Jeff the Land Shark is the most popular Marvel Rivals character, and everyone hates Storm

NetEase released a data set showing the most popular Marvel Rivals characters, and to no one’s surprise, Jeff the Land Shark is the multiplayer game’s biggest star

NetEase

NetEase released a data set showing the most popular Marvel Rivals characters, and to no one’s surprise, Jeff the Land Shark is the multiplayer game’s biggest star. 21 percent of players picked Jeff at some point, and he’s got a respectable – but not remarkable – 45 percent win rate.

• Read more: Marvel Rivals Season 1 adds new heroes, more maps, and a Dr Doom-themed team deathmatch mode

Venom is the most popular Vanguard, with a 19 percent pick rate and 49 percent win rate, with Cloak and Dagger close behind as the most popular Strategist. Their pick rate is 18.81 percent, and they’ve got a 50 percent win rate. The drop-off after that is pretty steep, with Mantis coming in fourth place with a 15 percent pick rate, but a much higher win rate – 56 percent.

Peni Parker proved capable in more than just the limited scenarios we initially predicted she’d excel in. She’s the second most popular Vanguard and, with a 55.3 win rate, has the highest win numbers of any character in that role.

• Read more: Marvel Rivals tier list: The best Duelists, Vanguards, and Strategists

Further down the list, we’ve got Wolverine with a three percent pick rate and a 47 percent win rate, then Black Widow with the lowest win rate of any character – 44 percent. That number likely comes as little surprise to anyone who’s played Black Widow. Not letting an ace sniper eliminate weaker enemies with a single head shot is one of the strangest character design choices NetEase made with Marvel Rivals.

At the bottom of the list is Storm, with just a 1.6 percent pick rate, though her 49 percent win rate puts her up there with the best Duelists. The Storm hate is understandable, to an extent. Her party-wide movement speed buff is mostly unnecessary, and her own attacks are slow and weak. That said, a good Storm player can make matches very challenging. Like Iron Man, she can fly far above the battlefield and pick off weaker support characters, and her attack buff remains active even when she’s 30 feet off the ground. She just desperately need a rebalanced kit.

• Read more: Marvel Rivals codes and how to redeem them

Marvel Rivals' update 20250110 patch notes outline some welcome damage increases for Storm’s basic abilities, which isn’t exactly a rebalance, but maybe it’ll help encourage more people to pick her.

Or maybe not, since there's a new Duelist in town once Marvel Rivals Season 1 goes live on Jan. 10, 2025, with Mister Fantastic in tow.