Marvel

You can run a Marvel characters and comics MCP server hosted on Azure Functions to access Marvel data through MCP clients. It exposes endpoints to list characters, fetch characters and comics by ID, and filter result sets with rich query options, all reachable via an MCP-compatible client or tooling like Copilot or Claude Desktop.

How to use

Connect with an MCP client or tool to list Marvel characters, fetch a character by ID, view comics for a character, or browse Marvel comics. Use the MCP tools to query by name, filters like date ranges, formats, and related entities. You can also register this server with MCP tooling so that it appears in your client’s toolset and can be invoked directly from prompts.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing locally: Node.js and npm, Docker (optional for local storage emulation), and access to a Marvel Developer API key pair.

1. Set up local storage emulation for development.

# Option 1: Run Azurite in Docker
docker run -p 10000:10000 -p 10001:10001 -p 10002:10002 \
  mcr.microsoft.com/azure-storage/azurite

# Option 2: Or use the Azurite VS Code extension and start it from the command palette

Additional setup and config

Obtain Marvel API keys by creating a Marvel Developer account. Create a .env file in the project root and populate these values.

MARVEL_PUBLIC_KEY=YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY
MARVEL_PRIVATE_KEY=YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY
MARVEL_API_BASE=https://gateway.marvel.com/v1/public

Install dependencies and run locally

Install the dependencies, build the project, and start the local Azure Functions host.

npm install
npm run build
npm start

Optional: test with MCP Inspector

If you want to experiment with the MCP Inspector, start it and connect to the SSE endpoint to see available tools and execute sample queries.

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node build/index.js

Visit the MCP Inspector URL shown in the console and connect to the SSE endpoint:

• Change Transport Type to SSE
• URL: http://0.0.0.0:7071/runtime/webhooks/mcp/sse
• Connect, List Tools, and try a tool.

## Configuring an MCP Host

You can register the Marvel MCP server with CLI-based or GUI MCP clients. Two common configurations are shown for Claude Desktop and GitHub Copilot in VS Code.

{ "mcpServers": { "marvel_mcp": { "type": "http", "url": "http://0.0.0.0:7071/runtime/webhooks/mcp/sse", "args": [] }, "marvel_copilot_vscode": { "type": "http", "url": "http://0.0.0.0:7071/runtime/webhooks/mcp/sse", "args": [] } } }

## Deploy to Azure for Remote MCP

Use the deployment helper to provision and deploy your MCP server to Azure so it can be accessed remotely.

azd up

Optionally enable a Virtual Network before deployment:
```bash
azd env set VNET_ENABLED true

Using Tools in GitHub Copilot

With the server discoverable, open GitHub Copilot in Agent mode and refresh the server list. Open the Tools panel to see all available endpoints and try prompts that invoke Marvel-related capabilities.

Available tools

get_characters

Fetch Marvel characters with optional filters such as name, nameStartsWith, modifiedSince, related entities like comics/series/events/stories, and pagination controls.

get_character_by_id

Fetch a Marvel character by its unique ID and return detailed information.

get_comics_for_character

Fetch comics featuring a specific character with filters for format, date ranges, titles, and related entities.

get_comics

Fetch lists of Marvel comics with filters for format, date, titles, identifiers, and related entities.

get_comic_by_id

Fetch a single Marvel comic by its unique ID.

get_characters_for_comic

Fetch Marvel characters appearing in a specific comic with optional name filters and pagination.