The game will follow its own independent storyline, which involves a universe threatening event called “The Pulse”. This makes Marvel’s stable of villains even more powerful, and they are targeting New York City. The player’s role is that of a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, tasked with putting together a team of heroes to stop the threat.

Based upon what has been shown so far, all of the Marvel staples looks to be represented: Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and The Hulk. On the villain side of things we have: Green Goblin, Loki, Dr. Doom, and Whiplash somehow made the cut.

Being a Facebook game, the gameplay looks to be a mix of RPG and click based action. You will level your heroes up, and unlock special abilities as you progress. It is being developed by a Facebook savvy company, Playdom, who’s released titles such as: Gardens of Time, Deep Realms, Sorority Life, and Wild Ones. Quite an eclectic portfolio.

The game is slated for a Q1 2012 release, and there’s an official Marvel: Avengers Alliance Facebook page you can follow. Marvel has a teaser trailer which you can watch below. Enjoy.

An online subscription model that permits the reading of thousands of long out of print comics could be the key to a cash infusion at Marvel. Anyone with nostalgia for the early days of Spider-Man, or a desire to catch up on some more recent titles, will be the target audience.

With customary superheroic drama, the publisher has dubbed the program Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. They offer monthly and annual subscription options, the annual option priced under $60.

The new program seems to have found plenty of interest on the Internet, as accessing Marvel’s website at times proved impossible. Marvel did make some 250 comics available for free reading online, as an enticement to pony up for a subscription.

New and very recent titles won’t be part of the program, as Marvel sensibly does not want to undercut the comic stores, on and offline, that sell them. However, making older titles available for an inexpensive subscription could hamper demand for the printed version of now-rare issues.

Such relatively inexpensive and broad availability of titles that made their marks on a younger audience may find favor with those now-grownup and working people. On a personal note, I’m looking forward to re-reading the first 24 issues of Excalibur, from the time when Alan Davis and Chris Claremont worked on the title, as well as Warren Ellis’ two-year run.

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Marvel Enterprises, publishers of numerous comic books over the years, formed a Video Games group within the business to explore gaming deals. At San Diego’s Comic-Con, Marvel announced an exclusive deal with Microsoft to bring its characters to Xbox Live.

Sony had previously signed Marvel’s rival DC Comics to a massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming deal. DC owns Batman and Superman along with a host of other characters. Marvel says that it owns 5,000 proprietary heroes, villains, and supporting cast members like Spider-man’s Aunt May.

Marvel has been experiencing success on the big screen. Its Spider-man and X-Men franchises have proven popular. Each has been featured in two movies, and third movies are in development. The recent release of Fantastic Four did well in its opening weekend.

Microsoft needs successful draws to its Xbox Live offering if it is to counter losses on the hardware front. The company is rumored to lose money with each console, and reportedly Sony experiences the same issue.

The console makers earn money back in licensing their technology to game companies. With the popularity of online gaming soaring, they have found that running their own subscription-based services offers another stream of revenue.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

Marvel has entered its first massively multiplayer online (MMO) game agreement, signing on with Microsoft for an undisclosed amount. The agreement gives Microsoft access to notable comic and movie stars like Spider-man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men.

Microsoft sees online gaming as a valuable component of its entertainment presence. The company launched Xbox Live recently, and the Xbox 360 will have a number of titles for it focused toward online gaming.

This is Marvel’s first MMO agreement, with Microsoft’s first title due in 2008. A Marvel representative said the agreement is Marvel’s “one and only” MMO deal, according to Reuters.

“Online gaming is reaching a point of acceptance. We will use as many of the Marvel characters as we can,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing for Microsoft’s Xbox.

Microsoft will have a lot to choose from, then. Marvel says it owns about 5,000 proprietary characters. But a successful implementation of MMO using Marvel characters can be a big boost to Microsoft’s gaming division.

The Xbox and its forthcoming replacement the Xbox 360 have reportedly been money-losers on a hardware basis, with costs exceeding what the company can sell them for on the market. Sony probably will experience the same issue when it releases the PS3 next year; Microsoft may drop the Xbox 360 price at that time.

For Microsoft, Xbox Live and its fee-based subscriptions allow it to turn those hardware losses into loss leaders instead. The game console companies make money on licensing from video game makers like Electronic Arts. But owning Xbox Live means all the money it generates is house money for Microsoft, less the licensing it would pay Marvel.

And like Star Wars online games, Marvel’s games will have successful movies to help bolster their marketing. The Spider-man and X-Men movies have become franchises for Marvel, each having two movies out and a third in development.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

Hold your horses, Sparky. You’ll have to wait until 2008.

Microsoft announced Thursday that it obtained the exclusive rights to put the entire collection of Marvel characters at gamers disposal in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG).

The X-mas box 360 is expected to launch in time for the Christmas season, but the Marvel MMORPGs won’t be ready until some time in 2008.

The cast of characters includes X-men, Fantastic 4, and Spider Man. Microsoft, no doubt noticing last month’s dealt between Sony and DC Comics to produce games like Matrix Online, hopes to appeal the growing crowd of MMORP gamers.

These games, which allow hundreds or thousands of players to link up to a central location to compete against one another, are especially popular in Asia (where a crowds are rather normal).

Sony, Microsoft’s chief rival in the gaming and console business, currently rules this particular market with Everquest games providing the bulk of material for the estimated 2 million gamers involved.

Marvel Entertainment and Microsoft seem to be gushing over the deal.

“Marvel has created some of the most iconic and exciting characters and stories in the past century. We’re thrilled to bring this universe to interactive entertainment,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing for Xbox at Microsoft.

Marvel was equally as thrilled about the deal as demonstrated in Pressrelease-ese here.

“We are very excited to be working with Microsoft to bring our fans what we expect will be a world-class online gaming experience,” Tim Rothwell, vice president at Marvel Enterprises said. “We also believe online gaming will provide valuable, global exposure to our character brands.”

Microsoft talked Marvel Comics into unleashing its cast of 4-color characters into the netherworld of the Xbox360. With Marvel’s complete list of over 5000 character up for usage, some characters that don’t get into the comics or the movies could quite possibly end up here.

The deal is a worldwide licensing agreement so while I play Vision in Kentucky, my buddies in Germany and Japan can play Nightcrawler and Sasquatch. Of course the jerk who always plays the Punisher will come in and shoot everybody.

“The alliance with Microsoft catapults us into the games category in an unprecedented way. Microsoft is an acknowledged leader in the interactive game space, and backed by their technology, creative and marketing clout, Marvel will establish a strong presence in the burgeoning online gaming arena,” said Tim Rothwell, worldwide president of the Consumer Media Group at Marvel Enterprises. “We are very excited to be working with Microsoft to bring our fans what we expect will be a world-class online gaming experience. We also believe online gaming will provide valuable, global exposure to our character brands.”

MMORPGs are massive entities for online games that got their start a few years ago. They’ve evolved into topnotch games now with things like World of Warcraft. The Marvel Experience promises something exciting, especially when the game has about 30 gigs or so of graphics and other feature in high definition.

The catch, and this is a big one, is that this baby isn’t due out until 2008. We’ve got to wait a lousy 3 years to get at this puppy but I can hear the everlovin’ Thing’s battle cry “It’s CLOBBERIN’ TIME!” I suspect Microsoft will embrace that motto when faced with PS3s in the future.

I hope the game makes read this though because there are two important points to include. First, get the rights to the Ramone’s recording of Spiderman. It will certainly add flavor. And second, you have to include the Great Lakes Avengers. It’s absolutely imperative. EXCELSIOR!

John Stith is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

The last time the FF was tried, it made fans of the half a century old comic series nearly cry, those who might have seen it. That film wasn’t even good enough to make it to home video.

The premise behind the characters is this: Reed Richards, supra-genius is a scientist to rival Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking. He leads a group of astronauts into space, namely his long time buddy and pilot, the ever-lovin’ Ben Grimm, Richards’ wife, Sue Storm Richards and her brother Johnny. In the movie they’ve added another character to head into space with them, Victor Von Doom, an old college roommate of Richards (at least in the comic) and every bit his intellectual equal.

Things happen to them in space. They are exposed to cosmic radiation and it changes them. Reed’s molecules shift and change and he develops the odd ability to manipulate his body and stretch it out to various lengths much like a rubber band. He earns the title of Mr. Fantastic.

So begins the adventures of the Fantastic Four. With the Thing, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic, they battle their old archenemy, Dr. Doom. He is the quintessential villain.

Marvel is putting a fair amount of hope in this film. The movie stars Idan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Kerry Washington and Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom.

Like many other movies of this type, a lot of merchandising will go around this film. Toys, video games, and I almost forgot comic books as well as a ton of other stuff. This is where Marvel is likely to make their big money.

It’s another comic movie. Batman Begins was extremely good. Comic fans hope to get another good delivery out of this film.

John Stith is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

After decades of publishing the exploits of Captain America, the Avengers, and Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD among many others in print, Marvel now turns to the business of making movies.

Money drives the new initiative. Marvel earned a pittance from its licensing of Spider-Man to Sony Pictures. With the merchandising potential for huge profits, like those of George Lucas’s “Star Wars” empire, Marvel wants to emulate Mr. Lucas and have more control of its offerings.

The company will begin by producing a new Captain America movie for the big screen. Another project featuring the eyepatch-wearing Nick Fury is in development.

And fans can only hope The Avengers get the same treatment as 20th Century Fox has done for the X-Men movies.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.