Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls Might Have My Favorite Version Of Deadpool Ever

The characterization of different heroes and villains in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is surprisingly great, with some figures feeling more authentic to their comic book versions than ever before. Deadpool is one such character, featured on the Samurai Outriders team in the game’s Episode story mode alongside Blade, Loki, and the leader Ghost Rider. The comedic “Merc with a Mouth” often relies on humor that doesn’t always land, but thankfully, the approach this fighting game took with the character creates a version of Wade Wilson I’m always happy to see.

The writing behind Deadpool is genuinely funny through his dialogue, whether its in the Episode mode written by real comic writers or through the pre and post-match quotes the character has toward members of the cast. Whether it’s questioning Ms. Marvel if she’s an Inhuman or mutant due to inconsistencies in her comics to remarking on the status of Blade’s failed MCU movie, Deadpool breaks the fourth wall without making it stale. Unique and creative approaches are taken to make Deadpool unpredictable in their meta commentary, leading to moments where I’ve laughed out loud from what he has to say.

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls Turns Deadpool Into A Walking Pile Of Fighting Game References

According to in-game lore, Deadpool found a fighting game magazine outside the fourth wall, studying iconic titles from the genre to imitate for his own moves. This has turned the character’s entire play style into a pile of fighting game references from across subgenres and series, no matter how unrelated they are separate from Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. As a huge fighting game fan, this is one of the most amazing choices for the character in this setting, as Deadpool is usually relegated to pop culture references that don’t make sense if you don’t know the context.

While in a fighting game himself, players who already know the genre well enough to choose Deadpool can actively see and recognize each homage the character has. For those unfamiliar with fighting games outside of Marvel Tōkon, the comic and media references are still snappy and witty, especially against characters that don’t interact with Deadpool much in popular settings. For example, Deadpool has a hilarious interaction with Doctor Doom, which would rarely even take place in any other medium.

Most of Deadpool’s basic attacks, special moves, and fourth wall breaks are tied to infamous fighting game animations or situations, creating a character born of nostalgia for the genre. Although it would take time to list all of the fighting game references in Deadpool’s arsenal, here are a few of my favorites:

• Dragon Ball FighterZ – Deadpool’s fight intro is the same as Cell’s, as a yell referencing loud crowd reactions from big tournaments.
• Street Fighter 2 – Deadpool’s outro shows him create character cards similar to the Capcom classic.
• Guilty Gear Xrd – Deadpool’s outro changes his opponent’s appearance like the character Faust’s instant kill technique.
• Guilty Gear Strive – Deadpool has an attack like May’s advancing dolphin strike.
• Mortal Kombat (1992) – Deadpool has Scorpion’s “Get Over Here!” spear attack and strange win pose animations from the original arcade game.
• King of Fighters series – In a super move, Deadpool references the strange low kick from the character Yashiro that once acted as an impossible to predict overhead strike.
• Tekken (various) – One of Deadpool’s super moves sees him throw his opponent off a cliff, like Kazyua and Heihachi Mishima do to each other. He also has access to the Mishima’s signature technique — the Electric Wind God Fist.
• Marvel vs Capcom 3 – Deadpool has attacks referencing Doctor Doom’s foot dive and Arthur’s item toss animations.
• Guilty Gear series – Deadpool can perform a Roman Cancel from his attacks.
• Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle – Deadpool’s Assemble super sees him stop time, referencing DIO’s iconic move.
• Super Smash Bros. – Deadpool has Captain Falcon’s Falcon Punch on one of his attacks.

There are many other references in the game, such as Deadpool posing like certain characters during his character select animation or certain attacks. Whether its calling back to Akuma’s Raging Demon or showing Raiden’s wacky electric fly attack from Mortal Kombat, the developers behind Deadpool truly held nothing back when it came to fighting game fourth wall breaks. Fans of comics, fighting games, and other gaming media in general can appreciate just how deep Deadpool’s design goes.

Obscure & Nostalgic Easter Eggs Go Across Language Barriers For Deadpool’s Dialogue

The breadth of Deadpool’s fighting game knowledge gets crazier when you switch the character’s voice to Japanese too, creating several fun crossovers to discover. The voice actor for Deadpool in English is Nolan North, who has played the character several times, but Deadpool’s Japanese voice actor is the legendary Takehito Koyasu. Koyasu has also played Deadpool before, but is also known for famous roles like Dio Brando in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Dio in particular is important for Marvel Tōkon, as both he and Deadpool share a super where they stop time in fighting games.

Koyasu says the exact same lines as DIO from Part 3 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure as Deadpool, creating a fun crossover that could only exist with him as the eccentric mercenary. Voice lines from Koyasu hold as many fighting game references as Nolan North has too, with some quotes directing calling back to characters like The King of Fighters‘ Iori Yagami or Kaiser Knuckle‘s obscure fighter The General. At the same time, Nolan North’s Deadpool has plenty of fighting game call outs too, like shaming Hulk for being a “fake big body” for not having a command grab.

For someone who loves comics and fighting games, catching each reference and diving online into what else there was has been one of my favorite experiences in the genre recently. This is a huge testament to Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls‘ creativity, turning an otherwise annoying Deadpool into a love letter for the types of games that allowed this 4v4 title to even exist.