Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Game Trailer Lets Deadpool Steal The Show

The launch trailer for Arc System Works' highly anticipated Marvel tag fighter Marvel Tokon: Fighting Soul has dropped, and people are really talking about Deadpool's brief appearance. Deadpool's reputation as a fourth wall breaker isn't the only reason for that though, and to understand why, you need to be familiar with ArcSys' past work on Dragon Ball FighterZ. Arc System Works is best known for its Guilty Gear series prior to FighterZ and Marvel Tokon, but FighterZ has had a surprisingly long life since its 2018 launch.

So, what does that have to do with Deadpool and Tokon? Quite a bit, actually. As expected from Deadpool, his in-game moveset references several other fighting games (including Mortal Kombat) in its animations. While the character still has similarities to past depictions (including Capcom's Marvel Vs. Capcom tag fighter series,) Deadpool's moveset is very different in this game.

The same applies to other characters who were also present in Marvel Vs. Capcom—Tokon's versions play very differently, and in some ways more faithfully to the comic counterparts. Deadpool in Tokon leans heavily on popular fighting games for his moveset, though, rather than aping MvC or even the comic version.

In Tokon, Deadpool's fighting game references even extend to his intro screen, which directly references one of the most popular FighterZ intros. Specifically, it imitates the infamous "Cell yell" intro, best known for its crowd-pleasing nature at major tournament series EVO.


Deadpool's shots in Tokon's launch trailer directly recreate Cell's FighterZ intro, including a surge of the golden aura associated with the Super Saiyan form. While some are saying this is Deadpool going Super Saiyan, that depends on whether or not you think Cell is doing the same. In the context of Dragon Ball, Cell is not technically a Saiyan, but does contain Saiyan DNA due to being grown in a lab.


It's a fun callback to ArcSys' previous work on FighterZ, and considering the success of Tokon in its pre-release form (despite its PlayStation Network and PC issues) it will likely end up on screen at EVO and other major events sooner rather than later. Knowing the fighting game community, it's highly likely to generate the same stadium-filling scream from the crowd whenever it does appear.

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls  launches on PC and the PlayStation 5 on August 6th at a price point of $59.99 for the Standard Edition, $84.99 for the Digital Deluxe Edition, and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition.