Highlights

  • Insomniac missed an opportunity to tease Wolverine more in Spider-Man 2, but it might be for the best to keep them distinct.
  • Marvel's Spider-Man 2 includes scenes where Peter rides a bicycle, which could potentially hint at motorcycle traversal in Marvel's Wolverine.
  • Mary Jane's motorcycle-riding aesthetic in Spider-Man 2 could be a nod to how Wolverine will get around in his own game.

It’s surprising that Marvel’s Wolverine wasn’t teased or alluded to more in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 considering they belong to the same canon. This wasn’t clarified until after Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was already out, but Insomniac could’ve certainly thrown in a bigger tease than a Wolverine-inspired suit for Miles and a name-drop of Madripoor if it wanted to. Of course, many Marvel references and Easter eggs have been rampant in the Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise like DC references and Easter eggs were abundant in the Arkham games.

Insomniac may not be developing a Dr. Strange game, for instance, but it’s been made clear that the Sorcerer Supreme is part of Peter and Miles’ world. No such allusion to Wolverine yet keeps fans entirely in suspense and that’s likely for the best if Insomniac does want to keep its franchises distinct enough while a character’s name is headlining it. That said, Insomniac is known to use the same tricks it’s employed in recent games, especially if they are technically impressive or idiosyncratic, and that point might prove that Marvel’s Spider-Man hid a big Marvel’s Wolverine tease right under everyone’s noses.

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How Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Might Hint at Wolverine Getting a Motorcycle

Peter Riding a Bicycle Can’t Be an Odd, Random Coincidence

Interestingly, there are at least three sequences in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 where Peter rides a bicycle:

  • One is a narrative-driven sequence where it seems like riding a bike alongside Harry is simply a vessel in which Insomniac can allow the two to carry a conversation in real-time as they make their way to Midtown High for a flashback sequence to occur.
  • One allows Peter to ride a bike through Central Park for a remote EMF terminal as a real-world trial for “ultra-efficient battery bicycles.”
  • One is a flashback where Peter rides frantically through New York City to get to a meeting with the Daily Bugle’s J. Jonah Jameson about selling him Spider-Man photographs.

There is also apparently a bike that players can find in the open world that lets Spider-Man ride it as many players have found, but since it also vanishes once they get far enough this is seemingly unintended, if not an unfinished and obscure interaction not many players would happen upon idly anyway.

Either way, players getting to ride a bike is probably the last activity they would’ve expected from the sequel. It doesn’t necessarily add anything to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 aside from a way to demand that players listen to character dialogue, though seeing Peter race to meet up with Jameson is admittedly neat.

Still, it might’ve been more interesting to see Peter learning how to properly web-swing in this flashback in order to make it to him on time. Instead, what Insomniac might have cooking is a means of traversal for its next game’s protagonist, who would be incapable of leaping around or pendulum-swinging between buildings, unlike Spider-Man. If so, motorcycle traversal might be a feature in Marvel’s Wolverine.

MJ Riding a Motorcycle Could Be a Nod to How Wolverine Will Get Around

This could’ve been even more succinct if Mary Jane had a playable sequence where she rode her motorcycle. Regardless, MJ’s motorcycle-riding aesthetic and the time it would’ve taken for Insomniac to design bike-riding animations and physics may have more significance as a stepping stone than it would seem on paper.

Wolverine riding a motorcycle is well within his wheelhouse and would make for a great alternative for traversal no matter where Marvel’s Wolverine takes place. This way, Peter’s bike riding might be the training wheels for when Marvel’s Wolverine graduates to full-fledged motorcycle riding.

As of right now, this is wholly speculation based on how much emphasis Insomniac seemed to put on bicycle-riding and there’s been no confirmation of motorcycle traversal yet in Marvel’s Wolverine. If Marvel’s Wolverine does have players ride a motorcycle, though, the foundations for such a feature are already laid bare in an elementary form.