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The comic book origins of the 4 coolest costumes in Spider-Man PS4

The comic book origins of the 4 coolest costumes in Spider-Man PS4
Justin Cabrera

Justin Cabrera

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Insomniac’s Spider-Man for PS4 has been a massive success, and for good reason. The game was clearly made by and for Spider-Man fans, and Insomniac went above and beyond in representing the beloved character’s decades of history. One of the coolest ways Insomniac pays homage to the wall-crawler is through the unlockable alternate costumes. Below we’ll show you some of the coolest ones you can unlock and talk about the comics that they came from.

The comic book origins of the coolest costumes in Spider-Man PS4

Spider-Man 2099

Spider-Man 2099 is the main star of his eponymous book in the Marvel 2099 comic line. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future where most Marvel heroes are long gone, Spider-Man 2099 is the alter ego of Miguel O’Hara, a scientist who works for the evil megacorporation Alchemex. Miguel is a self-absorbed, cocky womanizer – the total opposite of Peter Parker.

After his employer tricks him into becoming addicted to the drug Rapture, Miguel attempts to experiment on himself to rid himself of the drug. However, a coworker sabotages the experiment, granting Miguel 50% spider DNA and giving him spider powers. Alchemex hunts down Miguel, who dons a bodysuit and Day of the Dead mask to evade them. (Miguel is the first Latino Spider-Man.)

While early in his costumed career, Miguel focuses on escaping Alchemex and finding a cure for himself. But he slowly becomes more aware of the exploitation and oppression the people around him suffer. Inspired to turn his life around for the better, he publically proclaims himself to be the new Spider-Man, enemy of all megacorporations and champion of the people. Miguel proves himself to be one of the future’s greatest heroes, even eventually becoming worthy enough to wield Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir.

Miguel’s powers are similar to the original Spider-Man’s, though there are some sharp differences. For example, Miguel does not possess a spider-sense, but he does have highly enhanced senses of vision and hearing. He is able to see in the dark and “zoom” his vision in. While Peter Parker was able to cling to any surface with any part of his body, Miguel is only able to cling using talons on his hands and feet. These talons can also be used offensively, being strong enough to tear through flesh. In addition to talons, Miguel also has razor sharp poisonous fangs.

In current Marvel Comics continuity, Miguel is trapped in the present day. He frequently teams up with Peter Parker.

Spider-Man Noir

Spider-Man Noir debuted in 2009’s Marvel Noir comic storyline. Marvel Noir takes place during the Great Depression and features darker and grittier versions of their classic heroes. Spider-Man Noir is no exception.

In this universe, Peter Parker is mentored by famed reporter Ben Ulrich. Ben, under the alias of the Spider, uses his contacts in the criminal underworld to get information on the Goblin, the terrifying alter ego of Norman Osborn that controls all the crime in New York City. After sneaking into a warehouse full of the Goblin’s henchmen, he sees them unload a spider statue. The statue breaks open, freeing swarms of spiders, one of which bites Peter, causing him to dream of a spider-like god. When he wakes up, Peter realizes he has spider powers. Peter dons his uncle’s airman suit to become the brutal vigilante known as Spider-Man, stopping at nothing to bring down the Goblin.

One of the main differences between the main Spider-Man and Spider-Man Noir is that Noir is perfectly willing to kill his enemies. He frequently uses a revolver and a Tommy gun in his war against crime. Unlike the main Spidey, Noir doesn’t use web-shooters. Instead, his powers gave him organic webbing. Noir uses intimidation and his large number of underworld contacts in order to get closer to the Goblin.

Spider-Man Noir will appear in the upcoming animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He will be played by Nicolas Cage.

Scarlet Spider

Scarlet Spider is the alias used by Peter Parker clone Ben Reilly, star of the universally panned Clone Saga storyline from the 90s. The story is convoluted and filled with comic book nonsense, but we will do our best to briefly summarize it here:

After fighting the villain Jackal, who uses clones to fight Spider-Man, Peter wakes up in a room with an identical clone also in a Spider-Man suit, both thinking the other is an imposter. The two Spider-Men fight, but eventually team up to rescue Gwen Stacy from the Jackal. The clone seemingly dies in an explosion while trying to rescue Gwen. A disturbed Peter drops the clone’s body in a smokestack to get rid of it, but the clone survives and escapes. After following Peter and taking a look into his life, the clone (still thinking that he is the original Peter), adopts the name Ben Reilly, named after Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Ben becomes the Scarlet Spider, creating his own hoodie-like costume and fighting crime. He also constantly evades Kaine, another clone of Peter with murderous tendencies.

The character was “revealed” to be the original Peter Parker. After massive fan outcry, Ben was killed off in a fight with the newly resurrected Green Goblin. His death inspires Peter (who ACTUALLY was the original all along) to retake his mantle of Spider-Man. Ben was recently resurrected in the “Dead No More: Clone Conspiracy” storyline. In this, he goes insane and becomes the new Jackal until he is defeated by Spider-Man. After his loss, Ben flees to Las Vegas in order to rediscover what it means to be a hero.

Got all that? No? Oh well, at least his costume is awesome.

Spider-Punk

During the crossover event Spider-Verse, in which Spider-Men from different realities team up to fight the villain Morlun, a reality is shown that features a never-before-seen Spider-Man. This hero is Spider-Punk, a vigilante who fights against the oppressive President Osborn using his spider powers and the power of rock and roll.

In his series, Spider-Punk becomes the symbol and leader of a punk youth movement that fights against the government and its drones. In true punk style, the comic is stylish, loud, and unsubtle. This incarnation of the hero is Hobie Brown. In the mainstream Marvel Universe, he’s a young African-American inventor who is one of Spider-Man’s oldest allies. Spider-Punk hates being referred to as such, instead preferring to be called Spider-Man. Later on, he fights against time-traveling supervillain Kaine the Conqueror, who has become a CEO that sells Spider-Punk’s image. Spider-Punk fights him to take his image back as a symbol for revolution and freedom instead of a cheap, catchphrase-spouting mascot.

What are your favorite unlockable costumes in Spider-Man? Are there any costumes you hope make it in as DLC? Let us know in the comments below!

Justin Cabrera

Justin Cabrera

Justin Cabrera is a tech content writer with Softonic.com. Prior to joining Softonic, Justin was a overcaffeinated radio DJ and know-it-all music critic with WPGU 107.1. His two favorite things in the world are video games and music culture.

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