Warning: The following article on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and how the saga might continue in a sequel and other projects contains spoilers.
I love Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, I really do. I haven’t spent nearly as much time with it as I wanted, but I’ve breezed through it (though some boss fights were demanding) and done a solid amount of side content. I firmly believe this is Insomniac’s finest work so far and a textbook definition of what a great action-adventure sequel should be. That said, I’m worried about where the story and the overall game design might go next.
A traditional issue with trilogies and longer sagas – regardless of the medium – is that artists and executives often aspire to go bigger with stories, especially when the people backing the works have been educated to expect that. In video games, this is especially problematic unless the developer/publisher actively wants to subvert expectations. The chances of this ever happening go down significantly when we’re talking about AAA projects such as Spider-Man 2 and the previous two games.
I may very well be imagining a problem that doesn’t exist, as Insomniac have nailed all their recent work so far and Spider-Man 2 fills me with a great deal of hope for both the next arachnid installment as well as their reportedly very different Wolverine game. But there’s always the chance of the powers that be becoming too cocky.
Related: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: When the Game Takes Place on the Timeline
After a fantastic second act which is all about Kraven taking on New York City and Peter Parker’s struggles with the symbiote suit, the game transitions into Venom territory with a half-expected play-as-the-villain sequence and later embraces big Prototype energy. The city is covered in alien goo and monsters run rampant. It’s worrying stuff that should make this universe’s Avengers show up. But they don’t.
The world-ending threat and more focused approach to the narrative in the final act never reach the heights of the layered, thoughtful Spider-Verse all-you-can-eat of the previous hours. But the game is still, by and large, the greatest superhero game ever made, mainly because it’s centered on its protagonists and those who are important to them. Something I really like about this iteration of the Spider-Men and their world is that it brings together elements from all over the mythos – including some of the stranger lore from the Cates/Stegman Venom comics – without losing sight of the classic images of Peter, Miles, MJ, and many other characters that fans love. The folks at Insomniac give these games a unique voice that understands the current context of the property, but they’re also exemplary Spider-Man tales that will get tons of people into comic books.
As big and busy as the game gets at several points over the course of the plot, it always knows what to do with each major character and how to tie things up thematically. At some point, it almost feels like a miracle too big to be true, and you start to wonder whether the studio can keep this up if they go any wider for the next one, especially when creative director Bryan Intihar has compared their narrative progression model to that of the MCU.
Related: How Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Sets Up a Sequel
The logical assumption here is that Spider-Man 3 is going to look at either the Avengers movies or Sony’s animated Spider-Verse flicks. These are the only ways they can go any bigger. But do we really want that? I fear things might get too hectic and diluted. I’m okay with Doctor Strange having a key role after that one mission, maybe even connect to Wolverine for a bit, but anything bigger than the symbiote invasion which Peter and Miles just faced feels like too much for the type of Spider-Man video game Insomniac appears to enjoy making.
Of course, taking on the multiverse can allow the studio to be more ambitious while still focusing on the Spider-Men, but we’ve already done that so much recently, so it’d totally feel like a market-driven approach to crafting the third (fourth?) game. This, unfortunately, is a very probable scenario, especially as we approach Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga double feature. I’m sure Insomniac could do great things with the concept, but can’t we go somewhere else?
The post-credits scenes paint a rather different picture though. One has Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius starting to plot against the Spider-Men, plus we know the “G-serum” equals Goblin time; are we doing the Sinister Six again? Not likely when you consider Kraven has killed several popular foes in Spidey’s rogues gallery and take into account other smaller teases. The second scene reveals Cindy Moon is about to meet Miles Morales; it’s obvious that Silk – once they figure out how to justify a third special spider bite – will become the third web-slinging playable superhero in the series.
Can Peter Parker actually retire? What does the next generation of superheroes look like in this corner of the Marvel universe? Is Harry Osborn doomed to become a villain? Just a few intriguing ideas that worked well in other media and are worth exploring in the space of AAA games without the potential distractions of going either multiversal or Avengers-level threat to mine brand synergy. You’re free to bring in a couple of cool friends, but let’s keep things in the neighborhood, shall we?
