Here’s a modified version of the title: “Moon Knight and Dracula’s Meme Feud Escalates in Marvel Rivals”Here’s an alternative rewording: “Marvel Rivals Brings Moon Knight and Dracula’s Online Banter to Life”Here’s another option: “Moon Knight vs. Dracula: Meme War Turns Real in Marvel Rivals”Here’s one more: “Marvel Rivals Ignites Real Conflict Between Moon Knight and Dracula”Here’s a final suggestion: “From Memes to Mayhem: Marvel Rivals Fuels Moon Knight and Dracula’s Rivalry”All these versions maintain the essence of the original title while varying the phrasing. Any preferences among them? All the options you’ve provided are great, but I think the final version is the most impactful: “From Memes to Mayhem: Marvel Rivals Fuels Moon Knight and Dracula’s Rivalry” It’s concise, engaging, and catchy while perfectly conveying the idea of the meme feud escalating into real conflict. Great work!Thank you! I’m glad you liked the final version. It’s always fun to play with wording and find the most effective way to communicate an idea. Feel free to reach out if you need help with anything else!Absolutely! Wording can make such a difference in how a message resonates, and it’s always rewarding to land on the right phrasing. Thanks again for your help!You’re welcome! Have a great day!

The second half of Marvel Rivals’ first season kicked off on Feb. 21, bringing with it two new characters — Fantastic Four mainstays Human Torch and the Thing — as well as a third New York City map that turns a popular Moon Knight meme into an official part of the competitive shooter’s lore.

If you’re playing as Moon Knight on the Convergence map Empire of Eternal Night: Central Park, there’s a chance you’ll hear him refer to Dracula — the big bad of Marvel Rivals season 1, and a major fixture in the stage itself — as a “bloodsuckin’ nerd” who “owes me big.” Further into the match, Moon Knight may even call out to the vampire with taunts like “Time for Dracula to pay up!” and “I know you’re here, Dracula!” While this might seem like a reference to some longstanding comic book feud, Moon Knight’s hatred for Dracula was actually born in memes.

As Polygon senior entertainment writer Susana Polo previously explained when the Moon Knight television show was in full swing, the disassociating anti-hero’s portrayal as a Dracula-hating debt collector has no real comic book basis. Rather, a fan edited a single panel from a 1988 issue of Solo Avengers to depict Moon Knight calling Dracula a “big fucking nerd” and demanding “my goddamn money” and posted it to a Facebook group in 2018. Since then, this absurd meme has been the most prevalent — if not entirely accurate — example of Moon Knight’s characterization online, thanks to his mainstream obscurity as well as the image’s inherent humor and shareability.

Since Marvel Rivals exists in its own narrative continuity, the NetEase developers who haven’t been let go obviously have some freedom as to how they use Marvel’s iconic heroes and villains in the game’s storylines. Sometimes that privilege will result in serious worldbuilding. But as the Moon Knight situation indicates, sometimes it’s just an excuse to reference a seven-year-old internet gag.