Since her arrival in the game, Sue has taken the Marvel Rivals fanbase by storm (pun intended). Along with being a formidable hero that takes a while to get the hang of, she and her husband both come with variant costumes that showcase evil versions of them, and, in Sue’s case, that comes in the form of Malice, Mistress of Hate.
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The costume took a lot of people by surprise due to its aesthetic and the fact that it’s very revealing (though it is tame compared to the comic version, trust us), but Malice is a more complex character than meets the eye and her appearance was quite the game changer for Sue, as we’ll see.
It’s worth mentioning that there is a series of characters named Malice in the comics, and they have nothing to do with one another — the name is just cool, apparently. We’re specifically talking about Sue’s evil persona.
First Appearance
Malice comes from Fantastic Four #280, written by John Byrne. Sue, who was called the Invisible Girl at the time, was taken by two villains, the Hate-Monger and his master, Psycho-Man. They use their powers to affect her psyche to bring multiple repressed feelings onto the surface, turning her into Malice.
As Malice, she fought Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, and She-Hulk (who replaced the Thing during that period). This was one of the first big offensive displays of Sue’s power, as she easily defeated her friends.
After revealing to them that she’s Sue, Reed tries to help her get back to normal by overwhelming her with hatred. He manages to defeat her by using a series of sexist comments towards her and even slaps her in the face in the process, which is… Something. The plan somehow works, and Malice is forgotten for quite a while after that.
Invisible Girl And Malice Become One
Malice returns in Fantastic Four #369, where Sue and Malice fight inside her mind. Malice once again shows how brutal Sue’s powers can be and encourages Sue to embrace her ferocity. Sue agrees to a certain extent, so rather than defeating Malice, Sue wants them to unite, and they both fuse.
From this point onward, Sue became a more aggressive character, though not to any extremes as Malice had been in her appearances. She also expresses many of her frustrations after this fusion and even has a more provocative version of her Fantastic Four outfit.
The Birth Of The Invisible Woman
In Fantastic Four #384, we have a retcon as to who Malice is, and Malice is dealt with for good a few comics later, ending this story in issue #392. Sue’s son, Franklin, from an alternate timeline, confronts Malice, who appears to be slowly taking over the fusion between her and Sue, thus explaining her getting more aggressive as time goes on.
During the fight, it’s stated that she’s a different being entirely rather than a part of Sue’s psyche, and Franklin traps Malice inside his own mind to free his mother. Because of that, he begins to be affected by Malice himself, and Franklin, with the help of his parents, traps her inside the mind of the Dark Raider, an evil Reed Richards from another timeline. With the Dark Raider defeated, both he and Malice are gone for good.
From this point forward, Sue becomes more assertive and overcomes many of the feelings that brought Malice into the first place. It’s also when she stops addressing herself as the Invisible Girl and begins to use the title of Invisible Woman.
What Is Malice?
As you can see, Malice herself went through a change during the stories she’s been in. At first, Malice is a mix of Sue’s repressed feelings that Psycho-Man manipulates. In fact, her original story dives into fascinating topics about the character.
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The character of Malice revolves around how she’s perceived as the weakest member of The Fantastic Four publicly, how she doubts her own powers and overall capacity to help, and how she’s afraid of losing people due to her alleged lack of powers.
However, Malice grows into what appears to be a malevolent being that Sue is better without rather than a part of her psyche that she needs to acknowledge and work on. This is evident by how Franklin literally takes Malice out of his mother, and Sue is just fine without her. Outside of references here and there, Malice has not been a predominant character since.
Malice’s original story was adapted into the 90s Fantastic Four cartoon, but it simplifies things quite a lot. The adaptation doesn’t touch on Sue’s inner struggles as the comics do and mainly focuses on Evil Invisible Woman for most of its time. It is one TV episode against multiple comics, so it makes sense. There’s also the fact that the show is very light-hearted, so there was only so much they could adapt without getting too serious.
And, of course, we already mentioned the Marvel Rivals skin for the Invisible Woman, which is an amazing modernization of her appearance while keeping the aesthetic the original costume was going for. The game, at least thus far, doesn’t seem to have any plans revolving around Malice, keeping her as just a skin for you to purchase.
Third-Person Shooter
Action
Multiplayer
- Developer(s)
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NetEase Games
- Released
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December 6, 2024
- Publisher(s)
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NetEase Games