Marvel Swimsuit Special – Friends, Foes & Rivals #1

Marvel heroes fight against A.I. in 2025’s Swimsuit Special by various writers and artist, Marvel Comics

CREATIVE TEAM: 

• Writers: Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs
• Artist: Nick Bradshaw
• Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
• Letterer: Travis Lanham
• Pinup Artists: Mahmud Asrar, Aaron Kuder, David Marquez, Ron Lim,Nic Klein, Mirka Andolfo, Luciano Vecchio, Marguerite Sauvage, Joshua Cassara, Ryusei Yamada

BIKINIS AND… MORE?

Believe it or not, this year’s special it’s not just 40 pages of pinups of Marvel characters in skimpy tight and or very revealing swimsuit garments. There’s also quite a few pages of storytelling and comic book art alongside some pinups of Marvel characters in swimsuits and revealing skimpy swimming garments. All jokes aside? Before we get into the main course of this special, there’s actually a sort of messaging by Marvel’s writers Tim Seely and Tony Fleecs on the state of the arts industry in general when it comes to the usage of AI.

*SPOILERS FOR MARVEL SWIMSUIT SPECIAL: FRIENDS, FOES & RIVALS #1*

SOLICITATION:

“THE SWIMSUIT SPECIAL RETURNS! Roxxon Comics is at it again when they release their own UNAUTHORIZED SWIMSUIT SPECIAL! Wasp is on the case and seizes the opportunity for Marvel’s heroes to do their OWN swimwear fashion shoot all over the world! But fear not, True Believers, we know what you’re REALLY here for! This super-sized special features splash page after splash page of gorgeous art, but with a story so you can pretend you’re ‘reading it for the articles’…”

Greed & A.I

It all starts with the Avengers when they receive a copy of Roxxon’s “Super Swimsuit Spectacular” magazine. Which featured a bunch of members of The Avengers. Such as Black Widow, Captain America, Wasp, Thor and others. Yes, you read that right. There’s a story about a swimsuit special inside the Marvel swimsuit special. And it boils down to greed. Roxxon the Mega corporation took the Avengers’ likeness and with the help of some prompts generated an entire swimsuit special with the help of artificial intelligence.

STANDING UP TO ROXXON

Not only the ethics of using  the likeness of public personalities to create artificial images Is questionable. But you also have to consider that Roxxon is not lacking nor is desperate for funding or resources. They could have requested or even hired any and all of these personalities to be featured in a proper photo shoot and actually partake in their Swimsuit special. But they didn’t, they took the easy and unethical way to make this magazine with the people they wanted without their permission or their authorization. So, how did the heroes decide to combat this injustice? They decided to make their own swimsuit special. For that, they traveled all over the world looking for your favorite Heroes.

MARVEL RIVALS PREVIEW

Also to conclude this review, if you’re a fan of the video game Marvel Rivals, there is a preview for five characters swimsuit skins designs at the very end of the issue. These are Punisher, Psylocke, Loki, Luna Snow, and finally Thor. So, be on the lookout for Character schemes to be dropping sometime soon.

HOW ABOUT THE ART?

Well, there’s plenty of art here to enjoy in the classic comic book format. There’s action, tense moments and a lot of levity. Nick Bradshaw and Rachel Rosenberg had their work cutout for them with the ridiculous amount of characters present in this issue. The selling point for this special is definitely the covers. With the main cover by Adam Hughes and another 18 variant covers from various artists to choose from.

OVERALL GRADE: 7/10

We all know this is a cash grab for collectors or the inquisitive casuals. But most of all, this is a sidestep towards silliness and fun! Outside of the messaging and stance by the writers against Artificial IntelligenceI and the ethics of using someone’s likeness there’s not much regarding canon, lore, continuity, or any of that sort of thing. This is mostly a fun issue for you to enjoy some art with your favorite Marvel heroes sporting their favorite swimming garments. 

LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MARVEL SWIMSUIT SPECIAL #1 IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW: