Wario (Nintendo vs. Capcom)

Wario is the arch-rival of Super Mario, first making his debut as the main antagonist and final boss of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins in 1992. Throughout his appearance in the several Mario spin-offs, Wario is shown to be the alter figure of Mario; possessing incredible materialistic greed and showing a lack of care to collateral destruction. Despite this, Wario began to edge away from his antihero tenancies through his own game series "Wario Land", beginning with "Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3" in 1994. Alongside his adventures to foil the treacherous schemes of Rudy the Clown, Wario also used his vast fortune to establish a software development company in Diamond City known as Warioware Inc. This had marked the debut of the Warioware series in 2003; Wario's image began to shine brighter among the remaining Super Mario cast as the head of the company, becoming iconic enough to return adventuring with Captain Syrup in the 2008 Wario Land sequel, [https://www.mariowiki.com/Wario_Land:_Shake_It! Wario Land: Shake it!.]

Team Capcom's invasion into Diamond City had piqued Wario's curiosity; it had been years since travelling with Captain Syrup to thwart the Shake King, so he was quite intrigued to see an unidentified airborne Pirate Ship breaking through the dimensional tear in the the sky. Taking a leave of absence from Warioware Inc. Wario revved his signature yellow cruiser and raced down the congested downtown, greedily fantasizing of the great fortune that may lay on the vessel.

Wario's rival in this cross-dimensional war is Ruby Heart

Opening
Wario is seen perched on his velvet office chair, overlooking Diamond City from the top floor or Warioware Inc. Half-contently having his face stuffed with doughnuts and strawberries, Wario gives a slight sigh of disappointment; the company had been seeing a sharp downfall in profits due to unenthusiastic employees and his abhorrent dietary habits. Seeing no further inspiration in sight and a complete lack of adventuring vigor, Wario now spent his days living in sedentary gluttony; not that it was any new lifestyle to the madman.

However, His daily snack of fatty foods is abruptly cut off when a loud explosion shakes the corporate tower with vicious ferocity. Thrown to the ground, Wario quickly looks off into the distance and witnesses a tear in the sky, warping the fabric of space. Intrigued, Wario makes out a large airborne vessel emerging from the dimensional rift, this was certainly not the work of the S.S Teacup, and the Shake King was already defeated by his hands. Mulling over the possibilities while opening the large panned windows, he hears the faint voice of a female captain among the blasts of cannon fire,

"Forward men! Show these scoundrels the true meaning of valor!"

Wario's grin slowly grows; knowing he now has a chance to plunder a massive collection of treasure and reverse the fortune of his company, he announces a leave of absence and begins making tracks toward the aircraft.

Rival
Name: Ruby Heart

Reason: Wario sees Captain Heart's invading vast fleet as a prime opportunity to obtain a great horde of wealth, despite the physical danger it poses to his hometown. Ruby is determined to keep the alternate dimension at bay and prevent any rogue force from causing harm to her world. Being a veteran at war, she makes the preemptive strike and charges forward, challenging Wario to close combat.

Connection: Wario and Ruby's lives focus heavily on their determination to acquire large sums of wealth for their own personal needs; Wario desires to sate his greed and corporation while Ruby covets supernatural treasure to empower her combative capabilities and the prime vessel she commands. Combined with their desire for treasure, they both have encountered villains disguised as the material wealth they seek, as seen with Ruby's quest in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to defeat the Abyss Stone and Wario's conquest in Wario World to take his fortune back from the Dark Jewel. Wario and Ruby also have had substantial experience with sailing on giant ships to take on epic quests, as Ruby commands her own Sky Fleet and Wario allying himself with Captain Syrup aboard the S.S Tea Cup and its successor, Sweet Stuff.