With the imminent release of Season 8.5 on Friday 12th May, Marvel Rivals is dropping new hero Cyclops alongside a banging balance patch and a bunch of summer skins across the next few weeks, both new and old.
But most importantly, the Season 8.5 gallery cards seem to tease a LOT about potential Season 9 character additions.
Apocalypse
Wow. This specific gallery card hides lots of valuable information. In the centre is Apocalypse, a powerful mutant who built a notorious reputation as a long time archenemy of the X-Men. Born in Ancient Egypt thousands of years ago, he ruthlessly exacted his ‘Survival of the Fittest‘ philosophy while empowered by the Celestials to ensure the completion of their plans. He believed that only the strongest deserved to live, humanity and weaker mutants were frequently on his extermination list to further push the evolutionary process.
Apocalypse achieved ‘God-like’ status across the world due to his extensive powers courtesy of highly advanced alien technology. His strikeforce, the Horsemen of Apocalypse, acted as an extension of his power, enforcing his rule and doing his bidding. They are the 4 hooded figures surrounding Apocalypse. But here is the tricky part, many different characters assume the mantles of Pestilence, War, Famine and Death, making it very difficult to figure out who is under each hood … except 1.
Jubilee
Enter Jubilee, our bubblegum-blowing hooded figure in the bottom right of the gallery card. A mutant with a natural ability to create … fireworks? Jubilation Lee is known for her colourful, bright, and bubbly aesthetic with a talent for usually siding with the good guys, emphasis on usually. Surprisingly, we actually see Jubilee as one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse in Marvel Rivals, which definitely has fans theorising why.
It’s important to remember that Apocalypse brainwashes mutants and melds their minds into absolute obedience, so this could simply be the case in Rivals. However, there is a timeline where Jubilee was transformed into a vampire, which lines up with existing Rivals lore surrounding Blade and the vampire PVE game mode featuring Dracula. Vampire Jubilee might be more susceptible to joining Apocalypse’s side.
The latter part of the gallery text details an ‘enemy-turned-ally desperate to find a cure for her son’s unique ailment, even if it means turning her fireworks against her former friends’, which seems to explain Jubilee’s motives for becoming a horsemen. If we’re to trust leaks, streets are saying that Jubilee will be a Strategist, which may be in reference to the healing powers that she is seeking for her son.
The Hood
Turning our attention to the first part of the gallery text, ‘a man wearing the cloak of Oblivion will present a serious challenge in the days to come’ very explicitly labels The Hood as Apocalypse’s foe. The Hood is pictured in the top left alongside Khonshu in the middle, and Moon Knight on the right side. If we are to believe the rumours, having a supervillain with such ruthlessness as a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals will definitely shake up the game. The Hood acts as a power-hungry crime lord who weaponises huge crime syndicates as part of his dominion.
But this isn’t the first time The Hood has been teased, new Marvel comic ‘Origins of the Hood: Marvel Rivals Vol 11‘ seems to suspiciously line up with his potential release timeline. Additionally, he was also teased at the end of the Lower Manhattan map trailer, as shown below.
Who Are The Other Horsemen?
As to the other devious hooded figures surrounding Apocalypse, it’s anyone’s guess. Apocalypse could really choose anyone he desires due to his mind-bending capabilities, random characters that we least expect could easily defect to his side also. There are a whole host of candidates who held the various mantles across Marvel lore, but here are the most popular names that you might recognise:
- Polaris
- Hulk
- Wolverine
- Gambit
- Sentry
- Archangel
- Deathbird
It could be possible that existing Rivals characters fill the slots, or this could be a plot line that takes seasons to conclude.
Who do you think the other horsemen are?
