The fun 4v4 team battles of Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was finally available to all players through an open beta, where 16 out of 20 characters were playable. While the upcoming release of the game on August 6, 2026, will inevitably come with a patch that changes how certain fighters work, the beta saw a refined gameplay system with several clearly strong characters. The versatility of some characters made them great picks for the beta, with strong assists or approachable play styles that will make some fighters popular choices for any player’s team at launch.
Carnage, Hulk, Loki, and Deadpool were not characters featured in Marvel Tōkon‘s beta, but several fighters on the beta roster had been seen in closed previews of the game before. Since the game was announced, fans have seen how fighters like Star-Lord, Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, Captain America, and more have evolved over time. With larger gameplay changes and improvements to individual character expression, the core ideas behind certain figures have expanded into some exciting potential.
Black Panther was a character I often saw in the Marvel Tōkon beta not always as a point character, but consistently as a reliable assist for many teams. The vibranium daggers thrown by Black Panther are excellent projectiles, with her spear in other assist positions also helping players close the distance to their opponent. That being said, plenty of players used Black Panther as their team’s primary fighter too, using her agility and longer attack reach to build offensive pressure against others.
Those who tried Black Panther during the beta likely did so because of her speed, which is enhanced when she generates bars of Bast’s Blessing, a unique gauge players can manually charge throughout a match. Spending parts of Bast’s Blessing allows Black Panther to dart in different directions around the screen, sometimes after other attacks to ensure a safe approach toward an opponent. Great skills, such as an invincible anti-air reversal, also make Black Panther easier to pick up, creating a well-rounded fighter flexible for any team.
As a prominent leader of villainous characters, Doctor Doom already had a presence in Marvel Tōkon prior to the beta. At the same time, Doom has been a consistent pick throughout every early preview of the fighting game, mainly due to how formidable his tools are for dealing with a wide variety of other characters. Doctor Doom has fast projectiles, including a large shield that can be placed to slowly move toward enemies or appear behind them to push them closer to Doom. These shields block opposing projectiles too, giving Doctor Doom more freedom to establish an advantage.
In the open beta, Doctor Doom was given far more utility in his special moves as well, giving players more combo routes with the character than ever before. Doom’s movement also lets him phase through opponents, appearing on the other side of them for tricky offense. Often led as a point character, Doctor Doom has great space control, but doesn’t rely on projectiles as heavily as someone like Magneto, making him a great blend of multiple play styles in one fighter.
One underrated aspect of Doom’s inclusion on most teams is that the ruler of Latveria is excellent at the end of any team. Doctor Doom has one of the strongest Assault assists in the game, where he calls down a tracking laser to pin down opponents. This can be a great tool for forcing another character to move, sometimes even keeping them in the same spot for your character to go on an offensive. Doom’s assistance will constantly keep an enemy character nervous, even if it does take some planning and time to unlock Doom in the Assault position.
It’s no surprise that Wolverine and Spider-Man are two characters who are going to be on everyone’s team post-launch, if the open beta is any indication. However, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is arguably the better of the two, solely for the aerial mobility the character has along with strong defensive mechanics. Spider-Man’s unique action allows him to dart toward opponents quickly, or web swing around a battlefield, making it hard for enemies to catch him at times.
That being said, even when enemies do track down the wall crawler, Spider-Man’s Spidey Sense special move gives him a counter to opposing attacks, giving him a way of escaping pressure again. Other invincible special moves and decent web ball projectiles make Spider-Man extremely versatile, with decent assists also helping players use the New York City hero on their team in multiple positions. Wolverine might be faster and have better skills for mixing up opponents, but Spider-Man is perhaps more balanced for players getting into the fighting game.
Magik was, by far, one of the best point characters in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls for its open beta weekend due to how many strong abilities she has at her disposal. For starters, her fire orb projectile is incredibly strong, taking up plenty of space to catch targets moving around erratically on different stages. Magik’s Soulsword also has a lot of reach on the character’s attacks, making each of her strikes compete well against characters whose punches and kicks have limited range.
Although Marvel Tōkon has its problems, Magik is certainly not one of them with how strong her Dark Portal unique actions are during a match. This character can set up a Dark Portal nearly anywhere on a stage, using it to enhance her special moves or teleport to different locations. Magik can use a Dark Portal to make a flaming pillar appear below an opponent, dodge their attacks to appear behind them, or even throw a projectile through a Portal to have it reappear again a short time later.
Each of Magik’s portal options are extremely strong, either as tools in neutral interactions or as ways to ramp up an already dominant offensive strategy. Magik may not be as mobile as other characters, but her sword’s long attacks and heavy damage more than make up for this weakness. With strong assists as well, Magik is easily a character who will help define the “meta” of this fighting game on launch, unless an early patch tones down her more oppressive skills.
Potentially the strongest character in the open beta, Blade was a staple of many players’ teams, occupying the best first or last slot character you could have. Blade is a character much like Magik, using a long sword to out-range other characters with basic attacks. At the same time, Heart Stopper stake projectiles that Blade could travel to also gave him great mobility to move around everywhere, including behind him. Similar to Magik’s Dark Portals, Blade’s excellent unique skill gave him an edge compared to other characters.
Yet, Blade takes things a step further with how his Heart Stopper projectiles power up his sword for the next use of some special moves. Blade’s special moves are ridiculously strong already, with some crossing up enemies or setting up long combos that deal big damage. With a Marked for Death power up state on his sword, Blade can extend combos even more, or deal greater damage to shred opposing health bars fast. Already, players were discovering loops with Blade that could eliminate a rival’s vitality in a single combo with the right assists and timing.
Blade also has access to the best projectile in the game, his Glaive Strike. This move throws out a projectile that hits multiple times before returning in a straight line. This projectile stays on screen for a long time, and while Blade can’t use it again until it returns, the Glaive Strike disc’s many hits make it a tool that players can’t escape from easily. With a tricky multi-hitting Assault assist too, as well as a submachine gun projectile burst, Blade’s cool factor and strong techniques make him a character people will see often when Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls officially releases.
What character(s) were you playing the most during the Marvel Tōkon Fighting Souls open beta? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
