At the recent Insomniac Showcase- sorry, PlayStation Showcase, we saw our first reveal of Spider-Man 2, set to feature both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable characters. Aside from that, all we know are the two villains - the trailer is narrated ominously by a thick European voice that almost certainly belongs to Kraven the Hunter, while the teaser closes with Venom emerging from the shadows. Except do we actually know that these two are the villains? Kraven - or at the very least, the owner of the ominous voice - seems nailed on as a baddie, but Venom? I’m not so sure.

Venom is typically a villain. I know that. It’s natural that people see Venom and go ‘oh okay there’s our villain sorted’. He’s an excellent baddie, but as Tom Hardy’s turn as the character has proven, he’s also a brilliant anti-hero, where Eddie Brock manages to keep a lid on Venom’s worst impulses while the story still highlights the destruction and devastation the beast is capable of. Only it’s not Eddie Brock here, is it? The end of the first Spider-Man teased that Harry Osborn would instead become Venom, with Norman visiting him in a suspended tube, the symbiote slithering across his body while Norman’s people work on a cure for his terminal illness. We also see a touch of humanity in the symbiote - when Norman places his hand on the glass, the symbiote reacts and reaches out. It could have been trying to attack, but it could also show that Harry has some control over it, even in his current state, and is able to make it reach out for his father.

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The chamber Harry floats inside is green, and since both he and Norman are typically the Green Goblin, we could see some version of the Goblin appear too - but let’s stick with what we know. Harry is Venom, and Venom is in the game. Already, this is not the typical Venom origin story, so it stands to reason that other liberties may be taken with the Venom arc. We also know that Kraven - I’m just going to assume from this point on that when I say Kraven, you know I mean the voice we all assume is Kraven - is definitely one of the villains. In his monologue, he talks about wanting to be challenged, even wanting to be beaten, by a worthy adversary. So far, so Kraven. He asks if anyone will grant his wish. Venom then emerges from the shadows to growl “we will…”

spider-man 2
via PlayStation

Because Venom is two people - Venom and Eddie, or here Venom and Harry - they talk about themselves in the first person plural. However, what if Venom was being literal? What if he meant “we will,” where “we” is Venom, Peter, and Miles? Aside from ‘Venom is a bad guy’, what hint is there that Venom is a villain? In the trailer, we see him challenge the main antagonist, which is exactly what you’d expect Peter or Miles to do. Crucially, after Peter and Miles get a close up of their Spidey suit, Venom gets a flash of his logo - he is being framed exactly as the two heroes are, and added to the fact he’s now Harry and is going up against Kraven, seems more likely to be a hero than a villain from what we’ve seen so far.

You’ll still have to fight him, of course. You don’t put Venom in a Spider-Man game and not use him for a boss battle. But I suspect you fight him early on, like Peter’s collision with Kingpin, establishing Venom as a violent, powerful character not always in control of his own actions, but with Peter able to defeat him then talk him around quite quickly, making him a valuable ally - and maybe even a third playable character - in your adventure.

peter and miles in spider-man 2
via PlayStation

Peter and Miles already have fairly distinct swing styles, with Miles less graceful but with more flair, Peter more competent but with less creativity. Venom would offer a third traversal style, being much heavier, with less height and free flowing air time, but more weight and crunch to his movements. While Peter’s combat is tech based and speedy, Miles’ is built on combos and powers, and Venom’s would be clobberin’ time. Wait. Wrong hero.

Venom is a cool villain, but he adds so much more to the formula as a playable hero, even if he still needs his more destructive, unpredictable side catered to. Fighting Venom at the start, then again at the end, with 30 hours or so of him being a good guy in the middle would be a great way to balance both possibilities out, giving fans what they want from Venom while also giving them something new. He could just be a straight up villain, sure. But I’m not sure we’ve seen all that much evidence to support it.

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