Five Things Fans Want from Marvel’s 'Spider-Man 2'

This article contains spoilers for Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Marvel’s Spider-Man is a smash hit and Insomniac Games would be foolish not to start production on a sequel as soon as possible. It’s going to happen, sooner or later. And, like most video game sequels, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (or whatever they’ll end up calling it) will expand upon its predecessor and add new missions, enemy types, characters, and so on. Of course, there will be returning elements from the previous game making its way into the new title, but that’s not a bad thing (depending on what returns). In that spirit, this article will list all the ways the potential sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man could improve upon its predecessor.

1. A Dedicated Arc for Miles

The mid-credits scene for Marvel’s Spider-Man had supporting character Miles Morales reveal to the player and Peter Parker that during the chaos of the main story, he was bitten by a genetically enhanced (i.e. "radioactive") spider, and had since developed abilities similar to Spider-Man. This isn’t too dissimilar to Miles’s comic book origins. However, in the source material, his reality’s Peter Parker was killed fighting Norman Osborn. Oscorp then tried to recreate Spider-Man, and the enhanced spiders were stolen by Miles's uncle, Aaron Davis (AKA The Prowler). This act lead to Miles acquiring his powers, and he took the name Spider-Man to honor Peter's memory. In this game’s continuity, however, Miles will have Peter for a teacher, helping guide him through the trials and hardships of being a superhero. Miles is an immensely popular character and shows great promise as a protagonist in future games. And while the player will no doubt be able to take control of Miles in future games (much like they did for this game in certain stealth missions), players will need a compelling "Year One" type story. The game developers should take this concept and run with it. They should give fans a story about a young hero struggling with being a teenager, dealing with school drama, reeling from the recent loss of his hero cop father, and attempting to live up to both his and Spider-Man’s legacies. There’s a golden opportunity for a great Miles story to be told, especially considering the tease from the game’s second post-credit scene and its impact on Miles in the comic book history.

2. A Different, Yet Still Gripping Story

The second of these post credit scenes involved Norman Osborn, the Mayor of New York City, and his deathly ill son, Harry. It’s slowly revealed throughout the game that "Devil’s Breath" (the bio-weapon that’s highly sought after by the main antagonists of the game) was created by Oscorp to cure any disease, specifically Harry’s degenerative genetic disease. Though "Devil’s Breath" was ultimately a failure, Norman returns to his son in this scene (who’s being held in a glass tank) and promises to find a cure. Harry is seen covered in a black web-like substance, which mimics the way Norman places his hand on the glass tank. This is clearly a nod to classic Spider-Man enemy Venom. With the tease of Venom being the next antagonist for Spidey to face in the sequel, there’s an opportunity for a great story about Miles to be told. In the Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #22, Miles’ mother Rio is killed in the crossfire between numerous police officers and Venom, resulting in Miles’ deep hatred for the symbiote. If this story were tweaked slightly, this sequel could feature a story about family drama (with Harry potentially being Venom and Miles losing his mother), with Peter helping Miles making a decision between revenge and mercy regarding Venom. Not only that, but the story of Harry potentially becoming Venom could lead into a third game, inspiring Norman Osborn’s rise to power as the Green Goblin (but that’s a different article).

3. New Characters and Villains

Marvel’s Spider-Man featured an expansive and diverse cast of characters, from the obscure (such as Mister Negative and Yuri Watanabe) to the well-known (such as Doctor Octopus and Mary Jane Watson). And while all these characters were great additions to the game, fans would get bored quickly if they only ever interacted with/fought the same characters in each new game. To keep things interesting, Insomniac will need to bring in new supporting characters and villains, and Spider-Man has no shortage of either. Alongside the potential appearances of both the Prowler and Venom, characters like Gwen Stacy, Flash Thompson, Max Modell, and/or Jean DeWolff would make for great allies for our titular web-slinger as he potentially fights new threats like Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Lizard, and/or Silvermane.

4. Returning Characters and Villains

Yes, new characters are exciting, but one of the reasons this first game was so successful was how perfectly its characters were represented. Characters like Silver Sable, Rhino, and Scorpion were pitch perfect, almost ripped straight from the source material. Characters like these would be more than welcome if they returned, even if they don’t have as big a role in the next game as they did in this game. The Batman: Arkham games did something similar, with characters like Bane and Penguin playing major roles in the story of one game while only serving as side quests in the sequel. Some characters, however, require a larger presence than that. For instance, a character like Doc Ock should certainly return in the next game, though it would be a mistake to limit such a prominent Spider-Man villain to just a side quest. A character of his caliber would need to be a major role in the game, even if it’s not as a main antagonist. He could feature in the game similar to Joker’s role in Batman: Arkham City. While ultimately not exactly the main antagonist of the game, Joker maintains a huge presence in the game, presenting Batman with his main objective, orchestrating things behind the scenes, and driving the emotion of the story. Doc Ock could easily play a similar role in the sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man, considering his already emotional role in this game.

5. More 'Just the Facts with J. Jonah Jameson'

Arguably one of the best parts of Marvel’s Spider-Man was the periodical podcasts of Spider-Man’s number one critic: J. Jonah Jameson. Every now and then, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist will spout his opinions on the events of the game. Everything from commending and condemning Mayor Norman Osborn, to warning listeners to arm themselves in peroration for the coming gang wars, to accusing Spider-Man of being in cahoots with his greatest enemies, Jolly Jonah was a pleasure to listen to in-between the more serious moments of the game. Fans loved the former Daily Bugle EIC and his conspiracy theories, and they’d love even more of his angry shouting in the currently-unannounced-but-certainly-in-development sequel.