Arcade is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in 1978's Marvel Team-Up #65, the creation of writer Chris Claremont and writer/artist John Byrne. The character is a combination of an evil genius and a hitman who carries out his assassinations via various elaborate traps, often referred to as Murderworld. Arcade's first intended victims were Spider-Man and Captain Britain but since Arcade's Murderworld games always leave the outcome up to chance, the duo defeated Arcade and escaped with their lives. Over the years Arcade has targeted a multitude of Marvel heroes, often focusing on the X-Men and associated members of X-Factor, X-Force and Excalibur. In what is considered the "game changer" for Arcade, Avengers Arena, he managed to kidnap 16 superpowered teens and forced them to kill each other for survival in his latest version of Murderworld; unlike most Murderworld schemes, this endeavor yielded several casualties. Arcade has appeared in a number of other Marvel properties outside of comic books, in X-Men: Evolution voiced by Gabe Khouth, and in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series voiced by Eric Bauza. He has also appeared as one of the main villains in a number of video games, including X-Men: Madness in Murderworld, Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Spider-Man: Edge of Time and Marvel: Avengers Alliance. Publication history Arcade was created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Arcade first appeared in Marvel Team-Up #65. The same storyline was reprinted shortly thereafter in the black-and-white comic Marvel UK title Super Spider-Man & Captain Britain #248). Arcade has regularly been a guest villain in the majority of Marvel comics appearances he has made throughout the years since his introduction. His earliest encounter with the X-Men team occurred in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #122–124. Some time later he would encounter the team again, this time partnered with Dr. Doom in issues #145-147. Arcade also makes an appearance in The Uncanny X-Men #197 (featuring Colossus). Fictional character biography 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 of murder, an underground funhouse of colorful deathtraps, usually decked out in cheery colors and disguised as an amusement park, which he has dubbed "Murderworld". Arcade's back-story, up to and including his real name, remains largely unknown even to the present.