With the inclusion of The Human Torch and The Thing, Marvel Rivals finally has The Fantastic Four together, heralding the beginning of Season 1.5. NetEase looks like it will continue with the formula it is establishing for Season 1, splitting each season into two forty-five-day parts, and the beginning of each of these parts will include a new hero. Season 1 looks to be somewhat of an exception, however, as four heroes have been introduced in the season. With these heroes being The Fantastic Four, it feels like they all had to be introduced together.

While The Thing gives the Vanguard class its first true bruiser, since even Marverl Rivals‘ Hulk is more of a diver that harasses the backline, The Human Torch doesn’t seem too dissimilar to Storm, which is pretty funny given his surname. He can fly, has excellent area denial with his flames, and has impressive damage output, although he is reasonably weak to hitscan characters like Hela or Punisher. He makes up for a lack of team buffing and has better mobility than Storm, thanks to his slam and faster flying speeds, but where he shines is his team-up with the X-Man.

The Human Torch’s Team Up With Storm Is Terrifying For Strategists

Storm Is Already One Of The Most Dangerous DPS Characters

The Human Torch has two team-ups in Rivals, one with The Invisible Woman and the rest of The Fantastic Four, in which he gets a shield; the other is with Storm, in which he can set the X-Man’s Omega Hurricane ultimate on fire. This can be done when he uses his ult, Supernova, and puts fire tornadoes in Storm’s path, buffing her already deadly ultimate. Typically, ultimates from Strategists can keep a team alive through most attacks, although this joins the Groot and Moon Knight ult combo as an effective way around this, especially given the recent nerfs.

While Groot’s ult can be paired with Namor’s or Iron Man’s, Moon Knight’s cannot be blocked and will kill practically anything stuck in it.

As of Season 1.5, many Strategists with effective healing ultimates, like Luna Snow, Mantis, Cloak and Dagger, and The Invisible Woman in Marvel Rivals, require more to charge their ultimates, meaning that they are less likely to have them in time to counter the enemy. However, Groot’s Strangling Prison and Moon Knight’s Hand of Khonshu are a good combo to counter this, Storm and Johnny’s team up deals so much damage that most Strategists are unable to keep their team alive. The damage alone would be enough of a problem, but there is also the issue of duration.

Storm’s Omega Hurricane lasts 5 seconds, but for every fire tornado she goes into, she gains more time as well as the flaming damage boost. Each tornado gives her an extra two seconds with her ultimate, with a maximum duration of 11 seconds, making it last longer than most Strategist ults. For example, Mantis’ Soul Resurgence, Sue Storm’s Invisible Boundary, and each stack of Cloak and Dagger’s Eternal Bond last 8 seconds. Only Luna Snow’s Fate of Both Worlds lasts longer at 12 seconds, although the healing output might not be enough to keep allies alive against the team up.

Storm Is A Vital Ban In Higher Ranks

And It Could Mean She Isn’t Seen At All At High Elo

This is great news for Storm players in Marvel Rivals, who already saw the Omega-level mutant get a massive buff in Season 1. While she was one of Marvel Rivals‘ worst Duelists in Season 0, she has an almost vital ban at Diamond or above (basically any rank where players can ban characters). Her sheer damage output, the speed at which she can charge her ultimate, and area denial make her hard to stop without a good hitscan player, and with The Human Torch by her side, she becomes a nigh-unstoppable force if not banned.

Diamond and above matches will have bans, but if there is at least one Platinum-ranked player, there won’t be any bans.

The Human Torch’s inclusion cements Storm’s place as a vital ban since the unbuffed version of her ultimate is relatively easy to deal with by comparison. Any healing Strategist Ultimate will deal with it quite soundly, thanks to its relatively short duration and decent damage output. If damage-boosted by Rocket or Mantis, Storm’s Omega Hurricane can get a lot scarier, and with The Human Torch’s team-up buff, as well as his contribution to damage during his Supernova state, a team wipe is probably inbound unless several Strategist ultimates are used together.

Storm will be banned for her own damage output and, for the same reason that the Hulk is banned, because of how powerful the team up is. This might also mean that lower ranks without bans will be full of Storms and Human Torches, especially because the Strategist nerfs make it even harder to keep teammates alive. Because they can fly, Storm and The Human Torch can largely bypass tanks trying to frontline, making bombarding Strategists hiding in the back quite easy unless targeted by specific counters, such as Hela.

The Human Torch Could Be Even Stronger After Players Learn His Tricks

It Takes Time To Work Out Everything The Game Doesn’t Tell Players

One good thing about balance patches coming every forty-five days is that they let players work out a character’s tricks before they get changed. The Human Torch has just come to the game, and while his teaming with Storm is overtly very powerful, there is still plenty of time for the players to get better with him and work out the nuances of his character. A couple of days after release, players realized that Johnny Storm could take out a team coming out of spawn at the start of the game by stacking Blazing Blast and slamming into them.

Players will only get better with The Human Torch as time goes on, and the same applies to The Thing in Marvel Rivals, although he seems more straightforward in his approach. At the moment, it doesn’t seem like The Human Torch will match Storm’s damage output, with the two being somewhat similar in their kits and purposes, but it doesn’t mean that he won’t become the next best thing and end up heavily played in Diamond and above. At lower ranks, the Storm-Human Torch duo is only going to get more deadly, especially for Strategists.

Still, this probably isn’t a bad thing overall. It’s bad for Strategist players in Marvel Rivals, but the general outcry from the community is that there’s too much healing and not enough ways to counter the triple support meta. This could be an effective counter, and if the damage output ends up being too much, the Storm-Human Torch team-up can always be nerfed at the start of Season 2. It is clear that NetEase is listening to feedback regarding Marvel Rivals, and if the team-up becomes too much, it will end up being scaled back anyway.