Marvel Super Heroes

About Marvel Super Heroes

Marvel Super Heroes (1995) is Capcom's CPS-2 fighting game loosely based on The Infinity Gauntlet, in which Marvel heroes and villains battle for the Infinity Gems, the step between X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel vs. Capcom.

Marvel Super Heroes in Depth

Heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe fight one another for the Infinity Gems, while the main antagonist, Thanos, plans to use them to take over the universe. Players knock out the opponent, or finish the round with more life, using attacks and special abilities, and build a super meter for powerful Infinity Combo attacks.

The gems are its unique mechanic. The Power, Time, Space, Reality, Soul and Mind gems are won from opponents in arcade mode, or by meeting conditions such as landing the first hit in versus mode, and using one in battle gives a short-lived boost, such as more power or defence, health recovery or extra attacks. Certain fighters get special benefits from certain gems; Spider-Man with the Power Gem, for instance, creates a doppelganger on the far side of his opponent for extra damage. Capcom carried over the four characters from X-Men: Children of the Atom that its market research found most popular, Wolverine, Juggernaut, Magneto and Psylocke.

Making Marvel Super Heroes

Marvel Super Heroes was Capcom's second fighting game based on Marvel characters, after 1994's X-Men: Children of the Atom, and was followed in 1996 by X-Men vs. Street Fighter, the first Marvel vs. Capcom game. Game Machine listed it as Japan's eleventh most successful arcade game of December 1995. The arcade version was well received: Computer and Video Games gave it 5/5, and Next Generation, despite three stars, praised its "liquid-smooth animation" and said its 2D graphics were a "refreshing" change from polygon fighters. The 1997 Saturn port was widely praised for keeping the arcade's large, detailed sprites, Sega Saturn Magazine saying it "makes 2D graphics cool again", though some noted slowdown, and GameSpot found the home versions dull next to newer Capcom fighters. Critics generally rated the PlayStation version below the Saturn one, GamePro citing it as proof that the PlayStation could not handle 2D as well. It was re-released in Marvel vs. Capcom Origins in 2012 and the Fighting Collection in 2024.