10 Things To Remember Before Playing Spider-Man 2
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VOICE OVER: Aaron Brown
WRITTEN BY: Aaron Brown
A lot happened in "Marvel's Spider-Man" and the "Miles Morales" spin-off, so here's everything you need to remember before playing the sequel. For this list we'll be looking specifically at major story beats that could play an important role in Insomniac's upcoming follow-up. Our list of things to remember before playing "Spider-Man 2" includes Yuri's Wrath, Symkaria, Returning Enemies & Allies, The Symbiote, and more!
Welcome to MojoPlays! And today we’re swinging through Insomniac’s Spider-Man to recap events you need to know before the release of Spider-Man 2. For this list we’ll be looking specifically at major story beats that could play an important role in Insomniac’s upcoming followup Spider-Man 2. What are you most looking forward to about Spider-Man 2? Besides Venom, of course. Swing on down to the comments and let us know your hopes for the sequel.
At the start of Insomniac’s Spider-Man in 2018, we’re introduced to a seasoned Peter Parker who has been balancing the tightrope between friendly neighborhood superheroics and his work as Otto Octavius’ research assistant. Peter is in his prime as Spider-Man having been donning the tights for 8 years by this point and we get clever glimpses into his past encounters with villains and the lessons he learned each time with his backpack collectibles. After Miles is bitten and becomes New York’s second Spider-Man, along with the release of Miles Morales, 2 years have passed since the events of the first game and likewise, we can expect both Spider-Men have become much more accomplished heroes who have learned to work together as a team by the start of Spider-Man 2, likely set 3 years after the events of Miles Morales.
The fictional country of Symkaria might not be familiar to most players of the Spider-Man video game but it has a long history with the webslinger in the comic books. Silver Sable’s homeland and its civil war becomes the focus of Mary Jane’s next expose and she plans to travel to Symkaria to document the war and Peter tags along as her photographer. As explained in the prequel comic book to Spider-Man 2, upon her return to New York, Mary Jane has written and published a book documenting the war but has been selling abysmally. The disappointing sales of her book lead MJ to return to work at the Daily Bugle but unbeknownst to her, J.Jonah Jameson has returned as the head of the Daily Bugle, leaving his podcast behind.
Not only was Aunt May the only family that Peter had left, she was also a major character in 2018’ Spider-Man. The owner and proprietor of F.E.A.S.T., Aunt May dedicated her life to helping those less fortunate find their way in the world to hopefully, a better life. After the release of the Devil’s Breath plague in New York, she turned F.E.A.S.T. into a shelter for those affected by the virus and sadly also became infected eventually succumbing to the illness. However, in her final moments, May revealed she had known Peter was Spider-Man and that she was so proud of all he’d done to help people. With Aunt May gone, Peter has inherited May’s house but is struggling to cover the mortgage. From what we’ve seen so far, it would seem May’s house could have become Peter’s new base of operations, but it also seems to have been compromised.
Initially presented as the main antagonist of the game, Mister Negative also has quite a grudge against Norman Osborn so his eventual teaming up with Octavius makes a lot of sense. However, it’s the events leading up to this that had massive ramifications for the people closest to Peter. His attack on the awards ceremony led to the death of Miles’ father Officer Jefferson Davis and it’s this event that sends Miles to F.E.A.S.T where he is bitten by the spider that gives him powers like Peter’s and it’s Jefferson’s death that drives Miles’ mother Rio to run for city council. Martin Li might not have appeared in Spider-Man Miles Morales, but his impact is still felt with Li’s return in the sequel, Miles may finally get the closure for his father’s death he’s been looking for in the years since.
It would seem that the pair of Spider-Men might not be the only prey Kraven is hunting in New York if his tablet of targets is to be believed. From what we’ve seen so far, not only is Tombstone still around but Prowler and Black Cat will also be making a return in the sequel and it's very likely that Peter and Miles will end up having to intervene or even rescue them from Kraven’s hunts. Taskmaster also seems to be returning as well as the faces of the Sinister Six quickly flash in quick succession as the camera pans over The Raft. There’s also undoubtedly any number of new and unexpected guests that will come crawling out of the woodwork during Kraven’s hunts just like we got our first look at Tarantula in the Spider-Man 2 prequel comic book.
Just like Peter has his confidants like Mary Jane assisting him behind the scenes, so too does Miles have his man behind the screen, his best friend Ganke Lee. Ganke designed and set up the app for Miles to use to respond to people in need throughout the city as well as using his hacking abilities to help Miles in his greatest times of need. Ganke’s role within the team seems to have greatly increased in the sequel, with him being able to use his drone to help Miles and Peter track the Lizard while fending off Kraven’s men. Hopefully we’ll get a lot more Ganke in the sequel than we did in Miles Morales, but just please, please, PLEASE no unnecessary stealth sections with the techie.
Spidey’s most trusted ally on the police force, Captain Yuri Wantanabe was indispensable to Spidey during the events of the 2018 game but after losing most of her team as she attempted to take down Hammerhead, something in Yuri snapped and she went rogue, looking for revenge. Yuri’s wrath culminates in her attempting to kill Hammerhead before once again disappearing, taking her brand of vigilante justice to the many criminals of New York. Spidey can track her descent through audio recordings throughout the city before she contacts him directly, telling him she believes the justice system is flawed and she’s going to bring balance to the world her way. Based on Kraven’s hunter’s board as well as a brief clip in the story trailer for Spider-Man 2, it would seem Yuri has fully embraced her new role and become the vigilante, Wraith.
In his eight years as Spider-Man, Peter has made no shortage of enemies and many of them were so dangerous they ended up in the maximum-security prison known as The Raft. However, throughout the events of the late game, they don’t remain locked up for long with Doc Ock releasing Spidey’s most dangerous adversaries the Rhino, Vulture, Electro, Scorpion and Mister Negative to keep him from interfering with Ock’s bigger plans. By the end of the game, Spidey had recaptured all of the rogue’s gallery, but given the scope and scale of Spidey’s sequel, there’s very little chance of us not seeing some of the Sinister Six returning. Especially given his story significance in the 2018 game, Doc Ock will most certainly return. Also given the numerous clues scattered around his penthouse, there’s a good chance we might finally get Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin.
While Peter undoubtedly had some struggles in his early days as Spider-Man, the Spidey players took control of in 2018 was more or less a seasoned pro. At the start of Miles’ solo adventure, Spidey attempts to impart his wisdom on the fledgling Spider-Man. He knows a thing or two because he’s seen a thing or two. However, despite Miles’ best efforts, he stumbles out of the gate, making a bad situation worse and snowballing from there. Classic Spider-Man. Thankfully over the course of the game and with the help of his friends and family, learns how to be his own Spider-Man instead of following in Pete’s shadow and has not only saved New York from Roxxon but found his own version of Spider-Man.
With Insomniac’s brilliant build up and payoff to the rise of Doc Ock, fans were immediately speculating who could possibly be the next big bad for Spidey to tackle in the sequel. Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long to find out as both stinger scenes at the end of the 2018 Spider-Man as well as Miles Morales centered around Harry and a familiar symbiote attached to his body after Peter’s best friend was suspiciously absent from the entire game save for some audio recordings. After discovering Harry suffers from the same rare disease that killed his mother, Norman will seemingly stop at nothing to save his son. It’s currently unknown if the Symbiote will still be an alien or if it’s something that was created by Oscorp to save Harry’s life. While Insomniac has confirmed that Venom will NOT be Eddie Brock, there’s a lot of evidence that Venom could in fact be Harry.
Timeline
At the start of Insomniac’s Spider-Man in 2018, we’re introduced to a seasoned Peter Parker who has been balancing the tightrope between friendly neighborhood superheroics and his work as Otto Octavius’ research assistant. Peter is in his prime as Spider-Man having been donning the tights for 8 years by this point and we get clever glimpses into his past encounters with villains and the lessons he learned each time with his backpack collectibles. After Miles is bitten and becomes New York’s second Spider-Man, along with the release of Miles Morales, 2 years have passed since the events of the first game and likewise, we can expect both Spider-Men have become much more accomplished heroes who have learned to work together as a team by the start of Spider-Man 2, likely set 3 years after the events of Miles Morales.
Symkaria
The fictional country of Symkaria might not be familiar to most players of the Spider-Man video game but it has a long history with the webslinger in the comic books. Silver Sable’s homeland and its civil war becomes the focus of Mary Jane’s next expose and she plans to travel to Symkaria to document the war and Peter tags along as her photographer. As explained in the prequel comic book to Spider-Man 2, upon her return to New York, Mary Jane has written and published a book documenting the war but has been selling abysmally. The disappointing sales of her book lead MJ to return to work at the Daily Bugle but unbeknownst to her, J.Jonah Jameson has returned as the head of the Daily Bugle, leaving his podcast behind.
The Loss of May
Not only was Aunt May the only family that Peter had left, she was also a major character in 2018’ Spider-Man. The owner and proprietor of F.E.A.S.T., Aunt May dedicated her life to helping those less fortunate find their way in the world to hopefully, a better life. After the release of the Devil’s Breath plague in New York, she turned F.E.A.S.T. into a shelter for those affected by the virus and sadly also became infected eventually succumbing to the illness. However, in her final moments, May revealed she had known Peter was Spider-Man and that she was so proud of all he’d done to help people. With Aunt May gone, Peter has inherited May’s house but is struggling to cover the mortgage. From what we’ve seen so far, it would seem May’s house could have become Peter’s new base of operations, but it also seems to have been compromised.
Mr. Negative
Initially presented as the main antagonist of the game, Mister Negative also has quite a grudge against Norman Osborn so his eventual teaming up with Octavius makes a lot of sense. However, it’s the events leading up to this that had massive ramifications for the people closest to Peter. His attack on the awards ceremony led to the death of Miles’ father Officer Jefferson Davis and it’s this event that sends Miles to F.E.A.S.T where he is bitten by the spider that gives him powers like Peter’s and it’s Jefferson’s death that drives Miles’ mother Rio to run for city council. Martin Li might not have appeared in Spider-Man Miles Morales, but his impact is still felt with Li’s return in the sequel, Miles may finally get the closure for his father’s death he’s been looking for in the years since.
Returning Enemies & Allies
It would seem that the pair of Spider-Men might not be the only prey Kraven is hunting in New York if his tablet of targets is to be believed. From what we’ve seen so far, not only is Tombstone still around but Prowler and Black Cat will also be making a return in the sequel and it's very likely that Peter and Miles will end up having to intervene or even rescue them from Kraven’s hunts. Taskmaster also seems to be returning as well as the faces of the Sinister Six quickly flash in quick succession as the camera pans over The Raft. There’s also undoubtedly any number of new and unexpected guests that will come crawling out of the woodwork during Kraven’s hunts just like we got our first look at Tarantula in the Spider-Man 2 prequel comic book.
Ganke
Just like Peter has his confidants like Mary Jane assisting him behind the scenes, so too does Miles have his man behind the screen, his best friend Ganke Lee. Ganke designed and set up the app for Miles to use to respond to people in need throughout the city as well as using his hacking abilities to help Miles in his greatest times of need. Ganke’s role within the team seems to have greatly increased in the sequel, with him being able to use his drone to help Miles and Peter track the Lizard while fending off Kraven’s men. Hopefully we’ll get a lot more Ganke in the sequel than we did in Miles Morales, but just please, please, PLEASE no unnecessary stealth sections with the techie.
Yuri’s Wrath
Spidey’s most trusted ally on the police force, Captain Yuri Wantanabe was indispensable to Spidey during the events of the 2018 game but after losing most of her team as she attempted to take down Hammerhead, something in Yuri snapped and she went rogue, looking for revenge. Yuri’s wrath culminates in her attempting to kill Hammerhead before once again disappearing, taking her brand of vigilante justice to the many criminals of New York. Spidey can track her descent through audio recordings throughout the city before she contacts him directly, telling him she believes the justice system is flawed and she’s going to bring balance to the world her way. Based on Kraven’s hunter’s board as well as a brief clip in the story trailer for Spider-Man 2, it would seem Yuri has fully embraced her new role and become the vigilante, Wraith.
The Sinister Six
In his eight years as Spider-Man, Peter has made no shortage of enemies and many of them were so dangerous they ended up in the maximum-security prison known as The Raft. However, throughout the events of the late game, they don’t remain locked up for long with Doc Ock releasing Spidey’s most dangerous adversaries the Rhino, Vulture, Electro, Scorpion and Mister Negative to keep him from interfering with Ock’s bigger plans. By the end of the game, Spidey had recaptured all of the rogue’s gallery, but given the scope and scale of Spidey’s sequel, there’s very little chance of us not seeing some of the Sinister Six returning. Especially given his story significance in the 2018 game, Doc Ock will most certainly return. Also given the numerous clues scattered around his penthouse, there’s a good chance we might finally get Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin.
Growing Pains
While Peter undoubtedly had some struggles in his early days as Spider-Man, the Spidey players took control of in 2018 was more or less a seasoned pro. At the start of Miles’ solo adventure, Spidey attempts to impart his wisdom on the fledgling Spider-Man. He knows a thing or two because he’s seen a thing or two. However, despite Miles’ best efforts, he stumbles out of the gate, making a bad situation worse and snowballing from there. Classic Spider-Man. Thankfully over the course of the game and with the help of his friends and family, learns how to be his own Spider-Man instead of following in Pete’s shadow and has not only saved New York from Roxxon but found his own version of Spider-Man.
The Symbiote
With Insomniac’s brilliant build up and payoff to the rise of Doc Ock, fans were immediately speculating who could possibly be the next big bad for Spidey to tackle in the sequel. Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long to find out as both stinger scenes at the end of the 2018 Spider-Man as well as Miles Morales centered around Harry and a familiar symbiote attached to his body after Peter’s best friend was suspiciously absent from the entire game save for some audio recordings. After discovering Harry suffers from the same rare disease that killed his mother, Norman will seemingly stop at nothing to save his son. It’s currently unknown if the Symbiote will still be an alien or if it’s something that was created by Oscorp to save Harry’s life. While Insomniac has confirmed that Venom will NOT be Eddie Brock, there’s a lot of evidence that Venom could in fact be Harry.
