As per the promise of Marvel Rivals getting a new hero every month, the second half of Season 1 will bring players two new heroes: the Human Torch and The Thing. These new champions will be available to play in a couple of days, but before they're released into the wild, we got a sneak peek at what these characters can do, and it's pretty scary.
Johnny Storm, otherwise known as the Human Torch, is a new flying Duelist. Honestly, he's very similar to other airborne heroes like Iron Man and Storm, except all his attacks are slightly more explosive. His primary fire is just a fireball, but he can also launch a fiery meteor, which will deal area-of-effect damage, similar to Invisible Woman's Orb Projection, and once enemies are low enough, he can launch himself into the ground near where they stand to create an explosion and finish them off.
The Human Torch can also create a fire zone which will damage enemy players over time. He can do this by placing four torches, which will then link together. This will undoubtedly make fights for the objective even more difficult than it already is, so get ready for some incredibly stressful last fights.
But the reason why I think the Human Torch is so scary is thanks to his ability to make mini-fire tornados. By themselves, they aren't too dangerous as they're static, but combined with Storm's ultimate, they turn into a massive destructive force. The trailer for the Human Torch shows how if Storm passes through one of Johnny's fire tornados, her ultimate will expand into a massive fire tornado that has the potential to kill heroes almost instantaneously, even through Strategist ultimates.
The fact that this team-up ability can't even be countered by a support ult like Luna Snow's or Cloak and Dagger's is pretty alarming, and the idea of having yet another Duelist ultimate that can't be countered is exhausting. This team-up also comes off the back of Storm having a ridiculously great first half of the season after the devs accidentally buffed her into a tornado-yeeting monster.
There's also the new addition of The Thing, who will take on the role of Vanguard. Most of his abilities are quite straightforward as most of them just amount to him clobbering enemies as an aggressive brawler. Overall, his kit is fairly similar to Hulk's, except for one really cool perk: This guy cannot be moved.
One of the biggest nightmares for Vanguard players is Wolverine, who has the ability to snatch up players and whisk them away behind enemy lines or off the edge of the map. But unlike every other Vanguard in Marvel Rivals, The Thing can't be affected by the ability. If a Wolverine player tries to snatch up The Thing, they'll deal a bit of damage but won't be able to take him anywhere. It may not seem like a big deal, but I think this is a counter that a lot of Vanguard players will appreciate.
Both of the new additions to Marvel Rivals Season 1.5 look formidable in their own right. But I have to say, while I'm looking forward to seeing The Thing in my upcoming matches, I'll try to avoid Human Torch as much as possible, and I can say for sure that either Johnny or Storm will be getting banned in my competitive matches.
