Yesterday, Marvel revealed but another upcoming video game: Marvel Rivals, a team-based multiplayer shooter impressed by the likes of Overwatch and Valorant. However amongst its roster of stalwarts—X-Males Storm and Magneto, Guardians of the Galaxy members Star-Lord and Rocket, and naturally, quite a lot of assembled Avengers—one determine stood out to many. However she’s not as unknown as you may assume.
Who Is Luna Snow?
Actual identify Seol Hee, she’s a South Korean pop idol—working in a bunch underneath the identify Luna—who was remodeled right into a human mutate after a live performance she carried out at a Stark Industries-sponsored enviornment. Captured by AIM and held hostage inside a malfunctioning fusion reactor, Luna discovered herself given cryokinetic talents by her damaged cage, utilizing them to defeat AIM and free herself and the opposite hostages. Now tacking on “Snow” to her idol identify to develop into a part-time superhero in addition to a Okay-Pop starlet, Luna stepped into the broader world of Marvel heroes, working with the revamped Brokers of Atlas squad whereas managing her touring duties.
She’s Not a New Character
Most individuals intrigued by Luna’s standout look in Rivals—particularly over extra acquainted characters from throughout the comics or amplified by their MCU presence—in all probability assumed that she’s a brand new creation for the sport. However Luna’s truly been round for six years… and he or she was truly created for a sport, simply not this one.
Luna was developed as an authentic character for the cellular sport Marvel Future Combat in 2018, out of a want by Korean developer Netmarble so as to add a singular ice-based hero to its roster whereas additionally introducing a brand new homegrown hero. Luna was given a giant push, not only for Future Combat, however with a collection of music movies selling her music as an idol. Within the years since she’s grown past her look in Future Combat, principally in different video games; earlier than she was confirmed for Rivals, she truly confirmed up a yr later in one other Netease Marvel sport, the 2019 MOBA Marvel Tremendous Conflict.
She’s Truly Been within the Comics, Too
It’s not simply video games both. After her look in Future Combat, Netmarble handed Luna over to Greg Pak and Gang Hyuk Lim to convey her into the following iteration of the comics crew Brokers of Atlas. Initially a crew composed of characters from again when Marvel was nonetheless Atlas Comics within the Nineteen Fifties (therefore the identify), in 2019 the writer relaunched the crew as a strategy to unite a number of Asian and Asian-heritage heroes into one group, Luna included.
Fashioned by Jimmy Woo—and inserting Luna alongside the likes of Shang-Chi, Silk, Sword Grasp, and extra—this group first appeared throughout the Conflict of the Realms occasion collection; Luna acquired her personal highlight solo comedian and have become an everyday within the Brokers of Atlas ongoing in 2019. After its conclusion Luna has largely been relegated to temporary team-up appearances in Silk and different occasion titles, in addition to anthologies just like the Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month particular Marvel Voices: Id.
Luna’s Powers, Defined
Okay, that’s who she is, however what does she do? Luna’s talents had been a moveset created to construct her round in Future Combat—Netmarble needed to create a personality with ice-themed powers, and in addition needed them to function a mechanical function of dealing injury and concurrently supporting allies with therapeutic powers. This result in her cryokinesis being a little bit completely different from different ice-themed heroes like Bobby Drake: Luna creates and manipulates two completely different sorts of ice. Darkish ice varieties her offensive and defensive talents, whereas gentle ice has restorative properties that heal and maintain Luna and her allies.
Need extra io9 information? Try when to anticipate the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and the whole lot you might want to learn about the way forward for Doctor Who.