It’s nice to see movies referencing video games. (And doing it well, for once.)
Recently, we wrote about Stranger Things, and how the series owes much of its mystique to a ’90s video game. That’s not front and centre in the marketing – probably because it doesn’t fit the ’80s revival narrative – but after years of video games borrowing so heavily from movies, it’s great to see TV and film repaying the favour.
Imagine our excitement, then, when we went to see Spider-Man: Far From Home at the cinema, and spotted not one but two references to Insomniac’s Spider-Man PS4 game in the movie.
Also, there are no spoilers in these Spider-Man easter eggs. But even if there were, we’d steer clear of spoilers because Spider-Man: Far From Home has only been out a few days. (And we’re not jerks.)
The Advanced Suit
Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 has a lot of suits. (Here’s a list of them all, in case you need a refresher.) They can be unlocked by completing optional missions, and Insomniac has been adding suits to the game post-release, which is nice. They’ve even added two suits from Spider-Man: Far From Home to the game in celebration of the movie.
As it turns out, though. that Spidey suit fan service goes both ways.
When Peter Parker is customising his suit with Happy Hogan in Far From Home – accompanied by AC/DC’s Back in Black, a bonus Iron Man reference for you – he’s swiping through a console with a bunch of previous suits and tech available. It’s classic Tony workshop montage stuff. God, we miss him.
A slew of MCU suits go past – including the distinctive Iron Spider from Infinity War/Endgame – but hidden in there is an extra suit: the Advanced Suit from Insomniac’s Spider-Man PS4 game.
Spider-selfies
At one point in Spider-Man: Far From Home, we find Spidey swinging through the streets of Manhattan. For a movie mostly set around continental Europe, it’s nice to see the hero in his native habitat. Your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, if you will.
As he swings, Peter’s playing with his phone, sending texts, making plans. Then he snaps a selfie, mid-swing, with the classic kawaii ‘V’ gesture favoured by Japanese teenagers.
It’s a subtle nod, but it’s fantastic to see another reference the excellent Spider-Man PS4 game, and it’s also really nice to see Peter Parker behaving like a teenager. There’s a lot of pressure on superheroes, so it’s lovely to see the nicest superhero of them all get a little respite.
It hasn’t escaped the notice of the crew at Insomniac Games, the developer behind Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4, that Spider-Man: Far From Home features a couple of references to their game.
That moment when we ALL burst into applause at the Spider-Man PS4 reference 👏🎉 #SpiderManFarFromHome #SpiderManPS4 https://t.co/EFUKOGeXsr
— Mary Kenney (@marykanpie) July 4, 2019
It’s fair to say they were a little bit excited.
