We’re just a bit over a week away from the highly-anticipated release of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Are you jazzed? We here at Capcom are jazzed. To celebrate, over the coming week we’ll be taking a look at each of the new Capcom characters being introduced in this title.

To kick things off, let’s start with a personal fave of mine, Frank West. Those of you who have been paying attention Capcom as of late may recognize him from the recently-released and also totally awesome Dead Rising 2 Off the Record. Those of you with a bit more Capcom history under your belts may recall that he was in fact the protagonist of the very first Dead Rising on Xbox 360 back in 2006.

To give a little background, West is a freelance photojournalist who cut his teeth covering wars. Always cool under pressure, he sees the zombirific events of Dead Rising as an opportunity to boost his career. Insensitive? Perhaps. Still, he rescues the occasional survivor when he can spare the time, so you can’t help but love the guy a little bit.

He was even named the Third Manliest Man in Gaming by ScrewAttack.

Dead Rising 2 saw a new, more serious protagonist in motocross champ Chuck Greene, but Frank was back for more fun in DR2’s expansion episode, Case West, which had Frank working together with Chuck. You could even play the episode in co-op, with both Chuck and Frank as playable characters.

Last month, Frank starred in his second full-length retail game, Dead Rising 2 Off the Record, a sort of “What if?” scenario wherein a slightly older, more washed-up Frank finds himself placed in the world and events of Dead Rising 2. Hilarity ensues.

Other appearances of note include the unlockable Frank skin in both Lost Planet games, a reference in Left 4 Dead 2, and as a playable fighter in the Nintendo Wii’s Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Here he is destroying faces.

As you can see, Frank’s strength lies in his ability to use just about anything in existence as a weapon. TvC touched upon this point, and UMvC3 will do even more to drive the point home, with Frank whipping out all manner of homemade contraption to get the job done. I think you’ll find that Frank West is no pushover. I mean. . . guy’s covered wars.