The Marvel Rivals worst heroes to avoid this season are Iron Fist, Squirrel Girl, Black Widow, Storm, and Scarlet Witch, with Hawkeye and Psylocke sitting a hair above them in the same “why am I fighting my own kit” bucket. None of these are unplayable, but every one of them asks you to work twice as hard for half the payoff of a meta pick, and in a ranked lobby where the enemy just picks the easy button, that math loses you RP. This is a Season 9 read: the Team-Up overhaul reshuffled almost every hero’s value, and the losers are easy to spot once you know what to look for. Below is the full avoid list, the reason each hero cratered, and the exact hero to pick instead.
Why some heroes are traps in the current meta
The Season 9 Team-Up rework is the whole story. Team-Ups used to be a bonus; now they are baked into how much raw damage and survivability a hero gets, and a few characters ended up on the wrong side of that trade. Some lost a synergy that was carrying them, a couple got team-ups that actively make them weaker, and the rest just never had the numbers to survive a meta that rewards high-burst Duelists and fast divers.
The other half of the problem is pace. This season punishes heroes who need time. A sniper who needs a clean sightline, a zoner who needs space, a brawler who needs a full combo to land – all of them get run over by dive comps that close the gap before the animation finishes. The official Marvel Rivals patch notes spell out the Team-Up and balance passes, and the ranked win-rate boards at Counterwatch show where each hero landed after the dust settled. When a hero’s kit fights the meta instead of riding it, that hero is a trap, no matter how fun the highlight reel looks.
The worst heroes to avoid this season
Here is the short version: if you want to climb, bench these five. The table pairs each one with the reason it fell off and the hero you should learn instead to cover the same job better.
| Hero | Role | Why it is a trap | Pick instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Fist | Duelist (dive) | The “pillow fist” nickname is earned – his damage does not close games, and good supports out-sustain his whole combo | Magik or Black Panther |
| Squirrel Girl | Duelist (zoner) | Got almost nothing from the Team-Up pass; her arcing damage has no home in a dive-and-burst meta | Hela or The Punisher |
| Black Widow | Duelist (sniper) | Needs a clean sightline the current maps and dive comps never give her; misses one shot and she is a body | Hela |
| Storm | Duelist (flier) | Clearly the weakest of the aerial Duelists this season and an easy hitscan target the second she lifts off | Iron Man |
| Scarlet Witch | Duelist (brawler) | Somehow took a net nerf from the Team-Up changes; her point-and-click damage is too slow to matter against divers | Magik |
Iron Fist
Iron Fist is the hero new players lock because the fantasy is incredible and the reality is a wet paper towel. His sustained damage cannot outpace a competent Strategist, and the current support meta is stacked with healing that turns his dive into a slow-motion suicide. Every rank we boost through has one Iron Fist one-trick who insists the hero is fine and their team is the problem. It is not the team.
Squirrel Girl and Black Widow
These two are the season’s designated throw picks, and the community says so out loud. Squirrel Girl’s whole plan is walling off space with arcing shots, but nobody stands still long enough to eat them. Black Widow lives and dies by the sniper sightline, and dive comps delete the sniper sightline on purpose. Both can pop off in a low-pressure Bronze or Silver lobby, then evaporate the moment the enemy has a coordinated dive.
Storm and Scarlet Witch
Storm is the flier who forgot fliers get shot. Against Hela, Hawkeye, or any decent hitscan she is a floating RP piñata, and the other aerial Duelists simply do her job with more survivability. Scarlet Witch is the sadder story. She got a Team-Up rework that made her weaker, and her chunky point-and-click beam is too slow to punish the divers who are already on top of your backline. Cool ult, wrong season.
What to pick instead, by role
Benching a hero only helps if you replace the job it was doing. The trap heroes cluster hard in the Duelist role, so most of your upgrades live there, but there is one Strategist worth flagging too. Below Diamond, Adam Warlock is the weakest healer in practice. His throughput lags and his soul-bond payoff needs coordination a solo-queue lobby rarely has. Swap him for Luna Snow or Mantis and your healing stops feeling like a coin flip.
| Job you need done | Trap pick to drop | Reliable upgrade | Why it holds up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dive the backline | Iron Fist | Magik, Black Panther | Real burst and a reset window that actually kills the target |
| Zone and poke | Squirrel Girl | The Punisher, Hela | Direct damage that lands now instead of arcing into a wall |
| Long-range picks | Black Widow | Hela | Flexible burst that does not fold when the sightline closes |
| Aerial pressure | Storm | Iron Man | Survives hitscan attention and threatens from range |
| Off-healer | Adam Warlock (sub-Diamond) | Luna Snow, Mantis | Higher, steadier healing that a solo queue can rely on |
On the Vanguard side there is no true trap this season, which is good news since a solid frontline is the fastest way out of a losing streak. Peni Parker has been the standout. Our read of Counterwatch and Metabot ranked data, checked mid-2026, put her win rate up around the mid-50s, comfortably the best in the role. If you are new to the game and want the safest heroes to learn before you ever touch this avoid list, our Marvel Rivals best heroes for beginners breakdown covers the low-effort, high-impact picks role by role.
When a “bad” hero is actually fine
Tier lists are not laws, and a low ranking does not mean a hero literally cannot win. Any of these picks can carry a game in the right hands, the right comp, and the right matchup. Iron Fist against a diveable, no-peel backline is still a menace. The honest caveat is that “right hands” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. A hero who only performs when you play flawlessly and the enemy misplays is a hero who costs you RP over a full climb, because ranked is a long grind of average games, not a highlight reel.
Two other truths keep the avoid list honest. First, tier is rank-dependent: Black Widow and Squirrel Girl are far more viable in Bronze and Silver, where nobody dives you, than they are in Diamond and up, where a coordinated team punishes every weakness. Second, one-tricks beat meta-hoppers. A Storm main with 500 hours will out-perform someone who swapped to Hela yesterday and does not know the ult timings. If you genuinely love a trap hero and have the reps, keep playing it. Just know you are climbing on hard mode.
Skip the trap-hero learning curve
If you would rather not spend three weeks discovering which heroes are secretly holding your rank hostage, that is exactly the kind of thing we handle. Our Marvel Rivals rank boost team plays the current meta every day and climbs to Grandmaster, Celestial, and beyond on your schedule, on the heroes that actually win right now. The cleanest Diamond-to-Celestial run we tracked this season leaned on Peni, Hela, and Luna Snow and never once queued a “for fun” pick. Think of it as a shortcut past the part of the ladder where trap heroes farm your RP.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the worst hero in Marvel Rivals this season?
Iron Fist is the most common answer among ranked players, thanks to damage so low the community nicknamed him “pillow fist.” Squirrel Girl and Black Widow are close behind as the season’s designated throw picks.
Is Iron Fist really that bad?
His kit is fun but his sustained damage cannot beat the current support meta, so his dives fizzle against any team with real healing. He can still stomp an uncoordinated low-rank lobby, but he falls apart the higher you climb.
Should I avoid these heroes in every rank?
No. Snipers and zoners like Black Widow and Squirrel Girl are genuinely viable in Bronze, Silver, and Gold, where nobody dives you consistently. The avoid list matters most from Platinum and Diamond upward, where teams punish every weakness.
Who should I pick instead of these heroes?
For dive, learn Magik or Black Panther; for ranged picks, Hela covers both sniper and zoner duty; for aerial pressure, Iron Man beats Storm. On support, drop Adam Warlock below Diamond in favor of Luna Snow or Mantis.
Can a one-trick still climb on a low-tier hero?
Yes, but on hard mode. A dedicated main with hundreds of hours will outperform a meta-hopper who just swapped, so mastery can offset a weak hero. It just makes the grind slower than picking something the current patch actually rewards.
How often does the worst-heroes list change?
Every major patch, and sometimes mid-season after an emergency balance pass. Ultron, for example, was strong at Season 9’s start before a quick nerf sent him back to the bench, so re-check the trackers before you commit to a pick.
The move this season is simple: bench Iron Fist, Squirrel Girl, Black Widow, Storm, and Scarlet Witch, and put those hours into Magik, Hela, Iron Man, or a rock-solid Vanguard like Peni instead. Trap heroes do not lose you the occasional game. They quietly tax your entire climb. If you would rather skip that tax and land at the rank your gameplay deserves, our Marvel Rivals boosting team will get you there on the heroes that win right now.
