Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – How Could Venom Play Out?

Insomniac Games is one of the most talented studios under Sony’s ever-growing roster of first-party studios, and the developer has delivered a consistently high-quality output with its games over the last generation. Without a doubt, the developer’s biggest hit has to be 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man which combined a well-crafted and sincere superhero story with a tightly-designed and supremely fun gameplay loop – making it one of the best incarnations of the webhead in video game form. Insomniac then expanded its Spider-Man universe with 2020’s Miles Morales which added new gameplay elements to the mix. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the next big leap for the developer, and expectations for the game are naturally very high.

While the game wouldn’t be out until next year at the very least, this hasn’t stopped fans from speculating about the game’s story and possible additions to gameplay among a slew of other things. From the reveal trailer, it is confirmed that Venom is going to play an important part in the game’s narrative proceedings, but it’s unclear as to how he would fit in the emerging picture and what ramifications that would carry with regard to gameplay. We are big fans of Spider-Man here at GamingBolt, and we can’t wait to gush about our theories on this matter.

Venom’s presence in Spider-Man 2 was already confirmed long before the reveal trailer was unveiled. We already saw a black gooey substance (the symbiote) attach itself to Harry Osborn’s body whilst in stasis during Spider-Man’s post-credit sequence. Furthermore, we also saw Norman continuing these experiments on Harry during a post-credit sequence in 2020’s Miles Morales as well. Keeping that in mind, we can more or less confirm that Harry would indeed assume the role of Venom – and kickstart the events of the sequel. Kraken The Hunter is also speculated to make an appearance in Spider-Man 2, and he would potentially be behind Venom’s treacherous schemes.

Since Harry is Peter’s childhood friend, it’s very likely that the two would come into contact with each other – which could potentially transfer the symbiote from Harry to Peter. If that happens and the symbiote attaches itself to Peter’s body, we would see a darker and estranged version of Spider-Man as he loses his sense of morality and justice, which would make for a story that’s a lot darker in tone when compared to the original; something that has been confirmed by the developers themselves.

Now that Aunt May is long dead, a darker version of the webhead is going to be an interesting prospect to witness. In addition to the narrative side of things, this could also hold interesting ramifications to the gameplay as well. Thanks to the power of the Symbiote, Spider-Man would have increased strength and agility – allowing him to pummel down foes with relative ease. New abilities and powers could also be introduced to the mix, which should allow for a ton of variety within the gameplay.

But any good superhero story is going to need a redemption arc if it sends the protagonist into darker territory, and that’s where Miles Morales would most likely come into play. Rumors of Spider-Man 2 being a co-op game started doing the rounds as soon as we knew that both webheads are going to be in the game, but the developers have now confirmed that it’s going to be a single-player experience for all intents and purposes.

But even so, players are most definitely going to control Miles during some point in the story, and that makes him the perfect candidate for setting Peter back on the right path before ultimately joining him for the final showdown against Venom or Kraken The Hunter (or whoever the final baddie ends up being). 2020’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is proof that the new spidey on the block is more than capable of handling tough situations, and the gargantuan task of removing the Symbiote from Peter Parker is a natural step-up for Miles. If that were indeed going to be the case, we can expect cool gameplay sections such as an emotional boss fight between Miles and a Symbiote-affected Peter which has us already salivating at this very prospect.

But if Insomniac were to adapt this narrative setup for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, that would risk the story sticking very close to the blueprint of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. Sure, there would be some differences and rearrangements of character roles here and there – but it would largely be the same story albeit with different actors. Of course, that’s not necessarily bad – since that opens up a ton of opportunities for throwbacks and secrets that are sure to leave a smile on any fan’s face.

Another slim possibility with regards to how this particular narrative setup would play out entails Miles being infected with the Symbiote. In such a case, Peter would most likely help him get back to normal. While that certainly sounds enchanting, it seems very unlikely due to two reasons – a) how would he come into contact with Harry Osborn since the two don’t have any connections and b) Miles already has Venom powers, so it’s possible that he is immune to the Venom symbiote.

Either way, we can more or less conclude that the Venom symbiote would most likely play an integral part in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and that it could also attach itself to one of the two Spideys that players will serve as the main narrative and gameplay hook for this sequel. But there’s another question that’s worth asking – how would Green Goblin fit into all of this? We also know that Green Goblin is likely to make an appearance in the sequel, since Mary Jane previously found the Goblin mask and grenades in Osborn’s apartment, and the green fluid that surrounds Harry is directly related to this dangerous villain. But if Harry is going to be inflicted with the Venom symbiote, who is going to assume the role of Green Goblin?

The only natural explanation would be Norman Osborn, as he is the only remaining character in this story. If that’s going to be the case, then Norman would don the Goblin’s mask while Harry causes death and destruction with Venom. But other fan theories also suggest that Harry’s version of Venom could have more powers and abilities thanks to the combined effect of the Symbiote and the Goblin fluid – which is a tantalizing prospect albeit very unlikely.

Of course, it needs to be said that these are all but speculations and theories that we are drawing out from the limited knowledge that’s available with regards to the game. There’s a lot that we don’t know yet – and it’s very likely that Insomniac creates something that’s totally different from the aforementioned possibilities. The Spider-Man universe is pretty large and has no shortage of characters and stories to tell, and we are confident that Insomniac will deliver a story that’s worthy of being a successor to the ones that came before.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.