Marvel's Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover (Prequel Novel) Discussion

[ColonialRaptor]

Not sure if I want to have any info on this story before the game or not... I think this might be fun to come back and read after I've played the game. I'm going in almost completely blind (haven't watched anything since E3 this year and even then I only watched some web swinging vids and no boss fights, think I might wait and see if this gets an audible release.

Edit: It's not available from the Apple Book store? Oh BOO i dont like reading with the Kindle App :(

 

[bunkitz]

Are any of the other Marvel books mentioned at the end worth reading?

Spoiler

What was the Lizard mention? I seemed to have skipped over it.

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This was my first Marvel novel, so I can't give an opinion on any of them, sadly.

Spoiler

Lizard was very briefly mentioned in page 11, alongside other villains he's faced before. He's the only one to be named that we haven't seen in the trailers, though, so that might be worth taking note of.

Spoiler

This is my biggest issue with the novel too, unfortunately. They set up Maya so properly here! The reader essentially experiences her journey to becoming a proper superhero. It's disappointing to me that, not only will Echo be absent from the upcoming game, but probably also Michael Bingham, or Blood Spider.

In the novel, they fleshed out his backstory really well and eventually, near the end, after the subtle twist of realizing that the lab where he'd been experimented on belonged to Osborn, rather than Fisk (I loved this), he finds a way to outsmart both Osborn and Fisk and sort of reshuffles the pecking order of all three antagonists. I thought that was a brilliant way of establishing his character for the game, but that didn't last long. I wasn't a big fan of the final fight that he had with Spider-Man either.

However, I think Norman Osborn's secret, which was never revealed, is one of the many interesting things leading into the game. I wonder if it has something to do with the Green Goblin? Or maybe something do with Harry? Also, much like yourself, I instantly thought of Doc Oc too when they detailed the work Peter was doing at his lab. I wonder where they're going with that.

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Spoiler

Totally agree. I already don't like it when things like this happen for tie-in material where they're kind of restricted from affecting the main material by bringing in characters and whatnot, but it sucks even more given how well written these two were. I just hope that we'll see them in a sequel one day.

I didn't consider Fisk to be the one to "train" Bingham, but I should've seen the Oscorp twist coming given their usual shadiness! It was really cool, though, and the way he turned things around was brilliant. Really felt like his chaotic yet cunning nature peaking, in a way. Shame how quickly it all fell apart, but it was still a genius move on his part.

As for Osborn... I'm thinking the "illness" they were trying to cure would be cured by the eventual creation of the Goblin serum. I wonder if that means that Norman is sick, though. It could be related to Harry too. One thing's for sure, something is going on with him.

Also OP, as a side note, I've been reading on my Kindle for a number of years now. Initially, I was also concerned about moving to digital books, but the solution to that is to pick up a physical book every now and then just to satisfy that urge. There's no reason you can't do both. It's the perfect compromise, IMO, and soon you won't even think of the distinction that much.

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That's such a great idea! It's not like I ever thought about completely dropping physical books, but I didn't think about it this way either. I think I should get those books that I don't feel the need to read on the go, or aren't appropriate for killing time on the commute. Or just the ones I feel the need to get a physical copy of. Thanks! I'll definitely do that.

 

[SuperMario]

I just finished it, and I liked it more than I thought I would!

Some parts drag a little bit (especially the ones with Bingham), but it was fun overall. It gives information about Spidey, Yuri and Fisk and also explains the kind of relationship Peter and MJ have in the game.

So, about Peter's boss:

Spoiler

That must be Ock, right? The only question is, is he "bad" already, or will he turn in some moment of the game?

 

[Patitoloco]

I just finished it, and I liked it more than I thought I would!

Some parts drag a little bit (especially the ones with Bingham), but it was fun overall. It gives information about Spidey, Yuri and Fisk and also explains the kind of relationship Peter and MJ have in the game.

So, about Peter's boss:

Spoiler

That must be Ock, right? The only question is, is he "bad" already, or will he turn in some moment of the game?

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Spoiler

Either Doc Ock or Dr Connors, and giving the spoiler I encountered in Reddit, I know the answer

 

[Kwigo]

Also, kind of not really related, but this was my first E-book. That was pretty damn neat. I can totally see the appeal of the medium now and I think I'm changing my mind on them.

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Funny, same for me!

I'm about halfway through and it's even better than what I could imagine.
Here some spoilery thoughts:

Spoiler

Anika was fun, I thought she'll be helping Spidey with his suit in the game. Well... RIP :(
Maya is interesting as well, I don't think she's a character from the comics, right? Can't wait to see what happens with her.
I NEED the Bar With No Name in the game. That part was awesome, especially Scorpion!

Not much else to say, it's a great read and the characters are great. If anything, it hypes me up even more for the game, if that could be possible.

 

[bunkitz]

Funny, same for me!

I'm about halfway through and it's even better than what I could imagine.
Here some spoilery thoughts:

Spoiler

Anika was fun, I thought she'll be helping Spidey with his suit in the game. Well... RIP :(
Maya is interesting as well, I don't think she's a character from the comics, right? Can't wait to see what happens with her.
I NEED the Bar With No Name in the game. That part was awesome, especially Scorpion!

Not much else to say, it's a great read and the characters are great. If anything, it hypes me up even more for the game, if that could be possible.

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Spoiler

Yeah, I was really bummed out about Anika... Was really hoping to see her in the game.

Maya is from the comics! That's all I'll say.

I hope The Bar With No Name is in the game too! Would love to visit it. The scene with Scorpion and Shocker was great. Love the way they interacted with Spidey.

 

[Deleted member 2340]

I just got done reading the book a few minutes ago. It was a fun read. I liked it a lot . Two things though

I didn't like MJ. I don't know why but I didn't like the dynamic between her and Peter. MJ is the only character I'm on the fence for. I liked all the other characters except hers. Hopefully the game changes me on this. With that said, I can see and understand why others would take to her character.

Second thing

This is the first time I spotted misused words or missing words in someone else's writing. "He felt treated" instead of "He felt threatened" and a couple occasions where a word was missing from the sentence. Can't remember at what part. I'm not complaining because I'm shit with that kind of stuff myself.


Besides that and like I said above, I liked this novel a lot. That line Jamenson said at the end had me rolling in real life and there was a couple Peter said that got a laugh out of me.

Good book, would recommend.

 

[dantevsninjas]

Finished this today, and it was really better than it had any business being. Really enjoyed it, and it was nice to get some additional background on where these characters stand in the Insomniac universe, as well as getting to see some characters that probably wouldn't have been used otherwise.

 

[Lifejumper]

This was pretty good! Surprising.