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Marvel and DC comic book characters have long dominated the box office, but they are finally breaking into gaming. 2023 will see a wave of superhero games that take advantage of the rich mythos.
Marvel’s Spider-Man broke expectations and earned stellar reviews when it launched in 2018. The upcoming games look set to exceed those expectations once again.
Batman vs. Deadpool
As you’d expect from a fourth-wall-breaking movie, Deadpool & Wolverine is full of references to the 20th Century Fox Marvel movies that got canceled or rebooted post-merger. In fact, early on the film sends its two stars to a dimension called The Void, which is sort of like a comics dumping ground where characters from different universes come together to get some closure.
As the heroes battle, they run into versions of X-Men and Fantastic Four characters that never made it to the big screen. They also run into Henry Cavill, who played Superman in the DC movies and who was forced to reshoot Justice League due to facial injuries suffered during a training stunt.
Both comics will feature main stories from writers Zeb Wells (Spider-Man) and Greg Capullo (Batman) along with artist Dan Mora, while the variant covers showcase additional team-ups and showdowns between iconic superheroes. Plus, both books will feature “backup adventures” that take advantage of the cross-over’s wild ambition and collision of tone, style, and character chemistry.
Spider-Man vs. Wolverine
Spider-Man and Wolverine are a natural pairing, as they both share a reputation for reckless rage and an oblivious sense of social responsibility. This story, however, is notable for the first time that Spidey and Wolverine share a moment of compassion and understanding for each other.
This scene is a true highlight of both characters and it takes the reader on an emotional journey. While the scene is tense and dangerous, it also shows the humanity of these two warriors.
Wolverine and Charlie are enjoying a dinner out, but are interrupted by a pair of armed KGB agents. Charlie pleads with Logan to put her out of her misery and ends up begging him to kill her so she won’t be sent back to a foreign gulag.
In an amazing moment of plotting/illustration by Owsley and Bright, Peter Parker (Spider-Man) senses that Charlie is sneaking up behind him, thinking it’s Wolverine. He tries to save her, but he ends up killing her in the process. Spider-Man is haunted by this act, as he knows he crossed the line he swore never to cross.
Iron Man vs. The Punisher
Few characters chart the mercurial evolution of the Marvel Universe like Frank Castle, the Punisher. Initially introduced in 1974 as a vigilante foil to the rule-abiding Spider-Man, Castle’s unrelenting violence and belief that anyone who kills a human deserves death would eventually lead him to his own limited series in 1986.
While the Avengers take on cosmic threats like Thanos, the Defenders patrol the seedy streets of New York City, and Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage fight crime with ruthless efficiency. And while the heroes in those shows do sometimes kill, they usually only go after villains that are nigh-unstoppable any other way. The Punisher, on the other hand, goes out with weapons designed and manufactured for murder and death and kills people for no other reason than that they killed people.
Superior Iron Man is a version of Tony Stark who debuted following the events of Axis, with all the darkest inner personality traits that Stark had repressed merged into a single villainous being. This version of Stark displayed malignant narcissism, a complete lack of empathy for the suffering of others, and a vicious need to control everything and everyone in his path.
The Eternals vs. Darkseid
Whether it’s the sonic bludgeon of Omega Sparx or his telekinesis powers, Darkseid has no problem fighting The Eternals. The New Gods were Jack Kirby’s most popular creations at DC, giving Orion and Mister Miracle their own series and appearing in major events like Final Crisis.
The mystical and cosmic powerhouses of the Fourth World have bionic enhancements, massive spaceships, and shields that can withstand planet-level attacks. They can also teleport and telewarp through time and space.
In a straight fight, most individual Eternals would lose to Darkseid, but as a team they could challenge him or even defeat him. But this isn’t a fight of brute strength, it’s a battle of intellect and strategy. And even without the Gauntlet, Darkseid is still a powerful being that can warp reality and possesses no morals, conquering multiverses in his quest for power. He is also a savant strategist, able to control the actions of his Parademons and even teleport through time. That’s not something that most heroes can do.
Silver Surfer vs. Green Lantern
The Silver Surfer is the most powerful being in the universe. He can destroy planets and drain the power of a Green Lantern’s ring. He is also a master strategist who can use his powers on a cosmic scale.
Released in February 1996, the first two-issue Silver Surfer miniseries was written by Jim Lee and drawn by Moebius. The story features a conflict between Cyborg Superman and the Surfer in which the latter destroys a populated planet to build Warworld. Cyborg tries to escape but is stopped by the Mad Titan Thanos, who explains that the Surfer’s actions caused a rift between their universes.
The two heroes team up to reopen the rift. They fight the mad gods who invade Earth and drain their power, including Parallax, whom they send back to his own universe. In the end, the Surfer and Kyle reunite and defeat the apocalyptic villains. This arc was notable for Joe Satriani’s covers of the songs “Back to Shalla-Bal” and “The Power Cosmic 2000”. Both riff on the Silver Surfer mythos.