“Curse you, Jeff!” That's what I've been shouting in my head, as I've been thrown into the nearest abyss at least five times since Marvel Rivals launched on December 6. Before that, I barely even knew who Jeff the Land Shark actually was, and this came from a pop culture sick spot.
Look, I'm a huge Marvel fan, but I admit I don't read everything the publisher puts out. Hell, I've probably only looked at a fraction of what they're doing now. This has been an issue for a while, and not just for Marvel: more people than ever are aware of the comic book universe, but that doesn't mean most people are reading the comics. Even in the heyday of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, getting audiences to jump into comic books was problematic.
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One theory I have is that while Marvel's adaptations were solid up until a few years ago, they never fully capitalized on the weirder and less popular sides of the vast Marvel Universe. Now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is grappling with these characters and elements, but has failed to execute that vision consistently enough to keep people sticking around beyond hits like Deadpool and The Wolverine.
When you see well-known characters like Iron Man, Captain America, or Spider-Man over and over again on screens big and small, a common byproduct is not wanting to see more of their faces on the page. At this point, I tend to really gravitate toward the less popular characters that I don't know that well about. This seems like a better use of my time. I'm willing to admit that recent TV shows and video games have played a big role in getting me to read characters like Agatha Harkness or Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider (a nod to Midnight Sun) .
After spending some time watching the complete version of Marvel Rivals, I started to feel the same longing. Sure, A-list stars like Magneto and Venom are ready to play rock characters, but I'm more interested in characters I'm not familiar with. I'm interested in learning more about them even as they absorb the current meta, and I feel like the Marvel counterparts do a great job of mixing popular faces with traditionally overlooked heroes and villains.
Executive producer Danny Koo teased at Gamescom 2024: “No character is off limits.” It's a refreshing way to fill out the ever-expanding roster of heroes and villains, rather than once again doing something like Revengeance League of Legends Live Robbery Shooting Game. Let's put the Overwatch comparisons aside and admit that half (if not more) of the reason Marvel Rivals stands out is because it looks and feels great and The excitement of not knowing who is coming is also guaranteed due to the richness of the source material.
A few years ago, Moon Knight or Lin Lich (Marvel's counterpart to Iron Fist and currently the scariest character) were relatively unknown, unless you really liked comics. Yes, Moon Knight has always been around, but come on, regular people didn't give up until the Oscar Isaac-led show came out. New Marvel Universe titles and video games aren't just about making money on their own, they're also designed to keep the comic books and overall brand healthy and relevant. While Marvel's Avengers felt like a major setback, Marvel Snap and Marvel Rivals completely turned things around in the video game world. Games like Insomniac's Spider-Man are great, but having such a big live service game and growing deeper into Marvel's library is incredibly valuable to the powers that be.
Yes, I'm still hoping Daredevil: Rebirth will hit theaters soon after it hits theaters in March. Yes, I wish there were more X-Men. But at the end of the day, I'm just thankful for a very solid hero shooter that makes the most of a really colorful collection of content multiverse Outside of comic books, it often feels like this is underused. Rock-solid systems aside, this is the main reason I find Firaxis' Midnight Suns so appealing; it's not afraid to get weird and explore a side of the brand that's barely been seen outside of comic books before. We all know Marvel has something huge on their hands when they successfully combine it with a popular, highly profitable genre. Look at us now.
Here's the thing: We now know how the video game market works, and how publishers and rights holders respond to mass epidemics. So what are the chances that Warner Bros. Games is rushing to make a DC game to replace Marvel Rivals, while completely missing the point of why it was so successful, especially now that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is finished for good ? I am pained to say they are quite high.
All in all, I think that in this age of squeezing a lot of IP until it runs dry, some of which may live on forever in one way or another, we might as well demand cross-media productions that really make the most of IP. Especially when they push more people to pick up the books instead of spending five hours a day scrolling through doomscrolls when they're not watching or playing anything.
