Marvel minus Capcom

I have at least half of a say in which Marvel characters should appear in "Marvel vs Capcom Infinite". And with the game being so far from release and only having six characters confirmed, there's plenty of room for character predictions! So, here is The Panel Biter's Top 5 Most Wanted Characters For "Marvel vs Capcom Infinite"!

5. Black Panther

With Doctor Strange in the last game and Captain Marvel in this new installment, Black Panther would round-out the B-list squad. I almost picked Ant-Man, but Black Panther just seems more suited for a fighting game in my opinion. His claws, throwing daggers, and sheer fighting capabilities would make Black Panther a well-rounded character. Like an athletic version of Captain America. His super moves could include summoning his own Hulkbuster, or using his mastery over the dead to spawn undead minions, or enhancing his Vibranium suit so projectile moves bounce right off of him. Black Panther is Marvel's first Black superhero so he'd be a good representative in that aspect too. And if MvC is really doing away with X-Men characters, Black Panther would at least make a decent replacement for Wolverine. Maybe.

4. Blade

Blade represents a side of the Marvel Universe that Ghost Rider and Doctor Strange almost inhabit, and that's Marvel's Monsterverse. Blade is Marvel's premier vampire, another of Marvel's early Black characters, and one of their greatest swordsmen. Along with his enhanced strength and speed and his signature sword, Blade has also used firearms and wooden stakes in combat. And he has some cool Anime sword techniques like blade-based energy waves, creating an illusion of himself, and summoning shadow swords. And he's a vampire so his grabs could have him suck blood and gain health. I could see him being Marvel's refection of Wesker or Virgil. Blade just oozes cool and I'm sure a lot of diehard Marvel fans would appreciate his inclusion.

3. Ms. Marvel (& Lockjaw)

Ms. Marvel is this generation's Spider-Man. She's young, she's relatable, she's funny and nerdy and culturally unique. MvC could really benefit from having a newer character like Ms. Marvel. And yes, the Inhuman dog Lockjaw would be her assist! That's the other thing, she'd represent Inhumans. I almost went with Black Bolt or Crystal, but for as cool as those two might be there's something about Ms. Marvel that will always be more recognizable. Ms. Marvel can shapeshift so she can extend her limbs for long-ranged melee, she can make her body parts bigger for smashing punches and big stomps, she can shrink as a means to maneuver around the stage, and she has Lockjaw. Lockjaw can teleport, so tackles, body slams, and chomps could all be used in their move set. A fun duo of characters all around, Ms. Marvel and Lockjaw just show that even Inhumans can be fun!

2. Loki

Most MvC characters are all muscle, but what if we had a character specifically designed to annoy their opponent? Loki-The God of Mischief. Teleporting, creating illusions that act as counters, summoning a quick array of daggers from the ground to interrupt attacks, Loki could have a whole arsenal of clever tricks. He can summon monsters and puppeteer the opponent's body. He could have a super where he taps into his Frost Giant heritage and unleashes a flurry of ice-based moves. Or another super where he summons his daughter Hela who damns your soul. Or throw a pie with a Lovecraftian monster in it, I don't know. That's the appeal of Loki in a fighting game, he's an agent of chaos so all of his moves could be distracting and tricky and a challenge to deal with. Plus the character's profile has really boosted lately, and to be fair he was the first villain The Avengers ever fought in comic book history. If that doesn't justify his inclusion, his pretty face should.

1. Rogue (but different)

This may seem like cheating, but the Rogue I want to see wasn't the Rogue in past MvC games. So if the rumor that MvC is cutting down on X-Men characters is true, Rogue is the perfect candidate to include next to the obvious choices of Wolverine, Storm, Magneto, and Deadpool. Why is she perfect? Because she can be ALL OF THE X-MEN. I can't believe she wasn't in "Marvel vs Capcom 3"! They already had Super-Skrull, a character who could be The Fantastic Four in one character. Rogue can just have all the X-Men's powers because her power is to absorb the abilities of others! Screw flight and super strength, Rogue can teleport like Nightcrawler, defensively armor herself like Colossus, create winds and storms and lightning like Storm, manipulate fire and ice like Sunfire and Iceman, fly like Angel, create psychic weapons like Psylocke, throw exploding playing cards like Gambit, fire beams like Cyclops, grow claws like Wolverine, and mind-control foes like Professor X. Give her some of Phoenix's and Scarlet Witch's powers for super moves, give her a power-draining move that either gives her a stat boost or drains the enemy's meter. Seriously, Rogue is perfect for capturing the X-Men side of Marvel comics while also keeping the roster relatively mutant-free. So yeah, my top pick for "Marvel vs Capcom Infinite" is a character who was included before, but not pushed to her full potential.

Thanks for reading!