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Latest Marvel games won’t necessarily tie in with film and comic canon

'Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - The Telltale Series' Official Teaser
Marvel has a number of games based on its comic book properties in the works, including Telltale’s

Guardians of the Galaxy

 
and Insomniac Games’ PlayStation 4-exclusive

Spider-Man

, but don’t expect these titles to necessarily tie into the either the comic books or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“We want to give our partners … freedom to look at all the Marvel history and to pick from what interests them,” said Marvel Games creative director Bill Rosemann in an interview with IGN. “It’s a bit like we’re saying, ‘Hey, you’re the chef, you’re going to make this meal. Here are all of the ingredients. You pick the ingredients that you like and make a new meal.'”

This would certainly open up these games to feature characters — both heroes and villains — that have been killed in the recent Marvel films, but the studio is also making a conscious effort to keep the adaptations similar enough to the films that they are still recognizable. This is particularly important with Guardians of the Galaxy, which wasn’t exactly a household name before James Gunn’s film released in 2014. But don’t expect “tie-in” games that launch alongside films to maximize interest.

“We’re also not going to try to do the very tricky balancing act of trying to make a game that adapts a movie and get it out in the same window as the movie,” Rosemann added.

This is a similar strategy to that of Warner Bros., which released its Batman: Arkham games primarily during “off” years for its superhero films.

Batman: Arkham Knight

, the latest full entry in Rocksteady’s acclaimed series, was released nearly a year before the film

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

 
hit theaters.

Still, Marvel would be wise to look back at its own history for an example of successful film-to-game adaptations. Spider-Man 2, which released alongside Sam Raimi’s film, is still widely considered to be one of the best comic book games of all time.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The best Marvel games of all time
Miles Morales without mask in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

The Marvel franchise has exploded in popularity over the past decade or so, leading to a slew of films, TV shows, comics, and video games. Though, even before the MCU took the film industry by storm, Marvel games were always popular -- dating back to the PlayStation 2 days in the early- to mid-2000s (and even earlier).

Over the course of the franchise's rich history, we've had Marvel video games based on films, as well as original stories coming in all sorts of genres. There are action games, cooperative multiplayer titles, fighters, beat 'em ups, and more ranging across various styles of play. There's even a Marvel pinball series out there!

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Marvel's Spider-Man 2 officially has a release date. During the Summer Game Fest, Insomniac Games revealed that the game is scheduled to release on October 20 as a PlayStation 5 exclusive. The stream also featured a few new details about the game, including new information about its villains.

Spider-Man 2 recently appeared at the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, so it wasn't surprising that there wasn't any new footage at the Summer Game Fest. However, Insomniac presented new concept art, including one with Peter Parker and Miles Morales fighting side by side and another with the two Spider-Mans fighting Venom.

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While Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is supposed to come out sometime this fall, we don't actually have that much information on the video game's narrative or any other differences from its predecessors. That's why those looking forward to the game should check out the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 prequel comic, which was previously released physically, but is now available for free on Marvel's website.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023) No. 1, which was written by Christos Gage and illustrated by Ig Guara, was released physically on May 6 for Free Comic Book Day. Now, just a few days later, Insomniac Games and Marvel have followed up on their promise to make the book available digitally for free, so you can easily read it on Marvel.com.
It's a breezy read that doesn't contain many shocking revelations, but gives more context on what Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Mary Jane Watson have been up to since the events of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. In terms of new villains introduced here that could show up in the game, the Spider-Men fight The Tarantula, an arachnid-themed assassin, and The Hood, a gang leader who's trying to use magic for personal gain.
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There's little more than a passing mention of Norman Osborn, and we don't see Harry Osborn, Kraven, or Venom in action, so there aren't any must-know reveals from this free comic. Still, it's worth a read if you want to get reacquainted with this Marvel universe, the headspace of the heroes within it, and the gadgets they use ahead of Marvel's Spider-Man 2's launch. 
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