# Marvel MCP Server using Azure Functions [![Open project in GitHub Codespaces](https://img.shields.io/badge/Codespaces-Open-blue?style=flat-square&logo=github)](https://codespaces.new/danwahlin/marvel-mcp?hide_repo_select=true&ref=main&quickstart=true) ![Node version](https://img.shields.io/badge/Node.js->=20-3c873a?style=flat-square) [![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow?style=flat-square)](LICENSE) [Features](#features) • [Tools](#tools) • [Setup](#setup) • [Configuring an MCP Host](#configuring-an-mcp-host)

MCP Server for the [Marvel Developer API](https://developer.marvel.com/documentation/getting_started), enabling interaction with characters and comics data. *The main goal of the project is to show how an MCP server hosted using Azure Functions can be used to interact with APIs.* > **Note**: All data used by this MCP server is fetched from the [official Marvel API](https://developer.marvel.com/documentation/getting_started) and owned by Marvel. This project is not affiliated with Marvel in any way. ## 🔧 Features - **List Marvel Characters**: Supports filters like `nameStartsWith`, `limit`, `comics`, `series`, etc. - **Fetch a Marvel Character by ID**: Get detailed info on any character using their `characterId`. - **Fetch Comics for a Character**: Get a list of comics featuring a specific character, with various filters like `format`, `dateRange`, etc. - **Tool-based MCP integration**: Register this server with Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools (VS Code, Claude, etc.). - **Environment Configuration**: Use `.env` file to manage environment variables like `MARVEL_PUBLIC_KEY`, `MARVEL_PRIVATE_KEY` and `MARVEL_API_BASE`. ## 🧰 Tools ### 1. `get_characters` 🔍🦸‍♂️ - **Description**: Fetch Marvel characters with optional filters. - **Inputs**: - `name` (optional string): Full character name. - `nameStartsWith` (optional string): Characters whose names start with the specified string. - `modifiedSince` (optional string): ISO 8601 date string to filter characters modified since this date. - `comics`, `series`, `events`, `stories` (optional string): Comma-separated list of IDs to filter by related entities. - `orderBy` (optional string): Fields to order the results by, such as `name` or `-modified`. - `limit` (optional number): Maximum number of results to return (1–100). - `offset` (optional number): Number of results to skip for pagination. - **Returns**: JSON response with matching characters. See `CharacterDataWrapperSchema` in `src/schemas.ts` for details. ### 2. `get_character_by_id` 🆔🧑‍🎤 - **Description**: Fetch a Marvel character by their unique ID. - **Input**: - `characterId` (number): The unique ID of the character. - **Returns**: JSON response with the character's details. See `CharacterDataWrapperSchema` in `src/schemas.ts` for details. ### 3. `get_comics_for_character` 📚🎭 - **Description**: Fetch comics featuring a specific character, with optional filters. - **Inputs**: - `characterId` (number): The unique ID of the character. - Optional filters: - `format`, `formatType` (string): Filter by comic format (e.g., `comic`, `hardcover`). - `noVariants`, `hasDigitalIssue` (boolean): Flags to exclude variants or include only digital issues. - `dateDescriptor` (string): Predefined date ranges like `thisWeek`, `nextWeek`. - `dateRange` (string): Custom date range in the format `YYYY-MM-DD,YYYY-MM-DD`. - `title`, `titleStartsWith` (string): Filter by title or title prefix. - `startYear`, `issueNumber`, `digitalId` (number): Numeric filters. - `diamondCode`, `upc`, `isbn`, `ean`, `issn` (string): Identifier filters. - `creators`, `series`, `events`, `stories`, `sharedAppearances`, `collaborators` (string): Comma-separated list of related entity IDs. - `orderBy` (string): Fields to order the results by, such as `title` or `-modified`. - `limit`, `offset` (number): Pagination options. - **Returns**: JSON response with comics featuring the specified character. See `ComicDataWrapperSchema` in `src/schemas.ts` for details. ### 4. `get_comics` 📖🕵️‍♂️ - **Description**: Fetch lists of Marvel comics with optional filters. - **Inputs**: - `format` (optional string): Filter by the issue format (e.g., `comic`, `digital comic`, `hardcover`). - `formatType` (optional string): Filter by the issue format type (`comic` or `collection`). - `noVariants` (optional boolean): Exclude variants (alternate covers, secondary printings, director's cuts, etc.) from the result set. - `dateDescriptor` (optional string): Return comics within a predefined date range (`lastWeek`, `thisWeek`, `nextWeek`, `thisMonth`). - `dateRange` (optional string): Return comics within a custom date range. Dates must be specified as `YYYY-MM-DD,YYYY-MM-DD`. - `title` (optional string): Return only issues in series whose title matches the input. - `titleStartsWith` (optional string): Return only issues in series whose title starts with the input. - `startYear` (optional number): Return only issues in series whose start year matches the input. - `issueNumber` (optional number): Return only issues in series whose issue number matches the input. - `diamondCode`, `digitalId`, `upc`, `isbn`, `ean`, `issn` (optional string): Filter by various identifiers. - `hasDigitalIssue` (optional boolean): Include only results which are available digitally. - `modifiedSince` (optional string): Return only comics which have been modified since the specified date (ISO 8601 format). - `creators`, `characters`, `series`, `events`, `stories`, `sharedAppearances`, `collaborators` (optional string): Comma-separated list of IDs to filter by related entities. - `orderBy` (optional string): Order the result set by a field or fields. Add a "-" to the value to sort in descending order (e.g., `title`, `-modified`). - `limit` (optional number): Limit the result set to the specified number of resources (default: 20, max: 100). - `offset` (optional number): Skip the specified number of resources in the result set. - **Returns**: JSON response with matching comics. See `ComicDataWrapperSchema` in `src/schemas.ts` for details. ### 5. `get_comic_by_id` 🆔📘 - **Description**: Fetch a single Marvel comic by its unique ID. - **Input**: - `comicId` (number): The unique ID of the comic. - **Returns**: JSON response with the comic details. See `ComicDataWrapperSchema` in `src/schemas.ts` for details. ### 6. `get_characters_for_comic` 🦸‍♀️📖 - **Description**: Fetch Marvel characters appearing in a specific comic. - **Inputs**: - `comicId` (number): The unique ID of the comic. - Optional filters: - `name` (optional string): Filter characters by full name. - `nameStartsWith` (optional string): Filter characters whose names start with the specified string. - `modifiedSince` (optional string): ISO 8601 date string to filter characters modified since this date. - `series`, `events`, `stories` (optional string): Comma-separated list of related entity IDs to filter by. - `orderBy` (optional string): Fields to order the results by, such as `name` or `-modified`. - `limit` (optional number): Maximum number of results to return (1–100). - `offset` (optional number): Number of results to skip for pagination. - **Returns**: JSON response with characters appearing in the specified comic. See `CharacterDataWrapperSchema` in `src/schemas.ts` for details. ## 🛠️ Setup Sign up for a [Marvel Developer API](https://developer.marvel.com/documentation/getting_started) account and get your public and private API keys. If you want to the MCP server directly in an MCP host, jump to the [Use with GitHub Copilot](#use-with-github-copilot) or [Use with Claude Desktop](#use-with-claude-desktop) sections. ### Run the Server Locally 1. An Azure Storage Emulator is needed. There are two options: - Start Azurite in a Docker container: ```bash docker run -p 10000:10000 -p 10001:10001 -p 10002:10002 \ mcr.microsoft.com/azure-storage/azurite ``` - You can use the [Azurite VS Code extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items/?itemName=Azurite.azurite). Once the extension is installed, run `Azurite: Start` through the VS Code command palette. 1. Clone this repository: ```bash git clone https://github.com/DanWahlin/marvel-mcp-azure-functions ``` 1. Rename `.env.template ` to `.env`. 1. Add your Marvel API public and private keys to the `.env` file. ```bash MARVEL_PUBLIC_KEY=YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY MARVEL_PRIVATE_KEY=YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY MARVEL_API_BASE=https://gateway.marvel.com/v1/public ``` 1. Install the required dependencies and build the project. ```bash npm install npm run build ``` 1. Start the Azure Functions host locally: ```bash npm start ``` 1. (Optional) To try out the MCP server using MCP Inspector, run the following command: ```bash # Start the MCP Inspector npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node build/index.js ``` Visit the MCP Inspector URL shown in the console in your browser: - Change `Transport Type` to `SSE`. - Enter `http://0.0.0.0:7071/runtime/webhooks/mcp/sse` for the URL. - Select `Connect` the button. - Select `List Tools`. - Select a tool to try it out. ## Configuring an MCP Host ### Use with Claude Desktop Add the following to your `claude_desktop_config.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "marvel-mcp": { "type": "sse", "url": "http://0.0.0.0:7071/runtime/webhooks/mcp/sse" } } } ``` ### Use with GitHub Copilot in VS Code > **Note**: If you already have the MCP server enabled with Claude Desktop, add `chat.mcp.discovery.enabled: true` in your VS Code settings and it will discover existing MCP server lists. If you want to associate the MCP server with a specific repo, create a `.vscode/mcp.json` file with this content: ```json { "inputs": [], "servers": { "marvel-mcp": { "type": "sse", "url": "http://0.0.0.0:7071/runtime/webhooks/mcp/sse" } } } ``` If you want to associate the MCP server with all repos, add the following to your VS Code User Settings JSON: ```json "mcp": { "servers": { "marvel-mcp": { "type": "sse", "url": "http://0.0.0.0:7071/runtime/webhooks/mcp/sse" } } } ``` ## Deploy to Azure for Remote MCP Run this [azd](https://aka.ms/azd) command to provision the function app, with any required Azure resources, and deploy your code: ```shell azd up ``` You can opt-in to a VNet being used in the sample. To do so, do this before `azd up` ```bash azd env set VNET_ENABLED true ``` Additionally, [API Management]() can be used for improved security and policies over your MCP Server, and [App Service built-in authentication](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/overview-authentication-authorization) can be used to set up your favorite OAuth provider including Entra. ### Using Tools in GitHub Copilot 1. Now that the mcp server is discoverable, open GitHub Copilot and select `Agent` mode (not `Ask` or `Edit`). 2. Select the "refresh" button in the Copilot chat text field to refresh the server list. 3. Select the "🛠️" button to see all the possible tools, including the ones from this repo. 4. Put a question in the chat that would naturally invoke one of the tools, for example: ``` List 10 marvel characters. Include images. What comics is Wolverine in? Which characters appear in the Avengers comics? What characters are in the Hedge Knight II: Sworn Sword (2007) comic? ``` > **Note**: If you see "Sorry, the response was filtered by the Responsible AI Service.", try running it again or rephrasing the prompt.