Oh, hello! Between Thanksgiving and Deadpool’s Diner, I hope you gamers all had a wonderful and filling kickoff to the holiday season this past week! And ‘tis the season indeed— for this week’s variant forecast, we’ll be looking at the rollover week into the anticipated Marvel Rivals crossover season. That means that, among all the rest, we’ll be taking a look at the Season Pass rewards and the first wave of the Rivals crossover variants. So with December around the corner and without further ado… let’s get to it.
12/3
Season Pass
Artists (in order): NetEase Games, Rian Gonzales
Source: Season Pass
Because Tuesday is bringing us into the new season, we’ll kick off our forecast with the two slated variants for the Season Pass. Now, between the new card and the resources you get, the Season Pass is already the best bang for your buck you can get in this game— however, the deal gets sweeter for anyone interested in either Rivals’ distinguished take on a gruffer, more grizzled Magneto or a Rian Gonzales chibi for Rivals’ premier mascot, Galacta. These variants will be attainable on the Season Pass track, though it may take some weeks to get there. The former is the first of the incoming Rivals variants we’ll see down the line, and it features the striking style for the Marvel-themed shooter (and its particular interpretation/incarnation for these characters we’re familiar with). The latter is, curiously, not from Rivals, but instead a commissioned piece from fan favorite Rian Gonzales, who steps in to add some cutesy flair to an already cutesy character with precious little existing art. While I’m not exactly sure why the Season Pass won’t include the Rivals variant for Galacta, fans of the character will likely not mind another different take on the Daughter of Galactus.
Spotlights!
Artists (in order): NetEase Games, Creees Lee/Ryan Kinnaird, Stephen Segovia
Source: Spotlight Caches
The other big Tuesday drop will be none other than this week’s Spotlights— we’re seeing Luna Snow’s debut Rivals variant alongside two pieces from Creees and Stephen Segovia. Luna Snow’s Rivals variant is probably the most stylish/distinct variant for her in the foreseeable future, so fans of the popstar might go in. Creees has a couple of variants in the pipeline, and their work seems to fill a similar ‘house style’ niche, so this won’t be the last you see of them: it’s not my personal pick for a Spotlight, but by virtue of that house style (colored by none other than Ryan Kinnaird) rather than Creees’ work, which I think is perfectly fine. Stephen Segovia’s homage to Mike Choi’s cover on X-Force (2008) #17 is a fun one too, and while Laura’s got an embarrassment of riches where great variants are concerned, folks wanting something more directly from the comics might be interested.
A PANDART/ARTTREE Bundle
Artists (in order): ARTTREE STUDIO, PANDART STUDIO
Source: Bundle
There’s a twofer for any whales out there that really love the stylized, glossy sheen of a studio variant from the likes of ARTREE or PANDART. I’m on and off on studio work in general, but its worth acknowledging that this MCU-inspired Wasp design is one of the stronger pieces PANDART’s done, while the more overtly anime-inspired Mockingbird brings a different flavor of personality to Bobbi than we might normally see. Both are highly rendered, so if you’re particularly driven by that sort of detail/fidelity in a variant, they might be up your alley.
InHyuk Lee Sage
Artist: InHyuk Lee
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Fan favorite InHyuk Lee brings a similar level of highly rendered detail in his own work, but with a clearer individual style befitting a such a comics veteran. His Sage checks all the hallmark boxes of his style: a well-lit sheen of rendered detail over an otherwise anime-stylized piece, with a knack for hip streetwear that lines up well with Sage’s iconic yellow coat. Rather than pulling from Lee’s extensive back catalog, this also seems to be a commissioned piece like his work during the Spider-Man season back in September, suggesting this isn’t the last we’ll see of his commissioned work for SNAP.
Ultimate Alert: Fantasy Madame Web
Artist: ADIA
Source: Token Shop (Ultimate)
That sort of highly detailed style gets continued as Madame Web also becomes the latest in line for the Fantasy Ultimate treatment, converting her base design into an ominous, spidery chair with an appropriately fantasy-type helm. It’s a fun interpretation, and it feels right up the alley of any folks that were already into ADIA’s Ultimate line of Fantasy variants: for anyone who might have been on the fence before, I think this is one of the more elegant/fitting translations from superhero character to that Fantasy… fantasy.
Creees Cosmo
Artist: Creees Lee/Ryan Kinnaird
Source: Bundle
Rounding out the Tuesday lineup, we’re going to get another variant from Creees in a bundle, giving us a house style Cosmo that just might win you over anyways— it's a cute piece. The ‘evergreen’ type of pose is general but effective, with enough life to help set apart some of the flatness that Kinnaird’s coloring can invite, and I think the premise of Cosmo eyeballing a tennis ball in space just might be enough for any dog lovers with a wallet out there.
12/4
Creees Luna Snow
Artist: Creees Lee/Ryan Kinnaird
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Luna’s debut shop variant the next day is going to be one by Creees as well, and while Super Rare might feel like a steep price for a variant similar enough to SNAP’s base style, I do actually think this is the strongest of Creees’ three variants we’ve seen so far. It’s got personality and a fun pose, and functions almost like an alt-base art for Luna, similar to the Lady Deathstrike from the Spotlight cache. I think Luna Snow will have no shortage of players clamoring for variants (despite there being few existing covers) and so a piece like this will definitely have folks interested, base style or not.
12/5
PANDART Shadow King
Artist: PANDART STUDIO
Source: Bundle
Local meta terror Shadow King gets PANDART variant in bundle— more at 5:00! This also joins the ranks of PANDART variants that I think are actually solid, with a fun, imposing composition that lets Shadow King really flex. His psychic self is a bit obscured by SNAP templating, which might be a minus for folks, but anyone looking for something Cool for a commonly played staple like the King might pick up the bundle. I’ve heard it's good value for Gold bundle too, if you track that sort of thing— its not a huge priority for me, personally, but it's always a welcome bonus!
Ski Chalet White Widow
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
This variant is my favorite of the 12/5 releases, though— coming from the Ski Chalet variant covers Marvel did last year, this White Widow [a variant cover for Thunderbolts (2023) #1, if you’re interested] feels like a reminder that, while a fun premise is a great start for a variant, execution goes such a long way in elevating it. Sometimes, commissioned pieces for SNAP (especially in that base style) feel like gags that remain just about that— Werneck instead takes the prompt and runs with it, putting Yelena in a chic snowboarding outfit with recognizable superspy accoutrements, and following through with some really great dynamic composition. It’s the best sort of variant to see in SNAP’s Winter Vacation category— be on the lookout for the rest of these back issue variant pulls.
12/6
Nikola Čižmešija Grandmaster
Artist: Nikola Čižmešija
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Of course, that criticism of some commissioned pieces for SNAP just doesn’t apply to someone like Čižmešija. His dramatic, anime-esque style feels much more distinct and individual than any number of other variants I’ve described as anime-esque, and while down the line that may mean I need to reevaluate how I use the term, for the most part it means that his working is $@#!ing cool. I love the lighting and the gravity he’s given the Grandmaster of all characters, and he does so while preserving and highlighting the important visual hooks the character does have (both in the comics and in his most recognizable in-game depiction), like his hair, chestpiece, and blue skin. More importantly, this feels like it may signal more variants from Čižmešija down the line after his successful run on Spidey’s villains, which is just going to be a huge win for the game.
12/7
New Dan Hipp!
Artist: Dan Hipp
Source: General Pool (Rare)
And speaking of great SNAP commissioned artists, the OG GOAT of them returns with two more variants— this time for two gals who nicely fill that Venn Diagram of ‘iconic and popular in game’ and ‘niche enough to lack back-issue variant covers.’ Nocturne and Thena have both been meta staples before, and I remember pretty often seeing folks wondering why exactly such important cards don’t have a ton of variants: the answer, of course, is that deeper-cut characters like that don’t have a ton of existing cover-level pieces, meaning Second Dinner needs to directly commission them. When you do that, sometimes you get pieces that just draw on SNAP’s base art depiction more than anything— Hipp always manages to inject a bit more into his variants, though, amidst his obviously colorful, eye-popping style: on Thena’s part, I really enjoy the more direct reference to the visual language of the Eternals’ powers in that film. His Nocturne also directly draws on the dramatically dark face shadows that visually characterize her father Nightcrawler so well— a wonderful nod, and one that I wonder why we don’t see more often for her in general. (These might be my favorites for the week, if you can’t tell.)
12/8
Skan Adam Warlock
Artist: Skan Srisuwan
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Going back to some pulls from the comics, we’ve got a cover from Warlock: Rebirth (2023) #1 that Skan did last year coming to SNAP. Skan is someone that also does lushly real, dramatic pieces in the vein of InHyuk Lee or even Artgerm, so if those are anywhere near your favorites, it might be worth looking further into other pieces they’ve done. Adam Warlock looks terrific here, and will nonetheless invite questions of “why did they make more variants for such an underplayed card?” The answer, of course, is that 1.) it’s an existing cover, 2.) Adam Warlock is just dope, and 3.) Skan’s art is sick, stop asking questions!
12/9
He Tianyou Hydra Bob
Artist: He Tianyou
Source: General Pool (Rare)
We’re wrapping up the forecast with one of the more fun commissioned debuts in SNAP— I’m looking forward to Tianyou’s work, and while their Black Swan won’t be here for another couple of weeks, their Bob is a great first look at their style. It feels reminiscent of some of the more exaggerated, cartoonized comic art of the 2000s, and while Bob’s seems uncharacteristically ‘cool’ in this pose, it makes sense for Second Dinner to find ways to make the bumbling Hydra Agent a bit more dynamic— especially if he’s going to keep showing up in meta lists as a 1/5 kicking butt and taking names. Either way, Bob’s the poster child for “deep cut character doesn’t have a cover,” so another commissioned voice is more than welcome to see for a meta mainstay like him.
Wrapping Up
And that wraps it up for this week’s coming slate: if you’re surprised that this is going to stay weekly, well, you and me both. But I’m enjoying this series, and I hope a weekly reminder of what’s coming out helps any other variant fanatics playing the game out there. What do you think of this week, though? Are there any takes you disagree with? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll be sure to answer— otherwise, see you next week!