Black Panther, Ant-Man and Vision Bring the Civil War to Disney Infinity

More Marvel goodness is coming to Disney Infinity this year, as the game will bring more of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's faces to life in video game form. While Disney Infinity's third installment has largely focused on various Star Wars stories, there was a smattering of Marvel characters released to bulk up the comic roster. Later this month, a new Captain America: Civil War-inspired Captain America figure will release alongside Marvel Battlegrounds, a four-player co-op Play Set, where you and some friends can duke it out with the biggest and baddest in Marvel's corner of the Disney Infinity Universe.

Captain America won't be alone in getting a new figure however, as Disney revealed during its Disney Infinity Next stream a handful of hard traveled heroes that would make the leap to the successful video game franchise. Black Panther, Ant-Man and Vision will get their own spanking new figures, along with a new Power Disc pack that boasts new vehicles and power-ups for Disney Infinity. There's also a standalone Symbiote Spider-Man figure coming to help round out the Civil War connections, though he was already released as part of the PS Vita starter pack in 2014.

Marvel Battlegrounds will introduce four-player action into Disney Infinity for first time, with a heavy focus on brawling combat driving the Play Set. All of the existing Marvel characters have been re-balanced to work in this new arena-styled game so that none are too overpowered. This new Play Set is just part of Disney Interactive's new strategy to release more content for the base game without introducing a new edition. The Marvel Battlegrounds set will also be the first to require a downloadable update to play. The same goes for all the new Marvel characters being added into the fray.

As to how those new characters will play, details were brief but we did learn a little about what they'll bring to the table. Black Panther is an agile powerhouse, capable of stun and juggle combos that should drive enemies crazy. Vision's phasing ability grants him a big advantage coupled with his flight, and his uppercut is capable of starting a major string of attacks in an air combo. Ant-Man is a bit more defensive, but can use his shrinking abilities to get a sneaky attack in before enemies know what hit them. Cap's new powers include a super special that summons a hellicarrier attack, though its not clear if the existing Captain America figure will get those same abilities or if he'll be the same as he was in Disney Infinity 2.0.

There will be eight different arenas to battle in, including the Avengers traiining facility, a Brooklyn train yard, the depths of the Wakandan mines, and the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard. All of the stages feature multiple tiers that become accessible as more and more damage is done to a level. This whole gameplay style is very new to the Infinity brand, and should open up a range of possibilities for level creators as well... or at least one would hope anyway. Until it's actually out, we have no idea how Marvel Battlegrounds will impact the creation aspect of Disney Infinity.

The Power Discs due to release this spring add some fan-favorites into the action. The Cosmic Cube Blast gives characters a powerful new ranged attack, as does Darkhawk's blast. Fingers crossed that means Darkhawk actually jumps into the game to use the Darkhawk amulet. There will also be a Nova Corps strike, which summons a massive blast from the sky above, and the pièce de résistance, Ghost Rider's motorcycle. It probably won't do you much good inside the arena, but whipping that bad boy out in any of the other game modes, including races, sounds pretty cool.

That Black Panther and Ant-Man are getting figures is cool, and T'Challa's new costume looks fantastic in Infinity's stylized form. I'm a bit disappointed we aren't getting any new female characters, as right now you've only got Black Widow and Gamora (and White Tiger as an assist Power Disc) to counter the 26 male heroes. Timing this set with Civil War would have been a great time to introduce a Scarlet Witch. The Star Wars figures have shown a better range of diversity with four female figures introduced already (versus 14 males), and it would be nice to see the Marvel side of things catch up. Then again, you can't fault Disney Interactive entirely, as the Infinity figures have largely been based on the film versions, and there aren't a lot of leading ladies to choose from in the MCU.

One day we'll get Captain Marvel to be more than an NPC that issues orders. One day.

Disney Infinity Marvel Battlegrounds and all the new figures will be available beginning March 15 on every conceivable platform possible.