Marvel’s Avengers has seen several DLC characters leaked, and while there are some exciting possible additions seen in the potential DLC roster, players have some confirmed characters to be excited about as well. Hawkeye will be arriving in the game soon, and Black Panther will be coming to the game, too — likely bringing the playable region of Wakanda along with him. However, few Marvel’s Avengers additions can be as exciting as that of Spider-Man, with the wall crawler’s content sure to build excitement and bring some players back.
Apart from Spider-Man’s controversial PlayStation exclusivity, there are a few things players can expect from the hero’s DLC. Based on what Crystal Dynamics has said in the past, a few predictions can be made about what the DLC will and will not feature. Beyond that, Kate Bishop’s content gives an idea of the format that the Spider-Man expansion will likely have. Finally, there are a few aspects of Spider-Man’s character and history that need to stick, giving players an idea of how his DLC will play.
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Previously, Crystal Dynamics has stated that it wants to avoid pulling too heavily from what the movies have covered — a move that explains its decision to use MODOK and AIM as the main villain of Marvel’s Avengers. As such, it can be expected that the same mentality will carry over to Spider-Man’s own DLC. Players can anticipate the DLC to feature something more akin to Insomniac’s Spidey than the MCU’s version of the hero, dropping the Ultimate Comics-inspired youngster in favor of someone who knows his stuff. Though it would be interesting to see a recently bitten Peter Parker interact with Kamala Khan, everything said about Marvel’s Avengers and done within it thus far makes it seem more likely that players will control a seasoned version of the webslinger.
Spider-Man’s story will also need to be fairly short based on the standalone nature of his expansion. Unlike with Kate Bishop and Hawkeye, as well as leaked DLC heroes like Ant-Man and The Wasp, the potential for a two-part storyline is not there — meaning that the content for Spider-Man will be limited to just one set of missions. Due to this brief length, the DLC’s operation will probably have a traditional Spider-Man setup instead of doing something bold, making use of players’ current knowledge of the character to show off a random day in the hero’s life. Characters like J. Jonah Jameson and Aunt May can appear, though little time will likely be spent with them. Spider-Man fans will likely swing through Peter’s hometown of Queens, taking down some basic enemies before he learns of a major villain’s plot.
Keeping in mind the idea that that Crystal Dynamics wants to keep their Avengers universe unique, it is unlikely that any villains are used from the most recent Spider-Man movies. This means that while it would be fun to see a Mysterio fight in a game again, he is unlikely to make an appearance in Marvel’s Avengers. Likewise, Electro and Vulture both seem to be out of contention for the role, with Shocker also out. Finally, heavy hitters like Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus both seem to be off the table, meaning that the list is narrowed down when it comes to picking a fresh antagonist that is also worthy of the Avengers’ attention. The two best candidates for the Spider-Man DLC’s villain are Sandman and Carnage, as these foes can be hard to take down and have not yet been fought by Spidey in the MCU.
While Insomniac’s next Spider-Man game could embrace Spider-Man 3, Marvel’s Avengers will likely shy away from the film. As such, the Spider-Verse is likely to be avoided entirely inside Spidey’s DLC. Players should only expect to see Peter in the expansion, as introducing other Spiders would require a larger expansion — and having multiple exclusive versions of the wallcrawler would likely infuriate Xbox and PC players even more. With this in mind, any players that want to see Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Man Noir, and Spider-Gwen inside this DLC should lower their expectations.
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Aside from a brief Spider-Man narrative that shows Peter locking horns with a less mainstream villain, players can expect the hero to get a fully upgradeable moveset like the rest of the Marvel’s Avengers roster. With the character’s immense popularity, Crystal Dynamics will want to assure that he ranks among the most powerful heroes in the game, and there are some obvious abilities that can be given to the character. For starters, the recently popularized Web Blossom ability seems like a must-use skill, with the move’s capability to stun all the enemies in an area making it a good contender for Spidey’s Ultimate.
As for his other abilities, different types of webs make sense. Much like Marvel Avengers’ Iron Man can switch between rockets, lasers, and repulsors, Spider-Man will likely have three different web types to fire at enemies. Likely contenders include web grenades and taser webs, with default webbing sure to be an option as well. For the hero’s rechargable Intrinsic ability, making use of Spider Sense in some way seems like a natural fit, with potential upgrades giving Peter the ability to deal extra damage after dodging a hit. As with any version of Spider-Man, getting his movement right is a must, and Crystal Dynamics will need to ensure that the hero can zip to enemies, crawl on walls, and swing through each area freely — even if it comes with the cost of his webs not actually sticking to anything.
Tying into the idea that fans should expect Spider-Man’s DLC to be on the shorter side, players should also prepare for a one-off area introduced purely for the hero’s story. With Square Enix planning to save Marvel’s Avengers through these hero expansions, making a full region that is accessible to only PlayStation players makes little sense. With the exclusivity of the hero himself already angering fans, giving him extensive content that greatly adds to the replay value of the game would only make the exclusivity debate grow more intense. Due to the exclusive nature of the DLC, Spider-Man’s expansion will probably not be the one that that fixes all of Marvel’s Avengers’ issues, and that may for the best.
Much like the upcoming Hawkeye DLC will be taking players to a distant future only used inside Hawkeye’s storyline, Queens or another New York area will likely only be playable in the Spider-Man DLC. A small, linear section as opposed to a fresh region with different Warzone missions to go on is likely. While it may disappoint some players, thinking smaller for this Spider-Man DLC will help to set proper expectations. Though Spider-Man will likely face a unique foe, his story is just as likely to be a short one — and the DLC’s setting could easily be a one-off area.
With potential for Spidey himself to be fun to play, and obvious opportunities for skins that players can collect, the hero could be a great addition to the game’s roster. However, fans should not be too surprised if his actual expansion is smaller than originally expected.
Marvel's Avengers is out now on PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions currently in development.