Season 3 has been another strong one for Marvel Rivals. Jean Grey/Phoenix is a really fun ranged Duelist, and after a six-month-long wait, Blade has finally broken free from Dracula's castle, woken up from his nap in Wakanda, and joined the roster. But all good things must come to an end, and hopefully give way to something even better. Marvel Rivals Season 4 is set to begin on September 12, adding two new playable heroes during its two-month duration.
There's no official word yet on who Marvel Rivals Season 4's new heroes could be, but the rumor mill is starting to churn with much greater speed. One leaked Marvel Rivals Season 4 hero is Angela, also known as Aldrif Odinsdottir. Yet another child of the Norse god Odin, and yet another godly warrior proficient in melee combat, Angela would fit perfectly into Marvel Rivals' ever-growing roster, though fans might be interested to learn that the hero wasn't actually born under the Marvel comic banner.
Angela Wasn't Always a Marvel Character
Angela Was Created for Spawn
In 1992, Todd McFarlane released the first Spawn comic. As it was published by McFarlane's own Image Comics brand, McFarlane retained all rights to the Spawn character and universe, which was not the case with characters made under juggernaut publishers like DC and Marvel.
In 1993, McFarlane reached out to a handful of prominent comic writers to pen one issue each of his Spawn series. Neil Gaiman was one of those writers, and in his issue of Spawn (Spawn #9) he created the character of Angela, an angel bounty hunter who hunts down the titular hellish avenger. Angela continued to appear throughout the first few years of Spawn's 1990s run, and even starred in a 1994-1995 self-titled limited series also under Image Comics.
The Legal Battle Surrounding Angela's Rights
In 2002, Neil Gaiman sued Todd McFarlane over the rights to Angela's character. According to Gaiman, McFarlane had initially agreed to let him keep the rights to Angela upon her 1993 debut. But according to McFarlane, no such agreement had taken place. Instead, McFarlane claimed that Gaiman's work belonged to him, as they co-created Angela for his comic series.
In 2012, after a decade-long legal battle and several separate trials, Neil Gaiman was legally named a 50% owner of Spawn #9, #26, and Angela #1, #2, #3, and sole owner of the character of Angela. Just a year later, Gaiman sold the rights to Angela to Marvel, and she made her first in-universe appearance in June 2013's Age of Ultron #10, featuring a new visual design by artist Joe Quesada.
Angela's New Home at Marvel
In her first Marvel comic appearance, Angela is hurled from Heven and thrown towards Earth. Before she can plummet into the planet, however, she's stopped by the Guardians of the Galaxy, and she promptly joins the galactic team of misfits. In the 2014 Original Sin comic run, it's revealed that Angela is the long-lost daughter of Odin.
Angela is an immortal god whose powers consist of super speed, super strength, flight, and fast healing.
As a child, Angela watched as the Angels of Heven (the 10th Realm) waged war on Asgard. She was believed to be killed during the intense battle between the two Realms, and Odin severed Heven's connection to the other Nine Realms as punishment. But Angela didn't die in the fight. She was found by one of Heven's Angels and raised as one of them.
In Original Sin, Thor goes to tell Angela about her forgotten lineage, and she's embraced as one of Odin's children. Angela has appeared in a few self-titled series over the last decade, including Angela: Asgard's Assassin and Angela: Queen of Hel, along with appearances in team-up books like Strikeforce.
Marvel Rivals
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78 /100 Critics Rec: 84%
- Released
- December 6, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
- NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
- NetEase Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Action, Multiplayer
