Spiderman 2 — the highly anticipated follow up to Insomniac Games’ Spiderman and Spiderman: Miles Morales — is set to release exclusively on PS5 on the 20th October 2023. While there are some fans who will be able to spot every easter egg and comic reference throughout the game, there’s also an overwhelming number of people who have a much more casual relationship with Spiderman and the general MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Below, you will find some of the most important lore, theories and updates from Insomniac Games ahead of the release date to help guide you through the games’ reportedly darker storyline.
Two Spidermen
The Spiderman formula seems to have received a major overhaul from Insomniac Games. For the first time you will be able to split gameplay between both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they deal with the many reported villains from Marvel comics. Peter Parker was the first Spiderman created by Stan Lee, while Miles Morales was created in 2011 by Brian Michael Bendis to take over the mantel after Spiderman’s death in the comic Ultimate Fallout #4. The two characters have run side by side since, exemplified by the wildly popular Spiderman: Into The Spider verse animated film and its sequel. The game reportedly allows you to swing across Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan and interact with the homes of both Peter and Miles, expanding their in game lore to coincide with MCU projects.
Villains
For fans of the franchise, the upcoming collaboration is an exciting project that represents some of the most iconic anti-heroes and foes of Marvel’s most popular superhero. Kraven the Hunter has received the greatest amount of attention during the game’s teaser trailers; it’s expected that the savage and expert tracker will provide the basis for minion fights throughout the game as he searches New York for worthy prey to hunt. His superior hunting ability reportedly leads him to New York’s superheroes and villains. Grizzley (an axe-wielding minion of Kraven) is also expected to play a larger role in the game, like Rhino had during Spiderman: Miles Morales. In Insomniac’s gameplay reveal, Lizard is seen fleeing from a pack of Kraven hunters throughout New York City, alongside a single shot of Mister Negative (the main antagonist for the first Spiderman game). Both these villains have faced Peter Parker before. Lizard is a more animalistic rendition of scientist Kurt Conners, while Mister Negative holds two personalities. As Martin Li, he is a compassionate man. As Mister Negative, he swings between good and evil without remorse by using the forces of Ying and Yang.
Other teased side-villains include Taskmaster, Kingpin, Black Cat, Prowler, Shocker, Tombstone and Wraith. However, it is unclear if these villains will all be available in the base game, so I will leave these out of this initial cheat sheet.
Venom
The most prevalent overhaul comes from the 2023 SDCC comic con, where it was announced that the symbiote Venom would play a role in the game. In the MCU, Venom is an alien who attaches to Eddie Brock as its host to survive on Earth. Insomniac Games have already confirmed that Eddie would not be in the game. In his place, the most popular theory is that Harry Osborn will eventually become Venom. We first see Harry Osborne in the end credit scene of Spiderman: Miles Morales in the labs of Oscorp. It seems as though the symbiote is an experimental cure for Harry’s disease, but it somehow becomes sentient and winds up bonded to Peter so you can later use the symbiote powers in game. This has been a long-time request of spiderman fans; all you need to know is that where Venom goes, carnage and destruction normally follows.
While this list doesn’t scratch the complete list of things to know before the games’ release, this will absolutely get you started. Happy gaming everybody, and if you have some extra time, I would highly recommend diving deeper into the world of spiderman after enjoying the release of Spiderman 2.