Spider-Man: Friend or Foe

### **Release Date**

October 2, 2007 (Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable)

## Spider-Man Trilogy

***Spider-Man: Friend or Foe*** is a 2007 beat 'em up platform game, based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The game borrows characters and designs from Sam Raimi's *Spider-Man* trilogy, with a plot that takes place in a divergent reality where the villains seen in the films managed to survive. It features two player co-op gameplay, where one player controls Spider-Man and another one of his allies. The storyline of the game revolves around P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s, dangerous creatures created by mixing symbiotes with holographic technology, which a mysterious villain plans to use to take over the world. This villain has also captured and brainwashed many of Spider-Man's foes to help him acquire meteor shards that will strengthen his army. After being recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D., Spider-Man journeys across the globe to retrieve these shards himself and recruit more allies to his cause.

## Plot

The game's opening cutscene shows Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, and Venom, with assistance from the New Goblin. After the villains are defeated, the group is attacked by a number of symbiote-like creatures. Before they get the chance to fight them, the villains and the New Goblin are teleported away by an unknown force, while Spider-Man is rescued by S.H.I.E.L.D. Aboard their Helicarrier, Spider-Man meets Nick Fury, who identifies the creatures that attacked him as P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s (Perpetual Holographic Avatar Nano-Tech Offensive Monsters), and explains that the meteor which brought the Venom symbiote to Earth broke into multiple shards in the planet's atmosphere, which landed in various locations across the globe. Reportedly, someone has already retrieved one shard, using it to create the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s, and is seeking the rest to strengthen the creatures and take over the world. Now, Spider-Man is tasked with finding the remaining shards before they fall into the wrong hands.

To aid in his quest, Spider-Man is given several S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives as sidekicks, starting with Prowler and Silver Sable. In Tokyo, Spider-Man encounters Black Cat, whom S.H.I.E.L.D. sent ahead to investigate, and convinces her to join his team. He also finds Doctor Octopus at his secret lab, where the latter is attempting to recreate his fusion power experiment, and the Green Goblin at the Oscorp Tower, who has already found a meteor shard. Since both villains were placed under mind-control by the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s' creator, they now seek revenge against them, and reluctantly join forces with Spider-Man after he defeats and frees them from the mind-control. On Tangaroa Island, Spider-Man meets another S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, Iron Fist, and defeats a mind-controlled Scorpion and Rhino, retrieving another meteor shard in the process. In Cairo, Spider-Man recruits the Lizard (portrayed here as an antihero), and defeats a brainwashed Sandman, who had a meteor shard in his possession. In Transylvania, Spider-Man encounters Blade, who is hunting the mind-controlled Venom, and recruits him. He eventually finds Venom and frees him from the mind-control, retrieving his meteor shard in the process. Although Spider-Man is initially reluctant to recruit Venom to the team, Fury persuades him to do so after Venom is revealed to have crucial information on the identity of the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s' creator, whom Venom claims has a "bubble for a head".

Although Spider-Man's team was able to retrieve all the meteor shards, the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s have been shown to be growing stronger with each location they visited, to the point they now resemble symbiotes, without any sign of technology in them. In Nepal, Spider-Man's search for the final meteor shard leads him to encounter the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s' creator: Mysterio. Mysterio steals most of Spider-Man's shards and escapes, leaving his P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s to fight the web-slinger. Outnumbered, Spider-Man decides to crush the last shard in his hand, causing him to regain his symbiote black suit, which enhances his powers. Fighting his way past the last remaining P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s to reach Mysterio's hideout, Spider-Man ultimately defeats the villain and claims the meteor shards. After Mysterio is imprisoned (off-screen), Spider-Man returns to the Helicarrier, where he has the black suit removed and gives the meteor shards to Fury. Fury thanks Spider-Man for his help and reveals that S.H.I.E.L.D. has paid off all his school loans as a token of appreciation, before sending him home. Later, Fury analyzes the shards and, believing that Mysterio was on to something, decides to further study them, telling his computer to initiate "Project Carnage." After completing the main story, the New Goblin is unlocked as a playable character.

### PSP differences

In the PSP version of the game, Transylvania is replaced with an unnamed island in the Mediterranean Sea, where players must explore underground city ruins and catacombs. While Spider-Man still recruits both Blade and Venom here, he also encounters a mind-controlled Electro, whom he defeats and recruits to the team. In addition to Electro, this version also features Carnage as a playable character, and lacks Silver Sable, Scorpion, and the Lizard.

## Cast

* James Arnold Taylor as Spider-Man/Peter Parker
* Marc Graue as Nick Fury
* Kathryn Cressida as The Computer
* Chris Gardner as Prowler
* Audrey Wasilewski as Black Cat/Felicia Hardy
* Joe Alaskey as Doctor Octopus/Dr. Otto Octavius
* Roger Jackson as Green Goblin/Norman Osborn, Lizard
* Fred Tatasciore as Sandman/Flint Marko, Scorpion
* John Rubinow as Iron Fist
* John DiMaggio as Rhino
* Khary Payton as Blade/Eric Brooks
* Quinton Flynn as Venom
* Robin Atkin Downes as Mysterio
* Josh Keaton as New Goblin/Harry Osborn
* David Kaye as Electro
* Jennifer Hale as Silver Sable

## References

The Spider-Man Trilogy Wiki has a collection of images and media related to **Spider-Man: Friend or Foe**.