From its surprise announcement as a PlayStation 5 launch title to the cover of Game Informer and now to memes, Insomniac Games sure knows how to drum up excitement for Spider-Man: Miles Morales in clever ways. Its latest stunt comes from a recent Twitter-promo featuring a text conversation between Peter Parker and Miles, which ends with a recreation of a classic meme.
Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man has become a meme staple of the past few years due to its versatility and constant appearances across both the web (no pun intended) and real life. It has been recreated using Funko Pops, and a version involving Spider-Man 2099 was part of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse's post credits scene. Now, there's a version with Miles Morales and Peter Parker, both decked out in cartoon versions of their Spider-Man PS4 outfits.
The original Twitter promo is a fictional animated "text story" between Parker and Morales. Text stories are a popular video trend among social media users, so it's only natural that a game like Spider-Man: Miles Morales would try it out as a clever marketing move. The conversation features Peter giving Miles some friendly advice while he's away with MJ, culminating in Peter reminding Miles "YOU are Spider-Man." Miles cleverly responds with the pointing Spider-Men meme.
The original image comes from the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon. In the episode "Double Identity," a villain attempts to impersonate Spider-Man, leading to the now iconic moment where both characters see each other for the first time. The meme template is used as a clever way to show two very similar parties meeting for the first time or to satirize two parties accusing each other of something when in reality both are guilty.
This is just the latest examples of how in-tune Insomniac is with Spider-Man and what fans want. Miles Morales is a fan-favorite character from the 2018 game who went on to become a household name after the smash-hit Spider-Verse film. A stand-alone Miles Morales game (even if it's not a full-fledged sequel) is exactly what fans need before the inevitable Spider-Man 2. Of course, not everything Insomniac has done has been perfect. Not only have details surrounding the game itself been confusing, but Peter Parker's redesign has been controversial to say the least. Regardless, the game itself appears to recreate the fun of the 2018 hit, so there's plenty for fans to be excited about.
Developed by Insomniac Games and PlayStation Studios, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be available on both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on Nov. 12.