The past couple console generations have seen truly spectacular solo superhero video games — but they mostly all star Spider-Man or Batman.
Comic books are so full of engaging heroes, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has proven that people are willing to ride with lesser-known heroes. So I think it’s about time more superheroes get the starring spotlight in video games. We’ve seen superheroes pop up in crossover games, like the Injustice titles, or various Lego games, but there are plenty of comic book heroes who deserve to lead their own AAA blockbuster games, Marvel’s Spider-Man-style. Here are a few with great potential.
Daredevil
The Man Without Fear is having quite the moment after the recent success of Daredevil: Born Again brought the hero firmly back to the MCU in a starring role. He’s also had several years’ worth of excellent comic book runs, and is often regarded as the most consistently well-written Marvel hero. Though he’s popped up in several Marvel games and his own movie tie-in game (back when those were about the only superhero games we got), he hasn’t led a AAA game yet.
He almost did, however; in 2023, a prototype surfaced of a 2004 beat ‘em up Daredevil game, Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, which you can still find on Hidden Palace. Unfortunately, it was cancelled, and Daredevil hasn’t headlined his own game since. With the success of the Marvel’s Spider-Man and Batman: Arkham games, a Daredevil game seems like a no brainer; the character could easily lead a game that’s an amalgamation of Insomniac and Rocksteady’s franchises in terms of those studios’ approaches to gameplay and storytelling. If a Daredevil game got greenlit in 2004, I have a hard time believing one couldn’t get the greenlight in 2025 after the boom in popularity for the character.
Green Arrow
Green Arrow may not be the most bankable archer-themed superhero (that’s probably Hawkeye), but he’s developed a sustainable following. The 2010s CW series showed he can be a leading man sans any fellow Justice Leaguers flanking him, meaning it’s time the emerald archer led his own video game. His whole schtick would translate perfectly to a game; a bow and with a quiver full of arrows is a personal favorite weapon in games, like in Tomb Raider and The Last of Us, and Oliver Queen’s extensive arsenal of trick arrows would open up many gameplay possibilities. It’s easy to imagine a blend of third-person shooting with melee combat, and his variety of trick arrows would be perfect for puzzle solving. Green Arrow’s backstory involves a stint stranded on an island, building up his skills — the tutorial level writes itself.
Jessica Jones
Most superhero games are combat-focused — no surprises there. Brawling is what a lot of heroes do best, after all. A game starring Jessica Jones, however, could add some variety to superhero titles. While super-powered, Jones is a detective first, hero second. She’d be perfect to headline a deduction-based detective game.
Detective games come in many forms, from L.A. Noire to the long list of point-and-click mysteries. Some even star a duck. A Jessica Jones video game could meld deductive reasoning with some brawling mechanics to create an engaging superhero/detective mash-up.
Teen Titans
The Teens Titans endeared themselves to comic book fans of a certain age with their excellent 2000s Cartoon Network show. Since then, they’ve starred in a middling live-action show and some animated films, but they haven’t been front and center in a video game in the way they should.
A Teen Titans game could work very similarly to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy with Robin/Nightwing as the player character fighting alongside Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire, with Robin directing them to use their skills. Something I enjoyed about Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was that it gave players the ability to make choices as Star Lord and influence his relationships with the other Guardians; this mechanic would work well in a Titans game. Plus they’re young and don’t always see eye to eye — perfect for some sort of friendship management, like in Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
Hellboy
Hellboy actually recently starred in an indie game, 2023’s Hellboy Web of Wyrd from Upstream Arcade. The roguelike beat ’em up remained faithful to Mike Mignola’s art style, but ever since his appearance as an Injustice 2 DLC character, I can’t help but wonder what a Hellboy game could be like with a AAA budget.
A linear cinematic Hellboy adventure might feel like the rebooted God of War games, a survival horror, and a detective game all in one — Hellboy is a paranormal investigator, after all. The paranormal elements and folklore inspiration would be key to a Hellboy video game and give him the type of antagonists you wouldn’t often see in superhero games. Because Hellboy was acting as a BPRD agent since the early 1950s, a Hellboy game could be a period piece set any time during the past 70 years.
Aquaman
Aquaman has gone from a joke to a bonafide, billion-dollar hero. His appearances in DC comics since the New 52 run, along with Jason Momoa’s big-screen portrayal, have done plenty of work to turn around the public perception of Atlantis’ king. But there’s one medium Aquaman hasn’t quite conquered yet.
While he’s of course appeared in crossover games like MultiVersus and Injustice, Aquaman hasn’t led a AAA game of his own. The Injustice games have already shown how well Aquaman’s trident-focused combat would work in a game. An Aquaman video game could be semi-open world, with the various kingdoms of Atlantis being separate maps; plus, he has no shortage of antagonists to go up against, like Ocean Master and Black Manta.
Black Hammer
Jeff Lemire’s Black Hammer takes Spiral City’s greatest heroes and… chucks them on a farm? The Dark Horse series explores the lives of a group of superheroes who were plucked from a fight against a Darkseid-like big bad and thrown into a Twilight Zone-esque small town, with seemingly no hope of escape. The series takes off from there, featuring some fantastic plot twists and heartbreaking backstories for its heroes.
A Black Hammer game could honestly work well as a farming sim and relationship management game, just with superheroes hiding their super-identities. An action-first approach could also work well; every hero in Black Hammer was a renowned superhero in Spiral City before the events of the comic, and a game could follow those exploits.
Radiant Black
While Invincible is Image Comics’ most famous superhero series, don’t be surprised if Radiant Black starts giving it a run for its money. Started in 2021, Kyle Higgins’ series has spawned an interconnected universe of its own, the Massive-Verse, leading to several spin-offs, crossovers, and an audiobook. Diving into the world of video games next only seems natural.
Radiant Black’s powers would translate well to a game; he’s got the classic super strength as well as gravity-related powers, like flying and telekinesis. Each of the Radiant heroes has a different set of unique abilities, meaning they’d all play differently if featured in a team-up game, like a Massive-Verse small-scale version of Marvel Ultimate: Alliance.
Supergirl
While her more popular cousin has played the baddie in games like Injustice: Gods Among Us and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and starred in the infamous Superman 64, Kara Zor-El has only recently stepped into the spotlight. She headlined her own CW show and was the heart of Injustice 2’s story, with her moveset making her one of the game’s best new additions.
With a Supergirl film arriving next summer as part of James Gunn’s DC Universe, maybe now is the time to bring back the infamous movie tie-in game (but make it good). The Milly Alcock-starring Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will adapt the Tom King-penned comic series of the same name, which would also make for a pretty dope video game. It finds her and Krypto — the best boy — assisting a young woman on a quest for revenge across the cosmos. As Kite Man would say, hell yeah.
Wonder Woman
When Monolith’s Wonder Woman game was announced at the 2021 Game Awards, fans were stoked. Finally, one third of DC’s Trinity was set to star in her own video game. Now, three and a half years later, not only has Warner Bros. cancelled the game, it shuttered Monolith Productions. Monolith was one of the more innovative studios around, having created Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War’s much-loved Nemesis System. We were all excited to see if and how Monolith would incorporate the Nemesis System into its Wonder Woman game, and now its developers are looking for work in an increasingly volatile industry.
In terms of the character, hopefully Princess Diana of Themyscira can still star in her own AAA blockbuster down the road, once Warner Bros. has figured its gaming division out. She’s certainly overdue for it.
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