Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls’ Story All but Confirmed Its 2nd DLC Character, and Its Perfect
The most exciting aspect of fighting games is the roster, and Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has already proved it brought the sauce. It included some obvious popular picks, but mixed in wild-card characters as well. Many of these have already established themselves as the best, but DLC can easily change what characters will dominate. We’ve already seen that Phoenix Cyclops will be the first DLC character of Year One, and players are speculating who else will join the roster. Well, for those who have played the story, there may already be a hint as to who fans can expect next.
Arc System Works is subverting expectations for DLC in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, and the first DLC character proves it. Rather than standard Cyclops, who is easily one of the most popular characters in Marvel fighting games, we are getting a variant. That is why the tease of Thor coming to Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is so exciting. Story-wise, Thor Odinson is missing after the Avengers banished Hulk, but the Samurai Outriders episode teases that Thor will be coming back in a big way, or at least in an unexpected way.
The Samurai Outriders All but Confirm Thor Is Coming, but Not How You Expect
The ending of the Samurai Outriders episode is the biggest clue that Thor will be a DLC character, possibly arriving after Phoenix Cyclops. Loki and Deadpool are discussing the fate of Thor, and Loki bursts out laughing. This means that whatever fate befell Thor is something that would amuse Loki, and going by the fact that he is the God of Mischief, there are two main guesses here. Either Thor has been turned into Frog Thor, or we may see Beta Ray Bill. Frog Thor’s humor is obvious, but Beta Ray Bill would mean that a horse is worthy of Mjolnir and Thor is not after the Avengers’ fallout.
These are both great options and would fit the same off-the-wall choice that Phoenix Cyclops is. However, there is a third option that is likely as well. We already know Thor disappeared after Hulk was banished, an act that likely makes him unworthy of Mjolnir. This would open the door for Unworthy Thor’s inclusion and would be a really interesting way to bring Thor into the game. All three options would give Arc System Works more flexibility with how they design Thor’s gameplay compared to his usual self.
Thor is one of the most recognizable characters in Marvel, and he is present in nearly every Marvel fighting game. So while his inclusion feels inevitable, it was surprising not to see him in the base roster. If Arc System Works brings the Asgardian to the game, subverting the expectation and giving us a variant is the perfect way to honor his legacy while also experimenting and breaking expectations.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls’ Missing Avenger Is Perfect For DLC
Thor would also fill one of the most obvious gaps in the current Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls roster. The game launches with 20 characters divided across five teams, including the Fighting Avengers. Yet one of Marvel’s most important Avengers is nowhere among them. That absence is difficult to overlook when Loki is already playable, and the game has an entire Asgard stage. Not only that, Loki even has a Thor costume.
There is also a gameplay argument for adding him. Many of the characters who wield weapons are all sword users, and adding Thor would give us a hammer user. Not only that, but we’ll get a lightning-based character outside of Storm. Thor feels like he would be perfect as a mobile brawler who can use Mjolnir to quickly cross the store. A variant of Thor could even take this further with different ways to implement this.
Loki is a fantastic character, and quickly becoming my second favorite after Magik, but he is not the best Asgard representation. Thor would also represent a major powerhouse for Asgard to face against the Champion. Bringing Thor in after the Champion has been defeated, at least in the game’s canon story, would be an ironic twist and complete Loki’s redemption arc and possibly reinforce Thor’s feelings of unworthiness. This is why Thor is the perfect DLC character despite his history in Marvel fighting games.
Phoenix Cyclops May Set the Precedent for Marvel Tokon’s DLC
Phoenix Cyclops is the most important clue because he demonstrates what Arc System Works considers worthy of a DLC slot. The developer could have simply added regular Cyclops, especially considering his status as one of Marvel’s most famous X-Men. Instead, the first additional character is explicitly based on his Phoenix Five incarnation from Avengers vs. X-Men. Arc says this version combines Cyclops’ iconic optic blasts and hand-to-hand combat with the power of the Phoenix Force. This is absolutely a statement from Arc System Works.
This changes how fans should view the remaining slots for DLC, at least for the first year. Arc System Works is clearly making specific selections when it comes to post-launch support. Unworthy Thor, Frog Thor, and Beta Ray Bill are the best way to continue this practice as the second DLC slot. That approach would also make the DLC roster more exciting than simply filling obvious omissions with characters that players thought would be in the base roster.
Unworthy Thor could bring an entirely different visual identity and relationship with Mjolnir. Frog Thor could produce one of the strangest fighters Arc has ever designed. Beta Ray Bill could function as a separate character entirely while still satisfying the demand for a wielder of Thor’s iconic weaponry. It remains to be seen if these hints are all leading up to Thor coming to Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, but if he does, we should expect his identity to not exactly match up to expectations.