Spider-Man Guest Appearances

Marvel Super Heroes
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
System: Arcade, Saturn, PlayStation
Release Date: 1995

	Back, and better than ever.
	Ow....
	"Magnetic disruptor!"

After the success of Capcom's X-men: Children of the Atom arcade fighter, the creation of a similar game with different characters was a no-brainer, and the logical choice to headline the game was, naturally, Spider-Man. Add to that Ryu/Ken controller motions and animations, and it's no surprise Marvel Super Heroes was an instant success. The story was simple: Once again, Thanos was after the infinity gems, but many of the other heroes in the Marvel Universe thought that Earth would be better served if Thanos didn't have them. Some motivations were benevolent (like Spidey's), while others were far from it (I can't imagine Juggernaut using the gems to bring about world peace). Regardless of intent, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Shuma-Gorath, Psylocke, Captain America, Wolverine, Juggernaut, Magneto, the Incredible Hulk, and Black Heart were all playable characters. Like in the SNES title, you could use the gems to temporarily gain powers above and beyond your usual abilities (increased damage, defense, etc.). Gameplay was deep, supercombos and counters constant, and the art of air juggling was taken to new heights. Some critics accused the game of being nothing more than a Street Fighter clone with background graphics so intense it was hard to discern what was actually happening. Regardless, it proved to be another smash in Capcom's history of fighting games and sucked more than its fair share of quarters from the pockets of gamers worldwide.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
System: Arcade, Japanese Saturn, PlayStation
Release Date: 1997

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was a variation on the successful tag-team gameplay that was popularized by X-Men vs. Street Fighter. You made a team of two characters from a collection of individuals that had achieved fame in either the Street Fighter or Marvel Universe. Many of the characters from Marvel Super Heroes had been replaced with other characters that had already appeared in Capcom fighters (like Omega Red from Children of the Atom) or had appeared countless times in Street Fighter sequels (Ken, Ryu, Chun Li, Zangief, etc.) The tag team battle greatly deepened gameplay: Injured characters could be tagged out to heal, but doing so left the incoming player completely vulnerable for a substantial amount of time. Team-up combos were also possible; for instance, Spider-Man could perform his Maximum Spider super on a hapless foe while Cyclops was lighting him up with an optic blast. The main difference between this title and X-Men vs. Street Fighter was that this one had offered the choice of selectable and hidden characters. Nevertheless, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter was another smash hit for the many fans of Capcom's 2D arcade brawlers.

	Back in Action
	Spider-Man multiplicity.

Marvel vs. Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
System: Arcade, Dreamcast
Release Date: 1998

Yet another crossover fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom featured the most popular Marvel characters against the most popular Capcom characters that had been created over the many years it had been in the biz: Strider Hiryu, Bionic Commando, Morrigan (from Darkstalkers), Ryu, Chun Li, Zangief, Jin (from Cyberbots), and Megaman represented Capcom. On the Marvel side of things was the Incredible Hulk, Gambit, Captain America, Venom, War Machine, Wolverine, and, of course, Spider-Man. Featuring insane team combos, spectacular supermoves, and the highest damage setting yet, Marvel vs. Capcom remains the pinnacle of the crossover fighters. Onslaught replaced Cyber-Akuma and Apocalypse as the hardest boss ever in a Capcom arcade game. Victories against this Magneto/Professor X combination were worthy of celebration with champagne and a full-piece orchestra. If you haven't played Marvel vs. Capcom, you've been missing out.

Show me Spidey's Game Boy cameo