During E3, Square Enix revealed a Guardians of the Galaxy game to release later this year. It got me thinking about the recent trend of more comic heroes and groups getting more standalone games. Through Marvel, DC, and countless over companies, there are plenty of superheroes with unique powers that can translate well into gameplay. Let’s take a look into a few superheroes that could work as a standalone video game. I’ll examine their history with past games along with their lore that gives the potential for a standalone.
1. The Flash
The Scarlet Speedster isn’t unfamiliar with appearing in video games. He’s mostly known for his appearances in crossover video games such as the Injustice series. With a standalone DCEU film coming in 2022, it would be a fitting time to consider giving him his own video game, as well. While there are many in DC’s lineup, The Flash is one of the more deserving due to his abilities translating well into gameplay.
Speedy characters have always made for interesting gameplay. The Flash could go a route similar to Sonic The Hedgehog in being a speed-based platformer. However, I do see his fast and flashy movements from Injustice having the potential for open-world beat-em-ups similar to the Arkham series. His speed is perfect for traveling throughout the map and reducing tedium from backtracking.
There’s also his ability to use his super-speed to travel through time that could make for potentials plots and gameplay mechanics. The Flash can travel back in time as a neat gameplay function for players to undo mistakes or save their progress. It could also allow the game to implement other Speedsters that have taken up the mantle of Flash along with his nemesis, Reverse-Flash.
2. Green Lantern
Similar to Flash, Green Lantern has mostly appeared in crossover fighters like Injustice. A standalone Green Lantern has the potential to dive deep into the Green Lantern corp beyond Hal Jordan and make use of the extensive worldbuilding. The game can focus on other lanterns such as Jon Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner. There’s also the potential of looking into the other Lantern corps as allies or antagonists.
Green Lantern’s ability to create anything that comes to mind offers a limitless amount of gameplay mechanics. Players can be able to craft whatever they desire to solve puzzles or fight enemies. It gives freedom to the player and replay-value to try out different methods with the ring’s power. If handled well, it could make for one of DC’s most unique video game adaptations.
It’s been quite some time since Green Lantern has been a prominent hero in mainstream comic media. He hasn’t been in the current DCEU and his live-action movie was a trainwreck. Many of the Green Lanterns have been shown as major players in the Justice League so it’s about time they get their chance. Fortunately, a video game standalone could help increase the popularity.
3. Spider-Gwen/Spider-Verse
This entry is cheating a bit as we’d be focusing on a variety of heroes. With the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4 and its Miles Morales standalone, players can never get tired of Spidey. It would be nice to see video games dive more into the Spider-Verse and offer more playable spider-men (and women). While there’s still love for Peter Parker, films like Into the Spider-Verse have shown that there’s interest in seeing more take on the mantle. If we had to choose from the immense list of the wall-crawler, Spider-Gwen is a clear shoo-in for a potential standalone.
There are many Spideys to make playable.
Insomniac has been able to create a universe that includes many of Spider-Man’s allies and antagonists in the same setting. It wouldn’t be a far stretch to hope for an appearance from Gwen, even if it’s just DLC. I personally would love to see how they could make more playable spideys different from one another. Miles was able to stand out from Peter so I do not doubt that Gwen or any of the other Spider-men can offer another unique playstyle.
4. Black Panther
Marvel’s Avengers recently revealed Black Panther as its next DLC. The King of Wakanda has been used before in other Marvel Crossovers but has yet to get his own standalone game. Personally, I feel like it’s a missed opportunity given how well the cinematic trailer for the DLC looks. It would be a nice change of pace from the standard Avenger content. Black Panther is one of Marvel’s more diverse characters and many can benefit from having more heroes of different races and from different countries. Having a Black Panther game could make the way for other lesser-known diverse heroes to gain more attention and appeal for games.
Wakanda makes for an interesting setting in contrast to the urban cities and war zones used in other games. The culture and customs could be fully explored through the gameplay, offering insights into the nation that MCU couldn’t cover. Hopefully, we could more interest from Marvel and Square in doing more with King T’Challa after the expansion.
Are there any other heroes I’ve missed? Which comic book characters do you think should get a standalone release? Let me know in the comments below!
Cathal
Spider Gwen is the most plausible. Flash sounds great on paper, but in a game he’d become one-dimensional quickly as running fast isn’t as enjoyable as web swinging.