Marvel Ultimate Alliance 4 Should Embrace A Multiverse Story
While Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 proved to be very successful with its story revolving around Thanos and the Black Order, a potential sequel should embrace a popular trend in Marvel films and television and incorporate a multiverse-themed storyline. Released in 2019 as a Nintendo Switch Exclusive, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 followed the series' trend of focusing its story on characters and events that were popular in both Marvel Comics and in Marvel films at the time. Since the game released just months after Avengers: Endgame, Team Ninja's title had a story that focused on Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, and included characters that were popular in the MCU. In this spirit, a potential Marvel Ultimate Alliance 4 would benefit greatly from focusing on the multiverse.
Many of Marvel's recent projects on both film and television have been incorporating the multiverse in some form. Major Marvel films such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will feature stories that center around the multiverse, while Sony's award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse inspired the Miles Morales game and centered around different versions of Spider-Man from different universes teaming up. Several shows on Disney+ have also brought in the multiverse, the most notable being the animated show, What If...?, which shows how small changes in each universe can dramatically impact the characters and their lives.
If Marvel Ultimate Alliance 4 were to get a greenlight, developer Team Ninja would be wise to follow this popular trend and introduce the multiverse into the game. Not only could this open up a variety of possibilities in the story, characters, and locations, but it could also help the game to provide the element that the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series has always been known for - exceptional fan service. Other Avengers games could learn from Marvel Ultimate Alliance in that respect. The series has always been known for providing fans with the characters, locations, and storylines that have been popular in the films and comics, and adding a multiverse element would not only allow them to capitalize on the popularity of multiverse stories, but also on any other popular comics or storylines.
One of the reasons that multiverse storylines have become so popular lately is that they provide nearly limitless possibilities when it comes to storytelling. If a writer wants to bring in characters from a different series of films or reintroduce a new version of a character that was previously killed off, then the multiverse is a great way to do that. If a future Marvel Ultimate Alliance sequel took a similar approach, then it could incorporate storylines, locations, and versions of characters from any corner of Marvel's many universes.
It could open an interesting avenue to include alternate versions of characters, such as Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man or Insomniac's Spider-Man, as secret characters in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 4. Including fan-favorite versions of characters alongside the game's original versions (either as alternate skins or as their own playable characters) could not only encourage players to grind and explore, but also add an element of surprise, providing a story where anything is on the table. The multiverse was also previously used to great success in a Marvel game with Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, which brought together the classic Spider-Man of Earth-616 with Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man 2099, and Ultimate Spider-Man.
Using a multiverse storyline can also allow for unique locations that don't exist in Marvel's mainstream continuity, such as the Hydra Empire or Nueva York from Spider-Man 2099's world. These alternate universes can also feature villain versions of playable heroes, allowing for a character to appear as both a playable character and a boss fight. The Marvel Ultimate Alliance series has always delivered on content, giving players some of the most impressive in-game versions of famous locales like Wakanda and a massive range of characters to play as. A multiverse story could go one step further though, and help ensure that a potential sequel to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 would be even better.