The game pitches a series of Marvel heroes and villains, including Venom, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Spider-Man against a series of original EA-created/owned characters. Combat is simplified in favor of allowing the player greater movement, and the game initially drew comparisons to Power Stone, Super Smash Bros. and Ehrgeiz as a result. The video game is based on the Marvel Comic book series with the same name, a 6-issue miniseries published from June to December, 2005. The miniseries does not depict the events in the game or vice versa, and has a completely different story than the video game. There are even points in the video game story and the comic books that directly contradict each other. The comic does however star the same characters as the video game and introduces the EA characters with, aside from one or two minor details, the same background stories and powers. The EA characters are said to be part of the regular Marvel continuity but due to the games' poor response and the fact that they're owned by Electronic Arts, they have only appeared in the above mentioned miniseries and may never be heard of in the Marvel Universe again.
