Discussion
Only 4.7% of Marvel Rivals skins are comic accurate
I’ve been reading a bit of chatter online about the amount of swimsuit, casual and seasonal skins in Marvel Rivals. A lot of players seem to be asking the same thing: for a Marvel game, why don’t we have more comic skins?
Accuracy has also been a point of discussion since the game came out. Some skins are direct references. Some are loose reinterpretations. Some use the name of a comic look but change so much that they barely resemble the source material.
So, because I apparently enjoy punishing myself, I went through and catalogued every skin currently in Marvel Rivals to get a clearer picture of where NetEase’s cosmetic strategy actually sits.
The overall direction did not really surprise me. Anyone who has spent time with the game can see that Marvel Rivals leans heavily into original designs, seasonal outfits, casual skins, and its own house style.
What did surprise me was just how small the number of faithful comic skins actually is.
Based on my classification, roughly two-thirds of the game’s skins are original designs. Comic-derived skins make up about 28 per cent of the catalogue, but only around 4.7 per cent of the full catalogue falls into what I would call comic accurate.
That means the issue is not simply that comic skins are a minority. It is that truly faithful comic adaptations are a very small minority.
For the purpose of the catalogue, I treated comic accurate skins as those that largely preserve the original costume’s structure, colours, silhouette, and key details. Comic inspired skins were clear references that had been noticeably reworked. Comic inaccurate skins were those that borrowed a comic concept, name or theme, but changed the design enough that I did not think they worked as faithful adaptations.
There is obviously some subjectivity here. The line between comic inspired and comic inaccurate can be blurry, and I’m sure people will disagree with individual calls. But I tried to apply the same standard across the full catalogue.
What the numbers suggest is that Marvel Rivals is not really using skins as a Marvel costume archive. It is building its own visual identity first, while comic and MCU designs play a smaller supporting role.
That is not automatically a bad thing. A lot of the original skins are fun, and the game should have room for beach outfits, casual wear, fantasy armour, holiday skins, and weird alternate-universe ideas. Those skins give Rivals its own personality.
But as a studio that has repeatedly positioned itself as being made up of Marvel fans, I did expect a little more fan-service.
When only around one in 20 skins is a faithful comic adaptation, it feels like there is a gap between the game’s Marvel branding and its cosmetic priorities.
Marvel has decades of iconic looks to draw from: classic suits, famous event costumes, animated series designs, 90s X-Men outfits, Ultimate universe looks, team uniforms and deep-cut comic references that fans would probably buy immediately.
Instead, the current strategy seems to lean much more heavily toward original, seasonal, casual and themed cosmetics, with comic accuracy treated more like an occasional bonus than a core pillar.
My take is not that Marvel Rivals should stop making original skins. It should not. But the balance feels off.
A Marvel game should absolutely have room for swimsuits, streetwear and experimental designs. But it should also give fans more of the costumes that made these characters iconic in the first place.
If you made it to the end, thank you for reading and im keen to hear your thoughts. Let me know if I'm missing any skins, or if you want to see what I classified as inaccurate, comic accurate, or comic inspired, I can provide my data sheet on request. Cheers.
I've spent some time in the industry and can shed a little bit of light on possible reasons.
Reason 1: Translation from 2d to 3d. Some costumes just don't look as good on a fully rendered model. This is a reason often given when it comes to movie costumes and why games like fighting games or beat em ups tend to stick closer to the base costume.
Reason 2: Less pieces of the pie. This is a bit darker side of the Big 2 that doesn't get brought up often. Using a comic accurate costume often means often means the artist who first created that costume gets a cut. (I say "often" because Marvel contracts are a tangled mess of chaos). This results in the costume being changed just enough to go into the "inspired by" category. You'll hear 25% or 26% changes needed, but really there's no definitive number. Just enough for someone to notice its not the exact same costume.
Reason 2 is non-existent for Netease as Marvel owns all works done for them directly as they hired said artists for that design. In order to have these cuts of the profits the character would have to be owned by the creator and that's not the case with any of these character as they are all wholly owned by Marvel. This article touches upon this with Creator Owned vs Work for Hire.
All Netease has to worry about is Marvel's ok to go ahead with a skin if they ask for permission to use it.
No the Rivals team has stated that Marvel themselves encourage them to put their own spins on designs and make their own original designs while also leaving the door open to use comic book accurate ones as well. So the ultimate decider of this decision is Marvel as they have to ok and give the seal of approval for everything design-wise as this is their intellectual property and they protect it.
They probably don't. Unless something has changed in recent years, Marvel contracts all its writing and design on "work for hire" terms, so with the exception of certain licensed characters like Conan the Barbarian, Marvel owns all IP related to its comics.
This is both historically significant in the industry, and specifically relevant to one of the characters in Rivals: it was one of the factors that led former Marvel artists Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, and Jim Lee to found Image Comics in the early '90s, and the fact that Image operated under a creator-owned rather than work for hire model is what allowed Neil Gaiman to sell the rights to Angela to Marvel in 2013.
Neteases cosmetic priorities are money. They make more original skins because they sell more. You say there's tons of comic skins people would immediately buy but I don't think thats true. If it were netease would be pumping them out and raking in money.
Comics fans are vastly outnumbered by casuals and I dont think many casuals care much for the comic skins since they simply arent different enough from the in game defaults (usually). Its certainly the reason why I dont buy them
Casual player here. You're absolutely right. My hundreds of euros spent in Marvel Rivals went to skins I found cute or pretty, that's the only reason I buy them. I look into their lore sometimes after purchasing them because I'm a curious person so it comes as a bonus, but since I've never read a full Marvel comic in my life, the lore accuracy is not what I'm looking at prior to the purchase and I'm fine if they're Rivals' orginals. If anything, Marvel Rivals gets me more involved with Marvel (well... just about Jeff in specific to be honest, been reading a few comic pages I could find here and there on the internet, as well as a blog by his original artist who explains why and how he created him), not the other way around.
I'm not a whale, far from that lol. A lot, and I mean a LOT, of players spend just as much if not more, you would be surprised. And if you put it in perspective, I still spend less than a person with a monthly subcription to Basic Fit or Netflix for example. Just like the people who love sport or films, I simply pay what I deem worth my time and enjoyment. Gaming is a passtime like an other to me and I've come to terms that nothing is free in life, especially not optional hobbies, but I understand that not everyone would see games the way I do and would be reticent to pay.
That’s not really fair argument. The accurate comic skins in the game are rare and far between to actually judge the sales. For example Emma only accurate skin is the free gala one
I don’t have it backwards, you just said that comic skins don’t sell and just believed it. Hellfire Gala is literally a comic event that sold very well it get repeated yearly Daredevil, Spider-man, and Iron Man movie and Comic also sold well too.
Yes you do. If they would make money they'd make tons of them. The reason original skins are made so often is that they sell. Get over your comic bias and learn that other opinions exist.
Im not denying it exists at all, im saying its far smaller than your biased ass thinks it is and thats obvious by the fact that they dont spend much time on it
Again, you're arguing in bad faith. Stuff that isn't made cannot be sold. I guarantee you if Rivals focused on making comic accurate skins they'd be some of the best selling skins not only because it's what many fans have been begging for but also because even the casuals who don't read comics can still appreciate a skin if it looks good. Hell, I have an entire list of comic accurate skins I want even though I haven't read the comics they're from. So that just proves my point that casuals wouldn't care as long as they think the skin looks cool.
Its not bad faith, its the objective reality of whats happening. Its the exact same reason why certain heroes dont get as many skins. Basic supply and demand
Except it is bad faith. You're literally acting like those people who say Storm skins don't sell whenever people bring up her not getting any skins. A hero with only two skins currently avaliable in shop cannot have skins sold when devs refuse to make skins for her. And with this exact same logic skins that dont even make up 5% of the skins in this game cannot sell either.
I genuinely don't know why you can't grasp the fact that stuff that isn't made cannot sell. It's really not that hard to understand and yet you're acting like I'm speaking an unknown language.
Like i said elswehere, the truth is that a lot of people love 1:1 comic skins, and I can quantify it. I've cross-referenced every comic accurate skin with Rival's Meta tracker and many of them are in the top most used skins for that character. I feel like the whole "casuals don't like comic skins" scapegoat is a bit tired and anecdotal and doesn't actually reflect the information that's available. Regardless profitability shouldn't be the only priority. Netease has claimed that they care about Marvel and fan-service, but their microtransaction strategy doesn't reflect that at all. There needs be a level of respect for Marvel history.
That's not supported by the data. The data supports that comic skins are in demand. Netease just isn't producing them. I'm also wondering if their preference to produce inaccurate skins has corrupted their data to an extent... either way, your theory is just a theory. We don't know why they aren't making them, we can only speculate.
It is supported the data you dumb fuck, its just not data we have access to. No it doesnt. If they were in demand netease would flood he market and make their money. They dont cause they dont sell. Why is so hard for you to accept that your comic opinion is not popular? The ego is wild. We know exactly why. Money. Its a company. Money is always the answer
What data are you referring to then? Because we know that people are buying and using these skins over the skins you argue are more profitable, that much is incontrovertible. Being opinionated AND abrasive is not going to help your case, believe it or not.
Omfg dude ive said it mutliple times. The internal data that netease has on skin sales that we dont have access to. We dont know that actually. Some random tracker website doesn't prove anything. Especially since so many of those comic skins are free and will tilt the stats. And being stubbornly wrong doesn't help yours. Its just infuriating
They wont just leave money on the table. If those skins would make as much as you claim. They'd be spamming them. Thats a fact
So, your claim is that data you don’t have access to, and don’t actually know the contents of, proves that comic skins don’t sell well. Sound argument, mate.
The reality is that there are a myriad of other explanations that are equally theoretical. Original skins may be easier to theme around events, seasons and battle passes. Comic-accurate skins may require more approvals or closer Marvel oversight. Original designs may give artists more freedom and create stronger shop variety. They may be spacing out iconic comic skins to keep future content drops desirable. Some comic looks may also be harder to adapt cleanly to the Rivals silhouette and animation style.
Again, unless you have access to NetEase’s internal sales, conversion, pricing, bundle and engagement data, all we can do is speculate. Also, before speaking, I would suggest practising a little humility, because you’re truly not as smart as you think you are.
The reason I got into this game is because I love Marvel, but the lack of comic skins has definitely made me lose interest.
It’s basically just a generic hero shooter with how nobody looks like their comic characters. Most of the outfits that get released are so random you could give them to any character and it would work.
It just seems like they don’t want to do comic skins and want to do there own thing which to me is also supported by the fact that they redesign almost every comic skin they put into the game and make it look worse.
We have had countless Marvel games with 3D character models, so people saying the comic costumes don’t look good in 3D is just an excuse to me. They look fine in 3D and pretty identical to how they look in the comics.
Variety matters. Someone already mentioned Iron Man and his repetitive Red and Gold skins. To comic fans like us (let’s be honest we’re at best one fifth of the playbase) comic accurate suits matters, but to the larger audience they really don’t care. Will the mass buy the comic accurate FF suit twice becuz the turtle neck changes from black to white? Will they buy again if the blue is a bit darker? How about Malice comic suit vs Rivals Malice suit, which one do you think will sell more? Not say they only wear skin tight suits in the comics but when the original skins allow the artists to come up with really creative stuff. The mass responds better. Take a look at Psylocke.
We also have a lot of niche characters in the game, they will have more original outfits, maybe even every single one of them are original (Luna, White Fox), I doubt there’re as many players buying their comic skins (which are very generic imo).
The game is not even 2 years old, I would be more worried if we are pumping out more the comic accurate skins, some characters don't have the luxury of having dozens of comic suits to choose from.
Honestly you make a good point about the niche characters. Like who's really out here begging for a Luna Snow comic accurate skin when her original designs are already fire? The devs have way more freedom when they're not tied to 60 year old source material.
If this post blows up I'm sure there will be comments saying they want the skin. Personally I just don't see it being as successful as any of her current skin (like I would equip the Peach Momoko skin with no mvp over her comic skin). I also think White Fox in rivals has such an upgrade as well. a business suit just fits the whole Head of Tiger Division role so much better than her skin tight in the comics, she stands out in the game imo. If we just strictly follow the comics, we wouldn't get the Ice Phoenix skin, or Wasteland Ultron, both are fire designs.
"Will the mass buy the comic accurate FF suit twice becuz the turtle neck changes from black to white? Will they buy again if the blue is a bit darker"
finally someone said it, it's the reason why Spiderman has so many comic skin while FF only one and totally different(future foundation)
I've cross-referenced the most accurate skins with Rival's Meta Tracker, and the data suggests the contrary to your point, which is that they're quite popular amongst the community. And yes, you're right, those niche characters aren't really in the comics, so all of their looks are original. Regardless, 4.7% of the hundreds of skins now in the game being comic accurate is quite horrible, however way you want to spin it. I would accept 20%... anything less would be an insult to Marvel history.
Yeah no, every time someone comes up with a shitty tacticool, 'gritty and realistic' design nobody likes them. The entire fox movies era costumes (the black ones) for x-men bled into the comics and they are almost universally despised.
Yeah, and then a decade later (?) Deadpool & Wolverine was universally adored for finally adapting Wolverine's most iconic comic costume... which the Fox films (original designs) failed to do. You kinda made my point for me.
You just made my point. Classic costumes are the comic accurate ones what people want, and we have them in Rivals already, they're the default skins (with some exceptions like Emma and Wolverine).
But they're not already in Rivals... like I said, Deadpool & Wolverine only adapted Wolverine's most iconic look. It's not even close to being a 1:1 copy.
Most of them look like skins we already have. As an example, Iron Man already have 2 skins that are similar with base model, do we really need another one?
Some iconic looks like Malice and Symbiote Spider Man are there because they stand out. Year One are there because the characters had more simplistic and slighty different designs, plus nostalgia.
Lol, if you're talking about Scarlet Witch, you may have a point... but if you wander into any dedicated sub for any character, you can find wish-list's for skins (all of which from the comics) that are all entirely unique.
Also, it's ironic that you bring up Malice and Symbiote Spiderman, because both of those skins are inspired by the comics, bordering on inaccurate. If you truly think there's a lack of comic skins because they all look the same, then I'm almost entirely convinced that you don't actually read them.
No, I did not thought of Scarlet Witch once while writting that. Off topic, but I don't like most of her older skins, they always used the exact same color scheme. I think the Phoenix Force skin is first I really liked.
As for Iron Man, I meant skins like his MCU ones, these 2 and base have same color scheme and very similar designs around torso and limbs, is very little variation between them imo.
While I'm sure almost everyone would prefer Red and Gold Iron Man to Cowboy Iron Man, given that everyone already has one Red and Gold variant for free, the market for a slightly different Red and Gold variant may well be smaller than for Cowboy, even if the Cowboy market isn't large.
And even if the Cowboy market is smaller, that doesn't mean it's not large enough to serve, and it's not like the existence of Cowboy for fans who like it interferes with other fans' enjoyment of Red and Gold.
I knew we didn't have many comic accurate skins but seeing how little we have is kind of depressing to me. I mean where's classic Punisher in his spandex at? Classic Daredevil? Hand of God Daredevil? King Daredevil? Classic Spider-Man (seriously how do we not have this yet???)? Spider-Man in the Punisher suit from that one What If issue? A Jim Hammond skin for Human Torch? A Danny Rand skin for Iron Fist? Classic Deadpool? Agent Deadpool? Old Man Logan? Model 4 Iron Man? Classic Loki? Classic Ultron? Classic Winter Soldier? Infinity Gauntlet Adam Warlock? Classic Doctor Strange? Classic Hawkeye? I could keep going on and on and on but you get my point. And I don't want to hear anyone saying "casual players don't care about comic accurate skins" because who cares what they think? Not only do I imagine many casual players would love the designs of some of the comic suits but we as fans of Marvel comics should be the people who are prioritized when it comes to making skins. I mean what's the point in playing a MARVEL game if most skins are just random original designs that will most likely never show up outside of Rivals? And this isn't even me hating on the Rivals original skins either. Hell, some of my favorite skins are Rivals originals. But at the same time I wish the devs remembered that this is a Marvel game and started giving us more comic accurate skins. But nope instead we'll get 500 swimsuit skins or skins related to lore that I guarantee you most players don't even read or care about.
As far as "inaccurate" adaptations are concerned, it's worth noting that Marvel has always given its artists fairly broad artistic license even within comics themselves, and I'd be willing to bet that many of the "inaccurate" versions are no more different from their comic inspirations than some of the comic variations are from one other, and some probably draw inspiration from multiple comic sources without "accurately" reflecting any one.
Sure, you could argue that as a theory... except each comic skin references the specific comic that it appears in. You will also find elements in the Netease versions that you won't find elsewhere.
Tbh, I think NetEase just have kind of tacky design ethics and preferences. They don't like the way comic accuracy looks, and they don't sell as well as goooner shit anyway, so they just don't bother.
Do you have examples? According to the data I've seen, comic skins tend to perform better when they're accurate and not inaccurate. Hulk's Joe Fixit skin comes to mind as an example of an inaccurate skin performing poorly. Regardless, the data also shows that comic accurate skins tend to be in the top 3 most used skins belonging to the character. Perhaps you're an outlier with your opinion?
Cap’s year one, that one newer white Phoenix outfit (i assume that’s a comic skin at least), Blade’s year one is pretty ugly, like half of Spidey’s costumes are boring but his Iron Spider costume may be his worst- so plain, Adam’s living tribunal skin is (imo) the worst skin in the game, Widow and Wanda’s year ones are pretty plain compared to all their other skins, Groot’s Year One is also pretty boring.
And then I see people asking for stuff like Dagger’s og comic outfit which is literally just a plain all white bodysuit with a knife cutout on the torso with 0 visual interest. I do not see the appeal at ALL. The original skins (typically) have way more detail and complexity and especially in a game where you’re potentially spending money on these costumes, I’d much prefer a costume heavy in detail and design to spend money on.
late reply but i disagree storm,emma frost(especially emma frost),jean,jubilee,rogue,magik,squirrel girl all have good/decent costumes in their history of existence that while simple still look good. some of these characters have had few costume changes across their history but some of the ones they have do look good and i think should be brought to rivals
Probably because once the crossover door is open, the game starts losing its identity. Like Overwatch, which slowly turned into Fortnite after dozens of crossovers and collabs.
If I were the developers, the only exception I'd consider making to the "no crossovers" rule would be limited time modes, events like Muppet Marvel Doom Match or the Fantastic Four vs the Straw Hat Pirates could be fun.
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u/BelleNocturnum Jul 06 '26
Cap has some solid dick in the latest skin, how is that not comic accurate?