Marvel Rivals' Most Unlikely Recruits: A 2026 Wishlist of Nopes

Marvel Rivals' most unlikely heroes—Wasp, Ant-Man, Nick Fury, Morbius, Quicksilver—face major balance and design hurdles.

In 2026, Marvel Rivals has become the kind of chaotic hero shooter where a land shark in a tiny suit can bite through cosmic threats, so the idea of anyone joining the roster is not automatically absurd. Still, there is a difference between charmingly weird and mechanically impossible, and several Marvel characters sit firmly on the wrong side of that line. The following heroes are not bad characters — some are legends — but their powers, personalities, or sheer logistical nightmares make them wildly unlikely to appear in a future season. Think of this as a polite rejection letter, written in advance.

The Wasp and Ant-Man: The 'Oops, I Shrunk the Payload' Problem

The Wasp can fly and shrink to a speck, which sounds adorable until players realize she could dodge every ultimate by becoming a dust mote. A hero who can simply fly away when a fight turns sour, or shrink so small that enemy hitboxes need a microscope, would turn every match into a game of hide-and-seek with a health bar. Ant-Man brings the same headache from a different angle. A hero who can vanish into a carpet fiber and pop up behind a healer would force the game into a permanent nerf cycle. Shrinking powers are a fun comic-book idea, but in a hero shooter they are a balancing nightmare wearing tiny boots. 🐜

Nick Fury: The Coolest Guy With the Least Exciting Kit

Nick Fury is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a master strategist, and the owner of an eyepatch that has seen more drama than most villains. In Marvel Rivals, though, he would be a guy with a gun, a leather jacket, and a stern voice. The roster already has gods, monsters, and a shark with a jetpack; a standard soldier with no powers would feel like a tutorial character who wandered into the wrong lobby. Fury could watch from a helicarrier, bark orders, and look cool doing it — but the battlefield is probably better off without his very normal pistol. 🕶️

Morbius: Sunscreen Required, Fun Not Included

Michael Morbius was once a brilliant doctor, then he fused himself with vampire bat DNA and became the Living Vampire. That is a great origin story for a tragic anti-hero, but a terrible fit for a sunny payload map. What is Morbius supposed to do when the match takes place at noon? Wear a wide-brimmed hat? Apply supernatural sunscreen? Carry a magical umbrella that blocks UV rays and enemy fire? His blood thirst and bat-themed angst are memorable, but his gameplay would be a constant argument with the weather forecast. 🌞

Quicksilver: Too Fast to Be Fair

Quicksilver would be a wonderful addition for lore reasons. He is the brother of the Scarlet Witch, the son of Magneto, and a ready-made family reunion for the mutant side of the roster. The problem is that speedsters are notoriously overpowered. A character with rapid reflexes can dodge every attack, and a character who is everywhere at once makes positioning meaningless. Unless the developers add a restrictive speed cap, Quicksilver would either be useless or unstoppable. There is no middle ground when a hero can finish a team fight before the announcer finishes saying 'Prepare for battle.' ⚡

Black Bolt: One Grunt, One Crater

Black Bolt is the legendary leader of the Inhumans, a genius, and a king with immense power. His voice, however, is utterly lethal. In Marvel Rivals, a single grunt could crack the map, and an actual voice line could end the match, the server, and possibly the building. How does one balance a hero whose sneeze is a weapon of mass destruction? The game would need a mute button, a gag, and an entire legal team. Black Bolt is iconic, but his most famous feature is also the reason he should probably stay far away from the microphone. 🤫

Explodey Boy: A Ticking Time Bomb With a Heart

Mutants are not all blessed with weather control or adamantium claws. Explodey Boy was a normal kid who discovered he could make things explode — and then discovered he was not immune to those explosions. That makes him a permanent ticking time bomb with a cheerful face. In combat, what is he supposed to do? Sit on the objective and hope he does not detonate before the timer runs out? He is a silly character with a lot of heart, but his gameplay potential is about as stable as a birthday candle in a hurricane. 💥

Howard the Duck: Quak Fu and Bad Temper

Howard the Duck is a humanoid duck from Duckworld who somehow ended up in Earth-616. He is a flightless bird with a bad temper, a sharp tongue, and a subtle mastery of Quak Fu. Jeff the Land Shark proves that weird characters can work, so Howard is not completely out of the question. Still, he offers little support beyond sarcasm and a confusing resemblance to Donald Duck. In a roster full of cosmic power, a grumpy duck with no flight and a short fuse would need a miracle moveset to justify a slot. 🦆

ForgetMeNot: The Hero Nobody Remembers to Heal

ForgetMeNot is one of the most tragic X-Men, and also one of the least likely to join Marvel Rivals. His power makes everyone forget him the moment they stop looking at him. Allies would forget to heal him; enemies would forget to attack him; and the match recap would probably list him as 'Unknown Player.' Forming connections is impossible, and forming a balanced hero kit is even harder. Who targets ForgetMeNot? Who counters him? Who even remembers he is on the team? The poor mutant deserves sympathy, but the roster probably deserves a hero with a slightly more visible health bar. 🫥

Hero	Main Headache	Roster Chance
Wasp	Shrinks out of every fight	Very low 🐝
Nick Fury	Just a guy with a gun	Low 🕶️
Morbius	Sunlight is a hard counter	Low 🌞
Quicksilver	Speed breaks the game	Medium-low ⚡
Black Bolt	Voice destroys maps	Very low 🤫
Explodey Boy	Explodes, not immune	Very low 💥
Howard the Duck	Flightless and furious	Low 🦆
ForgetMeNot	Everyone forgets him	Extremely low 🫥

In 2026, Marvel Rivals can afford to be strange, but it still needs mechanics that make sense. The game thrives on wild picks and unexpected team compositions, yet a hero who breaks hitboxes, ignores sunlight, or deletes the map with a cough is a different kind of problem. These characters are fun to imagine, hilarious to discuss, and probably better left in the comics — or at least on a helicarrier, watching the chaos from a safe distance.