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Amazing Spider-Man: O'Hara! There's nothing left here to trash! You still there?
Spider-Man 2099: Yeah. For the most part.
Amazing Spider-Man: Did they turn into something else? Like, I don't know, kittens?
Spider-Man 2099: Yeah. Small, metal, robotic, killer kittens.
Amazing Spider-Man: Aaaawwww...

Spider-Man: Edge of Time is a 2011 video game made by Beenox and published by Activision, and is the second game produced by the studios to be based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man (following on from their work on Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions). In the game, players control both the Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 in two connected timelines that follow the untimely death of Peter Parker. It featured all-new "cause-and-effect" gameplay, where choices and actions can have unintended outcomes on the Spider-Man in the opposite timeline, and a storyline written by Peter David, co-creator of Spider-Man 2099.

The plot kicks off when Alchemax scientist Walker Sloan travels back to modern-day New York and uses his future tech to found Alchemax decades ahead of when it was supposed to be established. This causes Alchemax to become an even-more mega MegaCorp which has managed to Take Over the World. Spidey 2099, having gained wind of this plot, learns that a key factor is the death of Amazing Spidey and devises a way to communicate with Amazing Spider-Man to help stop Sloan.


Spider-Man: Edge of Time provides examples of the following tropes:

  • Actor Allusion: When unmasked, Miguel (voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes) resembles the Spider-Man of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, also voiced by Barnes. Similarly, Peter (voiced by Josh Keaton) resembles the Spider-Man of The Spectacular Spider-Man, also voiced by Keaton.
  • Alliterative Name: The Achievement/Trophy names have noticeable alliteration to them.
  • All There in the Manual: The backstories of new characters like Walker Sloan, Black Cat 2099 and the CEO are all on their figures in the bonus gallery.
  • Alternate Continuity:
    • If the events present in the story are any indication, then Edge of Time seems to be ignoring Marvel 2099's continuity as it was established Peter Parker was killed by Dr. Octopus, and 616's One More Day as it has Mary Jane still in a relationship with Peter (whether they're married or not, like their pre-OMD selves, is not explained). Elements from the Brand New Day era of the comics are used however (such as Anti-Venom). Justified in the altered timeline that Sloan's changes happened well before they even got together, which changed their whole history. However, this may still be the case in the regular timeline as Peter is seen trying to arrange a date with her before history changed. Interestingly, the "Temporal Paradox" move pulls up flickering images of what seem to be Mary Jane and May Parker. Make of that what you will.
    • The DS version is almost completely different, as while part of the plot still involves stopping Sloan's plan, the part about preventing Peter's death is removed, so it's solely about stopping Sloan. Additionally, the plot also features more villains, so Peter meets 2099 versions of Overdrive, Big Wheel, and Arcade, while Miguel deals with the Shocker, Menace, and helping the real Black Cat (as opposed to Peter dealing with a clone). There's also no psychotic future Peter and it's the Rhino who fuses with Doc Ock and Sloan to make Atrocity.
  • Alternate Timeline: Sloan travels back to the mid-1970s, resulting in both 2099 and Amazing's world existing in an alternate timeline where Peter works for Alchemax, 2099 is an even worse dystopian future, and Peter Parker is the CEO of Alchemax—kept alive by anti-aging drugs. Only 2099 Spidey is aware of the change. By the end of the game all of Sloan's changes are erased and the original timeline is restored- with only the two Spider-Men aware of the change.
    • Miguel explains to Peter that the Time Portal connecting the two of them means Peter's changes in the past directly affect Miguel in 2099 rather than spawning alternate timelines within the game's overall alternate timeline.
  • Amazon Brigade: Black Cat 2099 and the other clones who attack you.
  • And This Is for...: Miguel taking on Anti-Venom after he temporarily kills Peter:
    This one's for the first Spider-Man!
  • And Your Reward Is Clothes: You can get various alternate costumes. Two more were announced after the game as being able to be unlocked through code: The Last Stand outfit, and the Poison costume, to name a few.
  • Apocalypse How: Class X-4. The continued usage and instability of the Time Portal results in a timestorm that threatens to completely destroy the universe.
  • Applied Phlebotinum: Spidey 2099 uses future tech and a sample of Amazing Spidey's DNA to establish a "chronal link" between the two, allowing the two to communicate telepathically across time.
  • Artificial Zombie: The failed experiments, which appear to be cybernetic mutated hybrids.
  • Back from the Dead: Anti-Venom apparently succeeds in killing Amazing Spider-Man, but Spider-Man 2099 revives him with future healing tech.
  • Bag of Spilling: Both Spider-Men lost all their health upgrades and the majority of their moves from the previous game. The most they retain is their web shots and full-length basic combos and some of those moves are relearned through the upgrade system. The enhanced Spider-Sense is justified in its loss as it was explicitly a gift from Madam Webb for that adventure.
  • Big Bad Ensemble: Walker Sloan/Atrocity and Peter Parker 2099.
  • Brick Joke: O'Hara's usual response to Peter's confusion over the mechanics of time travel is to ask him if he wants a two-hour lecture on quantum theory. Fast-forward to the ending, where O'Hara actually gives the lecture when Peter asks about their Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory.
  • Butterfly of Doom: Amazing Spider-Man's death in the present, at the hands of Anti-Venom controlled by Walker Sloan, a scientist from the year 2099 creates a Crapsack World, which is where Spider-Man 2099 comes in.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Amazing Spider-Man. Even when warned of his impending death, Peter refuses to leave Alchemax if it means innocent people will be in danger. This puts him into conflict with Spider-Man 2099, who only cares about The Needs of the Many.
    Spider-Man: I'm just trying to stay alive!
    Spider-Man 2099: If you were, you'd clear out. But you have to prove your bravery.
    Spider-Man: Bravery? Dude, there is nothing I would like better than to just high-tail it out of here.
    Spider-Man 2099: Then why the shock don't you?!
    Spider-Man: Because what I do here matters, okay? Beyond changing hallways into elevators. It matters! And that's just something I have to live with, even if it means I die with it! You get it, O'Hara?!
    Spider-Man 2099: Whatever.
  • Clothing Damage: Amazing Spider-Man's costume gets wrecked over the course of the game. Near the end, his hair and ear are clearly visible.
  • Comes Great Responsibility:
    • Perverted by the Alchemax CEO, Peter Parker 2099, into a justification for seeking power.
    Alchemax CEO: With great power comes great responsibility, and great opportunity. And the only way to live up to all that responsibility, is to use every opportunity to get all the power.
    • Comes up a bit earlier, albeit not by name. The only reason Peter doesn't flee the building after hearing about his death is that his supposed killer would kill innocent people in his absence.
      Spider-Man 2099: Do you want to die?
      Spider-Man: Of course not! But I want to run away even less.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • When Miguel contacted Peter via Applied Phlebotinum telepathy, the latter asks, half-jokingly, if any other "mes" are in his head too. note 
    • It's given a second nod in the bonus costumes, with the Spider-Man 1602 and New Ultimate costume referring to the "Crisis of the Shattered Dimensions".
    • Also, there's the various archive rooms of Alchemax's CEO a.k.a. Peter Parker 2099. They're filled with statues of Amazing Spider-Man's villains from Shattered Dimensions, bearing the exact same designs.
    • On his route to trying to stop Anti-Venom from killing Peter, one of the rooms Miguel passes through contains the body of Scorpion 2099 in a tank of chemicals. Scorpion was one of the opponents Miguel defeated in Shattered Dimensions. Spider-Ham can also be found at the beginning of Chapter 15 in a similar tank.
    • The Sandman can also be found in a chemical tank in "present day" Alchemax, whilst Peter is fleeing from Atrocity.
    • On the desk of the CEO in his office, is the Tablet of Order and Chaos from the previous game.
  • Crossover: A "truer" crossover than the previous game, the two Spider-Men are in direct contact with each other, their timelines are "bleeding" together, and they each even spend a couple of levels in each other's timeline. They still don't spend a lot of time in the same timeline simultaneously, though...
  • Damn You, Muscle Memory!: If you're used to the Shattered Dimensions controls, you might have some initial adjustment trouble with the Wii version. Thankfully, you can switch to the previous game's controls.
  • Darker and Edgier: While the previous game had some dark moments, this game amps it up with a generally darker tone and more immediate threats of death and action consequences.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Both Spider-Men bring this in full force.
  • Death is Cheap: Amazing Spider-Man lampshades the frequency of comic book hero resurrections after his own experience, saying he knows how Captain America feels. And Jean Grey. And Colossus. He'd have kept going if Spider-Man 2099 hadn't stopped him.
  • Downloadable Content: Four alternate costumes based on the "Identity Crisis" storyline.
  • Final Boss Preview: A very subtle one. In the room with the unlockable costume stands, you can find one in the ground with the armor the boss wears, which is also an unlockable costume.
  • First-Name Basis: The two start out using last names, with some You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious (notably Miguel screaming Peter's name as he dies), and transition to this as they bond over the course of the game. This gets lampshaded a little after the switch happens.
  • Foreshadowing: Miguel is able to save Peter with the Healing Vat because Alchemax has his DNA on record, and the machine addresses him as "Mr. Parker" when it's completed. Later, Peter accidentally bypasses the Alchemax archive's security just by saying "grant me access". Both are hints that Alchemax's mysterious CEO is Peter's future self.
  • From Bad to Worse: While trapped in a trash compactor in the 2099 Alchemax, Amazing Spidey attempts to shut it down via a nearby control panel... only to start the incinerator as well.
  • Future Slang: Miguel still uses the all-purpose swear word "shock". Peter congenially mocks him for it, and even uses it himself once.
  • Genre Savvy: When Amazing Spidey meets the CEO who calls him "old friend", he notes that this must be when he announces The Reveal that he's actually Norman Osborn, or the Kingpin, or even Jameson, the latter of which he actually hopes to be true. He wasn't savvy enough to realize the CEO was his future self, a reveal which is common in time travel stories such as this.
  • Gratuitous French: When Spidey 2099 informs Amazing Spidey that he can't access the present day Alchemax's archives, Amazing Spidey sarcastically responses "Quelle surprise!" note 
  • Healing Vat: After Amazing Spidey is beaten to near-death by Anti-Venom, Spidey 2099 pulls him into the future and places him in a healing chamber to bring him Back from the Dead.
  • Holding Your Shoulder Means Injury: As Anti-Venom turns the tide in his fight with Amazing Spidey, there's a brief Controllable Helplessness/Quick Time Event scenario where Amazing Spidey can only move sideways and dodge Anti-Venom's attacks, all while clutching his shoulder.
  • Honor Before Reason: Though Amazing Spidey freely admits that he doesn't want to die, he adamantly refuses to leave the Alchemax building if it means letting Anti-Venom rampage about and endanger innocent people, much to Spidey 2099's annoyance.
  • Hope Spot: Amazing's battle with Anti-Venom begins like a normal boss fight and Amazing even tosses him through a door. Then Anti-Venom nullifies his powers, bringing an even fight into a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
  • I Choose to Stay: When Peter ends up in 2099, he briefly considers staying there instead of going back to avoid endangering people through his superhero activities. Miguel tries talking him into going back by pointing out all the good he has yet to do. Ultimately, Peter does go back when he realizes the people he cares about will still be in danger and it's better for him to be there to help them.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Spider-Man tries to break Anti-Venom free of Sloan's control after learning about the control chips. It doesn't entirely work, but it does get Brock to fight their influence long enough to keep Spider-Man from getting killed right away. Fittingly enough, Anti-Venom goes after Sloan and Octavius after Spidey 2099 frees him from mind control.
  • In Their Own Image:
    • By traveling back in time to the 1970s, Sloan founds Alchemax years before it was supposed to be established, remaking the company in his image.
    • The Alchemax CEO, aka Peter Parker 2099, plans to harness the quantum energy of the time storm, allowing him to assume control over the timestream and rewrite the universe in his image, undoing his past mistakes. His reasons for doing so are somewhat sympathetic, but as Miguel points out, he's tampering with forces no human should.
  • Just Between You and Me: Sloane gives a nice monologue of his plan to his holo-assistant early in the game, unaware Spider-Man 2099 is watching from above.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
    • "You want a Spider-Man who'll do everything you want? Go play a video game." Said right before you're given control of Amazing Spider-Man for the first time.
    • Shortly before the final battle, the Final Boss refers to it as a Boss Battle. It doubles as an Pun, since the Final Boss is a Corrupt Corporate Executive.
  • Line-of-Sight Name: Peter ends up naming the monstrous combination of Sloan, Anti-Venom, and Doc Ock Atrocity after his own initial reaction to it, meaning its line-of-sight name comes from itself.
    Amazing Spider-Man: Oh... my God. Those tentacles! They were coming from some kind of... I don't know what this atrocity is! In fact, that's what I'm gonna call it... Atrocity. 'Cause "Big Scary Tentacle Monster Thingy" takes way too long to say. That, and "Fin Fang Foom" was taken...
  • Meanwhile, in the Futureā€¦: Both Spider-Men are actually working together & talking to each other whilst in their home time periods — Amazing Spider-Man can destroy things so that they won't be there in the future, after said thing has created a problem for Spider-Man 2099. Justified by the creation of a second time gate, which linked the two moments in history and allowed for instantaneous changes.
  • Mind-Control Device: Sloan controls Anti-Venom using subcutaneous mind control chips. Spidey 2099 rips them out during their fight.
  • Mission-Pack Sequel: A common criticism towards this game is that it feels like one half of Shattered Dimensions with new assets.
  • Mythology Gag:
    • Jameson speculates that people idolize Spider-Man enough to make "a musical about him with a chorus line of dancing Spider-Men!" Peter quips that he'd pay to see it.
    • When Spidey is first informed of quantum causality, he says "That's Amazing! Spectacular, even!"
    • Spider-Man 2099's swinging hearkens back to the 2000 live-action films; there's even similar music.
    • The New Ultimate costume notes that there's a new Spider-Man in the Ultimate universe.
    • Near the beginning of the Amazing timeline, an announcement plays, saying "For a good time, call Lyla!" Lyla being the name of Miguel's holographic housekeeper in 2099.
    • The game in and of itself serves as one, albeit to a somewhat obscure bit of mythology. Turns out this isn't the first time Miguel and Peter have met.
  • The Needs of the Many: The primary source of conflict between the two Spider-Men. Miguel is only concerned with the grand scheme of things and stopping Sloan from ruining the future, while Peter is obsessed with the human cost of his actions and refuses to abandon innocent people no matter what. At one point, the two end up in each other's time periods, and when Peter finds out that Mary Jane is destined to die that night, Miguel initially refuses to save her, stating he's got "enough to deal with," and only goes along with it when Peter outright begs him to do so. Even so, it doesn't stop him from snarking about it.
    O'Hara: Hope the universe doesn't end while I'm trying to save one person.
  • No-Sell: Spidey 2099 shrugs off Anti-Venom's attempt to depower him because, unlike Amazing Spidey, his powers aren't radiation-based.
  • Old Save Bonus: If you have a Shattered Dimensions save file on the console when you boot up Edge of Time, the game unlocks 10 (8, if you own a Wii) alternate costumes for the player to use.
  • One-Winged Angel: During the rematch with Sloan and Anti-Venom, after Anti-Venom gains control of himself, he proceeds to attack Walker Sloan. Sloan runs to the time portal while Doc Ock is repairing it, and all three are tossed into the unstable portal. Out comes Atrocity, a monstrous combination of the three, similar to Monster Ock in the PS1 game.
  • Orange/Blue Contrast: 2099 is tinged with blue, representing the future, while Peter's time is predominantly orange, representing the present.
  • Personal Space Invader: Some of the mooks can grab Spiderman in a headlock, electrocuting him and restraining his arms to make him vulnerable to other enemy attacks.
  • Plot-Triggering Death: A key factor in the Bad Future Sloan causes is Amazing Spider-Man's death at the hands of a Brainwashed and Crazy Anti-Venom. A significant portion of the plot is Spider-Man 2099 trying to stop it from happening.
  • Powered Armor: Peter Parker 2099 pilots a spider-themed suit in the final battle. Amazing Spider-Man speculates that Peter's powers have deteriorated over time, making the suit a necessity.
  • Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Spider-Man 2099 remembers his original timeline due to being within the time portal just after Walter went back in time. Amazing Spider-Man, of course, doesn't have this benefit. At the end of the game, both Spider-Men remember the alternate timeline they prevented and the way history is meant to be. They have a lecture about it during the credit scrawl.
  • Rule of Three: Lampshaded when Amazing Spider-Man has to retrieve three time gate parts, each controlled by three consoles.
    Spider-Man 2099: The part will be safe to take after all three consoles around it are deactivated.
    Amazing Spider-Man: Why do these things always come in threes?
    Spider-Man 2099: I have no idea.
    Amazing Spider-Man: You know, that's going to bug me the rest of the day.
  • Say My Name: In the opening of the game, Miguel screams Peter's name when Peter is killed by Anti-Venom, and he gets to the Gateway just a second too late.
    Spider-Man 2099: Parker? Parker, are you there?! Peter! PETERRR!!
  • Set Right What Once Went Wrong:
    • The Spider-Man of the year 2099 is trying to prevent the death of the present day Spider-Man.
    • The true Big Bad, Peter Parker's future self (the CEO of Alchemax in 2099), wants to go back in time to fix all of the mistakes he made in the past.
  • Shout-Out: Over the game, the two Spider-Man make references to Captain America, the X-Men, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four.
  • Sir Swearsalot: Spidey 2099 has kept his habit of saying "Shock" from the last game.
  • Super Mode: Amazing Spidey can increase his movement speed to the point where hazard and enemies appear to look like they're moving in slow-motion, while Spidey 2099 can launch a decoy to distract foes.
  • Take That Us: The villain of the game is Peter Parker 2099. More specifically, he's a version of Peter Parker who, after his loved ones were killed and he blamed himself for it, chose instead of finding a way to acknowledge his loss and move on, to find and use whatever way he could to bring them back, completely erasing his mistake, even at the potential cost of everything else in the present time. He becomes completely absorbed by his own failings and feels his own mistakes are more important than the potential damage he could do otherwise. Whilst not a direct match, that description is eerily similar to Peter Parker's characterisation in One More Day. All one needs to do is replace the Deal with the Devil with Set Right What Once Went Wrong and its not hard to imagine the game giving that particular story a nod in this sense. Also Mary Jane is in the game, and in a romantic relationship with Peter, who even screams that his future is meaningless without her to Miguel when convincing him to save her from dying, which was the complete opposite of what One More Day and its following fiction, tried to convince its audience about (when the game was released, Carlie Cooper was his primary romantic interest in the comics).
  • Techno Babble: Amazing Spider-Man rattles off some sciencey jargon while the Spider-Men look up Alchemax's archives, including "uncoupling the Heisenberg compensators". The funny thing is, Spidey 2099 responds to each line with "of course I did" or "Shock it, no, I didn't," which actually causes Peter to stop and go "wait, what?"
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Amazing Spider-Man isn't immediately inclined to believe some guy from the future claiming he's going to die because of his new workplace and Spider-Man 2099 is rather frustrated by his predecessor's inability to stay out of life-threatening situations. They get along better as the game progresses.
  • Timey-Wimey Ball: A gameplay mechanic.
    • Let's say Spidey 2099 is having trouble fighting an advanced mech, if Amazing Spidey destroys the prototype in his time line, the mech won't be there to fight Spidey 2099.
    • Amazing Spidey often lampshades all of the time travel logic that's tossed around in this game. Spidey 2099's response is basically "Look, do you want a two-hour lecture on quantum physics?"
    • Spidey 2099 explains the reasons for this in-game. As he explains, under normal circumstances, altering things in the past would simply create an Alternate Timeline, but due to Sloan's gateway directly connecting the two times, what Amazing Spidey does in the past can immediately affect the future.
    • Also a possible reason for why all the stuff destroyed 80 years ago weren't repaired or renewed in the 80 years between time periods. Peter knows what needs to be and what needs not to be when he is CEO in 2099.
  • Title Drop: In the endgame:
    Miguel: I'd rather not bring our deadline up against the Edge of Time!
  • Tonight, Someone Dies: The two Spider-Men are working to prevent the death of Amazing Spider-Man. The title screen even has Spider-Man 2099 carrying Peter's corpse. While the Spider-Men fail to prevent Peter's death, Miguel manages to bring his body to the future and sticks him in a regeneration pod, which ultimately saves his life.
  • The Walls Are Closing In: Amazing Spider-Man gets caught in a closing trash compactor as a result of Spider-Man 2099 inadvertently causing some quantum causality while the two have switched their respective native timelines.
  • What Are Records?: Miguel is rather unfamiliar with past tech and terms, not knowing about the World Series, cell phones or even toasters.
  • What If?: Unlike the other legacy suits Miguel wears, which are said to be passed down or recreated from the originals, the Poison suit and 2099's Cosmic Spider-Man suit are said to be versions unique to Spider-Man 2099.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Both Spider-Man call each other out on this. Amazing Spidey chews out his future counterpart for allowing innocents to die by not doing anything while Spidey 2099 snarls at him about not focusing on fixing the time stream.

Tropes exclusive to the DS version includes:

  • Thrill Seeker: Overdrive 2099 sure seems to love the rush of being a criminal that she's not even upset that she lost. This is noted by Spider-Man.
    Overdrive 2099:*moan*That was great!
    Spiderman: "Great?" You know you just lost, right?
    Overdrive 2099: It's not about winning; it's about the speed, the rush, the chase!

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