It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That is, time to vote on the characters you most want to see in Marvel Snap!
This December I’m bringing you fifteen new characters for the poll, as well as a holiday surprise! For the first time ever, you will get a chance to vote on a character, previously eliminated from the poll, to return in the new year!
Over the past three months we’ve seen thirty different characters voted off the Most Wanted list. That number, and the fact that I can keep replacing the characters with new ones, is a testament to the depth of Marvel’s bench of characters. Something to consider, though, is that every one of those characters has received at least one vote of 5 on the poll, and each departure likely disappointed a number of fans. (Myself included.)
This month I’ll be doing character spotlights on characters that are on the Second Chance poll, in an effort to boost them up and raise some awareness of lesser known, or less popular characters.
Before we start on December’s list, as per tradition, it’s time to congratulate the characters who are graduating from the poll.
(If you want to skip ahead and disregard my blathering, you can skip ahead to the poll by clicking here. But if you stick around, you learn how to win a Season Pass at the end of the article!)
Graduates
This month we’ll see five previously listed characters making their way into Snap. This group comes from a wide variety of standings on the poll, and they are sure to make a number of fans happy.
Leading the pack is Fantomex, who you might remember from cracking October’s Top 20 list. This past month, Fantomex dropped a bit, but is still higher than the other graduates, with a rank of 45. I’m personally excited to see Fantomex in the game, and look forward to the discard/destroy archetype’s future. Astute readers might argue, however, that Fantomex has been in the game for quite some time, however…
Marrow isn’t far behind Fantomex, ranking at 57. Aurora, who is arguably the lesser known of twins, comes in at 107. (Northstar can’t be far behind, right?) Chamber is right behind Aurora at 111. Bringing up the rear, but still noteworthy, is Wild Child, who is perhaps best known for his arc in Age of Apocalypse. He’ll pair well with Fantomex, with his discard/destroy ongoing effect.
Congrats to the Class of December 2025!
Newcomers
As I said earlier, there are fifteen newcomers this month! This is the largest addition to the list since it started. Five from our graduates, and a replacement for the ten lowest ranking characters. Before I introduce the newcomers, I want to make a quick note that going forward, the number of newcomers to the list will be more consistent.
To do that, each month will see exactly ten new characters. The characters who are graduating, plus however many characters from the bottom of the list needed to bring that number to ten. This should result in fewer well-liked characters leaving the list, and a slightly more consistent experience for voters from month-to-month.
This month’s group can be broken down into a few different groups. The first you’ll notice are the members of the Great Lakes Avengers. For a few months now I’ve been hearing requests for characters like Flatman and Mr. Immortal. Flatman himself has been in the game datamines since the early beta. This past month, however, I also saw the first request for Doorman. With a clear call for their inclusion, I’m happy to add Flatman, Mr. Immortal, Big Bertha and Doorman to the list. There are still a few other GLA members not included, but I’m not sure yet if their inclusion on the list is warranted. If this group does well, perhaps we’ll see them added next month.
Next, we have another batch of “alternate” characters. Glenn on Discord recently hinted that we might be seeing more Iron Man down the line. While I mostly hope for more members of the Iron Man rogues gallery, the Mark 1 armor would also be a fun, classic inclusion. With him, I’m also adding Captain America’s persona Nomad to the list, as well as another Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch.
February looks like it's going to be a month filled with Guardians of the Galaxy. Quite a few of them are on the list already. I didn’t want to add any of the new datamined newcomers to the list right now, as their tenure would be short lived. Instead, I’m focusing on even more Guardians who are not in the datamine, but also haven’t appeared on the list. Fans of the Guardians movies might recognize these characters from Volume 2: Aleeta Ogord, Martinex and Charlie-27.
The final group is less thematic, and about filling in some gaps. There have been numerous requests for Cosmic Spider-Man, so I’m finally adding him to the list. I’m also adding Chase Stein, to complete the Runaways lineup. Jack of Hearts is a classic character, with almost 150 appearances in comics. That being said, his more recent appearances have been limited. Maybe Marvel Snap can be part of his revival. Finally, we have White Wolf, from the world of Wakanda, and Orrgo, the cosmic alien monster, turned member of Howling Commandos.
I’m excited to see where some of these characters wind up, and think there’s a lot of fun potential for characters, artwork and gameplay.
Second Chance Contest
As I mentioned earlier, to celebrate the season of giving, this month I’m giving all of the exiled characters a second chance to join the list. Over the course of this month, I’m going to write some Character Spotlights on some of these characters, and when I reveal the Top 20 at the end of the month, I’ll also announce which character is our Second Chance Champion. (If I’m feeling generous, and the votes are close, I might even pick two winners.)
Unlike the Most Wanted poll, where you vote for every character, all you’re required to do for this is select one of the thirty characters. The graphic I’ve created below will also be present on the poll, to help you in your vote if you’re unfamiliar with any of the characters.
I have a clear favorite that I’m going to vote for, but I’m not going to reveal who until the end of the month. In an effort to be fair, I am also not going to write a Character Spotlight for the character I’m voting for.
That being said, I am going to highlight characters who I like, and hope that enough people see the value in voting for them!
Who will you vote for? Leave a comment with who your Second Chance candidate is, and why you think someone should vote for them. The most convincing argument will win a Weapon X Season Pass!
Character Spotlight: Kushala
The first Second Chance character I’m going to spotlight is Demon Rider, Spirit of Vengeance, and Sorcerer Supreme, Kushala.
Kushala made her debut in 2016 in the Robbie Thompson run of Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme. This fairly standalone story is a fun read and a great introduction to the concept of the Sorcerer Supreme and the history of the title. Merlin, in a battle against a demon, The Forgotten, enlists the help of Sorcerer Supremes from throughout time, one of whom is Kushala.
Kushala is an Apache woman from the mid 1800s. When her parents are killed by American soldiers, in a fit of rage she accidentally summons a Spirit of Vengeance that possesses her. In an effort to learn more about her curse, she travels the world studying magic, eventually earning the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
Kushala plays an important role in this story, being the only Sorcerer to treat a Mindless One, domesticated by Sorcerer Supreme Sir Isaac Newton, with kindness. This pays off, with the Mindless One saving the lives of the Sorcerers later in the story. At the end, the Mindless One (now Mindful) stays and joins Strange Academy, while Kushala remains, temporarily, in the present day with Doctor Strange.
Kushala has a handful of other appearances in the decade following her creation. During War of the Realms Kushala makes a brief cameo, helping a group of heroes fight off Malekith. In 2021, however, Kushala finally takes center stage, with her own one-off Spirits of Vengeance comic, where she helps Johnny Blaze exercise his demons, while learning about her own as well.
Her most recent appearances have included a stint with the Midnight Suns, as well as a Marvel Unlimited-exclusive Infinity Comic, that focuses on Kushala and her family lineage, in a generation spanning conflict with Doctor Doom. If you’ve never checked out an Infinity Comic, they’re perfectly designed for reading on-the-go and on mobile devices, opening the medium up to new ideas in formatting and storytelling.
Kushala in Marvel Snap
So what would Kushala look like in Marvel Snap? Well, there’s plenty to draw from when you look at the three existing Ghost Rider cards. And then of course, there are at least three, if not four Sorcerer Supremes in the game already. Between this group, there isn’t too much of a consistent connection between gameplay and narrative, but there are some ideas to work with.
When I think of Kushala, I tend to think of her as a Ghost Rider first, and a Sorcerer Supreme second. Even though she made her debut in a Doctor Strange comic, most of her story beats draw from the fact that she’s a Spirit of Vengeance. All of her solo stories focus on her demonic connections and legacy as a Ghost Rider. Both the original Ghost Rider card, and The First Ghost Rider card deal with discard, so it’s important for Kushala to have some connection there.
I’m super excited for the upcoming Discard/Destroy synergies, so here’s my take on where Kushala could fit into that archetype.
Kushala - 6/5 - On Reveal: Give your cards that have been discarded or destroyed +3 Power.
With Fantomex and Wild Child both benefiting from decks that do both, it’s inevitable that more cards with this dual-synergy join the game. Kushala is a powerful card, capable of rewarding destruction, and communing with discarded spirits. +3 Power is always iffy, but because of the difficulty of balancing both keywords, it may be warranted.
Here’s a possible deck that could work for Kushala:
Most Wanted Kushala
The trick to this deck is the Wolverine tandem. Most of the time they are exclusively played in destroy decks, but both cards provide the same benefit from being discarded. I expect both of these cards to be important players in the discard/destroy decks, and with some Moon Knight disruption and surprise power from Fantomex and Kushala, it could offer some surprising turn 6 endings.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of this December Most Wanted update. I look forward to writing the next few character spotlights, and hope that at the end of the month we can celebrate a great character who deserves a second chance.