NetEase made quite a splash at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend with a ton of announcements and reveals for the upcoming hero shooter Marvel Rivals. In addition to sharing a cinematic story trailer and revealing the voice cast for some of our beloved heroes and villains, the developer also revealed two more characters who are joining the cast of playable characters.
It was announced that both Thor and Jeff the Land Shark will be playable in Marvel Rivals, starting today, July 27th, in the Closed Beta Test. Thor, the God of Thunder, arrives with his signature powerful hammer and devastating lightning abilities. Jeff the Land Shark, on the other hand, well, brings his own unique charm and ferocity to the game.
While the mighty Thor was featured in the most recent cinematic story trailer, briefly highlighting his powers, Jeff the Land Shark actually got his own reveal teaser. Unfortunately, if you're hoping to see some gameplay, it will have to wait.
Join the dance party and jam out to Jeff's awesome song as we celebrate the arrival of the Asgardian God of Thunder and the world's favorite Land Shark!
While many Marvel fans are likely already familiar with Thor, Jeff the Land Shark may be more of a lesser-known Marvel character. Created by writer Kelly Thompson and artist Daniele di Nicuolo, the character first appeared in West Coast Avengers vol. 3 #6 (October 2018), but wasn't formally introduced until issue #7 in January 2019.
Jeff was originally the pet land shark of Gwenpool, an amalgam of Gwen Stacy and Wade Wilson created by Chris Bachalo for a variant cover of Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2. Gwenpool isn't actually featured in Marvel Rivals, but interestingly, the character was recently introduced in the latest season of Nuverse's digital collectible card battling game MARVEL Snap as part of its Deadpool-inspired "Maximum Effort" season.
As far as powers are concerned, we don't actually see any of them on display in the reveal trailer. However, Marvel's official character page explains that Jeff possesses legs and the ability to breathe air, so he's literally a fish out of the water without too many issues. He's mostly known for his razor-sharp teeth and powerful bite. Exactly how this will translate to Marvel Rivals, where many characters have range attacks, remains to be seen.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long. Thor and Jeff the Land Shark are both available to play as in the ongoing Closed Beta Test for Marvel Rivals.