Highlights
- Marvel and DC have often inspired each other in various ways, including character outlines and connected movie universes.
- Actor Stephen Oyoung discussed how his performance as Red Hood in Gotham Knights influenced his portrayal of Mister Negative in Spider-Man 2.
- Oyoung mentioned that his role as Mister Negative in the first Spider-Man game influenced his subsequent roles, particularly in terms of the character's underlying gentleness.
Marvel and DC are often believed to be at opposing ends of the table, seemingly competing with one another for the best part of six decades now. But while these two comic juggernauts are often thought of as mortal enemies, it's actually often been the case that each one has inspired the other in a plethora of ways, from individual comic storylines and general character outlines to the structure of connected movie universes. One great example of a recent bridge between the two comic worlds is Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Stephen Oyoung, who's recently performed for both the Marvel and DC video game universes.
Very recently, Game ZXC had the opportunity to interview Stephen Oyoung, the actor behind Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Mister Negative. Along with discussions surrounding the actor's favorite performance moments in the first game and how live-action and video game filming differ, Oyoung also went into quite a bit of detail on how his performance as Gotham Knights' Red Hood was informed by his past work as Mister Negative in 2018's Spider-Man, and how Red Hood went on to shape Mister Negative's return in Spider-Man 2.
Red Hood's Physicality and Morality Are Major Traits Shared With Mister Negative
Having worked in the video game industry for over a decade now, it's only natural that Stephen Oyoung has had quite a few roles that he's proud of. Of course, one of Oyoung's most well-known roles, and a role he seems to hold very close to his heart, is Mister Negative in Insomniac's Spider-Man universe. Debuting in 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man, Oyoung brought Mister Negative to the mainstream, and during his recent interview with Game ZXC, he expressed just how grateful he is that Insomniac chose him for the villainous role.
But Mister Negative is far from the only major role Stephen Oyoung has had, and when asked what his favorite role since Spider-Man has been, Oyoung stated that Gotham Knights' Jason Todd/Red Hood is right up there. Being a talented actor across both live-action and video games, Oyoung carries forward lessons learned from previous roles, and when it came to asking how his Red Hood performance informed his take on Mister Negative in the sequel, Oyoung had this to say:
Without spoiling too much, I think a little of Jason’s physicality carried over. He’s a bigger guy, so when he wasn’t fighting he was moving a little heavier. You could call it with a little world weariness. That played well with the passing of time in the game world of Spider-Man. Mister Negative’s kind of gone through it.
On paper, Red Hood and Mister Negative are completely different characters, with completely different backstories and abilities. However, in the interview, Oyoung made a few insightful comparisons between the two comic characters, highlighting just how similar they actually are:
There are definitely similarities there. They’ve both lost their parents to tragedy, were victimized by a criminal mastermind but afterward gained otherworldly powers, then used those powers or their training to terrorize criminals and innocents alike in their quest for justice or vengeance. They both have that internal push and pull between good and evil.
But Mister Negative isn't the only role that Oyoung has crafted over the last few years, and just like how Red Hood informed Oyoung's performance as Mister Negative in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Mister Negative has also gone on to inform a number of Oyoung's other roles. During the interview, Oyoung mentioned that it's actually the underlying gentleness of Martin Li in that first Spider-Man game that he's gone on to use in subsequent roles, citing the character's sentimentality as being truly eye-opening for his following performances.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is available now on PS5.
