A Marvel Rivals Player Created a Playable Doctor Octopus Concept and Fans Love It

NetEase Games' commitment to releasing a new Marvel Rivals hero every half-season hasn't stifled the creativity of its players. A Reddit user, WickedCube, recently captivated the r/MarvelRivals community with a compelling 30-second gameplay video showcasing a fan-made Doctor Octopus.

The video, initially appearing to depict a pre-Hulk Bruce Banner in a testing environment, reveals a surprisingly polished, playable Doctor Octopus. This eight-armed marvel, while rough around the edges, demonstrates a clear understanding of the game's mechanics and aesthetic. His abilities, including "Havoc Claw" (melee) and "Wrecking Grip" (ranged), leverage his tentacles to allow for unique movement, essentially enabling flight near stable structures – a clever adaptation to the game's destructible environments. The post garnered over 16,000 upvotes.

WickedCube, an independent game developer, explained his inspiration: Doc Ock's unique tentacle-based combat presented a significant, yet appealing, development challenge. Further fueled by a recent PSN outage and inspiring fan art, he decided to create his own version in Unity.

The overwhelmingly positive reception, with many urging NetEase to incorporate his design, has been incredibly rewarding for WickedCube. While he currently has no plans to further refine the model, he intends to share his creation through a YouTube tutorial series and open-source the code on GitHub, making a playable version available on Itch.io.

This Friday, NetEase will release two officially developed characters: Human Torch and The Thing, continuing the impressive post-launch momentum that surpasses competitors. However, the vast potential of Marvel's universe continues to inspire fan creations like WickedCube's Doctor Octopus, and he's already brainstorming future projects, including Nightcrawler and Professor Xavier.

Marvel Rivals' Season 1 mid-season update arrives tomorrow, February 21st, featuring the new characters, balance adjustments, and gameplay refinements. Despite the recent layoffs at NetEase's Seattle studio and the studio's denial of planted hero leaks, the game's future remains bright.