Marvel Rivals Basically Just Announced Thanos (and When He’s Coming)

Marvel Rivals’ recent reveals may be more than meets the eye, as though Black Cat and White Fox being confirmed was straightforward enough, the Path to Doomsday is likely hiding a big secret in plain sight. For those who missed the announcement, this event roadmap confirms content for each MCU Avengers film in the lead-up to Doomsday’s December 18 release. The first event based on the original Avengers movie will be a Dead by Daylight-like Loki mode, where 6 players control normal heroes and a seventh commands a version of Loki boosted by Infinity Stone abilities. While exciting, this mode’s existence basically lays the groundwork for the debut of The Mad Titan, Thanos.

Alongside the LTM, a new Loki skin is confirmed, which sees him donning the horned helmet and costume from 2012’s Avengers movie.

These bi-monthly crossover mode releases essentially back NetEase into a corner. Because while Age of Ultron will be simple enough — the villainous AI already exists in the game as a playable Strategist, so another asymmetrical multiplayer experience or a Marvel Zombies-like PvE mode with Ultron bots are viable options — the Infinity War and Endgame modes are huge red flags. Doing celebrations of these films without the villain that made them so special (especially Infinity War, since Thanos is more or less the main character) would feel like a massive miss, and with the Avengers LTM so closely centered on Loki, it only makes Thanos’ debut feel more set in stone. And if this is the case, predicting when Thanos will be added to Marvel Rivals is extremely easy.

Marvel Rivals: How a Reality Stone-Wielding Thanos Could Be a Literal Game-Changer

It seems as if it’s only a matter of time until Marvel Rivals debuts Thanos, and the Reality Stone in his possession could make for a great ability.

Narrowing Down Thanos’ Marvel Rivals Debut

…Thanos releasing before two movie events where he’s basically mandatory feels like a lock.

If NetEase wants to feature Thanos in whatever event modes it has in mind for Infinity War and Endgame, then it has to add the villain before August 2026. And with Season 7’s heroes locked in, the earliest opportunity for Thanos’ debut will be Season 8, which should begin around late May. Season 9 in July would be equally valid, though, so there’s plenty of time to introduce Thanos before these LTMs kick off. There’s even the possibility of a playable Thanos being saved for the Endgame mode, and the Infinity War mode treating him as just an NPC that players battle in a PvE mission. In this scenario, he could work as a Season 10 addition, as Endgame’s content doesn’t release until October.

Balance the critic averages

Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)

Still, Season 8 or 9 remains the safe bet, and it’s more likely than not that Thanos will be playable instead of just being an NPC. All the Marvel Zombies bosses were existing heroes repurposed, and it would be strange for NetEase to design a kit full of unique abilities for Thanos but not let players wield them in its main 6v6 modes. Everyone has been asking for more villains, too, with Doom expected to join the roster in December to celebrate Avengers: Doomsday’s release. Outside of him, Thanos would be at the top of many fans’ villain wish lists. NetEase will have a big decision to make with his kit, but with a Loki event kicking off the Path to Doomsday and an Ultron event likely to follow, Thanos releasing before two movie events where he’s basically mandatory feels like a lock.

What Could Thanos’ Marvel Rivals Kit Look Like?

Say this theory proves true, and Thanos drops in Season 8 or 9. Then, the question becomes what his kit looks like. Given his imposing stature, he’d be a natural fit for Marvel Rivals’ Vanguard role, but it’d be up to NetEase to decide if it wants to give him the Infinity Gauntlet or not. Without it, he could wield the blade from Endgame, though that risks feeling bland. But with the full Gauntlet, powerscalers could be annoyed that he’s no more effective than any other hero despite having the powers of a god. Perhaps the best path is to give him an incomplete Infinity Gauntlet, with him having more or less stones depending on certain team-ups (but never having enough to complete the weapon and gain his god-like snap powers).

Potential Infinity Stone powers for Thanos could be as follows:

Time Stone: Unlocked via a Doctor Strange team-up, Thanos could have the power to undo the damage to a chosen teammate, resurrecting them or healing them drastically. It would obviously need a long cooldown like Strange’s portal.
Reality Stone: Unlocked via a Scarlet Witch team-up, Thanos could create durable, destructible cover out of nowhere, sectioning enemies in or shielding teammates.
Soul Stone: Adam Warlock team-up that allows Thanos to link himself to an enemy, copying their healing received, forcing Strategists to choose between helping the target or letting them die in favor of healing others.
Mind Stone: Thanos’ base kit, perhaps an Ultimate ability. Allows him to mess with all enemies in the selected area by forcing them to see multiple Thanos clones, making it difficult to prioritize targets and find the real Titan.
Power Stone: Thanos’ base kit, a ranged purple blast that he can use in addition to melee attacks so that he’s viable in multiple combat scenarios.
Space Stone: Thanos’ base kit, movement ability that allows for short teleportation. Perhaps players could move to where they aim, like the movement of Overwatch’s Reaper.

Thanos in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 The Black Order

Realistically, Thanos’ kit may look nothing like what is proposed above, but hopefully the Infinity Stones are involved in his design to some extent since they’re so deeply associated with him. While he’s not officially confirmed for Marvel Rivals like Black Cat, he still feels like a lock based on the way NetEase seems to be approaching its movie tie-ins.