With the announcement of Phoenix Knight costume for Moon Knight in Marvel Rivals, the gamers lost their calm with some shouting in joy and others cursing in frustration. Based on Avengers (2018) #36, this hot new costume comes and goes on June 19, 19:00 PDT, with reactions being as mixed as Moon Knight’s personalities.
The first thing that comes to mind is that from a design perspective, the Phoenix Knight costume turns Marc Spector into a literal flame-cloaked vigilante, with the caption “As the moon haunts its enemies, the fire burning within lurks in the shadows no more.” Dramatic? Absolutely. Does it deliver? That depends on whom you ask. Some people are loud and proud of it; @Vins_Thoughts went on to say, “so Fire!!! 🔥” On the flip side, a more or less blunt disregard for it came from @shraiyash: “Nah this is shit.”
One of the most loud complaints? The colour scheme. Well, rather lack of red colour. @nicstuart982 sighed, “Why is it not red 😩😩😩😩,” and it is something that the taste of many reflected, expecting more of the classic Phoenix Force colours. Another one, @Zentastrophe, was begging for skill animations that reflect that fiery theme; “a red fire themed skin with blue/white colour skills just feels wrong.” Fair point, though: How important is immersion when you are meant to look like the cosmic bird deity’s chosen warrior?
On to the Jean Grey part: The Phoenix theme is making the players believe that the iconic X-Men telepath is next in line for Marvel Rivals. “Oh finally, something new… And it’s damn Phoenix, so Jean is coming🥹” tweeted @xdepo_ynx and then @InuYuSeji with, “It’s nice that it confirms Jean next season.” Whether it’s a done deal or just wishful thinking remains to be seen, but I doubt Marvel could resist throwing some breadcrumbs out there.
Already from a competitive point of view, some consider they are having fun mocking their future defeats. “Another skin for me to lose with lol.” Said @DaBadBean, showing how looking cool rarely translates into playing cool. And we must not forget the hype for the MVP screen, going “ridiculously hard,” according to @Nokokopuffs, which fits very well with the vibe of Moon Knight.
The reaction was not exactly unanimous. @FakoBValle went on to say “0 visual and 0 sound effects BRUH,” while @cooperrsimmonss shrugged off, “This isn’t it this week ngl.” Is that harsh? Probably. But skins are a big deal on this game, and expectations have just never been bigger.
Going back, an odd tech support question-a shoutout to @Wiktor84326277, who broke through the hype to ask–“Hey @MarvelRivals I can’t log in on Xbox Series X says code 10… can you help somehow?” Priorities, man.
Whether for good or bad, this Phoenix Knight trolling is working wonders for the exact scenario for Marvel Rivals. While signaling of Jean Grey coming or merely a good new way of humiliating foes, one thing is clear-Moon Knight has never looked sexier. Literally.
All this, just so we can pray for a proper flaming crescent moon attack animation. Because that would be sick.
