This may come as a surprise to you, but Spider-Man has been officially confirmed to be a playable character in Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' highly anticipated MARVEL's Avengers. Well, that's not really a surprise now, is it? Especially because it has given players a lot to talk about the game; for all the wrong reasons.
Spider-Man will be playable in MARVEL's Avengers, yes, but it will also be an exclusive character for those who play the game on PlayStation consoles; making this an exciting news for PlayStation players, and a rather disappointing one for PC and Xbox players.
The developers at Crystal Dynamics have already mentioned that Spider-Man will be the only exclusive character to release for the game, and that his iteration will be very different from the one seen in Insomniac Games' critically acclaimed MARVEL's Spider-Man; also a PlayStation exclusive title.
Leaving behind all of the disappointment experienced by Xbox and PC players, however, there are plenty of reasons for PlayStation users to get excited over Spider-Man in MARVEL's Avengers, as this character will be giving players something new that they haven't seen in MARVEL's Spider-Man.
In a recent interview with PlayStation Trophies, MARVEL's Avengers Creative Director and Lead Combat Designer Shaun Escayg and Vince Napoli, respectively, have revealed that Spider-Man's story will tie directly into the events of A-Day, and will reveal details about the chracter, the villains he's fought, and how long he's been a part of the game's universe.
"Without obviously giving any spoilers away, the window where you will see our version of Spider-Man, will fit into our story – and I have to obviously dance around this because I can't speak to it – but just know that this Spider-Man is our Spider-Man, and will be in our story, will fit in that world with what happened [to them during] A-Day, between then and now – even [with] the villains that support that and how he belongs in this world and how long he's lived in this world," revealed Escayg.
Adding to what Escayg revealed about Spider-Man in MARVEL's Avengers, Napoli mentions that Spider-Man's arc will not really affect the events of the game's main story, as his story, much like the stories of all of the other post-launch superheroes, will be an addition to the overall story.
"Also, to clarify," Napoli adds, "Spider-Man is in addition to the arc and the progression of the main story.. There was no swapping or anything else – we've got our plan, we've got our heroes that are coming out, the stories, the challenges, and the gameplay escalation that we've planned out – that's all continuing."
With that said, Napoli also reveals that Spider-Man will be a part of the story in the sense that he will play an important role, but he isn't affecting the story in a way that is too significant.
"And then on top of all that stuff, we've also got Spider-Man now, and weaving him into [the story] is the key. There is no swapping or changing anything to accommodate that – he's got to fit within the massive plan and all of that stuff we've already got. [Spider-Man] is sort of like a cherry on top, but it doesn't affect or change [the story] in any way," Napoli continued.
Interestingly enough, Spider-Man's inclusion in MARVEL's Avengers almost echoes the beloved character's inclusion in the MCU's Captain America: Civil War, where the character was very prominent during the hero-on-hero fight, but was not severely affecting the movie's main plot. With that said, it will be definitely interesting to see what Crystal Dynamics does with the character.
Marvel’s Avengers begins at A-Day, where Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Thor are unveiling a hi-tech Avengers Headquarters in San Francisco — including the reveal of their own helicarrier powered by an experimental energy source. The celebration turns deadly when a catastrophic accident results in massive devastation. Blamed for the tragedy, the Avengers disband. Five years later, with all Super Heroes outlawed and the world in peril, the only hope is to reassemble Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
MARVEL's Avengers will be available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia on Friday the 4th of September; PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X release date to be determined.