Highlights

  • Marvel's Spider-Man 3 is the most predictable installment in the franchise, building on loose threads from the previous games.
  • The game is likely to feature Green Goblin as the final boss, with a potentially epic boss fight that blends gameplay and set-piece moments.
  • The emotional stakes may not be as high as in previous games, as the relationship between the main character and Green Goblin is not as prominent or significant.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 is only one of a handful of games to be excited about now from Insomniac, and that’s sadly a result of an awful ransomware hack the studio has had to endure recently. Still, Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 is easily the most predictable of the bunch and that’s due to the efforts Insomniac went to in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to lay a foundation of loose threads for the third entry to knot.

Everything known about Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 also suggests it will be the last installment in the franchise, or at least the last mainline game, and that was precipitated by Otto Octavius ominously gearing up for what he considers “the final chapter.” How Otto intends to fulfill that may be connected to Norman Osborn, who is now in a chaotic state of devastation after his son is in a worse condition than he was when he first went into the green stasis chamber with the symbiote. Norman himself has been teased repeatedly as becoming the Green Goblin, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 will need to finally satisfy that.

p (1)-15
Related
Mysterio Should’ve Been Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Take on Arkham Batman’s Mad Hatter

Marvel's Spider-Man 2's exciting Mysterio quest unfortunately won't seem to achieve the same epic longevity as Mad Hatter from Batman's Arkhamverse.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 3’s Green Goblin Has to Be the Franchise’s Most Epic Boss Fight Yet

Green Goblin is All But Confirmed Already for Marvel’s Spider-Man 3

Insomniac has made a point to nod at Green Goblin’s debut at the end of each Marvel’s Spider-Man game now, and if the third main installment for Marvel’s Spider-Man is going to be its last then it’s almost guaranteed he will be its final boss. Doctor Octopus may have a fairly large impact in Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 and can be a villain who may be more resounding for players since he’s been around as a great antagonist since the original game.

However, because Green Goblin has been teased so thoroughly, it would make sense for him to be the third game’s final lasting antagonist since there has been so much suspense and excitement built up for him. It also wouldn’t quite make sense for Harry Osborn to become a Goblin due to him being in a coma and already having played an antagonist role, though if Insomniac truly wants the Osborns to suffer that is still a feasible path it could take with the franchise.

Green Goblin Can’t Afford to Disappoint in Marvel’s Spider-Man 3

It shouldn’t be difficult to introduce Green Goblin now that the villain’s equipment and G-Serum have already been laid out throughout the franchise, but making Green Goblin’s boss fight exciting will be a completely different endeavor. There haven’t been many Green Goblin boss fights in past Spider-Man games and that falls in Insomniac’s favor, though it’ll undoubtedly feel like a letdown if the boss fight in Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 isn’t the franchise’s most visually stunning and mechanically rich, meaning it’ll need to integrate everything Insomniac has learned from its Marvel’s Spider-Man games.

It seems fair to assume that Insomniac’s Green Goblin will have its G-Serum-affected villain adorned in high-tech armor as per the teases in Marvel’s Spider-Man. But, having Goblin evolve into the hulking monster depicted in Ultimate Spider-Man could make for a terrifically layered and dynamic boss fight. This way, the first encounter with Green Goblin could be a city-wide beat-’em-up while Spider-Man and him exchange blows atop the glider, and a second encounter could see a wholly new approach with Spider-Man battling a massive brute.

If Insomniac sticks with one or the other exclusively it will need to make the fight rich with gameplay opportunities, blending the game’s actual combat with QTEs and fantastic set-piece moments.

There’s likely no way now that the Green Goblin fight will be nearly as emotionally charged as Doctor Octopus’ boss fight because neither Peter nor Miles is that close to Norman. Peter is apparently viewed as a son by Norman but their interactions have never been as inspiring as Peter’s were with Otto, for instance, and Insomniac will have a lot of expository heavy lifting to do if it wants to achieve that same degree of emotional stakes in its third Marvel’s Spider-Man game.