Lego Marvel Super Heroes is a 2013 video game based on the Lego theme. It was created by Traveller's Tales and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows. Feral Interactive also released the game for OS X. The gameplay is similar to other Lego games, such as Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga and Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. Players alternate between action-adventure sequences and puzzle-solving challenges. A handheld version, made by TT Fusion, was released as Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril for iOS, Android, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita. A version for Nintendo Switch was released on October 8, 2021.
The game’s story follows Marvel heroes working together to stop Doctor Doom and Loki, who have gathered villains to help them conquer Earth using the Doom Ray of Doom. This device was built from pieces of the Silver Surfer’s board called "Cosmic Bricks." Lego Marvel Super Heroes received mostly positive reviews and is the best-selling Lego video game ever. A spin-off called Lego Marvel's Avengers was released on January 26, 2016, and a sequel, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, was released on November 14, 2017.
Gameplay
The game uses a similar style to previous Lego games. Players can control 180 characters from the Marvel Universe, each with special skills. For example, Spider-Man can swing using webs and sense danger, while the Hulk, who is larger than usual characters, can throw big objects. Hulk and his other form, Bruce Banner, are separate characters that can be switched between. Banner can use computers that Hulk cannot. Galactus is the main villain in the game. The game's director, Arthur Parsons, and producer, Phil Ring, said one main setting is a Lego version of Manhattan, where players can visit Liberty Island and Ryker's Island. A Lego version of Asgard was also created.
The game includes Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee. He appears in missions called "Stan Lee in Peril," similar to previous game missions. Lee is also a playable character and can use abilities like Spider-Man's webbing, a mix of the Human Torch's heat beam and Cyclops's optic blast, Mister Fantastic's grappling, Wolverine's strong bones, and Hulk's transformation.
Players can explore a Lego version of New York City, but only after finishing the main story and using a specific character. Bonus missions are led by Deadpool and take place in buildings with their own stories. The main campaign has 15 missions, followed by 11 side missions.
Characters like Iron Man, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, Hawkeye, Loki, Thor, and Maria Hill are designed to look like their versions from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Plot
Silver Surfer is searching the universe for planets for his master, Galactus, to consume. He is captured by Doctor Doom, and his board is broken into many "Cosmic Bricks." Doctor Doom learns from Loki, who is imprisoned, that Galactus will soon arrive on Earth. Doom plans to build the "Doom Ray of Doom" using the bricks to defeat Galactus and take over the world. At the same time, Nick Fury asks Earth's heroes to find the bricks before they are used for harm.
Sandman and Abomination, working for Doom, take over Grand Central Station to get a brick, but Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-Man stop them. The brick is then kept at the Baxter Building by the Fantastic Four, but Doctor Octopus steals it. Mister Fantastic and Captain America chase him, with help from Spider-Man, and defeat him in Times Square. Doctor Octopus throws the brick to Green Goblin. Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man enter Oscorp to retrieve it but must fight Venom while Green Goblin escapes.
Iron Man and Hulk go to the Raft, a prison, where Magneto, Mystique, and Sabretooth cause a riot to free Loki and other villains. With help from Wolverine, they stop the riot and defeat Sabretooth, but Magneto destroys Iron Man's armor and escapes with Mystique and Loki. Captain America and Iron Man visit Stark Tower for a new suit but face Loki, Mandarin, and Aldrich Killian, who have hacked J.A.R.V.I.S. After restoring J.A.R.V.I.S., they defeat Mandarin and Killian, but Loki escapes with one of Stark's experimental Arc Reactors.
S.H.I.E.L.D. tracks the Arc Reactor to a Hydra base under the Empire State Building. Black Widow and Hawkeye find that the Red Skull and Arnim Zola are using the reactor to build a portal generator, which Loki uses to travel to Asgard. Human Torch, Captain America, and Wolverine help fight Red Skull but accidentally damage the generator. They later learn that Loki has invaded Asgard with the Frost Giants and stolen the Tesseract. Loki sends the Destroyer to attack, but the heroes defeat it and recover the Tesseract despite Loki's escape.
Wolverine takes the Tesseract to the X-Mansion for Professor X to study. Doom sends the Brotherhood of Mutants to steal it. The X-Men stop Toad, Pyro, and Juggernaut, but Magneto and Mystique take the Tesseract. Nick Fury and the Fantastic Four go to Castle Doom in Latveria, defeat Green Goblin, and rescue Silver Surfer, but Doom and Loki escape.
Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man enter an A.I.M. submarine where Doom is hiding. They fight MODOK and capture Doom with Jean Grey's help. Magneto uses his powers to control the Statue of Liberty and rescue Doom. Magneto takes the Statue to an island with dinosaurs from the Savage Land and uses a stolen nuclear core to power his space station, Asteroid M. Captain America, Storm, and Thing stop Magneto and defeat Rhino and Mystique but cannot stop the station from launching.
Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man board Asteroid M and defeat Magneto before fighting Doom and Loki, who have completed the Doom Ray. Doom injures Iron Man and Thor, but Captain America, the Thing, and Storm help Spider-Man defeat Doom. Loki reveals he tricked Doom into building a flying pod powered by the Tesseract to control Galactus and destroy Earth and Asgard. When Galactus arrives, Loki controls him to destroy Asteroid M, though everyone survives.
To stop Loki and Galactus, heroes and villains work together to open a portal to space, sending them away and freeing Galactus. Nick Fury retrieves the Tesseract, and the heroes let the villains escape to avoid capture. Silver Surfer rebuilds his board, regains his powers, and leaves Earth, promising to guide Galactus away.
In a special scene, Nick Fury oversees repairs to the Statue of Liberty when the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, having fought Galactus but arriving too late. Star-Lord warns Fury about a new threat to Earth. Later, Fury meets Black Panther, who is looking for his cat, Mr. Tiddles, and thanks Fury for helping Wakanda.
Development
In 2012, after the return of the Super Heroes theme, TT Games and The LEGO Group decided to create a game based on Marvel characters. This choice was made because the studio had already made several Batman games for DC. At first, the team thought about using the story from The Avengers movie. However, TT Games believed that one movie would not have enough material, and an original story would better show the larger Marvel universe.
The game’s story was created in a different way. First, developers chose which characters and places they wanted to include. Then, the writing team created a story that used all of these choices.
The handheld version of the game, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril, was meant to be a new kind of handheld LEGO game. Unlike earlier handheld games, this one was made for mobile devices first and later moved to handheld systems. This decision was not well received by many team members, and some left the project because of it. After the game did not do well and received negative feedback, the mobile-focused approach was stopped. Future handheld games were made to look more like their console versions.
Reception
Lego Marvel Super Heroes received mostly positive reviews when it was released. Reviewers praised its humor, different types of missions, characters, and a world you can explore freely. According to Metacritic, the game had an average score of 83 out of 100 from 22 reviews, which means the reviews were mostly positive.
Steve Butts of IGN gave the game a 9 out of 10, saying it was "the best thing to happen to the Marvel games since 2006's Marvel: Ultimate Alliance." He also said the game uses a fun and clever way that includes many Marvel characters, places, and stories. Steve Hannley of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4 out of 5, calling it "one of the best Marvel games this generation." Game Informer gave it a 9 out of 10, and Polygon gave it an 8.5 out of 10. Matt Liebl of GameZone said the PlayStation 4 version was a good break from other games on the console that are more complex or intense.
During the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Lego Marvel Super Heroes for "Family Game of the Year."
David Haddad, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, said Lego Marvel Super Heroes is the best-selling LEGO video game of all time.
A sequel called Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 14, 2017.
Downloadable content
Two add-on packs were released for the game. The first pack, called the Super Pack, included 7 characters: Dark Phoenix, Winter Soldier, Falcon, Symbiote Spider-Man, Hawkeye (classic), Beta Ray Bill, Thanos, and A-Bomb. It also included two vehicles: The Spider Buggy and Hawkeye's Sky Cycle, as well as 10 races that could only be played with these new vehicles. The second pack, called the Asgard Character Pack, was released in November at the same time as the movie Thor: The Dark World. This pack included 8 characters: Malekith, Kurse, Sif, Volstagg, Odin, Hogun, Fandral, and Jane Foster.