Marvel’s Spider-Man 2is out, and that means we can talk about the game’s post-credits content and how the big PlayStation sequel seems to set up some very interesting, and very predictable, scenarios for future games and DLC. So uh, we’re gonna do it.
Spider-Man 2’s New Web Wings Make It Feel Like A Proper Sequel
But before we go any further, a big ol’ spoiler warning is needed. Seriously, I’m about to openly discuss Spider-Man 2’s ending and post-credits scenes. If you haven’t finished Insomniac’s latest PS5-exclusive open-world superhero action game yet and don’t want any surprises ruined before you reach the end yourself, this is your last chance to turn around. You can always come back and read this later! Only scroll down if you want Spider-Man 2 spoiled, understood? Good. Okay, let’s go.
Spider-Man 2 wraps up like most superhero stories, with our heroes—Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Mary Jane Watson—saving the day, but not without some sacrifices. After Peter Parker aka Spider-Man freed himself from the symbiote suit, it re-joined with the dying Harry Osborn, best friend of Parker and MJ. From there, Venom was formed, took back an alien MacGuffin that then let him spread his symbiotic goo all over NYC, and eventually led to the citizenry being turned into symbiotic monsters. Things got rough.
Eventually, the Spider-Men and MJ work together and defeat the monsters, stop the invasion of New York, and Peter defeats Venom using a cool new suit. However, in the process, Harry nearly dies and is now in a coma. Norman Osborn—Harry’s dad, rich CEO, and former mayor—is very upset at Spider-Man and calls someone within his company to ask them to bring him the “G-Serum.”
Norman Osborn visits Doc Ock
ScereBro PSNU / Insomniac / Sony
That leads us to our first post-credits scene, featuring an angry Norman Osborn visiting Dr. Otto Octavius aka Doctor Octopus at the Raft—a prison for supervillains. Osborn has figured out that the doc knows who Spider-Man is and Harry’s dad really wants that information. When Osborn tells Octavius that the Spider-Men “ruined” his son, the villain says “good” and is happy that Osborn is experiencing “loss.” (Doc Ock doesn’t like Norman Osborn, in case you forgot.)
Then, after Osborn asks him what he’s writing, the supervillain menacingly replies “The final chapter.” This is ominous and also could be a reference to a controversial Spider-Man comics story arc that involved Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin and revealed that Aunt May didn’t die in a previous story but was being held prisoner by Goblin. It was not a fan-favorite arc at the time, and today, most people don’t remember it fondly.
But considering by the end of Spider-Man 2 Norman Osborn seems to be heading down the path that will lead him to become Green Goblin, Aunt May is dead, and Peter Parker is retiring as Spider-Man (something that happens in The Final Chapter, too), it appears that Insomniac might actually adapt this arc, but likely with some big changes. Or the devs and writers are just messing with fans.
Meet Albert Moon and his daughter
Anyway, after more credits, Spider-Man 2 has one last surprise to share in its second and final post-credits scene.
During the main campaign, Miles Morales is too busy being Spider-Man to meet up with his mom’s new boyfriend. It’s clear that Insomniac is teasing something, but it’s not until the very end of the game, after all the credits, that we get the reveal.
Miles and Hailey, after sharing a kiss, are hanging out in his room when they’re interrupted by a knock at the door. Miles’ mom is excited that her son will finally meet the new man in her life and answers the door to introduce…Albert and his daughter Cindy. The music swells dramatically here, in a way that tells you “Hey, this is important.” But most players will likely not understand why. So what’s up?
Well, Cindy Moon is a character from the comics more commonly known as Silk. She’s a relatively new spider-person, only appearing in comics since 2014. But she has a direct connection to Peter Parker. In the comics, Moon got her powers from the very same spider that bit Peter Parker. She has similar powers to him, though she’s able to produce organic webbing and doesn’t rely on cartridges. She also boasts an eidetic memory and is sometimes said to be faster than Peter, but not as strong.
The Norman Osborn scene is pretty easy to piece together. The dude hates Spider-Man so much that he is willing to work with someone he also hates, Doc Ock, to get his revenge against the webhead. I wouldn’t be surprised if some other villains get involved too and team up to finally kill Spider-Man. And because Peter Parker is seemingly retiring from the role, that will mean Miles is forced to deal with it on his own until the OG Spider-Man is forced out of retirement one last time to stop his archenemies. That seems like the kind of story that you save for a big sequel rather than DLC.
Image: Marvel
As for Cindy Moon aka Silk, I’m not as sure where Insomniac is going with this tease. It’s possible Silk shows up in DLC and later plays a bigger role in the (not yet announced but going to happen) Marvel’s Spider-Man 3. It’s also possible that she gets her own spin-off, standalone adventure like Miles Morales, introducing players to the newest spider-person and helping get her settled in the universe before the events of the next big entry.
I’m very into the idea of a Silk-focused spin-off game and I’m excited that Insomniac didn’t just use Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Gwen as some fans had predicted or hoped, but instead introduced a newer, lesser-known character into the franchise.
However, Stacy’s most famous storyline, one which has been recreated in TV and film, involves her getting killed by Green Goblin after he learns who Spider-Man is. So perhaps Gwen Stacy will be a part of the next game, but not as a superhero. Again, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Feel free to discuss all of this and other spoilers from Spider-Man 2 in the comments below. This is a safe place where you can chat about anything that happened in the game or its previous entries without fear of spoiling anybody.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is almost here (or already out if you’re reading this after October 20) and you might want a refresher on the first game, from way back in 2018, before swinging back in and seeing what’s next for everyone’s favorite webhead.
The Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 actually does include a short recap video before you start playing, and it’s worth watching. But that video leaves out some key details and moments from the first Spider-Man game’s DLC episodes, as well as theMiles Morales-focusedspin-off. Never fear, True Believers. I’ve taken the time to concisely (as much as possible) summarize everything that happened in the first game, all its DLC, and the PS5 launch title, Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Ready? Here we go!
Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018)
Spider-Man starts with a call to Peter Parker from NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe to assist with the arrest of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin. Spider-Man—with a hyphen as explained by the superhero himself—joins in, helps the police capture Fisk, then quickly leaves to get back to work at his day job.
Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (don’t tell JJ Jameson) is revealed to work for Dr. Otto Octavius. In the comics and films, he’s known as the villain Doc Ock, and has giant mechanical arms. But this time around, Dr. Octavius isn’t evil and instead wants to help people, even if it doesn’t always pay the bills, which inspires Parker to be even better. Boy, I hope this lovely relationship between surrogate father and son doesn’t get ruined…
A few days later, after defeating C-tier villain Shocker, Spider-Man encounters Mary Jane Watson during a museum heist. But Parker and Watson aren’t dating or married in this version of the Marvel universe. Instead, they broke up before the game started and are now separated. And yeah, it’s kind of awkward.
digitalshot / Marvel / Sony
After working together to help foil the heist—though failing to stop the gang from stealing a folder with important info—MJ and Parker meet up at a favorite restaurant to chat about things. It goes about as well as you’d expect between two exes who haven’t talked in a bit. Later, after some police sirens bring their meeting to an abrupt end, Parker heads over to FEAST, a homeless shelter run by his Aunt May and created by Martin Li. During the heist, MJ grabbed a creepy mask worn by the gang members and Parker thinks Li—an art expert—can help shed some light on it. Li warns Parker the masks are used by a dangerous gang and that he should stay away. Li seems nice but actually…
Li is a powerful supervillain, Mr. Negative, and is running a gang called the Inner Demons—the same ones who robbed the museum and grabbed the folder. It turns out Li hates Norman Osborn, who is mayor of New York City. With Fisk gone, Li and his gang take over Kingpin’s turf and resources with plans to use them against Osborn and the city. Oh and also, guess who else hates Osborn? Dr. Otto Octavius. He holds a grudge against the mayor for betraying him and kicking him out of Oscorp after they founded the company together.
We also learn that Octavius is suffering from a disease that’s destroying his body. However, Peter helps the doctor work on mechanical prosthetics that can be controlled via neural implants. Regardless, the disease (and hatred) corrupt the doctor and soon he’s scheming to hurt Osborn and get his revenge. Anybody else in this city have problems with Osborn…?
Later, at a rally for Norman Osborn’s re-election, Li and the Inner Demons attack. Norman Osborn gets away, but Miles Morales’ father—a police officer who helped Spider-Man—isn’t so lucky, and perishes in a suicide bomber’s blast. Parker tries to connect with Morales, as he knows how he feels, and ultimately gets him to join FEAST. Oh, and during the attack on the rally, Peter Parker sees Martin Li turn into Mr. Negative.
At some point, while helping out at FEAST, the still grieving Miles Morales is bitten by a strange spider accidentally brought in by MJ after she sneaks into Osborn’s labs. Wonder if that means anything…
Santosx07 / Marvel / Sony
Following some investigating, Spider-Man and MJ discover that Martin Li has stolen a bioweapon, called the Devil’s Breath, that Osborn inadvertently created while searching for a universal cure for all diseases. (Wonder why he wants that…) Li and his demons then attempt to deploy it but are stopped by Spider-Man and MJ. He’s arrested and sent to the Raft, a super-secure prison. Meanwhile, Dr. Octavius goes full Doc Ock, building powerful mechanical arms and staging a prison break of the Raft, freeing classic Spider-Man villains including Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, and the recently arrested Martin Li.
After almost dying while trying to stop all of the villains from escaping, Spider-Man is left drifting in the waters outside NYC. Meanwhile, Doc Ock goes to Times Square and releases the dangerous Devil’s Breath bioweapon into the air, causing any who come into contact with it to develop a deadly disease. But don’t worry, there is a cure! Bad news: Osborn has it and he’s hiding behind private mercs he hired to capture the Demons. These mercs are led by the badass Silver Sable. She… doesn’t like Spider-Man.
Later, Spidey is rescued by NYPD Captain Watanabe. He’s hurt, but he pushes through the pain and goes after the villains who are now causing chaos across an infected NYC. After cleaning up that mess, Spider-Man tracks down Martin Li, who has discovered Osborn’s location and is holding him hostage.
Spider-Man fights Li, but eventually convinces him to give up his need for revenge against Osborn, who in the past tested Devil’s Breath on Li, which gave him his powers, but also led to the deaths of his parents. However, at just that moment, Doc Ock shows up and overpowers Spider-Man, nearly killing him. Octavius then leaves with Osborn and the cure. Silver Sable, who at this point realizes that Spider-Man is good and Osborn sucks, helps bring Spider-Man to FEAST where he recovers for a bit.
Targa / Marvel / Sony
Once he’s feeling better and has built a new, tougher suit, he goes after Doc Ock. During the fight, Octavius reveals that he’s known about Peter’s secret identity for quite some time now, angering Peter as it means that the doctor has, essentially, been trying to kill him or at least let him get killed for days now. Rough stuff. Thanks to Peter’s new suit, he beats Doc Ock, who gets arrested, and brings the cure back to FEAST, where Aunt May is dying from exposure to Dragon’s Breath.
Because this is a Spider-Man story, Peter is forced to make a gut-wrenching choice. There is only one vial of the cure. He can use it to save Aunt May, but that’s it. Or he can give it to a scientist helping them who can, in a few days, turn it into a cure for everyone. Although Peter wants to save May, he knows he can’t. Before she dies, May reveals that she’s known Peter’s secret for a while. May also tells him how proud she is of him and reassures Peter about his choice to save the city over her. She then quietly dies next to Peter. And I cried.
In a mid-credits scene, we learn that Morales has developed Spider-Man-like powers and Peter Parker reveals his secret to the young teen. In a post-credits scene, Norman Osborn’s son and Parker’s best friend, Harry Osborn—who is said to be visiting Europe—is revealed to be in a coma inside a large medical tank. A strange black goo is wrapped around him, helping him fight a disease that killed his mom.
Marvel’s Spider-Man DLC (2019)
A few months have passed since the destruction of Fisk’s empire, and all the damage wrought by the Inner Demons and Dragon’s Breath. After all that, another power vacuum has formed in NYC and the Maggia crime families want to take over. MJ learns that a lost painting is currently on display and the Maggia crime family wants it. Spider-Man is alerted and stops them from stealing it; however, master thief Black Cat gets her hands on it and breaks it open to grab a secret data drive.
Spider-Man learns that Hammerhead, one of the five heads of the Maggia crime empire, has hired Black Cat to steal four data drives belonging to the other dons. Spidey tracks down Black Cat and confronts her about why she’s working with Hammerhead and what’s up with these drives. She won’t say what’s on the drives, but reveals that if she doesn’t do what Hammerhead wants, they will kill her son. Later, MJ discovers that long ago the families agreed to combine all their assets in one place to create peace. The ability to access these assets was split across five USB drives, and whoever gets them all can take everything and bankrupt the families.
Eventually, Spider-Man tracks down the last data drive, but Black Cat beats him there, and a chase ensues. When he finally catches her, he convinces her to let him help her break free of Hammerhead. The plan: Spidey will look for Black Cat’s son while she stalls the gangster. This leads to Black Cat learning about a massive vault Hammerhead recently bought, and she deduces that her son is being held in there.
With Spider-Man’s help, and after learning that Hammerhead has taken Sable merc weapons and tech from the NYPD after the Devil’s Breath crisis, Black Cat finds the vault. (Yes, Silver Sable’s mercenary company is called Sable.) But she leaves right as some goons show up. Once defeating them all, Spidey enters the vault and sees a briefcase inside that once held a USB drive.
Shirrako / Marvel / Sony
Black Cat then traps Spider-Man in the vault and reveals that she took Hammerhead’s own drive—contained in the secure vault—and gave the gang leader fake USB drives and kept them all for herself. Also, she lied about having a son to trick Spider-Man into helping her. She escapes, but Hammerhead soon learns of her deception and plants bombs in Black Cat’s penthouse, blowing it up and seemingly killing her in the process.
A few days pass and all-out war engulfs NYC as the Maggia families have united against Hammerhead’s goons. Spider-Man and Captain Watanabe help lead a SWAT team assault on one of Hammerhead’s bases to possibly capture him. But after getting split up, Yuri Watanabe and her team are ambushed by Hammerhead who kills everyone and nearly gets Watanabe before Spider-Man saves her. This deeply traumatizes the NYPD captain and she vows revenge.
Later, Spider-Man learns that Hammerhead is after “Project Olympus” and plans on capturing and killing the other Maggia family dons. Despite police trying to protect the family heads, Hammerhead captures them and brings them to a construction site to kill them.
Spider-Man shows up just in time to save them, but runs into Hammerhead who is now wearing a powerful suit of armor—revealing what “Project Olympus” was—and the two fight. Spider-Man wins (duh…) but Watanabe interferes and shoots Hammerhead dead. Or so everybody thinks, as we later see him revived and carried away by his goons.
A short while after all that, Spider-Man and MJ learn that Hammerhead is alive and in hiding. He’s trying to steal more Sable tech and this leads to Sliver Sable returning to stop him. She works with Spider-Man and they discover Hammerhead wants to meet her on top of a tower in NYC. She goes after him, even though Spidey warns it might be a trap. Spoilers: It’s a trap.
Spider-Man saves Silver Sable and they fight together to defeat Hammerhead’s goons. Eventually, Hammerhead himself shows up and is now a full-on cyborg thanks to more Sable tech he stole. He fights the Sable and Spidey, nearly winning. But Black Cat shows up and saves Spidey, while Hammerhead gets away with Silver Sable. Black Cat apologizes for all the deception and gives Spider-Man a data drive that will help him beat Hammerhead.
MrRedRivers / Marvel / Sony
Spider-Man tracks down Silver Sable, who is being held in the sewers. He saves her from being tortured and, using the data drive, they discover they must melt down Hammerhead’s steel head with a massive amount of heat to finally defeat him. Using a powerful Sable-tech laser, Spider-Man and Silver Sable break through his steel-plated head and they eventually defeat him.
In a post-credits scene, Miles Morales is seen training with Spider-Man, which takes us right into…
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020)
Set roughly a year later, Miles Morales opens with Peter and Miles working together as Spider-Men and fighting Rhino. During this fight, Miles Morales discovers he has a unique electricity-like power referred to as “Venom.” (Not to be confused with Venom, the character that is appearing in the sequel.) Anyway, Parker tells Morales that he is leaving with Mary Jane to help her with a news story in Symkaria, aka the homeland of Silver Sable.
Now alone, Miles Morales is protecting NYC by himself. To help the lone Spider-Man keep the city safe, Morales’ friend Ganke creates an app that lets people report crimes and strange events happening around New York City. Later, Morales has to stop a criminal gang known as the Underground from stealing a powerful prototype energy source, Nuform, from the Roxxon Energy Corporation.
While all this is happening, Mile Morales’ uncle, Aaron Davis, figures out his nephew is Spider-Man. He promises not to tell his mom and tells the young Spidey to call him if he ever needs help. He seems like a good dude!
Jekavac TV / Marvel / Sony
Shortly after all that, another big fight happens between Roxxon and the Underground. During this tussle, Spider-Man learns that the leader of the gang, a villain known as The Tinkerer, is actually none other than his childhood friend Phin. Cue the dramatic music! While trying to stop more Nuform from being stolen, Morales accidentally destroys it with his new Venom powers, and the citizens of New York grow upset with the new Spidey. But Morales does figure out another neat trick he can do: This Spider-Man can turn invisible.
After some investigating and punching, Miles learns that Phin, aka The Tinkerer, had a brother, Rick, who created Nuform while he worked at Roxxon. However, the powerful energy source made him sick. Phin and Rick work together to try and expose the truth about Nuform, that it’s dangerous and deadly, but Rick gets killed before the public can be warned. Phin, desperate and angry, works with Miles to help stop Roxxon and its CEO, and warn people about Nuform.
But wait, remember Uncle Aaron? Well, he is the Prowler, a dangerous villain who sometimes kills people for money. Boy, Miles Morales knows a lot of secret superheroes and supervillains.
At first, Prowler helps Miles infiltrate Roxxon to get revenge for Rick’s death and expose the truth about Nuform. But eventually, Prowler betrays Miles, capturing the younger Spider-Man and holding him for his own good, or so he believes. He explains that it’s best to let Roxxon and the Underground destroy themselves. But Miles disagrees, explaining that heroes don’t sit back while people get hurt. Spider-Man escapes using his powers and fights Prowler, beating up his uncle in the process.
Miles Morales then learns that Phin and the Underground’s plan to destroy the Roxxon building will also destroy most of Harlem. Wishing to save his neighborhood and stop Phin, Morales quickly goes after her and stops her just before it’s too late and convinces Phin that what she’s doing is wrong. She agrees and helps Miles stop the explosion.
Cinema Clips / Marvel / Sony
To do so, Morales uses his Venom abilities to absorb all the energy of the Nuform into his body and Phin flies him into the air high above the city, where he can detonate all that stored-up power safely. Miles Morales lives, but Phin doesn’t.
The incident puts a spotlight on Roxxon, its CEO, and Nuform. Roxxon ends up in hot water and its CEO is arrested. Aaron, inspired by his nephew, turns himself in as the Prowler and reveals to authorities that Roxxon hired him to do criminal acts. He testifies against Roxxon, helping seal the CEO’s fate.
Meanwhile, after he risked his life to save Harlem, NYC’s populace is back on Miles’ side. Peter Parker returns and the two Spider-Men catch up and get back to protecting New York City, together.
Finally, in a post-credits scene, we see Norman Osborn talking to Curt Connors aka the Lizard. They are discussing Harry Osborn, who is once again seen inside a tank covered in black goo. It seems he’s getting released soon…
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the creative director on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 revealed that he was nervous about finding the right person to play the sequel’s notorious big bad, Venom. That is, until he heard the unmistakably awesome voice of Candyman actor Tony Todd.
The Week In Games: What’s Releasing Beyond Pikmin 4
Speaking with EW, Insomniac Games’ Bryan Intihaar disclosed that deciding on the right voice actor for Venom was “one of the things I was avoiding for as long as possible because I was so scared of who we were going to get to do the voice.” Although Insomniac’s previous Spider-Games, Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, garnered high praise from critics as some of the best iterations of the web-slingers, Intihaar said pressure was on to cast the perfect Venom because “people would have a lot of opinions on it.” But Todd, he says, was up to the task.
“Everything we talked about [with] Venom — that sense of strength, that sense of fear, that sense of overwhelming, so different from Peter — Tony embraces that completely in the performance,” Intihar told EW.
After hearing the booming voice of Tony Todd in the trailer for 2021’s Candyman (in which Todd reprises his role as the title character of the 1992 original), all Intihar’s fears went away. Luckily for Insomniac, Todd had already submitted an audition for the role of Venom.
Spider-Man 2 PS5 director says Todd is the perfect Venom
As Intihar has noted in previous interviews, the tone of Insomniac Games’ take on the iconic Spider-Man villain will be darker than some other depictions, treating Peter’s struggles with the symbiote as akin to battling an addiction.
“We wanted to try something very different, and I don’t think you can get much more different from Doc Ock than you do Venom,” Intihar said. “It’s about power, it’s about strength, it’s about being slighted, it’s about Peter being involved much more in the creation of Venom. I think that’s what attracted us.”
Narrative director Jon Paquette echoed Intihar’s sentiments, saying Parker’s internal struggle with Venom impacts those closest to him, adding that “there’s a lot of juicy drama that we can get from that.”
“For us, Venom is the host plus the symbiote,” Intihar said. “You don’t get Venom without both of them being bonded together. What Tony represents is that bond. I think, if anything, casting Tony made us feel more confident in the visual design of the character.”
Yes, Insomniac Games’ Venom has a grotesque mouth just like in the movies
Insomniac Games gave fans an exclusive look at Venom’s design in EW’s article, revealing the space-faring symbiote’s numerous teeth and imposing ink-black physique as he roars in the center of a city block surrounded by Humvees. While drafting early concept art for Venom, senior art director Jacinda Chew revealed that the trickiest design components involved his freakish monster mouth.
“One of the challenges we had throughout production was, how much does [Venom] talk?” she says. “I remember we did some concepts early on [of] does Venom have lips? Does he laugh? Does he smile? Does he frown? It’s a fine line between making this creature scary and intimidating, but then also, I guess, relatable.”
For all the monster-fuckers out there who fell to their collective knees at Tom Hardy’s Venom having a gaping maw, I hope Spider-Man 2 throws them a bone. Perhaps it could offer up a tiny crumb of the anti-hero’s silly side by having him give Parker and Miles Morales a shit-eating grin before their inevitable two-on-one brawl.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 releases on October 20 for PlayStation 5.