Marvel Rivals Ships and Roles up for debate, as the players will be let to influence the game’s style and tone. It has to be a very delicate and artful act when you have to deal with such a variety of opinions, not to mention, the fandom that can be quite fiery.
To break it down, the game’s official Twitter account from Marvel Rivals just asked, ‘Which one are you?’ and put up a picture showing different hero pairings. The question seemed innocent enough and more like a fun way to interact with the community. But the reactions… were kind of different. It was like Marvel to the most chaotic and opinionated part of the fandom had opened a portal and the whole thing quickly poured into the game’s social media feed. The players were not only choosing their favorite couple, they were also arguing about character relationships, balance in the game, and representation. It’s a mess but still a very interesting one.
Now, let’s dissect the issue step by step. The post could not be more straightforward; it was requesting the players to identify themselves with some in-game situations that could be characterized as team compositions or popular ‘ships’ (that is, if you are a novice in this fandom, then relationships, to put it bluntly). The response from the community? It was a million different ways at once.
War among the shippers was the first consequence. Some players are very positive on the couples of characters and quite the opposite, developer-wise, they are also NOT happy. One user, @saltysteve0621, was quite clear when he said ‘Stop pushing Venom/Witch, or rather Venom anyone, it’s weird.’ Another, @Vampire_K1DD, simply said ‘Incest is weird bro,’ which… okay, that is a weird take on something, although it is not quite clear which couple that was about. At the same time, other gamers are completely supporting their feelings. @lizardshoe narrated a really lovely anecdote: ‘My spouse and I do invis/Mr fantastic and I only put on the wedding dress skin when we duo.’ Voila! Wholesome chaos.
However, the issue got more toasty. Quite a whole thread was devoted to questioning if the relationship between Rocket and Groot was a father-son one? Or they were just the best buddies? And people are even quoting dialogues from movies. @XDoverlordv0 started the conversation by asserting the parental aspect and referencing Rocket’s remark about growing Groot from a twig. @pizzayeendeliv interjected, ‘They are just good friends.’ There is no denying the intensity of the discussion. @Aira_Bankz merely confirmed, ‘Rocket is father,’ and honestly, that might be the most succinct recap.
Now, while all this was going on, there was a constant tension concerning the LGBTQ+ representation in the game. A player by the name of @ghostinnyouu made a comment that seemed to be a dig at ‘lgbt nonsense,’ which set off a mini-war of its own. Others rode in to the rescue highlighting the queerness of the already existing characters. @GeorgeW34835308 called the case of Loki, Star lord, Magik, and Angela while also making an astute claim about Venom’s symbiote being a-gender. Another player, @Simp1y_Ray, shifted the issue to the way people interact in the community, saying, ‘the number of times ive either been bullied or hit on for no reason in rivals is beyond,’ implying that the problem could be with the players more than the game content.
And of course, in the middle of all the relationship drama, there were also the gameplay fans. @Zero2x621657 simply shared a picture under the heading, ‘A solo tank,’ probably dreaming of being the only one to carry the team to victory. @Skietzi gave a very versatile, ‘I play all roles so whatever you want bbg.’ And @agollill raised the question that everyone was wondering about, ‘Where’s the single option?’ because sometimes all you want to do is frag out without the emotional baggage of a partner from a duo, right?
It is a crazy mix. On one hand, you receive people demanding new characters—@Foxos777 can see Clea being on the same side for a ‘true tank Bf and Duelist Gf’ dynamic with Doctor Strange. On the other hand, there are players who are ready to fight for their hero, like @NoahFence1987 who shouts, ‘Get Wanda out of that ship.’ Then there is even pure confusion and hype like @spideysnerdcave who is like, ‘I love lunafist!!!!’
What is all this going to do concerning Marvel Rivals? To be honest, it is showing that there is a sizeably strong and loud player base that really wants to be a part of this universe.
