Marvel Rivals has some cool lore, but it just won't make any sense in the long run unless players ally with Doom

Marvel Rivals needs one of the teams to directly side with Doctor Doom at some point. So far, stories for Season Zero and One have found only reasons for the heroes to ignore the main antagonist and squabble among themselves. The in-game maps are mostly concerned about outside third parties, like the Master Weaver, Loki, and Shuri. Even when Doctor Doom’s plans become center stage in the first season, the narrative then switches to Iron Man and Mister Fantastic fighting each other.

It is evident that both Marvel and NetEase do care about lore and story. There's already a one-shot tie-in comic highlighting the Marvel Rivals world, and within the game, there's an in-depth gallery and plenty of text to read up on. While the two alternate-reality Doctor Dooms are mentioned as a big threat, it all comes off as fluff. The players never see Doom, and all of his plans get thwarted without direct interaction.

Dracula Was Defeated Without Doing Anything To Players

Was There A Good Side Or Bad Side?

For season 1, Dracula is the primary villain shown to be fighting the Fantastic Four. Most of the story is read in the same event that unlocks the Carved Traveler skin in Marvel Rivals. It is explained that the vampire lord was revived and strengthened by the 2099 Doctor Doom via a powerful piece of Chronovuim. This is merely a means to cause chaos, as Doctor Doom sees Dracula as only a pawn. Dracula believes Doom and sends a vampire army to attack New York, enthralling more citizens and turning them into vampires.

Bloodstorm One is out of the way in Central Park of Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals: Where To Find Bloodstorm One (Ruined Idol Achievement)

Destroying Bloodstorm One is an achievement in Marvel Rivals. The rewards aren’t new, but it can be a stepping stone in earning free Units.

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I expected the Season One maps to encom this narrative, with one of the teams playing the heroes and the other the villains in Marvel Rivals. Instead, both the attackers and defenders have the same goal of defeating Dracula but disagree on the method. The defending side is backed by Iron Man and Moon Knight, who want to do things quickly, even if it means innocent people will die. The attackers are mostly a t effort of Doctor Strange and Mister Fantastic to find a more methodical solution that saves everyone.

I was scratching my head as Dracula just dies and his army is wiped out in both victory animations. Why was one side still trying to defend Dracula’s coffin even as Ratatoskr — acting as a convoy — approached the final room? The simple answer is that gameplay and story don’t correlate at all yet, and the strict variety of maps in Marvel Rivals offers few reasons to fight. For them to make more sense, one of the teams should have been actually assisting Dracula or Doctor Doom rather having than two sets of heroes misguidedly fight each other.

Loki & Moon Knight Are More Present Antagonists Than Doctor Doom

Destroying The Fantasticar Outweighed Doom's Scheme

Marvel Rivals can only go so far without Doctor Doom or his allies being present in-game. Season Zero had more of an excuse, as it was a form of world-building to showcase how the timestream entanglement has twisted so many worlds. It was also harder to determine if there really was a flat-out villain on each map. In Yggsgard, Loki is the legitimate ruler trying to quell a rebellion, even if it means spying on people. In the case of Wakanda and the Guardians of the Galaxy, they appear to be disturbing Knull and the symbiotes.

Klyntar is a strange map trying to justify the two teams. The Guardians are the attackers leading the symbiote convoy to stop the corruption on Bast. The defenders represent Adam Warlock and Venom, who want to stop the essence and overthrow Knull.

Doctor Doom is seemingly absent in the actual stages of Marvel Rivals, though reading the gallery comics, this is at least so he can be more manipulative behind the scenes. Instead, this makes it seem like heroic forces like Moon Knight and Squirrel Girl are the ones battling it out on the streets. For Season Two and beyond, it needs to feel like the Marvel Rivals antagonists are doing something directly on the maps instead of being a supposed threat off-screen.