Spider-Man: Horror games dev

"Oh my god! Spider-Gwen is once again taking down villains with her hell-born powers — what a powerful heroine!" a reporter exclaims live on TV.

The camera then cuts to a scene of Spider-Gwen battling a villain who can create anything he wants using his hair.

"Die, Spider-Gwen!!" the villain screams, yanking out a strand of hair — it instantly morphs into a giant Gatling gun.

The Gatling gun starts firing rapidly at Spider-Gwen, who's swinging through the air on her webs.

Naturally, since he's not Hawkeye, he misses every single shot.

"Damn it! She dared to dodge my bullets! What an insult to my pride!"

Dude, you missed and you're blaming her? Wtf?

"If that's how you want it... then behold my explosive art!"He yanks out another hair, which transforms into a grenade.

"I've been hit with my mom's slipper too many times because my blood type is B — so my throwing skills are top-tier! One toss, one hit! Die!!"

He throws the grenade — and just like he said, it lands perfectly.

BOOM!

"No!! Spider-Gwen!!!" nearby citizens scream, clutching pillows printed with her face.

"GAHAHAHA! In the end, spiders are just bugs under my feet!"He laughs maniacally — so much that he starts coughing, then goes right back to laughing.

Suddenly, someone grabs his hair.

"...We can talk about this."He raises his hands, sweating bullets.

"Skill issue."

Slash!

All of his hair strands are yanked out, leaving him completely bald.

"GAHHHHHHHHH!!"He collapses to his knees, clutching his now shiny head.

"Wait a sec, I'm not done yet."

"Oh really? Then hurry up alre— GAHHHHHHHHH!!"He suddenly feels something being poured on his scalp...

Uhh... looks like it's... incense?

"Namo Amitabha Buddha."She clasps her hands in a prayer position and calmly chants, then shoves the burning incense into his bald head.

"GAHHHHHH!!"

"Shut up."

"Okay okay, chill out, no need to be so intense!"

"Wait a sec, let me just grab this."

"Need a hand?"

"Absolutely."

The villain picks up a clump of his own hair from the ground and morphs it into a hair clipper.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

"By the way, what exactly are you— GAHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone watches as Spider-Gwen mercilessly styles the criminal. No one complains.

"How savage... as expected of Spider-Gwen! A true warrior from Hell!!!"

Once the haircut is done, she hands the villain a mirror.

He stares at his reflection, eyes widening to the max.

"Look at this fresh cut! Slayyyyy!!"

The hairstyle is identical to Thragg from the Invincible comics — wait... is she Thragg's barber or something!?

"I... I have no regrets anymore—"

"GET LOST."

She slaps him straight in the face, sending him flying off.

...

"YOOOOO SPIDER-GWEN JUST DEFEATED A CRIMINAL!!"

"I WANT TO DIE IN HER ARMS!!"

A reporter rushes over to Spider-Gwen, holding a mic to her face.

"Miss Spider-Gwen! Any comments about the criminal this time—"

She silently raises a hand, signaling him to shut up so she can speak.

Understanding, the reporter hands her the mic.

"Spider-Gwen? Sorry. I'm Spider-Woman. Please remember that."

"...Okay, Spider-Woman, any commen—"

"Ma'am! That name's so lame! Can you go edgier? Like… Ghost Spider?"

"Spider-Woman? Sorry. I'm Ghost Spider. Please remember that."

The crowd hears this, looks at each other, and then erupts in cheers.

Like full-blown K-pop fans going wild.

"..."

I sit nearby, holding a hotdog, watching everything unfold.

My eye twitches uncontrollably. There are no words to express what I'm feeling right now.

[What's wrong? Shocked that this Gwen's acting so different?]

"Not just different — completely unrecognizable. That's definitely not the Gwen I remember from my memories."

[The multiverse is wild, trust me.]

"Ugh… If I ever meet the real Gwen, I want to stay as far away as possible. She just destroyed the image I had of her beyond repair..."

[I actually like her, y'know. The chaos she brings? Top-tier. Ohhh, feel good...]

"Then go be her host instead."

[Nahhh, I like you more.]

"I'm not gay."

[Do I even have a gender? I can shapeshift into literally anything. I don't need gender—gender needs me.]

"That's the worst joke I've ever heard."

After finishing my hotdog, I walk into a dark alley and web-swing away to somewhere quieter.

"Miss Ghost Spider! Last time a criminal was defeated and it even made it into the New York Times — was that you?"

"You mean the one they called 'Spider Killer'?"

"Yes!" the reporter replies eagerly.

She looks him dead in the eyes.Silent. Completely silent.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that...?"

"Has any article... ever mentioned a male version of me?"

"N-No...?"

"...Thanks. Goodbye, everyone."

She shoots a web and swings away, leaving the crowd frozen in shock.

***

Knock knock.

"Who is it... Oh, it's you. Come in," Harry said as he opened the door and saw me.

"Why do you have such dark circles under your eyes? Didn't get any sleep?"I looked at Harry's face, confused by how tired he looked.

"Worse than no sleep. I stayed up all night."

"...I don't think our game is that scary, right?"

Harry turned to glare at me, clearly holding back a storm of frustration.

"Okay okay, chill. You don't have to work this time — I'll handle the rest."

"...Fine."

So, Harry and I went up to his room. He immediately collapsed onto the bed and passed out.

"Hmph, I'm going to school tomorrow. better finish everything today."

I sat at the desk, placed my hands on the keyboard, and got to work.

Six hours later...

Harry woke up and yawned.

"Huh?"

Peter was fully focused, typing furiously and even creating a few extra 3D models on the fly.

"And… done! Oh god, my back!" Peter stood up, stretching his entire body. You could even hear a few bones crack.

"How's it looking?" Harry came closer, finally seeing the game fully finished.

"Honestly? Still not used to typing code. Making the 3D models was painfully annoying. Luckily, my goals were short, so the game's short too. And so… voilà! GO TO BED is complete!"

"…Do you need me to bug test it—"

"Yup."

"…Can I refuse?"

"Ohhh, my dearest Harry..." Peter moved closer and threw an arm over Harry's shoulder.

"Not all heroes wear capes."

"I hate you."

And so, after playing through the entire game, Harry ended up standing motionless in front of the fireplace that night.

"..."

His eyes were completely dead — like he was staring at something that didn't exist.

Out of nowhere, a voice echoed from the bed.

[Hahahaha]

"?!" Harry flinched and turned toward the bed.

[What's wrong? Cat got your tongue just from hearing me?]

"…Who said that?"

[Somebody… but you already knew that, didn't you?]

Harry walked over and lifted the pillow.

Underneath it… was the Goblin Mask.

[I am you. I am the voice of your darker side. I represent all the things you—]

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Harry screamed at the top of his lungs, grabbed the mask, and yeeted it straight into the fireplace.

[AY YO WTF?! I WASN'T DONE TAL— AGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!]

The mask screamed for a while… and then there was nothing. Silence.

"...I feel better now. Next time, I'm totally getting revenge on Peter for ruining my sleep."

With that, Harry climbed into bed and closed his eyes.

Strangely enough, tonight felt unusually peaceful.

Maybe… just maybe, throwing that mask into the fire really was the right move.