Warning: SPOILERS for Spider-Man #1Even little more than his webshooters and wits to save the day from his many supervillains. But Spider-Man #1 depicts the rare moment when Spider-Man swings into battle alongside a robotic tool...and it's very transparently Disney.
While the MCU gave Peter multiple gadgets including a high-tech suit with an "instant kill" feature, the comics version of the character has no such advanced technology. His webshooters, when they work properly, are the only gadgets he routinely brings to the battlefield. While Norman Osborn in the current Amazing Spider-Man run has granted Spider-Man a Goblin-infused suit of his own design, Peter almost always breaks these new devices as soon as he acquires them. This might not sit well with Marvel's parent company: Disney.
In Spider-Man #1, written by Dan Slott with art by Mark Bagley, the titular hero is armed with a small, robotic spider-bot. This is also the former Green Goblin's design, and it helps Spider-Man occasionally during battle, such as subduing the super-strong villain Morlun when Peter is already down and out of the fight. While Spider-Man signs autographs, two kids ride on the Spider-Bot. "Please don't do that. Bug is not a toy!" warns Spider-Man - to which one of the riders responds "Yeah? Well, maybe you shouldn't've made it look like a toy."
Spider-Man's New Robot Is Disney's Transparent Attempt at Merchandising
Frequent readers of Spider-Man comics will immediately recognize Bug's design: it's oddly similar to the Spider-Bots from the W.E.B. of Spider-Man series. The short-lived story was in reality a promotional comic for Disney's Avengers Campus at Disneyland - of which the Spider-Bots are a main feature, and guests at the park can even buy their own. The writers at Marvel are no doubt tired of Disney (presumed) requests to add in more "toyetic" material to stories, but ultimately the decision is not up to them. At the very least, both spider-robots serve the plot (and the Spider-Bots in W.E.B. of Spider-Man are essential in Spider-Man's plan to defeat the villain). It must be noted that none of the other Spider-heroes who appear at the end of the comic have robotic allies of their own.
It must also be noted that while Sony owns the film rights to the character, Marvel owns everything else - and, by extension, Disney. Disney perhaps puts more and more gimmicks into non-film stories in an attempt to get audiences to buy comics instead of the films. Regardless of any potential explanation, Disney is a marketing-first company, and Spider-Man stories are hurt in the process.
