Marvel was Fortnite’s first collaboration to have its own rarity for cosmetics back when the Black Widow outfit was released in the Item Shop to celebrate Marvel Studios’ newest movie at the time, Avengers Endgame. Five days later, she would be joined by the legendary Star-Lord in what was the very beginning of the Marvel Series in the game. After over 50 skins have been added, among mutant superheroes and god-like villains, it’s safe to say that Marvel and Epic Games have built an equally beneficial relationship that –for our own good– seems far from over.
With the brand new Spider-Man cosmetics inspired by the Across the Spider-Verse movie being added to the Marvel Series, we thought it would be a great time to revisit our locker and rank some of our favorite Marvel skins released in Fortnite so far.
10. Scarlet Witch
Since the beginning of Chapter 3: Season 2 when Doctor Strange was revealed to be a battle pass skin, there was much speculation around Scarlet Witch joining the game as well due to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness hitting theaters while the season was still running.
The rumors were true and Wanda Maximoff arrived in the Item Shop along with a loading screen inspired by the movie and the Psychic Energy Manipulation emote. Her menacing appearance and highly detailed outfit made her an instant buy for me. As much as I love the movie, my only complaint is that I wish she came with a more comic book-accurate style as well… hopefully, her comic counterpart could be brought alongside Vision in the future.
9. Psylocke
In Chapter 2: Season 2, Deadpool was featured as the “secret skin” for battle pass owners. Later in that season, he would be joined by his X-Force teammates Cable, Domino, and Psylocke. It was at that moment that I realized Fortnite’s true potential to develop iconic Marvel skins in the game. After all, before that we only had Black Widow and Star-Lord, but those two looked just like the default Fortnite characters in a superhero costume.
Psylocke still stands out as one of the general best to me as you still see the mutant you love from the X-Men comics, her attitude, and her Psi-Blade, all with an outfit that’s less revealing than what she wears in comics, but it still captures her essence anyway. It’s also undeniable that Psylocke looks extra cool wielding a Kinetic Blade this season.
8. Black Panther
One of the most anticipated skins among Marvel fans was certainly Black Panther. The King of Wakanda landed on the island as part of the Royalty & Warriors Pack, a $24.99 bundle that occasionally becomes available for purchase in the Item Shop every now and then.
Captain Marvel and Taskmaster are also part of the bundle and don’t get me wrong, they’re all incredibly accurate and detailed too, but the grandeur of Black Panther is what makes it worth your money. For longtime fans, the King’s Cowl back bling gives T’Challa a more comic-accurate look, but for those familiar with the character from the MCU, he also has the Kinetically Charged style that looks just like the movies. Fortnite also released the Black Panther Quests, allowing players to unlock the Wakandan Salute emote for a limited time, which is quite rare these days.
7. Storm
Storm was featured in the Chapter 2: Season 4 battle pass, or as I like to call it, the glorious Marvel season. She has two styles in the game, the white default one that resembles her costume from the ’90s X-Men show, and the Punk one, which looks like it was pulled straight from the comics.
Other than Storm’s overall edginess that made her one of the best that season, her set was also the most unique; her back bling was a cloak that could be summoned through a pretty cool animation, her Hand of Lightning harvesting tool was very versatile and could be used on many other skins, and she was even able to show off her powers with her storm inducing glider animation. Storm has always been one of the coolest X-Men, and Fortnite certainly didn’t fail her.
6. Rogue & Gambit
Rogue and Gambit arrived on the island together in a pretty random Item Shop appearance, and I couldn’t keep this couple apart even if I tried. Both outfits are equally amazing, which makes it extremely difficult for me, a massive X-Men fan, to pick a favorite.
The comic-accurate costumes and their vivid colors, along with Gambit’s glider animation and emote are just so perfectly well-matched. I will say, Rogue’s pickaxe and back bling are a bit random for her character, but the work on her skin is so prominent that it’s easy to ignore. Now I’m just patiently waiting for Cyclops and Jean Grey’s original Marvel Girl style to arrive next.
5. Groot
With all the Guardians of the Galaxy hype around the third film, those who played all the way through the Marvel season should be all smiles now for having Groot in their locker – because I am.
The largest member of the Guardians was the tier 38 reward of that battle pass and he came with Rocket Raccoon as his reactive back bling. Playing with both is an experience because Rocket has so much personality that it’s truly like playing Fortnite with two characters at once. It’s also impressive that Epic Games didn’t ignore these outlandish characters, which just showed their range.
4. Captain America
Captain America debuted in the Item Shop the day before the 4th of July at the surprising cost of 2,000 V-Bucks. Was it worth it? Totally, and I will tell you why. Besides the impressive work on the skin that’s slightly inspired by the MCU movies, the one thing that captivated fans about him was that this Cap skin is the only Fortnite character who can yield Thor’s harvesting tool, the Mjolnir, besides the God of Thunder and Jane Foster, just like we’ve seen in Avengers: Endgame.
Captain America also comes with his classic shield that can be used as a back bling and pickaxe, and it’s pretty awesome to use this with other Fortnite characters other than Steve Rogers himself. One small, irritating detail is that he’s described as part of the Avengers Set, which weirdly, after so many heroes have been introduced to the game, only consists of Cap and that bootleg Black Widow skin from 2018.
3. Thanos
Thanos literally landed on the island in 2018 but not as a cosmetic item. Well, kind of. To promote Avengers: Infinity War that year, Fortnite and Marvel Studios joined forces to bring what would become one of the game’s most memorable modes: Infinity Gauntlet.
In the limited-time mode, whoever got the Infinity Gauntlet on the map would transform into Thanos and gain his powers to obliterate their opponents. But the Mad Titan would only become a playable character in all modes in 2021 with an Item Shop outfit inspired by his appearance in Avengers: Endgame. This version is much more detailed and menacing-looking, making it quite hilarious to have the biggest Avengers villain actually able to take the L.
2. Spider-Gwen
Fortnite caught us all by surprise when they brought Spider-Gwen as an exclusive skin in the Chapter 3: Season 4 battle pass. Not just that, but by bringing the Into the Spider-Verse version of the character, with the very particular art style that made Sony’s animated movie such a hit.
With the cel-shading techniques on her 3D model, and an emote with animation that drops to 12 frames per second to match the movie, the work behind Spider-Gwen is worthy of applause as it proves Fortnite’s ability to show off different media styles in their own engine. After seeing Borderlands’ Pandora added to the map, the recent anime collabs, and now Spider-Ham coming out of a portal to give you a wooden hammer, Fortnite proves time and time again that the limit does not exist.
1. Deadpool
Chapter 2: Season 2 is my personal favorite Fortnite season to date. The secret agents’ theme, the iconic characters introduced, the new locations, the lobby, and of course, Deadpool made it all the more special in my memory.
The Merc Without a Mouth was dealt with care from start to finish; from breaking the fourth wall on the battle pass purchase screen by revealing himself as the secret skin of that season, to getting his own exclusive new location, the Yacht, Deadpool truly captured the essence of Fortnite, either by doing silly emotes after an elimination or simply collecting kills during action-packed matches – or all of it. Deadpool also made history by being the first licensed skin in a battle pass, and he’s still a favorite amongst both Marvel and Fortnite fans.
Published: May 22, 2023 09:00 am