NetEase Games has officially announced Parker Robbins, known as The Hood, as the next Vanguard hero joining Marvel Rivals in Season 9.5. The character's inclusion follows hints from Season 9, where Jubilee already features a team-up with him.

In Dev Vision Vol. 20 and the gameplay reveal trailer on August 4, developers showcased how The Hood operates on the frontline. He shifts between human and demon states, using pistols while supporting teammates with shields in his base form. His kit features two distinct shield types: a deployable rectangular barrier that blinds enemies passing through it, and a personal bubble shield capable of absorbing high-damage attacks like Namor's Ultimate.

When The Hood's Demonic Energy reaches a critical point, he enters a half-demon state that transforms his arms into rapid-fire demonic rifles. His Ultimate pushes him into a full demon state, mutating him into a turret-like abomination that fires high-impact piercing rounds capable of going through shields while granting bonus health to nearby allies. Players can trigger this Ultimate mid-air by combining it with his movement ability to set up a floating turret.

Quick Facts

  • Character: Parker Robbins (The Hood), Vanguard class
  • Release Date: Season 9.5 launches on Friday, August 7, 2026
  • Platforms: Multi-platform
  • File Size Reduction: PC file size reduced by approximately 40 GB; PS5 and Xbox file sizes reduced by roughly 15 GB
  • New Cosmetics: Summer skins arriving for Star-Lord, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, Storm, Black Cat, and Magik

Alongside the new Vanguard hero, the Season 9.5 update brings storage optimizations across all platforms. Following the Season 8 feature that allowed PC players to uninstall high-resolution textures to save about 43 GB, this update repackages assets to lower the overall game footprint by roughly 40 GB on PC and about 15 GB on PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles. NetEase noted that because of asset repackaging, the Season 9.5 download itself will be larger than usual, resulting in a smaller final game size.

Season 9.5 arrives on Friday, August 7, 2026, and also introduces a new wave of summer skins for Star-Lord, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Witch, Storm, Black Cat, and Magik.