Every Marvel Game Where Spider-Man Is Playable

Since Marvel's Spider-Man character was licensed for use in video games back in the 1970s, the web-slinger has been playable in a massive number of Marvel titles. As one of the most popular Marvel heroes, Spider-Man's appearances in gaming have ranged from headlining solo adventures to support roles for other characters. With Marvel's Spider-Man 2 tentatively scheduled for a 2023 release, the list of games where Spider-Man is playable is set to grow once again.

Spider-Man first appeared in the Amazing Fantasy #15 comic back in 1962, written and penciled by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko respectively, but the character's popularity truly exploded in the following decade. As a result of the Spider-Man (1967-1970) animated series, Spidey Super Stories (1974-1977) segment on The Electric Company, and The Amazing Spider-Man (1977-1979) live action series, Marvel Comics extended the character's license to video games. Due to his popularity, Spidey has appeared in some of the best and worst Marvel games, and more of them than any other character in the publisher's library.

As Spider-Man has held affiliations with several teams in Marvel Comics, including the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, the friendly neighborhood hero pops up in an impressive percent of Marvel games. The character's continued success across several forms of entertainment ensures he's a consideration for most releases, even if it's as DLC (as was the case with Marvel's Avengers). While the web-slinger is playable in a couple of non-Marvel games, including Fortnite, his number of Marvel appearances is truly something to marvel at.

Spider-Man Was Playable In The First Marvel Game

Spider-Man's first appearance in video games, 1982's Spider-Man, was also the first game based on Marvel published. Released by the Parker Brothers on the Atari 2600, Spider-Man's mechanics involve vertical scrolling gameplay where players control Spider-Man, scaling a building and defusing bombs placed by the Green Goblin. After vertically and diagonally climbing to the summit using web lines, the hero defeats the Goblin by avoiding him while reaching the super bomb.

Neversoft's Spider-Man Game Included Multiple Marvel Cameos

The publishing company Activision acquired the video game rights to Spider-Man in 2000 and released Spider-Man on the PlayStation during the same year. Developed by the now-defunct Neversoft, who also developed the hit Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise, the game featured Spider-Man becoming a wanted criminal after a look-alike framed the web-slinger, and also included multiple Marvel cameos as well as a narration from Stan Lee. Players used Spidey's powers to traverse different levels, fighting multiple villains on the way to the big bad, Monster-Ock. Another Neversoft title in 2000, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, included the hero as an unlockable character, even though it's not in the Marvel game universe.

The Spider-Man 2 Movie Game Is One Of Marvel's Best

Video game developer Treyarch released Spider-Man 2 in 2004, which is based off the film of the same time. The title had a significant impact on the industry, as it was the first superhero game to make effective use of an open world setting. Even though it was ported to non-consoles by other developers who changed some aspects of the game, all versions followed the film's plot closely.

The console versions of Spider-Man 2 are divided into multiple chapters, ranging from upgrading Spidey's powers to completing side missions for hero points, though each chapter featured at least a mission pertaining to the main plot. Combat within the game is more complex than earlier titles, with attacks and dodges needing to be carefully timed to work. To make the task of dodging easier, players could employ Peter's spidey-sense to slow time down.

Spider-Man And Venom Are Both Playable In Ultimate Spider-Man

Spider-Man runs up the side of a building in Ultimate Spider-Man for the PS2

Featuring a brilliantly realized cel-shaded world, as well as some great Human Torch Races, Ultimate Spider-Man was released by Treyarch and Activision one year after Spider-Man 2, with both Spidey and Venom being playable. The action-adventure title was based off the Ultimate Spider-Man comics written and penciled by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, where Peter investigates Trask Industries for the birth of Venom, while Venom himself is attempting to avoid capture by the company. At the beginning of the story, players can only roam as Spider-Man, while automatically switching between the two characters during missions. After beating the story, it's possible to freely switch between Peter and Eddie.

Particularly special about the inclusion of both Spider-Man and Venom is their different gameplay styles. Spidey is the more agile of the two, with players using his web powers for traveling through the city, fighting enemies, and tying them up after defeat to ensure they don't get back up. Spider-Man and Marvel anti-hero Venom, on the other hand, plays much more aggressively, as he has to eat NPCs to regain health.

Shattered Dimensions' Spider-Verse Had Four Playable Spider-Men

Several iterations of Spider-Man stand in a row from Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions

In 2010's Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, a fight between Spider-Man and Mysterio shatters the Tablet of Order and Chaos, whose fragments fall into the hands of villains across the Marvel Multiverse. Madame Web then enlists four different playable Spider-Men - The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Man Noir, and Ultimate Spider-Man - to retrieve the pieces from villains in their respective universes. The game inspired the comic book storyline Spider-Verse, which in turn, inspired Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its upcoming sequels.

Each of the four Spider-Men provided players with different gameplay experiences. While the Amazing Spider-Man featured typical Spidey combat, Ultimate Spider-Man's symbiote black suit granted increased strength, leading to the character often fighting crowds of combatants. The story and gameplay of Spider-Man Noir required hiding in the shadows and using stealth to defeat enemies, while Spider-Man 2099 employed a mechanic to slow down time and dodge bullets. The game even featured the voice talents of Spidey's most iconic voice actors, including Christopher Daniel Barnes - the voice of the '90s Spider-Man - as Spider-Man Noir.

Insomniac's Spider-Man Games Included Peter And Miles Morales

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered Miles Morales

The most recent Spidey adventures in gaming, Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales both received nominations for Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards. Marvel's Spider-Man once again put players in control of Peter Parker, this time as he attempted to stop Mister Negative from releasing a deadly virus in New York City. Combat within the game centred around three controls: one for physical attacks, another for web-based attacks, and the last for dodging.

The follow-up game, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, highlighted the eponymous version of the hero first introduced in the aforementioned Ultimate comics, one year after the events of the first game. Morales had been trained by Parker during the time between the installments, with the spin-off taking place in an open world, similar to seemingly every Marvel game releasing today. Gameplay feels much different, however, due to Morales's ability to manifest bio-electricity when fighting enemies.

Every Marvel Game Featuring A Playable Spider-Man

The titles listed above constitute some of the best video games featuring the web-slinger. Every Marvel title where Spider-Man is a playable character include: