Marvel Rivals Leak Reveals MCU Skins and More

A Marvel Rivals datamine reveals future MCU-inspired alternate skins for popular heroes and villains.

A recent Marvel Rivals datamine has revealed some future alternate skins inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other sources. Developed by NetEase and announced in late March, Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 multiplayer hero shooter inspired by games like Overwatch 2, pitting classic heroes and villains from the House of Ideas against each other in frantic battles. Earlier this month, Marvel Rivals held a closed alpha test that allowed select players to try out the game for themselves and give feedback for its eventual full release.

So far, there are 18 playable characters confirmed for Marvel Rivals, ranging from household names like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange to lesser-known heroes like Luna Snow. At the beginning of May, noted superhero video game leaker Miller Ross unearthed data that hinted at future Marvel Rivals characters like Captain America, all four members of The Fantastic Four, and even Venom – who had a starring role in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 last fall and is rumored to be receiving his own game set in the same universe.

Miller Ross recently came across another intriguing Marvel Rivals leak, one that he quickly shared on Twitter. Said leak is centered around the latest Marvel Rivals update patch, which Ross says contains 37 hidden character skins. 32 of these skins are said to be complete, with 5 of them still being “WIP” as Ross puts it. These include MCU-inspired alternate costumes, such as Scarlet Witch and Zombie Strange from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Groot, Mantis, Star-Lord, and Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Iron Man and Spider-Man from Avengers: Endgame, and Namor from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Patch went live earlier today (v1.1.918573)

Includes 37 new skins, 32 of which seem relatively complete and 5 of which are clearly still WIP. These include MCU skins:

Scarlet Witch, Zombie Strange (Multiverse of Madness)
Groot, Mantis, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon (Guardians Vol.…
— Miller Ross (@mmmmmmmmiller) May 20, 2024

Marvel Rivals Leaked Skins Draw From Recent MCU Movies

Miller Ross’s latest Marvel Rivals leak also mentions comic-inspired character skins, such as the Bombastic Bag Man 2099, “Punk Storm,” and “VEN#M.” When asked if “Punk Storm” is Storm’s classic 80s mohawk look, Ross said that this version will feature a similar hairstyle but looks very different. Ross also noted that “VEN#M” isn’t an alternate skin for the previously rumored Venom, but rather Peni Parker, who was confirmed as a playable Marvel Rivals character since the beginning. In the comics, VEN#M is a mech suit similar to the one Peni operates as the SP//dr, albeit operated by her classmate and rival Addy Brock.

It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Marvel Rivals would have alternate character skins inspired by the mainstream MCU movies, as such outfits have made their way into games like Marvel’s Avengers and the Marvel’s Spider-Man series over the years. The presence of comic-book-inspired looks like Bombastic Bag Man 2099 and VEN#M also indicate that the developers of Marvel Rivals are looking toward all aspects of the Marvel brand for content if this latest leak is indeed accurate.