Harry Osborn is likely the character with the most mystique following the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man. It has been made clear that the sequel will revolve around him heavily from the post-credits teases that both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales presented, but it is questionable what role he will play. Context will hopefully be given around his friendship with Peter Parker and what note that left off on before Harry had seemingly taken a trip to Europe, as Peter and MJ were made to believe. Instead, Harry’s fate is much worse.
Interestingly, the news that Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Harry Osborn was apparently recast broke after actor Scott Porter had announced he would not be involved with the character in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. This may not have any significant impact on the game itself, but it confirms that Harry will be at the center of the sequel’s narrative. Moreover, while it is assumed that he will become bonded to the symbiote as the antagonist Venom, Harry actually has the potential to become not one but two iconic antagonists in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Harry Osborn May Be More Important in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Than Fans Think
There could be a good reason why Harry has been kept hidden both from the player and other characters in Marvel’s Spider-Man. The stasis chamber that Harry has voluntarily entered puts him in suspended animation while Norman searches for a cure, and it would be interesting to know whether he knew what effects the symbiote would have on him while inside. Of course, fans know that the symbiote parasitically bonds to its host, but that may not be the effect that it has on individuals in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s interpretation of it.
It sounds more like Norman believes that the symbiote has properties representative of Marvel’s Anti-Venom instead, and it would be an intriguing twist if Insomniac’s Venom had Anti-Venom’s ability to create curative antibodies. Venom is posed as an antagonist, though, which could suggest that Harry’s cure becomes his poison once more.
That said, there is also a potential clue to Harry’s fate hiding in plain sight. The stasis chamber Harry has been suspended in is filled with a green liquid, and the symbiote’s presence there could be a distraction to the fact that Harry may be imbued with what could eventually be revealed as the Green Goblin formula.
Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Green Goblin Might Be Harry Instead of Norman Osborn
In what would surely be a dramatic twist, Harry may become Green Goblin after a period of being Venom. It could be revealed that what truly cured him was whatever fluid the chamber is filled with, and because it is green it could allude to the formula that gives Green Goblin his super-powered psychosis.
Harry’s psychotic tendencies could be revealed when the symbiote has left him for another host, which would present a perfect opportunity for the symbiote to bond to Peter or Miles in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Many fans would be right to assume that Norman would become Green Goblin in Marvel’s Spider-Man due to that being canonically true in the comics.
But Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man games do not follow any source material directly, and as their own original narratives, it is impossible to predict what the developer might do with each character. Norman could become Green Goblin at some point, but that would seemingly take some tragedy to befall him or some reckless action from him to ingest a Goblin formula himself. Either way, Harry is a great candidate for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s Venom, Green Goblin, or both.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to release in 2023 on PS5.
