Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, much like its predecessors, has a variety of side missions to explore across the game’s open world map, and one of them could be the precursor to the game’s yet-to-be-announced DLC. While 2020’s Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales didn’t have any DLC, the first title in the series, 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man did, and developer Insomniac Games could have some in store for its sequel.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.]Marvel’s Spider-Man set up one of the key characters for its The City That Never Sleeps DLC through side missions, with Peter investigating a series of burglaries committed by Black Cat. While neither Black Cat nor her alter ego Felicia Hardy appeared in person in the main game and only taunted Peter via calls, she had a more prominent role in the first chapter of the DLC. It’s possible that Insomniac could be using the same narrative tactic with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
The Flame Continues Yuri Watanabe’s Story
One of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2‘s side stories sees Yuri Watanabe taking on a sadistic cult known as “The Flame.” This is a direct continuation of The City That Never Sleeps, which saw the then-police captain spiral and begin taking the law into her own hands. This happened after her squad was ambushed and massacred by Hammerhead and an off-the-books undercover sting led to the death of another of her officers. As a result, by the time Peter reunites with Yuri in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, she has fully embraced her new vigilante alter-ego, Wraith.
Wraith has no problem with killing criminals, stating that she would rather lose sleep over the one person she’s killed than all the ones she didn’t save. This leads to a clash with Peter, who prefers a non-lethal approach to crime fighting. Despite this, the two do ultimately work together, and Yuri even opts to save Peter from a fiery demise over pursuing the escaping cult at the end of this storyline. Insomniac could choose to continue Yuri’s story further in DLC and tie up her arc, turning her into a full hero as she brings down such a threat to the city.
Yuri promised Peter she would track down the remaining members of The Flame, although it could take months or even years. With Peter taking a much-needed break from superheroics at the end of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Miles offering to take on more responsibility as the only Spider-Man for a while, following Yuri as she continues her investigation could be an interesting way to bridge this gap before Peter returns. The Marvel’s Spider-Man games already have multiple playable characters, so playing as Wraith would be a great way to show the vigilante’s skillset from her time as a cop. It would also offer players something new to set the DLC apart.
Carnage Is Set Up Perfectly For Spider-Man 2 DLC
The main antagonist behind The Flame is revealed to be Cletus Kasady, who Spider-Man fans will know better as Carnage. Although Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 introduces Kasady in his non-symbiote form, his “prophecy” shows a ritual to become a red monster as part of a “Crimson Dawn.” To achieve this, The Flame acquires one of Oscorp’s symbiote, and Kasady escapes with it by the end of this arc, announcing that there will be carnage. A new symbiote threat in the form of the ultra-violent Carnage would certainly bring Peter out of his hiatus, as he would try to use his Anti-Venom suit to defeat him, much as he did with Venom.
Kasady was depicted as being pure evil and sadistic before he even got the symbiote in the comics. With that in mind, one common complaint with the character’s depiction in the 2021 movie, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, was that he was watered down to hit a PG-13 rating. It’s worth remembering that Insomniac’s Marvel universe hasn’t been afraid to go to dark places. Martin Li unleashed a harrowing terrorist attack in Marvel’s Spider-Man, Peter’s symbiote story was an allegory for addiction in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Venom and Kraven have both ruthlessly killed their enemies. While the series is rated T in the U.S., it’s rated 16+ in countries like the UK.
Therefore, it’s highly likely that the studio could do the Carnage character justice, perhaps even making up for his film portrayal. Players were willing to pay extra to see Insomniac’s take on Black Cat in The City That Never Sleeps, so the prospect of adapting such a popular character like Carnage would certainly entice them to purchase the additional story DLC if done correctly.
Carnage’s Story Could End Insomniac’s Symbiote Arc
As much as Carnage is a fan-favorite villain and many would likely want to see him get his own game, telling his story in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2‘s DLC would essentially complete the symbiote chapter of the series. Instead of having any remaining loose threads to tie up, Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 would then be free to fully focus on Norman Osborn’s inevitable transformation into Green Goblin.
This transformation has already been teased via Oscorp equipment that resembles his mask, pumpkin bombs, and glider in the first Marvel’s Spider-Man. At the end of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Norman sits distraught at a comatose Harry’s bedside and tells one of his scientists to prepare something called “G-Serum.” Although the implication is that this could be another way to treat Harry, in the game’s post-credits scene, he approaches fellow Spider-Man foe Otto Octavius about getting revenge on the Spider-Men for “ruining” his son. Theoretically, this sets up his future villain arc.
While Marvel’s Spider-Man 2‘s core story is complete and can be enjoyed on its own, any DLC will also ultimately be bundled with the base game in future releases, as was the case with Marvel’s Spider-Man‘s “Game of the Year” rerelease on PS4 and the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered release on PS5 and PC years later. Therefore, tying up the Carnage, symbiote, and Wraith arcs in DLC would make future bundles play out as one extended story. This would free up Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 to jump back into the action with completely new threats for Miles and Peter to face.
