Black Widow has been suspected for Marvel Rivals for a while now, and the launch trailer has confirmed that Natasha Romanoff is indeed coming.
Just in, a character reveal has been dropped, giving players a look at her abilities, and it’s been confirmed that she will be Rivals’ version of Widowmaker.
Black Widow Official Character Reveal
As speculated previously, Black Widow will be Rivals’ first sniper character, but she is also proficient in hand-to-hand combat.
The official description of the character reads:
“Natasha Romanoff is fully prepared - even if the world is on the brink of disaster. Trained in the infamous Red Room to anticipate anything, the Black Widow is always ready for action! For years, she used her unrivaled combat skills as a member of the Avengers, keeping pace with some of the most powerful beings who ever lived.
“Imbued with a life-extending formula and outlasting most of her enemies and allies, she continues her battle decades into the future. Her goal? Lead the Red Room in its relentless campaign to overthrow the oppressive reign of Doom 2099.”
Though most heroes keep to the third-person perspective, Black Widow is the first character to break that rule, and players can look straight down her sight when she goes into sniper mode.
Marvel Rivals Guide gets into some of the abilities that were showcased in the official character reveal:
Primary Fire—Sniper Rifle—The Widow uses her sniper rifle, which allows her to kill enemies with one headshot. When the rifle isn’t scoped in, the primary fire can be compared to that of a plain shotgun.
E – Kickback/Grappling Hook – Widow can kick back any enemies that get too close so they can be at a comfortable distance for her to shoot at. Activating the ability again lets Widow pull the enemy back with her grappling hook so she can deal damage with her alternate weapon.
Alternate Weapon – Riot Batons – Besides her sniper rifle, Widow can also choose to alternate her weapon to riot batons, which will cause more damage to nearby enemies.
Shift – Run/Super Jump – Widow can run faster in the game, and players can use this run to amplify their jump so they can go higher. The airtime can also aim at other enemies that are otherwise obscured.
Ultimate – Slowing Area-of-Effect – As for Black Widow’s ultimate, she launches an orb that will trigger an AoE field, effectively slowing down opponents, making them easy targets for Widow’s sniper. However, players had better be careful because even if the enemies are slowed down, they can still pretty much attack in this state, albeit slower.
One Shot, One Kill
Since the reveal, many players have been making fun of how Black Widow comes full circle after Widowmaker was revealed for Overwatch. Besides the characters having a lot of similarities from the grappling hook, femme fatale persona, and sniper rifle, it can be argued that Rivals’s Widow also has some Soldier: 76 in her with the sprinting ability, and Roadhog with her hook used for enemies rather than traveling.
It’s funny that she also has another similarity with Russian OW hero Zarya, whose ultimate is a ball that keeps enemies trapped. They can also attack while they’re caught in its effect.
With Widow in the game, the original Avengers roster has been completed. No doubt there will be power-ups if she teams up with either one of them in-game.
Watch out for Black Widow and 32 other playable heroes when Marvel Rivals launches for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on Dec. 6.