Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 boasts one of the most impressive casts of playable Marvel heroes in gaming, but there were some strange omissions to the roster that really deserved to be included. From the time that the Nintendo Switch exclusive Marvel Ultimate Alliance threequel was first announced, gamers and longtime fans of the series were trying to guess what Marvel Heroes would make the cut on the new roster. Previous games in the series brought in a cast of characters from every corner of the Marvel Universe, though it tended to focus mainly on characters that were popular in mainstream media, having appeared in popular live-action films, animated cartoons, or high-profile Marvel Comics storylines.

While the console versions of Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 featured a cast of 34 and 30 respectively, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order launched with 36 playable characters. Developer Team Ninja eventually expanded that roster, adding 16 characters to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 through free DLC and a paid season pass, expanding the number of playable heroes considerably from previous games. Like previous games, it pulled the majority of its character picks from Marvel franchises that were popular in the mainstream. With the MCU having grown considerably since the release of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 back in 2009, many of the roster picks were inspired by characters that were present in the films (even taking several visual design choices from their live-action counterparts).

Related: Hawkeye Is A Playable Character In A Silly Number Of Marvel Games

Despite the massive roster of playable characters, there were some figures who were omitted, and it feels strange that they were missing. While Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is one of the best games to feature the Avengers, its list of playable characters leaves off several major characters linked to the team in the films. In other parts of the Marvel universe, some characters are left out that are important parts of teams that are included in the game. Finally, there are some characters that are vital to the story mode who are relegated to supporting roles as NPCs rather than as playable heroes, despite having powers that would've enhanced MUA3's gameplay.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Doesn't Have Playable Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones on the cover of Alias Vol. 1.

Team Ninja created an entire chapter based around the exploits of the Defenders in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, as well as a Defenders team in-game. In order to get a full team tag in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, there must be a full team of four heroes. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and Jessica Jones finds herself left off the roster. The fourth slot can be filled by either Elektra - a boss character who can be unlocked by playing challenge missions - or the Punisher, who was eventually added to Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 with its Marvel Knights DLC. Jessica Jones, however, was missing.

Jessica Jones' omission from the roster feels like a strange one. While she, like every other character on this list, does make an appearance as an NPC in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3's story, helping the player as a private detective, tracking the moves of Kingpin and the Hand, it is disappointing not to be able to add her onto the team with Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. With the addition of the Punisher in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3's first DLC pack, Jessica Jones remains the one character to headline one of Netflix's shows that isn't playable in-game.

Related: Daredevil In Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Would Match MCU Rumors

The version of the character in-game clearly takes after the version from the Netflix show, with the character model not only bearing similarities with Kristen Ritter's likeness, but even matching her outfit (with an identical jacket and scarf). This makes it all the more strange that Team Ninja wouldn't give players the chance to create the Defenders lineup from the show. And while Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 doesn't lack in female characters like Marvel's Avengers does, it is unfortunate that the only woman to headline a Netflix series was the game's sole absent playable Defender.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Needed More Playable Inhumans

The Inhumans together in the comics

While they may not be as popular as the Avengers or the X-Men, the Inhumans are a Marvel mainstay with a dedicated fanbase that has seen some recent growth thanks to the popularity of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A spinoff show was developed based around the Inhumans royal family, and while the show wasn't well-received, members of the Inhumans royal family are still very popular amongst Marvel Comics readers. In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, an entire chapter is dedicated to the royal family where the heroes are sent to their home city of Attilan (which is on the moon) in order to retrieve an Infinity Stone. Unfortunately, only one member of the royal family, Crystal, is made playable in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. While another Inhuman, Ms. Marvel, aka Kamala Khan, is also playable in MUA3, it still isn't enough characters to make a full Inhumans team of four.

Black Bolt, who is the king of Attilan and arguably the most popular member of the Inhuman royal family, is sadly only used as an NPC in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. With his powerful sonic blasts, Black Bolt would have made an exciting addition to the roster (possibly even bringing in some abilities from Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2's Songbird). His wife, Medusa, who has prehensile hair that she can use to grab and fight with, could have also made for an interesting addition. Interestingly, Twitter user Demonslayerx8 had discovered that there was evidence in the game's code that Medusa and Black Bolt were intended to be playable characters in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, but were dropped some time in production, leading many players to think that they would eventually be released as free DLC (much like Cyclops and Colossus), but alas, it never happened.

Vision Could Have Joined Scarlet Witch In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Vision

Another hero that appeared in the datamine was Vision, one of the most iconic Marvel heroes and an important villain-turned-ally to the Avengers during the team's earliest adventures in the 1960s comics. Like Black Bolt and Medusa, it appears that Team Ninja originally intended for Vision to appear as a playable character, but at some point abandoned the character and instead brought him in as an NPC. It would have been nice to have at least seen Vision make an appearance as one of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3's secret characters.

Related: Theory: Marvel's Midnight Suns Could Feature Scarlet Witch

Considering the Avenger's important role in the MCU films and popularity among the Marvel fanbase, Vision would have earned his spot in the roster of playable characters. He has long been a pivotal character in the team's comics, and given the first two Ultimate Alliance games only featured him as an NPC too, him appearing in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 would've corrected their mistake. It is especially disappointing, seeing as his frequent partner and love interest Scarlet Witch is playable.

The Winter Soldier Should've Been More Than An NPC In MUA3

The Winter Soldier running from an explosion in the comics.

While the Winter Soldier never appeared on the datamine leak of heroes that were in development but never got finished, he is no less deserving of a spot than Vision, Black Bolt, and Medusa. Much like the aforementioned heroes, the Winter Soldier does appear in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, but sadly never becomes playable. When the player travels to the in-game version of Wakanda in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 to assist the Black Panther and obtain another Infinity Stone, the Winter Soldier aids the player by holding off A.I.M.'s forces, buying the players time to escape. This is similar to the story situation that took place earlier in the game, where Cyclops and Colossus also hold back forces, buying the team a chance to get out. Unfortunately, unlike the two X-Men heroes, the Winter Soldier is never added as free (or paid) DLC, leaving his fans hoping that the datamines indicating his addition in Marvel's Avengers are indeed correct, giving them a second chance to battle A.I.M. as the Winter Soldier.

Ant-Man Is An Iconic Avenger Missing From Ultimate Alliance 3

ant man comic book art

Ant-Man is arguably the strangest omission from Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3's roster. The character is extremely popular, having headlined two well-received MCU films, as well as a handful of appearances in other MCU films. Ant-Man has even featured in Fortnite and other recently-released Marvel video games. In Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3's story, Ant-Man does play a slightly larger role than the others on this list (both literally and metaphorically), helping the players fight a giant Ultron in Avengers Tower. However, while his partner, the Wasp, is playable, neither version of Ant-Man (Hank Pym or Scott Lang) is. This is a similar problem to Marvel's Avengers which also features Hank Pym's Ant-Man in a supporting role, but also chooses not to make him playable.

The roster in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is still extremely impressive, despite a few shortcomings. In many ways, other Marvel games featuring Avengers can learn a lot from MUA3, but it doesn't make it any less disappointing to see some of these characters left out. When Cyclops and Colossus were first announced as free DLC, many players speculated that more might be one the way, and it would have gone a long way for the developers to include some of these heroes post-launch. Even so, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3's massive cast of characters from all corners of the Marvel universe gives the game near-infinite replayablity, and perhaps if a sequel were to be made, some of these forgotten heroes might finally get the spotlight they deserve.

Next: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 4 Should Embrace A Multiverse Story

Source: Twitter/Demonslayerx8