I have written extensively about “Marvel Snap” for many years, and for many different outlets. It’s a game I play every single day, but feel so weird about everything surrounding the game. The devs act strange, the game acts strange, it seems like the massive audience base has left only us sickos to enjoy the brutal grind of the ranked ladder, and the communication between the creators and community is at an all-time low.
There were some vague (and possibly empty) promises about a road map, fixes, changes, new modes, and opening lines of discussion about feedback and implementation. It’s nearly impossible to get lapsed players to return and care about their progress, and from the upcoming monthly seasons, is it safe to say they are grasping at any straws they can to get this once super popular game back to relevancy?
Here’s the slate for the rest of the year:
March and April: Two back to back X-Men months. May: A “Daredevil: Born Again” tie-in month as the show ends its run soon. June: A “Marvel Rivals” style plea for us to buy new skins because the hot characters are in bikinis and speedos now aka gooner bait. July: Another tie-in with the upcoming “Spider-Man” film that somehow does NOT tell us who Sadie Sink is playing. October: Zombies vs. Vampires for Halloween. And finally, the December “Avengers: Doomsday” season because the movie is releasing.
This isn’t as much a prediction article as it is a wish list for who will show up in these shows and movies, since Marvel is bound to ramp up their MCU slate and crossover promotions as a means to generate more interest (and money) in their brand. Those Hulk backpacks and Thor socks don’t sell themselves, after all. And at the end I come to terms with what I want out of the game. But first: nerd talk!
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and Amazon’s ‘Spider-Noir’ have so many potential cameos and surprise villain reveals coming up
While this is all based on leaked information and datamines, I can confidently say that we are getting Aunt May, Mary Jane, a “Brand New Day” official version of both Scorpion and Spider-Man, Tarantula, Boomerang, Tombstone, the Sinister Six, and Bug.
Otherwise, whoever Sadie Sink is playing is on the table (Fire-Star? A new Jean Grey?). Every black-and-white version of a character from the upcoming Amazon Prime Video “Spider-Noir” TV show. And god only knows what Sony is doing with their legal right to produce the shittiest Spidey-adjacent spin-offs.
Who do I want most, though?
- Adriana Soria aka the Spider Queen — I suspect she’s in “Brand New Day” but could be wrong!
- Ned Leeds — The guy in the chair HAS to be a part of “Snap.”
- Flash Thompson — I love every live action Flash so far.
- Silvermane — He’s in the new “Spider-Noir” show.
- Megawatt — As is this guy. Who is NOT Electro. That’s a different electric villain.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ could actually be the X-Men vs. Avengers film we’ve been dreaming of
I have to imagine that since the director of “Thunderbolts” is doing the new “X-Men” film under the banner of Disney and Marvel, that means we are getting a WHOLE lotta Fox X-actors killed off by the one and only Doctor Doom (RDJ edition).
So who hasn’t shown up in “Snap” yet that I haven’t already written about?
- Living Monolith — He’s a Pharaoh who decided to fight the X-Men and Fantastic Four.
- Living Laser — I promise this is the last person to have a name that starts with “living.”
- Wendigo — He’s like another Sabretooth or Sasquatch.
- Dr. Bolivar Trask — The creator of the Sentinels, he was portrayed by Peter Dinklage in “Days of Future Past.”
- Arcade — He already has Murder World in the game, why not him?
I could list off random mutants and their rivals for hours. Benjamin Rabin, Cameron Hodge, Avalanche, Deathbird, Forearm, Tempo, Dragoness, Graydon Creed, Phalanx, Mikhail Rasputin, Vertigo, Kamikaze (maybe don’t include him), Harpoon, Scalphunter (or him), Riptide, Whiteout, Eric the Red, Black Tom Cassidy, The Von Struckers, Locus, Samurai, Skullbuster, Shinobi Shaw, Matsuo Tsurayaba, Amphibius, Barbarus, Siena Blaze, and Gamemaster.
What’s insane is that those are the leftovers from the previous X-Men article I wrote! “Snap” could go on for years without repeating characters.
‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ is a big ol’ grab bag of characters, variants, and space freaks coming our way
There are SO so many characters, or versions of characters, who could be included in one frame of “Secret Wars” and it would be enough to dine out on for years. On Battleworld, anybody can show up thanks to the Beyonder (also not in the game yet), and for all I know….. Tom Cruise playing Iron Man could battle Meryl Streep playing Wonder Woman on film.
Nothing would shock me. But I do know that “Snap” should get in on these space freaks ASAP because there are some good ones I would want to see. Molecule Man, the Wrecking Crew, just take your pick! The Apocalypse twins, the Masters of Evil, Whirlwind, the Grim Reaper, Blizzard, Red King, Abe Jenkins, Count Nefaria, Michael Korvac, or my personal favorite, the Kree Supreme Intelligence manifest as a location. That would be sick.
And now, for the future of the game…
Ultimately, I think there is a confluence of source material to use, and a number of big name movies to tie into. Do I think that’s smart synergy, or coat tail riding? Do I think these movies will be successful for the MCU going forward, or do I want it to end? Will I be playing and spending money on “Snap” a year from now if they don’t turn things around?
Probably not.
Clearly the conscious coupling of live action adaptations and monthly seasons is only going to increase in an effort to get the game back into relevance. And I can’t blame developer Second Dinner. That’s exactly what I would do, although maybe not include so many repeated cards. There’s only so many different types of Spider-Man before it gets too egregious. But is that healthy for the game?
At the end of the day, I would really like them to include my favorite characters to maybe entice me around for a bit longer. Or just put in a draft mode, lower the price of the economy so we can all keep up with the card release schedule, lower the cost of card packs in tokens, put in a real store with more in it so you don’t just rely on a FOMO rotating shop of only a few options, introduce more videos of the devs explaining themselves and their decisions, put out a real road map, engage with the community, become less greedy and tune down the monetization, do less pop-up ads with overpriced bundles, and squash all of the perpetual game breaking bugs. That might really help more, to be honest.
Image credit: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”
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