Marvel Rivals Has an MCU-Inspired Layup It Should Milk in…

Marvel Rivals releases early next month and its full launch roster appears to be coming together swimmingly with Psylocke and Moon Knight as the two characters most recently announced. Interestingly, without explicitly addressing datamines or leaks that may point toward abundant future roster additions, there’s a wealth of Marvel pantheon icons who have not been officially announced who could be considered as post-launch characters. Cyclops is more than deserving of a slot in Marvel Rivals’ roster, for instance, and it’ll be neat to see what plans the Overwatch clone has in store regarding upcoming MCU outings.

The MCU has been on a bit of a lull since heavy hitters like Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness or Spider-Man: No Way Home, but each new movie and show has been slowly building a new framework for its newest chapters and sagas. Likewise, upcoming 2025 movies like Thunderbolts or Captain America: Brave New World have potential as edgier installments chasing Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s lightning in a bottle. The latter movie will see Sam Wilson’s return as Captain America since he donned the red, white, and blue shield in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Marvel Rivals would be wise to stay hot on its tail.

Marvel Rivals May Already Have the Perfect Post-Launch Roadmap for New Heroes

Marvel Rivals' current roster is only the start, and there's already a blueprint out there for Marvel Rivals to use when choosing its next heroes.

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By Cameron Swan

Marvel Rivals Debuting Sam Wilson’s Captain America in February Would Be a Match Made in Heaven

Unlike his previous Falcon persona, Sam Wilson’s Captain America utilizes a propulsion wingsuit to soar while also wielding the iconic vibranium star-spangled shield that Steve Rogers’ Captain America is also famous for wielding. Adding Sam into Marvel Rivals alongside Steve would come with its challenges given that they share a name and a shield, but if anything it could viably create wonderful team-up activations between the two characters. Captain America: Brave New World is scheduled to release on Valentine’s Day and while there are currently no plans for Marvel Rivals to have anything releasing alongside it, much less announce Sam as a playable character, it would be a missed opportunity not to.

It would feel reductive to only feature Sam as Falcon in Marvel Rivals—regardless of the fact that there’ll already be a Captain America on the roster at launch—because he’s been Captain America for more than a decade now in comic book source material.

Marvel Rivals Doesn’t Need to Be Beholden to the MCU, But It Could Be a Boon Nonetheless

Of course, Marvel Rivals shouldn’t necessarily be obligated to abide by the MCU’s release schedule and commit to new characters associated with its streaming service shows or movies. Still, it’s tough to deny that coinciding the release of Sam Wilson’s Captain America with Captain America: Brave New World would be a no-brainer means of generating more interest in both Marvel Rivals and the MCU.

Plus, Marvel Rivals has already played its hand and revealed MCU-inspired cosmetics that characters such as Rocket Raccoon, Thor, Groot, and Star-Lord will have available. Therefore, that seemingly suggests a full character launch tying in with MCU releases probably isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

If MCU-inspired cosmetics are to be expected at the same rate and volume as the ones peppered into Marvel’s Avengers, then there may even be a decent chance that Marvel Rivals’ Hulk could receive a red Thaddeus Ross skin simultaneously.

Marvel Rivals may be withholding Sam until February to make the occasion special rather than dropping him randomly into the roster at a later date, for example, and if the hero shooter is planning to unveil and launch him at any point in the future there likely wouldn’t be a better time to do so than around the theatrical release of Captain America: Brave New World. Either way, Marvel Rivals has announced a startling number of characters for its launch roster, and it’ll be fascinating to see who makes the cut post-launch.

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