Marvel Super Hero Island
Leaving behind the windchimes and seagulls of Port of Entry, a metallic bridge over an arm of the Great Sea leads into Marvel Super Hero Island. Look – we know Universal can create habitable streetscapes. Next door at Universal Studios Florida, you can walk through lived-in recreations of New York, San Francisco, Hollywood, and Martha’s Vineyard so authentic, you might convince friends you actually visited with a photo.
But at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, you’re able to step into the frantic world of super heroes, and that means leaving behind the built-out streets of our world in favor of theirs: a living comic book; a kinetic, electric cityscape of bold colors, bright surfaces, and sharp angles. The buildings here are famously painted in photoreactive paints that appear to shift colors throughout the day and as guests amble past, adding to the metallic, animated appearance.
Super Hero Island is designed to bring the panels of Marvel’s comics into three dimensions, though that doesn’t mean they’ve become three-dimensional… Rather, the buildings are marked with simple labels such as “CAFE,” “DRINKS,” “ARCADE,” “COMICS,” and “STORE,” just as they would be in the simple backgrounds of a comic panel.
Put another way, this isn’t the grounded Marvel Cinematic Universe; we’ve stepped into the timeless, saturated comics of the ’60s and ’70s.
And beneath one of the city’s skyscrapers is the entrance to its headlining attraction. Even with the Incredible Hulk Coaster roaring over the skyline, it’s The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man that stands as the keystone of Islands of Adventure’s ride lineup… So, let’s head in.
Breaking News
Past the front doors, we find ourselves in the lobby of the Daily Bugle, the room’s proportions stretched and skewed as they might be in a comic book. At the head of the room is, of course, a portrait of the unscrupulous J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-chief. The Daily Bugle, of course, is the newspaper that’s been catching the scoop on Spider-Man thanks to ace junior photographer Peter Parker.
The queue then brilliantly leads into the reporting office of the Bugle where reporters’ work stations are vacant. Cleverly, each of these desks and their contents are “sketched in” with minimal detail and color. After all, in a comic book, these would be mere backdrops.
Even if the reporters are no where to be seen, the late-breaking news scrolling across their computers and the newsroom live monitors help fill us in: the nefarious “Sinister Syndicate” – a collection of the town’s biggest and baddest: Scream, Electro, Hydroman, and the Hobgoblin – is apparently at large, led by Doctor Octopus himself. The metallic-armed evil genius has devised a most unusual contraption: an “Anti-Gravity Cannon” capable of suspending the laws of physics.
Weaving through the newsroom, more and more information gathers to remind us that this Anti-Gravity Cannon might pose a real threat to our well-being in the hands of the Syndicate. But the action really picks up in the next room, where we pass by a model of Jameson’s pride and joy: a new high-tech newsgathering super-vehicle built to power over rough terrain as it carries reporters through the city. He calls it, a SCOOP.
But wait… On the screen overhead, a cartoon-style news update catches our attention with breaking news… I can’t be… But it is! Engulfed in the ethereal green glow of the Anti-Gravity Cannon, Lady Liberty has been plucked from her pedestal. The Sinister Syndicate has stolen the Statue of Liberty straight out of the harbor! As the live report continues, announcements come across the Bugle’s PA: “Peter Parker, report to Mr. Jameson’s office pronto! On the double!”
The Sinister Syndicate taps into the feed and takes over the live broadcast. “I apologize for interrupting your inane situation comedies and cartoon shows,” Doc Ock sneers, pushing the liquified Hydroman out of frame, “but you should have observed by now that we have laid plunder to your city and have burgled your beloved seaside statue. You have thirty minutes for the complete and unconditional surrender of your city or you will never see your beloved Beacon of Freedom again.”
As the feed returns, Jameson appeals: “I’m gonna be straight with you people. These nutcases are serious! You’re all I’ve got left to find out what’s really going on out there. Use the SCOOP, get the skinny, and get your butts back here. If you pull it off, by god, I’ll give you each a free paper! Not the Sunday edition, but a paper nonetheless.”
With our mission accepted, the queue snakes out of the newsroom and into the steaming back alley of the Bugle office, where we get our first glimpse… No longer a 2D cartoon on a screen, the SCOOP stands before us, ready to carry us out into the city to get the scoop on the Syndicate.
SCOOP
As the massive, 12-person, armored SCOOP rumbles out of the Bugle’s Loading Dock and toward a towering billboard of Jameson himself, the distant sounds of sirens and city life set the stage. As it turns the corner and enters a back alley behind the building, you may catch a brief glimpse of a shadow swinging overhead. As a cat yowls and a garbage can clatters in the distance, the SCOOP’s radio kicks on.
“Hello? This is Jonah Jameson, roger. Is this thing on? Listen, SCOOP, crime reports are coming in from all over the city and I’m starting to get worried…” A roving spot of red light moves across the cityscape, shining Spider-Man’s mask pattern. “Did you see that?! The Spider Signal! With Spider-Man nearby, trouble can’t be far away… And you know what trouble means: HEADLINES! NATIONAL COVERAGE! SO DON’T SCREW THIS UP. I mean, uh… be careful.”
And herein lies the brilliance: given no prior information about what the SCOOP can do, first-time riders would – as this point – assume that it’ll lumber through the ride like any typical dark ride that’s come before. But as the SCOOP turns the corner and escapes the view of queuing guests, it revs to life. The vehicle lifts a bit, then spins dramatically to reveal another alleyway with the city looming beyond. But wait… Spider-Man leaps from a rooftop and lands on a fire escape, causing it to slam upward right next to us. (Where does the set end and screen begin?)
“Man, you shouldn’t be out here…” he leaps upward and lands on the hood of the SCOOP, causing it to slam to the ground. “With Doc Ock on the loose, this could be the most dangerous night of my life…” he points directly at us. “…and yours!” As an explosion lights the sky a block over, he turns. “Be careful… Nice shades!” He slings a web and swings away, the SCOOP bouncing back from the force.
The SCOOP spins away, racing down another alley as Jameson crackles through. “Was that Spider-Man?! That no-good… red leotard…” Before he can finish, a garbage truck rounds the corner, heading straight toward us! The familiar driver looks none too happy. In a classic dark ride move, the vehicle slams on its brakes just as the SCOOP darts to the left. It crashed through a wall and into a crowded warehouse stacked with pallettes, wooden crates, and lifts. Rats squeal around us, but scurry away as the SCOOP glides between the boxes.
And herein lies one of the most impressive sights on the ride: overhead, the full-sized tablet of the Statue of Liberty is lifted in the warehouse, apparently having been severed from the stated.
“Doctor Octopus!” we hear the crazed voice of the Hobgoblin echoing from the depths of the warehouse. “Everything’s going as planned!”
“Excellent!” the refined doctor’s voice reverberates. “And with my Anti-Gravity Cannon, even Spider-Man won’t be able to stop me!”
“You mean, stop us!”
“Yes, of course.” With a hum, the Anti-Gravity Cannon lights up, shooting an emerald laser toward the torch. It glows brilliantly and begins to lift off the ground, the ethereal green light illuminating the warehouse… and us. Tch.
“Hey, what’s going on?!” Jameson radios in.
Electro turns toward us. “What was that?!” Spotting us, he launches skyward leaving a trail of lightning in his wake and zooms off behind a row of shipping containers. The SCOOP reacts, yanking left and racing away from the Statue’s torch.
But Electro’s cornered us at a massive computer terminal fed by enormous electrical wires. He pulls a sparking wire from the wall and flies toward us.
“Intruders! If you think you’re getting out of here,” he laughs, “you’re in for a shock!” With a heave, he grips the wire and slams it into the hood of the SCOOP. The vehicle heaves, then vibrates and jolts from the power coursing through it. Luckily, the Bugle’s engineers prepared for everything. The SCOOP absorbs the shock and overloads the wire, sending Electro flying.
We race ahead through the warehouse, coming nose-to-nose with an old armored tank. Scream leaps onto the hood, snarling and drooling as she claws at us. But Doc Ock throws her aside. “Out of the way! They’re mine!” He takes aim with the Anti-Gravity Cannon, but we spin away. Above us, we can see the laser landing on the full-sized head of the Statue of Liberty, floating peacefully above us as it glows.
“Blast ’em again!” Hobgoblin cries. Another laser comes from over our heads, leading on a crate that begins to glow and float. The SCOOP jolts away from the crate and past an auxilliary fan, spinning wildly as it descends through a massive metallic pipe. When it finally calms, we find ourselves in a massive underground sewar. Spidey flips down from the ceiling. “So much for being careful. Just get back to the Bugle and… Uh oh.” Behind him, the water has risen from the aquifer and formed into the shape of Hydroman.
Spider-Man’s blows do nothing to the water-based villain, but a swift punch from Hydroman uproots a pipe, which slams into the SCOOP, jolting it backward and spraying riders with water. The SCOOP spins away to face a three-story brick wall. But all is not as it seems, as the bricks bow out, then burst, spraying the SCOOP as Doc Ock himself climbs through.
“Don’t leave now,” he sneers, latching onto the SCOOP’s bumper with one metallic arm and emitting fire from another mere inches from us… “Things are just starting to… heat up!” A truly singeing heat emits from the leg, but the SCOOP rallies. The vehicle grinds and rumbles as it tries to pull away. Doc Ock laughs… until the SCOOP’s bumper is pulled off entirely, sending the good doctor flying back through the wall.
But ahead, the glow of water signals our arrival at the harbor. The Brooklyn Bridge looms, and the Hobgoblin comes screaming into view on his Hoverboard, carrying a jack-o-lantern. “Trick or treat, smell my feet; time to blow you off the street.” He cackles just as Spider-Man swings into view.
He tosses the flaming jack-o-lantern toward us, but Spidey catches it in a web, catapulting the pumpkin behind him where it smashes against the bridge, exploding in flames.
Hobgoblin turns, shocked. “Spider-Man!” He rears back to launch another, but Spider-Man leaps off the bridge. “Oh no you don’t!” He lands on the Hoverboard, shaking the Hobgoblin and distrupting his aim, sending the next jack-o-lantern screaming above us. As it strikes, a plume of real fire bursts out of the building it hit!
Now, we arrive at the finale.
A New York streetscape comes into view as Spider-Man hits the SCOOP and bounces off, ricocheting onto a theater’s glowing marquee. “SCOOP, my precious SCOOP!” Jameson cries over the radio.
Doctor Octopus stomps down the street, shooting the marquee with his Cannon. It glows, snaps off of the building, and begins to rise. “Doc, your aim’s worse than your haircut!” Spider-Man taunts, just before the doctor’s robotic leg makes contact and sends Spidey flying.
“Well, it’s good enough for your sitting-duck friends!” He turns to us, aiming the Anti-Gravity Cannon. As it hums to life, its green laser lands on us. Green smoke fills our view as he laughs. “Have a nice trip!”
When our vision returns, we see building’s stories falling away as we rise higher and higher. In an effect we listed among our list of 10 Special Effects That Still Amaze Us, we continue floating skyward as the buildings sink away. “Hey, wait for me!” Spider-Man cries, desperately webbing himself higher and higher to try and keep pace. “You’re not insured for this!”
The floating SCOOP turns to see an unbeatable view of the city as Spider-Man leaps. “Hang on! I’m webbing you down from there!” Before he can anchor us, the Hobgoblin races past on his Hoverboard and grabs Spidey, leaving us to trail behind like a kite. The SCOOP is pulled through the city, slamming side to side as it zooms through the air. Though Scream manages to pin Spidey to a water tower, the absentminded Hobgoblin crashed right into us, toppling off his Hoverboard to the streets below.
The airborn SCOOP rotates to face skyward, where Electro’s returned with avengence. “You punks have short-circuited our plans long enough,” he jeers as he overloads the lights on a billboard, raining shattered glass down on us. “You’re taking a dive,” Hydroman taunts.
“Guess again, super goons!” Spider-Man swings into the scene. Electro aims, but strikes Hydroman – a conductor, mind you – with his static, evaporating his colleague and causing a plume of steam to overcome to scene.
The SCOOP rotates back again, facing straight down. From a skyscraper roof below, Doc Ock braces himself. “Happy landings!” He laughs. He aims the Anti-Gravity Cannon skyward – straight toward us – as it emits a red pulse. Gravity restored, the SCOOP plummets to the rooftop. Spider-Man arrives just in time to blast Otto away, but turns to see us tumbling, helpless. “No!”
It’s too late – the SCOOP teeters, twists, and reveals a 400-foot freefall before us. With a breeze, the vehicle tumbles off the side of the building, racing headlong toward the street below. We brace ourselves, ready for the resounding force… But at the very last second, a web appears beneath. The cab bounces as riders are thrust from their seats, gently released down the last few feet to the ground.
As the SCOOP turns, we get a priceless view of Lady Liberty restored as the villains hang in a web cocoon behind a dangling Spider-Man. “Guess that about wraps things up! Hey, you guys did alright!” He gives a thumbs up (before noticing it’s upside down and correcting), seemingly unaware that one of Doc Ock’s tentacles has escaped the web as is inching toward him. Without so much as a look, Spidey webs the tentacle onto Hobgoblin’s face. “…But don’t give up your day job. See ya later!”
As the triumphant Spider-Man theme resounds, the SCOOP turns and settles back into its unassuming cart form. “Congratulations,” Jameson trumpets over the radio, “you’re heroes! I knew it all the time.
Before the SCOOPS arrive at the unload area, they pass the Syndicate’s Anti-Gravity Cannon bolstered against a few crates. A note on it reads: “To J.J.J. Here’s the raise you deserve. From: Spider-Man.” The cannon’s glowing laser ray points to a window overhead, where Jameson’s silhouette is floating helplessly as he flails.
As always, we end our Modern Marvels ride-throughs with the best point-of-view video we can find. Between our in-depth ride-through write-up and the on-board video below, there’s no better way to see the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man… except, of course, riding it. Play careful attention to the mastful fusion of screens and sets, noticing how on-screen lighting changes and actions also seem to infiltrate the real world:
On the next page, we’ll wrap up our look at this astounding Modern Marvel to see how it singlehandedly resert expedctations around thrill rides going forward… Read on…