Marvel’s Spider-Man includes many villains in its unique continuity. Insomniac Games’ interpretations may be new, but Kingpin, Shocker, Electro, Vulture, Rhino, and Scorpion are already established characters that Spider-Man has tangled with before, whereas Doctor Octopus and Mister Negative debut as new adversaries for Peter in Marvel’s Spider-Man’s narrative. Marvel’s Spider-Man also lays the foundation for other colorful villains as established Spider-Man adversaries.
During Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Halloween campus party at Empire State University, fans get a look at different villains’ original outfits being worn as festive costumes; for example, it is canon in Insomniac’s universe that Electro originally wore the yellow-and-green jumpsuit with electricity bolts jolting from his face. While these costumes make for fun Easter eggs based on the comic book source material, two supervillain costumes stand out from the others: the Lizard and Mysterio.
Mysterio Is an Established Adversary in Marvel's Spider-Man
The fan-made cosplay appearances of the Lizard and Mysterio advertise the characters as established adversaries that Peter Parker has previously faced. However, these characters do not appear otherwise, and their present whereabouts in Marvel’s Spider-Man are unknown. It is not until Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ post-credits scene that Lizard’s alter ego, Curtis Connors, is accounted for.
Connors is seen working with Norman Osborn in the same clandestine lab that holds Norman’s son, Harry, in a green fluid chamber with the alien symbiote. In this context, Connors is most likely assisting with finding a cure for Harry, but it is not confirmed if his reptilian persona will once again overwhelm him in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Quentin Beck’s Mysterio is entirely unaccounted for. All that has been confirmed is Mysterio was an antagonist at some point in Peter’s eight years of formative wall-crawling and web-slinging, and that he featured the same domed helmet, purple cape, and green jumpsuit fans expect. Players encounter ESU’s Doctor Stratton dressed as Mysterio in a hall of mirrors, who is quickly subdued after they elude players and fire a foam dart gun at Spider-Man.
It may not even be Quentin Beck under the real villain’s dome helmet, as certain identities that characters typically inherit might not be the same in Insomniac’s continuity. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ tech-savvy Tinkerer, for example, was instead a gender-bent Phin Mason who grew up as one of Miles’ childhood friends. Mysterio’s fantastical apparitions could also trick players to believe he is someone else entirely.
Marvel's Spider-Man Sets Up Mysterio's Illusions With Scorpion's Hallucinations
Even if a future appearance is not ensured in the narrative, one of Marvel’s Spider-Man’s most visually diverse gameplay sequences establishes a foundation for Mysterio. Scorpion’s mechanized tail traditionally fires energy blasts or is used for its sheer force, while Scorpion himself is incredibly agile. Marvel’s Spider-Man creates authentic gameplay for Scorpion with a hallucinogenic property administered from the tail’s toxin, which poisons Peter and renders New York City into a hellish, orange environment with tricky platforming sections.
Scorpion’s hallucinogenic toxin produces these lucid, nightmarish sequences akin to Batman: Arkham Asylum’s Scarecrow and Batman: Arkham Origins’ Mad Hatter, where environments change to surreal landscapes that Batman must traverse while drugged. Mysterio employs dizzying special effects and theatrical mirages of his own, though Mysterio’s effects are the products of fog machines and visually authentic deceptions that merely appear real.
This creates a natural gameplay progression from Scorpion’s hallucinogens that Insomniac could translate directly to Mysterio, since it would more aptly fit his character’s abilities. It would certainly be strange if Insomniac did not take advantage of their development practices with Scorpion to adapt those visual techniques into Mysterio sequences for a sequel.
Other Spider-Man games such as Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, and Neversoft’s Spider-Man portray Mysterio with these mischievous illusions in boss battles that tangibly alter the environment around the player. Now, Marvel’s Spider-Man has the perfect blueprint to replicate that gameplay with Mysterio. These battles often become larger-than-life spectacles due to the creative nature of Mysterio’s special effects expertise, which could impose significant threats in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Such threats could even include apparitional versions of other villains for players to fight who may not have been seen before in Marvel’s Spider-Man. Further, if Mysterio knew Peter was Spider-Man, he could produce apparitions of his loved ones in peril to toy with him; Aunt May suddenly appearing after her death in Marvel’s Spider-Man, for example, could be particularly devastating.
Mysterio Could Be a Popular Villain for Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Mysterio has always been a more influential antagonist of Spider-Man, despite how quickly Spider-Man is usually able to dispatch him. One of Mysterio’s most contemporary appearances is in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), where Jake Gyllenhaal’s Beck used drones to project illusory events and characters in order to deceive Spider-Man and others. In a sequel’s narrative, it is possible that Insomniac could portray Mysterio with the same sort of tactics to trick the player.
Similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man’s eclectic rogues' gallery, Mysterio could make his reprisal in a new outfit befitting a modern interpretation. Because Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales have already established so many antagonist characters, it will be interesting to see which foes are featured in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which is confirmed to feature Tony Todd as the alien symbiote Venom. The host or hosts that it will bond to are currently undetermined.
Sergei Kravinoff, also known as Kraven the Hunter, is a likely antagonist candidate after narration in the cinematic teaser trailer represented Kraven’s trademark thrill of the hunt. If the sequel needs another intriguing antagonist, however, Mysterio is already adequately established in Insomniac’s universe and would make for an exciting boss battle in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to release in 2023 on PS5.
