One of the most anticipated games of the year, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is still slated for a Fall 2023 release date, despite PlayStation and Insomniac not giving fans any new details in over a year and a half. The last official trailer fans got for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was its announcement trailer, dropped in September 2021. This trailer doesn't reveal too much, mainly hinting at its two primary antagonists, Venom and Kraven the Hunter. But fans have finally received a little more information on the long-awaited sequel in the form of a teaser prequel comic book, setting the stage for Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Mary Jane Watson to take the spotlight once more.
Released on May 6 as part of Free Comic Book Day, the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 prequel comic picks up soon after the events of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and sees the two Spider-Men try to take down a mysterious threat in New York City. While there's plenty of Spidey action in the comic, its main purpose is to set the stage for the core character dynamics that'll presumably be front and center of Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
What Happens in Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Prequel Comic
The one-issue Marvel's Spider-Man 2 prequel comic opens up with Mary Jane Watson being interviewed by J. Jonah Jameson for his "Just the Facts" podcast. Jameson commends MJ for her new book, "Perilous: A Journey into War-Torn Symkaria," the same book she was researching while the events of Spider-Man: Miles Morales were taking place, but at the same time, Jameson also criticizes MJ for the book's subject matter, claiming that the reason why it's a commercial flop is its lack of "sexiness."
While MJ is lashing out at Jameson, exclaiming that he's a shadow of his former journalist self, both Spider-Men break through the window behind them, accompanied by the relatively obscure Spider-Man villain Tarantula. While the two Spider-Men continue to make short work of Tarantula, Peter jibes that "getting smoked by two Spider-Men once" isn't enough for the villain, which is a reference to the Spider-Geddon comic run where Tarantula is defeated by both this version of Peter Parker and Earth-616's Superior Spider-Man. While this could just be a fun little reference for comic fans, it does seemingly confirm the multiverse in the Marvel's Spider-Man universe, potentially paving the way for some interesting plot points in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
While the two Spider-Men defeat Tarantula fairly easily, they do make a few rookie mistakes, knocking into each other while fighting. After the fight, Peter, Miles, and MJ all meet up to get some electrical supplies to upgrade MJ's Spider-Lures, and they discuss where they're currently at in life. Peter is struggling to pay the mortgage on May's house, MJ's book is a flop, and Miles is having a tough time choosing a college major, knowing that he should probably choose a science, but wanting to pursue his passions with music. The trio finds the shop being robbed, and working as a team, they knock out the robbers inside who claim to be working for a mysterious villain known only as "The Hood," who the henchmen claim is magic. When the police arrive, they discover that the criminals have escaped, and Miles determines that they must be using some kind of cloaking technology.
After some sleuthing, MJ tells the two Spider-Men where they can find some more Hood henchmen, and the two ambush a group of them, quickly taking them down. Miles confirms that they're definitely using cloaking technology originally designed by the Tinkerer, which was left behind after her death. MJ uses her journalist skills to interrogate the henchmen, and one reveals that The Hood is collecting enough money to buy an ancient magical artifact. But before they can reveal anything more, The Hood himself appears. After a brief fight, Miles uses a sonic device to disrupt The Hood's cloaking technology, but he manages to escape regardless.
After wrangling together a list of New York's dealers, the two Spider-Men hunt down The Hood, and Miles uses a new sonic device - that's integrated with his own music - to find him. The two Spider-Men track The Hood down to an abandoned building where they find him attempting to use an ancient magic stone tablet to heal his dying mother. With the tablet not working, The Hood's mother claims that all she wanted was to spend time her son before her death, and the two Spider-Men halt the police just long enough so that they can have their final moments together. The comic ends with the trio setting aside their own personal burdens for the sake of the team, and J. Jonah Jameson purchasing the Daily Bugle.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to release in fall 2023 for PS5.
