Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has defined its narrative path fairly concretely, at least from the incredibly brief teaser that was shown a couple of years ago. Thanks to the newly announced PlayStation Showcase, though, fans might not need to wait too much longer before more is shared. It will be exciting to see Peter Parker and Miles Morales teaming up as a pair of playable protagonists in Marvel’s Spider-Man2, and it already has several villains that it could introduce or reprise from Peter’s long-standing career as a crime-fighter in New York City.
There will be at least two new villains in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 that players will be introduced to, but Marvel’s Spider-Man’s catalog of established villains doesn’t necessarily deserve to be shelved. It would be great to see Electro return with a greater presence, for example, and the ESU Halloween party teasing Mysterio could be another great villain addition in the sequel. Moreover, Doctor Octopus is still alive and unwell, and his reprisal in the franchise’s future would be a fantastic way to reprise a unique villain exclusive to the PS1 Spider-Man from Neversoft and Activision.
Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Doctor Octopus is Primed for a Major Comeback
Players may have always assumed that Otto Octavius would become Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Doctor Octopus since they first saw him in the game as a mild-mannered scientist. It would have been odd to see Otto in the game without him attaching four mechanical arms to himself, although Norman Osborn appears without any direct mention of him becoming the Green Goblin.
More distinctly, fans knew Otto would be Doctor Octopus at some point within the narrative because he was purposefully withheld from any official marketing, and his tentacles were a spoiler included in Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Collector’s Edition statue. Doctor Octopus ends up being the founder of a makeshift Sinister Six that composes a bunch of iconic villains incarcerated in the RAFT, as well as Martin Li’s Mr. Negative.
Peter is eventually able to defeat the entire Sinister Six with a final fight against Doctor Octopus, whose body is allegedly failing him and ailed without the support of his tentacles. In an epilogue cutscene, fans see that Otto is still able to walk and move as he is locked away in a cell, and his menacing glare into the camera teases that this will not be the last fans see of him. Now that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is manifesting the alien symbiote as Venom, it would be satisfying to see Insomniac’s take on Monster-Ock from the PS1 Spider-Man at some point.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Should Feature the PS1 Game’s Monster-Ock
Spider-Man’s Monster-Ock is the terrifying and dread-inducing product of the Carnage symbiote bonding with Otto Octavius, creating a hideous red brute with control of Otto’s tentacles. Monster-Ock appears as an enemy that players do not attempt to confront, but instead flee from in a harrowing escape sequence that requires players to swing and leap through narrow corridors and around tight corners. Similar to what Spider-Man: Edge of Time created with its Atrocity, a gruesome mixture between Anti-Venom and Doctor Octopus, Monster-Ock is a wonderful design that was never reprised after its original appearance.
It is unknown whether Carnage will appear in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 or at all in Insomniac’s franchise, but it would be another terrific hit of nostalgia to see Doctor Octopus bond with a symbiote again for the same effect. Monster-Ock in particular would be exciting to see, though fans would need to wait quite a long time for that if Carnage isn’t featured in the upcoming sequel, which may already be packed with an assortment of villains.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to release in fall 2023 for PS5.
