Fans are raving about Spider-Man: Brand New Day for many reasons, with the live action movie returning to the beloved character’s roots with a grounded story and emotional, character-driven story telling. Many are praising multiple themes and ideas Brand New Day adopted, with some hoping that those same concepts can make it into the next Spider-Man video game. With Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 in development and other outings with the character likely planned, there are many opportunities to learn from Brand New Day‘s appeal.
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The list below might contain ideas related to spoilers of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, so proceed at your own risk if you haven’t seen the movie. Without getting into spoilers now, Brand New Day‘s story relies on Peter Parker’s feeling of isolation, where he has been Spider-Man for quite some time after a spell from Doctor Strange made all his friends and loved ones forget he existed. There are games that feature an older version of Spider-Man already, but the best ones remember to implement the struggles that come from such a prolonged dual life.
5. Street-Level Spider-Man Stories
Although Spider-Man is a character who has traveled to alternate dimensions, gone to space, and fought world-ending threats, Brand New Day keeps the character in a much humbler spot on the streets of New York City. The beginning montage of the movie shows how Spider-Man has fought against organized crime in the city for years, taking down eccentric criminals and obscure comic characters who aren’t deadly foes like the Green Goblin, Carnage, or Electro.
Instead of having Spider-Man fight superpowered opponents, a future game could emphasize the hero’s constant battles against average crime, taking on threats like the Kingpin or Tombstone from some adaptations. One of the most interesting parts of the animated Spectacular Spider-Man show was how Spider-Man’s fights against supervillains were largely orchestrated by Tombstone to allow other criminals to operate around NYC, with the villain even offering Peter Parker a job to do so. Stories of corruption were present in Brand New Day as well, with the Department of Damage Control being the movie’s main antagonist.
A grounded, street-level story is almost achieved somewhat in Insomniac’s first Marvel’s Spider-Man and its sequel, which lets players stop random crimes from taking place throughout the city. Although Kingpin is arrested early in those games, figures like Hammerhead and Tombstone are present alongside other members of Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery who would fit that bill, such as Shocker, Scorpion, or The Rhino. That being said, a game that focused completely on this element of the character, rather than a big Sinister Six team-up or alien symbiotes, could make for a fresh experience.
4. More Marvel Characters That Don’t Feel Like Cameos
The Punisher is one of the best characters in Brand New Day, marking a transition from the Netflix and Disney+ Daredevil shows without feeling like a cameo. Similarly, Bruce Banner and The Hulk return from prior MCU appearances, with far more weight and narrative connection to the story than the character has had in years. Finally, Jean Grey of the future X-Men MCU movie is heavily prominent in the movie, lashing out against a world that has wrong and isolated her, driving arguably some of the most emotional parts of the film.
Spider-Man also sees characters like Yelena Belova from Thunderbolts* as the new Black Widow and New Avenger, but all of these other Marvel characters serve a direct purpose in Spider-Man’s story. Bruce Banner’s internal struggles with The Hulk represent the movie’s themes of Peter desperately trying to contain the natural spider parts of himself his powers are evolving into, while The Punisher is a close ally who questions Spider-Man’s avoidance of the people he undoubtedly loves. Meanwhile, Yelena remarks on Spider-Man’s loneliness too, with Jean Grey being a foil to Peter Parker throughout the movie in this regard too.
All of these factors would be welcome in any sort of Spider-Man game too, with other Marvel characters that aren’t just from the wall crawler’s corner of the universe helping to drive his journey. Games like Spider-Man (2000) had characters like Daredevil, The Punisher, and even Captain America show up in Spider-Man’s story, making the hero feel present in a larger comic world. These characters don’t have to be shoe-horned into a game, but rather feel connected to Spider-Man as people in similar roles who can feel and think the same way he does.
3. Additional Examples Of Spider-Man’s Intelligence (That Aren’t Mini-Games)
Typically, Spider-Man’s intellect is something games tend to gloss over in favor of fast quips and over-the-top spider-powered action, which can leading to some exciting adventures. However, only the Insomniac games arguably come close to displaying the full display of Peter Parker’s intelligence, mainly through scientific talk with Doctor Otto Octavius. Brand New Day does this well too, showcasing how Peter Parker has built whole technologies for himself, beyond the already inventive web shooters that define Spider-Man’s character.
In Brand New Day, Peter has created state of the art surveillance systems, devices capable of scanning his own DNA, and eventually inhibitors capable of restraining both his and Jean Grey’s powers. The MCU makes Peter Parker responsible for the mutant inhibitor technology seen throughout multiple X-Men comic story lines, and while this is a questionable choice, it still shows how smart Spider-Man is. Although the dialogue of Spider-Man games tend to showcase this element of the character, more often the not, the actual actions behind the hero’s wealth of knowledge are relegated to mini-games.
Another Spider-Man game could take a page out of the Batman: Arkham series’ book, at least more than they already do. Spider-Man may be able to MacGyver his way of problems by using his excellent knowledge of genetics, chemistry, or technology, directly through player actions rather than in a cutscene. Instead of side lining this aspect of the character in a side quest or mini-game, perhaps a future game can make it just as important as the crime-fighting or super powers. Parker Industries exists in the comics for a reason, so Spider-Man’s intelligence has a purpose besides being a “quirk.”
1. Greater Internal Struggles That Manifest In Gameplay
The driving force behind Brand New Day‘s story is how Peter struggles to adapt to his changing powers, from organic webbing to heightened senses and greater aggression. This leads to him struggling to web swing, sense danger, and even causes him to lash out and almost kill someone. Caused by his isolation and sadness, this type of struggle is not atypical from a Spider-Man story, but one we’ve rarely ever seen in a game.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 briefly touched on Peter Parker’s shifting emotions, but most of those were at the influence of the alien symbiote. Other stories, such as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2, show the character struggling to use their powers under various kinds of duress, with the hero even quitting his role entirely after resounding failures. Some of the best Spider-Man stories are situations where the spider powers of the hero are disrupted by the character’s emotions due to his abnormal life. The consequences of having great responsibility are rarely explored in games, especially through gameplay itself.
A truly ambitious game could force players between choosing Spider-Man’s personal life or saving someone, testing their choices with different outcomes as a result. Similar to Dispatch or Telltale’s Batman game, this type of experience could test just how heroic players are, and what they would do in the many unfortunate, emotionally challenging situations Spider-Man constantly finds himself in. Alternatively, a Spider-Man game could feature moments where your powers are fluctuating due to events of the story, with inconsistent web swinging, super strength, or other abilities that impact how well you’re able to save the day.
Regardless of how it’s implemented, showing how Spider-Man struggles directly through gameplay could be a step up from the cinematic cutscenes and simple solutions players usually use to engage with the character. If there’s anything Spider-Man: Brand New Day showed, it’s that the vulnerability of the Spider-Man character is the most relatable part of the hero, which would be an incredible message through a game as well.
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