How Marvel Tokon's Spider-Man Design Compares to Marvel Rivals'

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls is the newest Marvel title to take center stage. First unveiled during June’s State of Play, the 4v4 tag team fighter has been turning heads for its eight-character roster and stunning anime-style visuals. Developed by Arc System Works, known for their work on flagship titles like Guilty Gear and Dragon Ball FighterZ, it’s no surprise that expectations are high.

While Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls enjoys the tag-fighter limelight following its reveal trailer, Marvel Rivals is finding success with its Season 2 midseason update. As a fellow Marvel Games title, with a recognizable cast of characters at their disposal, the similarities between the two games are hard to miss. Notably, there are several visual parallels between Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls‘ and Marvel Rivals‘ Spider-Man designs.

Captain America vs Iron Man in Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls

Characters That Should Be In Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls

The upcoming Marvel game has revealed a few characters who will be part of the roster, but there are a few others that should join in the fun.

Spider-Man Stands Out in Both Marvel Tokon and Marvel Rivals, Despite Their Differences

Spider-Man’s Design in Marvel Tokon Draws From Various Sources

Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls currently features an eight-character roster, including Doctor Doom as a playable character:

Captain America
Doctor Doom
Ghost Rider
Iron Man
Ms. Marvel
Spider-Man
Star-Lord
Storm

When the 4v4 fighting game debuted, it quickly made headlines for its smooth animation, Japanese dub, and distinct anime-like appearance, for which Arc System Works is known for. To illustrate, Iron Man’s suit in Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls makes an impression because of its clear inspiration from Japanese mecha designs, giving it a distinctly Gundam-like and Kamen Rider-esque effect. This change has been somewhat controversial among Marvel fans, with some excited about the mecha elements and others dissatisfied with how Iron Man differs from his more traditional Western appearances.

Similarly, Spider-Man’s base suit appears to draw from a variety of sources and media while retaining the traditional blue and red color scheme. One of the most prominent influences is the 1978 Japanese tokusatsu live-action series, particularly with the Spider Bracelet, which houses Spidey’s web-shooting fluid. Often referred to as Toei Spider-Man or Japanese Spider-Man, this version of the character featured a recognizable set of gear, including the suit itself, the bracelet, Spider Strings, and a Spider Net.

Other references appear to be pulled from The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and Insomniac’s Spider-Man suits, with the broader and more prominent spider logo displayed on the chest. The logo and wide animated lenses of his mask are also reminiscent of Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider. Both these features can also be found in NetEase Games’ superhero shooter Marvel Rivals.

How Spider-Man’s Design Compares In Marvel Tokon and Marvel Rivals

Spider-Man in Marvel Tokon and Marvel Rivals

It’s possible Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls‘ Spider-Man took cues from Marvel Rivals’ version, with striking similarities seen in the web patterning along the arms, large expressive lenses, and blue fingerless gloves. The web design is subtler in the fighting games’ version, while Marvel Rivals’ Spider-Man suit is much bolder, despite both being modern redesigns of the same character. Additionally, the white soles on the sneakers of Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls’ suit sharply contrast with the red boots of Marvel Rivals, which work to seamlessly blend into the rest of the suit.

Moreover, both feature expansive black spider designs on the torso. However, Arc System Works’ redesign adds a small red arachnid on the back as a potential nod to Spider-Man Ultimate costume, while NetEase Games’ design remains entirely black. Other significant distinctions appear in the color palette. Marvel Rivals’ costume primarily sticks to red and blue, with black accent lines. In contrast, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls‘ Spider-Man garners attention with striking white and yellow accents around the hips and biceps, a splash of blue around the neck, and the absence of the web cartridge belt seen in older, more traditional suits.