With the launch of the Marvel Rivals closed alpha test came numerous cosmetics. Most importantly is a staple of any modern game, character skins. Each character was given only 1 skin for us to preview, some coming from comic book origins, with others being original designs. Today I’ll be ranking the Marvel Rivals Skins from a purely design perspective and giving my thoughts on what I’d like to see in the future.
Which Characters are in the Roster?
The game launched with an impressive 19-character roster, including the likes of Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Hulk, Magik, Luna Snow, Hela, Loki, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Namor, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Magneto, Star-Lord, Storm, Punisher, Mantis, Peni Parker, and Doctor Strange.
Each character had one skin, making for a grand total of 19 skins during the closed alpha. Players could earn these skins through the “Galacta’s Quest” pass, or by purchasing them in the in-game store. With the exception of the Moonlit Witch skin for the Scarlet Witch, none of these skins were permanent unlocks.
Skin Tier List
I used a four-tier system for the skins as I found my rankings were pretty clear cut. There were some unique designs that I preferred over the others (‘A’ and ‘B’ tiers), and the same applies to the alt-colors (‘C’ and ‘D’ tiers). Below are my reasoning for each skin’s placement.
Dora Panther (Black Panther) – Seeing a red Black Panther was very exciting to me! From day one, I decided I’d main Black Panther, and this skin just adds a menacing factor to the character. For this, I chose to place it on the ‘C’ tier.
Green Scar (Bruce Banner / Hulk) – While the skin gives off the intention of a Gladiator / Sakaarian Hulk, it did fall a bit flat to me, leading this skin to be put at the ‘B’ tier.
God of Magic (Doctor Strange) – Doctor Strange is one of the more interesting characters to me. I’ve grown fond of the magical side of Marvel through him. The skin gives off a heavenly vibe, fitting for one dubbed the God of Magic, putting this at the ‘A’ tier.
Abies Azure (Groot) – While Blue is one of my favorite colors, it just didn’t work for me with the Abies Azure skin for Groot. I wanted more out of this skin, which caused me to put it at the ‘D’ tier.
Ultimate (Hela) – In matches, Hela is a menace. She’s already such a threatening presence that this skin only slightly enhances that feeling. For this reason, I’ve decided to put her in the ‘C’ tier.
1872: Steam Power (Iron Man) – A Wild West / Steampunk theme was not on my list of expectations when I thought about skins for the game, but I do wish that the mask had a more original feel to it. This puts the skin at the ‘B’ tier.
President Loki (Loki) – The Loki series had me hooked. The introduction of President Loki was an exciting moment for me, and it carried over into the game. The design just feels right, which puts it in the ‘A’ tier.
Minty Beats (Luna Snow) – Luna was pretty disappointing to me. With the creator of the character on the developer team, I expect her to receive much more love than a recolor. The choice of green feels strange to me, though I can see a gem vibe in the intent. This made me put it at the ‘D’ tier.
Amethyst Magik (Magik) – This skin instantly lost my interest. I wasn’t happy with how minimal effort the skin, which caused me to put the skin at the ‘D’ tier,
Uncanny Blacksteel (Magneto) – While I love playing Magneto, the color scheme was not what I expected. I had hoped for the icon Red and Purple, but they only half-fulfilled that desire, which forced me to put it in the ‘D’ tier.
Galactic Protocol: Mantis Habit (Mantis) – I absolutely adore all things futuristic and mecha, which instantly attached me to this skin. Mantis definitely gives off a mecha pilot vibe to me, which puts this skin at the ‘A’ tier.
Mauve Marine (Namor) – Similar to Magik, I had the same issues with the Namor skin (Maybe I have a secret hatred of the color purple?) This placed it at the ‘D’ tier.
Olive Skimmer (Peni Parker) – While the green color scheme does make the skin feel more Sentai / Mecha, I still feel the need to want more. Despite this, I place it at the ‘C’ tier.
1872: Bounty Hunter (Rocket Raccoon) – Similarly to Iron Man, I did not expect a Wild West team. The design felt just right for Rocket, which made playing him all the better. This skin was put at the ‘A’ tier.
Thunderbolts (Punisher) – While this skin is meant to be a unique design, it still felt very much like a recolor, which deterred me a bit. However, I placed it at the ‘B’ tier.
2099: Spider-Punk (Spider-Man) – This skin didn’t utilize the 2099 theme as much as I had hoped for. The skin still feels very early 2000s, with just an LED mask to make it reach the criteria for 2099 skin. This placed it at the ‘B’ tier.
Master Of The Sun (Star-Lord) – Immediately, something didn’t feel right with the skin. Maybe I’m too attached to a masked Star-Lord? The design otherwise felt pretty good, which put it in the ‘B’ tier.
‘97 Storm (Storm) – Fresh off the hype of X-Men ‘97, this skin was really exciting to see, especially with the project being so recent. The outfit is pretty great, which convinced me to put it on the ‘A’ tier.
Moonlit Witch (Scarlet Witch) – The white and red color scheme works well for me, that coupled with my love for the character makes the skin great. This puts it at the ‘C’ tier.
Skin Wishlist
The possibilities for skin variety in Marvel Rivals are limitless, and Netease has a huge roster of comics, TV series, and films to choose from. Personally, I’d love to see more skins inspired by the 2099 era. The futuristic design is one of my favorites. Marvel Zombies is another design style I’d love to see. With the gaps between technical tests for the game, I can see the next one launching around October, a perfect time to get Halloween-inspired skins.
Season 3 of the Marvel’s Spider-Man TV series introduced a lot of venomized heroes. This is another design style that I truly love, and with the introduction of Venom as a playable character in the Closed Beta Test, it only makes sense to begin including them.
Last but not least are skins inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s no doubt that I love the live-action projects, and it would be amazing to have those live-action designs transferred over to the game.
Marvel Rivals is developed by Netease and has a Closed Beta Test out now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC (via Steam).
Thanks for reading this ranking. Be on the lookout for a new ranking when the Closed Beta Test arrives. For more Marvel content, please feel free to check out some of our other articles and breakdowns here at Feature First.
