#GamingBytes: 5 ways Spider-Man game departed from Marvel comics
What's the story
Spider-Man, for PS4, is raking up great reviews. Insomniac, the game developer, has done a great job in creating a thrilling universe for the fans. To achieve this, it drew inspiration from several comics. Interestingly, Insomniac has also departed from the comic-verse to introduce its own elements. Read to know five ways where the game departed from comic storylines.
Spidey and Doc Ock
Before Doc Ock, there was Octavius
The comic lore has Spider-Man encountering Otto Octavius for the first time after he becomes the tentacled villain, Doctor Octopus. However, the game shows Peter Parker sharing a rather close relationship with Otto. Peter, his lab assistant, supports his experiments in cybernetic prosthetics. The game looks more inspired by Spider-Man 2, the movie where Peter shared an almost father-son bond with Octavius.
Mary Jane Watson
No damsel in distress here
The comic-verse shows Mary Jane Watson as a famous supermodel and someone, who often plays the damsel in distress, for Spider-Man to rescue. She is also one of Spidey's great loves, the other being Gwen Stacey. However, the game has MJ play a reporter at the Daily Bugle. By making her a playable character, she plays a much more active part in Spidey's adventures.
Sinister Six
Band of outsiders
Sinister Six is a group of Spider-Man's most infamous villains including Rhino, Vulture, Scorpion and Doctor Octopus. The wall-crawler has encountered various formations of this group throughout the comics and emerged victorious as the villains are undone by their differences. Notably, the game's version of the Sinister Six features Mr. Negative, who has never, in the comics, been a part of this villainous group.
Green Goblin
The surprising absence of Green Goblin
In the Spider-Man comics, Green Goblin is one of the most encountered villains. Norman Osborn, as the Goblin, killed Gwen Stacey and threatened Peter's loved ones repeatedly. However, in-game, Green Goblin is conspicuously absent. Norman is portrayed in a sympathetic light as a man whose misdeeds go back to saving his son from the same genetic disease that killed his wife.
Aunt May
Aunt May, we will miss you
Aunt May's character in-game departs from the comics distinctly. Firstly, she works at the F.E.A.S.T. center which puts her directly in the path of Martin Li (Mr. Negative). More importantly, May succumbs to Devil's Breath and dies. In her final moments, she tells Peter that she was aware of his Spider-Man identity. Notably, in comics, May is alive and blissfully unaware of Peter's secret.