Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man Will Not Connect to the MCU.
Marvel and Insomniac Games confirmed that their upcoming Spider-Man PlayStation 4 exclusive game will not having anything to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man Homecoming, giving Insomniac the freedom to tell unique stories separate from the movies. Jay Ong, vice president of games at Marvel, told We Got This Covered:
“When we tell people that they aren’t just building a movie game, that opens up their eyes. “You mean we have the freedom to invest and deliver the title that we want to deliver?” they ask. They don’t have to meet some artificial date. We give them time. We initiate projects far earlier than we used to.”
While that news might disappoint those wishing for a connection with the games and movies, this move truly does free up developers to tell whatever story they want and pull whatever characters they want without restrictions or time crunches.
Marvel continues to have a great working relationship with Activision, publisher of the previous Spider-Man movie tie-in games, the news that Spider-Man is in the hands of Insomniac Games is a welcome relief to some gamers. Movie tie-in console games are generally a little rough around the edges regardless of the publisher but Activision’s Spider-Man games were… well, see for yourself. (VIDEO IS NSFW but fast forward to 21:45 for “Mary Jane Thrill Ride” action!).
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2 Coming Soon for Current Gen Consoles
Speaking of Activision, while their movie tie-in games have been hit and mostly miss, the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games they published were PS2/3 era classics. The top down, couch co-coop RPG series were seen as a follow up to the X-Men Legends games and debuted to mostly favorable reviews. The second game, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 featured a robust Civil War storyline where players could choose between the pro or anti registration sides at key points.
Now, there appears to be a chance the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance series might make its way onto current gen consoles. Gematsu reports that Activision has registered new ratings for both Marvel: Ultimate Alliance games for the PS4 and Xbox One. It’s unclear if Activision is planning HD remasters or just downloadable versions of the original games, but any new found interest in the series would hopefully lead to a third iteration in the future.
Avengers Academy Adds Openly Gay Character Union Jack
Marvel’s highly popular mobile game Marvel Avengers Academy has added an openly gay character to their roster. Union Jack, canonically gay in the comics, has been introduced in the game during their “British Invasion” event. In in-game dialogue, Union Jack tells Black Widow the reason he’s the only guy on campus that hasn’t hit on her is because he’s gay. Avengers Academy’s frankness with Union Jack’s orientation is much need push in the right direction for children seeing themselves represented without ambiguity in the games they play.