The Coolest Thing About Deadpool In Marvel Rivals Isn’t The Role Swapping

Deadpool is coming to Marvel Rivals, and it’s fitting that the Merc with a Mouth would pretty much break every rule the hero shooter has established in its first year. He’s a flex character that is capable of swapping between the tank, damage, and support roles throughout a match, and he already looks like a pretty busted version of all three based on the first gameplay trailer. But one of the cool, less-talked-about aspects of Deadpool’s kit is how it implements his status as a fourth-wall-breaking troublemaker into his ability set.

With all of his erratic movements and all the comic-book-style frames and other details that frequently pop up around him, Deadpool’s moveset is one of the harder ones to read in the Marvel Rivals roster. I’m sure once we actually get to play as the character, we’ll all get more familiar with his arsenal of tools and develop a sense of what he’s capable of. But for now, one of the things that stands out to me is how NetEase implemented the meta element of the character into how he fights. 

Throughout a match, Deadpool will level up with buffs depending on his role, and you access these by opening up a Marvel Rivals comic book that Deadpool will flip through as you choose your upgrades. He also has abilities that break the fourth wall, such as one that shows a mini streamer portrait of the hero on an opponent’s screen that smacks them around with a hammer. Not sure how you avoid that or if it’s a sort of “status effect” with a set duration, but it’s appropriately obnoxious for Wade Wilson’s kit to have comic-book pop-ups and winks to the camera.

Deadpool is joining the Marvel Rivals roster in season 6, which begins on January 16.