Marvel vs. Capcom mainstays the X-Men didn’t appear on the roster, and the game took a step back in complexity, going from teams of three to teams of two.

With the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection bringing MvC back into the conversation, talk of a new game in the crossover franchise has increased. Capcom producer Shuhei Matsumoto said the developers have “big dreams” and that “there is an opportunity for a new Marvel vs Capcom game” in an interview with Dexerto.

What would a Marvel vs. Capcom 4* look like? Probably like some sort of course correction for the franchise, but the gameplay specifics are best left up to the fighting game experts at Capcom. But a few folks at Polygon have some strong ideas about who should be in a theoretical Marvel vs. Capcom 4, based on the franchise’s past and where Marvel and Capcom’s respective franchises are headed.

Here are our picks for our dream (but grounded in reality) Marvel vs. Capcom 4 cast.

*[Ed. note: For the purposes of this article, we are ignoring Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, just like the rest of the MvC audience.]

The Capcom side

Let’s get this out of the way: Street Fighter’s Ryu and Chun-Li need to be in here. They’ve been in the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise since the beginning, and they’re the most famous faces of the Street Fighter franchise. And even though Darkstalkers is dead, everyone — especially Capcom — loves Morrigan. She’s a lock.

From the non-fighting game side of Capcom’s catalog, we’re betting that Mega Man, Devil May Cry’s Dante, and Ace Attorney’s Phoenix Wright will be represented on the MvC4 roster. A hunter from Monster Hunter, Capcom’s biggest franchise, is also a lock. And to represent the Resident Evil franchise, we’re picking Leon S. Kennedy. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine have had their shot, so it’s time for Resident Evil 4’s Leon.

As for our other picks, we’re picking some familiar Capcom favorites and some newcomers who can help spice things up:

• Cammy from Street Fighter: The ever-popular Cammy hasn’t had too much MvC representation, but she brings a fun, unique play style to the roster.
• Zangief from Street Fighter: You need a big guy, and if it’s not gonna be Mike Haggar, it’s gonna be Zangief.
• Frank West from Dead Rising: Sometimes you need a guy with a huge toolbox of stuff to fight with. That’s Frank West.
• Countess Alcina Dimitrescu (aka Lady D) from Resident Evil Village: We’ve got a big guy, how about a big woman? Lady D’s got tons of gameplay potential.
• Ada Wong from Resident Evil: Look, Resident Evil is really popular, and Ada could be kind of the Spider-Man of the Capcom side, thanks to her spy gadgetry.
• Luke from Street Fighter: Yes, this roster’s Street Fighter heavy, but Capcom seems to really want Luke to be the new face of the fighting game franchise.
• Arthur from Ghosts ’n Goblins: Arthur’s arsenal practically assures him a place on the MvC4 roster. 
• Captain Commando: The star of one of Capcom’s coolest beat-’em-ups, Captain Commando is just a cool superhero for the non-Marvel side. 

Finally, here are our long shot picks for who else we want to see from the Capcom side:

• Marisa from Street Fighter: I’m biased here, because Marisa is my main in Street Fighter 6, but I love her character design and the way she throws hands. The Capcom roster has no shortage of characters who can throw hands, but Marisa’s hulking physicality and boxing skills give her a different approach than someone like Luke or Zangief. —Pete Volk
• Claire Redfield from Resident Evil: Claire’s brother Chris or even Leon Kennedy seem more likely to be included, but if you ask me, Claire deserves her spot on the strength of having a slightly different backstory. Instead of having official military or police training, Claire presumably learned her way around munitions operations from her family members and that’s about it. She’s an everywoman who threw herself into the zombie action because somebody had to. I love that about her. —Maddy Myers
• Rathalos from Monster Hunter: Monster Hunter is incredibly important for Capcom, but MvC4 should go further than just hunter representation. Let’s get the monsters in here too, starting with Rathalos. If Abigail can appear in Street Fighter 5 and Galactus can be playable in Ultimate MvC3, why not? —Michael McWhertor

The Marvel side

If Marvel vs. Capcom 4 happens, it needs to atone for one of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite’s greatest sins. It needs to bring back the X-Men. Infinite was released at a time when, apparently, Marvel wanted to deprioritize the X-Men in favor of its then-hot MCU stars, the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. But the X-Men are back, thanks to X-Men ’97 and Deadpool & Wolverine. That’s why Wolverine, Magneto, and Storm need to return to the MvC roster. Oh, and Deadpool, too.

The Marvel side also needs a few superhero mainstays, like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Captain America. Which Spider-Man and which Captain America is up for debate, but some version of those classic heroes needs to be represented.

On the villain side, Doctor Doom is not only an enduring Marvel villain and an MvC mainstay, he’s at the heart of Marvel Studios’ future film plans. Doom is an easy lock.

Here are our best guesses for who else will round out the Marvel side of the MvC4 roster.

• Venom: Venom’s pretty popular, fills a Big Guy role for the Marvel side, and can do all kinds of fun shape-shifting.
• Mister Fantastic: Marvel Studios has a new cinematic franchise to launch, and who better than the Dhalsim/Shuma Gorath-like Reed Richards?
• The Thing: See above, plus we need someone to step in for the Hulk.
• Silver Surfer: Potentially overpowered, but cosmic powers and surfboard-based attacks feel like an incredibly cool combo.
• Shang-Chi: A straightforward brawler for the Marvel side with flashy magic powers, and the potential to summon a dragon? 
• Doctor Strange: Mystical powers, teleportation portals, and illusions make Steve a pretty decent option for the Marvel side.
• Groot & Rocket: Pairing these two as one character would make for an interesting move set and visual approach, while paying tribute to two of the most popular characters of the MCU’s previous era (while not cluttering the roster with too many). Groot slams while Rocket shoots? Sounds like a perfect combo to me.
• Phoenix: We need more X-Men (and more women) on the Marvel side, and Jean’s always a fun pick.

As for our Marvel deep cuts and oddities, here’s who we want to see show up in MvC4.

• Howard the Duck: Hear me out. I have no real allegiance to Howard the Duck — I haven’t read any of his material, nor have I seen his movie. But this is exactly the kind of wacky stunt I want MvC4 to pull off. Howard has nothing to promote, so his inclusion would be free of marketing concerns, and he would look absolutely ridiculous against many of the other people on the roster. I have but one request: He should also be the strongest character in the game. —PV
• Kamala Khan: Kamala’s powers are easy to imagine in a fighting game (her original Dhalsim-meets-Mister Fantastic comic book powers, that is) so she’s a great idea just from a “fun to play” standpoint. But this isn’t just about that. Her comic book storylines are great, she had one of the best MCU television shows that not enough people watched, and she was the best part of The Marvels, which even fewer people watched. She was also the best part of Marvel’s Avengers, a game that almost no one played. She’s always the best part of whatever she’s in, and she deserves to actually be seen. —Maddy Myers
• She-Hulk: Hulk, the Bruce Banner version, has been a mainstay of the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise from the beginning. Give the man a break! Since we already have the Thing on our dream roster as the big bruiser on the Marvel side, it’s She-Hulk’s time to shine. She’s strong, has a lot more personality than her cousin, and can break the fourth wall in fun ways (just like Deadpool). Put Jen in the game!! —Michael McWhertor