It’s been nearly a decade since the last Marvel Ultimate Alliance game, but we’ve finally hit the end of the long wait!
With the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the behemoth of a movie that is Avenger: Endgame just smashing through the box office roof, July 2019 is perfect timing for the next game in this series to hit the market. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 features heroes and villains heavily inspired by their MCU counterparts (while still driving inspiration from the comics), and I cannot wait to jump into battle once again.
My favorite part of these games is the vast amount of characters that you can play as. Just the other day, we learned that Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel will be featured as playable heroes, which has me super excited (Hawkeye is one of my faves)! While not all of the characters have been revealed yet, there are a few that are glaringly missing from the roster that we’d love to see join the fray / return in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
**Minor Endgame spoilers ahead!
Ant-Man
(Marvel Studios)
With his huge prominence in Endgame, I am actually surprised that they haven’t shown Ant-Man off as a playable character, yet– Especially since we already know The Wasp is in the game. Of course we only JUST got Hawkeye, so we could see him soon! E3, perhaps?
Regardless, I’m not actually sure if the Wasp that made it into the game is Janet Van Dyne or Hope Pym (My guess is Hope if we’re going by the MCU’s iconic heroes), so one would assume Scott Lang will take the role of Ant-Man rather than Hank Pym. As for how his powers could work, I’m super curious what Wasp looks like gameplay-wise, because it might be a little hard to control someone you can barely see. Or perhaps Scott would grow instead (or maybe a little of both)? Either way, Ant-Man would be sorely missed if he doesn’t make his Marvel Ultimate Alliance debut in the third installment.
Mantis
(Marvel Studios)
This is mostly just a personal choice for me, but Mantis is only core member of the Guardians of the Galaxy missing from MUA3. Nebula is actually a villain this time, judging by the trailer, but I have no doubt that she’ll hop over to the heroes’ side eventually. Mantis is just plain missing.
This girl can kick names and take ass, and she proved in Avengers: Infinity War, with being pretty much the only reason the heroes were able to hold down Thanos and nearly remove the Infinity Gauntlet (thanks a bunch, Star-Lord…). Her ability to sleep enemies could prove super useful in a hero mash-up. That’s what Marvel Ultimate Alliance is all about: mixing and matching heroes to create unique and powerful teams.
The Fantastic Four
(20th Century Fox)
Let’s take a step back from the MCU for a bit. We do have other characters outside of the MCU that are playable in this game (such as Wolverine, Deadpool, and Storm, to name a few). The ones I’m biting my nails for right now is the Fantastic Four!
This team has been a part of both MUA games so far, so it would be super weird to just see them gone for this round. Plus, with Disney’s acquisition of Fox, it’s actually possible for them to make it into the MCU now (fingers crossed)! Either way, it would be sad to lose this team to the abyss this round and I hope they return for another round. Chris Evans (Captain America) fighting along side Chris Evans (Human Torch) would be really comical, also.
Yes, I’m purposefully ignoring the fact that there is a newer Fantastic Four film.
Winter Soldier
(Marvel Studios)
Bucky Barnes is also one of those weird missing heroes from the roster that you’d think we’d have seen by now. With such a heavy emphasis on the MCU, you’d think Winter Solider would be a shoo-in. Only time will tell! Can’t ignore the fact that Falcon is confirmed to be in and Disney would totally want to get that sweet, sweet marketing in for the new Disney+ show.
Winter Soldier would probably be very versatile as far as gameplay goes. Being very skilled in hand-to-hand combat on top of his auxiliary of various weaponry, Bucky seems like he would be a great in-your-face OR ranged character to have on your team.
Nick Fury
(Marvel Studios)
While Nick Fury is confirmed to make an appearance in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, it’s not said whether or not he will be playable. I’m just glad they went with the Samuel L. Jackson look for Fury this time, rather than his traditional comics look.
It’s more than likely that Nick Fury will be a secret/unlockable character like he’s been previously, but I wonder if he’s going to return with a similar move pool. He had a sub machine gun, grenades, a sniper rifle, among other things in the original Marvel Ultimate Alliance, but you don’t really see MCU Nick Fury wielding any of those weapons. I sorta want him to call on Goose the cat from Captain Marvel, but who knows what’s gonna happen this round?!
Honorable Mentions: Jean Grey, War Machine, Shuri, Okoye, Cyclops, Ghost Rider, Silver Surfer, Valkyrie.
