Fortnite’s December Skins Could Reignite a Classic Comic Book Rivalry

There are few rivalries that have reached icon status, but Fortnite may reignite the spark between two long-standing comic book rivals with some new skins. While each rival has received skins in Fortnite in previous seasons, December marks the addition of even more skins for both companies.

Fortnite has collaborated with many companies, celebrities, and content creators when adding cosmetics to the game. These two companies are no exception, though the fact that skins for both companies will be in the shop at the same time could point not just to a grudging coexistence, but maybe even the reignition of their rivalry.

DC Skins Return to Fortnite

With skins often rotating in and out of Fortnite’s shop, Epic Games often announces which skins are returning and leaving between chapters. Many players became excited about the news that Fortnite’s X (formerly Twitter) account announced on December 3. Three DC skins will return to the Fortnite shop throughout December.

The three “fan favorite” DC skins returning to the Fortnite shop are Starfire, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman’s Comic Book Outfit. Each of the skins hasn’t appeared in at least a year, with both Harley Quinn and Catwoman’s Comic Book Outfit being absent from the Fortnite shop prior to the X announcement since December 2023. Starfire has been absent from the game the longest, as she notably never returns alongside DC Series skin returns in the Item Shop. Therefore, Starfire has been absent from Fortnitesince her release in September 2022. However, these DC skins aren’t the only comic-based cosmetics arriving in Fortnite this December. The Fornite x Marvel Rivals collaboration debuts this month as well.

Marvel Characters Swing into Fortnite

To celebrate the launch of Marvel Rivals, new back bling and skins based on the new shooter have been added to Fortnite. The first Marvel Rivals-themed item in the game is the “Rivaled Sailer Glider”, themed after Galacta, an NPC in the game and arguably its mascot. Doom 2099, another NPC in Marvel Rivals, will allegedly join Fortnite as a skin based on leaks.

In addition to the Marvel Rivals skins, three more characters from the Spider-Verse franchise now have skins in Fortnite. Players can now battle as Spider-Punk, Peter B. Parker, or Spider-Man Noir. Fortnite previously added Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2099 (Miguel O’Hara) to celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

The paths between these Marvel-themed skins coincide with the re-release of Starfire, Catwoman’s Comic Book Outfit, and Harley Quinn. This sets a precedent for Marvel and DC Comics to coexist with each other in Fortnite. There is a chance, however, that Fortnite skins based on Marvel and DC properties may increase in coming seasons, essentially competing for relevancy and space in the highly popular game.

DC vs Marvel is Reignited in Fortnite

Both Marvel and DC have a few highly anticipated films slated for their 2025 roster. The most notable entries are Marvel’s Thunderbolts*and the first entry into James Gunn’s DCU, Superman. With both films sparking new excitement in Marvel and DC’s respective fanbases, it would be unsurprising to see marketing for these flicks in various spaces, maybe even Fortnite.

New content does not have to be the catalyst for this rivalry necessarily. After all, the DC skins being released this December are re-releases. If DC and Marvel coincided their re-releases at the same time, Fortnite could eventually be overrun by superhero skins to the joy and despair of gamers. Of course, new skins are typically more exciting than the return of skins gamers have seen all too often in the Item Shop. Nevertheless, skins from both Marvel and DC at the same time could lead to an all-out cosmetics war in Fortnite.