Let’s be honest: Marvel’s Spider-Man was one of the greatest games of 2018, and the PS4 exclusive even got some folks to buy a(nother) console just to get their hands on that title.

The core game from Insomniac Games in an incredible combination of storytelling, fluid traversal, engaging combat, and beautiful environments. And that’s not even the end of it. PlayStation gamers have already gotten three extra chapters of DLC, extending our Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler’s story. The City That Never Sleeps DLC brought in new characters with Black Cat and Hammerhead), and finally gave us a look at Silver Sable, the leader of Sable Enterprises. They’re the group that was charged with trying to keep order while Mr. Negative, Shocker, Scorpion, and the rest of the baddies went on their rampages through the streets of New York City.

Now, as we are getting through Marvel’s #FantasticFourWeek on Twitter, fans of Spidey’s new game got their hype trains going again in the form of a statement from Marvel’s Ryan Penagos (during a livestream) in which he said, “Something ‘fantastic’ is coming to Marvel’s Spider-Man real soon. I can’t tell you anything more right now, but you’ll want to keep an eye out for this. It’s going to be amazing and fantastic.”

On top of the teasing statement from Penagos, there was also an intriguing and somewhat cryptic tweet from the entertainment giant’s gaming division (which was summarily retweeted by Marvel’s Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games).

This tweet may allude to Marvel’s Spider-Man getting even more DLC; this time in the form of something having to do with the Fantastic Four themselves. On the other hand, the “something ‘fantastic'” could possibly not be gameplay, but something more simple. There’s been no confirmation from Marvel as to what this new addition will be, but their January 8th tweet is stoking a fire of speculation from fans all around the internet. Since Marvel Games is asking for guesses on what the new thing may be, we thought we would chip in our 2 cents.

First, there are some who believe that the new addition could be as simple as adding the Baxter Building – the Fantastic Four’s iconic New York headquarters – into the landscape of the game. While this would be a cool nod to the history between Spidey and Marvel’s first family, it feels like too much of a cop-out to me to warrant a teaser tweet like this. I feel like it would be a bit of a let-down if Insomniac Games just added in a new building like that one with no contextual gameplay or story to augment the addition. Still, it would probably be the easiest thing for the developer to do, and like I said earlier, would be a nice homage to the Fantastic Four.

Other speculators out there have talked about the possible addition of yet another Spidey suit… Two of them, to be exact.

Some fans have mentioned their wish to see one of Spidey’s comical slapdash suits come into play in the game. Namely, The Bombastic Bag-Man. For those who don’t know, this suit (and persona) came into canon when Reed Richards removed the black symbiote from Spidey, leaving him with no suit to speak of. So, the Fantastic Four lent Ole’ Webhead one of their spare outfits (unbeknownst to Spidey, Johnny had also put a “Kick Me” sign on the back of the outfit before giving it to him), and the wall-crawler used a brown paper shopping bag as a mask.
The Bombastic Bag Man suit has also made appearances as a wearable costume in four other Spider-Man games: 2000’s Spider-Man, 2001’s Spider-Man: Enter Electro, 2010’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, and 2011’s Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Additionally, it was available for purchase in 2011’s Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, and came as an enemy drop in 2013’s Marvel Heroes.

Some fans have mentioned their wish to see one of Spidey’s comical slapdash suits come into play in the game. Namely, The Bombastic Bag-Man. For those who don’t know, this suit (and persona) came into canon when Reed Richards removed the black symbiote from Spidey, leaving him with no suit to speak of. So, the Fantastic Four lent Ole’ Webhead one of their spare outfits (unbeknownst to Spidey, Johnny had also put a “Kick Me” sign on the back of the outfit before giving it to him), and the wall-crawler used a brown paper shopping bag as a mask.
The Bombastic Bag Man suit has also made appearances as a wearable costume in four other Spider-Man games: 2000’s Spider-Man, 2001’s Spider-Man: Enter Electro, 2010’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, and 2011’s Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Additionally, it was available for purchase in 2011’s Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, and came as an enemy drop in 2013’s Marvel Heroes.

While we’re on the topic of suit additions, another one that has come up as a possibility for the new update to Marvel’s Spider-Man is one of my favorite suits that Spider-Man has ever worn, simply for how cool it looks, and the suit’s awesome abilities: the Future Foundation suit. Spider-Man got this awesome black and white costume as part of his entry into The Future Foundation after the death of Johnny Storm. All of the team’s costumes share the stark color scheme, and their suits can do some very cool stuff. They never get dirty (a boon for Spidey while traversing through New York), and they can enter an all-black “stealth mode” or change into civilian clothes – all with just a thought from the wearer.

This stylized suit has also appeared in several video games over the years: Spider-Man: Edge of Time, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Marvel Heroes, and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. It has also been shown off in the animated series, Spider-Man Unlimited.

While these updates would be cool, I would personally like to see some actual gameplay alongside one or more members of the Fantastic Four. Spidey and the F4 have teamed up in the comics on multiple occasions, Peter Parker and Reed Richards share a love of science, and there’s always some good banter to be had between Spider-Man & the Human Torch. In the comics, the heroes have not only gone up against some formidable foes together (the Chameleon, the H’Mojen, & Sandman, to name a few), but there have been so many more adventures that the Spidey and the F4 have shared. Two of my favorites were the “What-If” comic wondering what it would be like if Spidey had actually joined the Fantastic Four, and the more recent one where Johnny Blaze and Peter Parker became roommates in New York. There’s just SO much content to work with, it would be a shame to not get some gameplay out of an update like this.

During the course of the #FantasticFourWeek celebration, Marvel has also announced Fantastic Four additions to a few other video games: Marvel Strike Force, Marvel Future Fight, Marvel Contest of Champions, and Marvel Puzzle Quest. Those announcements, coupled with the comments from Marvel Games and Ryan Penagos, are really giving us fans of Marvel’s Spider-Man a lot of hope that we’ll be getting that “fantastic” update soon!

What do you think this new addition will be, dear readers? Let us know in the comments below!