At long last, Crystal Dynamics’ Avengers game is getting a full-blown reveal at this year’s E3. We’ve waited a good long time for this – since 2017, in fact. But after two years and two full-on Avengers movies, the video game is finally up to bat. Rejoice!
Avengers has carved itself as one of the highest grossing IP’s in history over the past decade, yet somehow, there’s never been a big-budget tie-in video game (without the word “Lego” in the title).
There’s a lot riding on this project, and considering the internet-wide excitement, a lot of room for disappointment.
We may not have a glimpse of Marvel’s Avengers’ gameplay, story, or really anything else, but that won’t stop our speculation! And really, with a wealth of previous super-hero cross-over games, there are already a lot of general concepts to draw from.
That said, here are five things Marvel’s Avengers should strive for, regardless of the genre.
A Ridiculously Diverse (And Obscure) Cast
Of course, it’s an Avengers game, so Captain America, Iron Man and the rest are likely to be included.
But it’s easy to grow weary of the same familiar characters we’ve all seen since the ’60s. You need some new talent to balance out the variety in the roster.
Superhero video games are a great breeding ground for lesser-known comic book characters. After all, when you need a long list of characters for players to choose from, some of the picks end up being a bit less recognizable.
Remember Onslaught? In the comics, he’s a psionic conglomeration of Professor X’s and Magneto consciousnesses, but in the X-Men movie series, he doesn’t exist at all. Yet somehow, Marvel Vs. Capcom picked him up way back in the day.
Remember Ms. Marvel? She was a playable character back in Marvel Ultimate Alliance, long before she was in Avengers: Endgame as Captain Marvel.
Marvel video games have already proven that unknown characters can work great to pad out a roster. It would be no different with a full-fledged Avengers game.
So bring on Swordsman, Hercules, and Black Knight! Pull Moondragon, Hellcat, and Two-gun Kid from the warehouse! We want all those lesser-known heroes.
A Story That Doesn’t Follow the Movies
Let’s be honest – video game narratives and movies aren’t compatible by default.
You’ve probably seen this with awful video game-to-movie adaptations like Super Mario Bros, Doom, and Assassin’s Creed. And movie-to-video game revisions are usually so bad, that they just go under the radar after release.
The problem is that some adaptations try and stick too closely to the inspiration point. Video games can’t just copy a movie narrative and run with it – the story must compliment the player-experience, rather than the other way around.
Take the most recent Spider-Man, for example. It implements its own narrative, rather than try to mimic the story beats of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
If Insomniac took the mimic approach, you would end up with A) a much shorter video game and B) way too many cut-scenes with Peter in school.
A successful adaptation doesn’t copy its source material – it draws from it. We would expect nothing less from Avengers.
A (Mostly) Unchecked Sense of Humor
Step back for a minute: Superheroes are inherently a bit of a ridiculous concept.
Despite fantastic acting talent and incredible CGI, at the end of the day, Avengers: Endgame is still about a bunch of invincible jacked-up super-soldiers fighting a big purple power-tripping alien –and it’s awesome!
Superhero movie directors and writers usually do a good job of recognizing the absurdity of their material. Endgame is riddled with self-aware jokes and fan-service-y scenes – so is Spider-Man: Homecoming, Iron Man, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Generally, video games do this too. 2013’s Deadpool video game was a perfect example of understanding its source material’s comedic style.
Especially considering it came out before the enormously successful movies, we’re still surprised how much this video game got right in the comedy department.
So while Avengers may not be quite as off-the-wall ridiculous as Deadpool, there’s still a lot of space for self-referential humor. At the very least, we could do with one or two Iron Man quips.
A Superhero/Villain Team-Up
It’s not a superhero game, but do you remember Super Smash Bros Brawl?
That game’s single-player campaign, The Subspace Emissary, was a delight (narratively at least) because it rounded up a vault of Nintendo characters (good or bad) and had them fight together for a common cause. Sure, it was a bit nonsensical, but who cares?
So with Smash Brothers Brawl as a template, the Avengers game should go off the walls with unlikely team-ups. Iron Man and Black Panther, Captain America and Doctor Strange – anything that hasn’t been attempted in the movies yet, we would be all for.
On a more cosmic scale, we would adore seeing a villain (other than Thanos) so powerful, that both good and bad guys unite to oppose the nearly unstoppable force.
Perhaps Galactus would fit that antagonistic role? Or maybe an alternative version of Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe where Deadpool is the villain, and can actually be stopped. The sky’s the limit!
A Respectful Nod to Stan Lee
As the figurehead for the Marvel brand, Stanley Lieber was one of the most influential creators in entertainment. He had an incredibly likable on-camera personality – we miss his MCU cameos already.
The Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, The X-Men, Daredevil – all of these came directly from the mind of Stan Lee. Without him, superhero movies and comics would never be at the cultural zeitgeist they are today.
As a tribute to the legacy of Stan Lee, we think a small (or large) reference to the man is in order.
Whether that be in the credits, a dedicated mission, or a poster in the background art, it doesn’t really matter. Just a little token to recognize the cultural shift he initiated.
That’s it! Tell us, what do you want to see from Marvel’s Avengers? Stay tuned for the official reveal on June 10 – we’ll have many, many more concrete details to discuss then.
For more on Avengers, read our list of the best Endgame moments, as well as 7 questions that we still have about the movie.
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