Marvel Rivals’ Cyclops Can’t Be Any More Like Blade Than He Already Is

As Marvel Rivals Season 7 winds down, and White Fox prepares to chase Black Cat out of the spotlight, fans are getting excited about the next additions to the hero roster. Based on how recent Seasons have gone, the final gallery card of each issue tends to “spoil” who the next few heroes will be, and the one for Season 7 actually presents three options. These are Cyclops, Devil Dinosaur, and Captain Marvel, with the first two represented in the image via Scott’s glasses and a red plushie on a shelf while Carol Danvers watches from a rooftop nearby. Carol being further in the distance could suggest she’s a Season 9 (or later) addition, as the ones that are in clear view would logically be added first, so fans of the Mutant leader are understandably excited about the next big update.

The shadowy figure is all-but-confirmed to be Captain Marvel in the actual text of the Gallery card, but is seemingly just a version of Emma Frost when zoomed in on. The use of a placeholder could further confirm that Cyclops and Devil Dinosaur are coming first, as NetEase may not have designed its look for Carol yet.

The wait for Cyclops has been a long one, as it’s similar to what happened with Blade in Marvel Rivals’ initial Seasons. Those who were there for the start will remember how everyone assumed Blade was coming to the game since Season 1 was all about vampires, yet the Fantastic Four joined the roster instead. Then, in Season 2, despite Blade being seen on certain maps recovering in bed, he still wasn’t playable. He finally joined the Duelist category in Season 3, with fans of the vampire relieved that all the teases paid off. Like Blade, Scott Summers was shown to players months back — specifically in Season 5, attending the wedding of Rogue and Gambit — but has yet to join the hero roster. There are debates about whether this kind of early teaser and eventual payoff approach is a good move from NetEase, but regardless, it will hopefully be the only valid comparison between Cyclops and Blade.

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Cyclops Fans Don’t Want Him to Be a Duelist

While recent rumors suggest Cyclops will indeed be a damage-dealer (a logical choice to avoid a double Vanguard Season since Devil Dinosaur will surely be in that role), it’s very clear that players want Cyclops to be a tank hero. Whether its the main Marvel Rivals subreddit, X, or the prematurely-made Cyclops mains sub, there are numerous posts where players basically demand that the X-Men’s figurehead be a Vanguard. Given that Vanguards lead the fight in-game, and Scott is who most comic readers identify as the quintessential leader of the X-Men, this is a natural mindset to have. And funnily enough, it also resembles the pre-release talk around Blade.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

Prior to Marvel Rivals’ Blade being officially released, his in-game character model leaked, and given his height many theorized he could actually be a Vanguard. The game was experiencing a Vanguard drought at the time, and Blade being one would have been welcome, but he turned out to be one of the hero shooter’s many duelists. And now, with the Marvel Rivals community having a big problem where people just don’t want to play Vanguard, a popular character like Cyclops being tanky could be huge for the game’s health. Devil Dinosaur is far more niche and likely wouldn’t have the same impact because of that, so when coupled with the idea that team leaders should be Vanguards — looking at you, Cap — the best role for Scott is clear. Blade may have ended up a Duelist, but Cyclops shouldn’t, as he’d be best served as a Vanguard that is actually putting his leadership skills to the test.

Cyclops Hopefully Won’t Be a Balancing Nightmare Like Blade

From the moment he debuted, Blade was deemed underwhelming by Marvel Rivals fans, a state he remained in for several Seasons. On virtually every tier list, Blade bounced between D-tier and C-tier, which was hugely disappointing after such a lengthy wait for his debut. Currently, he’s solid enough, but remains a B-tier option unless someone is particularly good with his kit. There are simply better options to choose from on the Marvel Rivals roster, and it would be a shame if players ended up feeling the same way about Cyclops once he eventually comes to the game.

This isn’t to say that it would be good for Cyclops to be an overpowered Marvel Rivals hero; that’s never healthy for a new addition, as it leads to a stigma around the character that can be longlasting, similar to what Elsa Bloodstone has dealt with. Still, there’s a healthy spot between being weak like Blade was at launch and broken, and that’s hopefully where Cyclops finds himself. If he’s in the right role, and is both strong and fun to play, he could be a huge boon for the game. Plus, with Avengers: Doomsday finally doing Cyclops justice on the big screen, it would be a real shame if his Marvel Rivals variant missed the mark instead of capitalizing on the hype.