The Fighting Game Boss Tribute: Abyss from Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Abyss in all of his three forms from Marvel vs. Capcom 2, drawn by Rocket-Punch
“I chose Abyss from MVC2 for this art collaboration because I liked the concept behind him. First he’s sealed in that armour, then he’s free and fighting with that humanoid form and then when you beat him for the 2nd time he goes berserk and transform in that giant beast.”
Marvel vs. Capcom 2, first released in 1999 on the Naomi Arcade System and ported to the Sega Dreamcast very quickly had more characters and bigger sprites than almost all other fighting games before. Super Villains like Magneto and Dr Doom were playable characters now and the game needed a big and unseen new boss that would be a challenge for the players that could choose three characters as a tag-team for the first time in a fighting game.
Born was the idea of Abyss, a being that can transform itself into three different forms. If the first one, the big armored Knight would fall, it changes into the much faster and more agile humanoid being and finally the monstrous third form..that is no problem if you have Cable in your team though and can be beaten in a couple of seconds.
Abyss from MVC2 in his three forms, drawn by Christopher “Mawnbak” Jones
Interesting in the last battle is, that you can actually see and fight his true form which is a big orb flying around the stage, hitting it with beat attacks can make the last battle the easiest one actually while his 2nd form can be really annoying.
Abyss was never seen again after MVC2 and it is quite doubtable we see this pretty unique game character in a new game
