UMVC3/Spencer

Overview Combos Strategy/Counterstrategy Resources Data

Introduction

Nathan Spencer was a prototype for a program of bionics-enhanced soldiers ran by the fictional Federation, most noticeably in the form of the "Bionic Arm", a mechanical appendage that replaces Spencer's left arm and a portion of his chest. The Spencer seen in Marvel vs Capcom is based on his appearance in Bionic Commando (2009), the final game chronologically in his series. In this game, Spencer is embittered after being betrayed by his government and spending five years in prison awaiting execution.

In UMvC3, Spencer has a variety of unique moves focused around the detachable grappling hook on his arm. He can use his arm to traverse the stage by swinging through the air (8X+S), or by pulling himself towards a specific direction (any other direction with X+S). He can also grab opponents and reel them in for powerful combo attacks or resets. He can even use the grappling hook as a durable projectile to plow through opponent's zoning and close the distance. Although slightly unconventional, especially in his movement, Spencer is a strong all-arounder with no glaring weaknesses. He is notable as a character for his very high damage (enabled by his "Up Grapple" attack, which does not feature damage scaling and always hits for 80,000 damage), as well as his iconic Bionic Lancer 214XX hyper. His Wire Grapple M (Slant Shot) assist uniquely provides a way for characters to restand airborne opponents, leading to many combo extensions and resets that are only possible with Spencer.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Enormous damage potential through multiple combo extension options. Spencer's "Up Grapple" (236H > L) deals an flat 80,000 damage every time it is used in a combo, ignoring damage scaling. Spencer can also combo after both of his hypers, allowing him to double hyper for higher damage, or add especially powerful extensions to his teammates' combos via DHC. Oppressive aerial normals allow Spencer to bully opponents with close-range offense. Incredible grounded dash speed and Spencer's unique Swing Wire (X+S) movement tool give him very good mobility. Powerful reversal hyper in Bionic Lancer (214XX) that can punish assist calls and grounded attacks on reaction for huge damage. Supports teammates with his unique "Slant Shot" assist, which restands aerial opponents on hit. This gives Spencer's teammates access to combos and resets not possible with any other character.

Swing Wire can not be canceled into attacks midway the way that standard airdashes can be. This makes Spencer's aerial movement more committal than other characters. He is infamously vulnerable to being thrown when trying to approach without assist coverage. Projectile options have mediocre durability and hold Spencer in place for the duration. Spencer is vulnerable to being zoned out by characters that can throw projectiles from the air. Slant Shot assist is primarily used for combos and mixups, and is mainly a liability to call in neutral.

Spencer
Character Data
Health	1,050,000
Ground Magic Series	Stronger+
Air Chain Combo Limit	Three
Forward Dash Duration	30 frames
Backdash Duration	35 frames
Jump Duration	40 frames
Superjump Duration	81 frames
Walljump?	No
Doublejump?	No
Airdash?	No
X-Factor Damage Boost (1/2/3)	35% / 60% / 85%
X-Factor Speed Boost (1/2/3)	5% / 10% / 15%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Normals, Specials)	10%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Hypers)	50%
Minimum Damage Scaling (X-Factor)	35%

Move List

Assists

Wire Grapple (H. Shot)
Assist A

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
20,000	34	17	117, 87
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid	, , Priority: Low, Durability: 1
THC Hyper: Bionic Lancer. Spencer shoots his grappling hook directly forward. If it hits an opponent, they are reeled in and placed on the ground in front of Spencer, in a Hard Knockdown state.

Wire Grapple (Slant Shot)
Assist B

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
20,000	34	17	117, 87
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid	, Restand, Priority: Low, Durability: 1
THC Hyper: Bionic Lancer. Recommended assist. Spencer shoots his grappling hook at an up-forward angle. If it hits an opponent, they are reeled in and placed standing directly in front of Spencer. This attack is one of the only attacks in the game that restands - meaning it forces an airborne opponent back to a grounded state mid-combo. This means Slant Shot provides combo and reset opportunities which no other assist in the game can offer. Many attacks in UMvC3 have special properties if they hit a grounded opponent, but not an airborne one. For example, Nova's Nova Strike (214H) and Dr. Strange's Impact Palm (6H) cause a Crumple state if they hit a grounded opponent. Slant Shot gives these characters reliable, consistent ways to convert most hits into their Crumple attacks. Most of the cast can set up a simple left/right oncoming mixup by calling Slant Shot assist and dashing underneath the opponent as they enter the stage. On hit, Spencer will automatically pull the opponent down for an easy follow-up with the point character.

Armor Piercer
Assist Y

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
130,000	45	4	134, 104
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid
THC Hyper: Bionic Lancer. Spencer performs a slow, close-range strike. The attack causes a Wall Bounce on hit. Unlike the point character version, Armor Piercer assist does not have a "proximity" version, it always uses the slower, less damaging variant. Despite the name, Armor Piercer does not have any special properties against armored attacks, and in fact is particularly bad at dealing with them due to hitting only once.

Ground Normals

Stand Light
5L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
48,000	6	3	11
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
0	-1	Mid
Quick jab, and Spencer's fastest normal (236S Armor Piercer is faster if at very close range). Can work as a situational anti-air using its Rapid Fire property, similar to other high-angled jabs like Magneto, Nova, and Captain America. Mashing 5L can catch an opponent near jump height, or help catch after an awkward air-to-air hit. Spencer can chain 5L several times into a row, giving himself time to confirm into a 5S launcher.

Stand Medium
5M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
67,000	9	3	22
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-6	-7	Mid	-
-

Stand Heavy
5H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
88,000	12	3	21
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
0	-1	Mid	-
-

Crouching Light
2L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
45,000	7	3	10
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+1	-	Low	-
Slower than 5L, but hits low. Basic offensive tool for catching opponents trying to Chicken Block out of your pressure, and to form simple High/Low mixups alongside Spencer's 6H overhead attack.

Crouching Medium
2M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
70,000	8	3	21
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-5	-6	Mid	-
Note: not a low. Spencer punches upwards with an anti-air angle.

Crouching Heavy
2H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
64,000	13	4	19
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	0	Low	,
Spencer advances forward approximately half a character length while sweeping the ground in front of him. Has a very good total range when combined with the distance it moves Spencer forward, helping to make hitconfirms more consistent. Also gets grounded opponents into the air, which is a requirement for most of Spencer's zip loops.

Launcher/Special
S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
90,000	10	4	26
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
Launch	-7	Mid	,
-

Aerial Normals

Jumping Light
j.5L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
45,000	6	3	15
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+8	+6	OH	-
-

Jumping Medium
j.5M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
63,000	8	5	20
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+11	+10	OH	-
-

Jumping Heavy
j.5H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
83,000	10	5	21
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+16	+17	OH	-
-

Jumping Special
j.5S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
88,000	10	5	21
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+16	+14	OH
Downward angled punch. Good choice to attack an opponent when approaching with Swing Wire (X+S) off the ground. Can hit fairly easily as a cross-up.

Command Normals

Right Hook
6H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
90,000	21	3	22
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+4	-2	OH
Spencer delivers a large, overhead haymaker punch. He advances forward about 1.5 character lengths during the startup, and another full character length during the actual punch, moving him very far forward in total. 6H is not special or hyper cancelable, and although it is plus on hit, it is not advantageous enough for Spencer to link normal attacks afterwards. However, it almost always leaves Spencer close enough to activate the quickest proxmimity version of Armor Piercer (236S), which is fast enough to link afterwards. 6H, 236S is a simple string that converts into a solid combo vis Armor Piercer's Wall Bounce if the opponent does not react to the overhead. It is a decent tool to throw out, especially in X-Factor, where the 21f startup will be shortened and harder to react to.

Special Moves

Wire Grapple
236X

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
30,000	10	22	51
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-33	-13	Mid	Priority: Low, Durability: 5
Spencer fires his grappling hook as a projectile, with average durability. Button strength determines the angle of the grapple: L version is shot directly horizontally forwards. M version is shot at an up-forwards, anti-air angle. H version is shot directly upwards into the air. If Wire Grapple hits an opponent, the grappling hook will cling to their body for a short period. During this time, Spencer can perform one of three special follow-up attacks by pressing L, M or H (detailed below). These follow-up attacks are what elevate Wire Grapple from a mediocre projectile to a very powerful combo starter and/or extender.

Reel-In Punch
(on hit) 236X > L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	-	-	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	-
Spencer forcefully drags the opponent to the space directly in front of himself, regardless of where they were beforehand, and delivers a large punch which causes a Hard Knockdown. This is the most common follow-up and a primary combo tool, since Spencer can follow up the Hard Knockdown from almost any range with (dash up) Air Wire Grapple OTG. [Important] When done from Spencer's H "Up Grapple" specifically, Reel-In Punch ignores damage scaling, and always hits for a full 80,000 damage. This is usually referred to as "Spencer Up-Grapple" or just "80k". 236H > L is therefore a massive contributor to Spencer's damage output, and most of his optimized combos are routed to use this attack as many times as possible, dealing unscaled damage each time.

Zip Kick
(on hit) 236X > M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
90,000	-	-	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	-
Spencer pulls both the opponent and himself towards each other. When they collide, Spencer delivers a kick which causes a Wall Bounce. The Wall Bounce may be tempting to use for combo extensions, but keep in mind that Air Wire Grapple automaitcally follows up with Zip Kick, whereas the grounded grapple gives you a choice of follow-up. Therefore, it is usually better to choose the L follow-up off grounded grapple, and save your one Wall Bounce for later in the combo when you have no other choice. 236X > L, short dash, j.2369M is basically the same effect as chaining directly into Zip Kick off the initial grapple, but with some extra damage and much more corner carry.

Come 'ere!
(on hit) 236X > M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
-	-	-	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+2	-	-	Restand
Spencer pulls the enemy towards him, similarly to the L follow-up, but does not deliver the finishing punch. Instead, he leaves the standing on the ground immediately in front of him, with Spencer being at a slight frame advantage. Notably, this move restands opponents who were previously airborne, and is one of the only attacks in the game which can do this. H follow-up is primarily a reset tool, especially against opponents who are expecting to sit through a long Spencer combo. You can fake out using another extension, then throw the opponent with Jaw Breaker (623X) or otherwise attack them to reset and start another full combo instead. It is also possible to use H follow-up in combos when paired with certain longer-lasting assists. If an assist is called before Spencer uses Wire Grapple, he can pull them into the path of the assist, the recover and continue the combo afterwards. Doctor Strange's Eye of Agamotto and Bolts of Balthakk assists are examples of assists which can work for this type of extension, since they last a fairly long time and deal a good amount of hitstun on standing opponents.

Air Wire Grapple
j.236X

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
30,000 + 100,000	13	16	Until grounded
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid	, , Priority: Low, Durability: 5
Spencer fires his grappling hook as a projectile, with average durability. Button strength determines the angle of the grapple, mirroring the grounded version vertically: L version is fired directly horizontally forwards. M version is fired at a down-forward angle, and can be used as a fast OTG midscreen. H version is fired directly downwards toward the ground, and works well as a fast OTG in the corner. Unlike the grounded version of Wire Grapple, Spencer does not get a choice of follow-ups upon hitting the opponent. Instead, Spencer will automatically use the Zip Kick follow-up on hit, causing a Wall Bounce. If Wall Bounce has already been used earlier in the combo, the opponent will simply fall down for a Soft Knockdown. This prevents any additional combo extensions, but does have good oki potential in the corner. Cornered j.236H Air Grapple causes Spencer to fall on the recovering opponent with an auto-timed safejump using j.5M. You can see it at this video timestamp. Alternatively, Spencer can simply land and catch the opponent with a kara-Jaw Breaker (5H~623L) to reset them that way.

Jaw Breaker
623X

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
35,000	5	1	31
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Throw / Airthrow
Command grab special. L and M versions are basically identical, working as grounded throws against close-range opponents. H version is an anti-air throw that catches airborne opponents. On a successful grab with any version, Spencer knocks the opponent upwards into the air, and they then begin to fall back down for a Hard Knockdown directly in front of him. Spencer can catch the opponent before they reach the ground with 5L or 5M to start a combo. Spencer also has a special follow-up attack to Jaw Breaker - Smash Kick / Critical Smash - done by pressing H after landing the attack (see below). However, Smash Kick consumes Spencer's Wall Bounce, and so it is usually better to manually follow up with a normal attack. Jaw Breaker can be kara-canceled with 5H to greatly extend its otherwise poor range: 5H~623X. This makes it much more practical to use for resets. You can see some examples of how to utilize the extra range in this video.

Smash Kick / Critical Smash
623X > H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
94,500 / 157,700	-	-	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	-
Spencer leaps up in pursuit of the opponent he tossed with Jaw Breaker, then delivers a kick which Wall Bounces the opponent. Although this causes a cinematic camera-zooming effect, this pursuit attack is not a fixed animation the way that throws are, and Spencer can be hit out of the attack by assists or other delayed projectiles on the way up. By default, the H follow-up will be Smash Kick, which has a generous timing window and is easy to perform. Critical Smash is the enhanced "Just Frame" version, done by pressing H on exactly the 33rd frame after the grab connects (or 11 frames after the opponent is launched). Critical Smash deals more damage and causes a larger Wall Bounce which is easier to follow up, but functions otherwise the exact same way. Neither Smash Kick nor its Just Frame version are commonly used, firstly since Jaw Breaker is not much better than Spencer's regular throws, and because he can combo after Jaw Breaker with normal attacks anyway, preserving Wall Bounce for later in the combo.

Armor Piercer
236S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
180,000 / 150,000 / 130,000	3 ~ 8 / 21	6(12)4	41
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-22	Mid	,
Short range, high-damage single punch with a unique startup property. Causes a Wall Bounce on hit. Armor Piercer will destory low Priority projectiles that its active frames touch, but this is impractical to do. Despite the name, this move does not break Armored attacks, and in fact is quite bad at dealing with them. Starting on frame three, this move creates an invisible "proximity" hitbox in front of Spencer. If an opponent is within this hitbox at any point, Spencer performs the actual attack on the very next frame. Consequently, the fastest this move can hit is on frame 4. Every frame that an opponent is not within proximity, the detection hitbox grows slightly larger, up until frame 8. Armor Piercer also deals progressively less damage as these frames progress, dropping down one damage stage every two frames until it "only" does 130,000. After frame 8, if proximity is still not triggered, Armor Piercer changes into the "slow" version. Slow Armor Piercer is a standard attack that becomes active on frame 21 and hits for 130,000. Armor Piercer is mainly notable for being Spencer's fastest single attack, even beating out his Light normals. This gives Spencer a handful of combo options that would not otherwise be possible, provided he is close enough to the opponent to activate the fastest version of Piercer. The most standard use of this move is to link after Spencer's 6H overhead, which has no follow-up options other than a close range 236S. If Spencer performs his Up Grapple (236H > L) in the corner, Armor Piercer is also fast enough to link afterwards for a little bit of extra damage before canceling into a hyper. This works on the following characters: Morrigan, Felicia, Hsien-Ko, Firebrand, Arthur, Zero, Tron, Frank West, Akuma, Phoenix Wright, Vergil, Viewtiful Joe, Amaterasu, Rocket Raccoon, Shuma, Wolverine, X-23, & MODOK Discussed here at r/MVC3

Bionic Bomber
j.236S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
70,000 + 80,000	35	Until grounded	22
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	+3	Mid	, , (second hit)
Spencer pauses in the air, then starts crashing straight down as an active hitbox. When Spencer reaches the ground, he creates a shockwave which destroys nearby projectiles, Both the falling knee drop and the shockwave upon landing can hit OTG. As long as hitstun deterioration has not progressed too far, Spencer can link 5M after the OTG to solo relaunch. Otherwise, he can hyper cancel upon landing. Against the majority of the cast, the standard Bomber relaunch is: j.236S, land, 5M > 5H > 5S sjc. 2369H > L, etc. . This does not work on Wolverine and Rocket Raccoon. To modify the relaunch on those characters, perform the combo normally, but skip 5H. You can also just skip 5H against everyone if you do not want to remember this. Bionic Bomber is useful as an alternate OTG tool for Spencer. It is slower and more awkward to combo into than Air Wire Grapple, but does not need Wall Bounce to relaunch, allowing Spencer to save it for later in the combo. Outside of its use in combos, Bomber is very slow, which makes it difficult to use.

Swing Wire
X+S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
10,000	11	Until contact	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-2 (ground) / +9 (air)	-3 (ground) / +8 (air)	Mid	, aimable, Priority: Low, Durability: 5?
Spencer shoots his arm as a grappling hook, similarly to 236X. This attack can be aimed by holding the stick in a direction while inputting the move. On the ground, Swing Wire can be aimed in any non-downward direction, so Back, Up-Back, Up, Up-Forward, and Forward. 5X+S will default to aiming forward. In the air, Swing Wire can be aimed in any non-upward direction (upward directions will perform Swing Grapple instead), so Back, Down-Back, Down, Down-Forward, and Forward. j.5X+S will default to aiming forward. When the grappling hook makes contact with the ground, the wall, the "ceiling" (above the camera) or an opponent, Spencer will pull himself towards his target. This means Swing Wire is Spencer's primary mobility tool, especially in the air. When Spencer nears his approach target, he retracts his grappling hook and is free to act normally, but he can not attack or block while zipping. A standard approach option for Spencer is to call an assist with good horizontal reach - such as a beam or Akuma's tatsu assist - then jump and perform forward Swing Wire to zip across the stage. As the assist concludes, Spencer can finish his zip and attack with a falling j.5S to start his offense. Air Swing Wire is has surprisingly good frame advantage and can also be used in combo extensions. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H xx 6X+S, 6X+S, j.5S is a simple extension to the basic air chain that gives a little bit of additional corner carry and meter build at the extense of some damage scaling. Air Swing Wire is also commonly used in extensions near the corner, such as after using Air Wire Grapple's wall bounce to bring Spencer and his opponent back down to the ground.

Swing Grapple
j.8X+S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
-	-	-	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	-	-
Spencer shoots his grapple into the air, clinging to some invisible ceiling, then uses it to swing across the stage. This functions like an airdash, and is very similar to Spider-Man's regular airdash. He can cancel the swing into normal attacks and j.5S mid-way through the animation, unlike Swing Wire. Can also be input as j.7X+S or j.9X+S. Spencer can only swing forwards with Swing Grapple, not backwards. Even inputting as j.7X+S will still cause a forward swing.

Hyper Combos

Bionic Maneuvers
236XX (1 bar)

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
20,000 (unscaled) + 30,000 + 43,000 + 60,000 + 80,000 + 130,000 (304,500 total)	18+2	22	23
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-22	Mid	, Priority: High, Durability: 5(?)
Cinematic Level 1 hyper. Spencer fires his grappling hook directly forward, similar to L Wire Grapple. If it hits the opponent's point character, they are pulled into a cinematic where Spencer repeatedly beats them up, ending in a large punch that causes a Hard Knockdown. This hyper is particularly powerful for DHCs in either direction, as its cinematic nature means that it standardizes the opponent's height so long as the initial projectile connects. Maneuvers can be easily DHC'd into almost any hyper either just before or during the final hit, and any hyper that causes a Soft or Hard Knockdown (and several that don't) can DHC into this hyper quite easily as well. Spencer recovers from this hyper quickly enough that, if done near the corner, he can follow up with a Tiger Knee Air Wire Grapple (j.2369M or j.2369H). This is a big part of what allows Spencer to act as a damage engine for other characters. The point character can land a short combo that carries to the corner, hyper and DHC to Spencer. Spencer can then OTG, use the Wall Bounce of Air Wire Grapple to go into his own combo, use Up Grapples to circumvent damage scaling, and eventually finish with a third hyper if needed. This is especially powerful for allowing many point characters to kill of a throw. Throws apply very heavy damage scaling to the throwing character, but not to their teammates, so Spencer can easily secure the kill once brought in.

Bionic Lancer
Bionic ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRM
214XX (1 bar)

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
250,000	4+3	10	50
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-37	Mid	Invuln until frame 11, spinout into
Spencer's most iconic move. He dashes forward with a massive, screen-traveling haymaker that causes a single, heavy hit the sends any opponents flying into the air. While Lancer is not necessarily the most invincible hyper in the game, it has extremely fast startup and quickly covers a large chunk of the stage, making it a very terrifying reversal that Spencer's opponents must respect if he is on the ground and has meter. Spencer can easily react to assist calls or slower attacks from the point character with Lancer to catch them, even from far away. If Spencer has X-Factor available, then Lancer > X-Factor > Bionic Bomber > Lancer is enough damage to delete most assist characters, which is expensive but can completely dismantle an opponent's team composition by sniping an important character. If Spencer throws out a Wire Grapple or Jaw Breaker and whiffs, the threat of canceling into Lancer can be enough to discourage opponents from trying to punish him. Spencer can follow up Bionic Lancer with a Tiger Knee Air Wire Grapple, in basically the same way that he can after Bionic Maneuvers. Because of Lancer's relatively short total duration, it can be useful for THC synergies. With Spencer on point and a longer THC hyper in the backline (such as Dante's Million Dollars or Ammy's Okami Shuffle), Spencer will recover while the opponent is still being assaulted by the Team Hyper, and be free to continue to attack the opponent.

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw
6H, 4H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	1	1	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Throw
Spencer headbutts the opponent and then tosses them a short distance away. If Spencer throws into the corner, he can follow up with a Tiger Knee Air Wire Grapple H. Midscreen, similar conversions are not possible due to the extra distance.

Air Throw
j.6H, j.4H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	1	1	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Airthrow
Standard airthrow that spikes the opponent straight down. Can be converted at basically any height or spacing with Air Wire Grapple or Bionic Bomber.

Snap Back
+/

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
50,000	2	2	21
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-1	Mid	Snapback
Animation and hitbox based on 5H.

Hard Tag
Hold 14f /

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
27,000	-	20	33
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-15	OH
-

Team Position

Spencer is most commonly played in the Second position. He is commonly used as a "damage engine" for point characters with better neutral but underwhelming solo damage. Not only does a DHC to Bionic Maneuvers (236XX) deal great damage on its own, Spencer can combo after this hyper to deal significant extra damage and even build back some of the meter spent.

Notable Synergies

Nova: The Nova/Spencer shell is the most common team on which either of these characters appear in tournament play. Spencer's Slant Shot assist causes a restand, taking advantage of Nova's especially strong ability to solo relaunch after a knockdown with 6H or 623L. By using an OTG attack and then chaining into 5S while calling Spencer, Nova can convert any early knockdown into a restand. Then, using jump-cancel 214H, he can convert that restand into a crumple, opening several combo routes. Spencer also makes a great DHC option for the end of Nova's combos, as he has many ways to circumvent Hitstun Deterioration and Damage scaling, so he can usually secure the kill.

Players to Watch: Coach Steve/Insaynne (Nova/Spencer/Doom), Nemo (Nova/Spencer/Strange), Yipes (Nova/Spencer/Strange), Mundank (Nova/Spencer/Magneto), Infrit (Nova/Spencer/Sentinel), Randomfiend (Nova/Spencer/Doom), LiberalTerminator (Nova/Spencer/Doom), Darryn (Nova/Spencer/Hawkeye)

Doctor Strange: Doctor Strange's Impact Palm 6H command normal causes a crumple state versus grounded opponents (similar to Nova's 214H, above). Thus, Spencer's Slant Shot assist, which causes a restand versus airborne opponents, is especially effective as a combo extension tool for Strange. Strange can also use the significant hitstun from Spencer's assist to set up an Eye of Agamotto. Spencer is also a good character to set up Strange combos himself, as he can bring his teammate in using his 236S wallbounce, or by DHCing Bionic Lancer 214XX into Seven Rings. Bolts of Balthakk assist is also a great tool to cover Spencer while he approaches with Zip Line.

Players to Watch: Miniboss (Strange/Spencer/Doom), Nemo (Nova/Strange/Spencer), Combofiend (Nova/Spencer/Strange), Yipes (Nova/Spencer/Strange), LiberalTerminator (Nova/Strange/Spencer)

Doctor Doom: Hidden Missiles is one of the best combo extension assists for Spencer. Properly spaced, Hidden Missiles can hit as an OTG twice - once on the way up and once on the way down - allowing Spencer to connect two unscaled Up Grapples with a single assist call for huge extra damage. Spencer can also be paired with Doom using Plasma Beam assist, especially if the Point character prefers it to missiles. Spencer can call Plasma Beam right before starting an approach with forward Zip Line, and the assist will protect his advance.

Players to Watch: Coach Steve/Insaynne (Nova/Spencer/Doom), Randomfiend (Nova/Spencer/Doom), Miniboss (Strange/Spencer/Doom), Danke (Spencer/Iron Man/Doom), LiberalTerminator (Nova/Spencer/Doom), Sandwich (Wesker/Spencer/Doom), KyleP (Spencer/Doom/Vergil)

Chris: Chris can usually perform solo relaunches, but these routes get a lot harder deep into a combo, when Hitstun Deterioration gets higher. Spencer can make these late stage OTG pickups much easier, by calling his Slant Shot assist while Chris OTGs with 2H, to grab the opponent and force a restand. His Bionic Maneuvers hyper is also a fantastic DHC option, as it deals good damage and Spencer can usually continue the combo afterwards. Chris can set up this DHC easily, as both of his level 1 hypers leave the opponent close to the ground.

Players to Watch: GCYoshi (Chris/Spencer/Sentinel), Senor Taxi (Chris/Spencer/Dante)

Other Players to Watch: Bee/BeeBall (Spencer/Frank West/Dante), Knives (Spencer/Sentinel/Akuma), Adelheid Stark (Taskmaster/Spencer/Ammy)

Combos

Solo Combos

236XX, j.2369H (Tiger Knee Air Grapple), 3X+S, 2X+S/1X+S, land, 236H > L (, 236S) xx 236XX

Video Timestamp This is the standard post-hyper corner combo for situations where you connect Bionic Maneuvers without using Wall Bounce. Many of the combos below avoid using Wall Bounce specifically so that you can utilize this extension afterwards. Additionally, another character performing their regular combo and DHCing to Spencer will allow him to use this extension, provided the previous character didn't use Wall Bounce.

The 236S link between Up Grapple and the second hyper is character specific, but can be added in for some free extra damage and meter on these characters:

Morrigan, Felicia, Hsien-Ko, Firebrand, Arthur, Zero, Tron, Frank West, Akuma, Phoenix Wright, Vergil, Viewtiful Joe, Amaterasu, Rocket Raccoon, Shuma, Wolverine, X-23, & MODOK

it also works on every character in X-Factor.

Wallbounce Combos

These combo routes consume Wall Bounce at some point before the hyper, by using Spencer's Air Wire Grapple OTG as an extension. Therefore, they can not use the generic post-hyper extension detailed above. Spencer can still link j.2369H Tiger Knee Grapple, but without Wall Bounce, he cannot extend further (you do get good oki off this). These combos typically do higher 1-bar damage, in exchange for losing the ability to double hyper with Spencer. If you can kill with 1 bar, or if you wanted to DHC out to another character anyway, these routes are a good choice.

2M > 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S, land, superjump j.236M, 3X+S, j.5S, land, 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, rejump, j.236S xx 236XX, j.2369H (690,000 for 1 bar, builds ~1.15 bars of meter)

Video Timestamp. Basic BnB that requires no zip loops. Bionic Bomber (j.236S) extension requires the corner, but the earlier part of the combo will corner carry from any screen position.

2L > 2M > 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, [rejump, j.5M > j.5H > j.5S xx 3X+S]x3, land, 236H > L, dash forward (x2), jump, j.236M, j.5S xx j.6X+S, j.3X+S, land, 236H > L (, 236S) xx 236XX (730,000 for 1 bar, builds ~1.15 bars of meter)

Video Guide. Spencer "Zip Loop". Carries corner-to-corner and can work from any starting screen position for solid damage. Works on every character except Sentinel.

2L > 2M > 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, [rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S]x2, rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, 3X+S, land, 236H > L, dash forward, jump j.236M, j.5S xx j.6X+S, j.3X+S, land, 236H > L (, 236S) xx 236XX, j.2369H (730,000 for 1 bar, builds ~1.15 bars of meter)

Video Guide. The "GX Loop" (named after the JP Player GX who popularized it) is a modified Zip Loop that is much more consistent.

2L > 2M > 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, [rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S]x2, rejump, j.5M > j.5H > j.5S xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 3X+S, land, 2H xx 236H > L, j.2369H (Tiger Knee Air Grapple), 3X+S, 1X+S, land, 236H > L xx 236XX, j.2369H (734,000 for 1 bar, builds ~1.15 bars of meter)

Video Guide. GX Loop with an improved ender for slightly better damage and corner carry. Requires modification against Sentinel (too big) and Rocket Raccoon (too small), and does not work on Tron (too Tron).

6H, 236S, 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, rejump, j.5M > j.5H > j.5S xx 3X+S (sideswitch here), rejump, j.5M > j.5H > j.5S xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 3X+S, land, 5S sjc. 2369H > L xx 236XX, etc.

Video Timestamp Example confirm off 6H overhead. The wallbounce will sideswitch Spencer if too close to the corner, so this Zip sequence will switch back to keep the corner for the ender.

214XX, superjump, j.236M, 3X+S, 5M > 5H xx 236L > L xx 214XX

Video Timestamp Basic way to get extra damage if blowing through an opponent's attack with Bionic Arm. If you also catch an assist with the hyper, consider using a DHC or X-Factor to convert instead - Air Wire Grapple can not hit multiple characters.

j.5M (air-to-air) > j.5H > j.5S, (sideswitch here) rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, land, 5S sjc. j.5H xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 6X+S, j.5S, rejump, j.236H, 3X+S, 2X+S, land, 236H > L xx 236XX

Video Timestamp Air-to-Air Confirm.

(Hard Tag to Spencer), 236S, dash, 5M > 5S sjc. j.5M xx 3X+S, j.5H, land, 236H > L, etc.

Video Timestamp. Close-range Armor Piercer being so fast gives Spencer a relatively consistent confirm off his Hard Tag hitting. If your tag puts you too far away for the fastest Armor Piercer, you can try to link 5L instead.

Non-Wallbounce Combos

These combo routes intentionally preserve Spencer's Wall Bounce, so that it can be used for the post-hyper extension detailed at the top of the section. As a general rule, the post-hyper extension will add 289,000 damage to the end of any combo and will build ~15% of a bar at the cost of a second full bar of meter for the second hyper. These double hyper combos allow Spencer to kill most of the cast fully solo.

2L > 2M > 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, [rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S]x2, rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, 3X+S, land, 236H > L xx 236XX, etc.
Video Guide
2L > 2M > 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, [rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S]x2, rejump, j.5M > j.5H > j.5S xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 3X+S, land, 2H xx 236H > L xx 236XX, etc. (624,000 for 1 bar, 913,700 with post-hyper extension, builds 1.15 bars of meter)
Video Guide
2M > 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, rejump j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S, rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S, rejump, j.5M > j.5H > j.5S xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 3X+S, land, 5S sjc. 2369H > L xx 236XX, etc. (642,000 for 1 bar or 932,000 with 2 bars using post-hyper extension, builds ~1.1 bars of meter with post-hyper extension)
Video Timestamp.

GX Loop variants that preserve Wall Bounce for post-hyper extension. This is the recommended Spencer BnB to learn off normal grounded hits. Consistent on most characters, but needs to be modified against Sentinel, and Rocket Raccoon, and doesn't work on Tron.

2L > 2M > 2H xx 9X+S, j.5M, land, short dash, 5L > 5H xx 9X+S, j.5M, [rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S, rejump, j.5M > j.5H > j.5S xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 3X+S, land, 5S sjc. 2369H > L xx 236XX

Video Timestamp. Sideswitch combo. Spencer has really good corner carry from any position, so this option is very niche. Might be useful if you mechanically prefer a side, or if you have an assist extension that is easier to perform on one side (Doom Missile relaunch is notably easier in Left corner).

j.5H (air-to-air) > j.5S xx 3X+S, j.5S, rejump, j.5H > j.5S xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 3X+S, land, 5S sjc. 2369H > L xx 236XX, etc.

Video Timestamp. Air-to-ait hitconfirm example.

j.5H (air-to-air) > j.5S xx 3X+S, j.5H, resuperjump, j.5H xx 3X+S, j.5S, land, 236H > L, etc.

Video Timestamp Corner air-to-air hitconfirm.

j.5M (air-to-air) > j.5H > j.5S (sideswitch here), rejump, j.5M xx 3X+S, rejump, j.5M > j.5H xx 6X+S, 6X+S, 3X+S, land, 5S sjc. 2369H > L, etc.

Video Timestamp Midscreen air-to-air hitconfirm.

X-Factor Combos

TBW

Sample Team Combos

Spencer/Doom/Vergil
Spencer/Doom/Vergil
Spencer/Doom/Vergil

Spencer/Doom/Wesker

Thor-killer with Spencer/Doom/Ammy

Spencer/Dante/Doom Maximizing Up-Grapples. Partially novelty, but also shows practical extensions

Spencer CMV featuring extensions with Doom, Iron Man, Dante, Ammy, Taskmaster, Shuma, Raccoon

Spencer/Felicia/Haggar

Spencer/Skrull/Rocket sideswitch combos
more Spencer/Skrull/Rocket stuff

TAC Infinites

Corner all directions

Videos and External Resources

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Guides

Coach Steve Live Spencer Breakdown
Finger Cramp Spencer Guide

General Hitconfirm Guide by Miniboss

r/MvC3 Spencer Character Breakdown Thread

Setup/Mixup Videos

General Spencer Mixup Reference

Kara Jaw Breaker reset examples

Fuzzy Guard Instant Overhead with Ammy assist

Incoming Mixup Example 1
Incoming Mixup Example 2

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