Marvel Rivals has been a surprisingly well-received hit for Marvel and game developer/publisher NetEase. Released last month, the free-to-play game reached 10 million players worldwide within its first 72 hours. It only continued to grow in popularity, surpassing 20 million players as of mid-December.
At its core, Marvel Rivals is a competitive team-based shooter, similar in design to Overwatch. Two teams of six players — each comprised of various Marvel heroes and villains drawn from across the Marvel Universe — compete in various game modes across a series of destructible maps.
Despite the lack of a traditional PvE mode, Marvel Rivals actually has some surprisingly fun lore. And that story will be expanded upon in a brand new companion comic book set to release next month.
Written by Paul Allor and drawn by artist Luca Claretti, Marel Rivals #1 is a special one-sho inspired by the game's story. It collects all six issues of Marvel Unlimited's Marvel Rivals Infinity Comic in print fo the first time. The Marvel Comics description reads:
The saga depicts an epic battle between two squads of members pulled from the original roster of playable characters including iconic heroes like Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine along with breakout stars like Luna Snow and Jeff the Land Shark! Combining the breakneck action of the game with classic Marvel Comics storytelling, it’s a must-have for fans who wish to dive deeper into the thrilling world of Marvel Rivals!
Set in Tokyo 2099, the time rift has disrupted the Web of Life and Destiny, leaving the world’s heroes to battle it out over the best way to fix it. One group, led by Peni Parker, wants to plug the Web into Cyberspace to repair it. The other group, led by Spider-Man, favors a more conservative approach of using Chronovium to strengthen the web and allow it to repair itself. The time rift makes rivals out of us all, but which team will overtake the other?
Marvel has revealed the official cover, illustrated by TOKITOKORO. There's also a Variant Cover drawn by Federico Sabbatini. Both can be viewed below.
Marvel Rivals #1 can now be pre-ordered at your local comic book shop ahead of its debut in April.
As for the game, it just recently kicked off Season 1: Eternal Night Falls. Following Season 0: Dooms' Rise, Marvel Rivals' first season introduced the Fantastic Four as playable heroes. Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman were both recently added to the game with Human Torch and The Thing set to arrive in the second half. The latest season also continues the main story of the game:
Darkness engulfs New York as the Timestream Entanglement leaves Doctor Strange trapped in the Entangled Astral Plane, scattering the Darkhold pages. Dracula and Doctor Doom disrupt the moon’s orbit, plunging the city into eternal night and unleashing an army of vampiric creatures. With the world on the brink, the Fantastic Four join forces with iconic Marvel heroes, standing together in the epic battle to break the mystical darkness with science. Ignite the battle against Dracula with the Fantastic Four in Marvel Rivals!
On a related note, it was also recently announced that anyone who purchases a ticket to Captain America: Brave New World for opening weekend will receive a special digital bundle filled with cosmetics for use in Marvel Rivals. Read more about the offer through Regal Cinemas here.