Marvel.Com Interview: Iron Man

Players of the upcoming DeNA and Marvel real-time co-op brawler “Marvel Mighty Heroes” will get to control no less than three variations of Tony Stark’s armored Avenger Iron Man. Ol' Shellhead marks the first character in the game that will be available for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android™ phones and tablets to be revealed as it readies for its impending debut!

“Marvel Mighty Heroes” lets players choose their favorite Marvel comic book characters such as Groot, Captain America, Star-Lord, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Spider-Man, and scores of allies and nemeses. Players can put together a customized team of super heroes and super villains, each with different skills, abilities and powers to clobber, shoot, smash and blast the path to victory.

Multiplayer in “Marvel Mighty Heroes” will give players a chance to test their skills against competitors and earn a spot on the leaderboard or combine forces with friends to save the universe one battle at a time.

DeNA executive producer Justin Lambros took time out from putting the final touches on the game to talk about how it looks, how it will play and why Iron Man will be such an integral part of the game.

**Marvel.com: Given Iron Man’s popularity in everything Marvel, tell me more about his role in the game and what he will mean for players in the thick of the action? Will he be customizable to help augment play and player tastes?**

**Justin Lambros:** Iron Man is absolutely one of my favorite characters, both in the greater Marvel Universe and in our game in particular. Iron Man fills the role of a Blaster in “Marvel Mighty Heroes,” meaning he moves fast and deals incredible amounts of damage. And since he has a seemingly never ending amount of cool gadgets and weapons in his variety of suits, he also has some of the most diverse skills in the game. Each time you get a new Iron Man suit, you’ll unlock a new skill. You can bring up to three different skills into the missions, which will help you customize your play experience. So, powering up a max level Iron Man and using his Unibeam Blast, Smart Bombs and Repulsor Barrage in battle is some of the most fun and biggest damage in the game.

**Marvel.com: You mention there’s the opportunity to get new suits for Iron Man. Which ones and what can they do?**

**Justin Lambros:** Suits in our game serve two purposes. First, they each have a unique star level for the character, which determines the hero’s rarity and overall stats—attack, stamina and movement speed. We have 1 star to 5 star characters, with each hero having multiple suits and rarities. Second, each suit has a unique skill tied to it. So, getting the rarest suit will make your Iron Man character more powerful, but then collecting all the different suits—the Mark III, Silver Centurion and Model 42—will let you have the best arsenal of special skill attacks. Once you collect multiple suits, you can choose to wear whichever one you want into combat, as your highest rarity and power will always apply to that character. We didn’t want to have players not able to wear their favorite version of Iron Man because one look was also more powerful.

**Marvel.com: Obviously a lot of work and a lot of love go into each and every one of these characters, but do any of them stick out in your mind, either from a design or gameplay perspective?**

**Justin Lambros:** We’ve had a ton of fun putting together these characters in the game. I am a huge Iron Man fan, so seeing the variety of suits and powers for him have been a personal highlight. He’ll probably have the most suits in the game, along with other heavy hitters like Spider-Man. Also, I love seeing the first drafts of concept art before they go into 3-D modeling. Gamora’s modern armored comic outfit was a real memorable one and that looks great. Black Bolt has some great variety in his outfits and his sonic based skills are pretty cool, plus his classic suit is just bad-ass class Jack Kirby design.

**Marvel.com: Gamers and comics fans who want to play “Marvel Mighty Heroes” can pre-register to get updates and notices about limited-time prizes when it launches by visiting www.MarvelMightyHeroes.com, including voting for Hulk or Rocket Raccoon as a free special hero at launch. How’s it looking so far for them? Hulk or Rocket?**

**Justin Lambros:** Currently Hulk is smashing Rocket Raccoon in our fan vote, but I’d never count out that interstellar hero as he always has a few tricks up his sleeve.