Marvel’s Spider-Man, Insomniac Games’ attempt at creating an open-world title centered around the iconic superhero, is easily one of the best games under the PlayStation exclusive umbrella. Released back in 2018, Marvel’s Spider-Man not only featured breathtaking visuals but also an original Spider-Man story that made it an immediate classic among comic book fans.
Instead of focusing on the cliched origin story which has been repeated ad nauseam in countless video game and movie adaptations of the Spider-Man comics, Insomniac Games told the story of the neighborhood web-headed vigilante as a young adult.
While the story did feature characters fans expect to see in a Spider-Man story, Insomniac Games did introduce their own twists to the classic comic book mythos, with some really fascinating narrative outcomes. With a sequel on the horizon, here’s a quick story recap for Marvel’s Spider-Man to get you up to speed before you start playing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Marvel’s Spider-Man story recap to get you up to speed with the series before you play the upcoming sequel, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Introductory sequence and taking down Fisk
The first game starts with Spider-Man being called by Captain Yuri Watanabe (comic book fans will know her better as the Wraith) to assist her team against Fisk’s forces. Spider-Man being the friendly neighborhood vigilante he is, swings by, takes out Fisk’s thugs, and then ultimately, Wilson Fisk himself. After dealing with the menace at Fisk Tower, Spider-Man rushes to get to his job as Peter.
It is revealed a bit later that Peter is working as a scientist under none other than Dr. Otto Octavius, who, contrary to his character in the comics, isn’t working on the mechanical arms of destruction and doom (well, not yet, at least). After a brief encounter with his archnemesis Shocker a few days later, Spider-Man comes across Mary Jane Watson (who also is his ex-girlfriend and knows his identity as Peter).
The Demon incident and Martin Lee
The meet-up with MJ was cut short by a new rival gang called the Demons, who seemingly took over Fisk’s territory. It is later revealed that the Demons are working under Martin Lee (Mr. Negative), who also runs “FEAST,”a homeless shelter for people in Harlem, with help from Peter’s aunt, May Parker. Although Martin is good at heart, is slowly being consumed by his hatred for Mayor Osborne.
Otto is also revealed to harbor a grudge against Mayor Osborne. Otto and Osborne created Oscorp as partners, but Otto was later kicked out of the company. Otto is also suffering from a disease that’s slowly eating away at his control over his limbs, making him incapable of carrying out his scientific experiments, the only thing that he finds solace in.
To help him and potentially many others suffering a similar fate, Otto and Peter work on automated prosthetics that respond to the user’s neural commands. Unfortunately, Otto’s debilitating health also takes a toll on his mental stability, which ultimately ends up pushing him to the brink and turning him into the Dr. Otavius we know from the comics.
The RAFT incident
Otto later stages a prison break, freeing some of the most infamous Spider-Man villains, including Electro, Rhino, Scorpion, and Vulture, alongside Martin, who was previously incapacitated and sent to RAFT by Spider-Man. The villains all attack the Web Head at once and nearly kill him before leaving him to drown in the ocean.
After incapacitating Spider-Man, Otto makes his way to Times Square, where he releases the Devil’s Breath, an experimental airborne pathogen that causes severe illness in anyone who comes in contact with it. Fortunately, there’s a cure for the pathogen. However, it is in the possession of Mayor Osborne, who is in hiding with help from Silver Sable.
Thankfully, Spidey is rescued by Yuri, and despite being gravely injured with multiple broken bones in his body, he goes after the villains that have been causing a ruckus across New York. Once Spider-Man incapacitates Electro, Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion, he makes his way to Martin, who has discovered Osborne’s location and is holding him hostage.
The final confrontation against Otto
Peter battles it out against Martin and ultimately makes him take control of his rage and let go of his need for revenge. Unfortunately, Otto arrives right at the nick of time, overpowers Spider-Man, and injures him to the point where he basically blacks out. Otto then takes both Osborne and the cure with him. Spider-Man is taken to FEAST by Silver Sable, where Peter takes some time to recover before heading back to his old lab.
He then crafts himself a new suit, equipped with the same tech he created for the mechanical arms, and goes after Otto. The new suit turns out to be quite effective against Otto’s mechanical arms, helping Peter get the upper hand in the battle.
After defeating Otto, it is revealed that he knew about Peter’s vigilante alter ego for quite some time. Having secured the cure, Peter heads to FEAST, where he finds May in a critical condition, about to succumb to the disease.
A heartfelt finale and new beginnings
It is revealed that May knew Peter’s identity as Spider-Man and asks him to make the right choice of using the cure to save others instead of herself. This concludes the story of the base game. However, there are two post-credit scenes that gave players hints about the upcoming sequel, as well as the 2020’s Miles Morales spin-off.
By the end of Marvel’s Spider-Man, Peter is shown to have patched his relationship up with MJ and taken up a job as a part-time reporter. He is also shown moving out of FEAST and into a brand-new rented apartment.
Post-credit scenes
During the climax of Marvel’s Spider-Man, Miles gets bitten by a similar radioactive spider as the one that bit Peter, and by the end of the game, he gains the same powers as Spider-Man. He reveals his superpowers to Peter, who in turn reveals his identity as Spider-Man to Miles. At the end of the final DLC chapter, “Silver Lining,”Miles is shown to be getting trained by Peter.
There’s also a post-credit scent that reveals Harry Osborne, who was presumed to have gone abroad for his treatment, still at Oscorp. He is seen being unconscious and partially fused with a “Symbiote.”The Symbiote looks quite similar to “Venom,”who also is confirmed to play a major role in the upcoming sequel, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to release on October 20, 2023, exclusively for the PlayStation 5.
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