Following on from its Fantastic Four and Dracula-themed season, Marvel Rivals is getting ready to set its sights on the Mutant side of the Marvel universe. Marvel Rivals Season 2 will be themed around the Hellfire Gala, an in-universe annual event that kicked off the Reign of X run in 2021. The Hellfire Gala is a night intended to celebrate Mutantkind and all its achievements, and if the teaser trailer is any indication, Marvel Rivals Season 2 is fully embracing that theme.
Both Mutant and non-Mutant heroes alike are dressed to the nines, and Omega-Level telepath Emma Frost is leading the ceremony in Marvel Rivals‘ Hellfire Gala trailer. This teaser also confirmed that a new Krakoa-themed map is coming to the hero shooter this season, an addition that could lay the foundations for one of the X-Men’s most important members to join the Marvel Rivals roster.
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Marvel Rivals’ New Krakoa Map Lays the Groundwork for a Playable Professor X
Marvel Rivals’ New Krakoa Map Explained
Introduced all the way back in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1, Krakoa is a living, sentient island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In this original arc, Professor X sends a new team of X-Men to find the previous squad, who have seemingly gone missing on Krakoa. Krakoa attacks the new team, but is eventually defeated by being pulled from its roots and thrown into space.
But Krakoa’s most well-known appearance comes from Jonathan Hickman’s renowned 2019 House of X/Powers of X miniseries. In these alternating stories, the X-Men and a plethora of other Mutants have formed a sort of symbiotic relationship with the sentient Krakoa. Krakoa allows Mutantkind to live on it freely, and gives them access to astounding technological advancements, including the use of organic teleporters (Gateways) that are connected via Habitats that Mutants have planted around the globe. The Mutants claim Krakoa as their home, and fight to have it be recognized as an official sovereign nation by the rest of the world.
In Marvel Rivals, Krakoa will take the form of a Domination map in Season 2. At the time of writing, little else has been officially revealed about Marvel Rivals‘ version of Krakoa, though a brief overview trailer does show that the map will include the Gateway portals seen in the House of X series, along with plenty of Easter eggs and references to the wider world of Mutants.
Charles Xavier’s Connection to Krakoa Paves the Way for His Marvel Rivals Debut
In the House of X/Powers of X run, Charles Xavier is shown to have a very strong connection with Krakoa. Before the main events of the book begin, Xavier finds Krakoa and manages to converse telepathically with the entity within. Xavier forms a strong bond with the island, and that bond is the primary reason why Krakoa allows Mutantkind to live in its lush forests.
Prior to the House of X/Powers of X run, Charles Xavier constructs himself a younger body, which is why he’s seen walking in the miniseries.
With Charles Xavier having direct ties to Krakoa and Mutantkind’s presence on the living island, it would feel strange if the hero was left out of Marvel Rivals‘ future completely. Instead, Krakoa’s appearance in Marvel Rivals Season 2 should pave the way for Professor X to join the roster, and that outcome seems fairly likely given that Xavier has been one of Marvel Rivals‘ leaked characters for a few months now, and that his statue appears on the Krakoa map.
Marvel Rivals
9/10
- Released
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December 6, 2024
- ESRB
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T For Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
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NetEase Games
- Publisher(s)
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NetEase Games
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
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