Marvel Rivals now lets you pet Jeff the Shark in an apparent attempt to make him look cute and not like the big dopey menace he’ll be for the rest of his dumb life

No amount of charm will ever make Jeff the Shark—the blood-thirsty, tailing support champ from Marvel Rivals—look adorable to me. Not the wide-eyed, slack-jawed stare he flashes while tearing you limb from limb, not his round tummy or floppy tail, not even the tiny collar and nametag draped around his neck, and definitely not this fresh dual gesture he shares with Emma Frost, which also happens to be the very first of its kind in Rival’s history.

The ability to stroke [name the creature] has long been my litmus test for whether a game wins my heart, yet that single feature leaves me cold here, and it’s entirely because the creature in question is Jeff the blasted Shark.

As showcased first by content creator Miller Ross, the gesture has already dropped into the in-game boutique. Per Ross, only one participant in the pair needs to own the emote to trigger the embrace; activate it and you’ll be treated to Jeff the Shark rumbling like an oversized, marine feline—a detail I’m loath to confess actually borders on sweet.

This is probably just the opening salvo for coordinated emotes in Marvel Rivals, and while I’m joking (mostly), it’s encouraging that two heroes can lock animations even when just one wallet is involved. NetEase could’ve forced both players to purchase the item, and assuming that’s true, they deserve a rare nod of praise.

I still thoroughly dislike Jeff the Shark.

Marvel Rivals dev rebuffs EOMM accusations, claims an Overwatch-style role queue won’t mesh because the roster’s tank and support characters aren’t compelling enough

After bagging an English degree from ASU, I spent my days polishing corporate copy while freelancing for outlets such as SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I landed my first major opportunity here in 2019 on a freelance news contract, then came aboard GamesRadar as Staff Writer on the west coast in 2021—which, translated, means I’m accountable