Unlike some shooters,Marvel Rivalshas been dedicated to providing free cosmetics for its players from the very beginning. Despite only being in its second season,Marvel Rivalsplayers have been able to rack up a sizable collection of both premium and free cosmetics like sprays, emotes, cards, and, of course, costumes.Marvel RivalsSeason 2.5 launched on May 30 and brought Ultron to its character roster, and though the game’s newest free pass has launched three weeks after the start of Season 2.5, this new event certainly has players excited due to its rewards.
Mid-season passes and events are one of the key ways that Marvel Rivals hands out its aforementioned free cosmetics. Past events have included the iconic Symbiote Boogie emote, colloquially known as the twerking Venom emote. Costumesinclude Wolverine’s Patch skinfrom the 2025 Hellfire Gala: Moments event, and Black Widow’s “Mrs. Barnes” costume from the Galacta’s Cosmic Adventure event in Season 1. Now, Human Torch has a free outfit to collect, but it has comic book fans scratching their heads.
The New Venom Bubble Pop Event Comes With a Strange Freebie
Venom’s Bubble Pop event launched on June 19. The event runs for three weeks, ending on Friday, July 11. It should be mentioned that whileVenom’s Bubble Pop eventdoes have a free track, a premium version is also available. This premium event pass costs 490 Lattice and gives players permanent access to the event pass until every reward is claimed, just like withMarvel Rivals’ Battle Passes. The free reward track of Venom’s Bubble Pop focuses primarily on the Future Foundation line of skins recently dropped inMarvel Rivals, though items referencing other characters are included in the track as well, such as the Jeff’s New Kicks Emote. Free rewards also include an Identity Overhaul Emote for the Human Torch and a Future Foundation costume for the flaming hero as well.
Meanwhile, the Premium Reward track ofVenom’s Bubble Pop focuses on its titular character, with the Pink Bubble costume unlocked at the first level of the event. Players can also earn Venom emojis, a Pink Bubble Nameplate and Spray, a Tickle Me Pink emote for Venom, and a Costume Coin. While these new Venom items will almost certainly be memed to death, the addition of a Future Foundation costume for Human Torch is particularly interesting, as it somewhat bucks against comics canon.
Human Torch’s New Costume May Confuse Non-Comic Reading Players
Marvel Rivalsrevealed fourFuture Foundation skins at the beginning of Junefeaturing Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Thing, and, to the surprise of casual fans, Spider-Man. Speculation quickly began online over why the Human Torch, the fourth member of the Fantastic Four, was replaced by Spider-Man in this lineup. Comics fans were quick to explain that the Future Foundation was formed after the Human Torch was thought to have died, though in reality he was stuck in the Negative Zone. In fact, players could technically consider Human Torch’s Negative Zone Gladiator costume as his Future Foundation costume, as his Negative Zone arc coincided with Future Foundation. Spider-Man has long been a friend - and practically a family member - to the Fantastic Four, so his inclusion was ultimately unsurprising considering this bond and that he had properly joined the Future Foundation for a period of time.
Therefore, non-comic readers who just received the backstory of the Future Foundation could easily be once again confused as to why the Human Torch now has an official Future Foundation costume. In fact,Spider-Man’s Future Foundation costume has yet to be releasedinMarvel Rivalsdespite images of it being revealed. Essentially, this new skin is an acknowledgement of how Johnny Storm was not lost in the Negative Zone forever. With the Fantastic Four reunited, the Human Torch joined the Future Foundation as well, donning this new suit. This ultimately does makeMarvel Rivals’ latest free costume accurate to comics canon, as shown by its “First Appears” tag which referencesDaken: Dark Wolverine(2010) #22.Marvel Rivalsmay have held out on promoting Human Torch’s Future Foundation skin because NetEase planned for it to be a free cosmetic, but withholding the skin also introduced more fans to the Future Foundation storyline, proving yet again thatMarvel Rivalshas been crucial in revitalizing Marvel Comics.
