The next game in TT Games' long-running LEGO series comes from quite an unexpected place. The Warner Bros. owned developer, who shares a parent company with none other than DC Comics, will be tackling rival publisher Marvel's greatest heroes come this Fall, and they're doing so with one of the most ambitious LEGO titles yet.

The latest issue of Game Informer, which hits mailboxes today, features the unlikely game as its cover story.

"We see the same things ourselves," LEGO Marvel Super Heroes producer Phill Ring told the magazine. "People kept saying, 'Oh, they're never doing a Marvel game.' Now we get to say that we are."

As could be expected from any modern Marvel game, The Avengers will feature heavily into the story. "They're cool and current, and they're going to be cool and current for at least the next couple of years," director Arthur Parsons said. "But let's no exclude the rest of those really great characters. Let's make a game where we can integrate all of these different factions and groups, and see what we end up with."

It's true that the LEGO games have always had massive rosters, and with Marvel's rich and storied history there should be no shortage of heroes and villains to cram into the game. Nine characters have been confirmed today - Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Loki, Deadpook, and Thor - but TT Games assures fans taht plenty more will be coming.

Game Informer also speculates a few unannounced characters, and we have to say their detective work is sound. Based on a piece of Spider-Man concept art which features a "tan, granular substance leaking through the walls," it's sound to say Spidey villain Sandman will make an appearance. The magazine also speculates Juggernaut, The Thing, Green Goblin and Mysterio as playable characters when the dust settles. The final game will have over 100 playable characters.

Characters like The Hulk (and The Thing and Juggernaut, should they be included) demanded a rethinking of how the team at TT Games dealt with character size and power. After all, these are some of the biggest, strongest characters in the Marvel universe, and their frightening power needed to be evident in every move they made. But this entailed more than just creating a new skeleton and new set of animations for the character. With such brute strength as The Hulk's, players can easily smash through walls and other environmental components. TT Games tells us to expect "an unprecedented amount of destruction" in Marvel Super Heroes.

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is the most unlikely TT Games partnership yet, and it just might lead to the best LEGO game ever. With Marvel's vast cast of characters and stories and TT Games' penchant for fun stories and silly co-op action, this Fall could be a very exciting time indeed for fans of playful super hero antics. We'll have more on the title as it becomes available, so stay tuned to GameShampoo.