Here’s your first look at Captain America in Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals, the upcoming team-based hero shooter from NetEase Games, features a huge lineup of some of Marvel’s most popular heroes, but there are some glaring omissions in the base roster.

While the game includes the likes of Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Hulk, Storm, and more, some of Marvel’s heavy hitters are noticeably absent from the base game’s set of characters. Surprisingly, the game doesn’t include some of the most popular Avengers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even going so far as to exclude Captain America from the starting Marvel Rivals lineup.

Since the game borrows the tank/DPS/support trinity from other hero shooters, many players assumed Captain America would be a surefire inclusion as a tank that shields allies or even a DPS hero with some support abilities. The Star Spangled Man With a Plan isn’t a playable character in Marvel Rivals, though, or at least not yet.

While exploring the Tokyo 2099 map in the Marvel Rivals closed alpha test, some players spotted graffiti artwork of Captain America that reveals his Marvel Rivals design. We visited the spot to take a look for ourselves, and there is indeed a huge painting of Steve Rogers in his traditional red, white, and blue garb near the attacking side’s spawn room.

Since Marvel Rivals is all about a multiversal clash between Marvel heroes and their worlds, this may not be the official Captain America design that the developers use when he inevitably becomes playable. Still, it’s an original suit design that’s heavily stylized and draws clear inspiration from the comics rather than the MCU, which fits in line with the rest of the game’s character designs. Even if it’s a one-off suit for the world of Tokyo 2099, it’s still a great look for Cap.

We’re hoping that Captain America debuts as a Vanguard (tank) hero who uses his shield to protect allies as they advance toward objectives. That role is already filled by Doctor Strange, however, so perhaps NetEase has an entirely different vision for Cap. Each Marvel Rivals character already has an incredibly exciting and fun moveset, though, so we have high hopes for NetEase’s interpretation of Steve Rogers. The game’s closed alpha is remarkably polished (aside from a few issues), so hopefully the full release comes sooner rather than later.