Spider-man is a hero to many people. A shining example that anyone can be a superhero. The mask that protects his identity is what makes Spider-man so powerful. Until you get that reveal of who he is – the viewer imagines that he could be anybody. In all of the comics, games,and TV shows, this is one facet of his character that remains the same.
The “Ultimate Spider-man Videogame” was released in 2005 for PS2 and X-box. It was designed as a tie-in to both the “Ultimate Universe” run of the Marvel comics and Sam Raimi’s Spider-man movie. This game was published to tie-in more with issues #71 and #72 of the “Ultimate Universe”, but many players found that the game action more closely resembled the storylines developed in issues #123 and #128. This left the game in a limbo between being canon and non-canon which impacts whether players want to explore new elements of the Spider-man myth or just be reminded of comics they’ve read in the past.
The game brings our favorite wall crawler and his friend, Eddie Brock, at odds. The game takes a turn with Eddie Brock stealing a prototype symbiote, forming him into the well known villain – Venom. Venom is naturally fueled by a hatred for Spider-man. A popular selling point for this game was the designers’ decision to allow you to play as not only Spider-man, but Venom as well. The game features cell-shaded graphics, giving it a comic book feel. A common critique mentioned that though the game was fun, the missions were too repetitive. Also, despite the good addition of a playable Venom, it was seen as a clunky part of the videogame – his powerful and slow movements often hindering players more than letting them have fun. Despite these flaws the game still managed to be massively popular.
Spider-man the movie that came out in 2002. At the moment of writing this review, fans are still able to go see this film in AMC theatres. This long lasting popularity shows how much of a hit Toby Maguire’s characterization of Spider-man is. When it first came out, Spider-man was a groundbreaking film, praised much for its emotional resonance as its spectacular amount of action. This movie led to many spinoffs and the aforementioned videogame. Though the reviews for the film weren’t all praise – the low quality CGI was cited in one such review. Its dialogue was also cited as very corny and choppy. Still, in view of the negative criticism, the movie was still a groundbreaking move for the Spider-man brand. And it brought Spider-man international fame earning over $418 million dollars.