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Four fantastic games to ease the wait for Fantastic Four
C
Chris Baker
Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals took the gaming world by storm when it launched in December, followed by two new Storms—those of the Susan and Johnny variety—soon taking to it, along with a Richards and a Grimm. As characters 34 through 37 to join the roster, Human Torch and Mister Fantastic (Duelists), Invisible Woman (Strategist), and the Thing (Vanguard) can potentially comprise a strong two-thirds on any team’s roster. Team-Ups between Reed and Ben or the Storm siblings could play a big role on your path to victory, and you’ll likely hear some downright delightful banter both among themselves and with other heroes.
The team’s role extends to the Season 1 narrative as well, as Dracula’s harmony of dissonance over Manhattan paints a portrait of ruin centered on their own home, the Baxter Building. When you play Midtown, you might even find yourself protecting—or trying to destroy—the lovable robot whose sauce could use some more garlicky zip in the First Steps trailer, H.E.R.B.I.E. (which we recently identified as one of our favorite Rivals Easter eggs). The “Fantastic Four versus Dracula” setup is somewhat odd when you consider that their most iconic villain, Doctor Doom, instigated the entire reality-building game plot to begin with.
NetEase further demonstrates a love for the Fantastic Four through alternate costumes. These include the classic blue and white, some original creations driven by game narrative, and comics-inspired suits signifying important character moments (Human Torch returning from presumed death), an alternate universe (evil Mister Fantastic, aka the Maker), a simple attempt at looking normal (the Thing’s trench coat), and even Reed and Sue’s wedding attire. They also went where few games would dare today by not holding back with Invisible Woman’s infamous dominatrix-inspired Malice, Mistress of Hate. Oh, those ‘80s and ‘90s…
Pinball FX: Marvel Pinball Collection 1 – Fantastic Four
Of Zen Studios’ excellent 23 Marvel-themed Pinball FX tables (I’ll have to admit some bias there, having worked on 19 of them myself), few exude a purer, more thorough encapsulation of their subject matter than Fantastic Four. This table depicts just about any core characteristic of the team you can think of, from Reed doing science and stretching to block a ball to Ben chiding Johnny for being a little too full of himself after completing his mission. Only your own personal pinball prowess can best a series of Doctor Doom-defying missions culminating in a wizard-mode showdown with Galactus.
All four heroes get 3D-model representations on the table, as do the Baxter Building, Doctor Doom and his Doombots, Galactus’ head, and even H.E.R.B.I.E. in a delightfully frantic minigame. And despite no actual gameplay representing the likes of Mole Man, Skrulls, and Silver Surfer, the table’s colorful art still makes it a point to reference them. Well-voiced dialogue complements the action, which excels not only in pinball design but also at being a video game—real tables just won’t let you watch Johnny flame on, set a ramp on fire, then dive into a newly opened hole to the Negative Zone.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Series
Sometimes the most interesting stories happen when you read between the lines. We all remember the very first mission in Marvel’s Spider-Man, when Peter takes down the Kingpin at Fisk Tower. But maybe you don’t remember a throwaway line on J. Jonah Jameson’s podcast in Miles Morales where he mentions that the building, currently inhabited by those “thugs” from the Underground, “is scheduled for demolition in the new year.” Jameson sarcastically continues, “The next thing you know, Spider-Man will turn the joint into his personal headquarters.” Of course, he doesn’t. But some other heroes might invisibly extend their own interest in inhabiting the space.
Ten months later, we see what’s replaced Fisk Tower in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: a futuristic skyscraper with the word BAXTER in front of it that awesomely invokes an actual Jack Kirby design. As you crawl to the top, grabbing a Future Foundation Spider-Bot along the way, a very familiar "4" adorns the roof, still mid-paint job. Though none of the three games’ dialogue directly mentions anything about the Fantastic Four or the Baxter Building that they’re known to inhabit, there’s little doubt the team officially exists as part of Earth-1048.
Less narratively significant—but definitely more in your face—Peter’s Bombastic Bag Man and Future Foundation suits in the original game reference well-known costumes linked to the Fantastic Four in the comics. Though the latter seems spot-on accurate to the 2011 source material, Bag Man notably differs, with its sleeker fabric choice and missing KICK ME sign on his back that was planted there by Johnny in The Amazing Spider-Man #258.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Perhaps the greatest Reed Richards-like stretch to include here, there isn’t much Fantastic Four happening in Marvel’s Midnight Suns—it’s just an awesome turn-based strategy game worth touting whenever we have an excuse to. Still, it’s not like they’re totally absent from the game’s universe.
Visit Agatha’s Altar and you’ll notice a peculiar pattern in the window—very similar to a shirt that adds a certain modern fashion sense to your Hunter from the Salem Witch Trials era. (Thanks to Blair Farrell of Comic Book Video Games for digging this up for me).
Of the 22 collectible tarot cards found throughout the Abbey and its environs, six of the subjects portrayed first appeared in the pages of Fantastic Four. Only the Human Torch (The Sun) actually represents the team, though the Baxter Building (The Tower) can also be collected. Occasional allies the Silver Surfer (The Chariot) and Uatu the Watcher (The World) join supervillains Doctor Doom (The Magician) and Galactus (The Judgement) to round out the collection. You could even arguably add Namor (The Hermit) to the FF bunch, since creepily lusting after Sue often feels like a core character trait.
Midnight Suns may have the most dialogue of any Marvel game ever, and of course the Fantastic Four and their associated characters get mentioned throughout. “Earth’s so bad right now, not even Galactus would eat us,” quips Spider-Man. After the Hunter, Caretaker, and Blade joyfully proclaim “if at first you don’t succeed, stab, stab again” in unison, Tony Stark jokes, “You think Reed and Sue have such heartwarming moments with Johnny and Ben?”
This exchange between Peter and Tony before an infiltration mission stands out as particularly fun, if questionably accurate:
TONY: I’ll be completely invisible.
PETER: Like Sue Storm?
TONY: Like a slightly taller Sue Storm.
Canonically, Tony Stark stands 6’1” to Susan’s 5’6”, because of course you were wondering.
You can find all of these great Marvel games on Epic Games Store.