The Spider-Man: Miles Morales Secret X-Men Fans Won't Want To Miss
Spider-Man: Miles Morales has been out since Nov. 12. As players are discovering the fun of playing as this new version of Spider-Man, they're also finding Easter eggs that make the game even more fun. So far, these have included a touching tribute to Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, references to Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and many more. Now, they also include a few X-Men references, too.
Actually, it appears that there are two specific references to Alison Blaire, the X-Men member and musician known as Dazzler. One comes from a time capsule, one of several stowed around the city and marked on the map. The capsule is inside a wall in Hell's Kitchen and includes concert tickets: It turns out that Miles has seen Dazzler and Lila Cheney, another member of the X-Men, in concert.
Also, in one of MIles' first missions, you'll go to an old repair shop to search for clues about the criminal group The Underground. i09 reports that there, you'll find a collection of guitars behind a counter. Apparently, one of the guitars belonged to Alison Blaire, but Miles expresses disbelief that this fact is actually true.
A couple of other potential references have popped up, as well. One fan thinks there's another X-Men Easter egg in the game referencing supervillain Mastermind. This one also involves a time capsule from midtown Manhattan, containing a graphics card that is marked with the words "Mastermind X4." YouTuber OniZombies believes the number is a reference to the first X-Men comics issue in which Mastermind appeared. While suggestive, this isn't at all confirmed. Additionally, XavierFiles points out that, during a mission that unlocks after you've completed the main story in Spider-Man: Miles Morales, there's a restaurant called Lobster Bill's, featuring a giant lobster statue that Miles calls Bill the Lobster. This could be reference to an X-Men character of the same name, who appeared in the series Fallen Angels.
Even if those other two Easter eggs are unintentional, there are clearly at least a couple of references to X-Men superheroes in this game, which in itself is interesting. In the comic books, the X-Men and Avengers share the same universe. However, that hasn't been the case in the movies and video games. In the case of the movies, Marvel sold the screen rights to the X-Men to 20th Century Fox in 1993. In the video games, Marvel Cinematic Universe references exist, but usually to other Avengers and characters considered more firmly a part of the MCU, like Dr. Strange, Daredevil, and Tony Stark.
However, Disney gained X-Men movie rights when it acquired Fox. Though they've not yet appeared in the same universe on-screen, Disney and Marvel certainly have plans to incorporate X-Men into the MCU going forward, even if it will take a while. It's not certain what this could mean for an X-Men game, or some other media coming down the line, but it sure has fans speculating on the future of Marvel.