Marvel’s Spider-Man may have started another universe within the Spider-Verse, but it still contains hidden references to the original comics.
Upon its release in 2018, Marvel's Spider-Man instantly became known as one of the best superhero games ever made and the new remastered version for the PC is also getting rave reviews. With a sequel on the way, players can expect far more from this new addition to the Spider-Verse.
While the game itself doesn't take place in the mainstream Earth-616 universe that the comics take place in or within the MCU, it certainly makes plenty of references to the comics, be it through characters, locations, or lines of dialogue. Finding them is some of the most fun you can have while playing.
Lockjaw is a giant teleporting dog that's usually associated with the Inhumans. And while he doesn't make a physical appearance in the game, he does appear as a statue.
In game, if Spider-Man goes to the Financial District, he finds where, in real life, the Charging Bull statue is located. But here, instead of the Charging Bull statue, it's a statue of the lovable dog himself. Interestingly enough, this Easter Egg only exists because Insomniac Games couldn't put the real life statue in due to legel purposes. Still, seeing Lockjaw in its place is a fun little nod to the Inhumans all the same.
Daredevil – aka Matt Murdock – is one of the most powerful lawyers in comics. Because of this, it's no surprise that multiple references to the law firm and the character himself appear in the game.
Daredevil's law firm, Nelson and Murdock, appears in the game in its location within Hell's Kitchen – and across the street from Josie's Bar, which also happens to be Daredevil's favorite bar. Fogwell's Gym, the place where Daredevil's dad trained, also appears in-game. Finally, Spider-Man himself has a Nelson and Murdock business card, which resonates even better after Daredevil helped him with his legal troubles in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Everyone knows that J. Jonah Jameson hates Spider-Man with a burning passion. What people may not know is that he has an astronaut son, who makes a small cameo in the game.
During the game, John Jameson III makes a tweet that appears in the social feed, proclaiming his happiness to be able to hear his father's podcast while being up in the space station. Though this is about as limited an appearance as players got, it shows the game's willingness to use small references like this…and also potentially opens the door for the character to return in the sequel as his alter ego, Man-Wolf.
As one of the most powerful comic book wizards, Doctor Strange was a huge help to Spider-Man in No Way Home. Though he doesn't appear in the game, his home certainly does.
The Sanctum Sanctorum, canonically located at 177A Bleeker Street, can be found in Greenwich in the game. Sadly, however, this building only serves as a landmark location. Players will not be able to enter it. It's kind of sad to be unable to see the inside or Doctor Strange himself, but given his power, his inclusion would take away from Spider-Man's story and the challenges he has to go through to save the city.
The very first enemy that Spider-Man takes out in the game is the Kingpin. But his influence in the city and the power vacuum he leaves behind leads to further problems – and another Easter Egg.
During a mission involving one of Kingpin's safehouses, the player takes control of Mary Jane Watson as she does a bit of investigating on her own. It is during this time when she is looking at all of Kingpin's arts and artifacts that the player can spy his famous jeweled cane on display. This deadly cane is one of his signature items and conceals various weapons inside.
In the comics, one of Spider-Man's greatest villains was Green Goblin. Sadly, he doesn't appear in the game, only appearing as his human form, Norman Osborn.
That being said, the game does offer fans a Green Goblin Easter Egg. On a desk in Oscorp Headquarters, players can see what appears to be prototype Goblin Grenades.
Goblin Grenades, as fans know all too well, are part of Green Goblin's arsenal, along with his infamous glider. With the game ending the way it does and Osborn still searching for a way to cure his son, these grenades could tease his ultimate turn into Green Goblin himself.
Miles Morales, one of Spider-Man's greatest allies who eventually becomes a Spider-Man too, is bitten by a spider in the game and consequentially gets spider powers too. This in itself is an Easter Egg.
If players look closely, the spider that bites Miles is numbered 42. This matches up with the comics, where Miles is also bitten by a spider marked 42. The number itself is also a reference to legendary baseball player Jakie Robinson. This spider bite does help lead into the spin-off game starring Mile Morales as Spider-Man, which also helps prepare for the upcoming sequel to the original game.
The ending of the game teases another big Spider-Man villain: Venom. However, an Easter Egg referencing him appears much earlier.
In a conversation with Detective Yuri Watanbe, she casually asks Spider-Man if he has a black and white suit. Spider-Man's paused, hesitant response is all fans needed to hear to confirm their suspicions that this was indeed a reference to the symbiote suit that eventually became Venom in the comics. With Venom's tease at the end of this game, hope for the villain's first real appearance in the sequel is high.
Uncle Ben is often the main motivation for Spider-Man becoming a hero, and often the man behind one of the saddest Spider-Man quotes of all time. Sadly, Uncle Ben hasn't even really been mentioned in recent Marvel projects like the MCU.
But he makes a small appearance in the game in the form of a picture on Aunt May's desk, where it appears he's helping a young Peter Parker make a table. Seeing his smiling face in the picture and realizing what a tragedy it was that he was lost makes the ending of the game hit even harder. You can also find his grave at a cemetary.
Everyone knows that creator Stan Lee has to make cameos in practically everything Marvel. It was no surprise to see him cameo in the game.
After meeting with Mary Jane in a diner, Peter rushes off to respond to sirens going off. As Mary Jane also gets up to leave, Stan Lee, appearing as a short order cook, comments, "Love seeing you two together again. You always were my favorites."
Hearing his voice here invokes an even sadder feeling, especially considering that he would pass away two months after the game's release.
Matthew Demchak is a writer, gamer, and epic hat wearer obsessed with topics like Marvel, Star Wars, Transformers, and more, currently employed as a list writer for Screen Rant. He lives in Indiana following his graduation from Ball State University with a degree in English concentrated in Creative Writing. He is extremely passionate about writing and creating stories and believes that the most important parts of a story are great characters and a fleshed-out plot. Much of his current work in novel writing tends to have a superhero theme to it. Matt plans on publishing these novels one day.
