Whenever Hell Freezes Over For Marvel Rivals, NetEase Has One Way to Make It Less Cold

One of the biggest controversies that the Marvel Rivals community has latched on to came about fairly recently, as it has to do with original characters. Despite the Marvel universe having tons of heroes and villains to add to a hero shooter, many of which have yet to join the roster, NetEase shared that Marvel has given the studio a green light to create whatever original characters it wants. Unsurprisingly, players have been lashing out at this information, as they want to see all the heavy-hitting characters like Captain Marvel and niche favorites like Elsa Bloodstone added before brand-new heroes start being introduced.

Since NetEase first mentioned this creative freedom, it hasn’t brought the topic of original characters back up, though its comments that more on the topic would be discussed later have left fans preparing for an original character to be announced in the near future. If this actually happens, then it’s a safe bet that NetEase will introduce someone it has already designed for its previous work before making a character completely from scratch. After all, Marvel Rivals already offers one of NetEase’s previous original characters, Lin Lie Iron Fist, so it’s safe to assume that Aero would be next in line for the hero shooter.

While there is a chance that NetEase’s unique take on Daredevil, Dizang, is as far as it will go with “original” heroes, it’s just as likely for the developer to flex its creative muscles.

Who is Aero, NetEase’s Other Original Marvel Character

marvel-aero-looks-up — marvel aero art looking up

Aero, also known as Lei Ling, was the other fully new character designed by NetEase in collaboration with Marvel (Luna Snow was created by a different game studio known as Netmarble). One of the very first Chinese superheroes in the Marvel universe, Aero is both a Marvel Snap card and a playable character in the mobile game Marvel: Future Fight. She also had her own solo series in 2018, appeared in the War of the Realms crossover event, and had a cameo as a zombie in the Marvel Zombies comic books. That said, she hasn’t received much attention since 2021, meaning many Marvel fans may know nothing about her.

Lei Ling’s origin story lacks the tragedy that so often accompanies superheroes, as she simply discovered her abilities after consistently dreaming of flying before eventually realizing that she can do so in the real world. In addition to flight, Aero can manipulate wind and air at her will, creating whirlwinds that lift up her foes, blades that she can use to fight, and even clones of herself. These distinct abilities could make her a natural addition to Marvel Rivals, and since she’s already appeared in the comics and was made in collaboration with Marvel itself, players may be more accepting of her joining the lineup of playable characters.

What Could Aero Play Like in Marvel Rivals?

marvel-aero-looks-forward — marvel aero looking forward

First and foremost, it would be important to decide on a role for Aero. While she could certainly be yet another Duelist, the game has plenty of those to go around, meaning she’d be a better fit for Marvel Rivals’ stagnant Strategist category. From there, NetEase could take whatever creative liberties it wants with her kit, as it came up with Aero to begin with. Potential powers include:

Leveraging Aero’s mastery of the wind, a power like Lifeweaver’s life grip could be introduced. Just like the Overwatch hero, Aero could pull allies out of trouble when they overextend or get ambushed.
Aero could create more than just blade weapons out of air, as she could make practically any tool via her chi. NetEase could leverage this to give Aero close-range or long-range primary attacks, depending on what it feels suits her kit best.
While Aero could certainly fly like she does in the comics, she could also lift herself up via wind to have high jumps as her movement ability instead. Additionally, she could lift teammates to higher ledges to pull off some interesting strategies.
Aero would have natural team-up opportunities with other elemental heroes like Storm, Jeff the Land Shark, and Human Torch.
Aero’s healing could come in the form of chi-charged leaves, which she could blanket over her allies’ heads as opposed to firing the projectiles directly at her teammates. Like Iron Fist, perhaps she could charge her chi through a special animation to boost the healing output of each leaf, at the cost of taking herself out of the fight and leaving herself exposed.

Considering how Aero’s powers are linked to Chi, Iron Fist’s source of power, tying her story to Lin Lie or even Danny Rand could be effective from a lore standpoint. From there, it’s just a matter of nailing her character design so that she appeals to even the biggest haters of OCs in Marvel Rivals — though her unique history would already make her addition a sort of compromise between an established comics character and someone brand-new.