Spider-Man PS4 Getting Official Prequel Novel

Screen Rant

By Tom Chapman

Published Apr 18, 2018

Insomniac's upcoming Spider-Man PS4 video game will get a tie-in prequel novel focusing on the Kingpin ahead of the game's release this fall.

Preparing to swing into our lives early, Insomniac's Spider-Man game will also include a brand new prequel novel to tie the series together.

Fans already know that the upcoming sandbox game will be Spidey's biggest adventure to date, focusing on a more mature version of Peter Parker's wall-crawling hero. With Peter a 23-year-old graduate working in a lab, Insomniac is creating its own storylines away from the popular MCU and reinventing the characters in its own way. There will be no baby-faced Tom Holland in this game, with the title following a more established version of Spider-Man as New York's savior.

While the game is looking to the future, Polygon reports that Titan Books is working on a prequel novel to run alongside the game and give a little more backstory to where Insomniac is picking up the story up from. Titled Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover, the novel will focus on Wilson Fisk's iron grip on the city as he tries to rule as Kingpin. Fisk is already pitched as one of the main villains of the game, so Hostile Takeover should neatly lead into the first levels of Spider-Man with a bit more context.

The novel will feature confirmed Insomniac characters Shocker and Mary Jane Watson, but also mentions Echo, the Blood Spider, and J. Jonah Jameson to tease that they could all have a part to play in the game as well. Interestingly, the description doesn't mention Peter Parker at all - shifting the focus to Fisk instead - but it wouldn't make sense to have a Spider-Man novel without the man himself.

Fisk is no stranger to starring in Spider-Man games, appearing in everything from 1991's The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin to movie tie-in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. However, the iconic Daredevil/Spider-Man villain looks ready to throw his weight around in the next generation of the franchise thanks to a gritty character reinvention courtesy of Insomniac. The PlayStation exclusive hopes to break the curse of Spider-Man video game adaptations, and with its breathtaking artwork and sprawling backdrop, it looks like Insomniac might just do it in 2018's already action-packed year of gaming giants. Not that the game needs anymore hype to get fans excited, but a prequel novel is a clever marketing ploy to help shift a few more copies.

The Deluxe and Collector's Edition of Spider-Man are both set to come with concept art book Spider-Man: The Art of the Game, which will be released just after Hostile Takeover on September 11. Written by Black Panther: The Man Without Fear's David Liss, Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover and will hit shelves on August 21, giving fans just enough time to read up before Spider-Man's release on September 7.