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It's no secret that comic book characters are all the rage these days. Several big-budgeted, blockbuster films based on Marvel arrive every single year, with DC Comics planning to follow suit in the near future, but the Disney-owned company's dominance in theatres has surprisingly not generated a heap of traditional video game tie-ins.

That's why it's so interesting to see footage of a canned Marvel fighting game emerge. Starring many of the iconic characters that consumers have come to admire, the snippet of gameplay features none other than the Hulk and Captain America squaring off against one another.

The game is said to have originally been in development at EA Chicago, but was eventually shelved by the company for reasons unknown. What's evident by the gameplay footage posted by YouTuber PtoPOnline is that this wouldn't have been a traditional fighting game, but one that featured full 3D combat instead. The end result is a game reminiscent of Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, but replaces the the gritty tone and aesthetic of that title with a more tried and true comic book look.

Simply titled Marvel, the game would have starred a medley of beloved super-powered individuals including Spider-Man, Juggernaut, Dr. Doom, Ms. Marvel, Phoenix, Rhino, and the aforementioned Incredible Hulk and Captain America – although a few of those characters just had a grey Hulk placeholder image in the video. Still, the roster likely would have featured even more recognizable heroes and villains if it were to ever arrive on store shelves.

One of the more interesting elements of Marvel is the fact that the environments that players would have found themselves in was completely destructible. This would have been interesting mechanic for the game, although it was less than ideally implemented in the gameplay video that can be seen above. Still, a bit of fine-tuning could have made the in-game destruction a sight to behold.

EA Chicago was eventually shutdown in 2007 after it failed to meet sales expectations, but it's cool to see some portions of the developer live on through this new footage. The world may never know how Marvel would have turned out on Xbox 360 and PS3, but there's no question that it would have very much been its own thing. With the likes of Disney Infinity supporting a wide array of Marvel heroes and villains now – not to mention the fact that Marvel vs Capcom is now out of print – it may still be some time still before fans get to see some of their favorite Marvel-owned comic book characters suit up in a fighting game.

What did you think of the footage? Would you have played the Marvel fighting game?

Source: PtoPOnline