APP DESCRIPTION - ”The Amazing Spider-Man: An Origin Story”
With great power, comes great responsibility. Anyone that knows Spider-man should know that mantra. The lesson Peter learns from the death of his Uncle Ben, and the underlining theme that makes Peter Parker the hero that Spider-man is.

The Amazing Spider-man: An Origin Story is the first iOS app from Disney featuring any of their Marvel Comics properties. (Disney owns Marvel now if you weren’t aware) The app is an interactive storybook narrated by Stan “The Man” Lee himself, and features some of the more unique interactions that other apps do not offer, including swinging through the city. The story itself is based on the book of the same name by Rich Thomas who has written more origin stories for other Marvel characters including Captain America and the X-men and are geared for children 3 and up.

The app itself features:

• Narrated by comic book legend and Spider-Man co-creator Stan “The Man” Lee!
• Interactive story-themed spider-games throughout: Help Peter Parker learn to use his powers—test your strength, swing through the city, use your web-shooters to stop a burglar and much more!
• Secret Spider Hunt to win your very own “No-Prize!”
• Multiple Reading Modes: Read to Me, Read by Myself, Auto-Turn Pages, and Younger Reader Mode
• Action-packed artwork throughout!
• Includes Spidey sound effects and music!

What’s cool…
I love Marvel Comics. Not only did like reading and collecting them when I was younger but I also watched as much of those Marvel Hero cartoons as I could. Hearing Stan Lee’s voice intro or do the closing of the show was a great highlight. His unmistakable voice and delivery not only demonstrated the love of his characters but his masterful storytelling. This app takes me back to those times in my youth. The art was well done and appealing to me as a fan of the comics but a fan of the films as well. The app was clearly inteded for a younger audience but as an adult, I was totally hooked to hearing Stan’s voiceover guiding me through the classic story of how Peter Parker discovers his “great power”.

The app is a cinch to operate and should pose no problem to children who wish to hear uncle Stan read them a bedtime story. A great feature is simply muting Stan’s narration so anyone can read the story of ole “Webhead” aloud so you can be a hero to your kids! The various interactive elements are nice touches but is not something your kids would go back and repeat time and time again.

The app is pretty solid and the story mode alone will have children and adults reaching for their iPads or iPhones for a quick read. The thing to note is the price tag for the app – $6.99. Rather steep in my opionion. For that price it would have been nice to include links to the behind-the-scenes video that they posted on YouTube as well as a character sheet on Peter Parker and Spider-man including a brief bio and key characters in the Spider-Man story. There is a ton of history noted on the Marvel.com website what would be great to include and adapt for younger readers. Perhaps they will include some of of my suggestions in an upcoming release.

All-in-all the app is a great way to get your kids introduced to these iconic comic characters and stoke the fires of their inner geek. The messages of Marvel Comics are always tales that people can relate and learn from so consider this a great fable for younger readers and a worthy addition to your child’s e-book collection.

Buy if…
…you want to get your kids into Marvel Comics and love how Stan Lee tells a story!

Pass if…
…you’re looking for a gritty Marvel graphic novel.