Fans may have known for a while that The Hood would be the next hero coming to Marvel Rivals, but now NetEase Games has officially confirmed it. As part of the upcoming season 9.5, Parker Robins is joining the ever-growing hero shooter's roster later this week.

The Hood is a Vanguard, Marvel Rivals' equivalent of a tank, who blends the character's magical and street-level abilities into one dangerous package. In practice, The Hood appears fairly similar to Overwatch's Reaper, except for his ability to become a giant gun-headed demon. He will also have team-up abilities with Cloak & Dagger, Jubilee, and Magik.

In Marvel Rivals, The Hood is voiced by Damian Priest (aka Luis Berrios) from WWE SmackDown.

Here's how NetEase describes his gameplay:

Parker lays down relentless frontal cover fire with his twin pistols. Utilizing his mystical cloak he can channel the chaotic energy of Oblivion, and manifest protective shields for his allies, while hurling dark magic orbs that warp into barriers, sapping the strength of incoming enemy fire. For his Ultimate Ability, The Hood fully surrenders to the darkness, entering Full Demon State, transforming into a fully-realized Gun Demon, using high-impact piercing rounds that completely punch through shields and enemies alike, all while radiating dark energy that grants bonus health to nearby teammates!

The release of The Hood has been a long time coming. The character first appeared earlier this year in Marvel Rivals Infinity Comic #43, which provided a backstory to the villain. After his family had a bad run-in with the Kingpin, the once-altruistic Parker's worldview began to darken. His iconic red cloak was also spotted in the Lower Manhattan map. After showing up on a Season 8 gallery card, Parker finally appeared in the season 9 announcement trailer.

MCU fans may be familiar with The Hood thanks to his appearance in the Disney Plus series, Ironheart, where he was portrayed by Anthony Ramos. The Hood was created by writer Brian K. Vaughan (Saga) back in 2002 as a petty criminal who stole objects that granted him powers he used to his own benefit. There are shades of both Spider-Man and Daredevil in The Hood's origins that make him a sort of dark mirror of those heroes. Much of his comic history has been spent engaging in crime wars with the likes of the Kingpin, but he became an unexpected cosmic threat in the phenomenal second volume of Brian Michael Bendis's 2010 Avengers series.

Marvel Rivals Season 9.5: The Mystery of Thebes launches on Aug. 7 with The Hood.