Summary
All signs point toward a standalone Venom game from Insomniac beneath the ever-expandingMarvel’s Spider-Manbanner.Insomniac’sVenommight not be arriving anytime soon if rumors and devastating hack details are true, but its story seems locked down with an anti-hero twist on the alien symbiote’s character bonded with whomever its host is.
Players already got a taste of what Venom’s gameplay might look like in his own half-sequel due to his playable sequence inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2and yet that gameplay really only makes sense when Venom can be ravenously rampaging and destroying everything in his wake.Ultimate Spider-Manthrived with such a premise because its hungry deuteragonist never leaned into anti-heroism and Insomniac will now need to explain why its iteration of the symbiote has suddenly decided not to continue its invasion of Earth in an effort to “heal the world.”
Insomniac May Have Backed Venom into a Corner Narratively
Harry Osborn had a clear plight inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2and while that happened to parallel what the symbiote turned out to want, Venom’s ambitions seem independent of Harry. Therefore, the marriage of both characters as symbiote and host is never satisfyingly depicted.
It never made sense why Harry would want symbiotes to subsume the Earth and all of humanity, insinuating that Harry was more of a victim to the symbiote than a willing participant in Venom’s abrupt mayhem. This would be an interesting thread to unravel in Venom’s half-sequel, though with Harry seemingly incapacitated once again it appears as if a new host is required.
If so, Insomniac has far more to worry about since it needs to explain why the symbiote now wants to help humans and how a new character comes into contact with it in the first place.Eddie Brock Jr. is obviously a good candidate and already technically exists inMarvel’s Spider-Man’s lore, but without his traditional backstory it might be all too convenient if the photojournalist ends up fatefully bonded to the symbiote this time around.
Venom Can’t Suddenly Want to Be Good in His Half-Sequel
Either way,Venom is certainly an antagonist inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2with no redeeming qualities and that’s going to need to be walked back somehow if Venom’s ever going to become a so-called ‘lethal protector.’ Perhaps Insomniac introduces a new host for Venom who is able to persuade the symbiote to change its ideology, but that shouldn’t be a character development that occurs hastily in a half-sequel.
A half-sequel will hopefully provide more than enough time for this to play out, and seeing it front-loaded with destructive gameplay as an antagonist still would allow it to have its cake and eat it too.
Venom’s Half-Sequel Can End with Peter Finally Passing on Anti-Venom
One of the most salient ways for Venom to become an anti-hero rather than an antagonist is if he becomes Anti-Venom, regardless of whether that transition is voluntary or not.Marvel’s Spider-Man 2ends with a huge loose thread in Peter still bonded to the Anti-Venom symbioteand instead of gifting it to Harry and solving literally every problem his best friend has, he’s seemingly kept it for himself. Maybe the reasoning behind this is so Peter can pass it onto Harry in Venom’s own game, turning Harry into a legitimate take on both Anti-Venom and Agent Venom.
Of course, that plausible throughline is thrown out the window if Harry remains in a coma and someone else becomes Venom’s host. Insomniac will need to be incredibly creative and faithful toMarvel’s Spider-Man 2in order to make a Venom half-sequel work as an epilogue or aside for the antagonist.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
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.
