Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 was a sequel superhero fans had dreamed of for years. Thanks to Nintendo and Marvel Games the third entry in a fan-favorite series returned. With its return, it brought an impressive roster that became even more important with the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the last decade.
The roster features fan favorites as well as some deep cuts for those comic readers out there. Given how many there are to choose from, it can be difficult to know which ones are the most powerful, so here are the best heroes in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 ranked from worst to first.
Updated July 8, 2022, by Jerrad Wyche: With the recent announcement of Marvel's Spider-Man making its way to PC in 2022, Nintendo Switch owners are wondering if Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is the only modern licensed Marvel game they'll ever get. The game has a large roster of characters that add to its replay value, and there's always a chance that a new batch of heroes and villains are added with the announcement of more DLC for the game.
20 Dr. Doom
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are counting down the days until Dr. Doom makes his live-action appearance. Until then, though, they'll have to settle for his video game counterpart.
Fitting to the tyrannical leader, his kit sees him draining the life from opponents with his Life Leech ability. Pair that with his ability to synergize his play with Doombots and players begin to understand the frightening power that the leader of Latveria has at his disposal.
19 Colossus
Every team needs a stout defensive tank whose sole purpose is to eat damage and take on the aggro of whatever force they're at war with. Colossus not only serves this purpose as one of the longest-standing members of the X-Men but extends this desire to protect others as he sprints throughout Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3's levels.
When looking at his base rating for Durability, it stands as the highest in the game, only tied with Infinity Thanos. Colossus may function as a supporting character, but that should take nothing away from how pivotal he is to the success rate of a team.
18 Cable
On the surface, Cable functions as a self-sufficient hero who's simply worried about doing everything by himself. Sure, he's powerful enough to mix and match his own abilities to great effect, but that's only half of the story.
In a game like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 which puts a focus on teamwork, Cable's quality control ability Suction Bomb can help elevate team attacks and put enemies in a tough predicament. He may not be the most popular character in the Marvel universe, but he's definitely one of the best heroes in MUA3.
17 Cyclops
The undeniable head of the X-Men, Cyclops manages to take charge on the battlefield as an unquestioned leader. His power level is often overlooked in comparison to other members of his team, but Cyclops stands alone as the only beam-based attacker in all of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 that can move while using the beam attack.
This only stacks him as the most efficient and useful beam-attacker on the roster. Add to the fact that his beam melts mobs and it's clear to see why Professor X put so much trust in this man, and players should absolutely do the same.
16 The Punisher
Frank Castle is better known as The Punisher to fans of both the comics and the excellent, brutally violent Netflix TV show. He is considered something of an anti-hero. This character has no qualms about taking the law into his own hands by eliminating his enemies permanently.
In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, The Punisher is an excellent character for fans that are willing to put the time in. He’s a good mix of a melee and long-range fighter, and has multiple guns to use in battle. His vitality and resilience let him down a little; however, attacks like Heavy Artillery, Sniper Shot, and Fire in the Hole do a ton of damage while creating a lot of distance.
15 Hulk
Hulk is a hero who will likely end up on every Marvel superhero list related to power and/or effectiveness. Over the years he's built this reputation of being Marvel's power equivalent to Superman or Goku in many ways.
Naturally, he takes up a ton of visual real estate and happens to be a tank in combat. He's easily the best tank in the game and maxing out his Hulk Smash ability will help players early in the game. Pairing the big green giant with crowd-control heroes like Magneto is a strong winning formula.
14 Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is sadly the case of balancing causing issues with a character. When it comes to pure damage output, she's far and away from the best character in the game. However, this is balanced out significantly by her low energy stats which prevent players from spamming the same moves over and over again.
Furthermore, Ms. Marvel's durability stats are pretty low, which makes her a target in combat. As a result, she will need to be paired with a powerful support character like Captain America to keep her stats buffed. With her titular show releasing on Disney+, there's no excuse to hop in and play are Kamala Khan as soon as possible
13 Blade
Made popular in the late 90s by Wesley Snipes, many fans consider the first two Blade films to be really good superhero movies. Like The Punisher, Blade is a hugely popular anti-hero who is happy to attack first and ask questions later.
In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Blade is a very useful character for players that want a pure melee fighter in the mix. He can equip useful elemental abilities, and has good durability and strength. In addition, Blade has high speed and great special abilities like the Spinning Swords, which are great at taking down larger enemies. Additionally, the movie-accurate Bleeding Edge is perfect for taking down mobs of enemies.
12 Star-Lord
Given his Marvel Cinematic Universe persona, it's hard to imagine Star-Lord making any Top 10 list that isn't associated with comedy or music. He's the type of video game character that's all about offensive effort and synergizing with one's self.
He's a master of providing damage-per-second, most commonly referred to as DPS. Pairing him with a crowd control character and a support hero could turn a group of forgotten misfits into a real threat to whatever evil is attempting to do something heinous.
11 Moon Knight
Much to some Marvel fans' dismay, Moon Knight is often compared to DC’s Batman. That thought process has changed with the recent release of his series on Disney+, but it hasn't completely disappeared. In fact, the way he controls and fights he is probably the closest thing to Batman appearing in a Marvel game. There are some definite comparisons to be made in combat.
Moon Knight is a good melee character who attacks with blistering speed, and is capable of covering a lot of ground in a short space of time. His Moon Landing skill ability allows him to pounce on groups of enemies with accuracy. Additionally, his Knonshu’s Fury attack is an excellent ability for chipping away at an enemy’s health bar in a short space of time. It's wise to combine these two attacks for massive damage.
10 Thor
When you think of Thor, the God of Thunder, you assume that he's an ultimate warrior who destroys his enemies while Metallica or Slayer plays in the background. It turns out that in the game he's just as much of a powerhouse as one would expect him to be.
He has an ability called Mjolnir's Might which uses his iconic hammer and doles out what happens to be the strongest stagger attack in the entire game. It's so powerful in fact that it has the potential to take out powerful enemies in a single shot.
9 Black Panther
Black Panther on the surface will register to most as a base-level brawler. Some think he's simply in the game to fill out the roster, and give love to a newly beloved character. It turns out that in addition to his speed and agility, the King of Wakanda has some very damaging combo moves at his disposal.
He can also absorb all incoming attacks and send them back in a large area-of-effect maneuver. This move is called Bast's Fury and should not be overlooked by those who want to take the Black Panther to the next level.
8 Storm
When fans first learn about Storm, a mutant who can control the weather, the initial thought is that she's pretty powerful. It turns out that being able to wield ice, water, or lightning can come in handy when fighting bad guys.
Her Ice Barrage ability is really powerful and in addition to freezing enemies where they stand, it can output significant damage. The synergy between her abilities allows users to mix and match leading to interesting points of experimentation during combat.
7 Ghost Rider
The Ghost Rider is another popular character in Marvel Universe with a much darker edge. Just like Blade and The Punisher, he was added to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3’s roster in DLC that was released as part of the expansion pass.
The Vigilante from Hell is an excellent melee character, with resistance to the Fire element. Ghost Rider’s durability, strength, resilience, master, and vitality stats are all maxed out, making him one of the strongest attackers with the highest defense in the game. His Hell Chain ability is great for taking down large groups of enemies. Meanwhile, Hell Cycle is a good attack for staggering bosses when timed correctly.
6 Wolverine
It should come as no surprise that the machine of violence known as Wolverine is one of the best characters to use. It's hard not to list him as the top brawler in the game. His buffs and damage output is hard to compete with.
With the issues Fox and Marvel have had over the years, fans were worried he might not have made the roster. Not only was he a featured character, the developers understood his legacy and correctly made him one of the best characters in the game.
5 Spider-Man
If there's a Marvel team-up game, then there's a strong chance it's going to have Spider-Man. In addition to this, if a game has Spider-Man as a playable character then chances are he's going to be pretty powerful.
The poster child for the entire brand of Marvel, Spider-Man, has one of the best aerial attacks in the entire game in Sticky Situation. Pairing him with a hero whose ability can group enemies together can be a very powerful combo attack. He's all about working the edges and moving around.
4 Psylocke
Psylocke may come as a surprise near the top of the list, simply due to her being fairly unknown to general fans of Marvel. She can dish out a lot of damage, while also taking down smaller enemies in crowds. As a result, Psylocke is viable as both a front-line initiator as well as a supporting character.
She also gets easy bonus points for having weapons that look like she's wielding lightsabers during battle. She may be unfamiliar to many people, but given time she'll prove her worth and effectiveness.
3 Captain America
Captain America needs no introduction in the Marvel Universe. Next to Spider-Man, he’s one of the most popular and recognizable characters in comics, thanks to his unmistakable star-spangled costume and his code of ethics.
Unsurprisingly, he is also one of the best characters in the game. Captain America boasts amazing stats in strength, durability, vitality, mastery, and resilience. He works well as a supporting character when teamed with Hawkeye. His Absolute Defense ability makes him invulnerable for up to a minute when fully maxed out. Additionally, his Super Soldiers ability is one of the best offensively in the game. It will buff Captain America and his teammate’s damage output for up to 30 seconds, making him one of the most important support characters in the game.
2 Magneto
In games where teams are facing off against tons of enemies, some of the best abilities happen to be crowd control. Magneto happens to be one of the best, if not the best, crowd control characters in the entire game.
He can throw around Elite enemies, making him useful for gaining advantages in tricky situations. In addition, Magneto's flight trait allows him to cover a lot of ground and gain the upper hand on larger enemies like Sentinals. This allows him to create openings for the other teammates.
1 Phoenix
As one might expect, an individual like Jean Grey imbued with the Phoenix Force results in an unstoppable superpowered individual. Phoenix matches this thought process as the game's most likely candidate for the best hero in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3.
Phoenix's Cleansing Flames ability is arguably the best ability in the game thanks to its immense power and area of effect. Her kit is complete with a solid staggering move as well and she can cast down the most powerful of opponents with her mighty strikes.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is available on the Nintendo Switch.