Back in the late 1990s, Capcom had big plans for Marvel vs. Capcom. The developers were convinced they had the ultimate final boss in mind—none other than the cosmic powerhouse, Galactus.
“If we have him as our boss, the American fans are going to lose their minds!” recalled former Capcom staff member Katsuya ‘Shaky’ Akitomo. The team believed Galactus would be the perfect step up from Apocalypse, the final boss of Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. However, Marvel had different ideas.
When Marvel got word of Capcom’s plan, they weren’t on board. Instead, they pitched Loki, the infamous trickster and longtime Avengers villain. From Marvel’s perspective, Loki’s magic and unpredictability made him a great fit for a fighting game.
But Capcom’s developers weren’t convinced. “Who knows him in Japan?” they wrote on a now-archived ‘Secret Web Page’ that detailed the game’s development. “He’s all covered in green tights. He has a helmet that looks like bug horns… WHAT’S COOL ABOUT HIM?!?!”
At the time, Loki wasn’t the global fan-favorite he is today. This was years before Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which skyrocketed Loki’s popularity. Capcom ultimately rejected him, and instead, they went with Onslaught as the game’s final boss.
So why didn’t Marvel want Galactus in Marvel vs. Capcom? According to Capcom’s developers, Marvel gave them a simple but frustrating reason:
“Galactus is an omnipotent god, so you can’t defeat him. And he wouldn’t even fight.”
That put the team in a bind. If Galactus was meant to be all-powerful, how could they justify having him lose in a fighting game? Even Capcom’s American comics advisor, Shaky Akitomo, was left scratching his head.
While Galactus was left out in Marvel vs. Capcom, his time eventually came. In 2011, he was brought in as the final boss of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. This time, he was exactly as overpowered as Capcom always envisioned—taking up the entire screen and requiring players to team up just to bring him down.
Meanwhile, Loki finally became a major household name, thanks to Tom Hiddleston’s MCU portrayal. His popularity exploded, leading to his own Disney+ series, which became one of the platform’s most-watched shows. In fact, Loki’s second season premiere was the second-most viewed season premiere on Disney+ in 2023, racking up 10.9 million views in its first three days.
Despite his rising fame, Loki has never made it into a Marvel vs. Capcom game. Even when Capcom considered him for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the game’s producer, Ryota Niitsuma, wasn’t sure how his illusion-based abilities would translate into a fighting game.
But given Marvel’s consistent push for Loki’s inclusion and his undeniable popularity, there’s always a chance he could show up in a future Marvel vs. Capcom 4—or whatever Capcom’s next Marvel fighting game may be.
