The last Marvel Rivals characters have finally been announced, merely days before the highly anticipated launch of the free-to-play team-based shooter. With multiple playtests, constant tweaking, updates and even more playtests after that, the anticipation and expectation for the game is palpable, and the main questions on everyone’s mind are ‘What characters are in Marvel Rivals‘ and ‘When does it launch’. We’ve answered both.
Marvel Rivals Characters/Roster Available
Marvel Rivals wasn’t expected to be as good as it is (at least judging by the early Alpha and Beta playtests), but for an ‘Overwatch rip-off’, it’s likely to be a pretty big deal in a year full of superhero live-service and team-based shooter disappointments. Barring any surprises, the Marvel Rivals character roster is as follows:
| VANGUARD |
|---|
| Captain America |
| Doctor Strange |
| Groot |
| Hulk |
| Magneto |
| Peni Parker |
| Thor |
| Venom |
| DUELIST |
|---|
| Black Panther |
| Black Widow |
| Hawkeye |
| Hela |
| Iron Fist |
| Iron Man |
| Magik |
| Moon Knight |
| Namor |
| Psylocke |
| Scarlet Witch |
| Spider-Man |
| Squirrel Girl |
| Star-Lord |
| Storm |
| The Punisher |
| Winter Soldier |
| STRATEGIST |
|---|
| Adam Warlock |
| Cloak and Dagger |
| Jeff the Land Shark |
| Loki |
| Luna Snow |
| Mantis |
| Rocket Raccoon |
As well as the 32 characters above, one more is available at launch, and that’d be Wolverine. It’s still yet to be revealed what role Wolverine is playing, hence his exclusion from the tables above. Talking about the roles involved in Marvel Rivals, they’re pretty standard fare for the 6v6 team-based shooter genre:
- VANGUARD – Heavy damage-dealing characters that have shielding abilities. Most will know them as ‘tanks’.
- DUELIST – Quick, agile, and able to deal huge amounts of damage quickly.
- STRATEGIST – Support heroes, backups, and healers, essentially.
Whether Marvel Rivals deviates from this three-role system in the future will be interesting to see, but for now, the 33 characters in Marvel Rivals (and beyond), will be separated into the three groups.
It is clear in 2024 though, you can’t have a Marvel property these days without the little angry man, albeit it seems fans aren’t particularly happy with NetEase’s take on the character.
Some fans have even gone as far as accusing the developers of a conspiracy:
Marvel Rivals releases December 6th on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, completely free to all!
For more Thumb Wars coverage, check out how next month’s PlayStation Plus features the best yet worst game to play with your partner this Christmas. If you’re in for something more speculative, check out why we think the PlayStation handheld announcement is right around the corner.
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Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
