Marvel Rivals fans just spent their first weekend with new playable characters Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, but some are having trouble taking Reed Richards as seriously as the other heroes.
The stretchy scientist made his debut with the launch of Season 1 on Friday, January 10, bringing his elastic skills to the battlefield as one of Marvel rivals’ first post-launch heroes. His powers as a Duelist allow him to take long swings at one or multiple enemies at a time, while also giving him the option to expand his body and take on more of a tank role. Players are still piecing together how to best use Mister Fantastic against the rest of the roster, but until then, most people just can’t get over how goofy he can be.
— Wong Updates (@WongUpdates) January 12, 2025
A character who can contort his body into strange shapes carries a lot of meme potential. You might have already seen some of the many comparisons to One Piece protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, for example, thanks to Mister Fantastic’s Elastic Strength ability. It’s a bit that’s already gained enough traction for the modding community to create a One Piece custom skin despite NetEase cracking down on modding recently. Turning into a rubber bodybuilder is funny on its own, though some fans, including X/Twitter user @BOOMERANG_117, tapped into their creative side by imagining Marvel Rivals’ Reed Richards without his new beard.
It’s all slightly unsettling, but few of the character’s elements have attracted jokes like his Reflexive Rubber ability. It’s a useful tool that can be used to turn an enemy’s damage against them, and it also happens to look almost too silly in motion. Using the move sees Mister Fantastic grow to the size of a refrigerator, so you can imagine what walking around like that might look like.
“Ngl I think Mr. Fantastic’s design encapsulates everything great about this game,” one Reddit user said. “He’s stupid and silly and cheesy and the game just lets him be that and is better for it.”
Waking up at 3am for a snack #marvelrivals pic.twitter.com/PQXsmAhqpA
— The Different Nerd (@nerd_different) January 11, 2025
I tried again! https://t.co/9Xqu0AR2AL pic.twitter.com/66AtQhyheN
— Boomer (@BOOMERANG_117) January 11, 2025
While we’ll have to wait and see if Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman will stick around as favorites for Marvel Rivals fans, but the two have at least made quite the impression in their first weekend. As Season 1 rolls on, players can expect to latch on to the remaining Fantastic 4 cast when The Thing and Human Torch are added as playable characters in the second half of the season. When the rest of the team eventually arrives, we can only hope they’ll make just as much of an entrance.
In the meantime, check out the Marvel Rivals Season 1 patch notes, and official stats that reveal Marvel Rivals’ pick and win rates in Quickplay and Competitive modes for Season 0. And keep an eye on the latest Marvel Rivals codes for free skins, and vote on the strongest Marvel Rivals characters in our community tier list.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
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