Summary
Insomniac’sMarvel’s Spider-Mangames take place eight years into Peter Parker’s time as a superhero, with him already having graduated college and balancing protecting the city with other adult responsibilities. This gave players a version of the character who was notably older than his movie and TV counterparts, as most recent TV shows and both Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland’s depictions of the character showed him as a high school student or just shortly after graduating - even though Garfield’s version graduated early inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, he wasn’t shown starting college - and with the exception of the first part of the 2002Spider-Manmovie, the Tobey Maguire-starring movies have largely shown Peter as being college-aged, matching his age in the 90s and 2000s animated series.
[WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the Marvel’s Spider-Man games.]
From a gameplay perspective, having Peter as a more established hero let Insomniac use more finessed web-swinging animations to make swinging through the city more satisfying from the outset, and let the studio fill their take on the Marvel Universe with several Easter eggs from the hero’s past for worldbuilding. It also ensured that players could access an array of gadgets Peter had worked on over the years to offer more variety in combat.
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Including One Set Inside Midtown High School
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2had several flashback sequences to Peter’s first days as Spider-Man, with a sequence in Midtown High School with Harry Osborn that established the duo’s goals to use science to “heal the world,” another with Aunt May in the Parker home in Queens in which she calmed Peter down after he first started to struggle with the media’s response to his heroics - albeit without knowing he was Spider-Man at this point - and another involving Peter’s first meeting with J Jonah Jameson about getting a job as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. These sequences dove into familiar territory forSpider-Manfans but also showed that there’s plenty more story to be told in Insomniac’s universe prior to the events of the first game.
A Spider-Man Title Set During Peter’s Earlier Crimefighting Days Could Still Be Fun
With Plenty Of Familiar Names Appearing
As previously mentioned, Peter being in high school has been shown a lot in recent movies and animated series, but this era of his life only ran for 28 issues in the originalAmazing Spider-Mancomics, with his time in college being far longer as the character graduated in issue #185. This is reflected in the gaming space, as barringUltimate Spider-Man- which was inspired by the 2000s-era comics reboot that solely took place during Peter’s high school years - there aren’t any games that have covered this side to the character. Even then,aside from visiting the location’s exterior, the high school side to that game was minimal, with Peter and Mary Jane talking about tests in one cutscene before he swung off to face Rhino.
The Amazing Spider-Manmovie tie-in game took place in the summer holidays, andThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, despite starting with a flashback to Uncle Ben’s death, was mostly after he graduated High School and before starting at university - something that wasn’t shown in the movies either. The 2004Spider-Man 2movie tie-in had Peter attending Empire State University, but that wasn’t really explored much outside of him shouting, “I’m late for Dr. Connor’s class!” as he swung across the city to reach an objective.
Therefore, after seeing Insomniac’s flashback sequences in which they showed a younger Peter and Harry, a fully recreated version of Midtown High School, andreferenced the likes of other characters from this time, such as Flash Thompson, it would be fun to see this explored further with more of these familiar names appearing as supporting roles, especially with some of the dynamics shown in high-school based content like theUltimate Spider-Mancomics or theSpectacular Spider-ManTV show, which expanded the different friendship groups present in the school. If the game also wanted to explore some of Peter’s time in college - which would be wise as that’s when he faced hisfirst supervillains in Insomniac’s timeline- the games have also presented the exterior of this location that could be used.
Following the flashbacks at the Parker home inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, it would also be nice to see more of Insomniac’s versions ofPeter and his Aunt May’s relationshipin what was arguably their most challenging time in the immediate years after Uncle Ben’s passing. There was also one particular Easter egg fromMarvel’s Spider-Man’s backpack collectibles that could expand this supporting cast even further to show a young Peter’s work life at the Daily Bugle.Marvel’s Spider-Man 2showed the first meeting of Peter and J Jonah Jameson, and Robbie Robertson would talk to Peter and Miles on the phone as the duo sent him pictures of the city. Still, there were many more names on Peter’s leaving card in the first game that would be fun to introduce, most notably Eddie Brock, who is the most famous Venom host, despite Harry Osborn donning the symbiote in the game.
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How Could A Prequel Spider-Man Game Work?
A Story Told Through Flashbacks Would Let Players Keep The Character Dynamics They’re Familiar With
In this time, Peter has the added tension oftrying to balance his school life and secret identity,as he likely wouldn’t have told Mary Jane at this point, and Harry only found out inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.In theMarvel’s Spider-Mangames, however, manycharacters, such as Mary Jane, Miles Morales, Ganke Lee, and Harry Osborn all find out who he is, making for more open conversations about his double life. An earlier Peter Parker would likely be feeling far more alone in his venture as he still struggles to figure things out.
RedditorEverything-15had the perfect solution for this in a post that pitched a similar kind ofMarvel’s Spider-Man: Originsconcept, in which theysuggested that the story be told by Peter to Miles, who is struggling with some problems in his personal life that stem from being Spider-Man. This would give players the character dynamics they’ve come to expect from Insomniac’s games as Peter would look back on his early days, and Mary Jane could also interject with her perspective of events as someone who wouldn’t have actively been as involved with Peter’s heroics at that time. As pointed out by Everything-15, it would also give Yuri Lowenthal a chance to say his “That’s not how that happened.” line from thePrince of Persiaseries, which feels too good to pass up.
Miles Morales took over as the sole Spider-Man for a while at the end ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, as Peter needed to take some time to fully recover from the events ofMarvel’s Spider-ManandMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
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With new threats on the horizon, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s ending may be setting up a doomed future for the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker.
Who Could Be The Main Antagonists In An Earlier Spider-Man Game?
Several Villains Have Already Been Established
Some of Spider-Man’s biggest enemies have appeared later in his crime-fighting career in Insomniac’s universe. For example, Peter’s mentor Otto Octavius became Doc Ock in the first game,Harry became Venom inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Norman Osborn’s inevitable transformation intoGreen Goblin is likely to occur inMarvel’s Spider-Man 3. However, Peter still faced many villains before then, as shown through newspaper clippings and other Easter eggs, and it would be fun to show some of his first interactions with them.
Most importantly, Wilson Fisk would still have control over the city in his role as Kingpin. Fisk was apprehended in the memorable opening sequence of the firstMarvel’s Spider-Man, so players didn’t get to see much of his reign over New York, just the destabilization of it. Despite taking place right before the first game, theHostile Takeovernovel did explore some of this, showing how ruthless Fisk was in his time ruling the criminal underworld, and as dialogue in that first game also indicated that Spider-Man and Fisk have been rivals since early in Peter’s career, this would have to play a major role.
Peter’s first encounters with supervillainshad also been teased in theMarvel’s Spider-Mangames through newspaper clippings and the backpack collectibles, and Peter’s first Vulture battle was shown in hologram form as part ofMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales' holo-training, but stated that this was on Peter’s first day at ESU. Therefore,Peter’s high school days would likely have to cover non-superpowered foes such as Wilson Fisk, and other potential mob bosses, such as Hammerhead - who appeared inMarvel’s Spider-Man’sThe City that Never SleepsDLC -, Silvermane, and potentially a group of henchmen from the early comics, The Enforcers.
If the game then showed some of Peter’s time in college, it could cover some of the first interactions with some villains fans have seen before that have been teased, such asDr. Connor’s initial Lizard transformation, Mysterio, Vulture, and so on - especially with all of these characters having more vintage designs as shown in various Halloween costumes in the first game - but alsoScorpion’s origins, which would give J Jonah Jameson and Peter’s time at the Daily Bugle a bigger role, with Jameson confirming his involvement in thevillain’s origins via his podcast. Seeing a Peter Parker who doesn’t have all of the experience he has in the current games taking on these villains for the first time using his wits and resources to hand would also change things up somewhat from the more gadget-heavy gameplay of the current games, as many of these tools hadn’t been fully developed until later on, bringing back a somewhat more traditional style of Spider-Man gameplay.
While Insomniac’s take on theSpider-Manlore has been interesting because of how familiar but different it has been due to the time of Peter’s life in which it’s told, it would be fun to see the studio explore his earlier days further with more of the traditional elements that fans know from those earlier comics or shows likeSpectacular Spider-Mansuch as The Daily Bugle, Midtown High School and Empire State University. It doesn’t have to be an overly long title - something the length ofMarvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Moralescould likely work, but it would be a fun callback for many and a great way to further expand upon some relationships and dynamics before the nextMarvel’s Spider-Mangame.
Source:Everything-15/Reddit
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
From the creatives at Insomniac games, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. In the game, Peter and Miles will join forces to face off with new foes, including the vicious Venom, who will take center stage. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the third game in Insomniac and Sony’s self-contained Marvel video game universe.
