[Wrestling Noises] Every body knows the story of spider-man.
Nerdy orphan from queens, radioactive spider,
superpowers.
But here's a question most of overlook.
Why is that when peter parker, a scrawny nerd becomes spider-man, a buff superhero
he fights like this.
In the case of the new game from insomniac, spiderman's fighting style appears to be a
hybrid of three influences.
The first influence gives us acrobatic dodges like this,
and dramatic strikes like this.
These techniques are borrowed from capoeira, an afro-brazilian form of martial arts that's
part dance, part game, and part legit head-rocking fighting style.
Capoeira is all about narrowly avoiding enemy attacks and seamlessly transitioning into
your own, and contemporary styles are especially acrobatic.
The flashy, fluid movements have made capoeira fighters an exciting addition to action films
and games.
The Protector featured a very dramatic capoeira-infused showdown between Tony Jaa and Lateef Crowder.
And Eddy Gordo's been repping capoeira in Tekken since 1997.
But capoeira's not all flash.
These unpredictable kicks can come from unexpected angles at frightening speed,
and have given us a few brutal MMA knockouts, like this one.
Spiderman borrows a number of techniques from Capoeira.
He moves backwards away from danger with the Macaco Em Pe,
and lashes out a Martelo de Negativa kick.
While he borrows a handful of specific techniques from capoeira, the influence on his movement
style runs deeper.
Like a master capoeira practictioner, his stance is low and mobile.
He rarely plants his feet to execute straightforward, thrusting strikes.
instead, he's constantly spinning- using centrifugal force to turn his feet and fists into high-speed
bludgeons.
Borrowing from capoeira makes sense for an agile, graceful hero like spiderman.
But it’s not the only fighting style Spiderman borrows from.
And I’ll tell you about the other one, if you’re ready...
[RANDY SAVAGE VOICE] BONESAWWW IS READYYYYYY
Spidey’s very first comic book appearance featured a matchup in the squared circle against
one Crusher Hogan.
(renamed bonesaw mcgraw when famously portrayed by Randy Savage in the 2002 film directed
by sam raimi starring Tobey Maguire.
Spider-Man: with great power comes great responsibility)
Insomniac’s Spiderman hints at his days moonlighting in the wrestling ring with this
flyer in his apartment.
But the wrestling moves Spiderman rocks in the upcoming game come from a specific discipline
of pro wrestling: lucha libre.
This is Ophidian.
He's been performing and teaching Lucha Libre for 10 years.
Lucha Libre is a variant of professional wrestling.
It is a very acrobatic, stylistic, high flying version of what we consider pro wrestling
in america- but based out of mexico.
It's full of colorful characters, and masks like you see on myself.
It has a very Super Hero aesthetic.
Lucha Librea was popularized in the US largely by WCW luchadores like Psicosis, La Parka,
and most of all, Rey Mysterio Junior.
Much like Spiderman, Rey was a slender little dude in a world of Giants.
His in-ring style leveraged momentum, speed, and high-flying lucha techniques to tell the
story of an undersized hero using skill to overcome his stature.
Spidey busts out a handful of lucha techniques including dropsaults, headscissor takedowns,
and perhaps the nastiest-looking one - the poisoned hurricanrana.
The poisoned rana is a variant of a very popular lucha libre move known as the hurricanrana.
When sitting on your opponent's shoulders you have to be able to swing your body underneath
them and land in a position where you yourself don't get knocked out.
That means being able to bridge mid-air to land in between your opponents legs so that
they can travel backwards over the top of you.
And to have that kind of aim and precision takes years to teach.
While spider-man is definitely strong for his size, his character has never been about
raw power.
He's quick and he's nimble, and he's lithe, which are the qualities you need to do what
he's doing.
I don't think it would make sense for spider-man, given his size and weight, to do anything
but Lucha Libre.
So drawing from Lucha Libre makes sense.
It's a style of pro wrestling that makes you believe, or want to believe that a 5-6, 130
pound guy like Rey Mysterio could take down the Big Show.
Spiderman doesn’t always have the strength to overcome his enemies, but he’ll always
have the agility of a lucha libre superstar.
Hell, he’s even got the mask.
He’s also got a half-century of comic books to his name, which is more than enough time
to have established a distinct style and persona.
Spidey is synonymous with dramatic, acrobatic, and extremely bendy poses...
… and the influence on Insomniac’s spider-man is clear.
Spidey will rush through the motion of a move, then linger in a trademark pose at the end.
Other times, the game will actually slow down to catch him in a comic book panel come to
life, showing that in addition to smartly borrowing from other fighting styles, Insomniac
has a lot of reverence for spidey’s source material.
there's no logical reason for spider-man to have this mishmash of powers- but they all
have something in common a sense of fun, and a pleasure of movement that's quintessentially
spider-man