Review: “Marvel Rivals” Adds Two New “Fantastic” Characters to their Super Lineup

The mega popular player vs player game Marvel Rivals has introduced the second half of their first season. Ushering in two new Fantastic characters, let’s take a look at how Human Torch and The Thing stack up compared to the games superstar lineup of heroes and villains.

Earlier this year, Marvel Rivals launched their official first event Season. Highlighting characters from the Fantastic Four, players were invited to team up with Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic to take on other teams. However, half of the team was missing. Now, with the launch of Season 1.5, fans can finally test their skills with Human Torch and The Thing. Being added to the game’s impressive roster of free-to-play characters, the new duelist and vanguard characters are a great way to switch up gameplay and even have a new main, but how do these characters stack up? I had a chance to play around with Human Torch and The Thing, and am gonna share all my thoughts on these new characters.

Disclaimer: I was only able to utilize these characters during the Doom Match mode, as it was nearly impossible to select these characters during regular matches. I’m also playing on PC.

First up, let’s take a look at Human Torch.

Johnny Storm gained his powers after accompanying his sister on an experimental space mission. While searching for the stars, Johnny gained the ability to fully ignite into flames leading him to join the Fantastic Four. Considered the “heartthrob" of the group, Johnny Storm manages to look cool even when burning hotter than the sun.

In battle, Human Torch will be able to soar above the map, shooting fireballs and dive bombing at enemies. His ultimate attack will see him turn into a fiery tornado capable of burning everything in its path. Human Torch is classified as a dualist, meaning he can deal a ton of damage but can be eliminated quickly if players stray too far from strategists.

Here’s a full list of Human Torch’s full list of abilities for those looking for a more indepth look at the character’s move set.

Human Torch was the character I was most looking forward to. As someone who prefers to play duelist or strategist, I was excited to have a flying and flame throwing hero to take down foes. The first thing I noticed when kicking off my matches with Human Torch is that his movement is very slow. Similar to Storm and Iron Man, Human Torch is always flying, making it difficult to make quick getaways. His basic attack, Fire Cluster, doesn’t deal a whole lot of damage. Spraying a series of fireballs, it's easy to land a hit, but it doesn’t really do a lot of damage. His secondary attack, Blazing Blast, was more impactful, but was harder to land hits. Blazing Blast also works for igniting small fires known as Flame Fields around the map that can damage enemy players passively. When two or more Flame Fields exist, use Pyro-Prison to connect to create a fire barrier between, either forcing players to stop pushing forward or trapping players in a fiery force field. Players who cross these barriers do receive damage.

His other abilities include Plasma Body and Flaming Meteor. Both give Human Torch the ability to move quickly. Plasma Body allows players to ascend rapidly, with Flaming Meteor allowing Johnny to nose dive into the ground, igniting a fiery blast and detonating any flame fields hit.

Human Torch’s Ultimate ability will see him ignite in furious flames. Transforming Blazing Blast into Flame Tornado supercharges the character's secondary attack, as well as Plasma Body being able to be used without a recharge.

I’m excited to get to try Human Torch in regular Marvel Rivals matches, as I feel many of his abilities will be great for staggering a powerful team. I was disappointed with his basic attack, which is hard to use accurately with the wide spray of the attack. However, finding success with his Pyro-Prison and Flaming Meteor attacks was incredibly satisfying. I imagine Pyro-Prison will be a must in any Convoy matches. His movement speed will inevitably make players vulnerable to certain characters that have stronger evasion abilities, but I do think he would be overpowered with anything more than he has as is. I won’t say I’m blown away by Human Torch, but he is fun and I look forward to getting to play more with him.

Next up, let’s take a look at The Thing.

Known for his golden heart, Benjamin J. Grimm is ready to lead any team into victory. Ben gained his powers after volunteering as a pilot for his friend Reed. During the mission, his flesh was transformed by cosmic rays. Now appearing as a rocky and indescribable monster, The Thing uses his newly found strength and power for good alongside Mister Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, and Human Torch.

Categorized as a vanguard, The Thing will be great for pushing forward in tough matches. With a large health bar, the other team will need to team up to take him down. Using his destructive fists, The Thing will require players to be up close and personal with the enemy team to really take advantage of his powers. However, his powerful lunges will help players keep moving and hit quicker characters. The Thing can also throw players into battle. His ultimate ability will see him create an earthquake of force against nearby players.

Check out a full list of The Things’ abilities.

I want to preface that I really REALLY want to find a vanguard character I enjoy playing. With there only being a handful of them to choose from, and most of these characters are short range combat focused, they are generally not my playstyle. Unfortunately for me, The Thing is more of the same. However, he has some really fun abilities that I did enjoy. Landing hits is very satisfying with The Thing. His rocky exterior and hilarious quips make him a very endearing character to play. Stomping around the map, his secondary attack Stone Haymaker launches him forward, delivering a heavy hit to enemy players.

I was really looking forward to his Yancy Street Charge ability, which sees the character go out on a rampage, charging forward before landing a radial blow to nearby characters. He is incredibly hard to steer, which can be frustrating when facing off characters with movement abilities. But, if you hit these characters, they won’t be able to use them for a short period of time. In a normal match, this would be incredibly beneficial for duelists trying to take out evasive players. I just wish it was a bit more intuitive to use.

His Embattled Leap ability will also be helpful in regular matches, as it applies damage reduction to you and allies, but doesn’t do much in Doom Match.

I also wasn’t thrilled with his Ultimate attack, which launches players into the air surrounding the character. It does stun, so it’s helpful when trying to take down a whole team, but doesn’t really do as much damage as I hoped it would.

Overall, I don’t see myself playing The Thing much, but do think vanguard players who get a hold of his playstyle will be incredibly hard to face off against.

Once the hype dies down, I look forward to trying more matches with these characters. It’ll also be interesting to see if these new characters become favorites for a lot of players.

For those looking to try their hand with Human Torch, The Thing, or the other amazing Marvel characters in Marvel Rivals, you can play the game now for free on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC.

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