Are you ready for a bunch of new games for Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One? Because they're coming!

On the cusp of their respective five-year anniversaries, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are going head-to-head once more at the annual video game trade show E3 in mid-June. 

But, thanks in part to a massive leak and in part to Sony just outright talking about its plans, we already know a lot about what Sony and Microsoft plan to show this year. 

Here's a look at what to expect from both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at E3 2018:

Sony's plans for E3 2018, broadly speaking:

Sony's annual E3 press briefing on all things PlayStation is Monday, June 11 at 9:00 p.m. EST / 6:00 p.m. PDT.

As always, Sony will broadcast its briefing on several platforms — Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook are all hosting streams of the event. 

The E3 briefing is Sony's annual opportunity to announce major PlayStation games, show off upcoming games, and — generally speaking — address its most loyal fans directly. It's the kind of event where Sony might reveal a major new "Uncharted" game (for example only — it's unlikely that a new "Uncharted" game shows up anytime soon). 

Usually, it's an event full of surprise reveals intended to wow viewers. But at E3 2018, Sony is doing something different: Telling everyone ahead of time what it's going to show. Madness!

Here's Sony's full line-up:

"Death Stranding"

What is "Death Stranding"? That's a great question. Even though I've seen several trailers for the game, I have no idea what it is.

Here's what we know for sure:

— The game is being created by "Metal Gear" series creative lead Hideo Kojima, a legendary character in the video game business.
— It stars Norman Reedus, of "The Walking Dead" fame. He's the main character. Mads Mikkelsen, a Danish actor best known as the bad guy from "Casino Royale," appears to be the antagonist.
— The game is a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and famed film director Guillermo del Toro.
— It's being funded by Sony, which means the game is only coming to the PlayStation 4.

Is it a first-person or third-person game? A survival game? Open world, or linear? All of this stuff is still up in the air.

Here's an eight minute trailer for "Death Stranding"— if you can piece it together, more power to you!

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E3 2018 is here, and the game announcements have been fast and furious.

E3 is the biggest gaming convention of the year, where the top gaming companies from around the world showcase what's coming for popular game consoles like the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch.

Though big companies like Microsoft and Bethesda made waves over the weekend during the first two days of E3, the announcements on Monday were similarly huge. We finally got to see the big press conferences from Sony PlayStation, Ubisoft, and Square Enix, to get a glimpse at what's coming down the pipe from these top-tier publishers.

Sony kicked off its big press conference with one of its most anticipated games, "The Last Of Us II"— and fans went wild for it.

It's been two years since fans were treated to a very bloody demo of "The Last Of Us II," the sequel to the critically-acclaimed game from Naughty Dog, the developer behind the gorgeous "Uncharted" games.

At Sony's E3 presser on Monday night, an all-new trailer introduced us to new characters, plenty of action, and a surprising amount of emotion, too. From a technical standpoint — from the facial animations to the way enemies track you and interact with each other — it looks like Naughty Dog's once again created one of the most realistic-looking video games we've ever seen.

Don't miss the new trailer for "The Last Of Us II," which Sony debuted last night:

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"Ghosts of Tsushima" is the open-world samurai game you've always wanted.

The second big announcement from Sony's E3 press conference was "Ghosts of Tsushima," which featured samurai, gorgeous scenery, and sword fights that looked straight out of a movie. This will satisfy your inner urge to travel back in time to feudal Japan (looking at you, fans of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time").

E3 2018 is finally coming to an end.

The biggest video game event of the year featured plenty of major game announcements throughout the week from the world's top game makers including Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Bethesda, Square Enix, and Ubisoft.

But some came out of the event looking better than others.

These were the winners and losers of E3 2018:

SEE ALSO: The 13 biggest announcements from E3 2018

Winner: Sony-backed studios making PlayStation 4 exclusives

The coming PS4 exclusives "Spider-Man,""Ghost of Tsushima," and "The Last Of Us Part II" all look incredible, and it goes to show what studios can do when they have the support of a major studio like Sony.

Sony put Insomniac Games in charge of "Spider-Man," Sucker Punch is developing "Ghost of Tsushima," and Naughty Dog is leading the way on "The Last Of Us Part II," but what's impressive is how all three of these games already show the level of polish fans have come to expect from a PlayStation 4 exclusive. The future of the PS4 looks very bright thanks to these studios.

Loser: Sony

Despite the incredible-looking games coming from Sony-backed studios, Sony itself came off E3 looking not so great. Its press conference featured a big intermission that many fans say ruined the flow of the show and made its later announcements feel less exciting.

Later in the week, Sony got into hot water when many of the more than 2 million people who downloaded "Fortnite: Battle Royale" for the Nintendo Switch in its first 24 hours of availability found they couldn't play on both a PlayStation 4 and the Switch and would have to choose one or the other — at least, if they wanted to keep their purchased items.

Now, Sony is facing a great deal of pressure from fans and even rival companies to provide cross-play for games like "Fortnite"— that is, the ability for PlayStation 4 gamers to play with people on other platforms. Microsoft and Nintendo have made great strides in cross-play, with "Minecraft" and "Fortnite" letting Microsoft Xbox One and Nintendo Switch owners play together.

Frustrations with Sony over the topic are bubbling all over social media. A senior Xbox executive even tweeted his fans asking who would want to play "Destiny" across Xbox and PlayStation. And Microsoft's Xbox UK account also sent this cheeky tweet:

Winner: "Super Smash Bros" fans

Nintendo spent 24 minutes of its 42-minute E3 presentation talking about "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," its mascot-versus-mascot fighting game scheduled to arrive on the Nintendo Switch on December 7.

Fans knew before E3 that "Super Smash Bros." would be Nintendo's focus at the event, and Nintendo lived up to that promise by introducing plenty of details about the new game. But Nintendo went a step further and paid homage to the game's biggest fans by bringing back every character from past "Super Smash Bros." games, including characters that appeared only once, as well as fan-favorite stages and items.

Nintendo also made some in-game tweaks that "Smash" fans asked for, like shorter Final Smash moves and small changes to the intricacies of combat. The game will even support GameCube controllers, a nod to people who play "Smash Bros." in competitive tournaments. If you loved "Smash Bros." before E3, Nintendo's presentation was directed at you.

Sony's PlayStation 4 continues to dominate the world of gaming, with over 75 million consoles in the wild. And what's selling all those consoles? Great games!

Games like the incredible-looking "The Last of Us: Part II," which Sony dug into in a lengthy video on Monday evening:

It's one of four hotly anticipated games that Sony showcased during an event at the video game industry's annual E3 gathering in Los Angeles: "Spider-Man,""Ghost of Tsushima,""Death Stranding," and the aforementioned "The Last of Us: Part II."

Check out all four below:

SEE ALSO: The 7 biggest announcements from the first 2 days of E3 2018

1. "The Last of Us: Part II"

The folks behind the Indiana Jones-esque blockbuster third-person action "Uncharted" series are true veterans of video game creation. The studio, Naughty Dog, goes all the way back to the first PlayStation console, having created the beloved "Crash Bandicoot" series.

Beyond those two (massive) game franchises, Naughty Dog is also responsible for the incredible, genre-pushing PlayStation game "The Last of Us." Naughty Dog's next game is a highly anticipated follow-up, the aptly-titled "The Last of Us: Part II."

In "Part II," the duo of protagonists Joel and Ellie are making a return. But in the latest trailer, Ellie's out on her own.

Check out the full gameplay video right here:

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2. "Ghost of Tsushima"

Sucker Punch, the studio that created the PlayStation blockbuster "inFamous," is working on something completely new: a samurai game set in Feudal Japan, called "Ghost of Tsushima."

All we know about the game is that it's a tale of revenge. Here's the full description from Sucker Punch:

"The year is 1274. Samurai warriors are the legendary defenders of Japan — until the fearsome Mongol Empire invades the island of Tsushima, wreaking havoc and conquering the local population. As one of the last surviving samurai, you rise from the ashes to fight back. But, honorable tactics won't lead you to victory. You must move beyond your samurai traditions to forge a new way of fighting — the way of the Ghost — as you wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Japan."

From what the trailer shows, "Ghost of Tsushima" is a third-person, character-driven action game with a focus on swordplay. This is a samurai game, after all. 

Beyond the story, and the pedigree, "Ghost of Tsushima" simply looks incredibly unique. It's gorgeous, and set in a time period rarely explored in blockbuster video games. Perhaps more than any other trailer Sony showed, "Ghost of Tsushima" looks the most interesting and fresh.

Movies will often use live bugs on camera instead of CGI to make their story feel more real and to get your skin crawling. But getting these insects to do what you want requires lots an understanding of how they function.  That's where Steven Kutcher comes in. He's an entomologist who has worked with insects on over 100 major projects including "Spider-Man, "Arachnophobia," and "Jurassic Park."  We spoke with Kutcher about how he gets these tiny actors to do what the directors want and how no one gets hurt during the production. Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood are some of the smallest creatures on the planet. Real live insects like spiders, locusts, and butterflies play crucial roles in many memorable blockbuster films. But getting them to perform on camera is no easy task.

Steven Kutcher: Rosie, lift up your leg. This leg. Come on. Oh see, she did this one. Oh, there she goes. And that's just a little trick of putting a little pressure on her back leg that causes her front leg to come up.

Narrator: That's Steven Kutcher. He's an entomologist and the go to guy for all things bugs in Hollywood. He's worked with a variety of insects on over 100 films in his career including "Arachnophobia,""Jurassic Park," and "Spider-Man."

Kutcher: Understanding insect behavior is really the key. It's not training them because you don't have time to train them in the film industry. When you work with insects, you wanna corral the insects. You wanna be able to control them.

Narrator: He's used a number of different techniques to get the bugs to move in the right direction involving lights, air, and temperature.

Kutcher: Let's say you're a bug. How can I make you move? Well, I could blow air at you, like 60 miles an hour air. You're going to move. I could light a little fire under you or set you on something that's really hot. You're gonna get up out of your seat and move. I could chill down the room. 

Narrator: For example, let's take a look at one of the most famous and terrifying spider films of all time, "Arachnophobia."

Kutcher: The great thing about that film was it was before CGI. So we had to do everything real except for one shot.

Narrator: He devised a clever yet simple rig to get all the spiders where they needed to be.

Kutcher: They would say, "We want a spider to crawl into a slipper "from four feet away." So I came up with this idea of invisible vibrating wires. Chance of vibrating wires that you couldn't see, the camera couldn't see. But I could make the spider go directly to the spot I wanted it to go.

Narrator: Kutcher's first big Hollywood gig was on the "Exorcist II" and it involved working with three thousand live locusts.

Kutcher: There's a scene where James Earl Jones has to look at a cage of locusts and the locusts were all on the ground. But how do you move hundreds of locusts up on the screen? I said, "Get a light, a studio light that gives off heat "and shining against the side of the cage." And they did and all the locusts moved up onto the cage to be near the heat. Then they took the light away.

Narrator: In "Jurassic Park," Kutcher was the man responsible for the iconic dead mosquitoes in amber.

Kutcher: So it's supposed to be a mosquito. First, it's really a crane fly. And I put antenna from another insect on the crane fly. I took a bent insect pin and made it for its mouth part. I created the wings.

Narrator: And he worked with a live mosquito in the DNA Explainer video.

Kutcher: So I would chill the mosquito down so that it wouldn't move. And then I would drip honey on it. And then it got tumbled down with the honey.

Narrator: In the 2002 movie "Spider-Man," there's a scene where Peter Parker first gets bitten. Kutcher was actually above Toby McGuire with a paint brush.

Kutcher: And what the spider will do is it will crawl along the edge until it reaches this part and then it will hang on. And I would just tap it like this which would cause the spider to web down.

Narrator: While he says he rarely ever gets bitten or stung, he takes precautions to protect the other human actors. In "Roadhouse 66," Judge Reinhold is driving a car and I had to have a scorpion crawl over his shoulder. So I put a little cap on the scorpion's stinger that looked like the stinger so it wouldn't hurt him.

Narrator: And there's also a rule on set that no bugs are hurt during production. - In making of a movie, you can't harm a cockroach, or a fly, or a maggot. But if the fly flies to craft service, you can swat it. 

Narrator: He can get some of his bugs from pet suppliers, but most he goes out and collects himself. And Kutcher's home is also full of bugs, by choice.

Kutcher: Right now, I have mosquitoes, crane flies, caterpillars in my refrigerator. The world is filled with people who do not like insects which is a great opportunity to teach those people the joys and wonders of all of the arthropods in the world and how you can relate to them. And when you understand how they work, the world is a better place.

Kutcher: To make the spider go, I just tap her back legs. And this gets her to crawl up. To make her stop, I cover her eyes. She has eight eyes. She's just looking for a dark place.

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Tom Holland is terrible at keeping secrets.

During the press tour for "Avengers: Infinity War," it was a recurring joke among the Spider-Man actor's co-stars; the cast unanimously voted him the "least trustworthy" and Doctor Strange himself Benedict Cumberbatch once said that doing interviews with Holland was like "chaperoning."

Holland struck again over the weekend by "accidentally" revealing the title for the "Spider-Man: Homecoming" sequel in an Instagram post on Saturday. He apologized for a lack of announcements about the movie, saying he doesn't know much about it and that he's "confused" because Spider-Man is dead (he was one of the characters that disappeared at the end of "Infinity War").

But then he said that he had the script, at which point he held up a tablet with the film's logo on the screen, which revealed the title. 

Below is the title of the movie and everything else we know:

SEE ALSO: Police are investigating claims of elder abuse suffered by Marvel legend Stan Lee, and it's just the latest turn in a strange saga

The title is "Spider-Man: Far From Home."

This is the title that Holland revealed in his Instagram post. It hasn't been officially announced by Marvel yet, but we'd be willing to bet that this wasn't the "accidental reveal" we've been led to believe. 

It comes to theaters July 5, 2019.

The movie will be released two months after next year's "Infinity War" sequel, which comes to theaters May 3.

Director Jon Watts, who directed "Homecoming," is returning.

Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen "Avengers: Infinity War." 

Tom Holland is notoriously bad at keeping secrets, so it wouldn't come as a surprise if he accidentally spoiled the title of the "Spider-Man" sequel over the weekend. 

The 22-year-old who plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe shared a video on his Instagram while at Ace Comic Con in Seattle apologizing to fans for not having information to share about the sequel to "Spider-Man: Homecoming." 

"I wanted to apologize because there's no real revelations coming out this weekend abut 'Spider-Man Two," he said. "I don't know much about it. I'm a little confused because I died ... but I do know that I got the new script. I'm super excited to read it, and it's going to be great."

Holland is referring to the plot of "Avengers: Infinity War" when multiple characters, including Spider-Man, were killed off at the end of the movie.

As he spoke, he held up an iPad with the title "Spider-Man: Far From Home" written on it. 

Fans freaked out thinking he spoiled the movie title. 

But others are certain Marvel is using his inability to keep a secret for publicity.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed the sequel's name to ComicBook.com on Sunday. 

"We like [the title] of course because it ties into 'Homecoming,' not just keeping that word going, which we like and we liked it more than 'Homecoming Two,' but that notion of 'home' is a word that has dual meanings we'd like to continue with this [Marvel Cinematic Universe] version of Spider-Man. So, 'Far From Home' has multiple meanings."

The "Avengers"cast confirmed that he is the worst at keeping secrets, and he was even kept from much of the "Infinity War" script to avoid leaks. His inability to keep a secret has now become a running gag. 

"Far From Home" is set for release June 5, 2019, putting it after the events of the untitled fourth "Avengers" movie, which is set for a May 3, 2019 release.

Spider-Man sadly disappeared at the end of "Avengers: Infinity War"in a scene improvised by Holland. The fourth "Avengers" movie may fix at least some of the events from "Infinity War," which would make sense for the "Homecoming" sequel. 

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• Nicolas Cage will be voicing Spider-Man Noir in the upcoming Sony animated movie, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
• The character is just one of many different Spider-Man versions that will be featured in the movie, including Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, and the original, Peter Parker.

Nicolas Cage is getting back into the superhero game. 

The actor will be voicing the character Spider-Man Noir in the upcoming Sony animated movie, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," Business Insider has confirmed from a source close to the project.

Originally reported by Discussing Film, the addition of Spider-Man Noir in the movie proves we are going to get a deep dive into the different incarnations of the iconic Marvel character with this movie. 

"Into the Spider-Verse" (in theaters December 14), which is produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("The Lego Movie,""21 Jump Street"), focuses mainly on Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as Spider-Man and how he copes with becoming a superhero. (Morales took the identity of Spider-Man in the comics in the summer of 2011.) But the movie will also have Morales crossing parallel dimensions, and along the way he will be interacting with other people who call themselves Spider-Man. 

There's Spider-Gwen (aka, Gwen Stacy), who will be voiced by Hailee Steinfeld in the movie, a Peter Parker version voiced by Jake Johnson, and Cage's Spider-Man Noir.

Spider-Man Noir resides in Depression Era 1930s New York City and was an apprentice to a newspaper reporter before being bitten by a radioactive spider that led to him having superhuman abilities. He's since taken it upon himself to fight the criminal underworld of NYC.

Like Miles Morales, Spider-Man Noir is part of the Marvel Noir alternative comic universe.

Cage is no stranger to superhero projects. He was the star of the "Ghost Rider" franchise and will be the voice of Superman in the upcoming "Teen Titans Go! To The Movies." And who can forget him almost playing live-action Superman in the scrapped Tim Burton project, "Superman Lives."  

Business Insider has seen footage of "Into the Spider-Verse" (Spider-Man Noir was not in it) and Sony is certainly pushing the envelope with the movie's look and storytelling. The animation is extremely sharp and is going to be raved about, and the way the story is going to be told is almost like a moving-image comic book. For example, during fights, words pop up on the screen like "Bam!" and "Slap!" 

Sony had no comment for this story.       

Here's the trailer for "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse":

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Warning: This post contains spoilers for "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp."

• Spider-Man actor Tom Holland may have revealed plot details about "Avengers 4" in an old interview that would confirm a popular fan theory.
• Holland said that his co-star and Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch had to talk about the "Quantum Realm" a lot.
• At the end of "Ant-Man and the Wasp," Ant-Man is trapped in the realm. Before entering, Wasp tells him to not get trapped in a time vortex.
• Many have theorized that time travel will play a big role in "Avengers 4" and that the Quantum Realm will be involved in that.
• "Ant-Man and the Wasp" director Peyton Reed also said that the scene was influenced by events that happen in "Avengers 4."

Spider-Man actor Tom Holland is notorious for spoiling things, and he may have accidentally revealed some key plot details about next year's "Avengers 4" before "Avengers: Infinity War" was even released.

In an old Access Hollywood interview with Holland and "Infinity War" co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, Holland brings up the Quantum Realm. The interview happened during the "Infinity War" press tour, but has been brought back into the spotlight thanks to the Emergency Awesome YouTube channel because of the Quantum Realm's significance in "Ant-Man and the Wasp" and, presumably, "Avengers 4."

"He has the most difficult lines though," Holland said about Cumberbatch, who plays Doctor Strange. "He has to talk about so much Quantum Realm stuff. I just have to talk about, 'Yeah, man, that's awesome!' So mine is easy, but his is so difficult!"

Since the Quantum Realm isn't a topic in "Infinity War," and Holland had filmed scenes for "Avengers 4" at the time of the interview, this may confirm a fan theory about "Avengers 4" that is related to the end of "Infinity War" and the end-credits scene of "Ant-Man and the Wasp." At the end of "Infinity War," Thanos succeeds in wiping out half of humanity and many of the heroes, including Spider-Man and Strange, vanish into dust.

In the "Ant-Man and the Wasp" end-credits scene, Ant-Man goes into the Quantum Realm to retrieve quantum particles. While there, his companions on the outside — Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, and Hope Van Dyne (The Wasp) — vanish, leaving Ant-Man trapped in the realm. 

Fans have theorized that the Quantum Realm will play a large role in reversing the effects of the Thanos snap. Before Ant-Man enters it, Hope warns that if he gets trapped in a time vortex, they won't be able to save him. Many have theorized that stopping Thanos and bringing back the vanished in "Avengers 4" will have to involve time travel. 

The theory seems more plausible given what "Ant-Man and the Wasp" director Peyton Reed has said about the end-credits scene.

"We went through all these different permutations and it so happened that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were writing 'Infinity War' and 'Avengers 4,' so there were a couple of key things that we knew were probably going to happen in those movies which led to us being able to tee it up correctly in ours," Reed told Business Insider.

So the events of "Avengers 4" influenced the making of that scene. The Quantum Realm is even more significant in that context. 

Holland's comments about the Quantum Realm in regards to Doctor Strange make that theory even more possible. Doctor Strange seems to have a grand plan in "Infinity War," even though he vanishes. Before getting "snapped," Strange views millions of different possible outcomes for the battle with Thanos, and in only one do the Avengers prevail. Strange decides to give up the Time Stone to Thanos after this, and says it "was the only way."

We'll have to wait until next year to see if this all plays out how fans are guessing, but in the meantime, maybe Holland will strike again. 

SEE ALSO: 14 superhero movies whose successes and failures have shaped the genre since 2008, from the grit of 'The Dark Knight' to the dominance of the MCU

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• Joe and Anthony Russo, the "Avengers: Infinity War" directors, addressed Tom Holland and spoilers in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
• Joe said that it's "hard to be punitive" against Holland, but Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch was a great partner for him on the press tour to monitor Holland.
• Holland is infamous for not being able to keep a secret, and may have even confirmed a fan theory for "Avengers 4" in an old interview.

Spider-Man actor Tom Holland can't keep a secret. He infamously revealed the title of the next "Spider-Man" movie before it was officially announced, and he may have even confirmed a popular fan theory about "Avengers 4."

It's hard to believe that Holland is so bad at keeping things hidden, but "Avengers: Infinity War" directors Joe and Anthony Russo recently addressed the subject and confirmed that, yes, Holland is just terrible at keeping his mouth shut.

Entertainment Tonight asked the Russo Brothers how they felt about Holland spending the entire press tour for the movie accidentally spoiling things. 

"What are you going to do?" Joe said. "He's the nicest guy in the world so it's hard to be punitive against Tom Holland."

ET said that people had made "super cut" videos of all the times Holland has spoiled something, and Joe said, "was it like 15 minutes long?"

They also praised Holland's co-star and Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch for keeping Holland in line during the press tour.

"Benedict is a great partner for him on the press tour because Benedict is actually very good at dancing around spoilers and monitoring Tom Holland," Joe said. 

"It's hard work," Anthony added.

You can watch the entire ET interview below. The exchange about Tom Holland begins toward the end of the video, at the 11:37 mark.

SEE ALSO: 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star Dave Bautista says it's 'nauseating' to work for Disney after it fired director James Gunn

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• Marvel has removed an anti-Mormon reference from the digital edition of a recent "Amazing Spider-Man" comic, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, will remove it in future print editions, as well.
• The controversial image refers to a book called "CES Letter," which aims to "get official answers from the LDS [Mormon] Church on its troubling origins, history, and practices."
• Marvel told THR that the artwork "was included without awareness by Marvel of its meaning."
• The artist, Ryan Ottley, told THR, "I have no animosity toward members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My entire family are members, as are many of my friends."

Comic books aren't without their controversies, and Marvel is trying to reel in its latest one by removing an image from digital and future print editions of a Spider-Man comic.

In the fourth issue of Marvel's relaunched "Amazing Spider-Man" comic, which went on sale in print and on digital platforms August 22, artist Ryan Ottley included a reference to an anti-Mormon book called "CES Letter." The book, written by Jeremy Runnels, details Runnels' quest to "get official answers from the LDS [Mormon] Church on its troubling origins, history, and practices," according to the book's official description. 

The issue's storyline follows a Spider-Man stripped of the morals and responsibility of Peter Parker in a freak accident, who is now taking TV interviews and corporate sponsorships. During one interview, Spider-Man is wearing a number of sponsored patches on his costume, including one that reads "CES Letter."

The image is below:

Marvel has already removed the image in the digital edition of the comic, and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, will remove it in a second print edition to be released on September 19.

"The art reference in Amazing Spider-Man #4 was included without awareness by Marvel of its meaning," Marvel told THR in a statement. "As a policy, Marvel does not permit hidden controversial messages in its artwork. The reference will be removed from all subsequent printings, digital versions and trade paperbacks."

Ottley also provided a statement to THR.

"I’ve spoken with Marvel about my recent artwork, and I have no animosity toward members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," he said. "My entire family are members, as are many of my friends, and I would never include anything mean-spirited about them or their beliefs. The reference was in regards to a subject I am interested in and a personal decision I made in my life. It has nothing to do with the character, the story or Marvel."

The new artwork is below:

This isn't the first time Marvel has removed controversial images from a comic. An issue of "X-Men Gold" was criticized for including anti-Semitic messages last year, and Marvel removed the images, by artist Ardian Syaf, from the digital editions and print editions that followed. Like this case with the "Amazing Spider-Man" comic, Marvel did not realize the messages were included, and said that the art "was inserted without knowledge behind its reported meanings."

SEE ALSO: A DC Comics exec gave us a rundown of its upcoming streaming service, and addressed the controversy over the violent 'Titans' trailer

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Good news, PlayStation 4 owners — there's a gorgeous new game from Sony that's only available on your platform of choice.

Better yet: It stars your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

In "Spider-Man," Sony has a gorgeous, charming, thrilling new game. I've been playing the new game for the past week, and have near-universally positive things to say about it. 

Whether you like "Spider-Man" (the character) or not, there's something for everyone in the new "Spider-Man" game.

Check it out:

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"Spider-Man" is set in a stunning re-creation of New York City's borough of Manhattan.

The version of Manhattan that "Spider-Man" lives in is almost as beautiful as the real thing. It's not quite as large, or as detailed, but it's got all the familiar landmarks you'd expect to see: Union Square, Central Park, and much more. 

As a NYC resident, I found it shockingly easy to navigate the Manhattan of "Spider-man" without using the in-game map — while it's not a perfect re-creation of America's best city (I'm admittedly biased), it's a damn good one.

That it's possible to navigate solely based on my knowledge of the actual Manhattan is incredibly impressive, and a testament to the level of detail in "Spider-Man."

The biggest difference in Spider-Man's Manhattan is that the police are seemingly incapable of stopping near-constant terrorism.

In Spider-Man's Manhattan, heavily armed militias are a shockingly normal thing to see. That's largely due to the presence of supervillains like Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk (among others, who I won't spoil here). 

We're talking about a superhero game here, so it's no huge surprise that the city is rife with bad guys to beat up as Spider-Man. That's the whole game — beating up bad dudes and slingin' webs!

That said, it's a little disconcerting that the police are so dependent on Spidey.

It's insanely fun to just swing around Manhattan.

It's hard to overstate how much fun basic movement is in "Spider-Man." 

After over 20 hours with the game across the past week, I've yet to tire of high-velocity traversal. If you've seen any of the "Spider-Man" movies, you're already familiar with how swinging around Manhattan works — it's nearly identical in the PS4 game, but you're in control. 

Spidey can run up buildings, dart forward through the air, and — of course — shoot lengthy lines of web that he can swing from. Manhattan feels like a giant playground that Spider-Man gets to play in.

Since he's Spider-Man, there's no negative impact from falling hundreds of feet to the ground, or from smashing into a building at full speed while swinging. In every possible instance, Spider-Man turns impediments into opportunities for more fluid movement. 

Sony has done it again.

After delivering on several exclusive PlayStation 4 hits over the past few years, including "Horizon Zero Dawn" and this year's "God of War," the studio's collaboration with Insomniac Games has yielded yet another must-have game for any PlayStation 4 owner.

I'd argue "Marvel's Spider-Man," which arrives this Friday, is also a great reason to own a PlayStation 4 in the first place, if you don't have one already.

After playing "Spider-Man" for about a week now — Sony PlayStation was kind enough to provide a review copy — I've really begun to appreciate several aspects of the game that will make playing other video games without these features very difficult.

Here are 5 ways the new Spider-Man game for PlayStation 4 raises the bar for all other video games (don't worry — no spoilers here):

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1. Traversal feels the best it's felt in any video game.

Getting around in big video games with open-world maps can feel like a slog sometimes.

Often, the best your video game character can do is sprint or ride in a vehicle. Lots of games add fast-travel systems so you can teleport around the massive maps to your liking.

"Spider-Man" manages to make getting around not just quick and painless, but fun.

Swinging around New York City is what you want to do when you buy a Spider-Man game. But NYC is full of buildings and obstacles. In past games, you'd slam into them and maybe start crawling on the wall. You'd lose your momentum, and the sense that you were really this acrobatic superhero.

In this new game, you'll automatically parkour — run, swing, or jump — when you hit the side of a building or a random obstacle. Even though "Spider-Man" offers a fast-travel system via the city's subway, I rarely want to use it because getting around is half the fun.

"Spider-Man" makes traversing in other video games seem downright slow.

2. "Spider-Man" for PlayStation 4 respects the player's time.

Insomniac Games clearly loves its players. Here's an example of some of the features that improve the game's quality of life:

— You can save and quit at any point in the game, even in the middle of a cutscene or fight

— You can abandon any mission, or skip any cutscene, at any point

— You can change your suit at any time, even in the middle of a cutscene or fight

— Loading times are blissfully quick

— Navigating your menu is fast and easy to understand

— You can retry some missions for higher scores, or reload from past checkpoints if you feel like you screwed up

— The game provides plenty of fast-travel checkpoints in case you don't feel like swinging

All of these features prove one thing: "Spider-Man" for PlayStation 4 respects players' time.

3. "Spider-Man" raises the bar for alternative costumes for your character.

Unlocking new costumes for your character is often one of the best parts of any video game. This is especially true for "Spider-Man," where the suit is such a central part of the experience, because it reminds you, "Hey, I'm playing as an iconic superhero."

Without getting into spoilers, I'll say this about the costumes: Insomniac Games ensured that each costume that you unlock is better than the last one.

Every Spider-Man fan gets his or her due here: If you love the comics, or the movies, or just want your webslinger to look like a lunatic, you have options here. And the game even includes a few "hidden" suits you can unlock, and even more are coming with the downloadable content dropping later this year.

The new "Spider-Man" game for PlayStation 4 is an absolute blast, and a must-play for any PS4 owner.

Thanks to Sony, which was kind enough to provide a review copy of the game prior to its launch last week, I've had a couple of weeks now to sling around New York City as everyone's favorite wall-crawler. And I've taken hundreds of "photos" during my travels.

"Spider-Man" comes with a powerful built-in photo mode, where you can freeze the action at any time to adjust your camera angle, add filters and frames, and even take spider-selfies. A handful of photos here were taken with that photo mode, but it wasn't available until the game launched to the public on September 7.

I haven't finished the game yet as I'm still taking my sweet time, but here are my favorite photos I've taken in "Marvel's Spider-Man" for PS4 so far. (Warning: Some mild story and costume spoilers here.)

SEE ALSO: The new Spider-Man game raises the bar for all other video games

"Morning by the High Line"

"Making friends"

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom"

Forget "Sex & the City"— HBO's version of Manhattan never let Carrie swing majestically from the skyscraper rooftops, like some sort of magical bird.

In the brand-new "Spider-Man" game for the PlayStation 4, you've got free reign to fly across vast swaths of Manhattan's iconic skyline. From Battery Park to North Harlem, the West Side Highway to the FDR Drive, Spidey's able to soar through the air and take in the sights.

What's most impressive isn't just the scale, but how closely that virtual version of Manhattan matches up with the real thing.

See for yourself:

SEE ALSO: These are my favorite photos I've taken while swinging around New York City as Spider-Man

One World Trade Center in "Spider-Man":

It's the tallest building in Spider-Man's Manhattan, just like in real life:

And here is One World Trade in real life. A slightly different design, but not too different.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the after-credits scene of "Venom."

• The "Venom" after-credits scene features actor Woody Harrelson as the serial killer Cletus Kasady, who in the comic books becomes the Spider-Man/Venom foe, Carnage.
• In the comics, the Carnage symbiote is an offspring of Venom that bonds to Kasady in prison.
• In the scene, Brock visits Kasady in prison, who vows "there's gonna be carnage" when he escapes.
• With "Venom" a box-office hit, there's bound to be a sequel — and more Carnage.

Comic book readers were probably not surprised to discover who the "Venom" after-credits scene introduces to the Sony Spider-Man expanded universe: Cletus Kasady, the serial killer who becomes the symbiotic monster and one of Spider-Man's most popular foes, Carnage.

But even fans were likely taken aback by who portrayed the character in the scene: none other than Woody Harrelson, complete with a curly red wig. The scene features journalist Eddie Brock, played by Tom Hardy, visiting a prison to interview Kasady. When Brock arrives, Kasady has written "Welcome Eddie" in his own blood on the wall, and proclaims that when he escapes, "there's gonna be carnage."

For non-comic book readers, the scene — like many world-building after-credits scenes in superhero movies today — may have been a tad confusing. Who is this guy and why should casual moviegoers care?

In the comics, Carnage is an alien symbiote (or parasite) that is the offspring of Venom. When Venom bonds with Brock, he is in prison along with his cellmate, Kasady. The Carnage symbiote bonds with Kasady after Venom/Brock escape prison, setting up the long-running conflict between Venom and Carnage, in which Spider-Man has regularly been caught.

Since Kasady is a cold-blooded murderer, Carnage is more vicious than Venom, and hence doesn't have some of the barriers that Venom has shown in the comics and the movie. 

In an interview with IGN, "Venom" director Ruben Fleischer said that the movie slightly deviates away from Carnage's comic-book origin story so that Brock/Venom could be developed as an anti-hero that the audience roots for before introducing Carnage.

"I don’t think we wanted Eddie to go to jail at the end of our movie," Fleischer said. "That would’ve been a bit of a bummer. But we did want to have them in jail cell proximity and so we left the door open for how Venom can spawn Carnage and how Cletus might someday become that character."

The "Venom" movie alludes to the idea that there are hundreds more symbiotes from their home planet, and that we only saw a sliver of them. Whether a sequel sticks to the idea that Carnage is an offspring of Venom or an entirely separate symbiote remains to be seen.

Fleischer also said that the ambition "was to show that there are legs for the franchise in that a fan favorite let alone played by Woody Harrelson would be something we could look forward to in the future."

"Venom" is a surprise box-office hit, smashing expectations in its opening weekend with $80 million — the biggest October opening of all time. It's also made over $225 million worldwide. With a production budget of $100 million, it's safe to say that there will be a sequel to "Venom."

That means more Carnage.

SEE ALSO: James Gunn will write and possibly direct DC's 'Suicide Squad 2' after being fired from Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3'

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With "Venom" now in theaters, and unexpectedly breaking box-office records, it marks the latest addition to the long-running "Spider-Man" franchise.

Of course, "Venom" is nothing like any previous "Spider-Man" movie — it doesn't even feature the famous wall-crawling superhero. Instead, it tells the origin story of one of his classic villains, as reporter Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy) is taken over by an alien parasite and transformed into the anti-hero Venom.

The path for the "Spider-Man" franchise has been anything but steady. What began in 2002 as a phenomenon with Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" derailed when the film studio Sony rebooted the character in 2012 with "The Amazing Spider-Man," just five years after Raimi's disappointing "Spider-Man 3."

After Sony and Marvel Studios struck a deal, the character was rebooted yet again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time to better results with "Spider-Man: Homecoming" last year. But Sony still maintains distribution rights and creative control, and can therefore develop its own movies based on the character — including "Venom."

With the character arguably more popular than ever on screen thanks to the MCU and "Venom," more movies will be coming. "Homecoming" sequel "Spider-Man: Far From Home" arrives in theaters next year, and Sony is developing more villainous spin-offs like "Venom," including Kraven the Hunter and Morbius movies.

Below is every Spider-Man movie, ranked from worst to best:

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7. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" (2014)

The first "Amazing Spider-Man" hardly justifies its existence, which makes its sequel all the more pointless. It doesn't do itself any favors by failing to learn the lessons of "Spider-Man 3"— there are too many plot points and too many villains. We get the Green Goblin (again), Electro, and five seconds of the Rhino that actor Paul Giamatti somehow agreed to.

6. "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012)

"The Amazing Spider-Man," from director Marc Webb, is more of an excuse for Sony to keep the rights to the character than an actual movie. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone's chemistry is the best part, but beyond that, it's basically a remake of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man." We had already seen the origin story done as well as it could be. There was no reason to do it all over again.

5. "Venom" (2018)

"Venom" is by no means a good movie. But in a few years, I'll remember it more than the "Amazing Spider-Man" movies simply for how it has managed to become a success story despite poor reviews. For better or for worse, Venom is here to stay, and that's more than can be said of "The Amazing Spider-Man."

• Tom Holland dropped in and surprised fans on the Brooklyn set of ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Thursday. 
• The 22-year-old actor showed off his new suit for "Spider-Man: Far From Home."
• He also avoided spoiling if the upcoming Marvel film takes place before or after "Avengers: Infinity War."
• "Spider-Man: Far From Home" is set to open in theaters Friday, July 5, 2019. 
• See Holland in his new suit below. 

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

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• Despite abysmal reviews, "Venom" is a hit with audiences and has grossed over $500 million worldwide.
• The movie is Sony's first jump back into the "Spider-Man" universe without Marvel Studios in its corner since "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" misfired in 2014.
• Box-office experts agree that the movie's success is no fluke and that it's the rebound Sony needed.
• "If they consistently make films audiences want to see, Disney will have to buy Sony to get 'Spider-Man' back," said Jeff Bock, a senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations.
• Sony has multiple "Spider-Man" projects in development, and a "Venom" sequel is highly likely.

Before Sony's latest foray into the world of Spider-Man, "Venom," hit theaters a month ago, there were worries that the studio might have a flop on its hands.

Critics couldn't publish their takes on the movie until October 2, two days before "Venom" would be screened to audiences. Such a short span of time between a film's review embargo and its release is usually a sign of trouble, and this was: Critics tore into the movie, which ultimately scored a 27% critical rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Sony couldn't afford another misfire after "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" failed to generate excitement in 2014. If "Venom" bombed, it probably would have spelled defeat for its "Spider-Man" universe going forward. (It's still Sony's biggest cinematic property.)

"If it had failed, there is a chance Sony would have definitely returned to the bargaining table with Disney," Jeff Bock, a senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, told Business Insider. "Now, that's up in the air."

Fortunately for Sony, "Venom" is a hit.

The movie, which stars Tom Hardy, has brought in over $500 million worldwide with a $100 million production budget. It has an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes from 32,000 ratings, and a B+ from Cinemascore. It broke the box-office record for an October opening weekend, with $80 million, after estimates put it in the range of $65 million to $75 million.

The success of "Venom" means Sony's "Spider-Man" cinematic universe, which once looked as if it were on life support, is here to stay.

Sony strikes a deal with Marvel Studios

In 2015, Sony made a deal with Marvel Studios in which Spider-Man could be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while Sony maintained distribution rights and creative control. It meant Sony could still make movies based on the 900 Marvel Spider-Man characters it owns the film rights to, while Marvel and its parent company, Disney, could use the character in its film universe.

The deal came after Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," the sequel to its 2012 reboot, floundered at the box office. It raked in just over $200 million in the US, barely more than its production budget, after opening to a disappointing $91 million. Most of its money came from the international box office, which isn't new for a blockbuster, though it wasn't enough to fulfill Sony's grander "Spider-Man" vision to compete with Marvel after "The Avengers" made $1.5 billion worldwide two years before.

"Everyone had high hopes for this," a production assistant on "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," who wished to remain anonymous to protect future business relationships, told Business Insider. "They were projecting for it to at least make more money than the first one."

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" made less domestically and globally than its predecessor. Then came the Sony hack in November 2014, in which WikiLeaks released a massive trove of private Sony emails, data, and files. Internal communications about "reinvigorating" the "Spider-Man" franchise and potentially having Marvel Studios produce were revealed.

It all forced Sony to reevaluate its planned Spider-verse, which would have included a "Sinister Six" villain-centric spin-off that "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" attempted to set up. Instead, Sony worked with Marvel Studios to deliver MCU's "Spider-Man: Homecoming," starring Tom Holland, last year; it was a hit.

"Sony just wants to make a buck, and they don't mind throwing s--- at the wall to make a buck," the former production assistant said.

'Venom' helps Sony rebound

If you asked critics, "Venom" was another case of "throwing s--- at the wall." But audiences have thought differently, and box-office experts agree that the movie's success is no accident.

Sony "took a calculated risk with 'Venom,' and it's now going to be a series," Bock said. "It seems Disney needs Sony's 'Spider-Man' more than Sony needs Disney ... If they consistently make films audiences want to see, Disney will have to buy Sony to get 'Spider-Man' back."

"A half-billion dollars in revenue for 'Venom' worldwide proves that this is no fluke, and despite a critical drubbing, the film has found great favor with audiences who are fully vested in the 'Spider-Man' brand as well as their embracing of Tom Hardy," the comScore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Business Insider.

What's next for Sony's "Spider-Man" plans?

The animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" hits theaters this December. The "Homecoming" follow-up with Marvel Studios, "Spider-Man: Far From Home," comes to theaters in July.

Apart from the MCU, Sony is developing multiple spin-offs like "Venom," including one starring Jared Leto as the vampire Morbius, and one featuring Black Cat, a frequent Spider-Man love interest. There's even the possibility that Spider-Man himself could show up, though it remains to be seen whether it would be Tom Holland's MCU version or someone else.

Oh, and a "Venom" sequel is highly likely.

"There is strong interest in a sequel, which will no doubt happen given its success," Box Office Analyst's Doug Stone said.

Read more: What you need to know about the 'Spider-Man' villain who appears in the 'Venom' after-credits scene

Of course, there is the possibility that Sony doesn't ride this momentum and its "Amazing Spider-Man 2" problems happen all over again.

Ken Miyamoto, a former Sony story analyst and script reader in the 2000s who is now an industry blogger for ScreenCraft, told Business Insider that Sony would "clearly fast-track these titles in hopes of replicating the box-office success of 'Venom.'"

"And I just don't see it working with those characters," Miyamoto said. "Nobody cares."

He added: "If you push things too fast to try and emulate the MCU to create connected multi-franchises, you're going to suffer the same fate you did before."

But for now, the success of "Venom" and the likely success of "Into the Spider-Verse" next month have positioned Sony well and changed its balance of power with Disney. Beyond "Spider-Man," Sony is developing "Bloodshot," a film it hopes to turn into another comic-book-based cinematic universe, starring Vin Diesel and produced by the "Fast and Furious" franchise producer Neal Moritz.

"This is just the beginning of Sony's reemergence as a studio of box-office distinction," Bock said. "They're not giving it up without a fight."

If you have insight into the success of "Venom" and Sony's "Spider-Man" plans, email the author at tclark@businessinsider.com.

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Legendary comic book writer, editor, and publisher Stan Lee died on Monday.

The former president and chairman of Marvel comics has left behind many incredible creations and legacies and he was instrumental in helping to change the comic book world. Throughout his career, Lee was known for coming up with superheroes who were human, flawed, and relatable.

If it weren't for Lee's work, many of the superhero stories, characters, and movies that you know and love today probably wouldn't be around.

Here are just 17 of the many iconic Marvel franchises and characters that Stan Lee contributed to. 

The Fantastic Four debuted in 1961.

The Fantastic Four was Lee's first creation with artist Jack Kirby. After their debut in 1961, the characters broke out of the superhero stereotype and were portrayed with a lot of humanity— as individuals who dealt with real problems and sometimes made mistakes.

Often called "Marvel's First Family,"the Fantastic Four have appeared in animated series, multiple live-action films, and ongoing volumes of comics.

Spider-Man is one of Marvel's most successful characters.

Lee was the one who was behind Spider-Man, one of Marvel's most successful characters of all time and the most profitable comic book character ever since his debut in 1962.

Lee created Spider-Man with artist Steve Ditko because they wanted a unique hero people could relate to. Ditko died earlier this year.

Spider-Man was created when a nervous photographer named Peter Parker got bitten by a radioactive spider. He then found himself with a whole host of superhero powers. The story has inspired many films, comics, and television series.

Read More: 14 of the most iconic superhero suits of all time

The Incredible Hulk has appeared in multiple movies and shows.

Lee also created the Hulk with Kirby. First appearing in 1962, the Incredible Hulk's alter ego is Dr. Bruce Banner, a physically weak and quiet person.

After being exposed to gamma rays during the detonation of an experimental bomb, Banner transforms into a giant, angry green humanoid with incredible physical strength whenever he is going through emotional stress.

The Incredible Hulk has been a live-action series and the star of many films, as well as part of the Avengers.