This Friday, Marvel's First Family will be reunited in Marvel Rivals as The Thing and Johnny Storm are added to the ever-increasing roster of playable characters. Ahead of their arrival, developer NetEase has shared the official character reveal trailers, highlighting each of their unique abilities and playstyles. Human Torch's character reveal and gameplay can be seen here, while below you'll find more about The Thing.
"Benjamin J. Grimm is undeniably the unwavering heart of any team. Always at the forefront of any fight, he's ready to take the lead with his unbreakable form," NetEase teased for The Thing, who joins Marvel Rivals as the tank-like Vanguard class. "Shield your allies and stand at the forefront of chaos as The Thing on February 21."
Although The Thing is technically classified as a tank, he still packs a mean punch and is certainly capable of delivering a knockout blow. His normal attack is just a standard rocky jab, but when you get to his abilities, The Thing will deliver powerful blows. Stone Haymaker is a "devastating heavy blow," while his Ultimate, Clobberin' Time, can launch all enemies in front of The Thing into the air.
The Thing also has a charge, launching up enemies and leaving behind an area of effect zone that prevents the use of mobility abilities. Another ability sees The Thing leap towards an ally and apply damage reduction to himself and the ally. We also get to see his Team-Up ability with Wolverine. Similar to the Team-Up that Hulk has with Wolverine, The Thing can lift Wolverine and hurl him forward towards enemies.
Ben Grimm originally signed up to be a pilot for his pal Reed, but he never imagined that he’d return from the mission as an indescribable monster: The Thing. Even though beaming cosmic rays transformed his flesh, a heart of gold still beats in his rocky exterior. As New York City plunged into eternal night, the Thing has made it his mission to selflessly protect his home and lead missions to collect Chronovium by putting his piloting skills to the test.
The Thing and Human Torch will arrive in Marvel Rivals this Friday, February 21st. Both characters will be free to play as from the start. They join Mister Fantastic (Duelist) and Invisible Woman (Strategist), who were added to the game back at the start of Season 1 in January, to round out the Fantastic Four.
In addition to these new playable characters, Season 1.5 will also feature a new map, "Empire of Eternal Night: Central Park," along with updates to competitive mode, tournament plans (details below), and more. There's also a new redemption system that will allow players to convert excess Chrono Tokens in to Units.
The recent in-client tournament, the Marvel Rivals Championship (MRC), maxed out its Faction registrations in North America and after the upcoming update in the second half of Season 1, the Marvel Rivals team will be increasing that limit. There will be a series of Marvel Rivals Invitationals (MRI) set to kick off at the end of February and continue into March, paving the way for the upcoming grand championship.
Marvel Rivals is a free-to-play super hero team-based PvP shooter feautring heroes and villains drawn from all corners of the Marvel universe. It's available to play on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.