Yapping about Marvel Rivals (AGAIN!)

So, here's the Thing...

Since I last wrote about Marvel Rivals, is has devoured even more of my time. At the time of writing this, season 1.5 has launched, bringing with it the final two members of the Fantastic Four along with a new map, new cosmetics, and people complaining about the new meta. Overall, season 1 has been a great showing for the game, and even while the game is in its infancy, its radically changed from when it first began. This post will cover my thoughts on all the new stuff in seasons 1.0 and 1.5, the emerging meta, the culture that has grown from the game, and where things might be headed in season 2 and beyond.

To swing back to the launch of season 1 proper, I have to discuss the first new additions to the game's roster: Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman.

These two have set an amazing precedent for what future additions will look like. Both of them are my highest played characters of season 1.0 because they're both fun, fill interesting niches, and easily blended into the existing meta at the time. I know Reed isn't the most popular right now, , but he's the most fun duelist to play, in my experience. Being a psuedo-tank, I love being able to outlast the competition, get big and punchy, and being an all around silly, stretchy guy. In terms of presentation, they absolutely nailed his look and voice. (That beard is doing something for me.) Ian James Corlett, Reed's voice actor, gives him an appropriate amount of fatherly warmth that pairs well with the nasally nerdiness that befits the character. His default skin, while a little over-designed, nails a futuristic look for him as well as the whole team.

As for Sue, I owe my ranked climb to her. As a Cloak & Dagger player, I was looking forward to another Strategist to play around with, and Sue's status a hybrid damage dealer, along with some assassin tactics with her invisibility, she's a Swiss Army Knife on the field. Sue's voice actor, Suzie Yeung, gives her a mature, but confident and playful tone that really suits her. Her costume is a little more streamlined than Reed's, and her, uh...proportions are little more noticeable. In season 1.5, her team-up with the rest of the 4 is defining the meta, and I couldn't be prouder.

Wait a minute—let's circle back to that last point. Trying not to be crude here, but the ass is out of control in this game. All attempts to have an actual discussion about the designs and sexualization of heroes immediately fails because gamers lack the part of their bran where nuance happens, but I'll try my best here.

I'm not a prude. I like muscles and shapely bodies and all that stuff as much as the next red-blooded gamer, but let's not pretend like the game sexualizes the male characters the same way it does the female ones. The most egregious example of this has to be Sue's Malice skin, which is downright distracting. I'm not mad that its in the game, or that you have to pay for it—that's YOUR choice do so—but I am annoyed that people think Namor being shirtless or Peter Parker having a nice face is the same thing.

I don't want to drag this out, because I'm here to have a good time, but just because you personally might be attracted to everyone in the game doesn't mean that they are presented in the same way. I've seen that argument used and I think its intellectually dishonest. Most gamers, unfortunately, are male, and most men, unfortunately, are straight. They'll pay real money to play as a hot lady in the video game. Sex sells, and I'm not saying that's wrong, or that you're a degenerate for buying skins, but I am saying that I'm allowed to at least feel uncomfortable about the pricing strategy and the attitudes of players.

Captain America's Gladiator outfit and Namor's MCU look is about as close as we're gonna get to the sheer shamelessness of something like Classic Psylocke. And being shirtless is Namor's default look, anyway. Something like the way Reed's default outfit is designed is getting closer. The design quite literally calls attention to his back, torso, and groin. I don't think his proportions are nearly as juiced as the ladies', but its a step in the right direction of making every character in this game stacked.

On the subject of the game's player culture, as a comic book fan, some weird things are happening. Its funny how gamers are reacting to comic book moments or the real histories of their mains, but what I find funny is how people refer to the characters themselves. Veterans from other hero shooters are used to shortening the names of the characters they're calling out, but to someone who doesn't know anything about Marvel, who the hell is Bucky? This video called "Why is everyone on a first name basis with the Winter Soldier?" discusses this, but mostly focusses on MCU related reasons, while its the fact is much simpler: Marvel characters are much more iconic than any League of Legends or Overwatch hero could ever hope to be. When I say "Cap," "Reed," "Sue," or "Frank," you know who I'm talking about. Some are much harder to figure out, like one for Moon Knight (do you say "Marc," "Steven," or "Jake?") or Squirrel Girl. And you can't say "Peter" because there's two; Spider-Man and Star-Lord. Most of the character's offical names are short enough to simply say, however, (Hulk, Magik, Thor) but for some, you have to get creative, like calling Rocket Raccon simply "Rat," or Jeff the Land Shark simply "Shark." You'll catch me shouting out government names, though. "Illyana Rasputina's on me!" "James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes is ulting!"

On one hand, its nice to see the game's culture emerging in an interesting, wholesome way, but you can also see how this reflects the general fanbase's view of the character. Its weird hearing Cloak & Dagger referred to as simple "Cloak" or "Dagger." I especially hate that most people refer to them with a singular pronoun, since they are, in fact, two people. Its because of the design, but I think most people will only use "she" because they see Dagger as the "real" one while Cloak is almost like a JoJo stand for her. His design lacking a body doesn't help in that regard. I'm just protective of my pookies Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson. Sue me.

Now I'm gonna really complain. The shipping community for this game is something else. I don't consider the Rivals versions of any of these characters the "real" ones, so I haven't engaged with them on that level, so seeing a shipping community come out of this game surprised me, even though it really shouldn't have. The actual in-game canon supports some pairings, like Hawkeye x Bucky, by giving them pre-established, Rival-exclusive history that makes for standard shipping fuel, but where the community has gotten Loki x Mantis or, perhaps the most psychotic, Psylocke x Magik from, I don't know. Fandom and fandom created content has always made me a little uneasy, but this has proven to me that most Rivals fans, perhaps even more than MCU fans, are tourists here.

They know little more than what the characters look like and even less about who they are. As a comic book fan, you get used to this, but the way the community treats the female characters in particular is downright awful. Seeing weird fetish art of Magik is reprehensible when you know even a single thing about her backstory and relationship to child sexual assault. She's not a goth dommy mommy sex object, you freaks. She's a character with decades of history. She was here before you and will outlive us all. Am I the "friend that's too woke," here? If you're playing the game with one hand, use the other to do some research. There are some people who think Cloak & Dagger are "sibling coded." Open the schools!

In a way, Rivals is breathing new life into some of these characters by shoving them in front of a new audience, but these versions are streamlined so that anyone can pick them up, understand them, and become a fan on sight. I've certainly become more interested in characters like Adam Warlock, Cloak & Dagger, and the Fantastic Four due to maining them, and I actually read comics. I knew them before showing up here. Rivals is a great gateway into the hobby, and my issue doesn't lie in the fact that people are excited (maybe a little too much) about these characters, but that Rivals, and Marvel in general, could do more.

Why isn't there a direct link from Rivals to Marvel Unlimited on PC? Why can't I play well and win discount codes for comics featuring the characters I just got MVP for? Why isn't there Marvel Rivals comic on shelves right now? Like with the MCU, it feels as though Marvel is hiding their source material from potentially eager customers. Rivals has the advantage over the films in that the story and lore for the game is secondary, so players aren't likely to get super confused by contradictions. It has some of the most comic accurate designs and characterizations in the history of comic adaptations, and its a shame to see that that, one, the online audience would rather make shit up than engage with the source material, and two, Marvel isn't making it easier for a ripe demographic to engage with that source material.

I've prattled on too long about things only I care about again. Anyway, back to the fun stuff.

Season 1 introduced these missions called "Midnight Features," which mirror Season 0's seasonal challenges (I don't remember what they're called, but I never finished them anyway.) These feel much more fair and focussed than Season 0's, as the presentation is a lot more bombastic and interesting. The newspaper aesthetic is a great way to tap into Marvel's New York. The challenges themselves are easier to accomplish and get you playing characters you might not have played before. Crucially, there are alternative challenges that are either easier to pull off or simply give you another avenue to secure the reward. Midnight Features I rewarded you with exclusive sprays, a good amount of Chrono Tokens and Units, as well as Gallery Cards and, most importantly, a free Thor skin.

Being able to work for any free cosmetic is great, especially a comic book accurate one for a popular character. I once criticized the game for not having great ways to earn Units, and this is a good compromise. They want you buy Lattice and Credits, but I'd feel more comfortable in that purchase bridging the gap between the number I need and the number I have, instead of always working from zero. In the new season, I've picked up Reed's Maker skin, and although the 60th anniversary wedding skins were alluring, I'm waiting for a new Cloak and Dagger skin to drop. They're due.

Speaking of the skin market, new cosmetics have been consistently drip-fed throughout the season(s), giving new looks to characters who desperately need them, like Luna Snow and Cap, but getting characters like Sue and Reed an excess. The Battlepass helps in this regard, since its gives characters like Adam Warlock, Namor, and Rocket some premium outfits. Some characters are still in need of a new look, like the aforementioned Cloak and Dagger (my beloveds), but also Peni Parker, who deserves more than just a recolor, and Storm, whose meteoric rise this season deserves a reward.

Overall, despite the sheer amount of cosmetics, I'm still not satisfied. More comic book inspired skins are a must, especially classic looks. I think this would satisfy my need for having at least one undeniably great skin for each character. Take Dr. Strange, for instance. He has good number of skins to his name, but none are great. None are ones I'd spend money on. I jumped on the Maker since it was a comic book look I knew, liked, and belonged to character I played. I think I'd be more motivated to play characters I've let languish if they had their classic look available. Is this shallow? Yes. But so is the entire skin market in general. The term "classic" shouldn't default to "first appearance," but the most iconic look possible. For Starlord, I think of Annhilation, for Magik, her New Mutants training uniform, etc. Sure, there are skins that are nearly there, but I'm asking them to put a pin on it and really go there.

On a similar subject, some skins are simply not what they're purporting to be. Take Venom's "Space Knight" skin. Take a picture of the in-game model and compare it to an actual comic panel of the suit and tell me they're the same. You'd simply be wrong. The skin adds so many unnecessary lines and panels that, complicate a pretty simple design. Another example is Scarlet Witch's "Emporium Matron" skin that claims its supposed to be her Hellfire Gala '22 outfit, but its just...not? They aren't the same? Its more fitting to say the in-game looks are inspired by these comic book outfits. With leaks supporting the idea that season 2 could be Hellfire Gala themed, this could either a misfire or a sample of what's to come, which doesn't bode well. Getting Wanda's actual Hellfire look as a cosmetic would be amazing, but instead, you have settle for a skin that, while not looking bad in the slightest, is categorically not what it claims to be.

The other side of the coin is cosmetics like Storm's "Mohawk Rock" and Mister Fantastic's "Maker" that actually improve on the original looks. When I say "improve," I mean that they sufficiently modify the comic book source to make a design worthy of your money. In both cases, the source material is pretty plain, and personally, I'd feel ripped if I just laid down 20 dollars to see Reed Richards in a black body suit and an ugly helmet. With the added design details, I felt more inclined to buy it, that it was worth the money. And just look at Storm's hair in "Mohawk Rock," its glorious.

With season 1.o in the rear view mirror, I can safely say I'm out of the honeymoon stage for this game. Before I complain, let's get the good stuff out of the way for Season 1.5. Midnight Features is back, appropriately named Midnight Features II, and rewards the player handsomely for its challenges. So far, I really like all of the available rewards, especially the thumbs-up sticker mimicking Reed's MVP screen, shich is so delightfully goofy. The free Groot skin doesn't do much for me, as someone who doesn't play the big tree, but I'm glad my teammates can block my path in new duds.

Next, I really like the new map. This out of season Halloween aesthetic is wearing on me, but Central Park is a breath of fresh air. Like Midtown, its similarly cramped, but the fight sprawling from the park outside to the guts of Dracula's castle is great. A cameo from Blade is a neat touch, too.

Thing and Torch have rounded out Marvel's first family and its safe to say that old Benjamin J. Grimm is meta-defining while many are still figuring out how to perfect Matchstick. Personally, I'm downright awful with flying heroes, (I blame the third dimension) so Torch was never in the cards for me, but Thing is right up my alley. It took me a minute to get how Ben played, but once I did—oh, buddy. I show 'em why I'm Aunt Petunia's favorite nephew. He demolishes supports, clobbers DPSs, and can take on tanks one-on-one. I have a hard time believing the pros when they say Thing can't be a main tank after seeing what I've seen.

Thing's voice actor, Andrew Morgado, nails it. Sometimes, the accent can become a little too cartoonish, but if there's ever a time where I can allow that, its here. Its high time that a character like Thing, who brings with him so much gravitas and confidence, came in swinging and clobbered the meta. We needed a new tank, and Thing is serving that role well, but what's more important to me is that I feel an actual confidence when I he's on my team, like the guy has peeled off a comic strip and joined me in the fight himself. In fact, having the whole FF on your time just feels...fantastic. Thing's size, the impact of his hits, and his voice lines add up to him feeling like one of, if not the most well realized character in the game.

Obviously, I've put more time into Ben than Johnny, who is also well done. Scott Whyte gives a higher, younger feel to Johnny that really set him apart from his family. His delivery of "Supernova!" for his Ult stops me in my tracks every time.

Okay, time to complain. The devs specifically called out the triple support meta as something they wanted to discourage, and given the buffs and nerfs for Season 1.5, they've succeeded, but I think its a little too far. With support characters overall getting a nerf, some were hit harder than others. Some might have gotten their Ults delayed, like Mantis and Luna, and strangely, Adam Warlock actually got a buff, even though most of your teammates will consider him a throw pick. Really, my bone to pick lies with Cloak & Dagger. What did they do my babies? It feels really bad to play them now, as they had their moment in the sun last season, but flew a little too close. Their Ult has been delayed and the stacking tech is gone, making it even harder for your teammates to take advantage.

Basically, I feel like the meta is very narrow now. If I do want to play C&D (just to feel something) I have to contend with buffed Spider-Men diving me, and the ever-present Magik, since dive team comps are even more potent. From the devs' perspective, I get why anti-support measures were crucial to restore balance, but truthfully, having my main get giga-nerfed is discouraging me from playing support much at all. If I do, I pick up Sue, even though I'm pretty burnt out on her from maining her in ranked last season. Basically, I've picked up other roles, mainly tank, to compensate for how bad playing support feels now. Maybe that was the intention? I'm still annoyed, but making the most out of it. Mister Fantastic was definitely nerfed, despite being pretty situational as is, but I've found fun playing him the current meta especially with the FF team-up being so prominent.

UPDATE:

Since writing this post, an update has been added a new game mode, "Clone Rumble," as well as a new Cloak & Dagger skin, so I thought that was enough to warrant coming back and updating this post. First off, Clone Rumble is a hell of a lot of fun. The mode has each opposing team pick one hero, creating a pool of two that you get to choose from. This can result in a match of all Things or Black Panthers or...Jeffs. The very first game I played in this new mode was a Wolverine vs Jeff game, and because of all the bubbles, it tanked the game's performance. Luckily, I've had no such problem with subsequent games, but it wasn't a great first impression. Mostly, though, I was annoyed with my teammates, because the thought of making everyone else play Jeff must come from a sick, sick mind that is beyond rehabilitation, and in Season 0 we literally just had a Jeff exclusive mode. Gamers really can be the least funny people on the planet.

Clone Rumble also has opened up a way to get more free stuff via Galacta's Cosmic Adventure, a board game style system that requires you to earn mode-exclusive currency to spend on rolls of the dice. The presentation is nice, but I'm a little afraid that I won't actually be able to collect everything on the board if it truly comes down to chance. I'm sure some system ensures that you won't miss out on the Mrs. Barnes skin for Black Widow if you don't roll the exact number of spaces necessary, but the thought has kept me awake at night.

It also has me thinking about Galacta as the game's mascot and how much rope that has. I don't think her voice is that annoying, but NetEase is leaving money on the table by not making announcer voice packs, like Mortal Kombat 11, at some point. I know people would instantly jump for Deadpool or other comedy characters, but I think this could be another way to include characters that won't make the roster. Non-combatants like Uatu the Watcher, J. Jonah Jameson, or Madame Web would be perfect for this. Nick Fury would be another slam dunk.

There's a theory kicking around that because you can unlock a broken Cerebro sticker on Galacta's game board that this is a tease for Krakoa coming next season. Plenty of other leaks point toward season 2 being Krakoa themed, and I'm not one to entertain rampant fan speculation, but this seems pretty on point. The board depicts all the areas correlating to the game's maps (Yggdrasil, Wakanda, Hydra base, Spider-Islands/Shin-Shibuya) but then there's an unknown area on the top left of the board that's seemingly new. Its hexagonal trees remind me a lot of Krakoa's plant-based housing, and the big tower reminds me of the Narthex, which was Nightcrawler's residence. Of course, there's also some rock shown, so it could be Arrako, Krakoa's other half, which, last I checked (I'm behind on current X-Men) was on Mars.

Personally, I'm pretty excited at the prospect of a themed X-Men season, as I'm a huge fan of the mutants and of the Krakoa era specifically. Jean Grey and Emma Frost were leaked, and while I'm not super impressed with another duelist, Emma looks right up my alley, as the streets are saying she's a hybrid tank and healer. As a Cyclops fan, I look forward to reuniting my favorite love quadrangle between Scott, Jean, Logan, and Emma. The season's theme comes with the promise of Hellfire Gala skins, and looking at the roster, a lot of the cast has a look from the 3 Galas, but my favorites come from those who I can only hope come to the game at some point in the future, (looking at you, Nova.)

I'm mostly excited for the Krakoa map. Since Season 1.0 and 1.5's new additions were both payload, I can see Krakoa's being domination, where perhaps one stage is Krakoa, the other is Arrako, and one is the Xavier Mansion? As always, I think ambient NPCs would be a game-changer, especially at the Mansion. I'm getting giddy thinking of the dialogue between the X-Men, but also their Avengers counterparts, with whom they had some tension during that era. I'm also looking forward to leaving these current aesthetics behind. Goodbye, Spirt Halloween, and hello, paradise.

Speaking of, I know the aforementioned look to the NY maps is supported by the game's story canon, but its a weird mismatch nonetheless. So, Blade isn't fighting Dracula, but the FF are? In the Dracula season, we can't play as Blade? When will be be playable? Of course, the leaks could be false, and Blade could actually be coming next season, which would make sense, but if 2 heroes join at a time, who is joining him? Morbius? A man can dream. I'm hoping that next season has a clean, simpler theme than this one's, and more akin to Season 0's slick, sci-fi vibe. Krakoa opens the door for a crazy colorful floral and plant-based UI, along with some Krakoa inspired skins, which i hope won't just stop at Hellfire Gala looks.

I'm having more fun with Rivals than I'm letting on. I was certainly less enthused before Clone Rumble came out, which has resulted in some of the most fun I've had with the game in a long time. I'm hoping my mains will get fixed with the next patch, and given the devs' receptiveness to feedback, its likely to happen. I still play the game nearly everyday and enjoy myself, but right now, I'm enjoying the novel stuff, like the new game mode and playing as new characters. The hope for Season 2 is really what's carrying me, but such is the ebb and flow of a live-service title like this. There's always next season.

I'll leave you with a list, but this time, some skins I'd like to see for each character. Obviously, I want classic looks for all of them, so I'll leave that out if there aren't too many to choose from. Okay? Okay.

• Adam Warlock:

  • Magus

  • Annihilation

  • Infinity Gauntlet

• Black Panther

  • MCU (Civil War)

  • Man Without Fear

  • Vigilante suit (Eve Ewing run)

• Black Widow

  • Grey 90's costume (Uncanny X-Men 268)

  • First Appearance

  • Classic (Black body suit, golden wrist blasts and belt)

• Captain America

  • MCU (Captain America: The First Avenger)

  • Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

  • Ultimate WWII

• Cloak & Dagger

  • Ultimate

  • Inverted

  • Classic

• Dr. Strange

  • MCU (Thor: Ragnarok)

  • Red and black (Defenders)

  • Literally anything with yellow gloves, please

• Groot

  • First appearance

  • Annihilation (Red and blue Guardians uniform)

  • Mohawk (Donny Cates run)

• Hawkeye

  • Thunderbolts (2022)

  • Ronin

  • Ultimates 3

• Hela

  • (I honestly don't have anything for this one. Classic is already in the game, as well as the MCU inspired man skin and an Ultimate recolor. You've got me.)

• Hulk (Since Hulk is a two-fer, I'll also explain what I think Bruce would look like)

  • A-Bomb + Rick Jones inspired Bruce

  • Joe Fixit + Suited Bruce

  • Devil Hulk + Labcoat Bruce

• Human Torch

  • Future Foundation

  • Uncanny Inhumans

  • World's Greatest Heroes

• Invisible Woman

  • Ultimate

  • Age of X

  • Future Foundation

• Iron Fist (This is tricky, since this isn't Danny Rand, but most alternate suits belong to him)

  • White and gold

  • Tracksuit

  • WW2 Iron Fist

• Iron Man

  • MCU (Mk.3)

  • All New, All Different armor (2015)

  • Ultimate Iron Lad

• Jeff

  • (Another one where I've got nothing)

• Loki

  • Agent of Asgard

  • Siege

  • Sorcerer Supreme

• Luna Snow

  • (Another dry case. She's so new that she doesn't really have that many costumes.)

• Magik

  • Training Uniform

  • Phoenix Five

  • Golden armor (2022)

• Magneto

  • House of X (2019)

  • X-Men Evolution

  • The big M

• Mantis

  • First appearance

  • The Crossing

  • MCU (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.)

• Mister Fantastic

  • Future Foundation

  • Lab coat

  • Ultimate Doom (Earth 6160)

• Moon Knight

  • Devil's Reign (2022)

  • Hunter's Moon

  • Vengeance of the Moon Knight

• Namor

  • Phoenix Five

  • Utopia era X-Men

  • Black armor (2018)

• Peni Parker

  • (Yeah, you got me. Maybe Spider-Verse?)

• Psylocke (Another Iron Fist situation, so bear with me)

  • Outback era

  • Captain Britain

  • Revanche

• Punisher

  • Classic + headband

  • Leader of the Hand

  • Trenchcoat

• The Thing

  • Future Foundation

  • Iceberg

  • MCU (First Family)

• Rocket Raccoon (Only got one for you.)

  • White suit

• Scarlet Witch

  • Classic (need this bad.)

  • X-Men Evolution

  • The Crossing

• Squirrel Girl (another one-off)

  • First appearance

• Spider-Man

  • Scarlet Spider

  • The Slingers

  • Web-Man

• Star-Lord

  • Annihilation

  • MCU (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2)

  • 2013 comic redesign

• Storm

  • X-Men Red

  • Age of Apocalypse

  • Training Uniform

• Thor

  • Classic (this is the one classic skins that I NEED.)

  • Ultimate

  • Throg

• Venom

  • Agent Venom

  • Poison

  • 2099

• Winter Solider

  • MCU (debut)

  • Classic Bucky

  • Bucky Cap

• Wolverine

  • Tiger stripe

  • X-Men Evolution

  • Brown and tan

BONUS!

• Jean Grey

  • Marvel Girl

  • X-Men: Blue

  • X-Factor

• Emma Frost

  • Hellfire Gala '23

  • Bendis Uncanny

  • Marauders