'Spider-Man' PS4 Reveals Villains and Politicians Aim to Turn City Against Spidey

Both the villains in Insomniac Games' Spider-Man and the New Yorkers that the hero protects are blaming Spider-Man for everything going wrong in the city, new reports from the Daily Bugle suggests.

Like other heroes, people in the Spider-Man universe usually have two different opinions of the web-slinger: He's either the savior of New York, or as J. Jonah Jameson would say, he's the Spidey Menace and is to blame for the city's problems. In PlayStation's latest online issue of the Daily Bugle, the fictional newspaper that often reports on Spider-Man's heroism, accounts from New Yorkers, Mayor Norman Osborn, and even the Vulture suggest that Spider-Man is responsible for everything from higher taxes to the flying villain getting caught.

"Adrian Toomes, aka the high-flying Vulture, used his day in court to crow for his crimes," the latest report from the Daily Bugle said. "Upon taking the stand, Vulture screeched about Spider-Man instead of owning up to his criminal behavior. Toomes claimed the masked vigilante was the 'true mastermind' behind his dastardly deeds. The jury humored Toomes, as it's a well-known fact Spider-Man was the very one to apprehend the bald buzzard for the police."

The article clearly indicates that Vulture doesn't feel responsible for his actions and wholly puts the blame on Spider-Man. However, such an obviously false legal defense could hint at something else, perhaps some part of the story that actually makes the Vulture mistakenly believe that Spider-Man's responsible for his villainous actions. It's more likely though that he's fueling the anti-hero sentiment that's felt throughout part of the city.

Other accounts show the more frequently-seen opinions of New Yorkers who are of the view that the hero is the direct cause of their problems. Saying that Spider-Man has a "small fan base" to defend him, the Daily Bugle's report adds that critics blame him for his destructive behavior. One resident quoted in the report even said that "our taxes have increased thanks to his recklessness," likely a result of the chaos caused when Spider-Man takes down villains. We saw some of that in a previous issue of the Daily Bugle when the hero fought Rhino, an altercation that resulted in the destruction of an ice rink and a "multimillion-dollar tab."

Norman Osborn also weighed in on the discussion, the mayor of New York and a vocal critic of Spider-Man. Osborn has voiced his opinions on Spider-Man in the past by saying that the city doesn't need the hero and has taken measures to defend the city himself with a private military force, something that's caused controversy within the city.

The full issue of the Daily Bugle can be read here. Spider-Man releases exclusively for the PlayStation 4 on September 7.