Insomniac’sMarvel’s: Spider-Man 2left players with a lot of hanging plot threads for future titles to wrap up: the return of Otto, the surprise appearance of Cindy Moon (AKA the superhero Silk), the cliffhanger with Carnage, Peter’s soft retirement from superheroics, and of course, Norman Osborn’s looming transformation into the Green Goblin. With such a full plate for the third installment, there’s only one chance left for the studio to make good on one of its biggest villain teases fromMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Amid thechaos ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 2’s symbiote invasion, eagle-eyed fans may have noticed the distinctive spiral symbol that appeared on the meteor that brought the invasion to Earth. While this might have slipped past some players, comic readers will have recognized this as the insignia of Knull, a recently created character and the driving force behind the 2020-2021 major crossover eventThe King in Black.
Insomniac Has One Chance Left to Feature Knull in its Spider-Man Games
Knull is the creator of the symbiote race. As such, his arrival on Earth would be a major deal; he is not a character that can be relegated to side quests like Tombstone or Chameleon. If Insomniac wants to tackle the King in Black, he needs to be one of the major story threats, if not the main antagonist outright. The problem is, the third and final game in Insomniac’s trilogy is already looking a bit overstuffed with characters.
The story of all three games to date has been slowly building toward Norman Osborn’s descent into madness and eventual turn to supervillainy. It seems highly likely that theGreen Goblin is the main villain ofMarvel’s Spider-Man 3; his story has far too much momentum to fumble in the third act.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 3’s Plot is Already Too Crowded for Knull
There’s also thesurprise reveal of Silk/Cindy Moonand the return of Otto Octavius, the main villain fromMarvel’s Spider-Man. His deeply personal relationships with Peter and Norman are going to factor heavily into the inevitable drama in Insomniac’s finale. On top of it all,Marvel’s Spider-Man 3will need to touch on Peter’s retirement from the superhero biz and his inevitable return to web-slinging.
Juggling all these story beats and plot threads means it’s increasingly likely that Insomniac won’t be able to give the eldritch symbiote god the gravitas he demands in a third game in the mainline series. But there is one last place Knull could fit into Insomniac’s Spider-Man mythos:the leaked Venom spinoff game.
Knull Could Work as the Main Villain in Insomniac’s Venom Game
Late last year, Insomniac was targeted by hackers who released the studio’s upcoming slate of currently unannounced releases. Among them was a Venom standalone game tentatively titledVenom: Lethal Protector. Knull would be much more at home in a game about Venom, as the character was conceived for Venom’s own comics. Knull would have to be the main villain, coming to Earth to set his agenda back on course after his previoussymbiote invasion was foiled inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Fans who played the last game may balk at the idea and say that Carnage is the obvious contender for a Venom game afterThe Flame cult questline inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2. But Carnage was an acolyte of Knull duringThe King in Blackin the comics and the years-long build up to it. With Cletus already a cult figure in the Flame missions, Carnage acting as a general in Knull’s invasion force would work wonders narratively, allowing for two of Venom’s greatest foes to feature in the character’s anticipated standalone game.
If Insomniac elects to forgo Knull in the Venom game, however, it’s probably best to let sleeping gods lie. The character commands too much narrative attention and too much build-up to waste any precious screen time inMarvel’s Spider-Man 3on him when the game already has such a long to-do list. Fans have been waiting to see the end of some of these stories since the first game back in 2018. It would be downright criminal to neglect any of them in order to hype up a newly-introduced threat like Knull.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
