Marvel Rivals players got to don the first of Peach Momoko’s new costume designs with the season 2 battle pass (which features Spider-Man’s “Spider-Oni” costume and Luna Snow’s “Nolaehaneun Manyeo” costume) and the recent release of Peni Parker’s Yatsukahagi costume. However, there is more to the costume designs than Momoko’s trademark aesthetic.
In an AIPT article, Momoko reveals that the costumes were made with more than just a Japanese folktale aesthetic in mind:
“Although there are elements of Japanese culture, I also tried to incorporate the character’s original culture. For this reason, I looked at design elements from various countries and used them as references to offer a glimpse of their culture and customs from their costumes and accessories. I hope fans enjoy them, and they spark their imagination!”
While the classic Spider-Man and Luna Snow hail from the USA and South Korea respectively, Momoko was able to weave their stories into her Japanese culture-inspired universe. Spider-Man even makes an appearance in Peach Momoko’s Demon Wars comic series as Kumosuke – a spider yokai. Luna Snow has her own story set in Momoko’s universe, which can be read from her Nolaehaneun Manyeo costume description in Marvel Rivals. As Peni Parker is Japanese-American, Momoko probably felt right at home creating the character’s more Japanese-inspired design. Let’s not forget that Psylocke’s default appearance in Marvel Rivals was also created by Momoko.
Unreleased skins of Hela and Loki show them adopting more Nordic-looking attire, as the two characters are based on Norse gods. While the Punisher’s design doesn’t show much of his American origins, Momoko retained the character’s iconic skull motif and his love of weapons (he even has a kunai on his right breast similar to where a soldier would sheathe a combat knife).
These designs will be released as Marvel Rivals costumes (hopefully with recolor options) but will also be featured as variant covers of Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Thor, Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell, the first issue of the new Spider-Girl series, and the one-shot series Bring on the Bad Guys: Doom.
Marvel Rivals is available for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S.
