NetEase Games has committed to introducing at least one new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season, yet that hasn't stopped a creative player from turning their vision of a playable Doctor Octopus into reality. Reddit user WickedCube recently amazed the r/MarvelRivals community with a 30-second video showcasing what appears to be early gameplay footage from NetEase's popular hero shooter. At first glance, the video features a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner suspended in midair in a testing room, but it's actually a rough, Marvel Rivals-inspired depiction of the classic Spider-Man villain, Doctor Octopus.
We need more vanguards, so i made one (Doctor Octopus)
byu/Wickedcube inmarvelrivals
The video, though stiff and somewhat comical, unmistakably captures the essence of Doctor Octopus. With a bit of imagination, viewers can see a well-considered concept of how Doc Ock might look and move in Marvel Rivals. WickedCube's design allows the character to "fly" by magnetizing to nearby structures, a crucial feature in a game with destructible environments. The concept even includes named abilities like Havoc Claw for melee attacks and Wrecking Grip for ranged moves. With over 16,000 upvotes at the time of publication, this impressive, playable creation was crafted entirely by one person.
“Doc Ock has always been one of the coolest villains in Spider-Man, and his tentacles would be a challenge to implement,” WickedCube shared, explaining his inspiration. “As far as I know, they haven't been fully implemented with playable 3D movement in a game before.”
Motivated by the inability to play during a recent PSN outage, WickedCube decided to take matters into his own hands. “It all started when PSN was down and I couldn’t play Marvel Rivals,” he said. “While browsing Twitter, I came across some really cool Doc Ock fan art. I thought, ‘Since I can't play right now, why not make it myself?’”
Doctor Octopus in the style of Marvel Rivals
.#MarvelRivals #MarvelRivalsfanart pic.twitter.com/d3XHXMZsCL— CoryHarris.jpg (@LordDepis) January 26, 2025
The community's enthusiastic response to WickedCube's creation has been incredibly rewarding for him. He expressed his willingness for NetEase to adopt his ideas if Doctor Octopus were to be officially added to the game. Although he has no plans to further refine the design, he aims to release a playable version soon.
“Following the Reddit feedback, I want to share this and future concepts through a YouTube tutorial series,” WickedCube added. “I also plan to open-source the code on GitHub and make the playable versions available on Itch.”
NetEase is set to expand Marvel Rivals with two new characters this Friday: the Human Torch and The Thing, following their Fantastic Four teammates, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who were introduced last month. This rapid character rollout showcases NetEase's commitment to keeping the game fresh and exciting, outpacing its competitors.
WickedCube's project was inspired by the community's call for more Vanguard or tank-like characters. While there's no indication that Doctor Octopus will appear in the game soon, WickedCube is already brainstorming other potential heroes, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier.
“The character roster at launch is large enough to keep the game enjoyable for a long time, and the rate at which they’ve promised to release new characters is mind-blowing,” he noted. “The designers clearly understand how to make a fun game, which, in my opinion, is the hardest thing to get right.”
Marvel Rivals is gearing up for its Season 1 mid-season update on February 21, which will include the new character releases, balance changes, and gameplay tweaks. In the meantime, you can learn more about recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle branch and why the studio isn't addressing rumors about planted hero leaks.
