Ever since the launch of Marvel Rivals, Peni Parker has been the sole Vanguard woman in the roster, which makes perfect sense since she’s running around in a Spider-Mech. Emma Frost looks like the perfect addition as the game's newest one.
With the new look at Season 2 though, it has been confirmed that Emma Frost is going to be the next Vanguard for Marvel Rivals. Her power set makes perfect sense for her to be the next tank hero in the game.
The White Queen
Though Emma was originally introduced as a villain back in the 80s, her comic story has since grown so that she becomes an integral member to the X-Men—even becoming their leader in place of Charles Xavier. Check out her reveal here:
The recent dev update has confirmed her role in the game, but so far none of her abilities in-game have been revealed. At least we know that she has a team-up ability with Magneto and Psylocke that will use Emma’s telepathic abilities, projecting copies (like Loki) for her teammates to help confuse the enemy team.
While Emma is mostly just a highly fashionable telepath in the comics, Marvel Rivals has upped her appearance to match more closely to her Vanguard status. As a lot of fans have noticed online, they’re making Emma huge for this game—particularly around the thigh area. See, those thick thighs are there for a reason.
One fan wrote, "Ppl complaining about emma being too thicc need to realize she needs a bigger frame in order to fit as a vanguard…it’s common sense"
While her height hasn’t been officially confirmed in-game, her body does look like she could be a pretty tall character—much like Junker Queen from Overwatch 2, who is also a ‘giant woman.’
Diamondback
Though Emma’s main hook is her telepathic abilities in the comics, she also comes with the power to turn her body into hard diamond—which is the perfect skill for a tank. It’s not clear yet on how she’ll be able to utilize that form in-game, but it’s possible that it could be like the Thing’s passive in where she becomes completely immovable.
Interestingly enough, Frost was actually given the diamond ability in the comics as a way to fill-in for Colossus—who had died around the time she joined the X-Men. Rumors have also been going around that Colossus could be coming to the game, but it could be a while before that happens; it should be fitting that he join the roster though, because he was the original character Wolverine would team-up with when doing the ‘fastball special.’
Going back to Emma though, it does seem like this version is also one that leads the X-Men (hence her saying, “To me, my X-Men!” in the trailer); which could mean that Rivals won’t be pursuing a playable Professor X anytime soon. However, Frost is pretty friendly with Magneto though, so some people may not count that as Erik getting a rival in-game.
With Season 2 barely a week away, it shouldn’t be long before fans get a more specific overview of Emma’s powers.
Emma Frost comes to Marvel Rivals when Season 2 kicks off April 11. Marvel Rivals is now playable for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.
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