Marvel Heroes opens 'Founders Program'

Captain America may have been the first Avenger, but there's no shame in being the second or third. The free-to-play MMO Marvel Heroes announced its "Founders Program" today, giving fans a chance to buy their way into early access with a few extra bells and whistles. Packs range from $20 to a whopping $200.

The Founders Program site lays out your options. The Starter Pack, at $19.99, offers one hero out of sixteen choices, a bonus costume, $10 of in-game currency and two days of early access. The Premium, for $59.99, lets you pick a team of four heroes out of seven team options, along with four bonus costumes, $30 of in-game currency, and four days of early access.

Those of you with entirely too much money to blow can get the Ultimate pack for $199.99, which includes access to all of the heroes, all launch costumes, $50 of in-game currency, a permanent 5% boost to experience and item finding, and seven days of early access. You'll also get four exclusive costumes (Maestro Hulk, Wolvering Weapon X, Symbiote Spidey, and Iron Man 3 Movie Armor).

The game is due this spring, and if you're looking at these prices and hear your wallet whimpering for mercy, you could just wait for it to be available as a free download. It will come to PC first, with a Mac version coming sometime later.