The artwork on Team Tactic cards is an interesting spot to find potential future characters. There’s certainly no guarantee that every character who appears on a card will eventually be added to the game. However, if we look at Team Tactic cards in the core box, we see artwork of Ant-Man, Winter Soldier, Doctor Strange, Rocket, Groot, Punisher, Sam Wilson, Lizard, Ghost Spider, Black Cat, War Machine, Venom, Carnage, Thanos, and Nick Fury Jr. What do all these characters have in common? They were at least 3 months away from release, some much more, at the time the core box came out. But they’re all in the game (or at least previewed) now. So at the very least, we can assume that characters on these cards are characters who are on AMG’s radar as someone to possibly add later.
I have heard (second-hand, so take this with a grain of salt) that the setting of Crisis Protocol is not Earth-616, but another yet-unnumbered universe within the Marvel multiverse. This makes some amount of sense, as some characters (like Valkyrie) are clearly inspired by their counterpart in the comics, while others (like Baron Mordo) look much more like their counterpart from the movies. There is also one piece of fiction written in this universe (Target: Kree) which I have not read (although I maybe should, to scour it for possible clues). But running with the assumption that this is a unique alternate Marvel universe, the artwork on cards is confirmation of characters who exist in that universe, and what they look like there.
For purposes of this article, I’m going to ignore promotional cards from event kits. These often seem to have artwork licensed from comic book covers or panels, and so they are more likely to have left a character in the art just because that’s how the artwork was already created. However, cards that come in character packs appear to always have original artwork made for this game, meaning any characters in that artwork were put there on purpose. I’m also going to ignore characters who seem like they’re part of the cause of the effect, not actually part of the battle, such as Odin on Odin’s Blessing, Heimdall on Rainbow Bridge, and Mephisto on Deal with the Devil. To me, them being on the card is just showing where the effect of the card is coming from, not hinting that they’ll be part of the battle. It doesn’t mean they won’t show up, but I think there’s a lower chance, since they’re already sort-of “in the game” in that card.
With all that out of the way, let’s have a look at the characters on Team Tactic cards who haven’t been added to the game yet.
Elektra
(Appears on Psychic Shielding Device and Dark Empowerment)
This one has already been hinted at by a leak; Elektra is almost certainly coming soon. Talking about leaks does almost feel like cheating; it’s not really speculation at all to say that Daredevil from the 2010 Shadowland series is likely appearing within the next few months as leader of a Hand affiliation, and as the most well-known Hand character, Elektra will be there as well. But either way, Psychic Shielding Device is technically the oldest Team Tactic card with a character on it that hasn’t appeared in the game yet, so here she is as the first character in the article.
Quake
(Appears on Medpack)
I’m a little less certain about this one, as I haven’t been able to find an image where her hair looks quite like it does in this picture. However, she does change her hair a lot, and it has certainly looked similar. Also, those gauntlets are almost identical to a set she’s had in the comics:
That, combined with the coming SHIELD affiliation they confirmed today, puts her on my short list for characters that I think we’ll see soon.
Red Hulk
(Appears on Execute)
For those who are unfamiliar, in 2010, General Ross turned into a red version of The Hulk. He founded and lead the a version of the Thunderbolts, which is an affiliation people have been wondering about for some time now. This team would be a second place for Elektra, and also include Deadpool, Ghost Rider, and possibly Venom. It also might finally be an affiliation that Punisher could be included in, which I think would help him see a lot more play than he does now.
Rhino
(Appears on Web Barrier and Hired Muscle)
Even without these two artwork appearances, I don’t think anyone would doubt that this classic Spider-Man villain is coming eventually. Perhaps he’ll release the same month as the new Doc Ock that I theorized about in my last article. Regardless, he should be a fun addition to this game, and I can’t wait to see what they do with his sculpt.
Thor (Jane Foster)
(Appears on Vapors of Valtorr)
In the comics, Thor’s hammer seems to give the identity and abilities of Thor to any worthy individual who picks it up. This has included a number of individuals from an alien named Beta Ray Bill to a frog. It has also included Thor’s most consistent romantic partner, Jane Foster. Jane is apparently taking up the mantle in an upcoming MCU movie, but more importantly to us, she apparently exists in the universe of MCP as seen on the above card. I’ll be interested to see how they handle her; she could be an alternate Asgard leader, although if my theory about sets holds true, she would need at least three other Asgardians to release alongside her to make the affiliation playable in her set.
Psylocke
(Appears on To Me, My X-Men!)
Like Rhino, Psylock is a character who seems like a pretty obvious inclusion even if she wasn’t on this card. She’s been a member of the X-Men and multiple versions of the X-Force, so her affiliations are fairly obvious. I’ll also address that, yes, Professor X appears on this card as well, but I think that might fall under the “effect of the card” thing I mentioned earlier. I’m not saying we definitely won’t get a Professor X model, but he so rarely takes to the battlefield himself that it wouldn’t shock me if they left him out of it, at least as an actual miniature.
Angel and Iceman
(Appear on First Class)
I’m grouping these two together; I have very little to say about them. They’re both founding members of the X-Men, so they’ll certainly appear in the game eventually. This card also feels like a bit of an outlier, since it’s showing everyone in their classic costumes from the 60s, and it looks like it’s a picture in a frame? So I’m not sure it really says much other than “this was indeed the original 5 X-Men in this unvierse as well, and you’ll probably see them all at some point.”
Blob
(Appears on Heave Ho)
Some of the later sets have included reprints of cards from earlier sets, but with new artwork. This core box card was reprinted in the Magneto and Toad box, and includes The Blob. He is (along with Pyro and probably Avalanche) a Brotherhood character that is so classic that I’m a little surprised we haven’t seen him yet, artwork or no. I don’t think anyone will be surprised when they announce him, likely with strong defense and the ability to avoid being pushed or thrown by enemy effects.
On a personal note, I just noticed that there’s a dog hair on my scan of this card. Oops. Might have to go back and rescan it.
Executioner
(Appears on Grievous Wounds)
Another popular Asgardian that seems like he’d be on the short list for whenever they decide to expand that affiliation. Skurge was pretty fantastic in the MCU, so I would definitely love to see his comic counterpart on the table. As mentioned in my introduction, I’m skipping Heimdall from Rainbow Bridge because that seems like another “he’s part of the effect, not a participant in the battle” situation, but I could definitely see him helping fill out that roster as well. Possibly the Warriors Three? Lady Sif? There’s plenty of good Asgardian choices.
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) and Miss America
(Appear on A-Force Assemble!)
I have a feeling Spider-Woman is coming very soon. She’s apparently a SHIELD agent, and also helps fill out Web Warriors for set 3. Definitely looking forward to painting her. I don’t actually know that much about her, but it’s always good to have another spider-person, and her costume is cool.
Miss America feels like less of an obvious choice; she certainly goes into A-Force, and maybe also Avengers? Maybe they’ll do Young Avengers with Kate Bishop as a leader, since we just got her show? I don’t know, we’ll see.
Karnak
(Appears on Inhuman Royal Family and Attilan Rising)
Looking at these two cards side-by-side is pretty funny, because they look like they’re from the same photo shoot, but Ms. Marvel showed up late. Anyway, the one character who appears on both but hasn’t appeared in the game yet is Karnak. He… doesn’t really fit into any affiliations except the Inhumans and… maybe the Secret Warriors? If we’re getting Quake, she could potentially have a Secret Warriors leadership, with Karnak, Ms. Marvel and… someone else new. Seems like a bit of a stretch, but Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur would be a fun set.
Red Guardian
(Appears on Red Room Training)
Red Guardian was a pretty fun part of the Black Widow movie. I’d love to see a Winter Guard affiliation with Crimson Dynamo, Red Guardian, Black Widow, and… dare I hope, Ursa Major? It would be a deep cut for sure, but it would be a neat affilation, I think.
Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Ham
(Appear on Aunt May’s Wheat Cakes)
Once again, I think Web Warriors has at least one more entry coming in set 3, as predicted in my last article. If we only get one, I think Spider-Woman is a good bet (thanks to her dual affiliation with SHIELD) but wouldn’t it be fun to get Miguel O’Hara and Peter Porker in this set as well? 2099 is such a cool costume, and Spider-Ham is probably the best shot we have at a threat-2 Web Warrior, so I’m excited by the possibility of both.
Elsa Bloodstone
(Appears on Banishment)
I’ll admit that I know nothing about this character; she almost appeared in my “characters I don’t recognize” section (see below) but I remembered that they namedropped her in the article where they talked about Blade and Moon Knight’s art. She looks cool, and will presumably be Midnight Sons affiliation. Apparently she’s good with guns? I dunno, that’s all I’ve got on her.
Some characters I don’t recognize
Have a look!
I’m not an expert on all Marvel characters, so some of the characters in the cards above elude me. The people on All Webbed Up look familiar, but I can’t place them. Unearthly Rage looks like a bunch of random aliens, but knowing Marvel, they likely all have names. Do you know any of these? Leave a comment below!
I think that about wraps it up for me today. Keep an eye on future Team Tactic cards, and maybe I’ll post a follow-up on this article in a year when we have more art to scour over.
