In recent months, Spider-Man fans have gotten a taste of what’s to come for the iconic web-slinger over the next couple of years.
Spider-Man is finally heading to Marvel’s Avengers, albeit exclusive to Playstation users, next week.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is ready to break open the multiverse next month, featuring villains from Spidey’s previous film outings. With heavy amounts of rumors for those respective versions of Spider-Man also making a return.
The sequel to Into the Spider-Verse is scheduled to release next year.
And Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 releases exclusively on the PS5 in 2023. With the long awaited (& teased) appearance of Venom finally coming to fruition!
So it’s safe to say, we’ve got a good bit to look forward to!
But what I’m wanting to focus on, is not whether or not the alternate dimension version of Spider-Man, known as Spider-Gwen. Should appear in next months No Way Home. Which actually wouldn’t be a bad idea, as this could lead into the characters, and possibly even Miles Morales’ live action debuts. Maybe even leading into their own films.
Regardless, I’m focusing on her appearance in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, provided Insomniac Games even wants to go as far as to introducing somewhat of a multiverse in the highly anticipated sequel.
Now I’ve seen discussions about what her role could possibly be in the game, and why she should be in the game. But there’s a couple of questions we should really be asking before sparking any sort of debate.
Like; Why do we think she’ll appear in the game? Should she be in the game? Does the story demand her, & the multiverse to be there? How would she play differently from Peter & Miles? And is Insomniac really wanting to take the series in that direction in the same game?
Firstly. Insomniac already teased Gwen’s possible appearance in this universe back in 2018. So let’s get that out of the way.
Secondly. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is, assuming by how long it’s gonna be before the game releases, probably going to be around the same length of the 1st game. Which was about 17-hours with just the main story (even longer with The City That Never Sleeps 3-Part DLC), not counting any of the extra things to do & collect.
In this time, lots of characters were squeezed into the story. Both villains & allies making appearances (with other Marvel series like The Avengers, Doctor Strange & more being referenced). Like Black Cat, Silver Sable, Taskmaster, Tombstone, and Shocker. Just to name a few. Yes, even J. Jonah Jameson is here. Albeit only with just spoken dialogue, and a quick appearance in Miles Morales.
So I’d say with what they managed to do with the 1st game & all the characters therein. I feel like bringing Gwen into the mix wouldn’t be much of a problem in the grand scheme of things…at least until we bring in the multiverse aspect of the character.
Like I mentioned earlier, Spider-Gwen is a dimensional counterpart to Peter Parker’s Spider-Man. Who, in Gwen’s dimension, winds up becoming the Lizard & is Not the one that was bit by the spider.
Now Insomniac, who are quite familiar with dimensional plots after recently coming off of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart back in June. Aren’t afraid to explore alternate versions of characters. Case in point being Rivet, and to an extent her dimensions version of Clank, known as Kit. And an array of other characters that are similar, yet different to those found in Ratchet’s dimension.
So Insomniac exploring this area of the Spider-Man franchise, after doing so with Ratchet & Clank, while putting their own spin on things. Wouldn’t be too farfetched to think. Will this be a main part of the story? Probably not, because it seems to involve Venom.
But I could see this multiverse plot point start out as a small matter by having Gwen appear somewhere towards the start of the story. And have more relevance, along with the multiverse, closer to the end, while simultaneously dealing with Venom’s plot point.
As for Spider-Gwen being playable alongside Pete & Miles, this is also another discussion going around. Since we don’t really know much involving the games story, or how we go about switching characters during the story. Or if the Symbiote suit will even be a thing.
This, again, could probably be solved by only having her playable for certain parts of the game. Most likely towards the end when things start to ramp up. But this brings in another question; How will she be different than Peter or Miles in terms of abilities & gameplay?
Just so you guys know, I’m not a huge comic guy. So I’m not as well versed in Marvel comics lore. I’ve only stuck with the games, movies & TV shows when it comes to any of these series. Outside of those, I don’t know too much.
But from what I could gather (outside of her debuting in 2014, appeared numerous times since then & was made even more popular because of 2018’s Into The Spider-Verse…wait?), there’s not much that she can do that makes her stand out from Pete & Miles. She can access other dimensions to get around from place to place, as seen in Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 (via vents, but still counts). So they might be able to include some dimensional mechanics into her moveset. But other than that though…I really can’t think of anything else.
So in a way, this might turn into another situation that happened with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Where Rivet was criticized by being an almost carbon copy of Ratchet, with the exception of a hammer slam at the end of the combo, rather than another swing like Ratchet does with his wrench.
If Insomniac had kept her with a unique moveset like originally planned, they might’ve avoided this bit of criticism. But at the same time possibly causing a problem by confusing players with different movesets & upgrades. Which is why everything was shared between Ratchet & Rivet in the end.
But given how creative Insomniac tends to be, I’m sure they’ll think of something. And, depending on which approach they’ll want to go with. Either having actual powers, or having exclusively tech-based abilities to replicate the others Spider-abilities (as seen in Ultimate Spider-Man’s 4th Season). They might be able to merge Miles’ faster moveset, with Pete’s array of gadgets, mixed with some dimensional shenanigans.
Who really knows what Insomniac has in store for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. But I’ll just say this concerning Spider-Gwen (aside from the suit design being my favorite in the Spidey franchise) possibly being in the game. As long as she doesn’t feel forced into the story (which Insomniac is VERY good at preventing), has a good role to play, and plays really good. I wouldn’t have a problem with her being in the game.
Not to mention, I feel like she would deserve her own game, kinda like what Insomniac did for Miles Morales. And honestly, that would be completely deserving if it happens! Especially with the popularity the character has gained after the success of 2018’s Into The Spider-Verse. Heck, she’s even returning for the sequel next year, which is roughly a year before the games release. So if that’s not another reason on the list to incorporate her into the game (as well as the inclusion of the Spider-Verse suit, which happened with Miles), then I don’t know what is.
Either way we look at it, it’s still gonna be another 2-years before the game actually releases. So it’s best to wait & see what happens, but it’s still fun to speculate regardless.
Do you think Spider-Gwen should be in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2? How do you think Insomniac will incorporate her into the game? Be sure to leave everything down in the comments below!
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 releases exclusively on the PS5 in 2023.
Blueknight V2.0 
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