Marvel Snaps Most Wanted
The votes continue to come in for December’s Most Wanted poll, and the characters are starting to settle in their places. Last week’s most interesting development was the decline of Mephisto, who has reigned as the king of the list since its inception in early September.
With a surge of votes, Mephisto has jumped ten spots on the list and is now sitting precariously at number 7, still within striking distance of the top spot. If you haven’t voted yet, make sure your voice is heard by voting now! Voting for December’s list will end on December 24th, with results being made available shortly after!
VOTE HERE
I mentioned last week that The Wall was holding up the bottom of the list. Well, he’s moved up a bit, but still finds himself a solid foundation at the bottom. The only character beneath him now? Newcomer Orrgo, whom I hoped would find some more popularity. Orrgo is both a giant alien monster and a contributing member of the Howling Commandos. One thing I love about Marvel Snap is the diversity of character styles in the game. The game is lacking in reality-altering monsters with heroic streaks, and it would be disappointing to see Orrgo leave the list so soon.
Perhaps this incredible picture of Orrgo could sway you to vote in support of him?
Second Chance Contest
The most exciting part of this month’s Most Wanted is the Second Chance contest, which allows you to vote for a character to return to the list after suffering removal from a low rank in a previous poll.
Dogpool continues to be the top dog, but his lead is narrowing, and there are a few characters in it who can still topple him. If you haven’t yet, take a look at the graphic below, and think about which former list member you would like to see included again in the vote.
All month, I’ve been spotlighting characters on this list, with Kushala and Ruby Thursday articles over the past few weeks. I’m going to tie the final spotlight of December into this month’s Weapon X season by highlighting the “what if” daughter of Wolverine and Elektra - Wild Thing!
Character Spotlight: Wild Thing
To understand Wild Thing, first you have to understand the Marvel Comics 2 Universe. In the late 90s, Marvel was struggling with how to bring in new readers, who felt daunted when trying to jump into comics, specifically regarding the ever-growing continuity and world-building of the Marvel Universe. One of the first attempts at a solution to this problem was to reboot the Marvel Universe, with a new imprint, set outside of 616 continuity, called Marvel Comics 2 (Designated as Earth-982). The primary gimmick of MC2 is that most traditional Marvel Heroes appeared 15 years earlier than their 616 counterparts. Because of that, in the present of MC2 they are older, more seasoned, and have made way for their younger counterparts - one of whom is Wild Thing.
Wild Thing, or Rina Logan, is the daughter of Wolverine and Elektra, and when we first see her, she is attacking the Juggernaut’s son, J2, in his eponymously named comic. It turns out that J2 is nothing like his father, but that doesn’t stop Rina from making a mess of things.
Along with Wolverine’s regenerative healing and superhuman reflexes, Rina is also, thanks to her mother, a trained martial artist. Her godmother, never named, also helped her unlock minor psionic powers, allowing her to wield psychic claws. Do you think they resemble Psylocke’s blades?
She turns up again later as the star of her own comic. Rina tries to make it on her own and goes to High School. She initially struggles to fit in, and each issue focuses on a villain-of-the-week. With a cast of characters including Magneto’s daughter, Magneta, M2 original, Daze, and a gruff Wolverine, the comic gives off very Buffy-inspired vibes.
Wild Thing plays an essential role in the Last Hero Standing storyline. This serves as one of the final events for the M2 imprint and involves the newer M2 heroes teaming up in an effort to save kidnapped classic heroes from Loki.
Unfortunately for Rina, her appearances after this are few and far between, mainly serving as a background cameo when she does appear. The Marvel Comics 2 universe was ultimately unsuccessful, but it still lives on today in the occasional Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker) comic.
In addition to potentially returning Wild Thing to the Most Wanted list, are there any other Marvel Comics 2 characters worth putting on? American Dream? J2? Spider-Girl? Let me know your thoughts about Marvel Comics 2 in the comments!
Wild Thing in Marvel Snap
There’s really only one direction to go with Wild Thing. Taking inspiration from Nocturne, the “what if” daughter of Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch, Wild Thing would have to be some combination of her parents.
With that in mind, Wild Thing should be something you want to destroy that can’t actually be destroyed. She should also be able to interact with the smaller cards on your opponent’s side of the board. That brings me to the following design:
Wild Thing - 1/1 - When Destroyed: Regenerate with +1 power at a random location, and destroy an enemy 1-cost card here.
A repeatable Elektra that needs to be destroyed to trigger. The real strength of the card lies in its ability to grow, but the bonus of destroying an opponent's card every so often gives Wild Thing a niche and thematic utility.
The best home for Wild Thing would be alongside her father - twice in fact - in a deck with both Wolverine and Weapon X.
Most Wanted Wild Thing
This is a fairly classic destroy deck, but I don’t think it’s the traditional Weapon X deck. Weapon X needs a lot of bodies to destroy, and I’ve seen several decks utilizing cards like Squirrel Girl and Shanna to help provide him with ample bodies. The key here, though, is the sheer number of 1-drop cards, and the fact that so many of them respawn in either your hand or on the board.
Character Spotlight Conclusion
That brings us to the end of another exciting month of Character Spotlights! Writing about Kushala, Ruby Thursday, and Wild Thing these past few weeks has reiterated for me that there’s a place for everyone in Marvel Snap. In the past, Glenn on Discord has discussed the fact that Marvel Snap could go on for another ten years. While I don’t know if that’s true (or possible), I hope I can see the day that all of these lesser-known characters make it to the game and are able to find their time to shine.
If you haven’t yet, there’s still ONE WEEK left to vote for your Most Wanted characters in Marvel Snap.
PLUS, you have two chances to win a Season Pass this week! All you have to do is comment on this article with your own “what if” combination Marvel Snap idea, and also use the Snap.Fan tracker! Make sure to include your Discord name in the comment as well!
So what are you waiting for? Vote now!