Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is wise not to repeat the same mistake as the original
A superhero is only as good as the enemies he fights. The same goes for your video game counterparts. The Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise adapts many characters from the wall-crawler’s gallery of rogues and tweaks them to suit the games’ unique stories. From minor villains like The Schocker to bigger threats like Venom, each antagonist has its place in the overarching narrative.
Unfortunately, not all of Spider-Man’s supervillains are given the same care and attention. Depending on the main story and what the Spider-Men are doing in their lives, Insomniac Games will prioritize certain supervillains over others. This might be easier with a handful of supervillains, but the more of them there are, the harder it is to do justice to them. Fortunately, it looks like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be able to avoid the first game’s supervillain problem.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Suffered From Supervillain Overpopulation
It’s impressive how many Spider-Man supervillains Insomniac Games managed to pack into Marvel’s Spider-Man. The game not only created unique origins for Doctor Octopus and Mister Negative, but presented them in such a way that they would fit into the nefarious group of supervillains known as The Sinister Six. Add minor secondary villains like Tombstone and Screwball and players have their hands full in their attempts to make New York City a safer place.
Unfortunately, Marvel’s Spider-Man has too many villains and not enough time to make them all shine. Members of The Sinister Six are the best example here, as supervillains like Doctor Octopus are given more emphasis over previous Spidey foes like The Vulture and Rhino. Otto Octavius (the man who would become Doctor Octopus) has his backstory and motivations fully explored, which makes him a well-rounded character. Vulture and Rhino, on the other hand, are portrayed as simple thugs with selfish desires at their core. Considering that most of Spider-Man’s villains were created around the same time as him, there have been multiple stories detailing each supervillain’s character. While Insomniac Games knows this, there simply wasn’t enough space in the first game for these supervillains to receive an equal share of the spotlight.
To date, the world only knows of three Spider-Man villains who will appear in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Kraven The Hunter, The Lizard, and Venom. Right off the bat, the rogues’ gallery for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 looks a lot more secretive than its predecessor. Marvel’s Spider-Man was keen to show how Spider-Man would be fighting various villains in the game and how he would have to “be bigger” to overcome them all.
In contrast, the sequel appears to be taking its time with its villains. The CGI trailer for Kraven The Hunter presents the villain as a man on the hunt for prey worthy of his hunting skills. This insatiable hunger drives him to travel to New York City to hunt down Spider-Man and other super-powered individuals. Considering the game is still a long way from release, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 may have other trailers that delve deeper into its supervillains’ ambitions and motivations.
The patience shown when dealing with the supervillains can also translate into the game. Both The Lizard and Venom have a lot of complexities to their characters. It’s already been confirmed that the Lizard is a mutated Curt Connors – a close friend and mentor to Peter Parker in the comics. Venom’s identity, on the other hand, is an absolute mystery; so players can be assured that the game will put a lot of emphasis on them. As long as Insomniac Games takes the time to flesh out each of Marvel’s new and recurring Spider-Man villains, all of Spidey’s adversaries could end up becoming just as relatable as he is.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will be released in Fall 2023 on PlayStation 5.