Beginning tomorrow, March 3rd, Marvel will be kicking off their “Women of Power” event, which seeks to celebrate their wide roster of female characters by adding more of them to some of their most popular games. The event will cover popular Marvel games like the recent LEGO Marvel’s Avengers to smaller games like the mobile Spider-Man Unlimited. Here’s a rundown of each game and what will be added as part of the event:
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers (PS4/3/Vita, Xbox One/360, PC, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U)
Drawing heavy inspirations from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers bases most of its stories upon the first two Avengers films. As such, unlike 2013’s LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, the newer game doesn’t contain any characters that Marvel/Disney doesn’t hold the film rights for. Fans of other LEGO games can look forward to fun storytelling, and a variety of characters to collect. LEGO Marvel’s Avengers is unique in that it features audio from the films, rather than relying on original sound.
-Moonstone: Due to Kree technology, Karla Sofen/Moonstone has physical prowess beyond any normal human. She also has the ability of flight and can manipulate light. Primarily a villain, Moonstone took on the name of Ms. Marvel for Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers.
-Captain Marvel: As Carol Danvers is already in the game as Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel will be a variant character featuring her current look.
-Poundcakes: A female wrestler with superhuman strength, Poundcakes is a very minor villain who has had run ints with some of the Avengers in the past.
Marvel: Contest of Champions (iOS/Android)
Kabam’s Marvel: Contest of Champions is a fighting game that has been met with some criticism, but has nonetheless seen success. It’s doing well enough to warrant a comic adaptation (even though the game itself was loosely based upon the comic title of the same name) which will be based on the game, introducing original characters that will later be released.
–Kamala Khan: the current Ms. Marvel and a member of the ANAD Avengers, Kamala’s Inhuman genes activated as a result of the terrigen bomb. With the ability to change her shape and size (think of a combination of Mr. Fantastic and the Ant-Man suit), Kamala also has the ability to change her face and the clothes she’s wearing.
-She-Hulk: the cousin of Bruce Banner, Jennifer Walters has much more control over her green form. Known as a lawyer and a member of notable teams like the Avengers and Defenders, She-Hulk should be a strong character for any roster.
-X-23: An original character for the animated X-Men: Evolution, Laura Kinney aka X-23 is a clone of the X-Man, Wolverine. Due to her popularity, she has made her way into the main Marvel Universe, and has been affiliated with various X-teams and later was a student at Avengers Academy. X-23 now operates under the Wolverine mantle, after the original was killed off.
Marvel Future Fight (iOS/Android)
Netmarble’s Marvel Future Fight is perhaps my favorite on this list, and the only one I’m actively playing still. A mobile RPG, Future Fight features an original storyline that’s loosely based upon the recent Secret Wars event in the comics. An instance-based dungeon crawler, players normally run a team of 3 of their favorite characters. While it’s a heavy grinding game, the variety of game modes and free gifts from Netmarble keeps many players satisfied. While only containing characters that aren’t owned cinematically by other studios, the game arguably also has one of the more diverse rosters and outfits ranging from Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider) to Daredevil (and a Netflix’s Daredevil outfit) to a Superior Spider-Man outfit for Doctor Octopus. Due to Future Fight lacking heavy hitters like the X-Men, it allows them to push characters that would otherwise be ignored, like Sister Grimm and Lincoln Campbell (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
–Proxima Midnight: A fairly recent character, Proxima was a member of the Black Order, the army of Thanos the Mad Titan. She would go on to join Namor’s Cabal as he sought to destroy other Earths during the incursions.
Spider-Man Unlimited (iOS/Android)
Gameloft’s Spider-Man Unlimited is an endless runner, based upon the Spider-Verse event in the comics. Gameplay is simple, but as usual with endless runners, the longer you play, the more challenging it gets. A big draw to Spider-Man Unlimited is its roster of Spider characters and outfits worn by the webhead, such as the Iron Spider suit.
-Silk: Cindy Moon is a young woman who was bit by the same spider as Peter Parker, and was trained by Ezekiel Sims. However, she only made her first appearance in 2014 prior to the events of Spider-Verse, as Spidey finds her in a bunker that hid her from the senses of Morlun, who was hunting down Spiders. Taking the name of Silk, she has the ability to produce organic webbing from her fingertips, something that surprising Peter Parker, as he has to rely on homemade web cartridges even though they were bitten by the same spider.
-“other Spider-Women”
Marvel Heroes 2016 (PC)
Originally just Marvel Heroes, then later Marvel Heroes 2015, and now Marvel Heroes 2016, the game is a MMORPG/Action RPG which allows for clans/guilds and central hubs like traditional MMOs, but combat and gameplay is heavily inspired by games like Diablo. David Brevik, the former president and CEO of Gazillion (the developer behind Marvel Heroes) was heavily involved with the Diablo titles. Marvel Heroes initially revolves around Doctor Doom obtaining the cosmic cube, pitting players against a variety of villains. Originally receiving a bit of negative review, Marvel Heroes has since stepped it up to much applause with gameplay overhauls and regular character additions.
–Rescue: Secretary to billionaire Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), Pepper takes on the name of Rescue when she dons her suit designed for her by Stark. Similar to other suits designed by him, the Rescue suit grants Pepper the ability to fly among other capabilities such as repulsor blasts
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Avengers Academy (iOS/Android)
The newest game on the list, Avengers Academy from Tinyco takes place in a re-imagined universe in which the Avengers and their foes are college aged. As a sim game, players are tasked with building up the academy. The storyline so far revolves around the students of the academy trying to uncover what Nick Fury is keeping secret within the school. As players level up the characters they collect along the way, they start changing visually toward to look more in line with how we know them. Most notably, the game contains characters that are voiced by big names like John Cena (Hulk), Dave Franco (Iron Man), and Alison Brie (Black Widow), among many others.
-Unnamed female female heroes
Marvel Puzzle Quest (PC,iOS/Android, PS4/3, Xbox 360)
Marvel Puzzle Quest is a puzzle RPG with combat that is based upon matching 3 gems of the same color like bejewelled. However, there are RPG aspects in that players can build their roster of characters, each with their own unique abilities. Originally based upon the Dark Reign event of the comics, the game has since added new storylines.
-Variant Covers
