MARVEL SNAP Explained: Who Is Spider-Ham?

Thanks to the Spider-Versus season pass, MARVEL SNAP has received a ton of new different characters with spider-based powers. Among them is Spider-Ham, a low-Cost card that promises to disrupt games in a way that would make the comedic comic book hero proud. Here’s what you need to know about playing Spider-Ham in MARVEL SNAP and the character in the comics.

Playing Spider-Ham in MARVEL SNAP

Spider-Ham is a 1-Cost, 1-Power card with an On Reveal that turns the highest-Cost card in an opponent’s hand into a Pig. This new card maintains the Power and Cost of whatever it replaced but loses any abilities that they might have had. That makes Spider-Ham a potentially potent choice for disrupting an opponent’s plans, much like Leech.

Spider-Ham fits into a lot of different styles of decks, since his low Cost makes him an easy card to swap in for such standards as Korg and Yondu. One way to work with that low Cost, though, is to put him into bounce decks, which generally use Beast and Falcon to empower Bishop and Angela. It’s important to keep in mind that Spider-Ham might prove most effective towards the middle or end of a game, since it’s likely that by that point players will have a better handle on what their opponent is doing. That means players can knock such powerhouses as Galactus and Knull just before they’re played, thus maximizing Spider-Ham’s disruptive capabilities.

As for locations, Spider-Ham is a relatively neutral card in that regard. Due to his low Cost, he’s a great choice for filling up such locations as The Raft, Mojoworld, and The Sacred Timeline, since they reward players for getting cards down on them quickly. He can also be put on the Quantum Tunnel to trigger his effect and then replace him with something more useful. Otherwise, he’s a prime candidate for Gamma Lab, as that location can turn him into a 12-Power card.

There are a few ways to stop Spider-Ham, though most revolve around having specific types of decks. Infinaut and Giganto, for example, both have abilities that are meant to make them harder to play due to their high Power. Spider-Ham can inadvertently make it easier for an opponent to get them out. Death’s high starting Cost also means she’s the most likely candidate to take a hit when she’s in an opponent’s hand.

Additionally, Spider-Ham does have a few locations for which he’s an unfit choice. Due to the card’s low Cost, Spider-Ham can’t be played at the Hellfire Club. Deep Space and Knowhere also prevent On Reveal effects. Finally, the Pig that Spider-Ham creates has no ability, and thus is a potentially good fit for Washington D.C. or The Sandbar.

Spider-Ham in the Comics

Created by Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong, Peter Porker, AKA Spider-Ham, debuted in MARVEL TAILS STARRING PETER PORKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-HAM (1983) #1. Hailing from a world in which the Marvel Universe’s normal heroes and villains are animal versions of themselves, Porker has many of the same powers of Earth-616’s Spider-Man, though his adventures are decidedly wackier.

The connection between Porker’s ability in MARVEL SNAP is tied directly to his origin. Not only is turning other characters into pigs a meta nod at how Porker’s stories animalize regular heroes, but his origin itself involved such a transformation. As revealed in PETER PORKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-HAM (1985) #15, Porker was originally a spider that was turned into a pig by an inventor named May Porker, who at the time was attempting to introduce nuclear fission to beauty salons. An irradiated May Porker bit Spider-Ham, turning him into a pig and giving him superpowers.

In terms of the card designs, Spider-Ham’s various outfits from across the decades are showcased on the cards. However, there’s one easy-to-miss detail: many of the cards feature the hero eating. In the comics, Spider-Ham has been seen eating everything from hot dogs to pork ribs. The hero’s potential cannibalism was addressed in SPIDER-VERSE (2015) #3, where Gwen Stacy became horrified to learn that one of her teammates may be eating members of his own species.

Outside of that reference to the character’s controversial eating habits, Spider-Ham is also tied stylistically to the other spider-people cards already in the game. The cards for Miles Morales, Spider-Man, and Silk all show their characters slinging webs and in the air, a pattern that Spider-Ham’s main version follows.

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MARVEL SNAP is available now on Android, iOS and Early Access Windows PC!