Hitting the front page for the first time all the way back in 1962, it's been a long road for Spider-Man. Over the last six decades, Spider-Man has found himself at the heart of countless comic runs, several of which have even changed the comic book industry forever, both for better and for worse. From the incredibly influential The Night Gwen Stacy Died, to the iconic Kraven's Last Hunt, to the controversial One More Day, Spidey has had plenty of standout arcs over the years, many of which have gone on to inspire Insomniac's Spider-Man series.
Generally speaking, Insomniac's Spider-Man series has done a pretty great job of taking inspiration from the decades' worth of source material that's come before, while also still putting its own unique spin on things to keep everything feeling fresh and exciting. That being said, there's still room for some more direct Spider-Man comic-to-video-game adaptations, and there's one relatively recent Spidey run that would make for a perfect standalone game, and it's one Marvel's Spider-Man 2 referenced in its suits.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Life Story Suit Paves The Way for a Standalone Spidey Adventure
The Spider-Man: Life Story Comic Explained
Created by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley, Spider-Man: Life Story is a six-issue limited comic run that was originally released in 2019. In just 200 pages, the entirety of Spider-Man's 60-year comic history is retold, but with one big twist: Spidey's life is happening in real time. Each issue of Spider-Man: Life Story represents a different decade of the hero's life, with the first issue beginning in the 1960s and depicting the hero's origin.
Over the course of its six issues, fans are given distilled and tweaked versions of some of Spider-Man's most pivotal moments. The Secret Wars arc, The Night Gwen Stacy Died, the Clone Saga, and Civil War are all present in Spider-Man: Life Story, with Spidey's age affecting the events of each major moment. Miles Morales is introduced towards the end of the run, appearing in events he wasn't part of in their original iterations, such as the Superior Spider-Man arc where Doc Ock steals his body rather than Peter's due to the latter's advanced age.
How a Spider-Man: Life Story Game Could Stand Apart From Insomniac's Series
After completing all of Marvel's Spider-Man 2's EMF missions, players will unlock the Life Story suit for Peter Parker, referencing the hero's outer space costume from the latter half of Spider-Man: Life Story. Though it's just a fun little homage to one of Spider-Man's best recent runs, Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Life Story suit should inspire a standalone video game adaptation of the comic. Naturally, it'd stand out from Insomniac's series in a few key ways.
The most obvious way in which a Spider-Man: Life Story game adaptation would stand out from Insomniac's series is its distinctly different continuity and self-contained story. While it's great to see Insomniac's Spider-Man universe grow with each entry, it could also be fun to experience all of the Wall-Crawler's biggest moments and fight all of his biggest villains in one succinct adaptation. Spider-Man: Life Story's aging gimmick could also pave the way for some interesting game mechanics, such as a Sifu-like vitality system that sees Peter Parker deal more damage as he gets older but have less health.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
- Released
- October 20, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.
Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.
Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Franchise
- Spider-Man
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action-Adventure, Superhero
- How Long To Beat
- 17 hours
- Metascore
- 90
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
