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1[[quoteright:264:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spidermanfriendorfoe.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:264:[[Film/SpiderMan1 "Spider-Man! I knew you two were in this together!"]]]]
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4''Spider-Man: Friend or Foe'' is a 2007 BeatEmUp game published by Creator/{{Activision}} and developed by three different studios, each of which handled different ports of the game (Creator/NextLevelGames for the [=PS2=], Wii, and Xbox 360 ports, Artificial Mind And Movement for the DS and PSP ports, and Beenox for the PC port). The game takes heavy inspiration from both the original comics and the [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy Sam Raimi movie trilogy]], and was actually released as official tie-in merchandise for the latter.
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6The plot involves the meteor that brought the Venom symbiote to Earth being split into five shards, scattered across the world, and used to create creatures known as P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s. Spider-Man is recruited by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. to find said pieces, and, along the way, enlists the help of both allies and enemies, with the latter being under mind control by whoever is using the meteor shards.
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8In the game, you play as Spider-Man and a sidekick of your choice, with the ability to switch between controlling the two when you're playing solo. Spider-Man can also utilize his webbing to either throw enemies around, shoot projectiles at them, or disable them for a bit. As you progress, you can collect Tech Tokens (currency used to upgrade your characters and Spider-Man's abilities), DNA Helixes (hidden collectables that unlock extras), and Keystones (used to unlock arenas for use in Versus mode).
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10[[folder:Playable Characters (besides Spider-Man, of course)]]
11* Silver Sable [[note]]Exclusive to the Wii, Xbox 360, and PC ports.[[/note]]
12* Prowler
13* Black Cat
14* Doctor Octopus
15* Green Goblin
16* Scorpion
17* Iron Fist
18* Rhino
19* Lizard
20* Sandman
21* Blade
22* Venom
23* New Goblin
24* Electro [[note]]Exclusive to the PSP port.[[/note]]
25* Carnage [[note]]Exclusive to the PSP port.[[/note]]
26[[/folder]]
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28----
29!!''Spider-Man: Friend or Foe'' provides examples of:
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31* ActionGirl: Black Cat and ComicBook/SilverSable.
32* AdaptationalHeroism: The Lizard, who is a good guy here and keeps his human form's intelligence.
33** Also applies to the Prowler, Silver Sable, and Black Cat, who aren't even fought as bosses.
34** Downplayed with New Goblin/Harry. While Harry was good before and did redeem himself by the end of ''Spider-Man 3'', he spent a good half of the movie as a villain as New Goblin bent on revenge against Peter. Here, they're undoubtedly allies and friends.
35* AdvertisedExtra: New Goblin is shown in ads and the opening cinematic as what amounts to Spider-Man's crimefighting partner. He doesn't show up for the rest of the game's story and is only unlocked as a playable character after you beat it.
36* AlternateContinuity: ''Friend or Foe'' takes place in a divergent timeline where the villains seen in the Spider-Man trilogy never died. Its reality designation within the Marvel Multiverse is Earth-71002.
37* BroadStrokes: The game is visually inspired by and seemingly set in the live-action ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' by Creator/SamRaimi, due to specifically being a tie-in to ''Spider-Man 3'', but includes other characters from the wider Marvel Universe not seen in those films, including Black Cat, Mysterio, Scorpion, Rhino, Lizard, in addition to Iron Fist, Blade, and the PHANTOMS seem to be based on Carnage. One could consider it essentially ''Spider-Man 4'' if it was set in the broader Marvel Universe and all of the villains survived their respective movies, as well as Mysterio, Lizard, and Black Cat's presence, as they slated to appear in the cancelled fourth movie.
38* BigBad: Mysterio
39* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Every boss Spider-Man encountered except for Mysterio, given ''he's'' the one ''doing'' the brainwashing.
40* CoolSword: ComicBook/{{Blade}} wields a single-handed machete-like sword.
41* DeadlyDodging: One of the ways to take major health off Rhino in his boss battle.
42* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Dying results in merely losing a few Tech Tokens.
43* DefeatMeansFriendship: Although Green Goblin, Scorpion, and Venom make it known that they're ''not'' Spider-Man's friends.
44* DumbMuscle: Rhino, Sandman, and presumably Scorpion.
45* EnemyMine: All of the villains agree to assist Spider-Man after being defeated to get even with whoever brainwashed them.
46* EnergyWeapon: Silver Sable and Scorpion both utilize lasers.
47* EvilIsHammy: Every boss except Sandman. Doc Ock and Mysterio especially.
48* FunWithAcronyms: PHANTOM stands for Perpetual Holographic Avatar Nano-Tech Offensive Monsters. And then there is of course, S.H.I.E.L.D.
49-->'''S.H.I.E.L.D. computer:''' Perpetual Holographic Avatar, Nanotech Offensive Monster, or, [=PHANTOMs=].\
50'''Spider-Man:''' [[LampshadeHanging You guys have a department just for acronyms, don't you?]]
51* GeniusBruiser: This adaptation's version of the Lizard retains Dr. Conners' intelligence and personality.
52* LameComeback:
53-->'''Spidey:''' First Scorpion and now Rhino. Huh, they're really scraping the bottom of the ol' villain barrel, eh? Who's next... Hypno-Hustler?\
54'''Rhino:''' I'll hypno-hustle you!\
55'''Spidey:''' [[SarcasmMode Ooh, nice comeback]]!
56* LighterAndSofter: The game as a whole compared to the movies.
57** Inevitably the result of including Blade in a game that's rated E-10+ (not that this makes him any less badass here).
58* MoneyIsExperiencePoints: You can use the game's currency, called Tech Tokens, to buy items and also upgrade Spider-Man and his partner's abilities.
59* MythologyGag:
60** In the first cutscene with Rhino, Spidey groans about having to face another of his old enemies, and wonders if the Hypno-Hustler (a lame one-shot villain in the comics) is next.
61** And at the end [[spoiler:when Nick Fury gets all of the symbiote shards, he has the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists study them for use. He calls it "Project Carnage".]]
62* NinjaPirateRobotZombie: The [=PHANTOMs=], the main enemies throughout, are part robot and part symbiote alien. And some of them, depending on the place and type, are such combinations as robot-alien-samurai, robot-alien-mummy, and robot-alien-werewolf.
63* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
64** Creator/FredTatasciore and Roger Jackson channel Thomas Haden Chruch and Willem Defoe in their respective roles as Sandman and Green Goblin.
65** Blade's design in this game bears more than a passing resemblance to Kirk Jones, the actor who played him in ''Series/BladeTheSeries''.
66* PreAsskickingOneLiner: In Versus Mode, when the combatants first face each other, they say a badass or snarky one-liner to prove their power.
67* ProductPlacement: Advertising/{{Hostess Fruit Pie|s}} ads are referenced by one of Spidey's quips.
68* RealMenWearPink: Don't underestimate Iron Fist just because he wears yellow booties.
69* RedemptionDemotion: Once you beat the bosses and [[DefeatMeansFriendship they join you]], they become much weaker than when you had to face them.
70* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: A variation. The cutscenes play out as if Spider-Man is working alone and don't even acknowledge the partner character's existence, regardless of who you chose. Justified due to the unnecessary amount of work required for making multiple different cutscenes for every character (which, not counting the Helicarrier mission briefings, would result in 156 different cutscenes in the game total, or 132 if one doesn't count Silver Sable and New Goblin).
71* SparedByTheAdaptation: The Goblins (both Norman and Harry), Doc Ock, and Venom all died in the movies. In the game, they're alive and well.
72* SpinAttack: One of Lizard's moves involves him whirling around in place, knocking all enemies away with his tail.
73* {{Troll}}: The S.H.I.E.L.D. computer loves messing around with Nick Fury.
74* TruerToTheText: Despite much of the game being based largely upon the Sam Raimi movies, Venom's design is much closer to the comics, being larger and taller than Spider-Man.
75* VersionExclusiveContent: The [=PSP=] version comes with Carnage and Electro as exclusive sidekicks as well as the unique Mediterranean Undercity level. Conversely, Scorpion, Lizard, Prowler, and Silver Sable don't appear in that version at all and neither does Stokerstov, Transylvania. On that note, Silver Sable doesn't appear in the [=PS2=] version either.
76* VocalDissonance: Considering Venom's large build, one would expect him to have a [[EvilSoundsDeep deep]] voice, but is instead given a very tenor EvilSoundsRaspy voice that doesn't completely fit.
77* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Despite assisting Spider-Man and being captured in the intro, the New Goblin is never shown being rescued or even given a boss fight, only being unlocked after all of the games' levels are completed.
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