Marvel's new fighting game isn't out yet, but it's already putting the competition to shame

As has been the case with PlayStation State of Plays lately, fighting game fans got a new look Marvel Tokon: Fighting Soulswith the next batch of characters officially confirmed. This time the allies of Doctor Doom v Token universe was revealed, with Magneto, the Green Goblin, and Carnage working alongside the wizard/dictator/supervillain. While the moment brought a lot of jokes about Doom apparently hating Spider-Man because half of the Knights of Doom are Spidey's villains, it also brought a number of sad posts and comments regarding Marvel Rivalslack of villains.

Since Magneto has been more of an anti-hero for quite some time now, 3 of the 4 characters in Knights of Doom can be considered true villains. And that is unfortunately more than that Rivals offers. Marvel Rivalseven after a year and a half of availability, it only features 2 real villains on its playable roster: Hela and Ultron. The rest, like the previously mentioned Master of Magnetism, the Trickster God Loki, and the Deadly Protector Venom, very much bypass the line. While it's true that the Marvel Universe's benefactors have very different personalities — Magik is nothing like Squirrel Girl and nothing like Moon Knight — there's plenty of desire to see more villains join them. Hopefully, Tokon's use of villains that are met with so much praise will help NetEase realize how much fans want to see similar additions to his game.

Rivals Overwatch and Marvel have the exact same problem, and neither will ever solve it

Regardless of whether I'm playing Marvel Rivals or Overwatch, I run into the same issue and unfortunately I don't see it changing.

Marvel Rivals has no shortage of great villains to introduce

Not only is the Marvel Universe still loaded with popular heroes to add—Captain Marvel, Ghost Rider, and Nightcrawler haven't even been introduced yet—but NetEase actually has dozens of great opportunities available. Kang's time antics could lead to a really fun Ultimate that sees him turn back time, shortening max cooldowns and the fight itself by 30 seconds. If players lost a close team fight, they would essentially have a chance to try again, doubling the intensity of the match when it comes to the MCU's Multiverse Saga's big bug being scrapped. Doctor Doom himself is a similarly valid possibility, especially in which he is the most important character Marvel Rivals' lore, though it will likely be added alongside Avengers: Judgment Daydebut later in 2026.

Not every extra villain has to be an Avengers-level threat. There are many X-Men villains who could serve as fun additions; Juggernaut as an environment-destroying vanguard seems like an obvious slam dunk, while Mystique could make an awesome Duelist spy character. Similarly, Spidey's iconic rogues gallery offers a range of options. Sandman's shapeshifting allows him to basically fill any role as Deadpool, Mysterio's illusions could confuse the opposing team, and Carnage could infect dead bodies and throw AI-controlled attackers at the opposing team. The Green Goblin's Glider would make him a unique flying hero if it could be destroyed to ground him, while if Doc Ock got some giant arms he could make a formidable Vanguard.

Perhaps the strangest thing about it all Marvel Rivals“The villain's pitfall is that lore has created several villains that could function as playable characters. Symbiote God Knull can and should be more than a background character. Then there's Kingpin, who even has a fully fleshed out moveset as he serves as a secret boss battle in the Blood Hunt PvE mode. By and large, the same logic applies to Dracula, even though he's not as well known as the other options. Simply put, Marvel Rivals can and should do more with the brand's impressive cast of villains.

Other excellent villain options include, but are not limited to:

Mr. Sinister
Lizard
Bullseye
Dormammu
MODOK
Claw
The purple man
Scorpio
Kraven the Hunter
Omega red

Fortunately, it looks like Marvel Rivals Got The Message

Fortunately for those desperate to see Marvel Rivals to start diversifying its roster in this way, NetEase seemingly laid the groundwork for a few villains. First and foremost, Thanos seems very likely Marvel Rivals due to upcoming tie-in game modes for Infinity War and Game overand the Mad Titan is probably someone many will enjoy using (Infinity Gauntlet or not). In addition, Gorr the God Butcher has been leaked and has almost been confirmed for a future season of the hero shooter. Those two characters, plus the inevitable addition of Doctor Doom, would go a long way to remedy that Rivals“The problem with villains, when really they should only be the tip of the iceberg.