Top 5 Worst Marvel Rivals Characters (and How to Fix Them)
If you’re a huge Marvel Comics fan, you’re either playing Marvel Rivals or you’ve already played it. And if you haven’t, you must be stuck in the wrong multiverse. Even more exciting, is how the roster of playable superheroes and villains is growing quickly. Netease already revealed how they plan to release a new character every month.
That being said, while NetEase has generally done a great job capturing the spirit of Marvel characters in Marvel Rivals, there are a few standout exceptions. Specifically, five characters have been designed in ways that don’t just miss the mark—they clash hard with their original comic book counterparts, both thematically and mechanically. Their looks, abilities, and overall feel don’t do justice to what makes these heroes and villains iconic. These flaws aren’t just cosmetic; they affect gameplay and player enjoyment too. So, here’s a look at these five characters and some ideas on how NetEase could update them to better reflect their comic origins and improve their mechanics in the game (some more so than others):
5. Venom
The main issue with Venom’s kit is his limited web swing ability. In the comics, he can obviously swing infinitely, but in Rivals, this would make him overpowered. At the very least, he should be given two charges with longer cooldowns for balance, or shorter reach. I can’t imagine Venom trying to get away in the comics and after one shot of his symbiote web swing, has to run on foot for 8 seconds.
4. Psylocke
This is the first case of mistaken anime identity. In the comics, Psylocke is a deadly melee assassin who wields her signature Psi-blade and invades the minds of her enemies with psionic and telekinetic energy. In Marvel Rivals, she’s been reimagined as a ninja schoolgirl with a katana who shoots shurikens from her wrists (most likely due to Peach Momoko’s Ultimate title).
But, to stay true to Psylocke’s original comic roots, she’ll need to lose her physical weapon, which is mostly aesthetic. She can still have some form of psychic projectile, but NetEase should make her a fast, agile brawler who can perform custom melee combos and gain shields by making skillful head shots with her Psi-blade, along with inflicting some type of CC. That would be truly mind-blowing.
3. Mister Fantastic
Mister Fantastic also suffers from mistaken anime identity. Being a melee brawler makes sense for Reed Richards, and overall, his kit is actually well-designed. However, there’s one major flaw in both his gameplay mechanics and comic book accuracy: his ultimate ability.
NetEase must really like One Piece—and hey, that’s great—but Mister Fantastic is no Luffy. As the most intelligent man in Marvel Comics, his most powerful move wouldn’t be turning into a giant rubber ball and bouncing around while yelling, “Haha! Whoa ho!” That’s completely absurd—and exactly the kind of thing Luffy would do, not Reed Richards.
The other issue is that Mister Fantastic is always portrayed in the comics as stretching his entire body, not just his arms. Right now, he looks and feels more like an MMA fighter with Luffy’s personality and mechanics straight out of Nintendo’s ARMS.
To solve the equation to his problem, NetEase should consider giving players the choice to strategically use his ULT in different ways like a true intelligent man would. His current bouncy ball ult should activate only inside closed rooms making it the most effective. While in wide-open areas, players should be able to activate another ultimate that allows them to freely control Reed’s body giving it a shield boost as he weaves it around and creates unbreakable walls and lets him grab one enemy with enlarged hands, temporarily locking them down with CC. Now, that’s true genius!
2. The Incredible Hulk
Once upon a time, players memed about how they played a “Bruce Banner main,” and although those days are long gone, the Hulk’s design is a bit questionable, to say the least. Arguably the most powerful character in Marvel Comics, especially in terms of physical resilience and raw strength, playing the Hulk doesn’t feel that way.
For starters, how does Hulk only have 650 base HP while Venom has 800 and Groot has 850? Sure, he gains 1400 HP during his ult and has a Gamma bubble, but that doesn’t stop even the highest-ranked and pro players from playing Hulk and getting melted down to 0 HP within seconds without it.
Hulk is known for being savage, gaining more power the angrier he gets. But his current moveset feels like the Gray Hulk, who is more reserved and less explosive. The Indestructible Guard is great for strategically protecting teammates or self-preservation, but Hulk has nothing like that in the comics.
Running around punching enemies can sometimes feel like you’re a true ‘tickle monster,’ and there’s no way Hulk would ever use a ‘Radioactive Lockdown’ projectile just to stun someone for a few seconds. No, ‘Hulk smash!’ is more like it.
NetEase’s best bet is to let players choose between two versions of Hulk: the current Gray Hulk and a new, separate Green Hulk. The Green Hulk should get a new AoE attack to replace the Radioactive Lockdown projectile, along with a powerful uppercut to enable more juggle combos instead of the Indestructible Guard. How awesome would that be?
The Green Hulk should also benefit from doing more damage the lower his HP gets and he should also get ult faster, and it should last around 16 seconds, instead of 12. Dare I say, he should have +100 base HP.
Even though the current Hulk moveset doesn’t make much sense from a comic-book lore perspective, it works well enough for the more calculating Gray Hulk.
1. Namor
Namor is by far, the most far-off of all the playable characters. What we have is a ranged duelist who likes to poke from afar with an infinite trident. He can also throw down turrets aka Monstro Spawn squids to automatically shoot enemies.
But anyone who read the comics knows that Namor can brawl with the best of them. As a matter of fact, Namor actually defeated Hulk in an epic melee battle that caused tidal waves and major destruction in THE INCREDIBLE HULK #118 (1969).
Oh, let’s not forget, Namor can fly at will. It has been confirmed that Namor is a half-human mutant with the X-Gene and Atlantean hybrid. In Rivals, he can barely flutter and float down slowly, as well as rocket upwards into an indestructible bubble.
Fixing Namor would be the most radical. Similar to Jeff, his entire kit would need to be remade from scratch. But this would be a perfect opportunity to address another complaint that the Marvel Rivals community has: there are not enough Vanguards. So, make Namor a Vanguard!
Namor should not have a trident, rather, give him quick, punishing punches for his basic attacks. Instead of his Wrath of the Seven Seas ability that throws a splash trident, have him quickly fly up and smash down on an opponent with literal splash damage from water effects with CC, similar to the Johnny Storm Flaming Meteor ability.
Finally, instead of a selfish Blessing of the Deep bubble, let him create a tidal wave wall that protects himself and forms a shield for allies.
And here’s the kicker, since his ranged kit is already solid, it should not be wasted. Instead, his kit should be transferred and thematically adapted to a future-rumored character: the X-Men’s Forge. Forge’s mutant ability to invent and understand technology better than any human. How awesome would it be to play as Forge and create ACTUAL turrets that can damage enemies and heal allies?
With such an accelerated pace, the hope is that characters stay as thematically close to their comic counterparts as possible. However, there’s a noticeable divide, since many Rivals fans may not have read the comics and are mostly familiar with the MCU. On top of that, NetEase is building its own original lore.
That said, Marvel Rivals is arguably the most successful realization of a PvE game centered around comic book superheroes, and hopefully it continues on that trajectory. The character roster is strong—even with a few questionable design choices—and the number of available alternate costumes is genuinely impressive.
As for how NetEase alters comic-based costumes… well, that’s a topic for another article!
