Summary
It’s no secret that video game adaptations of popular franchises rooted in film and television often prioritize originality over familiarity. Regardless of how iconic a portrayal may be, video game developers often prefer to sidestep the expectations set by Hollywood portrayals, perhaps to give their games an opportunity to carve out their own identity in the shadow ofblockbuster movies and TV shows. Netease Games’Marvel Rivals, however, takes a different approach that somewhat bridges the gap between familiar cinematic portrayals and their video game counterparts.
Certain characters inMarvel Rivalslean heavily into recreating the voices and personalities of the iterations they are most known for, effectively making it one of gaming’s best mockingbirds, so to speak. In doing so,Marvel Rivalsnot only pays homage to the pop icons who have brought these beloved characters to life in other media, but it also leads fans into familiar territory for a somewhat seamless experience.
Marvel Rivals Doesn’t Shy Away From Pop Icon Mimicry
Video Game Adaptations of Other Media Tend to Exchange Familiarity for Originality
For the most part,video game adaptationsof other media like film and television tend to exchange familiarity for originality. In other words, rather than hiring the talent characters are most known for — like Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, for example — to portray their characters, these adaptations bring original voices and faces on board instead.Marvel’s Avengersis one example of this, as it chose to take most of its design inspiration from the MCU and yet went an entirely different route with its characters, giving them original faces and voices. Ahead of its release, this was a major point of contention inMarvel’s Avengers, but it was later overshadowed by several other design issues with the game.
One of the main reasons video games might prefer not to imitate famous pop icons is that an unconvincing impression of another person can almost be worse than simply finding an original replacement. IfMarvel Rivals, for instance, were to attempt to imitateChris Evans' Captain Americaand deliver an unconvincing performance, it would arguably be more noticeable than if the character were voiced by a fresh talent altogether. However, that still does nothing for the familiarity fans may have with more famous versions of their favorite characters.
Marvel Rivals Dives Headlong Into Its Pop Icon Influences
WhileMarvel Rivalscertainly features plenty of original voices and personalities, it still does its best to mimic pop icons that fans have become familiar with over time. Most notably isMarvel Rivals' Iron Man, who has been directed to sound almost exactly like Robert Downey Jr.’s iconic iteration of the character from the MCU. InMarvel Rivals, Iron Man has the same razor-sharp wit, sarcasm, humor, and charisma of his MCU counterpart, thereby connecting fans of Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of the hero to the game. What makes this even better is the fact that Josh Keaton does an excellent job of mimicking every facet of RDJ’s Iron Man persona.
Another character made to sound like his MCU counterpart is Rocket Raccoon, who is voiced by Nolan North inMarvel Rivalsbut has apparently been directed to mimic Bradley Cooper’s version of the character from theGuardians of the Galaxyfilms.
Obviously, the most preferable route for a game likeMarvel Rivalsto take in the portrayal of its characters would be to hire the talents most famous for those roles to recreate them in the game. WhileMarvel Rivalsdoesn’t feature Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man,Spider-Man is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, a voice that has exploded onto the superhero scene after his portrayal of the web-slinging hero in Insomniac’sMarvel’s Spider-Manseries. Since fans of superhero games have likely become familiar with Lowenthal’s voice behind the mask,Marvel Rivalsmade a brilliant move asking the actor to come on board and be the voice for Spider-Man once again.
Marvel Rivals' portrayal of iconic charactersstands out as a bold embrace of familiarity by daring to mimic beloved pop icons, showing that video game adaptations can still thrive by leaning into the experiences fans have had with these characters in other media. This not only strengthens fans' emotional connection with characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man, but it also shows how games can celebrate the legacies of these portrayals while still making a name for themselves.
