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How to Play The Thing in Marvel Rivals

Updated 25 Oct 2026 Source Marvel Rivals Wiki (Fandom) — The Thing hero page (overview, abilities, strategy sections) and Team-Ups page, retrieved 25 October 2026 By Antewise Editorial
Data status: The facts on this page were checked against the source named above. Game values can still shift with a patch, so re-check anything that looks off.

The Thing is the simplest tank in the game and one of the best. He is immune to all knockback, hits for 40 a punch, and his charged Haymaker scales with enemy max health — which means he out-brawls every other Vanguard in a standing fight. His entire kit is anchored engages: leap to an ally with damage reduction, leap to an enemy with vulnerability, then charge through the team and slam.

Role and difficulty

Vanguard. The Thing has 725 health. Difficulty Easy (1/5). He fights in the middle of the enemy team, using his leaps to reach allies or mark targets, and relies on his team to follow up his engages.

Abilities and what they actually do

  • Rocky Jab (Normal Attack): Key numbers: DAMAGE — 40 per hit; RANGE — 4m.
  • Stone Haymaker (Normal Attack): Deliver a devastating Heavy Blow that inflicts additional damage with each strike! Upon hit, gain. Can flying enemies. Key numbers: DAMAGE — 55 + 8% Max Health; RANGE — 8m.
  • Clobberin’ Time (Abilities): Uses immense power to launch all enemies in front of you into the air. Key numbers: DAMAGE — 100.
  • Yancy Street Charge (Abilities): Key numbers: COOLDOWN — 12s; DAMAGE — Charge: 30 / Ground Slam: 20 / Earthbound Zone: 15 every 1s.
  • Embattled Leap (Abilities): Jump toward an ally and apply to yourself and allies within the landing area. Key numbers: COOLDOWN — 3s.
  • Battle Blitz (Abilities): Jump toward an enemy and apply to enemies within the landing area. Key numbers: COOLDOWN — 3s.
  • Unyielding Will (Abilities): The Thing is immune to all forms of knockback.

The shared leap and the seismic zone

Unyielding Will makes him immune to every knockback and displacement in the game — but he can still be stunned by Mantis’s Spore Slumber and Doctor Strange’s Eye of Agamotto, and only Elsa Bloodstone and Jeff can force him to move, both with ultimates. Rocky Jab hits for 40 at two punches per 1.5 seconds. Stone Haymaker is a charged punch that scales with the target’s max health and grounds flying enemies. Yancy Street Charge knocks enemies up and ends in a ground slam that creates a seismic zone with continuous damage and the Earthbound debuff. Embattled Leap and Battle Blitz share a 12-second cooldown: the first leaps to an ally and grants 20% damage reduction to himself and nearby allies for 3 seconds, the second leaps to an enemy and afflicts vulnerability for 3 seconds. Clobberin’ Time sends a fissure 15 meters that deals 100 damage and stuns for 2.5 seconds.

How to play The Thing

  1. Open with Battle Blitz onto the priority target to apply vulnerability for your team’s burst.
  2. Use Embattled Leap to reach isolated allies and grant the 20% damage reduction buff.
  3. Charge through the enemy team with Yancy Street Charge and end on the seismic zone.
  4. Lead with the charged Stone Haymaker against Vanguards and flying heroes.
  5. Save Clobberin’ Time for grouped enemies — the 2.5-second stun is a team wipe setup.
  6. Stay near your team; his engages only pay off when someone follows up.

Matchups

The Thing out-brawls every melee duelist and anchors any objective with his immunity and seismic zones. Kiting comps that never let him close are his problem, and once isolated with Yancy Street Charge on cooldown he has no escape until it returns. His engage-dependent kit means a The Thing who leaps alone dies alone.

Strengths (per the wiki):

  • A tough brawling tank that can charge ahead dealing damage and creating seismic zones that stun as well as being immovable from knockbacks and displacements.
  • His passive, Unyielding Will, makes him immune to all forms of knockback, launches, and displacements.
    • This means abilities like: Wolverine’s Feral Leap, Invisible Woman’s Force Physics, and Spider-Man’s Amazing Combo has no knockback or launching effect but will still deal damage.
    • If he is taken by Jeff the Land Shark’s Ultimate It’s Jeff! and is spat out, he will not be launched and will instead appear in front of Jeff.
  • His primary attack, Rocky Jab, allows him to make two quick melee punches towards his enemies.
  • His secondary attack, Stone Haymaker, charges up for 2 seconds before delivering lots of melee damage to enemies in front of him.
    • This attack applies to all enemies within range directly in front of him, piercing through enemies.
    • The Thing gains 50 bonus health whenever using the attack, whether he hits an enemy or not. This bonus health quickly decay afterwards.
  • Embattled Leap allows for The Thing to leap from a distance to his allies granting them and himself a 25% damage reduction shield for a few seconds.
    • He can do this twice with a cooldown of 3 seconds inbetween. Each leap has a cooldown of 13 seconds.
  • His Yancy Street Charge allows him to charge forward at a fast pace dealing damage and launching up any enemies caught in the path. When this ability ends he will smash the ground creating a seismic zone that launched up enemies within range and prevents them from using their mobility abilities while inside.
    • He can stop this charge at any point before it runs out to create the seismic zone earlier.
    • The Thing gains 200 bonus health whenever using the attack, whether he hits an enemy or not. This bonus health quickly decay afterwards.
  • His Ultimate, Clobberin’ Time, makes him smash the ground that creates a ripple of seismic rocks that travels forward and launches up enemies as well as stunning them for 2 seconds.
  • When paired with Invisible Woman, The Thing gains access to Cooperative Comrades, which when activated converts 100% of damage taken into bonus health for 5 seconds, up to 100.
  • Even though he’s immune to knockbacks and other displacements, he is capable of being stunned from Mantis’s Spore Slumber and Doctor Strange’s Ultimate Eye of Agamotto.
    • Elsa Bloodstone and Jeff the Land Shark are the only enemy characters who can force the Thing to move, and they must use their ultimates to do so.
  • Because he is melee focused, he works best when up close to enemies.
  • His Embattled Leap ability can only be activated on allies, so if he is isolated and his Yancy Street Charge is on cooldown, he has no means to escape until it returns should he be surrounded or in line of enemy fire.

Weaknesses (per the wiki):

  • Even though he’s immune to knockbacks and other displacements, he is capable of being stunned from Mantis’s Spore Slumber and Doctor Strange’s Ultimate Eye of Agamotto.
    • Elsa Bloodstone and Jeff the Land Shark are the only enemy characters who can force the Thing to move, and they must use their ultimates to do so.
  • Because he is melee focused, he works best when up close to enemies.
  • His Embattled Leap ability can only be activated on allies, so if he is isolated and his Yancy Street Charge is on cooldown, he has no means to escape until it returns should he be surrounded or in line of enemy fire.

Team-ups

  • Two-In-One (with Human Torch, Season 9.0: The Mystery of Thebes): Enter an enhanced state upon activation. For the duration, The Thing’s fists are violently engulfed in flames. Every Rocky Jab deals splash damage, and every Stone Haymaker creates an explosion, dealing damage in a frontal cone. Enhanced: When teaming up with Human Torch, Human Torch can lift The Thing into the air and slam him down, dealing damage and Stun to enemies. The Thing then automatically enters his flaming enhanced state upon landing.
  • Unbreakable Forces (with Invisible Woman, Season 9.0: The Mystery of Thebes): Generate a layer of Psionic Armor upon activation, granting Bonush Health scaling off currently missing Health. Enhanced: When teaming up with Invisible Woman, the Psionic Armor is fortified. While active, every time The Thing takes a set amount of damage, the armor pulses out a wave of area healing for allies. Furthermore, the conversion ratio for missing Health into Bonus Health is increased.

Common mistakes

  • Leaping in without your team nearby to convert the vulnerability and stun
  • Using both leap charges and then getting isolated with no escape
  • Forgetting he can still be stunned — Mantis sleep and Strange’s eye go through the immunity
  • Wasting Clobberin’ Time on a single target instead of a grouped line
  • Chasing kiting heroes instead of anchoring the objective

Frequently asked questions

What role is The Thing in Marvel Rivals?

Vanguard, with 725 health and a 1/5 difficulty. He is immune to all knockback and his charged punch scales with enemy max health.

How do you play The Thing?

Leap to enemies with Battle Blitz for vulnerability, leap to allies with Embattled Leap for damage reduction, charge through teams with Yancy Street Charge, and set up wipes with Clobberin' Time.

Who does The Thing counter?

Melee brawlers and knockback-dependent kits. Kiting comps that never let him close and stun ultimates counter him.

What team-ups does The Thing have?

Two-In-One with Human Torch engulfs his fists in flames for splash damage, and Unbreakable Forces with Invisible Woman grants psionic armor that scales with missing health.

More Marvel Rivals guides

Sources

Figures and item data on this site are read from the game’s own reference wiki before publishing. Where a value could not be confirmed there, the page says so instead of filling the gap.