There’s an interesting quirk in the “mighty” Marvel content generation universe. Despite being an international entertainment powerhouse with a comic book publisher, movie studio, and video game producer, the flow of ideas is decidedly one-way. While the Marvel Comics universe remains a nearly bottomless well of ideas for its cinematic and video game colleagues, there is little upstream influence. This is especially true concerning video games. Historically, video games have drawn on content, characters, or storylines from Marvel’s comic books, but none of the cartoon’s tales have become part of the mainline comic universe canon. While several games, like the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, have been adapted into comic book series, they have historically been set in alternate universes and/or timelines.
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Then came Marvel Rivals — the wildly popular team-based PvP shooter that has been dominating the video game world for the past few months and is still going strong with its upcoming Season 4. Soon after its debut, Marvel launched a series of comic book adaptations, including Marvel Rivals: Infinity and the upcoming prequel Marvel Rivals: Timestream Adventure, both of which expand and enrich the lore established in the game. Unlike traditional short-run adaptation series, Marvel Rivals’ integration into Marvel’s comic universe has been ongoing, strongly suggesting that Marvel intends to connect its comic and gaming franchises to maximize synergy. However, despite the energy and effort behind this integration, the decision to initially set the Marvel Rivals universe within an alternate dimension — the Chronoverse — signaled Marvel’s usual reluctance to fully embrace video game tie-ins as part of its core continuity. That is, until Doom 2009.
Marvel is Boldly Going Where It Has Not Gone Before
In the video game Marvel Rivals, players are grouped into a six-member team that faces off against an opposing team of six. Each player selects a character from a large — and growing — roster of Marvel heroes and villains, ranging from the Hulk and Loki to Mantis.
Depending on the game mode, teams are assigned objectives such as escorting a payload or client to a safe area, seizing possession of that payload, attacking a specific location, or defending one. In one mode, missions even combine these elements, merging protection and interception with attack and defense modes.
While the core gameplay may seem familiar to fans of titles like Call of Duty or Battlefield, the unique appeal of Marvel Rivals lies in its deep integration of Marvel Comics lore. This narrative foundation, drawn extensively from the Marvel Comics universe, connects directly to both the characters and the gameplay, setting the game apart from its peers.
According to the lore, the game is not “just a game” but an actual ongoing event within the Marvel Comics universe. This event, called the “Timestream Entanglement,” describes a ripple in time and space that pulls heroes, villains, and characters from across the Marvel multiverse into a newly created reality known as the Chronoverse.
Naturally, everyone wants to resolve the Timestream Entanglement and return to their original reality, but sharp disagreements arise over the best way to achieve this. These conflicts fuel battles among factions with competing solutions. Marvel Rivals — the video game — serves as the dramatization of these struggles, depicting heroes and villains clashing ostensibly over which resolution is most viable. In essence, the unspoken ultimate goal of the game is to determine whose method of sending the characters trapped in the Chronoverse back home will prevail.
Putting Marvel Rivals in a Position to Succeed
The lore introduced in Marvel Rivals, particularly what is going on in the Chronoverse between the epic battles played out in the video game, is being explored through its companion comic titles. For example, Marvel Rivals: Hellfire Gala showcases the chaos that erupts when heroes and villains from divergent realities are suddenly forced to coexist. A moment like one reality’s Captain America questioning another reality’s Wolverine’s hatred of Ultron perfectly encapsulates the contrasting yet compelling philosophies that define the Chronoverse — and fuel the diverse team dynamics that are essential to the Marvel Rivals game experience.
While the comic book-video game experience is certainly intriguing, many Marvel fans remain unconvinced about the value of the Marvel Rivals comic adaptation. One key reason is that, like many otherwise excellent crossovers, it was not considered part of Marvel’s mainstream continuity. However, Frank Tieri, Delio Diaz, and Frank Alpizar’s Doom 2099 changed that by subtly integrating the Chronoverse fuse fully into Marvel Comics continuity.
The Unexpected Consequences of Doom
In Doom 2099, the Emperor Victor Von Doom of the current continuity is contacted by his 2099 counterpart, who demands that he cease and desist from wielding the powers of Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme. When Emperor Doom — predictably — refuses, a battle erupts between the present and future incarnations of Doctor Doom. Although Marvel Rivals is not mentioned in the comic, this clash is central to the existence of the Chronoverse. According to the video game’s introduction, the Timestream Entanglement that birthed the Chronoverse was triggered by the conflict between the two Dooms: one from the current continuity and the other from 2099.
In fact, the comic is peppered with cryptic comments about different realities, realities that were supposed to be, and the “reality that actually is.” While these could be thought of as referring to the current and future realities of both Dooms, they most likely refer to the Chronoverse. As the continuing generation of Marvel Rivals comic book content makes clear, Marvel certainly wants a deeper integration of the two franchises. Doom 2099 is its latest and most obvious demonstration of that intent.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
