Previous to Marvel Rivals, informal superhero followers might have solely been conversant in Moon Knight’s live-action 2022 Disney+ collection starring Oscar Isaac. The Fist of Khonshu first appeared in comics 50 years in the past when he went up in opposition to Marvel’s Werewolf by Evening. Nonetheless, some followers imagine that Moon Knight has a grudge in opposition to Dracula due to a well-liked meme, and now even Marvel Rivals is getting in on the enjoyable with some very amusing callbacks within the recreation.
The meme in query options paintings from considered one of Marvel’s comics, however the dialogue was reedited to make Moon Knight offended on the lord of the vampires over an unpaid debt. This by no means occurred in Marvel’s comics, and Moon Knight hasn’t had a number of interactions with Dracula in-continuity.
Marvel Rivals continuity is not sure by that technicality, and NetEase apparently added in a number of Easter eggs for the meme within the new map, Empire of Everlasting Evening: Central Park, which debuted as a part of mid-Season 1 replace. Dracula is among the important villains of Season 1, and Moon Knight was one of many first heroes in Marvel Rivals. They have not crossed paths on-screen but, however Moon Knight mentions the debt Dracula owes him within the clips beneath.
Up to now, the 2 particular traces of dialogue that got here up for Moon Knight on this map are “Dracula’s right here? Good, that bloodsuckin’ nerd owes me large” and that it is “time for Dracula to pay up.” There’s additionally one other reference to it in Moon Knight’s in-game lore tab. Within the textual content the place Moon Knight is conversing together with his patron deity, Khonshu, he says that “[vampires] suck” and “Dracula owes me cash.”
This lighthearted contact is a welcome discovery after the information about NetEase shedding a few of Marvel Rivals’ builders regardless of the sport’s large success. A current report even steered that NetEase thought of changing Marvel’s characters or canceling the sport outright to keep away from paying Disney for the rights to make use of them within the recreation. No matter whether or not both possibility was ever a viable selection, Marvel Rivals has already established itself as considered one of NetEase’s hottest titles in a really quick time.