Can we already say that playing with two Spider-Men in the same universe isn’t all that great? Or do I risk facing backlash? It’s incredibly confusing with all that “Let’s go Spider-Man,” “Sure, Spider. You’re the boss, Spider. Because we’re Spider-Men,” “The Spider-Men unite to form a Spider-Team” stuff. Seriously, there came a point where I couldn’t stand it anymore. It’s confusing in the original version, and the dubbed Portuguese version, which used English terms instead of the familiar Portuguese names we’ve known for 55 years, manages to be even worse.

For those who don’t know, the first appearance of Spider-Man in Brazil happened much like it did in the US. “The Web-Head made his debut in a generic magazine called ‘Amazing Fantasy,’ and in the first issue, he became a massive success, leading to his very own comic, and a similar story unfolded in Brazil. Spider-Man’s first appearance in Brazilian comics was in the ‘Álbum Gigante 11’ (4th series) by Ebal in 1968, where Thor was the ‘big star’ until then. In the magazine, the issue corresponds to the American issue #28.” (According to the Marvel 616 website)

In other words, the name “Homem-Aranha” (Spider-Man) has been used to refer to the character since 1968 in Brazil. The protagonist’s name is a direct translation from English. It’s been 55 years and 500 comic book issues of Spidey published here. All the names of villains were translated and adapted into Portuguese and used for decades. So, why keep the original names in the videogame? They say this was a decision by Marvel Games to standardize the terminology. To me, this is a tremendous mistake. It’s a decision only an ignorant executive would have come up with. This is because in Brazil, a country with a vast landmass that has known the character for 55 years, nobody knows what Spider-Man, Lizard, Scorpio, Mysterio, Vulture, Black Cat, Tombstone, or any other character means. We know who Homem-Aranha, Lagarto, Escorpião, Mistério, Abutre, Gata Negra, and Lápide are. Changing this is just pedantic and shows a lack of understanding or knowledge of the character or respect for cultural aspects in other countries.

Even worse, all comic books, movies, and animations of the character in Brazil use Portuguese titles, and it’s only in the games that the names were changed to titles that Brazilians are not accustomed to.

In the first game, they still spoke very little the English names, but in this one, it’s really annoying. Besides, they missed the opportunity to make Venom talk the way it does in the comics, with colloquial and somewhat incorrect Portuguese, using “nós” (we) in everything, as if the alien had just learned to speak recently. I love that Gollum style way to talk. But in this case Rio Morales and Mari Jane are the one who speaks more coloquial throw in some “Cê tá bem Miles” (U okay, Miles), “Cê não precisa ir Pete” (U don’have to go, Pete). I found it a bit silly.

The worst part of keeping the original titles is that is difficult to measure the social media data in Brazil because NO ONE uses “Spider-Man 2,” only “Homem-Aranha 2.” For marketing, this is like shooting yourself in the pinky toe with a shotgun.

Let’s be honest, Miles is an upgrade of the Peter Parker we had in the ’80s and ’90s, with the same problems I had during my teenage years: being a nerdy loser with no girlfriend and no money. Miles has all of Peter’s problems plus all the social issues of today. That alone impacts the narrative significantly. But it’s not just that which bothered me about them coexisting in the same world. What really bothered me was that mechanically, Miles is more fun to play than Peter. Miles, as a modern Spider-Man, has cooler powers for gameplay.

I liked the game, but I have reservations about the story. I believe it would be infinitely better if it were just one of them. I think this is so true that at a crucial point in the story, when you KNOW Peter needs Miles, they awkwardly substitute to Norman to not only make the game mechanics make sense but also to fit another villain into the plot out of nowhere.

I know it’s nerdy talk, but that’s it.