| Arcade | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Marvel Team-Up #65 (January 1978)[1] |
| Created by | Chris Claremont John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Place of origin | Murderworld |
| Team affiliations | Crazy Gang |
| Notable aliases | Mister A, "Mad Monk," Pinball Wizard, A.R. Cadenski |
| Abilities |
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Arcade is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He first appeared in1978'sMarvel Team-Up #65, the creation of writerChris Claremont and/or writer/artistJohn Byrne. The character is a combination of anevil genius and ahitman who carries out his assassinations via a personally designedamusement park outfitted with elaborate traps, often referred to asMurderworld.[a]
Over the years Arcade has targeted a multitude of Marvel heroes, often focusing on theX-Men and associated members ofX-Factor,X-Force andExcalibur. In what is considered the "game changer" for Arcade,Avengers Arena,[3] he kidnaps 16 superpowered teens and forces them to kill each other for survival in Murderworld; unlike most Murderworld schemes, this endeavor yields several casualties.
Arcade has appeared in a number of other Marvel properties outside of comic books, inX-Men: Evolution voiced byGabe Khouth, and in theUltimate Spider-Man animated series voiced byEric Bauza. The character made his live-action debut in the20th Century Fox filmDeadpool 2 (2018) portrayed by co-writerPaul Wernick. He has also appeared as one of the main villains in a number of video games, includingX-Men: Madness in Murderworld,Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge,Marvel: Ultimate Alliance,Spider-Man: Edge of Time andMarvel: Avengers Alliance.
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Arcade was created byChris Claremont and/orJohn Byrne, and first appeared inMarvel Team-Up #65.[4][5] In 2025, Claremont stated that he could not recall whether Arcade was created by himself, Byrne, or both jointly.[2] Few details about Arcade are given inMarvel Team-Up #65, and his face is never shown to readers, leaving him to be more fully revealed inMarvel Team-Up #66.[2]
Arcade's debut storyline was reprinted shortly thereafter in the black-and-white comicMarvel UK titleSuper Spider-Man & Captain Britain #248 published on November 8, 1977.
Arcade's nature meant he was not confined to any specific series.[2] Nonetheless, nearly all of his appearances have been in the X-Men family of titles. His earliest encounter with the X-Men occurred in the pages ofUncanny X-Men #122–124. Some time later he would encounter the team again, this time in a maledamsel in distress role as the X-Men fight to save him from his captorDoctor Doom in issues #145-147.[2] Arcade also serves as a victim in need of rescue inThe Uncanny X-Men #197 and theone-shotColossus #1.[2]
In the 1995 limited seriesWolverine/Gambit: Victims, Arcade was redesigned as heavily deformed with an elongated grin.[2]
Arcade affects a manner of dress and speech that makes him appear to be a comedic character. This is part of his overall theme, which extends into his preferred method ofmurder, an underground funhouse of colorfuldeathtraps, usually decked out in cheery colors and disguised as anamusement park, which he has dubbed "Murderworld".
Arcade's background, up to and including his real name, remains largely unknown. He claims that he was born into a wealthy family and lived much of his early life, depending on the telling, on a ranch inTexas, or in a mansion inBeverly Hills.[6] At the age of either eighteen or twenty-one, his allowance was cut off by his father, who declared that he did not deserve it. In retaliation, Arcade murders his father, thus inheriting his money.[7]
Arcade became a freelanceassassin, traveling across the world, killing people in rather mundane fashions, and amassing even more wealth than he already had. Discovering an aptitude for technology, Arcade designed and built his first Murderworld, a subterranean evil lair disguised as an amusement park. From this base, and with the help of two mysterious assistants namedMiss Locke andMr. Chambers, he reemerged as the world's most expensive hitman. For the price of $1 million, he tailors Murderworld to exploit the specific weaknesses of his targets and then kill them with a variety of colorful deathtraps.
Since no one in their right mind would enter Murderworld willingly, Arcade must first capture his targets so that he can place them within Murderworld. This raises the question of why he does not simply kill them once he has captured them, and not bother with the expense of building and maintaining Murderworld. An answer is provided in the twist ending ofMarvel Team-Up #66: Arcade's primary interest is in the fun and excitement of taking on worthy opponents, and he is indifferent to whether he actually succeeds in killing his targets.[2] Because of this, he always deliberately leaves each target a small chance of survival, and sets them free without a fuss if they find it.[2] This sets Arcade apart from most other villains who usedeathtraps; while most villains believe that their death machines are infallible, Arcade gives them a chance on purpose, for the sport of it.
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Since his first attempt to killSpider-Man andCaptain Britain,[8][9] Arcade has tangled, at one time or another, with a large number of heroes. In addition to battling theX-Men,X-Factor,X-Force andExcalibur as groups, he has attempted to kill many individual members, usually in pairs.
Courtney Ross is one of the few non-super-powered civilians to escape Arcade's attention. She survives for some time due to outwitting multiple opponents (such as the Crazy Gang) and discovers a talent for improvisational comedy. In the end, she is rescued by the superhero team Excalibur. The entire situation gives her a new outlook and appreciation for life (though she is killed by an unrelated villain after her escape).[10]
In another confrontation with Excalibur, Arcade traps the team in a Murderworld programmed as aLooney Tunes parody, called the Loonies. He conducts this operation while in prison.[11]
At one point Arcade entraps the two otherworldly warriors,Adam X andShatterstar, who team up to survive his plans. Arcade is astonished as the two (mostly Adam) kill several of his employees. This causes him to state that the clients will be receiving a refund and the two are not to be dealt with in the future. Shatterstar attempts to kill Arcade, but he only destroys a robotic double.[12]
Arcade, having taken his show on the road, joins up withJohnny Blaze's Quentin Carnival; his Murderworld folded out from the back of a semi. Blaze rampages through the fold-out Murderworld, which he discovers is infested with demonic beings, destroying all the obstacles in his sight and killing what he can. He then leaves Arcade trapped in its depths. Arcade's trailer, now more normal-shaped, is driven out into the desert and abandoned.[13]
Prior to a confrontation withWolverine andGambit, he murders his assistant Miss Locke in a fit of rage.[7] During the struggle, she wounded him with a carving knife and scarred his face. Arcade builds android replicas of Locke to replace her.
In the three-part miniseriesClaws, Arcade secretly creates aKraven the Hunter robot, with the "assistance" ofWhite Rabbit, in an attempt to kill both Wolverine andBlack Cat. The two heroes overwhelm Arcade and the White Rabbit and strand them in the dinosaur-filled wilds of theSavage Land.[14]
Arcade is responsible for the destruction ofDistrict X, as part of a botched plan to kidnap X-Factor'sRictor.[15][7]
In a shift from his usual modus operandi, Arcade is responsible for the "Avengers Arena".[9][7] He and a new associate named Miss Coriander abduct 16 teenage superheroes (several with ties to theAvengers, including several members ofAvengers Academy) and strand them on a deserted island, re-modified as an elaborate Murderworld location, forcing them to fight to the death.[16][17] The heroesMettle,Red Raven, Kid Briton,Juston Seyfert,Apex, and Nara end up dying in Murderworld.
InAvengers Undercover, Arcade cashes on the success of Avengers Arena in the villainous underground nation ofBagalia. Several Murderworld survivors reunite and are convinced by fellow heroCullen Bloodstone to kill Arcade at the Massacre Casino in revenge for his actions.[18] After a battle,Hazmat kills Arcade by destroying him with a concentrated radiation burst.[19] However, it was later revealed that Arcade survived and was imprisoned by Baron Zemo, with Hazmat having killed a clone. This was done in an effort to coerce the heroes to turn against the Avengers and to join theMasters of Evil.[20] The Masters of Evil escape on a hijackedHelicarrier, strapping Arcade to the front.[21]
Arcade moved his enterprises to Las Vegas and was embroiled in his usual games of life and death withElektra. In addition, he collaborated with Screwball where he gave her the training, equipment, and exclusive streaming rights that she needed. During this encounter he revealed that he had partnered withWilson Fisk to eliminate certain heroes "from the board," such as Elektra, Hellcat, Gwenpool, Deadpool, and others, explaining their previous encounters.[22] After Elektra ends his Vegas operation, Arcade travels toMadripoor and encounters Spider-Man and Deadpool.[23] Additionally, he vows to no longer target mutants in his endeavors.[24]
In the "Hunted" storyline, Arcade and his company Arcade Industries assist Kraven the Hunter andLast Son of Kraven in preparation for his upcoming hunt inCentral Park.[7] He starts by capturing many animal-themed villains and brandingKing Cobra,Rhino,Scorpion,Stegron,Tarantula,Vulture as theSavage Six.[25] Arcade's Hunter-Bots are unleashed on the villains and manage to kill several of them before the hunt ends. In the aftermath,Captain Marvel confronts Arcade while the controllers of the Hunter-Bots are confronted byCaptain America.[26]
One of his old facilities was used as a headquarters by the superhero teamX-Force.[27] They planned to use it as a base for crimefighting and even attended a nearby college out of it. Arcade later destroys the base remotely; X-Force barely escapes with their lives.[7][28]
Another old Murderworld location was converted into a training room by an incarnation of the New Warriors.[29]
Madripoor's ruler,Viper, buys one of Arcade's Murderworld facilities and uses it to deceive the X-Men, threatening the city of London with nuclear weapons.[30]
On one occasion, Arcade experimented with what he called "Video Murder Machines", using a laser-like beam to abduct targets into a virtual environment where the victims would engage in deadlyvideo game type scenarios. He intended to abduct the X-Men but accidentally captured theMicronauts with whom he was unfamiliar. The Micronauts (Arcturus Rann, Devil, Microtron, and Nanotron) were able to eventually escape the virtual environments through Microtron's hacking into the system. The premise was inspired by the Disney filmTron, which released around the same time.[31]
Arcade has no superhuman powers but has knowledge of technology far ahead of conventional science, particularly in the fields of robotics and mechanical and electrical engineering. How he acquired this knowledge is never revealed.[2] Usually when he appears to be captured, it turns out to be a robot. It is implied that he is an expert in conventional assassination, including ranged weapons, poison, and sabotage, all of which became elements in Murderworld.
InAgent X #5, it was revealed that Arcade also has some medical skills.[32]
In theAvengers Arena series, Arcade easily held back a cadre of 16 high-powered teenage superheroes seemingly without having to resort to mechanical or technological devices. He displayed the ability to create force fields, proved to be nearly invulnerable to energy blasts without the force field, controlled the motor functions of his 16 captives all at the same time, employed telekinesis, caused nearby matter to form into a throne for him to sit on, and effortlessly blew apart an almost-invulnerable mutant with a simple gesture. However, these abilities are the result of technology provided by his henchwoman, Miss Coriander, and can only be manifested within the confines of the Antarctica Murderworld.
Arcade received an action figure in theMarvel Legends line in June 2021.