Summary
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2 DLC cancelation affects Spider-Man 3's villain lineup.
- Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Carnage, and Chameleon were all teased for future story content.
- Overcrowding villain arcs in Spider-Man 3 may necessitate a spin-off prequel for proper closure.
Insomniac Games has been hit by some devastating leaks over the last year, which has more than likely contributed to its decision to not move forward with more Marvel's Spider-Man 2 story content. Regardless, this decision to "cancel" Marvel's Spider-Man 2 DLC puts the third installment between a rock and a hard place with its villains.
Ironically, thanks to Marvel's Spider-Man 2's discontinued story content, Marvel's Spider-Man 3 could end up repeating the mistakes of Sam Raimi's film of the same name, which was bloated with subplots on account of an abundance of villains. This is due to several villains that were all but confirmed for Marvel's Spider-Man 3 at the end of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, as well as others that were teased who will inevitably need somewhere to land if the series wants to avoid having unfinished stories.
Marvel's Spider-Man 3 Could End Up With Too Many Villains
Marvel's Spider-Man 3 Already Has a Handful of Villains All But Confirmed
While Marvel's Spider-Man 2 only subtly teased some villains for the next game, there are some characters it all but confirmed by the time the credits rolled. Doctor Octopus and Green Goblin, for example, are presumed to be lead antagonists in Marvel's Spider-Man 3 after a bitter Norman Osborn consorts with Otto Octavius in his jail cell in one of Marvel's Spider-Man 2's post-credits scenes. Otto's comment that he was preparing for the "final chapter" clearly indicates his partnership with Norman in Marvel's Spider-Man 3 to eliminate Spider-Man.
Even More Villains Were Teased in Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Apart from the obvious villains that will likely take center stage in Marvel's Spider-Man 3, there are others that were teased in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 who might have been better off getting their own DLC. Carnage, for instance, may be the most prominent villain currently set up for a continued story, after Marvel's Spider-Man 2's "The Flame" side missions revealed who is presumably Cletus Kasady, Carnage's usual host in the comic books. The unresolved outcome of "The Flame" is perhaps the game's clearest hint at DLC, and that was even more evidenced by Insomniac's leaked roadmap for Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which revealed plans to continue Carnage's story at a later date.
Another villain that is teased in Marvel's Spider-Man 2's story is Chameleon, who is briefly shown drinking a martini on a rooftop as Peter Parker exits the scene. Upon arriving at what is soon revealed to be Chameleon's apartment, Peter discovers many of the villain's disguises, some surveillance equipment, and various clues suggesting Chameleon has been operating undercover in New York City for some time. As Peter leaves the apartment, Chameleon can be seen in disguise, openly committing to finishing what his brother, Kraven the Hunter, started.
While Chameleon DLC was not included in Insomniac's leaked story content plans for Marvel's Spider-Man 2, the famous villain's story was nonetheless set up to continue.
Marvel's Spider-Man 3 Needs to Figure Out Where to Put All of Its Villains
With Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Carnage, and Chameleon all seemingly relying on Marvel's Spider-Man 3 to continue their stories, the sequel may end up too crowded to sufficiently flesh out each individual arc — especially if the game plans to feature even more villains not yet revealed, and the series' history suggests it more than likely does. This puts Insomniac in a bit of a rough spot since it discontinued any plans it might have had for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 DLC, as attempting to stuff every unresolved story into the final installment may ultimately work against it.
Instead, launching another Marvel's Spider-Man spin-off title to introduce Silk (who appeared in the final post-credits scene for Marvel's Spider-Man 2) might be the best route to take, as it would allow her a proper introduction as well as an opportunity to conclude some of these open-ended villain arcs. Arguably, the focus of Marvel's Spider-Man 3 needs to primarily be on Green Goblin, as his villain arc finally came to a head in the second installment, so every other villain currently hanging in the balance shouldn't be allowed to overshadow him.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 20, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.
Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.
Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
- Engine
- Insomniac Engine v.4.0
- Franchise
- Spider-Man
- PC Release Date
- January 30, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- October 20, 2023
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action-Adventure, Superhero
- How Long To Beat
- 17 hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
