Capcom vs. Marvel Epic Stunt-tacular

Marvel vs. Capcom Epic Stunt-tacular

An indoor stunt show based on the Marvel Vs. Capcom series of games, immortalizing them in theme park form and serving as an avenue to revive the series in light of the failure of the infamous Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite, in the biggest way I can think of. The stunt show, an indoor affair which is rare in theme parks, is built in an expanded and revamped Hyperion theater, providing more room for the show as well as more detail in the queue (I find a well detailed queue to help in immersion and preventing boredom, see also the Haunted Mansion as a truly stellar example), and adding an exit gift shop known as Capsule Communications, while keeping the amount of guest seating the same. The exterior of the Hyperion has been given an overhaul, with a bust of the Marvel character known as Hyperion placed atop the Hyperion sign as an Easter egg to comic readers. The colors of the Hyperion are a muted blue and yellow in homage to Capcom’s signature coloration. There is a poster outside that reads “Marvel Vs. Capcom Epic Stunt Spectacular”, and there is a sign that tells us what the experience is going to be like; “The Marvel Vs. Capcom Epic Stunt Spectacular is a stunt show that uses high-flying stunts, physical effects, computer generated imagery, smoke effects, pyrotechnics, screens, and Audio-Animatronics to convey a stunt-filled fight storyline of good against evil. Those who dislike loud sounds and intense action are advised to stay away from this attraction.” It also lists a number of safety features present for the show/theater. The theater is wheelchair-accessible, has audio description available, etc., so you should be fine attending the show, unless you have a medical reaction to the smoke effects used during the show.

Now let’s start by waiting in line for the show, which is the beginning of immersion and entertainment, by pushing past the doors emblazoned with the Infinity Stones on them. In addition to the blue and yellow carpeting, look on the walls to see some framed posters; the left wall has posters of Capcom’s latest games (these will of course be cycled regularly), while the right side has games where Capcom and Disney have worked together, from the NES classics to the Marvel Vs. Capcom series itself. The walls are also decorated with hidden sprites from the SNES Aladdin game made from mosaic tiles, as a tribute to one of the former tenants. The TVA’s logo can also be seen, as a reminder that yes, this is a time-space anomaly and you are very much being watched. There is also a hidden Mickey, specifically a Mickey sprite from the Magical Quest series, near the ceiling on the left side. The ceiling itself is yellow and given plenty of TVA logos. The doorway into the theater once again depicts the Infinity Stones, now with a TVA logo above them.

Welcome to the stage, please find your seat and get seated for the stunt show. Seats are individually numbered much like how they are in a movie theater, the font resembling the font seen in the original Marvel Vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes as the font for the combo meter, among other things. The seats should be comfortable, they are upholstered with a ribbed texture. The pre-show audio is an instrumental, MCU styled version of the theme to the first MvC game, as another nod to the past. Look back at the other side of the door… it resembles a character select screen much like in the first MvC, with portraits of Ryu, Chun-Li, Zero, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Stature. They’re just some of the characters present in this stunt show, but it should give you a good idea on who’s who. Now that the theater has hit capacity and everyone is comfortable, the lights dim and the music stops… only to roar up again as the announcer says “EVERYONE RUMORED… NOBODY BELIEVED… BUT YOU SEE… IT’S TRUE!! Ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages, prepare yourselves for the Marvel Vs. Capcom Epic Stunt Spectacular!” The announcer continues after a pause for cheers. “The following stunt show is an indoor experience unlike anything you’ll find at any other park. The show includes intense effects including pyrotechnics, so if you’re not comfortable, you can leave the theater. Without further ado, LET’S GET CRAZY!!!” (Some of this is a reference to one of Capcom’s other crossover series)

Now, the curtains swing open, as the lights turn back on and we get a glimpse of the stage of history. This battle is about to explode, but it’ll take a while to do so. When it does, there will be no escape. The first scene of the stage show has Captain America run onto the stage, saying “I never surrender! Especially not to the likes of you!” , meaning we start off in medias res of the action. Captain America is in fact pursuing a villain known as Egghead (real name Elias Stahr), whom while not a villain in the MCU, was known as Ant-Man’s worst enemy back in the 1960s before his tragic death in the 2000s. The diabolical scientist is riding off on a pod vehicle, holding a terrified brunette girl that he plans to experiment on for her power. (That is Iris, for the record, I know early material tends to play up Repliforce as morally gray or even evil, much like many other antagonistic groups in the X series, (the X series can get weird about morality) but modern-day Capcom prefers to see her as a straight-up hero) Soon after, along comes Chun-Li, who jumps down and then asks “Captain? What brings you here? Is there something wrong?” Captain America replies to her that “A threat is coming your way, and the way of all these good people!”, as he points to the audience. The light begins to dim slightly as we hear a “Hi-yah!” as Hsien-Ko appears from the darkness. “No worries, Hsien-Ko’s a friend, remember?”, Chun-Li says to Cap. And so we hear a shimmering chime as the three of them decide to become a team in the struggle against evil, them doing a high five together and saying “We can’t lose!” (A reference to Data East’s 1991 Captain America game) as we hear a fanfare and the three of them already start doing tricks for the audience. Captain America does a flip, Chun-Li does some kicks, and Hsien-Ko turns around and does a cool pose. “Xie xie!”

From the left side of the room, Ryu walks in, wondering what the commotion is. “Old friends, new enemies, a new battle. This is my fight.” Behind Ryu follow Spider-Man and Black Widow, both of them ready to fight alongside him. The Street Fighter theme roars up as the first brawl begins, with Ryu ready to challenge his foes and feel the power of the tag team system once again. Are you ready? Let’s fight! An exciting brawl begins, with stunts being used to represent punches, kicks, and special moves alike. Captain America manages to use his Charging Star attack, but is mixed-up and countered by Ryu, who then defeats him using a Shinkuu Hadouken, recreated with a screen effect. Ryu tags out to Spider-Man, who performs a Web Swing over Chun-Li, who then tags in Hsien-Ko to perform her Chuukadan move, a cartoonish sphere bomb tossed from her sleeve, which is used as a method to create confusion and panic from its mutual damage. Spider-Man tries playing hot potato with it as Hsien-Ko keeps kicking it, and knocking it over with Senpuu Bi, her signature chain swing attack overhead. Spider-Man manages to web up Hsien-Ko, but he forgets about the bomb, which then explodes and takes him out, a smoke effect emerging from a screen that displays an explosion. “Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb, right?” Black Widow then tags in to the battle again and keeps fighting against Hsien-Ko, who does a Delayed Hyper Combo with her Tenraiha (an anvil drops from the sky as spike balls rain down) and Chun-Li’s Hoyoku-Sen (a series of rapid kicks). Black Widow is still standing and still fights Chun-Li, tagging in Ryu for a Hadouken. Chun-Li defeats her using the Kikosho (energy sphere attack displayed via a screen) attack. Ryu jumps back in again, battling against Chun-Li, her using the Spinning Bird Kick to deal damage, but Ryu gains the upper hand and ends up defeating her using a Shin Shoryuken. Hsien-Ko then manages to defeat Ryu using the Chireitou, an attack where swords emerge from the floor around her. Once the battle ends, Ryu compliments Chun-Li on a job well done in the battle. Along comes Zero, who asks them “Where is Iris?” “Who is Iris?” says Captain America, as Hsien-Ko says “Why is Iris?” Zero clarifies, saying “She is a good friend, from work, and this Egg guy has taken her.” (Yes, I tossed some MCU-ish dialogue in). Zero keeps on talking about her and where he thinks she might be, and why he needs the others to help, as the curtains then close.

The curtains open again, this time around a terrible sight. The evil Yellowjacket is battling against Tessa and has her on the ropes, bragging about how he managed to defeat Stature with “teamwork, to say the least” though Tessa summons Rouge to try and defeat Yellowjacket, but to no avail. Yellowjacket manages to then defeat both Tessa and Rouge, knocking them to the ground, only for Zero to heroically intervene alongside Captain America and Spider-Man. Yellowjacket summons Vile and Juri Han to his side, and another battle ensues. Tagging in to Vile, Zero and Vile engage in a battle where Vile uses his machine guns to graze the floor with bullet effects, but Zero manages to tag in Captain America with a Charging Star, then does a DHC with his Messenkou and Spider-Man’s Maximum Spider to finish Vile off. “So you wanna face a spider, eh? Let me show you a real spider!”, Juri exclaims as she performs her Feng Shui Engine to enhance her combat abilities. She then uses her Sakkai Fuhazan (a projectile burst attack) on Spidey using screen effects and smoke. Spider man tags out to Captain America, who fights against Juri for a bit, and when it seems she has the upper foot in the situation, Cap performs his Stars and Stripes attack, followed by a powerful Final Justice to defeat Juri. This leaves only Yellowjacket, who battles Captain America and defeats him. Next, Spidey uses his Web Dome attack to try and zone out Yellowjacket, but the sinister villain tanks the hit and begins a combo. Spider-Man avoids the combo, and then tags out to bring Zero out, who uses the Messenkou for a Hyper Combo Finish. Zero then corners Yellowjacket, and is about to interrogate the defeated villain on Iris’s location. “Where is Iris… and where is that man?” Yellowjacket thinks it’s not a problem, when Tessa, Rouge, and the third teammate Stature get up. He then speaks up about it. “They call him Egghead, and he’s up on the Golden Gate Bridge.” “Gate. That sounds familiar.”, says Zero. Zero walks off the stage and the curtains close again. The next scene shows Egghead, atop the Golden Gate Bridge, laughing madly. “Now, my pretty… you will destroy the Golden Gate Bridge… to take out your anger against this world that betrayed you! Meanwhile, I will be getting a profit off of all this, and finally be able to impress Pym.” Zero runs onto the stage and is ready to confront Egghead. “Where is Iris? WHERE IS SHE?!?” Just as he speaks, a glowing mechanical eye peers from the darkness. “Help… Zero… where are you? It’s dark.” (This dialogue is paraphrased from the X4 manga, which was the first instance she was portrayed as more of an outright hero rather than the darker and more ambiguous figure she was in the game, which seems to have been retconned away)

A large mechanical hand then appears, then another, as the giant boss battle reveals itself to Zero. A glowing purple crystal appears, and Egghead walks into it and starts to gloat. “Now, your feelings will be the only thing standing between Pym Industries and its existence!” Zero readies his saber, but he’s not alone; it turns out Stature, as well as Hsien-Ko, are fighting alongside him. Hsien-Ko uses the Chireitou, and Stature performs an attack where she shrinks and rapidly punches her target, in a Delayed Hyper Combo out of Zero’s Ryuenjin. The gigantic mechanical monster manages to hit Stature with a punch, though, leaving her open to get hit with an eye beam. Stature then tags out back to Hsien-Ko, who tosses a Chuukadan before attacking with Senpuu Bu. Egghead taunts her, which allows her to get an opening for her Anki Hou. She calls in Stature to do another beatdown, with her then tagging out to Zero. “I’ve got this.” Zero then does a combo, cancelling into his level 3 attack the Genmurei (a large sweeping beam slash), that does massive amounts of damage to her… as Iris then falls out of the machine, Zero having to catch her and pull her out of the tangling wires. Egghead then says “Wait… you’ve still gotta deal with me, cowards!” As if on cue, all the other heroes return to help fight against Egghead, whose crystal moves into the machine’s cockpit, the head now becoming a screen that displays his face. “I don’t even need that pathetic girl anymore! I’m finished with her and with Pym!” Grabbing Iris again and keeping her trapped in the machine’s left hand, Egghead begins to fight off his opponents. Tessa uses her cannon to launch magical projectiles at Egghead, while Rouge manages to aim a powerful kick at him, performing a Variable Cross alongside Chun-Li. Egghead manages to defeat Stature with a missile fired at her, leaving a smoke effect, as he says “Now Pym will have no choice!” Captain America then attacks with Charging Star, dodging a fist in the process. He then tags Zero in, who manages to open up the fist and save Iris again. Captain America switches in to Black Widow, who fights against Egghead some more before missing an attack and being defeated with a powerful punch. Lastly, Ryu performs his Shin Shoryuken attack, defeating Egghead.

As the authorities arrive to catch Egghead and keep the incident under wraps, dragging Egghead off, Zero holds Iris close to him. “Iris… was it fate that brought us together again… only to tear us apart in the same way? Please… are you alright?” Iris then awakens, so thankfully she’s still alive. “Zero… forgive me, please. I didn’t want to hurt any of you.” Zero Re-assures her saying “You didn’t hurt any of us.” The curtains close again. The final scene has the heroes return again, Iris included, and do poses for the audience one more time, ending with Juri Han walking in one last time, saying “What did I miss?” “Nothing that concerns you.”, replies Zero, and he and Iris walk away to be alone for some time, with Ryu walking away to the left of the stage do find a new challenge. After the curtains close for one last time, we hear “The TVA hopes you were unharmed from the incident you have just seen. The situation is under control, and everyone is fine. However, you must exit the theater so we can continue investigations for future incidents of this ilk. Excelsior and thank you for playing.” The lights turn on in full, and now we can exit.

Once the show is over, you will exit through the gift shop Capsule Communications, where you can find Capcom-related merchandise. Among them are Disney Babies pouch plush of Iris, Iris.EXE, Servbot, Palico, and other cuddly Capcom favorites. Aww… Other items are directly related to the show; merchandise of the events and characters shown are available, such as a standard Iris plush (the baby version is in her Xtreme 2 costume), as well as shirts based on the show. Capcom merchandise not made by or for Disney is also available here.

Next: TVA Coaster