Marvel Rivals Season 1 Shouldn’t Be the End All Be All For Dracula

Narrative is a tricky thing to get right in an ongoing live-service game. If there are too many evolving story beats, it runs the risk of players losing the plot if they return from a brief absence. But if there’s too little story, then players might feel the game lacks enough narrative context to keep the in-game action relevant and exciting. So far, Marvel Rivals has struck a pretty good balance.

Season 1 of Marvel Rivals saw Dracula leading his army of vampires into New York City. Over the course of the season, players were given frequent lore entries that revealed a bit more about the origins of Dracula’s conquest and his relationships with fellow Marvel characters like Blade. This approach gave those invested in the ongoing story plenty to sink their teeth into, while not getting in the way of those who prefer to jump into the action right away. Marvel Rivals Season 2 seems to be leaving Dracula behind, but this appearance shouldn’t be the last fans see of the Transylvanian vampire lord.

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Marvel Rivals Season 1 Shouldn’t Be The End For Dracula

Dracula’s Invasion of New York Was a Great Backdrop for Season 1

Marvel Rivals‘ main plot revolves around the ongoing Timestream Entanglement that Doctor Doom and his 2099 counterpart created as a result of their experiments with time energy. This Timestream Entanglement has forced multiple universes and timelines to converge, and while various Marvel heroes are trying to find a way to return to the status quo, Marvel’s villains are doing what they do best, using the chaos to further their own gains.

Dracula is one such villain. Using the mysterious Chronovium energy gifted by Doctor Doom, Dracula invaded New York at the start of Marvel Rivals Season 1, and his season has set a high bar for the hero shooter’s future. Though Dracula rarely appeared in the game itself, his invasion of New York acted as the perfect narrative backdrop, paving the way for some very unique, well-themed maps, some thrilling cameos, and some potential teases for future playable characters.

Based on the Marvel Rivals Season 2: Hellfire Gala reveal trailer, it seems as though beloved Marvel villain Ultron will be playing the antagonist role next, with the AI adversary invading Mutantkind’s living island of Krakoa. Unfortunately, that might mean Dracula’s time in Marvel Rivals has come to an end.

Though there are still a few days left of Marvel Rivals Season 1 at the time of writing, it seems very likely Dracula will be left behind, with the most recent lore entries stating that Doom has switched sides so that he can take the Pure Blood Chronovium from Dracula once he’s been defeated.

Dracula Deserves The Same Future as Ultron

Despite seemingly being the main antagonist of Marvel Rivals Season 2, it’s already been confirmed that Ultron will be a playable character. In fact, Ultron will be Season 2’s mid-season roster addition, which means he’ll presumably turn heel in just a month’s time. Regardless of how that heel-turn will be written into Marvel Rivals‘ ongoing story, it’ll be great to see such a popular Marvel villain get the chance to stick around for the long term.

It would be great if Dracula could be given the same treatment. Though developer NetEase reportedly has a lot of playable characters already waiting in the wings, it would be neat if it got back around to Dracula at some point during Marvel Rivals‘ future, perhaps on the anniversary of the game’s first season next year, though that might be thinking too far in the future.