Canonically, Jean Grey is supposed to be one of the most powerful mutants not just in the world of X-Men, but within the larger Marvel universe — which makes her arrival to hero shooter Marvel Rivals a hugely anticipated event. How exactly do you translate an immortal being that can undo and remake existence into something that feels appropriately powerful to the lore yet balanced enough to not ruin everyone else’s experience? Based on early gameplay footage, it seems that developer NetEase has an actual answer to this conundrum.
As a Duelist, Phoenix appears in the game as two entities: the human host, who unleashes the attacks, and the psychic entity, which trails behind her. The two can come together for some attacks, which naturally revolve around fire. Phoenix can fly, and she has a strong area of attack that can burn up multiple enemies at once. But her scariest move has to be her ultimate, which is showcased in a brief new gameplay clip you can see below. It appears to be the single move in the game that can actively pull Hela out of her own ultimate. This detail dovetails nicely with the trailer that introduces the new character, where NetEase sets up a rivalry between the two fearsome women.
Though it remains to be seen how Phoenix fares in battle once she’s actually in the hands of players, in terms of tone, Marvel Rivals definitely nails it. Much of it comes down to Phoenix’s terrific voice acting. With lines like “YOU ARE NOTHING,” the game deftly communicates the fact that we should all be scared of Phoenix. Kudos, then, to Crystal Lee, the voice behind Jean Grey in Marvel Rivals. “It’s the honor of a lifetime,” Lee said on X. Fans are already losing it after seeing the Phoenix in action, based on the YouTube comments.
“Hela was not only KO’d but she was absolutely cooked, burned, and air fried along with her teammates,” one spectator wrote. “Bro, what is that ULTIMATE? You can literally feel her power from her voice!” another exclaimed.
The last one is particularly funny when you consider that NetEase also just released the most current stats on hero picks before season 3, and Human Torch sits in dead last. More people play Black Widow than they do Human Torch, which is saying something when you consider that Widow has long held the title for being the character with the worst win rate. That’s still true — Black Widow players lose more often than Torch mains, on average — and still, it seems no one likes playing the inflamed hero. With Jean Grey’s newness, elemental overlap and similar attack animations, anyone who might’ve been enticed by Human Torch has even less reason to pick him now. Ouch.
