Marvel Rivals fans spent the July 4 weekend debating the dimensions of Captain America's dick

Marvel Rivals, the hero shooter starring a whole host of superheroes, is hosting a summer event. There’s a beach map where players can hang out, a bunch of new emotes, and skins where the characters trade in their tactical armor for fun and flirty swimsuits. Rivals has never been afraid to dress its cast up in skimpy skins, but one cosmetic in particular drew the internet’s attention: Captain America, wearing a one-piece swimsuit over his massive, Liefeldian melons, with ass for days. The main attraction of the skin was the bulge, which was so pronounced that it blew up on social media and streaming.

TBSkyen created a skin analysis short video that shows off Cap in all his glory, if you’re curious to see it in action. It’s not just a sexy skin; Steve Rogers has a ducky shield, and the old-timey cut of the suit with the Americana theming is kind of fun and kitschy. 

Over the July 4th weekend, fans monitored the skin, and for a moment there was panic that they had nerfed Captain America’s dick and balls, making the bulge smaller in response to the strong reaction. (His package remains the same size; however, it was adjusted to no longer stretch and clip through other items, like a chair in the Take a Seat emote.) It’s a mini-furor, similar to the one that was kicked up in Dead by Daylight, when fans accused Behaviour Interactive of nerfing the size of Pyramid Head’s ass. 

This is all very silly and inconsequential, but I think there’s a lesson to be found here. Marvel Rivals has earned a reputation as a gooner game, which is sometimes an insult and sometimes more of a fond joke. The game is packed with sexy cosmetics, and I’m sure it’s a major source of NetEase’s income, but it doesn’t bother me too much because, well, it’s a Marvel property that draws inspiration from the comics. The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be kind of dry and sterile in that regard, but Marvel comics over the years have been full of skimpy outfits, barely disguised fetishes, and beach episodes. 

Captain America isn’t the only Rivals character who is dressed so skimpily; characters like Black Widow and White Fox are showing a pretty substantial amount of skin. Daredevil is another male character who is wearing clingy trunks and positioned as a sex symbol. That’s the key to it: Marvel Rivals doesn’t just go for the low-hanging fruit of sexualizing its female cast members. If anything, I think the dialogue that played out over this weekend is proof that they should go further.

If you’re going to buy into the idea that sex sells, then you should provide something for everyone. It’s something I actually appreciate about Marvel Rivals; the developers clearly realize that they have a broad audience, and their designs don’t hyperfocus on the coveted 18-35 year old male demographic. They don’t just collect the most popular characters from the movies, but populate the roster with deep cuts like Magik, Elsa Bloodstone, and Jeff the Land Shark.

I demand inclusivity from my games, and sometimes, that means spending my July 4th weekend (which also happened to be my 20th anniversary with my husband) watching fans argue online over whether NetEase dared to nerf Captain America’s dick.