Since most of the major Marvel Universe players have found their way already into the Minimates line, ArtAsylum is now able to give some spotlight to some of the heroes, villains and storylines from the past. This time in the 43rd wave of the Minimates line, which also marks the ten year anniversary of the product, the Marvel Minimates will focus on the “Death of Jean Dewolff” storyline.

Back in the mid 80’s when comics were beginning to mature in both artistic merit and story themes, editor on the Spectacular Spider-Man Jim Owsley gave writer Peter David the task of knocking off detective Jean DeWolff. The character of Sin-Eater was created as a way to kill DeWolff. Interestingly enough, the biggest impact of this story is the indirect creation of Venom as Eddie Brock claimed to have found out who the real Sin Eater was, only to be disproven by Spider-Man catching the real killer and costing Brock his job.

You can check out Art Asylum’s interview with creator Peter David here on their site and check out the full gallery of the collection after the jump.

A year and a half ago, we came home from San Diego Comic Con and were given the chance to review the XBox Live Arcade rerelease of one of our top games of the previous decade with Marvel vs. Capcom 2.  The game was an instant hit and was quickly brought over to the PlayStation 3 as well.

It’s not surprising that soon after, seeing the game’s tremendous success, that Capcom announced Marvel vs. Capcom 3. With a super stylized trailer, the hype hasn’t died down. Even last week at release, it was almost impossible for players to get a hold of the Special Edition of the game, a problem not usually seen in retail anymore.

As we have talked about with our previous hands-on experience, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 brings the series’ classic feel and action back with a shiny new coat of graphical paint and effects that players expect and demand.

Gameplay:

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds doesn’t change the formula that brought Marvel vs. Capcom 2 so much success. The game relies on single round matches between two 3 on 3 teams. Players have three basic attacks of increasing strength, their special attack button, and two assist buttons. These assist buttons can be used to either call in teammates for a quick attack or to switch the character the player is in control of for the fight.

As players throw more attacks and successfully defend against their opponents, they increase their combo meter which builds at the bottom of the screen to unleash Hyper Combos. These hyper combos are special moves that can deal tremendous damage if successful.

This simple control scheme allows for all levels of players to enjoy the game. Expert players will learn advanced combos, juggling and snap backs to eliminate their opponents while newer players will be able to feel like they are setting off tremendous attacks even by just button mashing.

It is an interesting dynamic compared to other fighting games where experience will almost always prevail. While it may be frustrating for an “expert” to get beaten by a lucky combination from a “newbie”, it also makes the game more exciting that outcomes aren’t always so predetermined in multiplayer.

With Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds still months away, Capcom is slowly but surely releasing tidbit by tidbit of information about the title. After our hands-on time with the title,  we have gotten more and more excited with each new character announcement.

Gamescom brought with it the official announcement of two characters new to the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise.

Viewtiful Joe, the titular character in his own game made his Capcom vs. debut in the recent Wii title Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. After the hype of this classic Capcom character being brought back, it must have been a no brainer for him to be tossed in to Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

A not so surprising addition comes in Dormammu from the Marvel Universe. Not because of the popularity of the character but because people began suspecting him with the first teaser trailers of the game were released. From the ending of the teasers, it looked as though Dormammu may be the new big bad that threatened the two worlds but now it looks like this is not the case as Dormammu has been brought down to size with the rest of the game’s cast.

Take a peek at all the new screen shots below and stick to the Flickcast for more news on Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds as it becomes available.