When Season 1 of Marvel Rivals launches on January 10th, players can look forward to the arrivals of Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, collectively known as the Fantastic Four. The heroes will have white and blue suits as their default skins, but players will also be able to obtain some variants inspired by the comics. For Mr. Fantastic, NetEase is giving the character a design inspired by the Maker. Meanwhile, Invisible Woman will be getting a design based on her appearance as Malice. For fans that want more villainous takes on Reed and Sue, these should hold a lot of appeal!
Videos by ComicBook.com
For those that might be less familiar with the comics, the Maker has been a major Marvel villain over the last few years. The Reed Richards of the Ultimate Universe started out as a hero, just like his 616 counterpart. However, this version of Reed eventually became a villain, adopting a more sinister identity. Following the Secret Wars event, the Maker joined the 616 for a time. More recently, he has been the central antagonist for the new Ultimate Universe comics, where his machinations have resulted in a world without heroes. Given the popularity of the Maker over the last few years, adding the character’s skin to Marvel Rivals makes a lot of sense!
While the Maker is a relatively newer character, Malice was an identity briefly used by Sue Storm during John Byrne’s Fantastic Four run in the ’80s. As a result of Psycho Man’s mental tampering, Sue Storm took on a villainous role as Malice, the Mistress of Hate, before reverting back to her normal state of mind. The Malice identity has been referenced at other points in the years since, but unlike the Maker, it has not been a very large part of the Marvel canon. Still, it’s a memorable look for Sue, and a distinctive alternative to have in Marvel Rivals.
RELATED: Marvel Rivals Gives Away Free Reward Just for Playing
Now that we’ve seen some alternate skins for Reed and Sue, it will be interesting to see what alternate designs are revealed for Ben and Johnny. The Fantastic Four have been around since 1961, and have actually had a lot of unique costumes over the decades. In the ’90s, there was a point where the Thing wore a metal helmet following a battle with Wolverine that damaged his face. The developers could bring in that look, or Ben Grimm’s redesign from the MC2 comics. Johnny has also had multiple costumes over the years, though those might be hard to pull off depending on how often he appears “flamed on” in Marvel Rivals. With the new season just around the corner, we probably won’t have to wait long to see what gets revealed next!
How do you feel about these alternate skins for Reed and Sue? What alternate designs would you like to see for the Thing and Torch? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky atย @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
