Marvel Rivals creative director Guangyun Chen, known as Guangguang, said the game’s Mantis and Psylocke’s Vengeance skins adapt classic comic designs into more fashionable versions. He gave a different explanation for Squirrel Girl’s Krakoa Resort skin: it combines real-world themes with elements from the season’s story. Those are examples of the design team’s stated approaches, not proof that every skin comes from a comic.
What Chen said about the “gooner game” label
In an interview with Rivals Assembled, Chen was asked how the team responds to people calling Marvel Rivals a “gooner game.” Forbes reproduced his response on August 13, 2025:
“Because our design is inspired by classic comic themes, including some very outstanding skins, like Mantis and also Psylocke’s Vengeance, these all come from classic comic designs, and we create some more fashionable designs based on them to gain players’ appreciation. I think this also reflects the broad recognition from our players.”
Chen’s answer frames those two skins as adaptations of classic comic designs, styled in a way he described as more fashionable. His comment about broad player recognition is his assessment; the reports do not cite a survey or other measure of player approval. Forbes, Radio Times and Kotaku all reported the interview and its design rationale (Forbes; Radio Times; Kotaku).
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Two different design paths Chen described
| Example | Design influence Chen described |
|---|---|
| Mantis and Psylocke’s Vengeance | Classic comic designs adapted into what Chen called “more fashionable designs.” |
| Squirrel Girl’s Krakoa Resort | Real-world themes blended with elements from the season’s storyline, including Krakoa. |
For Squirrel Girl’s skin, Chen described a separate approach in the same interview:
“As mentioned earlier with the Squirrel Girl and the Krakoa Resort skin, these are actually designs based on real-world themes and the season’s storyline. For designs like these, we try our best to integrate the storylines from the season, including elements from Krakoa and blend popular elements from real life. We create new designs based on that and I’m very grateful these designs have been well received by the majority of players.”
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Again, the comment about the “majority” receiving the designs well is Chen’s characterization, not a published player-approval statistic. The two examples show that his explanation was not simply “all revealing skins are copied from comics”: he pointed to both comic adaptations and designs shaped by real-world themes and seasonal storytelling.
What the interview does—and does not—establish
Chen’s remarks explain the design team’s intent as reported from the Rivals Assembled interview. They do not independently identify the specific comic issue or panel behind Mantis or Psylocke’s Vengeance, nor do the reports establish what share of Marvel Rivals cosmetics draw directly from comics. The examples should therefore be read as Chen’s stated influences, not a complete catalog of the game’s skin origins.
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How the 2025 Swimsuit Special fits in
A separate comic tie-in offers nearby context, but not a source attribution for Chen’s examples. PC Gamer reported that Marvel Swimsuit Special: Friends, Foes & Rivals #1 was announced for July 9, 2025. Marvel executive producer Danny Koo described it as spotlighting designs for Marvel Rivals costumes coming that summer. That report does not link the issue to the Mantis or Psylocke skins Chen named (PC Gamer).
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