Marvel Rivals has been the most talked about video game at the moment. Since it released for free back in December, Marvel fans and gamers cannot seem to stop gushing over how good this game really is. While the overall premise of the game is nothing more than “Overwatch but with Marvel superheroes” with a few live service elements from Fortnite throw in there for good measure, it’s overall variety in terms of it’s seasonal content and expansive, colorful roster of Marvel’s most iconic comic book characters has been the main features that has had folks keep coming back to it. From the immersive gameplay to the intriguing maps/setting to the appealing art style to the fun as hell banter that is played through every single match, this has perhaps been the most successful Marvel related thing since well……Avengers: Endgame. The one main Marvel feature of the 2020s that seems to have united Marvel fans, comic book fans, and gamers worldwide for this fun and immersive experience. I have put over 60 hours into this game since it launched and I still find myself keep coming back for more. If that’s not the sign of a great game with a ton of replay value, I don’t know what is.
However, that hasn’t stopped the game from running into it’s fair share of “controversies”. I put controversies in quotes because I don’t think it’s so much as big of a deal as what certain people are making it out to be but more of it’s not as big of a deal that certain people WANT it to be. In the sense, that this isn’t really being seen as outrage as angry YouTubers would want you to believe outside of some accounts on Twitter and Reddit along with an article or two that was clearly designed for rage bait clicks for folks that were stupid enough to take the bait.
You might be thinking I’m talking about the supposed censorship that took place with key words being banned from the game such as “1989”, “Free Taiwan”, “Hitler”, and “ISIS” or the cringeworthy modes of Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump as Captain America being taken down (Seriously, that was the most cringeworthy shit EVER!!!!!!). You would be……surprisingly wrong there. (Seriously, how in the world did that controversy just….drop off the face of the earth?!)
What I’m talking about are the eye opening designs of the characters that are presented in the game, most notably the female characters. With certain folks complaining that the designs are too sexualized, too male gazing, and too pandering to the “goon” squad. And with the recent season update that includes Emma Frost and the announcement of the game receiving swimsuit skins later this year, to tie into Marvel Comics’ revival of their Swimsuit special, there has been nonstop “gooner” allegations helmed against this game.
I get that certain folks need to have this conversation over this supposed “controversial” subject matter over this game because well…..it’s 2025 and literally everything needs to be a major talking point about something that is no where near as interesting as everyone is making out to be. All it takes is one clickbait tweet, a juicy quote from an article, or a rage-inducing title of a video to get certain folks fired up and feel like they need to defend something so trivial and minor or else……it will disappear forever because it made a certain someone upset. But in the case of Marvel Rivals, this “gooner” controversy is essentially of an example of a big snowball that certain folks feel the need to push down the mountain, making what should be a minor issue into something major because they couldn’t leave things well enough alone and just not take the bait. The whole “this game is made for the goon squad” is the main element that’s got certain folks triggered….and it’s absolutely hilarious.
The design of female characters in games has been a real toxic discussion over the years. For a while, certain folks have been complaining about women in gaming not being “attractive” enough. This has been seen as a response to backlash over the years of video games being sexist towards women and the majority of female protagonists in games being designed more with male gamers in mind as opposed to female gamers. Characters such as Kay Vess from Star Wars: Outlaws, MJ from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Ciri with the new upcoming The Witcher VI have been subjected to major controversy for their designs. The main talking points around them being that they didn’t look hot enough, had too much “masculine” features, and being made ugly “on purpose” for…..reasons I can’t even comprehend. So much so that there are folks that refused to play those games and many others just because none of the women in them gave them a boner.
Although, there have been some notable exceptions, particularly with games made by Eastern developers, in recent memory that have gone out of their way to make the women in their games as easy on the eyes and visually appealing as possible. Characters such as Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII and the women from Stellar Blade being recent examples of this. Although, there’s has been some hype over the Western developed Grand Theft Auto VI because of how fine the new girl, Lucia, looks in it and…..I guess there’s that. However, there hasn’t been one instance in recent memory where you can tell the main playable female characters were made to look as good as the developers can possibly make them than with Marvel Rivals.
Whether we are talking about Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Storm, Magik, Hela, Emma Frost, Sue Storm, Luna Snow, Mantis, Psylocke, Dagger, or Squirrel Girl (I left out Peni Parker for a reason!), the women in Marvel Rivals have tended to shine in more ways than one. This most notably comes from their gorgeous outfits, unlockable/buyable skins, flawless hair, and the thick..well….”layers” to their designs. Because of all that and more, I can’t imagine there are certain folks that did NOT want to play as any of those characters just because of how good they look. (There’s a reason that Storm has been one of my top 3 playable characters since launch). While many people have applauded the game for these appealing designs that makes it feel like these characters were ripped straight out of the comic books and stayed true to their original forms, there are those that have condemned it, feeling like it devalues the women of the game in any way or that it’s relying on sex appeal in order to keep the services going for the foreseeable future.
And these aren’t just the typical far-left extremists that certain folks are letting you to believe but even the ones on the other far end political stretch (A.K.A. the “woke” right) that have condemned the game for making the outfits of the female characters too revealing, too slutty, and too “inappropriate” for children. (I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the same kind of folks that constantly blame games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto for all of the world’s problems instead of….well….themselves!) And I don’t think I need to go into this recent “GoonerGate” controversy (Yes, that is a real thing!) that I’m sure the game itself has been dragged into because of that. While I can understand a viewpoint or two of this matter, I do think this whole thing is being blow WAY out of proportion by such a small minority.
Yes, I am someone that advocates for my ladies to be well written and fun to play as in games that amounts to them being more than just being sexy eye candy. Yes, I am also someone that doesn’t let how good (or bad) a pixeled female A.I. looks determine my feelings on a video game. However, I do NOT think whatsoever that the way that the women superheroes look in Marvel Rivals detracts from their characters or makes me think of any less of them as a part of their characters history. If anything, it makes me think more of them as characters.
While the game itself might not have it’s own campaign or characterization for the women outside of some good banter and visual flare, they do feel very in-line of how I (and many others) view them as characters in comics, movies, and even games. It’s not just their amazing looks that makes them appealing, it’s their special powers, unique gameplay, suitable voice work, and the way they play off the other characters that make them stand out in the best ways. And even the women with the most revealing outfits, you can tell they feel the most confident about themselves when they wear it. It’s their attractiveness and femininity that empowers them to be the best version of themselves and NOT the other way around. And the best part of it all is that it’s not just the women that look good in Marvel Rivals, it’s the men too.
While the male superhero counterparts may not be as hyper-sexualized as their female counterparts, they too have great and fitting designs that looks like they were ripped straight out of the comics. You can’t tell me that Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Panther, and many others don’t look the way they are suppose to and don’t fit them as characters whatsoever. I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of the designs of this game are considered the definite designs for many newcomers to the Marvel lore. And even the male superheroes that are hyper-sexualized well……they do have great wonders as well.
I can’t imagine how many women (and even some men) that have played this game found themselves themselves gooning over shirtless Namor, daddy Reed Richards, goldy Adam Warlock, completely worthy Loki, totally non-Sebastian Stan Bucky, and twerking Venom with his full cake booty. This is literally a game where both the men AND women get to have fat asses. THIS is the representation that matters!
When it comes to the “gooner” discourse surrounding Marvel Rivals, I see it more as a tongue-and-cheek kind of thing rather than something that should be taken seriously. Because, when playing through the game, you can tell this is all being done out of love, passion, and respect for the characters throughout Marvel’s history instead of pandering and desperation. It would be one thing if the game was bad and you can tell they are relying on attractive men and women to keep the game afloat but that is definitely NOT the case here.
If folks want to continue lambasting this game because of it’s appeal to “gooners”, let them. The game has been a success since it launched during the holiday season and will continue to do so for at least the next few years. I get how annoying online grifters can ruin the fun of something like this because it makes them believe they’ve “won” something and have to keep bringing up irrelevant posts and articles to make certain talking points feel much bigger than they really are. But for folks like us, who can enjoy any game we want without have some sort of bias or pride attached to it, we are the ones that get the last laugh at the end. And also the developers of Marvel Rivals of course.
I also want to keep in mind that if there are women (or even men) out there that do take issue with the way the characters look in the game and have a fair, not extreme, opinion on it, that’s all well and good. I just believe there are FAR worse examples of oversexualized characters in gaming and media that do take away from them as characters if you strip away how good they look. In the case of Marvel Rivals, I strongly believe that (for the most part) the designs of the characters compliment themselves and only adds to the variety of the game rather than take away from it. It’s that nice little icing on a very well made and properly put together cake that anyone can enjoy. And that is perhaps the best possible compliment I can give a game!
In the meantime, I’m going to continue to play the hell out of and enjoy Marvel Rivals! And I recommend you to do the exact same!
To conclude this piece, here’s Knuckles approval ratings of the “mommies” of Marvel Rivals!
Adam's Blog 