I get more excited for Marvel Cosmic Invasion with each new character reveal

Dotemu and Tribute Games just revealed the next two characters that are coming to the beat ’em up Marvel Cosmic Invasion at San Diego Comic-Con. The first is Silver Surfer, which makes sense considering The Fantastic Four: First Steps is out in theaters this weekend. The other is a much deeper cut from the comics: the cosmic hero with Thor-like abilities, Beta Ray Bill.

These definitely aren’t the most popular Marvel characters that the developers could include in the game, but their inclusion shows exactly why I’m so excited for this game. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is not only a throwback to a beloved era of superhero video games, but also shows a deep appreciation for the very comics it’s based on and a willingness to introduce players to characters and locales they might not be familiar with.

Why you should be excited for Marvel Cosmic Invasion

A game where Spider-Man and Beta Ray Bill can coexist

Marvel Cosmic Invasion has been on my radar ever since it was announced at a Nintendo Direct earlier this year, but I’ve been even more excited for it ever since I went hands-on with it at Summer Game Fest this year. It already felt extremely polished, with fighting game-like combos and assist abilities, as I could swap between characters. The fan service is just a bonus to it all, but that’s something developer Tribute Games excels at portraying.

In 2022, Tribute Games released the excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, a game that also balanced paying its respects to an iconic franchise while delivering fluid, modern-feeling gameplay. Marvel Cosmic Invasion looks like it’s doing the same thing, just for the Marvel universe. And although a lot of characters and storylines have played out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008, this game shows that there are still corners of it we haven’t seen yet.

Characters like Beta Ray Bill have yet to appear in a movie, but take central stage as a character here. Obscure villains like Beetle and Annihilus appear as villains, and levels I played through at Summer Game Fest were dotted with Easter eggs that left the Marvel fan in me giddy. I appreciate when a Marvel video game isn’t afraid to make some deep cuts into the universe, and Marvel Cosmic Invasion looks like it’s doing so respectfully.

So far, 11 of 15 playable characters have been released for Marvel Cosmic Invasion:

1. Spider-Man
2. Venom
3. Captain America
4. Wolverine
5. Storm
6. Phyla-Vell
7. Nova
8. She-Hulk
9. Rocket Raccoon
10. Beta Ray Bill
11. Silver Surfer

That’s a healthy mix of deep cuts and well-known characters, which stands out in a modern Marvel landscape where it often feels like only the A-list superheroes receive attention in video game adaptations. Marvel Cosmic Invasion does include some of those characters, but also takes the extra step of expanding players’ knowledge of the Marvel universe.

As a kid, the Marvel Ultimate Alliance games opened my eyes to just how many superheroes existed in the Marvel universe that I hadn’t heard of. As a adult, the collectible card game Marvel Snap did the same thing. I hope Marvel Cosmic Invasion can once again do that for modern, younger players whose Marvel knowledge does not go past the MCU.