Every Playable Marvel Cosmic Invasion Character Revealed — And How To Unlock Them Fast
Marvel Cosmic Invasion lands with a brawl-packed roster of 15 Marvel icons—some ready from the jump, others earned as you fight through the campaign. We break down every playable character and how to unlock them.
If you just jumped into Marvel Cosmic Invasion and want to know who you can punch aliens with, the game does you a solid: most of the roster is ready to go right away. A few fan favorites, though, you have to earn by pushing through the story. Here is the clean, no-fuss breakdown of who is playable, how to unlock the late arrivals, and what the game does (and does not) tell you about leveling.
The roster: who is playable and how to unlock everyone
There are 15 playable characters total. Eleven are unlocked from the start. The other four show up as boss fights first, then join you once you beat their missions.
- Captain America — Unlocked by default
- Nova — Unlocked by default
- Storm — Unlocked by default
- Wolverine — Unlocked by default
- Spider-Man — Unlocked by default
- Beta Ray Bill — Unlocked by default
- Black Panther — Unlocked by default
- Cosmic Ghost Rider — Unlocked by default
- Iron Man — Unlocked by default
- Rocket Raccoon — Unlocked by default
- She-Hulk — Unlocked by default
- Jean Grey / Phoenix — Beat the mission "Blue Area of the Moon" (Full Moon of the Insectoids)
- Venom — Beat the mission "Destromundo" (The Flying Menagerie)
- Phyla-Vell — Beat the mission "Hala" (The Kree / Bugs War)
- Silver Surfer — Beat the mission "Fort Galactus" (Free the Eater of Worlds)
Yes, Phoenix, Venom, Phyla-Vell, and Silver Surfer all have to be taken down first. Beat them in those specific missions and they switch sides to your select screen.
Who you will fight (but not play)
The game pulls in a bunch of big-name villains — think Hela, Thanos, Taskmaster, and MODOK — but none of them are playable. It is a straight-up hero roster here, no villain mode tucked away in a submenu.
How leveling actually works (so you are not blindsided later)
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a classic beat 'em up, and it treats character levels like a second health bar in the late game.
Characters you start with begin leveling from Stage 1. After you clear a stage, the heroes you brought along gain levels based on your performance. Pretty standard.
The catch: characters you unlock later do not arrive pre-leveled to match where you are in the campaign. They start fresh. So if you unlock Venom and immediately try to bulldoze a late-stage mission with him at a low level, it is going to hurt. Do a little leveling first or swap him into earlier stages to catch him up.
Bottom line: your character levels matter as much as your combos once you get deeper into the story. If things suddenly feel spiky difficulty-wise, it is probably a leveling issue, not you forgetting how to punch.
So, who are you maining? If you are running Phoenix or Silver Surfer, did you grind them up first or brute-force it? I am curious how people are juggling the late unlocks.