The 39 characters of Marvel vs Capcom 3

She-Hulk

First Appearance: Savage She-Hulk #1

Jennifer Walters lived a normal life until the day her famous cousin Bruce Banner was the only person available for a life-saving blood transfusion. Ever since that day she’s been cursed/blessed with the green skin and Gamma-influenced strength of the Hulk. Though not as insanely strong as Bruce, She-Hulk benefits from keeping her wits about her at all times, rarely losing control. On top of joining the Fantastic Four and Avengers, She-Hulk has also become the most famous super powered lawyer this side of Matt Murdock, and eventually learns to enjoy her Jennifer Walters identity just as much as her super-strong alter-ego, while at the same time helping out her troubled cousin whenever he needs it.

Shuma-Gorath

First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #10

A bit of a Cthulu homage, Shuma-Gorath is a lord of chaos and one of the most powerful magical beings around. A planet threatening force, he has been pushed back just barely by the magical characters of Marvel, Doctor Strange being his most famous combatant. He has unlimited power, can change his body in any way, can teleport between dimensions and has an intelligence that borders on omniscient. So of course he decides to enter a fighting tournament and fight like a one-eyed squid.

Spider-Man

First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15

Tell us if you heard this one before: a nerd named Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains the powers of an arachnid instead of, say, leukemia. Initially Parker used his newfound strength, speed, agility, spider-sense, and web shooters of his own creation to gain fortune and fame as Spider-Man. After being careless and inadvertently causing the death of his beloved uncle, he learned that cool powers come with soul-crushing responsibility (we’re paraphrasing). Ever since then Spidey’ life is defined by struggling to balance his dual identities, while beating up criminals and constantly joking all over New York City.

Storm

First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1

Storm grew up an orphan on the streets of Cairo, until a chance encounter with Charles Xavier, who recognized her potential. As a young adult she came to be worshipped as a rain goddess in Kenya, but soon she joined the newly reformed X-Men and quickly becomes one of their top members, even leading the team on occasion. Recently she became a Queen, marrying fellow African hero Black Panther. With her power to control the weather, she can create the subtlest wind or bury her enemies in a record-breaking blizzard.

Super-Skrull

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #18

The Skrulls, a shape-shifting race hell bent on invading earth, were thwarted by the Fantastic Four and swore revenge. Kl’rt, a top Skrull warrior, was chosen to for an experiment that gave him the combined powers of the FF, invisible force fields, stretchiness, fire creation and manipulation, incredible toughness and strength, abilities that even exceeded the FF’s. But poor old Kl’rt lost time and again to the foursome, until he’s basically a joke to the Skrull race. Still, he can hold his own against many of his cosmic rivals, especially if they make the mistake of underestimating him.

Taskmaster

First Appearance: Avengers #195

Yeah, he looks like a reject from He-Man, but Taskmaster is not to be taken lightly. Though he aims low with his evil plans, mostly training henchmen for all the would-be conquerors, one-on-one he’s got a shot against any person on earth. That’s thanks to his “photographic reflexes” he can perfectly recreate any movement he sees, which makes him one of the most skilled guys around. He can throw a shield like Captain America, scrap as well as Wolverine, and do anything else that doesn’t demand super powers to enhance those movements. However, that talent has a tragic side, as the catalogue of moves in his head has destroyed his long term memory, with every new move erasing another reminiscence from his mind.

Thor

First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #83

According to the All Father (and his father) Odin, Norse thunder god Thor needed to learn a lesson in humility, so he was sent to earth and tethered to humble human doctor Donald Blake. Once the doc strikes his walking stick to the ground, he becomes the hammer-wielding god, possessing immense strength, endurance, and his magical hammer Mjolnir that has power over lightning. After learning some modesty, Thor has tirelessly defended his beloved Midgard, be it from evil gods like his brother Loki, or whatever his tight knit group of Avengers are facing down. One of the most famous Marvel characters, it’s surprising Thor is only now joining the vs Capcom series.