Marvel Rivals, likeMarvel’s Avengerswas, is committed to debuting character skins (‘costumes’) that feature looks inspired by their counterparts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU may not be enjoying the heyday it once boasted, but the popularity and nostalgia they represent demonstrate how iconic these appearances have been in the last two decades. This is especially true of theunique rugged aesthetic Captain America wore inAvengers: Infinity War, where he has longer, slicked-back hair, a full beard, a tarnished uniform, and no red, white, and blue shield.
It obviously hasn’t takenMarvel Rivalslong to adapt this look and it couldn’t have been conceived without any obstacles related to its irregular design.Marvel Rivalshas shown that it has a great depth of creativity when it comes to skins and that a character’s kit isn’t a leash from which it cannot stretch its legs. That said, Captain America has had a persistent issue with skins now. Many players may be willing to overlook it as it is indeed a cosmetic nitpick, but for anyone who cares at all about immersive consistency between appearances there is a glaring visual errorMarvel Rivalshas elected to ignore: the blue circle of energy radiating from Captain America’s shield.
Captain America’s Marvel Rivals Skins Have a Weird Shield Discrepancy
Being thawed in 2099, it’s unsurprising thatMarvel Rivals’ Captain Americais a bit different. Steve Rogers’ default costume and shield saliently illustrate thatMarvel Rivals’ iteration is novel, and having the shield radiate blue energy does a lot to portray how futuristic his new design is. However, this energy radiation is not exclusive to Captain America’s default skin and instead appears when the character hoists his shield defensively in any costume—as seen when holding his M2 Living Legend ability. The problem, then, is that the energy radiation is depicted as a round projection regardless of whether Captain America’s vibranium shield is round or not.
Captain America’s Captain Gladiator costumedodged this problem because, while the skin’s shield is unique with spiked and curved edges, it is still circular and therefore doesn’t clash with the circle energy projection.
Captain America’s Kit and Design Make Future Skins a Challenging Task
It’s fantastic thatMarvel Rivalsdecided to be inventive with Captain America’s shield and not simply have it be the same shape or style in every skin. Indeed,Captain America’s Season 0 Imperial Protocol skin—which has since been withdrawn fromMarvel Rivals’ costume store—featured a kite shield that Steve Rogers wielded while donning an eagle-themed mech suit.
It was here that the round energy projection was first noticeable on a shield that wasn’t round, and thus it broke the immersion of that radiation emitting from a shield of the same shape. The solution to such a gripe would feasibly be to have that energy radiation merely emulate the shape of the shield it’s emitting from, though for some reason that was dismissed.
Now, Captain America’sInfinity Warskin is further proof thatMarvel Rivalshas no intention of altering the round energy projection for each respective shield shape, which is a bit of a bummer. The fact that theInfinity Warskin’s shield is actually two shields and that Captain America hurls only one as a projection itself suggests that designing the costume around Cap’s abilities was a grueling process in and of itself.
Still, being so beloved as a look for the character, players may be completely content not to pour over it too meticulously or critically. It will be fascinating to see what other Captain America skinsMarvel Rivalshas in store in the future, especially with his classic garb already fully designed and showcased inMarvel Rivals’ Midtown map.
