Highlights

  • Insomniac Games has the potential to create a unique and entertaining superhero game by bringing Wolverine and Spider-Man together in a crossover title.
  • The comic run "Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine" provides a perfect template for a crossover game, with its time travel storyline and cameo appearances by Marvel villains.
  • Adapting this comic run for a game would allow Insomniac Games to take advantage of the powerful hardware of the PlayStation 5 and showcase its technical capabilities.

Gamers still have a bit of a wait ahead of them until they can get their hands on Insomniac Games’ Wolverine game, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start pondering the franchise’s future. The recently released Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has already shown that Insomniac is unmatched when it comes to creating AAA superhero titles, but there’s still plenty of room for it to innovate in the popular genre. One way to do this would be by bringing Wolverine and the Webhead together for a crossover title inspired by one of Marvel Comics’ most unusual stories, letting Insomniac flex its creative muscle and deliver its most eclectic and entertaining superhero game to date.

With a story centered on time travel and cameo appearances by some of the biggest names in Marvel Comics, 2010’s Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine provides a perfect template for a crossover game starring the titular heroes. The time-hopping hijinks of the pair of protagonists and the enemies they encounter would make for a thrilling and utterly unique superhero game. A crossover based on this comic run would not only add new faces to Insomniac’s ever-expanding roster of Marvel characters, but also be able to take advantage of the PlayStation 5’s powerful hardware.

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan next to a statue of Kang/He Who Remains at the TVA from Loki
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An Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine Game Would Add Some Big Names to Insomniac’s Marvel Universe

Marvel villain Mojo

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine’s sees the superpowered pair travelling through time after a run-in with powerful, otherworldly diamonds. As they struggle to make it back to their proper place in the timeline, they face everything from Cretaceous Era cavemen to a mechanized version of Devil Dinosaur. Marvel villains like the alien entertainment executive Mojo and a far-future version of Doctor Doom, now existing as Doom the Living Planet, appear along the way and give the story an almost dream-like feel.

While the massive, mechanized face of Doom the Living Planet would undoubtedly be a memorable encounter in a video game version of the story, it’s Mojo that could make for the most interesting addition to Insomniac’s Marvel universe. Head of an intergalactic media empire, Mojo’s unique brand of villainy would make him a great gaming antagonist, with his brutal and bloody shows being ideal for adaptation into games. It’s not just the appearance of iconic villains that could make an Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine game a hit, though.

Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine image

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine

Publisher

Marvel Comics

Number of Issues

6

Publication Date(s)

May 2010 – May 2011

Writer

Jason Aaron

Artist(s)

Adam Kubert

Editor(s)

Nick Lowe

Insomniac Could Take Full Advantage of the PS5’s Hardware for the Superhero Crossover

rift apart ratchet falling

Throughout the series, Wolverine and Spider-Man repeatedly find themselves unexpectedly hopping between timelines as they fight the trash-talking time traveler, Czar. These sequences would make for a thrilling addition to the game and allow Insomniac to tap into the power of the PS5. Taking a page from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart’s playbook, Insomniac could use the PS5’s SSD streaming tech to instantaneously bounce players between the story’s various timelines and locations.

Giving gamers multiple locales to explore, from the prehistoric past to a far-future New York in ruins, would set Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine apart from Insomniac’s previous Marvel games. Adding seamless transitions between these wildly varying locales would make the title a technical showcase for the PS5 and open the door to some truly intriguing gameplay scenarios. Combined with the comic run’s often-comedic story, this would make Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine feel unique compared to other superhero titles.

With an all-star cast and a story spanning millions of years, Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine would make for a great crossover game. Adapting the unique tale would not only give Insomniac Games an entirely new roster of villains to draw from for future games, but also let the company release what could be its most technically ambitious superhero title yet.