Marvel Rivals Has a Unique Opportunity To Showcase Its Universe's Lesser Known Characters

mmorpg.com:

There’s a lot of comics. When you mention comic books to the common folk, they’ll tend to think of characters they’ve seen in movies: Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Spider-Man, the folk that have had a lasting impact on a landscape outside of comics. But the thing is, comics are expansive. This week alone, Marvel has released sixteen different issues of currently running series, not including reprints of older books. 

Now imagine that on a larger scale, spreading across the annals of history since the 1960s. Some creators want to leave their mark on things, who want to create characters that are memorable and used forever, but not all are successful. For every X-23, you’ve got a Penance. But Marvel Rivals, which was released last week to massive player numbers, has a unique chance here to show players a different side of Marvel, a more niche side, and it’s already evident that this is something that the developers want to do.

As already mentioned, there are already massive steps towards representing the lesser-known side of Marvel in Marvel Rivals. Sure, the major players are still there: Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Hulk, Black Panther, Wolverine, those types of characters. But there are also characters like Iron Fist (specifically the Lin Lie version of the character, who only actually became Iron Fist in 2022), Squirrel Girl (who is more known for out-of-context panels and memes than her actual stories), and Cloak + Dagger (characters who, despite having their own TV show, never really took off to the level of other heroes on the roster). 

A large problem with making games about smaller characters is that nobody is really willing to give them the budget. The fact that the Guardians Of The Galaxy got their own (severely underrated) game is entirely down to the fact that, despite all of the odds, the 2014 movie did well and put them into the cultural consciousness. But you’re never seeing an Eternals game, and it’s all down to money. The difference here, when it comes