Months ago, Marvel Rivals from Chinese developer NetEase quickly became one of the most popular hero shooters of its time. Gamers and comic fans alike praised its excellent graphics and exquisite balancing. Furthermore, the developers ensured the game had a consistent schedule of new champions to shake up the meta.

Recently, the team announced that the next half of the legendary Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm and The Thing, will join Marvel Rivals. Here is a breakdown of why fans should be excited.

Marvel Rivals’ Newest Additions

According to esports.net, the Human Torch/Johnny Storm and The Thing/Ben Grimm will soon arrive in Marvel Rivals. While their abilities have not been officially revealed, one can guess The Thing will be a bulwark marching in the vanguard during clobberin’ time! Furthermore, several leaks indicated that Johnny Storm would primarily use fire blasts as an offensive hero, as one might expect. Additionally, he might have a “team-up” attack with Storm of the X-Men called “Omega Fire.”

While no date was announced, rumors speculate they will drop between February 22nd and 28th. This would be consistent with the heroes’ release schedule for this season. Last month, Mr. Fantastic and Susan Storm joined the fray. Both were well-received for their unique takes on the characters and useful abilities in battle. As such, fans can hope that the team will give players iconic iterations of these next two classic superheroes.

The Fantastic Four Franchise

The Fantastic Four are some of the most iconic heroes from Marvel’s lineup, having starred in their comics since the 1960s. Led by scientist Dr. Reed Richards, they gained their powers from a cosmic storm during a spacewalk. Their escapades also gave Marvel some of its most iconic villains, such as Dr. Doom and the planet-devouring Galactus. As such, they have routinely appeared in Marvel’s crossover games, such as Ultimate Alliance and Lego Marvel Superheroes.

Despite their fame within Marvel, the Fantastic Four’s adaptations have been hit or miss. The Tim Story duology was infamous for its campiness, while the Josh Trank film Fant4stic was universally despised. With the team’s approaching arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with First Steps, they have a third chance to stand on the big screen. However, Rivals has provided original takes on many of Marvel’s heroes, where each is used to their full potential.

A New Hero Shooter

For the past few years, the “hero shooter” genre has become stale among gamers. While it was once a novel concept, it’s quickly become overdone as major developers flood the market with them. One of the most infamous examples was Sony’s Concord. Despite the game’s massive budget, it failed so spectacularly that it was shut down completely within weeks.

NetEase’s Marvel Rivals quickly became one of the most played games for its period and outperformed its rival Overwatch 2. The latter’s infamous downfall as a successor to the legendary original game makes it a monumental failure. Despite Overwatch’s previous fame, its sequel was strongly criticized for its poor management, design, and business model. This was compounded by the many legal battles that swept over Activision-Blizzard.

Part of what helped the game’s success was its brand recognition, as Marvel is naturally one of the world’s oldest and largest pop culture juggernauts. Therefore, it had a huge preexisting fanbase to use to bring in new players. With the Human Torch and Thing arriving, they will add to the game’s already impressive roster.

Conclusion

Building upon its original success, Marvel Rivals will continue to improve the meta by adding the Human Torch and the Thing. The Fantastic Four has always been an iconic team, so it’s good they will get the appreciation they deserve with this new incarnation.

While the “hero shooter” genre has long been seen as overdone, NetEase stepped in with its talented developers to shake up the meta. Their breakout masterpiece used its iconic roster to show that good execution can save even the most controversial genres.