It’s a Friday evening in 2026, and I’m settled into my gaming chair, the neon glow of my monitor flickering as I queue up for another round of Marvel Rivals. The game has been my weekly ritual ever since it stormed onto the scene back in December 2024, evolving from a scrappy free-to-play hero shooter into a full-blown cultural obsession. Over these past eighteen months, I’ve watched the roster balloon with legends—Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, the entire Fantastic Four—and I’ve memorized every corner of the destructible maps, from the eerie Empire of Eternal Night to the rugged Hydra Charteris Base. But tonight, I’m not focusing on the upcoming Punk Rage Hulk skin, even though that green-haired, goggle-wearing Bruce Banner still cracks me up every time I see him morph into a tattooed monster. No, my mind is stuck on something else entirely: a fan-made gameplay concept for Ant-Man that I stumbled across on a subreddit, and it’s got me all kinds of excited.

I remember scrolling lazily through my feed when I saw the post. LOOWEEpsd, some talented soul who clearly spends way too much time dreaming about shrinking tech, had mocked up what Scott Lang would look like if he ever joined the Marvel Rivals lineup. And I was like, “Hold up, this is genius.” There he was, Ant-Man in his signature crimson suit and helmet, skittering across the battlefield at insect size thanks to Pym Technology, dodging attacks that would flatten a normal hero. Then, just when you’d think he’s been squashed, he explodes upward into a sky-scraping giant, casting a shadow over the entire objective point. I couldn’t stop staring at the mock-up—it’s the kind of visual that makes you feel tiny and massive all at once, and it just hit different, you know?

The concept imagines a Vanguard or maybe a Strategist with a kit that revolves around two extremes: vanish into the carpet fibers to flank enemies or repair a broken piece of cover, then blast back into view as a lumbering giant who can stomp on the enemy backline like a human Thing. That kind of dual-form design has been done before in games, but in the context of Marvel Rivals’ Dynamic Hero Synergy, it would be a game-changer. I can already picture the synergy prompts: Ant-Man shrinking to ride on Hawkeye’s arrow, or enlarging to toss Wolverine into the fray like a fastball special. The sheer creative potential makes me wonder why NetEase hasn’t pulled the trigger on Scott Lang yet. As far as I’ve heard, the latest hero to join the roster was Angela—Thor’s sister—and while she’s a beast of a duelist, she doesn’t make you giggle at the thought of an ant-sized man punching a fully grown Loki in the ankle.

The Reddit thread wasn’t just full of praise for LOOWEEpsd’s art. Some fans pointed out that if Ant-Man ever makes it in, his daughter Cassie would be a perfect side-by-side addition. Picture her rolling in as Stature, a full-on tank who can grow big and stay big, soaking damage while her dad zips around confusing the enemy team. Others begged the artist to create a concept for the Wasp next, because let’s be real—Janet van Dyne is the original size-shifter, and her bio-electric stingers would look incredible in the game’s vibrant art style. So here’s the kicker: despite all this chatter, there’s been no official word about Ant-Man joining the lineup. Not a peep. In fact, the last major community uproar wasn’t about a missing hero but about Human Torch’s abilities needing a rework—apparently his fireballs feel about as scary as a damp sparkler, and players have been waving their pitchforks about it. Me? I’d settle for a dev update that even mentions the word “quantum.”

The silence honestly makes me itch. It’s 2026, and the game has already proven it can handle weird, wonderful characters—Jeff the Land Shark is a household name at this point, and that little guy can swallow an entire team whole. If a land shark can be a Strategist, why can’t a guy who talks to ants be a hero? I’ve had games where I’m defending the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda and I think, “If only I could shrink through a vent right now and back-cap this point without the enemy noticing.” That kind of sneaky, disruptive playstyle is missing from the current roster, and Ant-Man would fill it like a tiny, perfectly shaped key.

Beyond the wishful thinking, the whole situation reminds me of a comment James Gunn made a couple of years ago, right after Marvel Rivals exploded. He said he’d be open to a DC-themed version of this hero shooter, and at the time I remember the internet going nuts, imagining Superman and Batman trading blows in a destructible Metropolis. Well, flash forward to 2026, and DC is actually trying to make that happen. Their own project, rumored to be called Legends United, is supposedly in the works, though they’re still washing off the embarrassment of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Every time a new leak drops, I chuckle because all I want is for Marvel Rivals to give me Ant-Man first. Let DC chase the trend, but give me my shrink-and-grow king. Maybe if we make enough noise, NetEase will finally hear us. Until then, I’ll keep staring at that fan concept, hoping that one day I’ll log in and find a tiny yellow dot on the patch notes: “Scott Lang has entered the chat.”