Scott Summers is coming to MARVEL Tokon: Fighting Souls — but not the measured field leader most X-Men stories give you. At San Diego Comic-Con’s “Behind the Battle” panel, Arc System Works producer Takeshi Yamanaka confirmed on the PlayStation Blog’s July 23, 2026 recap that Phoenix Cyclops, voiced by Ray Chase, will be the first additional character joining the team-based fighter as part of its Year 1 content.
The timing matters for anyone still on the fence: the game’s open beta is running right now, July 24 through July 26, on PS5 and PC — and it is the last free chance to try MARVEL Tokon: Fighting Souls before launch.
A Phoenix Five Cyclops, not the classic one
This version of Cyclops draws from his Phoenix Five incarnation in the Avengers vs. X-Men comics arc — the stretch where Scott Summers carried a share of the Phoenix Force and stopped being anybody’s idea of restrained. Yamanaka says the design pairs the character’s defining Optic Blasts and hand-to-hand fundamentals with cosmic Phoenix power, and that a breakdown of how those abilities translate into his actual fighting style is being saved for a future update.
For an Arc System Works tag fighter, that framing is a tell. The studio’s DLC picks tend to be chosen for mechanical identity as much as fan service, and a Cyclops with both a zoning tool and Phoenix-fueled offense reads like a character built to stretch the roster’s ranged options.
Image: PlayStation Blog / Arc System Works
Sanzigen’s anime opening and a twin-vocalist theme
The panel also debuted the game’s opening movie, produced by Japanese animation studio Sanzigen — the same studio handling the cinematic sequences in Episode Mode. Yamanaka describes the goal as fusing classic fighting-game openings with the energy of early-2000s anime intros, directed by Sanzigen’s Daisuke Suzuki.
The theme song is its own crossover event: vocals come from Keiko Terada of SHOW-YA and mayu of NEMOPHILA, with lyrics by Kanata Okajima and composition and arrangement by MEG (MEGMETAL). Two generations of Japanese rock vocalists sharing a Marvel fighting game’s opening track is exactly the kind of swing this project keeps taking.
Insomniac crossover costumes, one of them free
Through a collaboration with Insomniac Games, a Wolverine Battle Reborn Suit costume arrives September 1 — free for all players to download. The Ultimate Edition separately includes a costume based on the Advanced Suit 2.0 from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, as previously announced. Yamanaka notes Arc System Works visited Insomniac’s studio to share an in-development build, calling the resulting feedback “a tremendous source of encouragement,” and says costumes will get far more emphasis here than in the studio’s past titles, with more variety planned post-launch.
The beta got bigger, too
One late change sweetens this weekend’s open beta: the roster was originally planned at 15 characters, but Green Goblin has been added as playable. Sony’s Comic-Con 2026 lineup had flagged the Tokon panel as a headline PlayStation moment for the show, and the beta bump plus a marquee DLC reveal delivered on that billing.
Yamanaka’s closing note frames launch day as “the starting point,” with new characters and new stages planned beyond release. Phoenix Cyclops is the first name on that roadmap — and the choice signals how Arc System Works intends to treat its additions: not safe classic designs, but the boldest available version of each character. The studio is also promising countdown illustrations from the development team and a lineup of Marvel guest artists as launch approaches, so the reveal cadence is not slowing down after Comic-Con.
If you want hands-on time before committing, the beta window closes July 26; a PlayStation account and internet connection are required to participate. Sixteen characters — Green Goblin included — is a generous free slice of a fighter this stacked with crossover talent.
