You thought we were done with character-based blogs for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with the alternate-color explanations? Nope! Prepare yourself for the real fun stuff as we unveil the character packs of true alternate costumes (involving model changes) that will be available via DLC in the coming weeks.

But before we get into those unannounced costumes (which are flat-out amazing by the way – more on that soon), today we’re focusing on the various costumes that are available via pre-order right now.  Marvel’s Chris Baker and I are here to further explain those pre-order alternates, as well as highlight the existing suits from the original MvC3 that carry over into Ultimate MvC3.

FEMME FATALE PACK (GAMESTOP – PS3 / 360)

Those who pre-order from GameStop receive alternate costumes for four of our fiercest female fighters.

Morrigan

Longtime Vampire Savior players may recognize “Casual Friday Morrigan” from her many victory poses, in which she sheds her skimpy outfit for a more refined appearance. The team made sure that Morrigan’s many otherworldly moves (like jets coming out of her) still fit the new clothes.

Chun Li

An easy, obvious choice – it’s her classic costume from Street Fighter Alpha! This is technically a younger version of the character, so the team went in and made a few slight physical adjustments. The ribbon is a nice touch too!

Storm

Storm at her most badass, she rocked the Mohawk look for much of the mid-1980s. About time that gaming at its most badass got a dose of this look as well.

X-23

I believe X-23 is the only character in this game who first appeared not in a game or a comic book, but rather on TV. Her costume harkens back to her introduction to the world, thanks to Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost on the animated series X-Men: Evolution in 2003. Go watch it now!

NEW AGE OF HEROES PACK (AMAZON – PS3 / 360)

Amazon’s pre-order offering celebrates Marvel vs. Capcom characters who have been here for the long haul.

Strider

A great shout-out to pre-scarf Strider, who leapt from rooftop to rooftop in arcades and home consoles in the late ’80s. Fun fact – the developers had to create this version first, so that the current, scarf-covered version was actually “wearing” a scarf that covered his face. To fill in some of the space that the scarf obscured, the team made his hair slightly longer.

Cyber Akuma

Why this skin? Because it’s classic Marvel vs Capcom, specifically from Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter. Though this image doesn’t show off his mecha-wings, rest assured they are there – the dev team says they pop out during taunts and Hyper Combos.

Sentinel

Ever since Capcom’s first Marvel-related fighting game, X-Men: Children of the Atom, the Sentinel has been portrayed in an original Capcom style. This alternate takes the look closer to its old-school comics roots, while still maintaining the gameplay qualities of Capcom’s incarnation.

Doctor Doom

DOOMWAR was a pretty sweet crossover from a couple years ago that pretty much pitted everyone who matters in the Marvel Universe against Doctor Doom as he fought to attain Wakanda’s vibranium, much to the Black Panther’s chagrin. He donned this costume once he succeeded at his task.

VILLAINS PACK (BEST BUY – PS3 / 360)

If you’re the type who thinks it’s good to be bad, check out Best Buy’s villainous roster of alternate costumes.

C. Viper

A special “secret agent” suit designed by Tatsuya Yoshiwaka . This brand-new suit doesn’t pull from any specific piece of history because the character is relatively new; however, with that kind of freedom, the team was able to make something totally fresh. Her already substantial hair has received a poofy boost, and she’s now wearing an old-style hero mask to obscure her identity. There was talk of a skirt, but since she’s going to be out in the field as a spy, it made more sense to give her stylish pants instead.

Wesker

We already have a STARS-themed Chris Redfield, so it made sense to continue the trend with Wesker’s outfit from the original Resident Evil as well. There are some slight changes, like rounded hair and healthier skin tone (before he goes all crazy on us in Code: Veronica and RE5), plus the team made sure the gun that he uses for attacks is plainly visible on his chest.

Super Skrull

Super-Skrull is pretty happy with his purple/black ensemble most of the time. If he switches it up, like he did during ANNIHILATION, it’s pretty much just adding on a robe.

MODOK

Thank’ya very much, Warren Ellis, for giving us this nameless interpretation of the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, if for only one splash page in NEXTWAVE. Capcom likes to call him Graceland M.O.D.O.K., but having grown up in West Tennessee, I’m more a fan of dubbing him M.E.M.P.H.I.S. – the Mental Entity Made to Pulverize Humans Into Submission.

DLC CHARACTERS

Just by purchasing Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath (which you may have already done for MvC3 – again, that transfers over to UMvC3), you get their alternate costumes on the house.

Jill

Seeing as Nemesis is on the roster now, it made sense for Jill to dress appropriately and don her Resident Evil 3 tube top and skirt. However, the character model is based on her Wesker-controlled, highly aggressive RE5 incarnation, so we had to leave the P30 mind control device embedded in her chest. There was talk of going for a classic STARS outfit, but with Nemesis on the scene this is a better fit.

Shuma Gorath

Like his alternate colors, Shuma-Gorath wasn’t exactly the easiest character to find an alternate model for. There were a couple options, but we decided to go somewhat current with a representation of his traitorous protégé with presumably better vision, Quoggoth. Now, you can finally relive the battle you’ve always dreamed of seeing in game form between Shuma-Gorath and Quoggoth, as depicted in the pages of WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #12. And nowhere else. What you see here is __ of the __ panels in which Quoggoth has ever appeared.

COSTUME PACK 01

This one will look familiar to MvC3 veterans, as all previously purchased MvC3 DLC costumes transfer over and remain unchanged from their previous incarnation. If you were waiting for UMvC3 to buy these costumes, they’ll be up on day one.

Dante

Rather than bring over another red version of the character (like say from DMC1 or 2), Nara-san looked for something different. Then he realized there was a costume in DMC3 that had Dante dressed as his father, Sparda.

Chris Redfield

Hop in the way-back machine for this one – it’s Chris’ costume from the very first Resident Evil! Note the STARS outfit, the younger, fresh-faced appearance and a slightly less beefy pair of arms. The devs were considering an alternate costume from RE5 Gold Edition, but decided on something old-school instead.

Ryu

For this Street Fighter 1 alternate, the team wanted to play up Ryu’s “rookie” status. His gi looks fresh out of the dryer, with no tears or signs of battle, his muscles are played down and he has more prominent facial features – they haven’t been pounded out of his skull yet!

Thor

Will we deny you the classic Jack Kirby look for Thor? I say thee, NAY!

Iron Man

If you’re familiar with the Iron Patriot, you know that that’s typically not Tony Stark in that armor, but rather Norman Osborn back during DARK REIGN when he led the Dark Avengers. We’ve added a suit-specific line for Tony in UMvC3 that addresses why Tony decided wear the armor himself.

Captain America

Back when we decided to do DLC costumes for MvC3 , Steve Rogers as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had just been revealed, and the image you see here is pretty much all we had to go on. He didn’t even have a shield at the time, so we gave him his original chevron-shaped version you see here. Of course, he went on to use one made of circular hard light before he became Captain America again, but we still like the variation offered by the classic.

That’s it for today’s (surprisingly long!) entry. Special thanks to Nara-san, director of Ultimate MvC3, for the insider info on the Capcom side of things, as well as Chris Baker for scouring the depths of the Marvel Universe .