Characters / Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

The characters of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter:

Marvel Secret Characters

Armored Spider-Man

A Palette Swap of Spider-Man representing him wearing the Spider Armor suit. Is mostly the same character, but with slightly lower jumps due to weight and Super Armor, requiring two hits to stun him.

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• A Winner Is You: Like all Marvel Secret characters in the series, his ending is just him posing in front of the Hyper Combo background while the game congratulates you for winning with a secret character.
• Crippling Overspecialization: Armored Spidey has better defense, but at the cost of his agility and a lower damage output.
• Made of Iron: His suit is, allowing an extra layer of defense for Spidey.
• Palette Swap: Although the original Armored Spider-Man suit is not identical to the regular Spidey, RAM restrictions forced the staff to make him a palette swap instead of giving him unique sprites.
• Shout-Out: To the armored Spider-Man seen in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
• Powered Armor: What the palette change represents: Spider-Man wearing an iron suit.

U.S. Agent

Real name John Walker, an U.S. soldier who briefly took over the mantle of Captain America. Although he has his own uniform and look, here he appears as a Palette Swap of the Cap. Outside of different, more aggressive win quotes, he plays the exact same.

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• Anti-Air: The Stars and Stripes special and hyper combo variants are this, a rising shield bash in the vein of the Shoryuken.
• A Winner Is You: Like all Marvel Secret characters in the series, his ending is just him posing in front of the Hyper Combo background while the game congratulates you for winning with a secret character.
• Dash Attack: As with Cap, he has the Charging Stars and Hyper Charging Stars, where he lunges forward with his shield up-front.
• Moveset Clone: He plays the exact same as Captain America, not even having different stats for his attacks.
• Shield Bash: He uses his shield like Cap, being able to strike, bash and throw it at enemies.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: His win quotes are a lot more aggressive and mean than the Cap's, reflecting his personality in the comics.

Mephisto

Blackheart's father and Satanic Archetype of the Marvel Universe. In this game he appears as a Palette Swap of Blackheart whose hits set the enemy on fire, but is otherwise identical to Blackheart.

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• Assist Character: Was planned to be one for Blackheart in a scrapped Hyper Combo were a giant Mephisto grabbed the enemy and breathed fire into them.
• A Winner Is You: Like all Marvel Secret characters in the series, his ending is just him posing in front of the Hyper Combo background while the game congratulates you for winning with a secret character.
• Betrayal by Offspring: He gets betrayed by Blackheart in Blackheart's ending from Marvel Super Heroes, using the Infinity Gems to defy him.
• Demoted to Extra: He has made minor appearances in the sequels, most notably as a card in Heroes and Heralds Mode and in Ghost Rider's ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
• Early-Bird Cameo: He was already seen, in his standard appearance, in the background of Thanos' stage in Marvel Super Heroes. He is also seen in his more monstrous form in Blackheart's ending.
• Evil Is Burning Hot: The one thing that distingues him from Blackheart is that his strikes set the enemy on fire, and since he's Marvel's equivalent of Satan...
• Flunky Boss: Like Blackheart, a rare non-boss example. Mephisto's strong punch and kick attacks allow him to throw demons at the opponent, being either little flying demons that drain energy off them or little green goblins that grab and stun them momentarily.
• Moveset Clone: Although he has his own appearance and powers, due to RAM restrictions he's a simple red palette swap of Blackheart in this game.
• Pillar of Light: The Inferno special move summons a pillar of Fire, Ice, Lightning depending on the button pressed.
• Playing with Fire: Besides a few fire-themed moves like Blackheart, Mephisto can set opponents on fire by just hitting them.
• Shock and Awe: His Dark Thunder attack sends in a lightning bolt through the ground.

Capcom Secret Characters

Mecha Zangief

A mechanical version of Zangief, product of M. Bison and Shadaloo's technology. Mecha Zangief can't block and moves slower than regular Zangief, but his moves can't be interrupted and he gains Hyper Armor.

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• Cyborg: It's a robotic version of Zangief.
• Breath Weapon: Mecha Zangief gains the Vodka Fire, a move where he spews blue fire from his mouth.
• Canon Immigrant: Has made the transition over to Street Fighter, first as a costume for Zangief in Street Fighter IV, then a stage cameo, and finally by getting a bio in the Street Fighter V website's character encyclopedia.
• Chrome Champion: Mecha Zangief is regular Zangief in a modified iron body. The sequel would allow him to change in and out of it at will.
• The Grappler: As the original Zangief, he is also focused on grappling and wrestling. His inability to get stunned also helps him, as he can use his slower grabs while the opponent is doing a long animation and they can't stop him.
• Implacable Man: He can't be stopped, stunned or forced back for long by any attack in the game.
• Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: Mecha Zangief, a cybernetic version of Zangief. While not a proper mecha, this version of Zangief couldn't flinch and took reduced damage from pretty much any attack. He could also use a fiery breath attack as Mech-Zangief, the Vodka Fire, similar to Dhalsim's Yoga Blast. The downside is his inability to block in this form.
• Instant Flight: Just Add Spinning!: His Hyper Combo Siberian Blizzard has him flying upwards by performing a Spinning Lariat.
• Made of Iron: This case is both literally (his body is metallic) and in gameplay (can't be stunned or stopped).
• Necessary Drawback: Mecha Zangief has Nigh-Invulnerability and can walk through anything thrown at him without a care in the world, but to balace it he can't block attacks, so he will be eating a lot of damage whenever he faces a large beam or projectile attack head-on.
• Powered Armor: Mecha Zangief is a cyborg version.
• Super Mode: Becomes a transformation Hyper Combo for regular Zangief in both follow-ups.
• Super-Strength: What happens when you give the incredibly muscular Zangief an iron body.
• Spectacular Spinning: He gains a new Hyper Combo, Siberian Blizzard, where he performs a Spinning Lariat that rises him upwards.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: According to his Japan-exclusive ending, Zangief wanted Shadaloo to give him an iron body.
• What Have I Become?: In his Japan-exclusive ending, he regrets what Shadaloo did to his body, saying it was not what he wanted, and goes on to find a way to control it.

Shadow

In X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Charlie's ending depicted him being captured by Shadaloo and experimented on. This is the result of those experiments: Shadow is a cyborg version of Charlie created by M. Bison to serve as his enforcer, but Shadow breaks free of Bison's control and escapes him.

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• Continuity Nod:
  • Charlie appears in the stage Showdown In The Park, but he will not be there if either player is using Shadow.
  • In an even better example, this also happens with Blanka in the Death Valley stage, which only makes sense when you consider the existence of Carlos Blanka in the live action film.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Shadow is a fully black Killer Robot, but his desire to stop Shadaloo and its evil remains strong within him.
• The Faceless: Shadow's face is completely obscured, like the rest of his body.
• Forced into Evil: Bison's plans for Charlie upon capture, and atleast in his Secret Boss fight he fights the player at Bison's command.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: His Final Mission Hyper Combo has Shadow strike the enemy violently behind a black screen, a-la Akuma's Shun Goku Satsu.
• Paint It Black: Shadow's sprite is Charlie's from the previous game, only fully black.
• Palette Swap: Shadow is unique in that he is a palette swap of Charlie, who was not retained from his appearance in X-Men vs. Street Fighter. His moves have altered properties compared to Charlie's in that game.
• Playing with Fire: His special and Hyper moves set the opponent on fire, a blue fire product of the Psycho Power he wields.
• Reforged into a Minion: Shadow is the result of Charlie getting caught by Bison and forced into becoming his robotic enforcer.
• Robot Me: An unwilling version of Charlie as a robot. In his ending (and M. Bison's) he gets further upgraded and becomes literally a full-on robot complete with Finger Firearms.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: Before performing any of his Hyper Combos, a large white shine comes out of his eyes.
• Spam Attack: His Shadow Break Hyper is the same as Charlie's Sonic Break, and has him throw a large barrage of Sonic Booms.
• Super-Soldier: Bison's intention for Charlie, becoming a powerful asset under his control.
• Turned Against Their Masters: Shadow breaks free and starts fighting back against Bison.
• Unwilling Roboticization: Charlie is strapped to a bed and experimented on to become Shadow.
• Unwitting Test Subject: Shadow is the result of Charlie being subjected to Shadaloo experiments, which were shown in his ending in the previous game, X-Men vs. Street Fighter. In Bison and his own ending he goes through even more forced experiments that turn him into a full-on Killer Robot.
• Weaksauce Weakness: As shown in his (Japan exclusive) ending, Shadow has a limited battery time of 48 hours, after which he shuts down and Bison easily reclaims him.

Dark Sakura

Known as "Sunburned Sakura" in Japan, a Palette Swap of Sakura that gains control of the Satsui no Hadou after getting a heavy tan during summer.

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• Dub Name Change: Her name in Japanese translates to "Sunburned Sakura".
• Face Plant: There's a random chance Dark Sakura's ending (the Japanese version) shows a slightly different outcome, where her friend Kei trips and falls flat on the ground instead of running behind Sakura.
• Hades Shaded: A humorous reversal. Normally in Street Fighter, using the Satsui no Hado darkens the user's skin the more they fall victim to its influence. Here, it's the other way around, as Sakura getting tanned skin from a sunburn somehow lets her wield the Satsui no Hado's power without suffering from its corrupting effect.
• Kamehame Hadoken: This version changes Sakura's diagonally-aimed Shinkuu Hadoken into a laser beam attack like Ryu's and the others.
• Muggle Best Friend: Like regular Sakura, her best friend Kei Chitose appears in her intro and win animations as if there's nothing different with her. Dark Sakura is not so considerate, however, as in her Japanese-exclusive ending she dashes away with Akuma, leaving poor Kei running behind her.
• Palette Swap: Dark Sakura is a tanned Sakura with darker clothes. She's mostly a Moveset Clone of regular Sakura but she fires her Hadoken/Shinkuu Hadouken forward and obtains some of Akuma's moves, including the Ashura Warp and Shun Goku Satsu.
• Super Mode: Becomes an Install super of regular Sakura in Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
• Superpowered Evil Side: Parodied. While she can use Akuma's Signature Move, at the end of the day she isn't evil, she's just got a wicked sunburn.

Boss

Cyber-Akuma

A creation of Apocalypse, this is Akuma with half of his body turned into a cyborg. He serves Apocalypse as his loyal servant and enforcer.

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• Allegiance Affirmation: Several of his win quotes has him clarify he serves Apocalypse.
• Ambidextrous Sprite: Cyber-Akuma's Arm Cannon. Normally it's the right one, but it changes to his left one when facing in the opposite direction.
• Ambiguous Situation: Whether this is Akuma being turned into a cyborg or a clone/robot copy of him is never clarified, as Akuma does appear together with him in Wolverine's ending.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: In some endings, Cyber-Akuma appears as a giant for some unexplained reason.
• Black Screen of Death: He has an even more powerful version called the "Shining Gou Shock". Not only is this version much faster and powerful, but Akuma can even do it in mid-air!.
• Cyborg: In this continuity, Apocalypse rebuilds Akuma as one.
• Dub Name Change: He's known in Japanese as Mech-Gouki.
• The Dragon: To Apocalypse in this game.
• Dragon Their Feet: Although Apocalypse's second, he's faced as the game's final boss after him.
• Gratuitous English: Going against what regular Akuma does, the name of his moves are mostly random English words, for example: "High Mega Gou Beam", "Scramble Gou Punch", "Shining Circuit Gou Shoryuken", "Shining Gou Shock", etc.
• Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: He's a roboticized version created by Apocalypse, as the game's final boss. He's a more powerful and faster Akuma that possess the greatest attack and defense of any character in the game, and comes complete with mechanical wings and rocket punches. He can fire two Zankuu Hadoukens while midair, much like Shin Akuma, and can also perform an aerial Shun Goku Satsu Shining Gou Shock, something that wouldn't be seen again in Street Fighter-related media until the introduction of Oni in 2012's Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.
• Lightning Bruiser: He is really fast and really strong, much more so than any regular character, befitting his position as the Final Boss.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: In one of his win animations Cyber-Akuma reveals four extra robot arms coming out of his back.
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Cyber-Akuma, a cyborg version of an evil Blood Knight who is also a badass, and a martial artist, how does that not count? Oh, and he has a freaking Arm Cannon as well as wings.
• Omnicidal Maniac: There's no trace of the original Blood Knight left in him, and all he talks about in his quotes is how he only knows how to kill and destroy, and that Apocalypse wants him to do that so he complies.
• Reforged into a Minion: Apocalypse's technology turns the lone wolf-type Akuma into his obedient right-hand man.
• Rocket Punch: Cyber-Akuma can shoot his large robot arm, becoming a Homing Projectile.
• Secret Character: Becomes selectable in the console ports.
• Shock and Awe: His Tatsumaki and fireballs produce electricity and can zap the opponent upon hit.
• SNK Boss: Cyber-Akuma has most of Akuma's normal attacks, but they are much faster and stronger, usually leaving no space to counter-attack. His fireballs are much larger than regular Hadoukens, he can move incredibly fast from one end of the screen to another, and he has a large amount of health. He can even perform his signature Shun Goku Satsu while in mid-air, and the move's strong enough to be a One-Hit Kill in most situations.
• Spikes of Villainy: His metal shoulder sports large spikes.
• Undying Loyalty: Cyber Akuma is completely loyal to Apocalypse, as he leaves it pretty clear in his win quotes.
• Video Game Dashing: His Ashura Senkuu move is faster than regular Akuma's, and he spams it going back and forth.
• Winged Humanoid: He sports large metallic wings he sprouts when performing certain moves.

Original Characters

Norimaro

A wimpy, gangly 2nd year high school student with an old man's face, who somehow finds himself in the game's world and has to contend with all the comic book and video game characters he loves. An original character created in collaboration with Japanese comedian Noritake Kinashi.

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• Advertised Extra: Surprisingly, considering the fact that he represents neither company and was outright removed from the Western releases of the game, Norimaro was advertised very prominently in Japanese promo flyers and the process of designing him was even aired on television. Capcom clearly expected him to be a big selling point, but alas, Marvel were not so convinced.
• Ass Shove: He had a scrapped move called the "Okancho Service" (a classic Japanese prank where one clasps both middle fingers together and shoves them up the other person's ass), shown in one pre-release build seen in Kinashi's show where Spider-Man is victim to it. Apparently, Marvel were not pleased to discover this and made a big fuss to remove the attack completely, even from the Japanese release.
• Audience Participation: The process to create Norimaro was aired in Kinashi's variety show Tunnels, from his initial badly-drawn ideas to voice recording sessions and early gameplay tests. Viewers were also given the chance to send letters to the studio suggesting names for the character, with Norimaro being the chosen one.
• Banana Peel: Norimaro's fierce kick has him slip on one. The peel remains on the ground and if the opponent touches it, they also slip up.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  Norimaro: "I've only got a quarter! ...Sorry!"
• Big Head Mode: Some moves and his dash cause his head to inflate in comedic manner.
• Cool Crown: To signify he's the world ruler in his ending, Norimaro sports a typical gold crown.
• Guest Fighter: The closest the Versus series has to one, as he's neither a Marvel character nor a pure Capcom character. The rights to him are jointly owned by Capcom, Nippon TV^note He technically debuted on Kinashi's comedy show on Nippon TV, though it was always understood that he was created to appear in a Capcom fighting game. Initially, Capcom teased that he would appear in the next Street Fighter game, which scared some of the higher-ups who fought to prevent this. and Kinashi's production company Arrival, so any future appearance would have to be agreed and licenced by all three companies, explaining why Norimaro has never appeared again (that, and Marvel's vitriolic hatred of him).
• Giving Up the Ghost: Norimaro's dizzy animation has his ghost standing next to him as if about to leave his body.
• Hyperspace Arsenal: He pulls out school supplies to toss at his opponent, and even throws a near deluge of them as a Hyper Combo.
• Improbable Weapon User: He uses his white bag to strike in some of his moves, not to mention throwing anything it stores within as part of a special and Hyper Combo.
• In a Single Bound: His Great Fighting Jump and Ultimate Grand Champion Jump are Shoryuken-like moves where he strikes enemies with his chest as he jumps upwards.
• Inksuit Actor: Norimaro is a caricature of Kinashi, and is also voiced by him.
• Joke Character: As he's based on a comedian, he's meant to be a comical not-serious fighter, doing silly stuff and having some wacky Hyper Combos.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: For his Ultra Variety Private Memories Hyper Combo, Norimaro starts it up by facing the player with a serious/angry face before rushing forward, and the ending of the move has an explosion behind him as he proclaims "I Warned You!".
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Notably downplayed, despite what appearances might imply. Unused sprites in the game's code reveal he was planned to be a lot worse, including a win animation where he puts on a pervert face and tries to take a peek at the crotch of a downed character (most likely trying to see up Sakura's skirt) and an Hyper Combo where he gets a massive nosebleed after thinking of female Street Fighters in compromising positions.
• Miles Gloriosus: While looking at his animations makes it clear that he's only capable of fighting via sheer dumb luck and Rule of Funny, this doesn't stop him from bossing his partner character in his Japanese win quotes: asking them to stop hogging the spotlight, proclaiming himself the leader of the team, demanding stuff from them (bring him juice, a massage), asking them to call him "big brother". Worst of all, his quote after beating Apocalypse as the point character has him telling his partner he's just decided to make them his slave!
• Nerd Glasses: He wears a round pair of glasses.
• Nervous Wreck: He's a complete wreck of nervousness and anxiety at having to fight, and this is expressed through his animations. Hell, his idle stance has him trembling and looking very anxious, while barely keeping his legs from bending all the way to ground.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is a (self-made) caricature of Kinashi.
• Ordinary High-School Student: Norimaro is Kinashi as a 2nd year high school student with almost no real powers or fighting skills, somehow trapped in the video game world and doing as best as he can to survive fighting real superheroes and superhumans.
• Original Generation: Norimaro's inclusion in the game, modeled after the actual comedian.
• Perma-Stubble: He goes around with an unshaved face.
• Put on a Bus: He is the only non-secret character up to that point to miss the roster in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, although the fact he's neither a Marvel nor a fully Capcom character and his complex copyright issues makes this justified.
• Quaking with Fear: He can barely stand straight in his idle stance, as his legs are almost bent over while he quakes in fear of what's to come.
• Rule of Funny: Everything about him runs on this trope. Hell, why is a powerless Japanese pervert fighting Marvel superheroes and Capcom world warriors in the first place? Don't even ask.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: Due to the circunstances of his creation, his copyright is triple-owned by Capcom, Kinashi and Nippon TV (where Kinashi's show aired), so any future appearance would require agreement with all three entities first, making any future appearance highly unlikely.
• Selfie Fiend: One of his win animations has him take a selfie of himself next to the defeated opponent.
• Socially Awkward Hero: He's rather wimpy and easily scared when confronted with the other characters, and he is described as much by Kinashi.
• Spreading Disaster Map Graphic: In his ending, a map of the world turns red continent-by-continent to display Norimaro's ascent as the ruler of the entire world.
• Straw Fan: He's a stereotypical Otaku who got in the ring by mistake and is now aspiring to take Chun Li's picture.
• Tears of Fear: A lot of Norimaro's attacks and moves have him crying his eyes out of fear at having to fight literal super heroes.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: In his ending, he goes from beating Apocalypse to Take Over the World as a tyrant.
• Use Your Head: One of Norimaro's grabs has him latch onto the opponent and then headbutt them a few times with a comically large head.
• Wimp Fight: His normal attacks are cowardly shoves and flails of his arms, and he blocks by holding his handbag up to cower behind it.
• 0% Approval Rating: In his ending he takes over the world and rules it as a despot, and upon his death he gets branded "King Heretic" and his legacy becomes a tedious subject matter in History lessons.