Deadpool will be a Duelist, Vanguard, and Strategist in Marvel Rivals, as the prophecies foretold

I think Deadpool has been leaked about 230948 times for Marvel Rivals, including his most recent leak ahead of Season 6: Night at the Museum followed by a confirmation from NetEase. Well, Deadpool is finally here, and he’s exactly as the leaks and theories foretold! [ENTER DEADPOOL BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL HERE TO SAY “NO SHIT”]

I first wrote about the Deadpool leaks back in August 2025 (although he was leaked well before then). Back then, I admitted I didn’t really care. I mean, who was shocked by that leak? And hasn’t every Marvel character been leaked multiple times? NetEase has already told us they plan to do like, what, thousands of characters. Who even cares?

However, the reveal has been somewhat exciting.

Deadpool looks fun, too bad Marvel Rivals is still sorta boring

Developers had a little fun with the data miners leading up to Deadpool’s official reveal.

In the Season 5.5 update, Deadpool was revealed as a Duelist. He appeared on the hero roster but was locked. However, after a mid-season patch, Deadpool appeared as a Vanguard. Another patch and Deadpool was now listed as a Strategist. After Version 20260101, Deadpool’s role appeared as a question mark.

The suspense was KILLING the 10 people who still find Marvel Rivals leaks exciting. Now it’s all come to light: Deadpool can play all three roles.

In the reveal trailer, Deadpool was shown switching between all three roles. As a Vanguard, he dropped unicorn plushies that provided him with protective shields. As a Duelist, he revealed katanas and pistols at a variety of ranges. And as a Strategist, he used his weapons to simultaneously heal allies.

To switch between roles, Deadpool has to return to his team’s spawn. This can be done by simply retreating when your team needs a new strategy, or whenever Deadpool is killed.

To make Deadpool even more special, he has a unique in-game progression system that has him leveling up over the course of a match to unlock abilities. He stands out even more since his ultimate ability is charged whenever he does cool stuff in-game. He then uses the ultimate to harass enemies, simultaneously damaging players as a Duelist, healing teammates as a Strategist, or shielding as a Vanguard.

His animations are super fun, I will say, really playing up that comic book style. There are funny emotes and red spikes around the edge of the screen when he deals damage. They really tried to bring out Deadpool’s wacky personality with this one, which will be much appreciated by Marvel fans.

Will it make me play the game again? No. But hope everyone has fun. Maybe we’ll even get a cheeked-up summer skin for him!