Elena Sokolova07/08/2026
4 min read
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls hides its most dangerous fighter behind a full playthrough of the game’s story mode. Champion, the cosmic final boss known in Marvel Comics as the Champion of the Universe, becomes a playable character only after players clear every chapter of the “Fighting Avengers” Episode and defeat both his Primordial and Awakened forms, according to guides published by TheGamer and Dot Esports following the game’s August 6 launch on PS5 and PC.
Arc System Works’ 4v4 tag-team fighter shipped with 20 characters split across five teams, but Champion sits outside that roster as a hidden 21st unlock rather than a pre-order bonus or paid DLC add-on
Clearing All 11 Chapters of the Fighting Avengers Episode
Champion is unlocked by completing the Fighting Avengers Episode in Episode Mode, requiring players to finish all 11 chapters and defeat Champion’s Primordial and Awakened forms. Along the way, players work through solo matches with each of the Fighting Avengers team members excluding Captain America, battles against all four of the other participating teams, a mini-game encounter against the Promoter, and three consecutive boss battles against Champion himself.
Outside of the Promoter and Champion encounters, most of these fights stay straightforward, simply requiring two round wins before the opponent claims victory. The full Episode takes roughly 90 minutes to finish, depending on difficulty and player experience.
The Promoter’s Skill Gauge Gauntlet
Before reaching Champion, players must clear a very different kind of fight against his herald, the Promoter. Rather than a traditional battle, this encounter plays as a mini-game built around building a Skill Gauge by attacking the Promoter until she shields herself and becomes invulnerable, at which point players must strike the projectile she throws out to keep filling the gauge until the shield drops.
This shield-and-projectile cycle repeats until players eventually perform a Tokon Assemble while standing in the spotlight the Promoter summons, which can be triggered by pressing the Light Attack button repeatedly while attacking her, ending the fight.
Three Escalating Rounds Against Champion of the Universe
Champion is fought three times in a row, with each subsequent fight becoming tougher and unlocking new, stronger moves for the boss. In the opening round he plays mostly defensively until losing about 60 percent of his health, after which he turns far more aggressive and starts dealing a silly amount of damage despite having no teammates to back him up.
In Marvel lore, Champion is better known as Tryco Slatterus, an Elder of the Universe whose sole obsession is combat. He first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 in 1982 as a cosmic being who plotted to overthrow Galactus. Within Marvel Tōkon’s story, he hosts the “Challenge of the Champion” tournament, forcing Earth’s heroes and villains to battle one another before facing him in the game’s climactic encounter.
Playing Champion: A Two-Star Brawler Without the Assemble Mechanic
Once earned, defeating both of Champion’s forms concludes the chapter and unlocks him for use in any mode except Episodes. That makes him unavailable inside the very story mode used to unlock him, but free to use everywhere else, including Casual and Ranked matches.
Players don’t need to purchase Champion separately, and unlike the rest of the cast, he doesn’t use the game’s Assemble tag mechanic, instead relying on his own strength, grappling attacks, poses, and powerful combos. He can also build a Pride Gauge that unlocks access to his Awakened form after landing a Super on an opponent.
Champion carries a two-star difficulty rating, making him one of the toughest heroes to play in the entire roster, though for players who’d rather focus on one heavy hitter instead of juggling teammates, he’s a big brawler who does big damage to anyone caught in his combos.
A Bumpy Launch Week for Arc System Works’ PlayStation Fighter
Champion’s arrival lands during a rocky first week for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. The game’s Steam page currently shows a “Mixed” user rating from over 800 reviews, with roughly 43 percent positive, reflecting complaints that surfaced around the PC release. Rumours of Champion’s playable status had already circulated for weeks before launch, after leaked footage surfaced online in late July showing what appeared to be the boss fighting alongside other characters, fuelling speculation among fans that he — or the Promoter — might become an unlockable addition rather than a story-only antagonist.
That speculation echoes a pattern Arc System Works fans will recognise from its earlier fighting games, where secret bosses unlocked through story completion later became viable competitive picks. For the Australian and New Zealand fighting game community, where Marvel Tōkon released simultaneously worldwide on August 6 alongside its PS5 and Steam versions, the grind through the Fighting Avengers Episode offers local players an early crack at a character who, if the roster math holds, sits completely outside the confirmed Year 1 DLC lineup that kicks off with Phoenix Cyclops.
Sources
Arc System WorksChampion of the Universecharacter unlock guidefighting gamesMARVEL Tōkon Fighting SoulsPS5
