Superhero Games – Some Ideas

Marvel:

Spider Man – Probably Marvel’s most recognisable hero, after being bitten by a radioactive spider Peter Parker became Spider Man. His spider based powers include super strength and durability, the ability to stick to walls and a ‘spider sense’ which warns him of danger. He also shoots sticky webs which he can use to swing on, tie things up and a bunch of other things, these are usually depicted as coming from a pair of devices he invented on becoming a hero, but in the recent movies were part of his superpowers. What makes Spider Man stand out amongst heroes (other than web swinging being really cool) is that he’s very much a regular person, when the series started out he was still in high school, and over time he moved on to college and adulthood, he even got married (he’s not married now, no he didn’t get divorced, it’s a sore spot amongst readers). More than just about any other hero Spider Man is about juggling his personal life with his heroic responsibilities, accentuated by the fact that, despite repeatedly saving the day. he is often viewed with hostility and suspicion by ordinary people.

Spiderman games have come close to getting things right a couple of times. The important thing with Spidey, like The Flash, is movement, the concept of swinging freely through a large city. Similarly Prototype can be seen as inspiration here, or Just Cause 2, whose grappling hook could well be used as a basis for Spidey’s web slinging. In practice the game should work much like a reverse GTA, with a fully realised New York that the player can travel around, stopping procedural crimes as they happen. In any Spider Man game though, Peter’s real life, and how being a hero effects it, needs to be a factor.

Captain America – Steve Rogers was a weak and scrawny kid in the 1940s who wanted to enlist in the army to fight the Nazis, rejected due to poor fitness he volunteered for a secret super soldier program, receiving a serum that enhanced his physical attributes to the peak of human ability and slowed his ageing process down. Carrying an indestructible shield and dressed in the colours of the American flag Steve took the fight to the Nazis as Captain America. Later Captain America was trapped in suspended animation, making his way into the modern era of heroes. Though he possesses no real superpowers, Captain America is one of the most experience and skilled combatants in the Marvel Universe, and his leadership and tactical skills are second to none.

Captain America is a tricky hero to create a game from, since his preference for unarmed combat and use of a shield isn’t exactly that original in a gaming context, the solution is to focus on his role a leader and tactician. Thus a Captain America game would also be an Avengers game. The gameplay would be based on that of Mass Effect 2, the earth faces a massive threat (there’s more than enough of them in comics) the likes of which one hero cannot defeat, and the player, as Captain America (standing in for Shepard) is charged by Nick Fury (our Illusive Man) to gather a group of heroes to stop it. One of the benefits of this approach is that it gives other heroes who would have difficulty carrying an interesting game to shine, Iron Man in particular is usually considered more interesting when he’s in his civilian identity of Tony Stark, and this approach gives you plenty of chances to interact with him on this level. Captain America himself would have an interesting suite of abilities based on his shield, using it as cover, throwing it at targets and using it to charge and bash them, not to mention plenty of moments for inspiring speeches. The real focus however is on the team,each hero offers something different in combat and a personality outside of it.

Power Man and Iron Fist – One of the first black heroes in comics ‘Power Man’ (usually called by his real name, Luke Cage) was a poor Harlem youth who was thrown in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Volunteering for a dangerous experiment he gained super strength and an impenetrable skin. Over time Cage has gone from blackspoitation cash in to one of the most respected heroes in the Marvel Universe. Danny Rand is Iron Fist, a millionaire and expert martial artist (the comic book kind, where ‘chi’ energy lets him do superhuman feats) who fights crime on the side and is charged with protecting the mystical city of K’un-L’un. Early in his career he met Luke Cage and the two teamed up, becoming good friends and a popular ‘odd couple’ pairing.

Most superheroes can lend themselves to a simple action game, but that isn’t that unusual or interesting without a unique spin. Here I’ve taken two heroes who could have an average game in themselves and used the fact that they often work as a duo to my advantage. The game would heavily push the co-op angle, with the other character sticking with you even in single player and you encouraged to bring in a friend to take them over. What makes Luke Cage and Iron Fist work in this context is not merely that they’re a charismatic and funny duo, but they they offer very different fighting styles, Cage’s is slow but tremendously strong and tough, while Iron Fist is agile and skilled, allowing for different but complimentary gameplay. Other duos this could work for include Hawkeye and Mockingbird (and their DC equivalents Green Arrow and Black Canary) who offer an interesting combination of ranged combat and martial arts prowess. As much as I’d love to see a game starring the fantastic partnership of The Incredible Hercules and Amadeus Cho I can’t Cho’s super intelligence translating well into game mechanics.

Doctor Doom – Doctor Doom is one of Marvel’s most interesting villains, the adversary of Reed ‘Mr Fantastic’ Richards Doom is one of the greatest scientific and mystical minds in the Marvel Universe, not to mention a devious strategist and manipulator. Doom’s greatest fault is his ego, which is the result of his feud with Richards (who is a more accomplished scientist than him) but he is generally known as an honourable villain, who will keep his word and rules the people of his nation of Latveria responsibly. His armoured suit makes him resistant to harm and allows him to fire energy blasts, but his greatest weapon in his intellect and command of both science and sorcery.

We’ve discussed a lot of heroes here, but gaming has often embraced the idea of the villain protagonist, from the street criminals of GTA to the evil geniuses of… well Evil Genius,  this could combine well with the array of colourful villains comic books offer. Why Doom in particular? Because he’s not only an evil genius with a variety of strings to his bow, but he is leader of his own country (complete with Bond villain style lair) which gives him somewhere to plot in a Dungeon Keeper style game. Most importantly though Doom is a sympathetic villain, his honourable nature (combined with the general jerk like nature of his adversary Richards) makes him far easier for us to root for while still acting out our insane supervillain fantasies.

And Finally

Guardians of the Galaxy – What. The. Fuck. These guys are completely god damn crazy. A Marvel cosmic team that count among their number a heavily armed anthropomorphic racoon and a giant sentient tree that is also a king.

Oh come on, this one is begging for the likes of Suda 51 to have a crack at it.

Special thanks to Matthew ‘Chimp’ Ward, who helped me flesh out these ideas and get my comics history right.