Marvel Rivals released a peek at Invisible Woman's newest cosmetic skin, based on Susan Storm's twisted persona: Malice.
Cosmetic skins are the bread and butter of hero shooters like Marvel Rivals, which already included 12 MCU-inspired skins on launch. Considering the slew of costumes these superhero characters have worn over the decades, developer NetEase Games won't be in short supply of inspiration.
The Fantastic Four will be the newest characters to join, starting with Mr. Fantastic and his wife, Invisible Woman, and her array of abilities and powers.
Marvel Rivals Shows Off New Invisible Woman Skin
Before the launch of Season 1 of Marvel Rivals on Friday, January 10, two skins for Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman were revealed, inspired by Reed's villainous counterpart, The Marker, and Sue's darker influence personified, Malice.
Streamers promoting the impending Season 1 release of Marvel Rivals have already shown that this Invisible Woman skin will cost 2,200 units and presumably go on a limited-time sale for 1,600 units upon launch. However, this skin will not be part of the Season 1 Battle Pass.
With such a salacious new skin, reactions were expected on social media. Most fans were thrilled about its inclusion, expressing their excitement on X (formerly Twitter).
Streamer Jeremy Wang, better known as @DisguisedToast, declared it an immediate purchase for him:
"Jarvis, get the credit card."
Youtuber @b0gur commented that Marvel Rivals will make "so much money" with a skin like this:
"They are gonna make so much money."
Another user on X, Ivan Jr (@Kryptomightguy), pointed out how Marvel Rivals made it possible for players to "combo an evil version of Marvel's second biggest couple" with the inclusion of Mr. Fantastic's The Maker skin:
"Then they gave Sue her 'Malice' skin just so you can combo an evil version of Marvel’s second biggest couple, it’s fantastic..."
Other users accused this skin of being nothing more than blatant and shallow "gooner bait," which is hard to deny considering its design. But considering its origin in the comics, it was unavoidable.
Who Is Malice? Susan Storm's Inverted Persona Explained
Malice, created by writer and artist John Byrne, debuted in Fantastic Four #280 as a manifestation of Susan Storm's inverted emotions by the supervillain Psycho-Man. His influence would have long-lasting ramifications for the Fantastic Four matriarch and extra baggage for this new Marvel Rivals skin.
After a tragic miscarriage during her second pregnancy, the supervillain Psycho-Man took advantage of Susan's vulnerable state of mind. Using his Hate-Monger android, he twisted her feelings for Reed and her family from love into murderous hatred.
Fortunately, Reed turns Susan back to normal through unconventional means, making her hate him. Berating Malice with misogyny and abuse, something Susan hates, he reverses Malice's hatred back into love.
Unfortunately, Psycho-Man left his mark on Sue, which she equated to physical assault with how he "grabbed a hold of [her] heart" and "twisted it, turned it inside out:"
"He reached deep down inside me! He grabbed a hold of my heart, Reed. And he twisted it, turned it inside out!"
This is one big reason why a smaller segment of more knowledgeable fans of Invisible Woman are ambivalent about Malice as a skin, who know the greater context of Malice, especially when it's portrayed as just another sexy cosmetic skin.
However, this discussion will likely come up again when Jean Grey, one of 12 leaked Marvel Rivals characters, eventually joins the hero shooter with a skin based on her equally revealing Hellfire outfit, when villains mentally manipulated her like Susan.
Invisible Woman, alongside her Malice skin, will be available in Marvel Rivals on Friday, January 10 at 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT.
