Weird and wonderful characters who could be heroes in Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals has taken the gaming world by storm since its release in December 2024. Along with offering high-octane 6v6 PVP action, the game also allows players to take on the role of some of the most famous Marvel superheroes, such as Iron Man, The Hulk, and Spider-Man, to name a few. 

However, the characters in Marvel Rivals’ hero roster include some that are a little more out there, such as Squirrel Girl and Jeff the Land Shark. Characters Groot and Rocket Raccoon are also more bizarre, even if they have entered the mainstream in the last decade due to the successful Guardians of the Galaxy movies. 

Developers NetEase aren’t afraid to opt for the slightly stranger Marvel characters to include in the game. However, there are still plenty of weird heroes that NetEase could utilize in the future. With this in mind, let’s take a look at five bizarre options that could make for fun and engaging Marvel Rivals characters. 

Cosmo the Spacedog is similar to Rocket Raccoon and Groot in that he is a Guardian of the Galaxy. A female version of the adorable space pup appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in a significant role after cameos in the first two movies. 

Cosmo has telepathic and telekinetic abilities, which could transfer well into Marvel Rivals. These kinds of skills would work particularly well for a Strategist. For example, Cosmo could create mental barriers with his telepathy to protect allies and hurt enemies. He could also do damage with his telekinetics by using it to throw projectiles or help his team by creating shields with items picked up via telekinesis.

There is a good chance that Cosmo could become a new Marvel Rivals character, seeing as various other Guardians of the Galaxy are already in the game.  

Doop is a respected member of the X-Men who looks a bit like a green floating potato. He is definitely one of the weirder Marvel characters, but he is also surprisingly powerful. 

Doop can use pretty much any ability that he wants to, depending on the situation, such as flight, super strength, enhanced healing, and the ability to replicate physical objects. This could make him a particularly interesting new Marvel Rivals character, as there is a lot that could be done with him. Limitless power would be overkill, but the devs certainly have an opportunity to do something fun with Doop. 

Although Doop isn’t a hugely well-known character, his interesting and varied abilities, along with his role as one of the X-Men, could lead to him becoming a new Marvel Rivals character in the future.  

Peter Porker a.k.a Spider-Ham was created as the star of a one shot humor comic–Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham– in 1983. He was one of several anthropomorphic talking animal versions of Marvel heroes created for the Marvel Tails series. His appearance in the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse significantly raised his popularity. 

Seeing as Peter Parker is a Duelist and Peni Parker is a Vanguard, Spider-Ham could be a fun and unique Strategist who has unique team-ups with the two. He could also have some cartoonish animations that reflect his Looney Tunes-like design. 

The popularity of the Spider-Verse films could increase the chance of Spider-Ham appearing as a new Marvel Rivals character one day. 

Howard the Duck is another bizarre Marvel character who made appearances in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Much like Rocket Raccoon, he could be a great option when it comes to a snarky talking animal hero in Marvel Rivals. 

Howard is similar to Rocket in that he is well-equipped with various guns. However, whereas Rocket is a Strategist, Howard could be an attack-heavy Duelist that specializes in intergalactic weaponry. The possibility of Howard entering the Marvel Rivals heroes roster is probably a little higher than some characters, as he has seen a rise in appearances in official Marvel media over the last few years (despite the lingering memories of his poorly received film from 1986). 

Ruby Thursday is a weird and creepy Marvel character with abilities that could make her a unique new Marvel Rivals character. Ruby is the alter ego of scientist Thursday Rubinstein, who was shunned after creating a procedure that could replace a human head with an organic computer. She performs the operation on herself, replacing her head with a malleable plastic ruby red sphere that houses a computer. 

Ruby has a range of powers, including creating tentacle-like structures that emerge from her head that can be used as weapons. She can also shapeshift and create energy blasts, but the most intriguing power is her ability to separate her head from her body and use it as a weapon in itself. 

While Ruby could be a great Vanguard, the creepiness of her overall design and powers might put her further down the list of potential new characters in Marvel Rivals. 

Two new Marvel Rivals characters are due to be added in each season, and some of them have been revealed via datamined leaks of files in the game as of March 2025. This does not confirm the potential new characters entirely, as some have incredibly limited information. However, the following heroes are speculated to appear in the future as new Marvel Rivals characters:

These are just a few of the weird and wonderful Marvel characters that could become heroes in Marvel Rivals in the future. NetEase has proved it’s not only picking the standard Marvel heroes to become part of the roster, as seen by the inclusion of characters like Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Squirrel Girl, and Jeff the Land Shark. 

Because of this, there is a possibility that more bizarre characters could make their debut in future seasons. Here’s hoping that Marvel Rivals isn’t afraid to get even weirder with their chosen characters in the future.