Marvel’s Spider-Man hit the ground running with a full Sinister Six in its first franchise installment, but this may have been an instance of biting off more than it could chew. The Sinister Six was fantastic and iterative with characters players may not have expected, such as Martin Li’s Mr. Negative. However, by introducing so many iconic villains at once with their own boss fights, Marvel’s Spider-Man may have raised the bar too high with overwhelming expectations for which antagonists should appear in its future sequels, such as in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Venom is one of Spider-Man’s most iconic adversaries and has been teased well in Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. There has not been a lot of context given for how Norman has possession of the symbiote or if it had previously wreaked havoc as Venom before, but the antagonist’s official confirmation in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s cinematic reveal teaser undoubtedly poses him as a villain. If Green Goblin is to be the next big villain of the franchise as he has been teased to be, he cannot be rushed into a sequel unless there is narrative significance for the character.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Needs to Earn Its Green Goblin Debut
Because a franchise in games can take a decade to accomplish, it is not surprising that developers attempt to pack each installment with as much content and iconography as possible. However, despite how popular an installment with Green Goblin would be, Marvel’s Spider-Man needs to earn the right to use the antagonist with a narrative that leads to him naturally.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is already drastically different from other interpretations due to Norman’s love for his son, which is starkly opposite to traditional representations. Norman is desperate to cure Harry, and that has obviously led to him using the symbiote for some sort of regenerative purpose, but it would not be surprising to see Norman take other perilous risks in order to ensure Harry’s good health.
The only conceivable way that Norman may become Green Goblin at this point would be if Harry dies and sends Norman spiraling in grief. But no matter how the Green Goblin persona is debuted, the antagonist needs to have narrative significance that is not shoehorned in or lackadaisical. Otherwise, there are many antagonists still in Spider-Man’s long comic book history that could potentially serve Insomniac’s narrative better.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Has Many Other Antagonists to Pick from
Insomniac has the luxury of featuring a superhero protagonist who has a seemingly infinite rogues’ gallery to choose from for each game. Kraven the Hunter and Dr. Curtis Connors’ Lizard have already been teased to appear as villains in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, but it would be possible to see other antagonists such as Sandman, Hydro-Man, Mysterio, or Chameleon.
It should not be Insomniac’s goal to eclipse its previous game’s villain in terms of popularity or iconography, but who would make the most sense for its narrative. It is fully possible that a Green Goblin origin in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 could be well considered, but at this point it seems like there is no inclination that Norman will become villainous.
Green Goblin is one of the rare villains that has not already been established in Marvel’s Spider-Man’s original continuity, like Doctor Octopus, and that suggests he will have an origin to reinforce why he becomes an antagonist in the first place. In the meantime, other antagonists could certainly use the screen time while a proper explanation for why Green Goblin debuts is developed.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to release in 2023 on PS5.