In 1982, Parker Brothers released Spider-Man for the Atari 2600, marking the first-ever Marvel video game. In this episode, we swing through the origins of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man—from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s comic book creation in the 1960s to the wall-crawler’s debut in gaming. We explore how engineer Laura Nikolich designed the vertical-climbing Atari adventure that pitted Spider-Man against the Green Goblin, as well as Parker Brothers’ surprising path from Monopoly to Marvel. Our conversation highlights the evolution of Spider-Man games—from text adventures and arcade beat ’em ups to Neversoft’s 3D breakthroughs and Insomniac’s modern masterpieces. Join us as we sling webs, defuse bombs, and trace Spider-Man’s digital journey on today’s trip down Memory Card Lane.
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A Trip Down Memory Card Lane