The third-person hero shooter video gameMarvel Rivals, developed and published by Chinese company NetEase Games, was released this past December and has completely shaken up not just the genre, but the entire live service game industry. With an unexpectedly high and dedicated player base, it’s shaping up to be one of the biggest games in its genre of the 2020s. For obvious reasons,what fans love the most aboutMarvel Rivalsis its extensive character roster, featuring some of the best-known characters in the Marvel mythos — as well as some that are pretty obscure.
There’s a grand total of 35 heroes and villains that players can use, soon to be 37, as soon as the Human Torch and the Thing are added later this month. Of these 37 characters, only 13 aren’t currently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; and with the Fantastic Four soon to join the franchise, that only leaves 9. The conversation about which is a better character in the game is an interesting one, but what about which are more interesting characters in comics and other media? While some definitely deserve MCU representation pronto, others are probably fine where they are now.
9Luna Snow (voiced by Judy Alice Lee)
First Appearance: ‘Marvel: Future Fight’ (2015, introduced in 2018)
Going intoMarvel Rivals, ice-powered South Korean K-pop idolLuna Snow was easily the most obscure character in the entire character roster. She was created in 2018 for the action RPG for iOS and AndroidMarvel: Future Fight, then made her comics debut inWar of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas#1 in 2019.
A character with a loyal cult following and actual singles available to listen to, Luna is the kind of obscure Marvel character who would befun to see in a movie, especially now thatRivalshas helped her dramatically increase in popularity. However, in the comics, Luna’s mostly been part of small team stories, and hasn’t been given the chance to be fully fleshed out. Some may argue that even herRivalsversion is more interesting than the original, which may not really bode well for her chances at becoming an MCU character, lestRivalscontinue to propel her fame into the stratosphere.
8Psylocke (voiced by Alpha Takahashi)
First Appearance: ‘Demon Days: X-Men’ #1 (2021)
Psylocke’s case is kind of complicated. There are several versions of the character, the original (and most popular) one being Betsy Braddock, a British telepath who later takes on the appearance of a Japanese ninja named Kwannon. The version of the mutant that’s inMarvel Rivals, though, is the Ultimate Universe version called Sai, who first appeared in anX-Mencomic in 2021.
Thankfully, theRivalsPsylocke is quite dissimilar from the version of the character seen in the abysmalX-Men: Apocalypse, one ofthe worst-written superhero movies ever. That being said,Sai is too new an incarnation of the character to rival the history and legacy of the Betsy Psylocke. Though there’s certainly a problematic dimension to the original character in the whole race swap deal, Psylocke fans are likely hoping that it’ll be somehow solved so that the MCU version of Psylocke, if it ever comes to exist, can be the original Betsy/Kwannon version.
X-Men: Apocalypse
7Peni Parker (voiced by Sally Amaki)
First Appearance: ‘Edge of Spider-Verse’ #5 (2014)
Created by artistJake Wyattand writer and musician of My Chemical Romance fameGerard Way, Peni Parker is an alternative version of Spider-Man who pilots a psychically-powered mech suit originally controlled by her father, along with a radioactive spider that’s also psychically linked to her. As if her appearance inSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse(no less than one ofthe best animated movies ever) hadn’t been enough, now that she’s also inRivals, Peni seems to be more relevant than ever.
Her appearances in the movie and video game certainly boost her a bit, because otherwise, Peni wouldn’t be a particularly strong character. That’s partly because she simply hasn’t showed up in a lot of media, but also because fans tend to agree that,cool though herEvangelion-inspired mech suit may be, she’s mostly a somewhat dull character. Hopefully, that will change now that more people know about her. Who’s to say? Maybe an unexpected MCU appearance could make her even more popular.
Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse
6Jeff the Land Shark (voiced by Jon Bailey)
First Appearance: ‘West Coast Avengers’ vol. 3 #6 (2018)
Jeff the Land Shark is one of those Marvel Characters that could have been considered obscure beforeMarvel Rivalsdropped. Certainly not anymore, as the lovable creature has arguably become the face of the game. In the comics, Jeff is a land shark created by M.O.D.O.K. He’s Gwenpool’s pet, and he also likes hanging out with Deadpool to make up one ofMarvel’s most interesting dream teams(that’s right: those cute little grunts are very likely to contain enough swearing to makeRivalsan M-rated game).
Despite his low-key existence in the comics,Jeff became a big cult character, so now that he’s in a game as high-profile as this one,his loyal followers couldn’t be happy that it’s now his time to shine. With Deadpool now in the MCU and likely to be brought back again and again untilRyan Reynoldsis 90, it’s the perfect time for this voracious land shark to join the ranks of Baby Groot and Goose as one of the franchise’s cutest characters. That being said, Jeff doesn’t really have the complexity to rival other heroes in terms of how good of a character he is.
5Squirrel Girl (voiced by Milana Vayntraub)
First Appearance: ‘Marvel Super-Heroes’ vol. 2 #8 (1991)
At some point, Marvel realized that dark and serious stories can only be truly timeless if they’re sometimes balanced with more lighthearted stuff. So,in a throwback to the more fun and campy old days of comic books, Squirrel Girl came to be. Her true name is Doreen Allene Green, and she has a mutation that allows her to communicate with squirrels.
She can lose fights, but ultimately, she cannot be beaten,technically making her one of the most powerful characters in Marvel.
Squirrel Girl is also known as The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, because that’s the whole point of her character:She can lose fights, but ultimately, she cannot be beaten,technically making her one ofthe most powerful characters in Marvel. That’s what makes her such a fun and lighthearted character, as well as a great addition toMarvel Rivals(although she can most certainly be beaten there).
4Magik (voiced by Abby Trott)
First Appearance: ‘Giant-Size X-Men’ #1 (1975)
By no means is Magik an obscure character, but she’s certainly less-known and less mainstream than most otherRivalsheroes and villains. Named Illyana Rasputina, she’s a mutant that gets magic abilities as a result of her interactions with the demonic supervillain Belasco. She’s a member of the X-Men, and just last year, she got her own ongoing series. In 2020, she was portrayed byAnya Taylor-Joyin the box office flopThe New Mutants, one of the most oftenforgotten non-MCU marvel movies.
Magik has one of the most fascinating and complex character arcs of any Marvel character, and as such, she has seen a tremendous rise in fame in recent years —something surely boosted by appearances in media likeMarvel Rivals. Though she still doesn’t have enough of a multimedia history to compete with otherRivalsheroes that are more mainstream, it can’t be overstated just how much fans love her.
The New Mutants
Five young mutants, just discovering their abilities while held in a secret facility against their will, fight to escape their past sins and save themselves.
3Venom (voiced by Steve Blum)
First Appearance: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ #300 (1988)
Venom is now such a widely present character across all sorts of media, from TV shows to video games tothe movies that carry his name, that he needs about as much introduction as Spider-Man himself. He’s a sentient alien symbiote who survives by bonding with a host. Many characters have served as his host throughout the years, and he has functioned as both a terrifying villain and a formidable antihero.
Since this long history has made Venom one of the most iconic and beloved characters from the Spidey mythos, it’s no surprise that he was added toRivalsfrom the start. Now, the only franchise missing him is the MCU. Sure, Eddie (Tom Hardy) and Venom had a minuscule incursion into Earth-199999,but it was so brief and pointless that it’s hard to count itas the character truly being part of the franchise now. There are many greatactors who could portray an MCU versionof Venom, and fans can’t wait for that to happen.
2Storm (voiced by Mara Junot)
Storm is one of the most veteran members of the X-Men, an Omega-level mutant whose powers technically have no limit. Descended from a long line of African witch-priestesses, she can psionically manipulate weather patterns. She has been characterized in all sorts of different ways throughout her history as a character, but something never changes:She’s always one of the most fun mutants for stories to focus on.
There’s zero doubt that, if and when Storm joins the MCU (which is pretty much inevitable), she’ll be one ofthe franchise’s best female characters. Not only is she one of the most powerful characters in Marvel, but also one of the most interesting, with one of the more complex and fascinating arcs of any comic book character.
1Magneto (voiced by James Arnold Taylor)
First Appearance: ‘X-Men’ #1 (1963)
There are very few villains in superhero cinema better than theX-Menfranchise’s Magneto (played byIan McKellenandMichael Fassbenderin two ofthe most perfect castings in the genre). This is largely because there are very few comic book characters more fascinating and complex than Magneto. Another Omega-level mutant, he’s a Holocaust survivor who sees mutants as evolutionarily superior to humans, and so uses his ability to generate and control magnetic fields to combat mutant discrimination and enshrine the superiority of his people.
Forged by tragedy and working under complicated motivations, Magneto is very far from being a one-note antagonist. He’s one of the most key villains in the history of superheroes,making his eventual appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe not just inevitable, but a necessity. If they do even half as good a job at portraying his character as they did in the FoxX-Menuniverse, fans will be more than satisfied. And if the character is even half as cool as he is inMarvel Rivals, even more so.
