'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
One of Marvel Rivals' biggest selling points is all the big-name heroes on the roster. Players get to enjoy suiting up as iconic characters like Iron Man and Captain America, as well as some curveballs, like Luna Snow and Jeff the Land Shark, all while in (appropriately) a hero shooter. The first additions to the roster came in the first half of Season 1, Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman.
At this point, Marvel Rivals was already known for its chaotic fights and interesting hero abilities, so I, along with plenty of other players, got pretty stoked I thought that the best part of Season 1 was all of Mister Fantastic's wacky abilities, like being able to hurt or defend people with chest bumps, or having the power to bounce around like a massive inflatable ball and crush enemy players beneath him. But most gamers cared more about Invisible Woman, something that didn't go unnoticed at NetEase.
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Despite the Fantastic Four's long history in Marvel comics alongside a handful of film appearances, albeit some better than others, the team still noticed an uptick in searches, specifically for Invisible Woman. "When we announced Fantastic Four, the Google searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000% in that period," Danny Koo, executive producer at Marvel Games, tells PC Gamer at GDC.
Listen, while I'm sure NetEase isn't going to say it out loud, we do know it employs body models with specific, recognisable kiesters to, uh, flesh out the roster. We also know that the game's models are incredibly detailed.
While I'm sure some players were genuinely interested in the comicbook history of Invisible Woman, I'd be lying if I said that was likely the only reason people were searching for her. Alongside Mister Fantastic's The Maker skin, Invisible Woman's first costume was the Malice skin. This take on her evil alter-ego sent the playerbase into a bit of a frenzy when it first came out, for obvious reasons, so my bet's on some players searching up Invisible Woman after seeing that get teased by NetEase.