A development build of Capcom’s fighting game, Marvel vs Capcom, has leaked, revealing scrapped characters and boss battles.
Content creator and fighting game enthusiast SeventhForce took to Twitter/X to share details about a leaked development build of Marvel vs Capcom that contains revealing scrapped characters and boss battles. The build contains a “Producer’s Essay”, a five part developer diary from the game’s producer, Kenji Kataoka. Based on the information available, Kataoka narrowed down his proposed list for the game’s roster to Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Psylocke, Venom, Jubilee , Mr. Fantastic, and Howard the Duck.
Scrapped Characters
According to the “Producer’s Essay” found by the content creator, the inclusion of Iron Man was turned down by Marvel due to an exclusivity contract, and while the company is never named, it is likely to be Acclaim. In his place, However, Marvel suggested using War Machine and recoloring Iron Man to do so.
Similarly, Fantastic Four characters were legally off the table. Kataoka mentioned trying to bargain for at least a background cameo appearance, but the likely contract with Acclaim prevented it. The Four Freedoms Plaza still managed to find its way into the corner of the game’s Daily Bugle Stage, and it can only be seen if a character super jumps. It’s unknown whether this was negotiated with Marvel or the development team put it in without the former’s permission.
As for Thor, he was initially contractually bound, but only in the US. The development team was allowed to include the character in Japan. However, late in development, Thor got cleared for worldwide use, so Capcom added him as an assist.
Meanwhile, Psylocke was intended to be a playable character in Marvel vs Capcom, but memory space limitations resulting in the development team using her as a partner character instead. Similarly, while Kataoka wanted to include Jubilee as a playable character, but hardware limitations meant that there was only space for one more playable Marvel character, and Venom was who the development team ended up going with.
Lastly, some people at Capcom wanted to include Howard the Duck as a playable character. The character was half done, and there was even a petition passed around the development team to send to Marvel. Despite the effort, Marvel ended up rejecting the character’s inclusion.
Canceled Final Boss
According to the “Producer’s Essay”, Capcom had originally proposed Galactus as the final boss in Marvel vs Capcom. However, Marvel rejected the idea, suggesting Loki instead. While Capcom did see potential to get creative with Loki as a boss character, it was concerned that players in Japan may not be aware of him and may not resonate with his green and yellow outfit.
After Loki, Marvel suggested Fin Fang Foom as a possible final boss, given his status as a formidable Iron Man villain. However, Kataoka found it odd for the game to not feature Iron Man himself, while having a villain associated with him as the final boss. Out of frustration, Kataoka started listing popular Marvel villains, hoping that Marvel would approve one. One of them was Carnage, but Marvel turned down the idea. When he brought up Onslaught, however, the company took a few weeks to think it over before sending its approval alongside reference material specific to the character.
