Summary
One of the most refreshing things about Insomniac Games’Marvel’s Spider-Man2is the fact that it is not an origin story. Instead of retreading the same story fans have been seeing in film for years, the studio chose to focus on an older Peter Parker who has been Spider-Man for a while. This has led to an incredibly unique take on the character and is partially why fans have loved it so much. However, approaching it this way also means players lose out on some important parts of the character’s journey.
WhileMarvel’s Spider-Man2is a fantastic experience, players do not really get to witness some of Spidey’s most iconic rogues. They get to learn about the interesting past that the characters had, but they do not really get to see that past, and they really should be able to. Luckily, there is always room for a prequel or spin-off adventure somewhere down the line, even if the series does not seem to be heading in that direction right now.
RELATED:Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Really Emphasizes the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Concept
Many of Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Villains Have Yet to Shine
It seems like most Spider-Man adaptions these days want to explore the earliest days of the hero. As such, there have been three different series of movies that have showna high school-aged Peter. And when it does not involve Peter, it explores a high school-aged Miles Morales instead. Even though both offer a lot of storytelling potential, some fans were getting a bit bored with that tale, so Insomniac Games approached it differently.
Marvel’s Spider-Manintroduced players to aPeter Parker who had been Spider-Manfor a little while now. He had already met many of his popular rogues, beaten a few of them, and had gone through the trials of high school. This approach led to a new unique take on the character that fans seemed to love. Plus, the story was a fantastic ride from start to finish.
While this new tale is an interesting one, it also means that players will not really get to experience some of Spider-Man’s villains as they have already been beaten. Even if they have not been beaten, players still do not get to witness the long history they may have with Peter. This fact has been further cemented withMarvel’s Spider-Man 2as that story has introduced evenmore of Spidey’s rogues' gallery, but almost all of them seem to have interesting stories involving Peter that are waiting to be told.
BecauseMarvel’s Spider-Manis set when it is, players have missed out on much of this iteration’s life. They have never seen how he beat Mysterio, they have only heard about some of his early battles with Sandman, they will never get to see Spidey’s struggle to cure the Lizard the first time, and even the beginnings of hisrivalry with Kingpinwill never be explored. There are so many adventures that could make for some fantastic games; however, players will likely never get to witness them.
While a prequel could help fill in these gaps a bit, it does not seem like Insomniac has any plans to take a trip back. Instead, it will likely follow upMarvel’s Spider-Man 2with either a Venom spin-off or the third game. Additionally, it is set to expand its Marvel universe further withthe release ofMarvel’s Wolverine. All of that makes it seem like there is no space for a prequel adventure at the moment, which is a shame. Even though all of these games may be fantastic treats like their predecessors, it would be nice to get a further look into Spidey’s past, so hopefully the studio delivers.
