Backpacks were one of the collectibles in Marvel's Spider-Man, and they were used to build out the world around Peter Parker without any long-winded exposition or forced flashbacks to earlier years. Finding Backpacks was an optional side activity that could be completed at any point in the game, and included memento's that fleshed out Peter's past exploits as Spider-Man. It was an organic way to develop Insomniac's new interpretation of the character, which made them fun to collect to learn more about Peter's past. Due to the story ties, collecting Backpacks felt more like a treat than a chore.
There were 55 Backpacks to find all around the city in Marvel's Spider-Man, and they were typically on the sides of buildings or webbed up in a small nook. Interacting with each Backpack would reveal a new item and a bit of Spider-Man's backstory. Some of them alluded to earlier fights that Spider-Man had with villains, while others indicated some of Peter Parker's most memorable moments with Mary Jane and other characters. Each Backpack was used to add more to the story while allowing players to experience these narrative pieces at their leisure.
The best part about the Backpacks in Marvel's Spider-Man was that they built a unique world for Peter to exist in that was distinguishable from other iterations in comics, films, television, and games. These collectibles defined Peter's personality, delivered backstory in a fun way, and appropriately fit as collectibles for this character. Finding items to deliver stories about Spider-Man's past adventures with the Backpack collectibles was a great way to make the world of Marvel's Spider-Man more immersive.
Backpacks In Marvel's Spider-Man Gave Peter More Personality
Each Backpack collectible in Marvel's Spider-Man added to Peter's personality. Some of the items, like the hospital bill and Peter's pawnshop calculator, reflect the image of Spider-Man's friendly neighborhood gimmick because they make Peter much more relatable. Other items, like those in the various villain-related Backpacks, indicate Peter's intelligence. Spider-Man's ability to adapt his suit after each fight with a villain shows his genius and makes all of his suit upgrades in Marvel's Spider-Man more believable.
A lot of the Backpack collectibles also show more of Peter's emotional side. Of course, there are plenty of emotional moments throughout the story of Marvel's Spider-Man, but little things like saving a kid's drawing or holding onto the Daily Bugle article that forced him to quit show how deeply Peter cares about being a hero. It can be also argued that the Backpacks prove Peter's inability to exist separately from Spider-Man since he left all of these sentimental items scattered around the city gathering dust in old knapsacks. It's likely these were left behind during an emergency which indicates that any task for Spider-Man is much more important to Peter than the few things he's held onto in his personal life.
Marvel's Spider-Man's Backpacks Were Organic Collectibles
The concept of Spider-Man leaving Backpacks webbed up all around the city was very in-character and felt like a natural way to introduce some of Peter's earlier adventures. Instead of using random collectibles to lengthen the game, Marvel's Spider-Man created an interesting open world through character-driven items. Each Backpack contained some item that Peter valued, like the poster from the wrestling match he won right after getting his powers. All of the Backpack collectibles appropriately fleshed out both who Peter was behind the mask and what it took for Spider-Man to get to where he is at the start of the game.
Without the believable element of Peter leaving his Backpacks scattered around New York City, finding the collectibles would have been less fulfilling. Unlike other games, Marvel's Spider-Man uses the collectibles to cement Peter's backstory instead of simply giving players an extra activity. For example, the Riddler trophies in the Batman: Arkham series didn't have any real character development or substance tied to them. Instead, the trophies just added in another side activity to complete. However, it's much more believable that Peter would leave his Backpacks lying around than the idea that Batman: Arkham's Riddler would set up hundreds of trophies that don't have any villainous secondary function. Marvel's Spider-Man uses the Backpacks to convey Spider-Man's roots in a fun and interesting way.
Marvel's Spider-Man's Backpacks Eliminated A Lengthy Intro
At the beginning of Marvel's Spider-Man, the action starts right away after Peter wakes up in his apartment and hears about the commotion at Fisk Tower. Instead of going through a lengthy origin story or having a long opening cutscene, Marvel's Spider-Man uses the Backpacks to deliver information about earlier events in Peter's life. Having a complete picture of the life of Spider-Man before the game starts meant finding all 55 Backpacks, but knowing each one contained a piece of Peter's past made them much less of a hassle to track down. The ability to collect this information at any pace allowed for a quick dive into the action at the beginning of the game.
Marvel's Spider-Man's Backpacks Made The World More Unique
Instead of relying on established comics backstory or leaving Peter's past Spider-Man villain fights before the game up to the player's imagination, the Backpacks created a unique backstory. There are, of course, elements of Peter's past that have been present in other Spider-Man stories from Marvel, but the unique combination of all the backstory collectibles and the original narrative of the game created an immersive atmosphere that felt fresh despite the many iterations of the character. The early fights Spider-Man had with various villains, as well as Peter's relationship with Mary Jane before Marvel's Spider-Man were explained through the collection of Backpacks to help build the character. Presenting the information in any other way would have taken away from the main story.
At the start of Marvel's Spider-Man, it's established that Peter has been the web-slinger for a while now, but the Backpacks indicate just how many years he's been at it. These collectibles also help to show how much experience Peter has with Marvel's Spider-Man's villains, some of which don't appear in the game at all outside of one or two Backpack items. Factoring in the many fights Spider-Man has already experienced made his battle against Doc Ock even more meaningful because he still struggled after having been through so much already. The Backpacks in Marvel's Spider-Man were fantastic worldbuilding items that delivered Peter Parker's backstory the right way.