Where can Marvel’s Avengers go in the next five years?
just one more question… the team debate this month’s burning issue
STOP OBSESSING OVER THE MCU; THE MGU COULD OFFER MORE IMAGINATIVE CHARACTERS.
The idea of a videogame featuring a story arc that spans years like the MCU’s decade-long saga is impressive. The way things stand, and if rumours are to believed, we could actually see the Guardians Of The Galaxy appear in Square’s game-verse before the third film arrives. If the dev can stay agile and deliver fun, inventive Marvel worlds and characters it could break free from comparisons to the MCU and create a true MGU. Free from the pressures of the MCU we could play as fringe heroes over the standard characters… Hellcat, Spider-Woman, and Moon Knight anyone?
THE YEARS-LONG STORY ARC IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REAL CREATIVITY.
I’d love to see Square Enix, and developers Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montréal, tap into the creative variety and spontaneity of how Marvel does things. I loved it when acclaimed French artist Moebius drew the limited run Silver Surfer: Parable. Imagine if the devs could team up with similar talent in the videogames industry. We could have a standalone Thor story directed by Cory Barlog, or a Howard The Duck arc guest-created by Tim Schafer, and a Runaways narrative co-written by Life Is Strange’s Christian Divine and Jean-Luc Cano. Comics have a history of such partnerships; so should videogames.
AFTER AVENGERS: ENDGAME I’VE HAD MY FILL OF WHAT THE MCU PERCEIVES OF AS THE ‘CORE’ AVENGERS TEAM.
After seeing the characters in the E3 reveal, I want something new and exciting, and maybe a bit challenging, from my heroes. I get it. That’s not easy to do right away, which is why I’m holding out for plenty of exciting new heroes to be added as part of the promised years-long series of updates. I’m more than ready to sub them all out as quickly as possible. Even if that’s just She-Hulk for Hulk, Valkyrie for Thor, Ironheart for Tony Stark, Captain Marvel for Captain America, and, of course, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in a skintight suit for Black Widow.
IF AVENGERS IS GOING TO PROVIDE YEARS-LONG CONTENT, IT NEEDS TO FEEL MEANINGFUL.
Somehow this game needs to be able to straddle the line between providing an Avengers narrative that can keep evolving and be on a par with what fans get from the MCU, and also provide an ongoing multiplayer co-op experience that will keep active for all that time. There’s only so many times I want to jump into the same mission and have to wait for my team’s Iron Man to connect while someone else spins Thor in circles. Comic issues come out with enough regularity to keep us hooked on new battles and experiences, and Avengers needs to be able to do the same.