Still, there are plenty of candidates who make so much sense that they're certified no-brainer answers to this question. How 'bout I take you for a ride through a list of my top picks? == TEASER ==
CAPTAIN COMMANDO
Hand’s down the most natural fit. Look at him —he already is a superhero! His debut title in the early 90s even had more in common with the X-MEN arcade game than it did with FINAL FIGHT and his odd menagerie of ninja, mummy and mech-piloting baby cohorts isn't too far from other anti-teams like the Defenders. They even once fought a shape-shifting, power-stealing green, gelatinous menace who bore more than a passing resemblance to the Super-Adaptoid. Put these guys in any corner of the Marvel Universe and it'll feel like they've always been there. There's also some added creative appeal, here, because these characters haven't actually been fleshed out that much —they're just waiting for some creators to tell their story. Seriously, replace that star on the captain's belt buckle with an Avengers "A" or an X-Men "X" already!
M. BISON
Part of the fun of these crossovers is the parallels they bring up between characters, and I really don’t see much difference between this rat bastard dictator and super-villainous despots like Dr. Doom or Namor (on his bad days, at least.) If the MU can fit Latveria into the Balkans and Wakanda somewhere into Africa, I don’t see why Shadowlaw can’t be squeezed into Southeast Asia. I could totally see this old STREET FIGHTER boss getting embroiled in the kind of intense political drama we've often seen in BLACK PANTHER or becoming the target of a covert ops mission for the Secret Avengers. Plus, his outfit actually looks vaguely Kirby-esque already in its bold simplicity, its saturated use of a primary color and its super-villain styling of a real world military uniform.
ZERO & MEGA MAN X
Once again, there ain’t a whole lot separating the Blue Bomber from the likes of, say, Machine Man. Considering how Marvel’s got a whole bunch of alternate futures, I can totally see X’s world (from the darkest MEGA MAN of the series) as a neighbor to Killraven’s Martian-dominated dystopia or Deathlok’s post-Apocalyptic wasteland. Actually, I could very easily see X & Zero teaming up with those two for a war against the ultimate maverick robot masters - - the Sentinels of DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. Just imagine Mega Man taking on the likes of Nimrod and gaining his unfathomable powers after felling him with a charged-up X-Buster. Can't you just picture X sporting a white and pink variant of his suit after that, just like he does after beating every boss in his games?
The deadliest practitioner of Ryu's amped-up brand of Shotokan karate is actually the first Capcom character to cross paths with Marvel denizens. You'll recall how he glided in at the end of X-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM to kick the snot out of Magneto and challenge the player to a contest of skills. With that in mind, Akuma could have a hell of a hook for a solo comic —he’d basically be traveling across the Marvel galaxy to pick fights with every formidable hero and villain. That’s it. No other agenda to dress it up. He just wants to battle the strongest combatants out there. And I dare say he wants to be the best there is at what he does because you just know Wolverine ran into this guy during his lost years in Japan.
That's all the room I have here, even though there are plenty more great crossover candidates. Imagine Hayato Kanzaki of STAR GLADIATOR throwing in with Annihilators for some cosmic adventure, Jin Saotome of CYBERBOTS taking on colossal beasts of Monster Island in his mech or Strider Hiryu soaring down the same towering urban canyons that Spider-Man 2099 swings through. This would make for one seriously awesome fifth event, and I'm only scratching the surface of possibilities. Why don't you Comic Vine maniacs pick up this ball and run with it? What Capcom characters would fit in the Marvel Universe?
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here . Follow him on Twitter: @tompinchuk
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