UMVC3/Viewtiful Joe

From SuperCombo Wiki


Introduction

Joe was a relatively average human and a big fan of superhero movies, who was sucked into the "movieverse" alongside his girlfriend Sylvia. There, the spirit of his favorite hero - Captain Blue - trained him to become a hero of his own, and gifted him the V-Watch which lets him transform. As Viewtiful Joe, he uses "VFX" powers themed after his favorite movies, including the ability to speed up or slow down time.

In UMvC3, Viewtiful Joe is a keepaway character who tries to keep opponents locked down with both the charged and uncharged versions of his Voomerang projectile. Although he doesn't have the flight or 8-way airdash capabilities of some other zoners, Joe has several unique tricks to stay evasive, including a command dodge and a special "triple jump".

Strengths Weaknesses
  • Sky High Movement: Joe is one of only two characters to have a triple jump, allowing him to get to great heights for landing mixups or stalling. Additionally, he has a two way air dash, dive kicks that start combos and enable crossups, and a decent stall and fall tool in Air Joe (MASH+ATK). While he does lack speed and is quite floaty, Joe can easily dance around his enemies and force them to make an approach lest they wish to get zoned out.
  • Zoning: Very effective zoning game with repeated instant airdash Voomerangs. Charged Voomerangs home in on the opponent and can keep them locked down for quite a while, giving you ample time to continuously charge them until your opponent makes a move.
  • Defense: Has access to several defensive and reversal tools to escape pressure. V-Dodge (ATK+S) gives a good amount of invincibility and can be special cancelled at any point. Additionally, Mach Speed (623XX) is one of the most invincible hypers in the game, and can blow through almost anything while initiating a combo on hit.
  • Slowjob: Viewtiful God Hand (214XX) inflicts a unique effect on hit, slowing down a character by 25% for 600 frames and gives a forced RPS situation in favor of Joe afterwards. Opponents are either forced to tag/DHC out, or deal with the slowdown if they can escape. Also when hit they have longer hitstun when combo'd, enabling unique combos certain to ToD.
  • Awful Normals: Unlike Arthur who has a sword and Rocket who uses guns and traps, Joe uses his stubby limbs for all of his normal attacks, making up some of the smallest hitboxes in the game. While some notable normals are effective up close, (j.S, j.H, f.M) Joe has to actually get close to use them, and his normals do not help at all in that regard.
  • Low Damage: With higher execution and more unconventional combo routes than most, Joe generally needs a damage engine or must use excessive resources to kill higher health characters.
  • Limited Support Value: Joe has practically no value as a support and is generally only a point character. His DHCs have unconventional support such as DHCing into Viewtiful God Hand or Mach Speed Reversal, but are punishable on whiff/block. His assists don't offer traditional extensions nor do they have good neutral presence, and his TAC routing is execution heavy and impractical.

Unique Mechanics

Joe is one of two characters in the game with a "Triple Jump", alongside Chun-Li. This allows Joe to perform his doublejump twice in one air sequence, for a total of three jumps. It would be more accurate to describe this mechanic as having two aerial movement points, since Joe also has an airdash he can spend them on. In total, Joe can:

  • Doublejump and then doublejump a second time
  • Airdash and then airdash a second time
  • Doublejump and then airdash
  • Airdash and then doublejump

When combining this additional mobility with his divekick and Air Joe specials, Viewtiful Joe is extremely evasive. He rarely has to commit to any particular jump arc for very long.

UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Nameplate.png
UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Portrait.png
Health 900,000
Invulnerable Reversal(s) 236XX, j.236XX, 623XX
Grounded Magic Series Full
X-Factor Damage Boost (1/2/3) 20% / 40% / 60%
X-Factor Speed Boost (1/2/3) 20% / 30% / 40%
Air Movement Options
Air Actions Air Jumps? Air Dash? Flight? WallJump?
2 Yes 2-Way No No
Minimum Attack Scaling
Normals Specials Hypers
10 20 60

Move List

Assists

Voomerang
Assist A
UMVC3 VJoe 236L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 39 - 125, 95
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Priority: Low, Durability: 5

THC Hyper: Desperado. Shoots a single projectile on a straight horizontal trajectory. Compared to many other projectile assists, this has very low total durability and provides very little lockdown.

Groovy Uppercut
Assist B
UMVC3 VJoe 623H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 30 13 121, 91
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Strk.png

THC Hyper: Mach Speed.

Shocking Pink
Assist Y
UMVC3 VJoe 214X.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 50 - 114, 84
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Otg.png, Softknockdown.png, Priority: Low, Durability: 1 (bomb), 99 (explosion)

THC Hyper: Desperado. Joe deploys a bomb that detonates after 66 frames. The bomb can be moved around by both you and the opponent by hitting it with any attack. Similarly, when it explodes, it can hit both the opponent and your own characters.

This assist is associated with a glitch, due to the fact that it is the only assist in the game that can deal self-damage. This glitch only works for player 1 (determined by inputs, not screen side). If player 1's point character blocks the damage from this assist mid-combo, the game considers the combo to be over for certain purposes, even if the character is able to continue comboing afterwards. Namely, blocking Shocking Pink resets your assist call cooldowns, allowing you to use multiple calls of the same assist in the same combo. Many characters can set up simple loops or even infinites through repeated use of this assist to reset itself. Video Example with Nemesis

Ground Normals

Stand Light
5L
UMVC3 VJoe 5L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
38,000 4 3 11
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-2 -3 Mid Rpdfire.png

-

Stand Medium
5M
UMVC3 VJoe 5M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
50,000 7 3 17
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-3 -4 Mid -

-

Stand Heavy
5H
UMVC3 VJoe 5H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
65,000 9 3 21
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-1 -3 Mid -

Causes Joe to advance forward while striking.


Crouching Light
2L
UMVC3 VJoe 2L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
35,000 5 3 10
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-1 -2 Low Rpdfire.png

-

Crouching Medium
2M
UMVC3 VJoe 2M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
48,000 8 3 17
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-3 -4 Low -

Causes Joe to advance backwards while striking and will drop a confirm when used incorrectly, it is best to stay away from using this button.

Crouching Heavy
2H
UMVC3 VJoe 2H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
60,000 9 13 21
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- -13 Low Strk.png, Softknockdown.png

Joe slides forward while kicking, covering approximately 25% of the screen in total. This makes 2H one of his only normals with actually decent range. This also works as a low-profile button, allowing Joe to slide underneath beams and other projectiles (if 2H does not last long enough to completely juke an attack, it can be canceled into V-Dodge).


Launcher/Special
S
UMVC3 VJoe 5S.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 8 3 23
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
Launch -5 Mid Launch.png, Nocancel.png

-

Aerial Normals

Jumping Light
j.5L
UMVC3 VJoe jL.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
38,000 5 3 15
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+8 +7 OH Djcancel.png

-

Jumping Medium
j.5M
UMVC3 VJoe jM.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
50,000 7 3 20
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+12 +11 OH Djcancel.png

-

Jumping Heavy
j.5H
UMVC3 VJoe jH.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
65,000 8 4 24
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+15 +13 OH Djcancel.png

Works naturally as an instant overhead even against normal-sized characters. Timed correctly, it's actually faster than Joe's standing 6M overhead attack, although it has poor range and is difficult to combo after when used this way. Instant overhead j.5H is a good option after landing Joe's slowdown hyper (214XX), as it leaves Joe at the exact range to land this move, and the slowdown makes meterless/assistless conversions possible.

Jumping Special
Pizza Cutter
j.5S
UMVC3 VJoe jS.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
25,000 x3 9 8 24
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+14 +12 OH Aircombofinisher.png

Joe's best normal by far. Completely surrounds Joe in a hitbox that can connect from any direction. Can be used to cover a retreat or used offensively, as it can very easily be made to hit crossup. If you land this attack while rising, a cancel into Red Hot Kick (214X) can allow you to convert into a combo.

Command Normals

Excellent Knuckle Punch
6M
UMVC3 VJoe 6M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
50,000 13 3 23
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-9 -10 OH -

Very fast overhead attack with a very difficult-to-see animation. It is basically unreactable, and can be canceled into 5S or 623M to start a combo afterwards. 6M is only limited by its awful range, especially since Joe likes to be farther away from his opponents in the first place. Like with j.5H, this is a solid mixup option to use after landing Joe's slowdown hyper, as it the hyper always leaves you slightly plus and in range to connect with it.

Special Moves

Voomerang
236X
UMVC3 VJoe 236L.png
L
Qcf.png + L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 10 - 34
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-12 -14 Mid Can be held/charged, Priority: Low, Durability: 5
M
Qcf.png + M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 10 - 37
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-15 -17 Mid Can be held/charged, Priority: Low, Durability: 5
H
Qcf.png + H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 10 - 40
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
-18 -20 Mid Can be held/charged, Priority: Low, Durability: 5

Joe's standard grounded projectile. It is rarely used compared to the air version, which allows Joe to stay mobile and land-cancel the otherwise lengthy recovery. Button strength also affects the Voomerang's trajectory:

  • L - Fires directly forward
  • M - Moves slightly ahead of Joe, then turns and fires straight upward
  • H - Moves slightly ahead of Joe, then performs a U-turn and fires directly behind him.

Holding down the button allows Joe to "charge" his Voomerang, although holding for fewer than 66 frames does nothing except allow you to delay the special. Sufficiently charging any voomerang toss replaces it with its "Charged" version (see below).

All versions of Voomerang are not subject to hitstun deterioration.

Air Voomerang
j.236X
L
j.Qcf.png + L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 15 - 37
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+20 +17 Mid Can be held/charged, Priority: Low, Durability: 5
M
j.Qcf.png + M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 17 - 35
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+20 +17 Mid Can be held/charged, Priority: Low, Durability: 5
H
j.Qcf.png + H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
70,000 19 - 33
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+20 +19 Mid Can be held/charged, Priority: Low, Durability: 5

Air version of Voomerang. Instant Airdash Voomerang (especially the L version) is Joe's primary keepaway tool. It allows Joe to continue to advance or retreat during the projectile's startup. More importantly, this times the projectile so that Joe lands back on the ground just after it was fired, canceling the recovery with his landing animation. Joe can use this to fire Air Voomerangs very rapidly, and even combo them into each other, for a powerful zoning game. Like the grounded version, button strength alters the Voomerang's path:

  • L - Fires straight forward
  • M - Moves slightly ahead of Joe, then turns and fires straight down
  • H - Moves slightly ahead of Joe, then performs a U-turn and fires directly behind him.

Joe can also hold down the button to charge his Voomerange, similarly to the grounded version. If Joe lands on the ground while charging an air Voomerang, he will transition automatically to charging a grounded one. However, if Joe releases his charge but lands before the projectile is fired, he will land-cancel the startup and throw nothing, wasting the charge. It is very difficult for Joe to fully-charge an air voomerang, as the charge time is usually longer than his airtime. However, a tiger-knee Voomerang input (2369[L]) does give Joe just enough time to charge and fire before returning to the ground.

All versions of Air Voomerang are not subject to hitstun deterioration.

Charged Voomerang
236[X] (charge for 66 frames)
UMVC3 VJoe 236X Charged.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
50,000 x3 66 - 73+ - 33 - 40
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Can be held, Priority: Low, Beam Durability: 3 per frame for 3 frames

If Joe holds a Voomerang for roughly 66 frames, it will glow bright orange and become a charged version. Charged Voomerangs deal three staggered hits instead of one single hit (the three hits do not combo into each other). They also have enhanced durability compared to normal Voomerangs. A charged Voomerang will begin by following the flight path of whatever button was used to charge it (so an M Voomerang will fly straight up/down). Afterwards, the Voomerang will home in on the opponent's point character, chasing them across the stage and eventually hovering on top of them.

Charged Voomerang can be quite challenging to set up, usually requiring protection from an assist or a very passive opponent. However, if Joe does manage to deploy one, he gets a significant amount of free time to do anything he wants while the opponent is stuck dealing with the repeated staggered attacks. This includes charging another Voomerang, creating a pressure sequence that some characters struggle to escape from.

All versions of Charged Voomerang are not subject to hitstun deterioration.


Shocking Pink
214X
UMVC3 VJoe 214X Held.png
Joe can "juggle" the bomb by holding down the button.
UMVC3 VJoe 214X.png
Once the initially held button is released, the bomb and its fuse are active.
UMVC3 VJoe 214X Explosion.png
Stay away from the bomb!
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 24 - 4
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Otg.png Softknockdown.png, can be held, Priority: Low, Durability: 1 (bomb), 99 (explosion)

Joe produces a bomb. Holding down the button causes Joe to keep the bomb with him, and the bomb will be deployed once the button is released. Once deployed, the bomb's fuse begins to count down (L - 66 frames, M - 130 frames, H - 194 frames). During this time, the bomb can be knocked around by being attacked by either player. Similarly, the final explosion can not only hurt the opponent, but Joe and his teammates as well.

Because of the bomb's mechanic of being knocked around by any attack, and because poor placement could cause Joe to be hit by it as well as (or instead of) the opponent, this move is difficult to utilize effectively. A minor glitch allows this move to be slightly more consistent by controlling exactly when the bomb detonates. To perform the glitch, delay Shocking Pink by holding the button, then hold a different button, and finally release the original button (236[L] > [M] > ]L[). The bomb's fuse will count down as usual, but the bomb will not explode until all held buttons are released, or until Joe gets hit, at which point it will detonate instantly.

Glitch: Like with the assist version, Shocking Pink has some strange properties due to being a rare example of an attack which can deal friendly fire damage. If Joe is comboing an opponent, and blocks his own Bomb detonation mid-combo, the game will consider his combo to have ended, even if the opponent has not had a chance to recover. This resets the combo counter, Damage Scaling, and Hitstun Deterioration. However, the glitch is very finicky, and can easily be accidentally disabled for the remainder of the match:

  • If an opponent's character is hit by any projectile assist, at any point during the match, the bomb scaling reset is disabled on that character for the remainder of the match.
  • Physical-hitting assists do not disable the glitch. However, if a physical assist hits an opponent, and any projectile attack is active on screen during the same combo as the assist hit, then the bomb scaling reset is disabled on that character for the remainder of the match.
  • Even if a character has had the glitch disabled on them from one of the above methods, you can still perform the bomb glitch on their teammates, as long as the glitch has not been disabled on them yet.

If the glitch is disabled, Joe blocking his own bomb will still reset the combo counter, but it will not reset Damage Scaling or Hitstun Deterioration, making it functionally useless.

Self-inflicted damage from the bomb(including chip damage) will get added to the damage display in training mode.

All versions of Shocking Pink are not subject to hitstun deterioration.


Groovy Uppercut
623
UMVC3 VJoe 623L.png
L Version
UMVC3 VJoe 623H.png
M/H Versions
L
Dp.png + L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 8 13 14
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+7 -6 Mid Strk.png
M
Dp.png + M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 6 13 13
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+8 -5 Mid Strk.png
H
Dp.png + H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
50,000 + 60,000 10 11(19)14 7
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+20 0 Mid Strk.png, Softknockdown.png

Dragon punch-style uppercut attack. Unfortunately, it does not have any invulnerability, but it is quite fast (especially the M version). The M version is the best in general, and an important combo tool as it is advantageous enough on hit for Joe to link a j.M afterwards. The H version is even better on hit and on block, but it hits twice, with the second hit pushing the opponent further away and also causing noticeable amounts of extra hitstun deterioration.


Red Hot Kick
j.214X
UMVC3 VJoe j214L.png
L Version
UMVC3 VJoe j214M.png
M Version
UMVC3 VJoe j214H.png
H Version
L
j.Qcb.png + L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 12 Until grounded 23*
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+9 +7 OH On contact, Joe bounces slightly away from the opponent, and only has 13 frames of recovery.
M
j.Qcb.png + M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 12 Until grounded 23
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+9 +7 OH On contact, Joe bounces slightly away from the opponent, and only has 13 frames of recovery.
H
j.Qcb.png + H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
35,000 x3 18 Until Grounded 19
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+2 0 Mid -

Divekick special that is useful as an offensive tool and combo extension. j.214L is aimed straight down, while M and H versions shoot diagonally down-forward. L and M Red Hot Kicks bounce off the opponent on contact with faster recovery. If Joe bounces off at the correct angle, it is possible to link other attacks afterwards, including another Red Hot Kick. This is easiest to do with the M version.

j.214H version behaves differently from the others. On contact, Joe passes through the opponent and continues down towards the ground. This means that H divekick cannot get the bounce links that the other versions can get, but it can instead be used to bring Joe and his opponent lower down toward the ground for a potential follow-up. H Divekick is also useful for running away, as Joe can use it from superjump height to quickly reach the ground on the opposite side of the screen, and on whiff it has faster recovery than the other versions.

All versions of Red Hot Kick are not subject to hitstun deterioration.


Air Joe
Mash Atk.png
L
Mash L.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
25,000 x3 + 40,000 per loop 3 Lmao 6
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Mashable
M
Mash M.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
25,000 x3 + 40,000 + 35,000 per loop 3 Lmao 8
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Mashable
H
Mash H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
25,000 x3 + 40,000 + 35,000 + 45,000 per loop 3 Lmao 21
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Mid Mashable

Joe flashes repeatedly, dealing repeated attacks primarily a short range in front of him but occasionally also behind him. Every instance of this move is a "loop" of 4/5/6 attacks, and Joe can mash buttons to repeatedly loop the move. However, Joe cannot stop attacking mid-loop (except with a hyper or X-Factor cancel). This move is primarily useful for filler at the end of an air combo, or to stall a superjump height since it causes Joe to fall slower than normal.


V-Dodge
X+S
UMVC3 VJoe XS.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
- 1 32 13
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - - Invuln frames 1-32, special-cancelable

Joe performs an action pose and becomes invulnerable to physical attacks and projectiles for 32 frames. However, he can still be thrown during this time. Although this dodge move does have a recovery period, it can be canceled into other special moves. M Groovy Uppercut (623M) is a good choice for a cancel, as it is very fast and can punish the recovery of whatever attack Joe just dodged through.

Hyper Combos

Desperado
"C'mon, Six Machine!"
236XX (1 bar)
UMVC3 VJoe 236XX.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
250,000 18+1 - 72
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- -52 Mid Invuln frames 1-15, Airok.png, Softknockdown.png, Otg.png (only in the air), Priority: High, Durability: 15

Joe fires a single, massive projectile. The cannon will track the opponent's point character slightly, but only within a limited range, so he cannot fire it straight up or down. This hyper is mainly useful as a combo ender, especially the air version which can be used after Red Hot Kick or as an OTG at the end of an air combo. It also can be used to punish assist calls, although keep in mind it is not a beam hyper and does take time to travel across the stage.

Although this hyper has some invuln starting from frame 1, it is much worse as a reversal than Mach Speed, and thus should only be considered for this purpose when airborne.


Viewtiful God Hand
"Sloooooooow~"
214XX (1 bar)
UMVC3 VJoe 214XX Cinematic.png
UMVC3 VJoe 214XX Effect.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
50,000 + 100,000 10+2 4 34
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
+3 -17 Mid Applies 25% slowdown to opponent for 600 frames

This hyper has poor range and very low damage. However, it applies a very strong debuff to the opponent's character on hit. Not only does the slowdown effect reduce the speed of the character's movement and attacks, it causes them to take longer to recover from blockstun and hitstun. Characters who have been slowed by Joe are much more susceptible to combos than normal, besides having a harder time defending themselves.

On a successful hit, this hyper leaves the opponent standing right next to Joe, with Joe at minor frame advantage, which he can use to attempt a mixup. Its also possible to snap out a slowed opponent, causing the slow timer to not count down until they return to the stage. However, keep in mind that many character's assists become much stronger when slowed, due to having an effectively increased duration.


Mach Speed
623XX (1 bar)
UMVC3 VJoe 623XX.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
30,000 + 15,000 x13 - x26 + 70,000 8+4 3(7)80(9)4 49
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
Launch -32 Mid Invuln until frame 32, mashable, Launch.png, scales by 0.98

An extremely invincible reversal hyper. Can be activated on reaction to other hypers or other slow attacks in order to blow through them. This hyper finishes with a Launcher similar to 5S attacks, which allows Joe to start an air combo on hit.

The final hit of Mach Speed that launches the opponent is subject to hitstun deterioration. If this is performed when hitstun decay is close to or at max scaling the opponent will flip out after the launch/final hit and recover quickly.

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw
6H, 4H
UMVC3 VJoe GroundThrow.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 1 1 -
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Throw Hardknockdown.png

If a Shocking Pink bomb happens to be in the right place before Joe performs his throw, the explosion can allow Joe to pick up afterwards and start a combo. This is easier to pull off if using the held button trick to manually time the explosion (see Shocking Pink's description). Otherwise, no follow-up is possible

Air Throw
j.6H, j.4H
UMVC3 VJoe AirThrow.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
80,000 1 1 -
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- - Airthrow Hardknockdown.png

Joe can follow up with air Desperado hyper in most cases, or with a pre-placed Shocking Pink.


Snap Back
Qcf.png+A1.png/A2.png
UMVC3 VJoe 5H.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
50,000 2 3 22
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- +5 Mid Snapback

Animation and hitbox based on 5H.


Hard Tag
Hold 14f A1.png/A2.png
UMVC3 VJoe HardTag.png
Damage Startup Active Recovery
30,000 - 20 33
On Hit On Block Guard Properties
- -15 OH Softknockdown.png

-

Team Position

Joe is most commonly played as a Point character. Like many zoning-focused characters, he benefits from having multiple assists to call and cover the holes in his projectile pattern. Assist calls can keep and opponent busy while he runs away and charges Voomerang, or offer extensions to beef up his poor solo damage.

Although very unconventional, Joe has some value as an Assist character. While his assists are not great neutral tools, Joe's Shocking Pink assist has a unique bug that can enable infinite combos with the proper setup. Shocking Pink can damage your own point character, and doing so (even on block) is considered as ending the current combo. Some point characters can intentionally block Joe's bomb midcombo, resetting damage scaling, hitstun deterioration, and even Joe's assist call. Note that this glitch only works on P1 side, and can be very inconsistent.

Notable Synergies

Rocket Raccoon: Rocket's Log Trap assist quickly covers a large portion of the screen, making it a good tool for keepaway characters like Joe. Opponents have to be careful with how they approach a zoner backed up by Log Trap, lest they suddenly get hit and find themselves in a combo. Because Log Trap causes a wall bounce on hit, it can be inefficient when used with some characters, as it may "waste" the wallbounce which could be better used by the point character. However, Joe has no moves of his own which cause a wall bounce, so he can use Log Trap with no penalty or alteration to his combo routes.

Players to Watch: Kusoru Ageojoe (Joe/Frank/Rocket), Punisher (Joe/MODOK/Rocket) , Wero (VJoe/Raccoon/Morrigan, active)

Doctor Strange: Strange has two separate assists that both have a very high total duration, "Bolts of Balthakk" and "Eye of Agomotto". Joe can hide behind either of these assists to safely charge up a Voomerang 236[L]. Doing this is one of Joe's main goals in neutral, and Strange makes it relatively easy to pull off.

Players to Watch: Di3minion (Joe/Strange/Morrigan)

Doctor Doom/Dante: Joe is strongest at regular jump height, where he can do repeated Box Dash Voomerangs to rapidly fire projectiles while advancing or retreating. Although he still has options at superjump height, Joe is considerably less strong there. Doctor Doom (Hidden Missiles) and Dante (Jam Session) both of assists that reach up to superjump height, and can help to discourage an opponent from trying to escape Joe's Voomerang pressure in the air.

Players to Watch: Lythero (Joe/Phoenix Wright/Dante)

Beam Assists: While Joe can stack large amounts of projectiles to prevent the opponent's projectile game from getting started, Joe has trouble interrupting assists due to Voomerangs having a travel time. To make up for this, a beam assist is extremely important for maintaining control of the opponents assist calls so Joe doesn't get interrupted by neutral assists like Vajra, Hidden Missiles or the opponent's beam. Characters that have beam assists which work great with Joe are Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, MODOK, and Magneto

Players to Watch: IReidYou (Joe/Dormammu/Doom) Dieminion (VJoe/Strange/Morrigan, inactive),

Morrigan/Phoenix: One of the most powerful cores in the game, based around calling Morrigan's Dark Harmonizer assist as much as possible to build 5 bars for Dark Phoenix without even landing a combo. Joe is extremely strong with this core, as Joe's triple jump and small size allows him to call Dark Harmonizer in spots where the opponent has tons of trouble hitting him. On top of this, Joe can cover Morrigan with Voomerangs and is fantastic at setting up TAC infinites, which Morrigan can perform as yet another way to build the meter needed for a Dark Phoenix sweep.

Players to Watch: SnakeTits (Joe/Morrigan/Phoenix)


Other Players to Watch: Royal Flush (MODOK/Joe/Thor), HowtoRead (Joe/X23/Strider)

Alternate Colors

Color 1 Color 2 Color 3 Color 4 Color 5 Color 6 Alt Color
UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Color 1.png UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Color 2.png UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Color 3.png UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Color 4.png UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Color 5.png UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Color 6.png UMVC3 Viewtiful Joe Color Alt.png