Marvel Rivals continues its skin parade with yet another round of cosmetics for the usual suspects. NetEase Games just announced two “new” skins dropping tomorrow, and surprise, surprise—they’re for Iron Man and Spider-Man.
While nobody can deny these heroes’ popularity, there’s a growing rumble of discontent from players who main other characters. One hero in particular seems perpetually stuck at the back of the line when it comes to cosmetic love, despite being a fan-favorite both in-game and across the wider Spider-Verse.
The question isn’t whether these new skins look good—they absolutely do. It’s about whether NetEase’s skin strategy is leaving some heroes wearing the same old threads while others get to play dress-up every other week.
The same heroes keep getting the spotlight while others collect dust
Marvel Rivals recently dropped their latest announcement on X, revealing that two fan-favorite heroes are getting fancy new threads. Or should we say, old threads that are finally making their way back from beta?
⚙️ Steam meets rebellion. Tech meets anarchy. 🕷️
The streets of Marvel Rivals are about to get LOUD! Iron Man’s Steam Power and Spider-Man’s Spider-Punk 2099 suits are bringing two majestic visions of alternate timelines – an innovative past and a raw, unfiltered future.
💥 In… pic.twitter.com/lPnBaYB63s
— Marvel Rivals (@MarvelRivals) March 17, 2025
Let’s be real—both skins look absolutely Marvel-ous (get it?). Spider-Punk 2099 with his neon mohawk and electric guitar is pure attitude, while Steam Power Iron Man looks like he walked straight out of a steampunk convention. The problem? These aren’t actually new creations—they were available during the beta test last summer, the same as the President Loki skin released last week.
Meanwhile, Peni Parker mains are left staring at their meager collection of mostly recolored options:
Peni mains seeing Iron Man and Spidey each get their 6th and 7th skin respectively (she still only has 4)
byu/Bandrbell inmarvelrivals
The frustration is palpable, especially when you look at what passes for “variety” in Peni’s wardrobe:
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This isn’t just about cosmetics – it’s about feeling valued as a player. When your main character gets overlooked repeatedly, it starts to feel personal, especially when the not-so-friendly (how can you call THIS friendly?) neighborhood Spider-Man is about to get his seventh skin option.
Why Peni Parker deserves better than recolors and band-aid bug fixes
The irony of Peni’s situation is that she’s not some obscure character that nobody plays. Thanks to her standout appearances in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Across the Spider-Verse (2023), she’s become a fan-favorite with serious potential for amazing skins.
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What makes this particularly frustrating is that Peni actually received attention in the March 12th patch—but only to fix a couple of her many persistent bugs.
According to the patch notes, they fixed issues with her invisible Arachno-Mines and self-destructing spider drones clipping through floors. Great, but what about getting stuck on her own webs? Or this maddening glitch where her Cyber-Web Snare seems to have a mind of its own?
Fans have plenty of ideas for what they’d like to see instead of these band-aid fixes:
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Meanwhile, Spider-Man mains are already dreaming up their eighth skin while Peni players would be thrilled with just one more option that isn’t a palette swap:
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The balance between catering to popular heroes and spreading the love around is tricky, but right now, NetEase seems to be playing it safe by focusing on the marquee names. The question is: how long will players of underserved heroes stick around if they keep feeling like second-class citizens?
What do you think? Should NetEase spread the cosmetic love more evenly, or are they right to focus on the most popular heroes? Let us know in the comments!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
