Kabam's MARVEL Realm of Champions is a brand new mobile game that acts as a pseudo-sequel to their other title, MARVEL Contest of Champions. What makes MROC so unique is rather than heroes fighting one another, the game instead focuses on RPG elements and creating alliances between customizable heroes that operate under different clan houses.
The game is possibly one of Marvel's and Kabam's largest departures from the status quo, but that's what makes it so alluring. From a story perspective, we see unique takes on heroes trying to mount an offense on Battle World, a similar world to the realm found in Johnathan Hickman's Secret Wars run.
With each Marvel hero commanding a particular house, we see some wild takes that even includes a Wolverine who acts as shogun of his clan, has adamantium laced tattoos and resides in a land that is a mix of Feudal Japan and snowy Alberta, Canada. We recently spoke with the game's Creative Director Gabriel Frizerra, and he was able to give an inside look at how heroes like Wolverine ended up with their new looks.
To hear our full chat with Creative Director Gabriel Frizerra, click the podcast player below. Marvel fanatics will also find our exclusive interview with Marvel's Spider-Man voice actor Robbie Daymond and Avengers Assemble Yelena Belova voice actress Julie Nathanson along with the written transcript.
Comic Brooks: I love that you guys threw Maestro into the opening cut scene. The minute I saw him in the trailer, I was like, "Oh man, he will be the big bad," but then the next second later, Maestro's gone. That means something worse has to be on the horizon.
Gabriel Frizzera: The Maestro was the bad guy in Contest. He was the guy who created our version of the Contest of Champions. We created an amped version of The Maestro traveling all over the multiverse and challenging people to prove that he is the strongest. In act four of our stories, The Maestro gets defeated by Thanos, and he disappears. And now you see him. That's where he was all this time. He was creating this world and being the emperor of this world. We like to add a little bit of a mystery in the beginning, like who killed The Maestro? Because we want this game to not be about heroes versus villains, but the points of view. Depending on the house that you like the most, you're going to identify with them. Then everybody has a reason for killing The Maestro because he was a lousy dictator in this world.
Darth Lexii: I'm so excited for the AI version of Ironman. I know people are curious if that is an element that Marvel might steal for the cinematic universe as well?
Gabriel Frizzera: They are free to do it if they want it.
Darth Lexii: I like the idea of that. Where does it come from?
Gabriel Frizzera: We were ambitious. We like to tell stories the same way as if we were making a movie or a Comic or a toy. We always want to see where the puck is going. Like they say, here in Canada. We don't want it to be a step behind and copy what a lot of people are doing. We want to see where Marvel is going to be in 10 years and be there. When the movie's arrived there, we would be there.
Comic Brooks: My favorite was Wolverine's character design because I love Japan's influence and how it ends up in the game. What character was the most fun to design in terms of the inspirations coming together as one?
Gabriel Frizzera: Visually, Logan was one of the top there because we wanted to do something that was equally Canadian and Japanese. His land is a mix between Northern Alberta and Feudal Japan. The first thing we did is create the story of the land. Wolverine is like a harsh land, very wild, but Wolverine is always between trying to be a man and a beast. He's still trying to be more civilized and be calmer. Japan represents the Zen, which is the country that tamed him. He got married there, but then everything went to $#!+. The whole land represents the wilderness and him as a leader trying to bring the land out of this clan savagery and war. The Deadpool one is outrageous. They are buccaneers, and they live on this Island that is weird and full of Deadpools. Asgard was pretty cool too because we created a story of the War Thor, you know, as you say, like the big Valkyrie, a woman sitting at the table, she was the War Thor, and nobody knows who she is. She is a mystery, but she represents a changed Asgard. Asgard went through a big war with The Maestro, and they had to break the bridge and isolate themselves from the rest of the world. She has one arm that is fire, the other one is ice, and she holds two hammers. You don't want to mess with her because she's all about representing this war and people coming together.
*This article has been edited for clarity*
MARVEL Realm of Champions is a bold new imagining of the Marvel Universe that transports players to Battleworld, a forbidden planet forged from many realities, where its uneasy peace is disrupted by the death of Maestro, the God-King. After selecting and fully customizing their Champion with the best gear for the situation, players can team up with other players for epic multiplayer skirmishes in unique Marvel-inspired battle areas and brawl in real-time 3v3 team battles for glory, triumph, and honor.
MARVEL Realm of Champions will be available on December 16th, and pre-registration can be accessed through Google Play or on the official website!