Summary
One of the biggest questions fans had aboutMarvel’s Wolverinewhen it was announced was whether it would belong to the same universe as Insomniac’sMarvel’s Spider-Manfranchise due to the games sharing a developer and Marvel banner. That was recently revealed to be true, but byInsomniacitself and not an in-game tease as many fans would have suspected such a reveal to be made.
This news fell sort of flatly as a result, especially since it’s unclear how that will have any effect on the establishedSpider-Manuniverse. Seeing as howindulgent Marvel referenceshave had little to no impact on Spider-Man’s character, it’s likely that Spider-Man may not have any effect on Wolverine, either. However, there are fans on both sides of that fence and there might not be any way to elude disappointing one of those halves when more fromMarvel’s Wolverineis shared.
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Marvel’s Spider-Man Refers to Marvel Characters Explicitly, But Never Shows Them
Insomniac’s New York City is Rife with Iconic Marvel References
TheMarvel’s Spider-Manfranchise doesn’t hide its associations with other Marvel lore. It’s interesting to consider how each iconic Marvel character teased is technically an Insomniac iteration in-and-of itself, even if they are only notable landmarks and not the actual character who traditionally inhabits them. Wong even sendsa note to Miles that refers to Dr. Strange, and that’s as close to direct communication as the franchise has seen since Tony Stark’s job offer letter to Peter in the original game—though only his initials appeared and his identity was never clarified thereafter.
Landmarks such as the Avengers Tower, Fogwell’s Gym, Wakandan Embassy, Rand Industries, Sanctum Sanctorum, and more are evidence that Insomniac didn’t want Spider-Man to be the only Marvel character established in its universe, though it’s also clear that with them all absent for one reason or another they aren’t intended to be a focus of theMarvel’s Spider-Manfranchise.
That’s why, despite seeing a Fantastic Four logo being painted on a rooftop or the whole tantalizing debacle ofInsomniac omitting and then replacing the Nelson and Murdock building sign, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for those characters to suddenly arrive and play a role in Spider-Man’s life. Further, it wouldn’t make sense for Wolverine’s life to be disturbed by Spider-Man.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Has Resisted the Urge to Tease Wolverine In-Universe
Insomniac had an opportunity to drop a massive tease on fans by leading intoMarvel’s WolverinethroughMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, whether in a throwaway line of dialogue or a post-credits sequence. Insomniac may have refused to do so because details about the character’s design or the game’s events aren’t yet decided on, meaning Insomniac didn’t have anything ready they could tease fans with.
Regardless, the only detail teasing Wolverine at all is the Wolverine-inspired unlockable suit for Miles. This is a phenomenal treat for fans excited about the game, but it’s still important to consider that this isn’t an in-universe tease, only a cosmetic addition that doesn’t hold any significance in the story or the world. Therefore,Wolverine still hasn’t been made part ofMarvel’s Spider-Man’suniverse yet, and there’s currently no reason to anticipate Wolverine running into Spider-Man inMarvel’s Wolverinefor the same reason.
The mention of Madripoor and Trask Industries has everyone on edge about a potential connection, for instance, but at the moment they bear no context outside the one delegated to Scorpion as seen in the document.Marvel’s Spider-Manhas been great for centering on its titular characters without indulging needlessly in cameos and ifMarvel’s Wolverinesuddenly became a cameo-laden installment it would take away from all the engaging character development that Wolverine could have.
Even though Wolverine shares a universe with Spider-Man, that shouldn’t mean that Insomniac’s treatment of the character is approached any differently. Of course, it would seem pointless to announce Wolverine and Spider-Man sharing a universe if they weren’t going to be interacting with one another, so fans can likely expect that to happen at some point.
Marvel’s Wolverineis in development.
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