I'll start off by saying that I'm a sucker for movie tie-in food. There's something about the ephemeral quality of Burger King's "Across the Spider-Verse" themed offerings that make me excited about things that I wouldn't normally do, like actually go to Burger King for the first time in years. I don't eat a lot of fast food, and I actually think that the last time I ate at Burger King was during a Fantastic Four promotion in...2005?? How is that possible? Where has the time gone? Anyway, now Spider-Man has a hamburger. So I tried it out.
Burger King's menu for this promotion didn't take a lot of risks. The chain is only offering up a few spider-themed items, and at the forefront is the Spider-Verse Whopper, which is just a regular Whopper with a red bun and black sesame seeds.
Also on the list is a Spider-Verse Sundae. I walked into a local BK and saw some of the branding all around the store.
Miles and Gwen were also on the kid's meal menu, but I couldn't figure out if there was a Spider-Verse toy that came with those meals.
Rebranded crowns were all over the restaurant. Someone must have gotten bored before opening, because this location had maybe 100 piled up in different areas. Did I grab one? Yes! Did I wear one? Also yes.
Let's look at the burger. It came in this branded wax wrapper, which was, okay, pretty great. I should've asked for an extra one.
And here we have the unwrapped final product. It didn't present quite as well as in the advertisement. But the bun, which, I guess, is the main feature here, is red. It's very red. How much food coloring went into this recipe? What do my insides look like after eating it? Did they make the sesame seeds black by using a magic marker? These are all good questions.
Taking the top off, we can see the rest of the toppings, such as mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, ketchup, pickles and cheese, all on top of the hamburger patty.
And then I ate the thing. I thought it was pretty good! It's obviously not any different than a regular Whopper that Burger King sells every day of the year, but coloring the bun and slapping a Spider-Man logo on it got me to try it out.
I also picked up the Spider-Verse sundae to try out, as it was the only other uniquely Spider-Man branded item on the menu. This is vanilla ice cream with red and black candy toppings. It is also tiny. Anyway, I didn't know what to make of the toppings when I ate them; they had a texture like crisped rice that you'll find in some chocolate bars. After I ate them, though, they started cracking and popping like pop rocks. This was unexpected and a little disconcerting at first. I guess they're supposed to simulate what it feels like to get spider powers? Like tiny little bursts of spider energy? We'll go with it.
The verdict is: it was worth it. Even if my organs are now coated in red dye.
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