Marvel Rivals, released Dec. 6, 2024, is celebrating its first season’s halfway point with the release of two new heroes. Marvel Rivals is a hero-shooter video game, taking various popular Marvel icons like Spider-Man and Captain America and mashing them into a fast-paced, high action six vs six team game. In the first half of the season, NetEase, the creators of Marvel Rivals, released Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Girl, a duelist and support respectively. Human Torch, a duelist, and The Thing, a vanguard were released Feb. 21, 2025.
Skylar DuBois-Kleinhans, ranked Grandmaster in Marvel Rival’s Ranked and a junior at St. Louis High School says, “Human Torch looks amazing! He looks very fun and I’m desperate to play him. Although he looks very fun, I think he would be too overpowered, like the Team-Up with Storm? It’s way too overpowered as it can kill through Luna Snow’s ultimate. It is a lot to take in with Human Torch but he is definitely interesting!” DuBois-Kleinhans then added, “The Thing looks interesting and really cool. Although he looks a lot like Mike Tyson, he is a fist fighter for sure. I feel like he should have a Team-Up other than Logan, but his whole kit is super powerful. His abilities need no change, nor need a nerf. I think he is perfect the way he is. I’m waiting for the X-Men characters, but especially Ultron. His kit is already leaked and it is the best suit for the Specialist role. He would summon drones to combat enemies while also healing, which is amazing.”
Junior Christian Gutierrez agrees, “I think Human Torch has a really nice design and details. In my opinion, he is a good duelist, he doesn’t need a buff or nerf. The Thing has a good design too, and I love the voice actor. I think he does need a little buff, maybe more health or something like that. I want Ultron added, as he would most likely be a support,” he added.
Likewise, “Human torch is a fun character for sure, but the problem is that he’s weak at long range. I think he needs a buff,” says senior Jayden DuBois-Kleinhans. “The Thing is a really fun tank, and is really good at holding a point and pushing divers back. If I could add a character to Marvel Rivals, I’d add Ghost Rider. He’d be a DPS, and would be able to keep divers off the supports while being able to dive on supports himself with his bike,” he added.
