Ultimate Alliance: Marvel's NPC Handbook

When you have more than 140 different characters from the Marvel Universe slated to appear in Raven Software's follow-up to X-Men Legends, there's a lot of ground to cover. To help move that process along, your buddies here at IGN have teamed up with Activision to reveal a number of the various NPCs that players can expect to run into in the upcoming Marvel: Ultimate Alliance.

Below, we've included a various bits of info for each hero and villain involved -- height, weight, powers, abilities, first appearances, etc. We'd also like to give a special thanks to Marvel's official website and the fan-driven Marvel Directory for this assistance in our feature. And now, without any further ado, it's time to meet some NPCs!

Heimdall

First Appearance: Journey into Mystery #85 (1962)

Real Name: Heimdall

Height: 7'2"

Weight: 575 lbs

Powers, Abilities, and More: Heimdall has the typical powers of an Asgardian god, including superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. He also possesses superhuman senses, most notably his vision and hearing. His senses are said to be so acute that he can hear sap running through trees and see events occurring miles away. Heimdall also briefly possessed the Odinpower, which granted him the power to channel cosmic energies. Heimdall is an experienced warrior, and a fierce hand-to-hand combatant. He wields a variety of swords, shields, and spears, and wears a suit of armor. Heimdall bears the Gjallerhorn, which he would sound to alert all of Asgard to dangers threatening the city's gates. While in the mortal form of Donald Velez, he wears enchanted glasses which grant him superhuman vision.

Karnak

First Appearance: Inhumans: The Untold Saga #1 (1990)

Real Name: Unknown

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 150 lbs

Powers and Abilities: Karnak possesses a degree of superhuman strength derived from his eugenically superior Inhuman heritage and his intensive regimen of regular exercise. Karnak has physically conditioned his body and mind to their peak levels of efficiency. He has voluntary control over most of his body's autonomic functions: breathing, heartbeat, bleeding, reaction to pain, rate of healing, etc. He is extremely lithe and flexible, able to expand and contract his muscles and contort his body into seemingly painful positions. He has toughened all the striking surfaces of his body in general, particularly his hands, so that they are covered in dense callus. Karnak is capable of shattering wood, cinderblock, even mild steel. Through mental discipline, Karnak has gained the extrasensory ability to perceive the stress points, fracture planes, or weaknesses, in all objects or persons around him.

Lilandra

First Appearance: X-Men #97 (1976)

Real Name: Lilandra Neramani

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 110 lbs

Powers: Lilandra possesses limited telepathic abilities, the extent of which have yet to be clearly defined. At one point she had formed a permanent telepathic link with Charles Xavier that allowed her to sense when he was in need.

Professor X

First Appearance: X-Men #1 (1963)

Real Name: Charles Xavier

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 190 lbs

Powers: Professor X is a mutant who possesses vast psionic powers, making him arguably the world's most powerful telepath. He can read minds and project his own thoughts into the minds of others within a radius of approximately 250 miles. With extreme effort, he can greatly extend that radius. Professor X can also psionically manipulate the minds of others, for example to make himself seem invisible, and project illusions into them. He can also induce temporary mental and/or physical paralysis, loss of particular memories or even total amnesia. Furthermore, Professor X can project powerful mental bolts of psionic energy enabling him to stun the mind of another being into unconsciousness. These bolts only apply force upon other minds; they do not inflict physical damage. Professor X can also sense the presence of other superhuman mutants within a small radius of himself by perceiving the distinct mental radiations emitted by such beings.

Uatu the Watcher

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #13 (1963)

Real Name: Uatu

Height: Variable

Weight: Variable

Powers: Uatu possesses vast psionic abilities such as telepathy, energy-manipulation, and illusion casting. His superhumanly-complex intelligence enables him to monitor activities throughout Earth's solar system simultaneously. Uatu can transform his body into a form of unknown energy while still retaining his sentience for travel through hyperspace. Bolstered by treatment with "delta-rays," Uatu possesses virtual immortality, although he can die by losing the will to live.

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