Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has already established itself as Arc System Works’ latest 2D fighter built around Marvel’s most recognizable heroes and antiheroes. The studio has already confirmed that Phoenix Cyclops is joining the roster as its first DLC character, a choice that immediately split the conversation. Some players welcomed the Avengers vs. X-Men take on Scott Summers, while others questioned why the team skipped the more familiar leader of the X-Men.
Director Kazuto Sekine spoke with ComicBook.com about that decision and why the Phoenix-powered version won out over the standard Cyclops. He framed the pick as both a roster necessity and a chance to push the character into new territory rather than repeating a moveset fans have seen in other games.
“Cyclops is a character that we definitely wanted to be sure to include in the game,” Sekine explained. “However, we wanted to challenge ourselves to do something new. That’s when the idea came up of using the version of Cyclops from the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline where he has the power of the Phoenix. From a gameplay perspective as well, I felt that designing him for battle we would be able to include these Phoenix elements in addition to the standard Cyclops abilities to [give him] that variety in his gameplay.”
“From the narrative perspective, since he would be in opposition to the rest of the X-Men, we weren’t able to include him in the base game roster as part of the X-Men team,” he added. “But we felt that taking this approach would allow us to show this new side of Cyclops to many players.”
Once Phoenix Cyclops arrives, he will expand the mutant-leaning side of the cast to six fighters already defined by X-Men ties, sitting alongside Wolverine, Magik, Storm, Danger, and Deadpool. Arc System Works still has three additional characters slated to roll out across the following year after that first DLC drop, though the studio has not named those upcoming additions yet.
That first wave of post-launch support is expected this Fall, giving players a defined window to see how the Phoenix kit actually plays. Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is available now on PlayStation 5 and PC, which means the next roster reveal will land on the same platforms already hosting the current cast.
