Spider-Man’s got a huge array of moves in Marvel’s Avengers, but it’s surprising to see his trusty Spider-Signal show up in a major way.
Marvel’s Avengers – Spider-Man: With Great Power brings Earth’s Mightiest Heroes together with Spider-Man in their latest efforts against AIM. Although the Hero Event is only told in existing content, the game offers PlayStation players the chance to play a new version of the wall-crawler. Not only are his style and storyline slightly altered from the comics and films, but his abilities also remain tied firmly to the character’s history. Aside from webs, these skills also include innovative gadgets covering the character’s long history of scientific creations.
Players getting their start with Spider-Man will find that many of his abilities focus on his creativity in combat mixed with his genius-level intellect to create offensive and defensive technologies. One example of this is the Spider-Drone, which gives Spidey an eye in the sky to rain down web blasts and health. Another feature that starts with and branches out from the drone uses a tool hardly seen anymore in the character’s history: the Spider-Signal.
In the comics, the signal operates as an intimidation tool. When Spider-Man gets the drop on enemies, he shines a superimposed picture of his face from his belt on the floor or wall. The desired effect is for the criminals to become startled and either give up or get sloppy should they fight back. While it operates like the Bat-Signal, the tool is used more actively and never used to call the hero. However, as the web-slinger got more popular, his signal received less attention until eventually drifting into obscurity.
The signal first appears in the game with the Spider-Drone. As the player fights, the drone will offer covering fire until it’s either called back or asked to patrol an area. If a player chooses the patrol option, the Spider-Signal shines on the ground, marking where the drone will be. It is a clever way for players to visually control the battle without yelling out commands and keeping tabs on the drone. However, the signal eventually becomes an even more useful tool as players explore the character’s skill tree.
The  Spider-Signal again plays into Spider-Man’s Ultimate Heroic, Wrecking Ball. With this ability, Spider-Man creates a massive web ball that drops on the enemy with great force, webbing them up. By equipping the Spider-Signal, players get a chance to help other teammates by flashing Spidey’s trusty signal before he slams the ball into the ground, creating a debuff to all affected enemies. Any enemy defeated will automatically drop a regen pack with the debuff activated. All teammates can use these packs to recover some health, making it an asset in the field.
While the mystique surrounding Spider-Man is lost on his enemies in the current comics, Marvel’s Avengers uses conversations to show that this version of the character is still new to crime-fighting. As a result, the signal still holds significance as it can scare thugs more easily. Using the signal also ties into the books by making it integral to basic combat, thanks to the Spider-Drone. Even better, it makes the signal useful and, for some builds, an essential asset to their version of the wall-crawler.
