Highlights

  • Insomniac's Spider-Man games excel at capturing the essence of a larger Marvel universe while focusing on the titular heroes.
  • The series hints at connections to other Marvel superheroes but remains predominantly centered on Spider-Man's solo adventures.
  • EA Motive's Iron Man game faces challenges in avoiding ties to the wider Marvel universe due to Iron Man's inherent connections.

Insomniac set a new bar for Marvel video games back in 2018 with the release of Marvel's Spider-Man. Just like Batman: Arkham before it, Marvel's Spider-Man managed to capture the essence of a much larger universe while technically remaining quite small in scope. Through the use of Easter eggs, collectibles, and in-game dialogue, Insomniac not only hinted at this Spider-Man's extensive backstory, but paved the way for future connections to its wider Marvel universe.

With three games now under its belt, many fans expected Insomniac's Spider-Man series to include a few more connections to the rest of the Marvel universe by now. But any connections between Spider-Man and the Defenders, the Avengers, and any other Marvel supergroup have remained pretty surface-level. And while a Spider-Man game should focus first and foremost on its titular hero/heroes, Insomniac's reluctance to connect its Marvel universe is something that EA Motive's Iron Man game can't repeat.

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EA's Iron Man Can't Use The Same Excuse as Insomniac's Spider-Man to Avoid Other Superheroes

Insomniac's Spider-Man Has Managed to Avoid The Avengers

The first Marvel's Spider-Man does a great job of telling a larger-scale Spider-Man story, while at the same time hinting that there are more Marvel heroes and villains out there. But a key element of this first Spider-Man game was that its threats felt like something Spidey could handle mostly on his own. When the Sinister Six break out of the Raft, it isn't too unbelievable that Spider-Man would be left to round them all up by himself, even if it's confirmed that the Avengers, the Defenders, and Doctor Strange exist in this universe, and potentially live just down the block.

The same can be said for Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Though Roxxon and the Tinkerer's army of Underground soldiers pose a solid threat, it's not one that warrants an immediate response from the rest of Earth-1048's heroes. However, the same can't be said for Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Though Kraven the Hunter wreaks havoc on the streets of New York, it isn't anything two Spider-Men can't handle. But when Venom shows up and starts infecting the entirety of Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs, it feels a little odd that no other heroes come to the Spider-Men's aid.

EA Motive's Iron Man Can't Easily Avoid The Rest of the Marvel Universe

For better or for worse, EA Motive's Iron Man game can't really follow in Spider-Man's footsteps when it comes to avoiding the rest of its own Marvel universe. Though Iron Man will often head out on solo missions around the world, his character is inherently more connected to a good portion of the Marvel roster, depending on when this game takes place.

For instance, if EA's Iron Man game is primarily an origin story or set in the early days of Tony Stark's superhero career, then it would be safe to assume that he hasn't made many connections with other Marvel heroes, and thus probably wouldn't turn to them immediately when posed with a new threat. However, if EA's Iron Man game begins with the hero at the height of his career, then many fans would expect him to have the Avengers on speed dial. Both of these approaches have their pros and cons. If EA Motive chooses the former approach, then it could end up feeling a bit too similar to the MCU's version of Iron Man, but the latter approach could lead to cameos that end up overshadowing the lead.