Recency Bias // Small love letter to Insomniac's Spider-Man 2
A reshuffling of the mythos that doesn't really add anything new, but I don't care. It's still fun to make with the thwip-thwip.
For everyone out there in the great, scary world who has never met me personally, I’d like to get on paper the following: I am a comic book fan. I’m not talking watching the movies and connecting MCU-related threads. I’m not talking about playing Ultimate Alliance once and calling it a day (although most of my knowledge of Marvel lore came from that game, as well as the door stopper Marvel Handbook that I bought by working at a chowder fest when I was thirteen). I’m not even talking about simply enjoying the ‘90s X-men and Spider-Man cartoons. I collect single issues, have alerts in my calendar, and actively engage in discourse relating to Marvel and Image comics. I know the whole Marvel vs. DC rivalry is outdated but I don’t care. That’s called brand loyalty, folks.
So when the Insomniac’s Spider-Man came out in 2018, I, being a New Yorker, fell head over heels. I hate Times Square in real life, but going there digitally with spider-powers is rewarding. For the sequel specifically, the map has expanded to include parts of Queens and parts of Brooklyn (ahem, Williamsburg has colonized the top of Brooklyn itself to the very top of Grand Army Plaza. There are only three neighborhoods in Insomniac’s Brooklyn). It was fun to see the library I go to and Domino Park, which holds a special place in my heart. I felt seen. And the High Line Park is pretty well represented too. So Two Trees Architectural firm really got some digital shoutouts, here.
What makes these games spectacular is the humanity of it all. The writer’s did a great job on creating a very real Spider-Man. Don’t forget, he’s the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. That doesn’t mean he needs to be punching out Sandman or dodging lightning bolts from Electro. Sometimes its collecting pigeons. Sometimes it’s swinging with a bodega cat (pictured above, obviously). Sometimes it’s sitting on a park bench with an old man. Sometimes its delivering pigeons. That is what Spider-Man means to me. And my goodness, do these games get it. And what’s more, these games explore the intersectionality of Spider-Man with Peter Parker and/or Miles Morales. With Peter’s life specifically…it sucks. It just sucks. He’s alone and makes little dollars and has a house he can’t afford. If memory serves correctly, the first half of the first game he literally homeless. With few exceptions in recent Spider-Man media, these games capture the emotional, financial, and interpersonal strain being Spider-Man has on Peter’s and Miles’s life.
If you are a Spider-Man fan, I suggest playing these games. If you are New York City fan, feel free to walk around in superhero spandex. It’s still going to be a good time, although I promise you’ll want to swing.