Spider-Man 2 review: Insomniac’s sequel toys with canon to great effect

“Those slavering jaws; the lolling tongue; the rime of saliva on the grizzled chops.”

This is Angela Carter, not on Venom, but on the wolf from “Little Red Riding Hood” in Bloody ChamberIt’s actually from “The Company of Wolves,” which is one of her reimagined fairy and folk tales. It’s actually from “The Company of Wolves,” which is one of Threes retellings of “Little Red Riding Hood” in the collection, each with its own spin on the familiar tale.

Retellings are compelling because they allow writers to toy with readers’ preconceived notions of how the story “should go,” both in terms of genre conventions and in terms of plot. We know Little Red Riding Hood will go to her grandmother’s house, where she will find that her grandmother has been eaten by a wolf, just as we know Spider-Man will be bitten by a radioactive spider. The fun, both for the author and the reader, comes in deviating from those norms — in finding new ways to tell old tales.

The following are some alternatives to the word “Advantage” Marvel’s Spider-Man 2Insomniac Games tries something similar.

Spider-Man is increasingly a part of mainstream stories.You can also find out more about MenThe stories of the world Spider-Man 2The third Spidey from Insomniac is no exception. Play as either the Peter Parker from or the Peter Parker from Spider-Man Remastered and Miles Morales from his eponymous debut in 2020, switching between the two at your leisure with all the speed afforded by the PlayStation 5’s SSD.

Picture: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment by Polygon

The first Spider-Man exclusive for PS5 is a game that focuses on speed. The new web wings allow Spider-Mans the ability to glide over rooftops while gaining speeds from wind tunnels. This allows them to avoid relying on bridges, buildings or any other kind of anchor for their web-slinging. (They’re especially useful when crossing the East River into the newly added Brooklyn and Queens.) The web-swinging has also been accelerated, giving you that unmistakable Spider-Man feeling as you glide across New York. Whether you’re playing as Miles or Peter, traversing the three available boroughs is an undeniable joy — so much so that I found myself using fast travel less frequently than in the previous two games, because movement felt that much more fluid.

Juggling two Spider-Mans in the narrative requires an entirely different level of skill. Two villains new to the series take center stage — Kraven the Hunter and Venom — as well as a returning cast of nearly every villain from the previous two games. Rather than spoiling the game, we can say that a majority of this cast are sidelined very early, with Kraven and Venom being our main antagonists. Miles MoralesThere are also Mister Negative and a few others that should delight comic fans, setting up future conflicts for either expansions or the presumed sequel. Others will also please comic book fans. These include future battles for the expansions of either the assumed or presumed Spider-Man 3To tackle. Spider-Man is not just about villainy and spectacle. Spider-Man 2The goods are plentiful.

Miles, Peter and their team return after their separate adventures to form a dynamic duo. Their two stories are threaded together, allowing for randomized encounters where Peter might show up while you’re playing as Miles (or vice versa), with the two of you tag-teaming a random criminal and slamming them into the ground in what feels like the world’s least fair fight. And yes, they do the Spider-Man-pointing-at-Spider-Man meme in-game. Yes, the game is charming at first (though perhaps not so much the second time). In the main story, Spider-Mans are sometimes switched mid-mission. For example, in the opening scene, Sandman dusts down the city while Peter and Miles race to assist firefighters and other first responders. The scene has echoes 9/11. The side missions are often open to either Spider-Man, but main story beats only allow one Spider-Man.

Picture: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment by Polygon

Peter’s plot involves a retelling of the Venom origin story, with beats that will be recognizable to those even passingly familiar with the Spider-Man mythos. You can find out more about it here. Spider-Man 2 is a game of retellings, Peter’s story clings most closely to the canon. If you’ve seen Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, you’ll know the gist of what to expect when the symbiote finds its way to Peter. It isn’t until the late game that Peter’s story starts pushing more strongly against our canonical memories and into something more unique to Insomniac.

Miles’ story takes more liberties. Hailey Cooper, Miles’ love interest from his solo game, returns here, taking more of an MJ-esque role and carving out her own identity separate from Miles’. American Sign Language is featured heavily throughout Miles’ missions because of Hailey’s presence, feeling as natural and integral to the story as anything from the canon. Miles has a side mission that focuses on the art history of Harlem. It combines the histories of Josephine Baker (real life), Langston Hughes (fictional), and Charlie Parker, with other Marvel properties. An early mission shows off Insomniac’s technical chops with a section that cleverly borrows a trick from Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Of the two Spider-Mans, it’s Miles who feels more alive with the possibility to break free of expectation and canon.

[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.]

Picture: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment by Polygon

Recently, the recent Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has an obsession with “canon events,” pivotal moments in a Spider-Man’s life that the film’s villain, Spider-Man 2099, is dedicated to maintaining across the multiverse. Whether it’s the upside-down kiss, the death of Uncle Ben or Jefferson Davis, or simply the spider bite that starts it all, Spider-Man 2099 believes that upholding these canon events, even the painful ones, is key to preserving the stability of each strand of reality. Miles disagrees, believing it is Spider-Man’s job to resist the seemingly inevitable — to always do what’s right, not simply what’s preordained. It ends by promising to push back on Spider-Man 2020 and the canon.

The food I wanted was not available. Spider-Man 2 to push back in a similar way — to treat the established story like Angela Carter repurposing “Little Red Riding Hood” to her whims, like Michael Cunningham plumbing “Rumpelstiltskin” for a story about the desire to have a child, or like Helen Oyeyemi and her body of work. To give an example more suited to mass media, consider Star Wars VisionsThis gives a wide range of storytellers and animators the creative freedom to experiment with what makes Star Wars Star Wars.

Spider-Man 2 doesn’t go quite this far, but where it does go is still satisfyingly slant. Even seasoned Spider-fans will be kept on their toes by the wrinkles in critical plot and character points. The game is a joy to play, thanks to the clever combat additions, which enhance your power fantasy as Spider-Man. The game is beautifully rendered, taking full advantage of the newest PlayStation, with such detailed textures on each unlockable suit that you’d swear they were real, as well as ray-traced windows in a loving rendition of New York. The game is beautifully rendered, taking full advantage of the newest PlayStation, with such detailed textures on each unlockable suit that you’d swear they were real, and ray-traced window after ray-traced window in a loving rendition of New York. (If you can get past the Frankenstein-ification of the boroughs, that is. Chelsea, RIP.

Picture: Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment by Polygon

Themes are explored in greater depth within Spider-Man 2. The surveillance state, the loss of privacy, and other concerns are all present in this discussion. The issues are there, even if they appear briefly. Spider-Man 2, but there isn’t enough time to elaborate on any single one in the unrelenting march of set-piece after glorious set-piece.

But I’m glad they’re there, anyway. Because if we’re going to retell a story, we ought to retell it anew. The Canon was made to be broken. Spider-Man 2The game swings towards that direction. With a sequel teed up by the game’s final act, I’m eager to see where Insomniac goes with that momentum. The Bronx is next.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2Release date for the PlayStation 5 is Oct. 20, 2013. Sony Interactive Entertainment gave us a download code to play the game before its release. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. Vox Media earns commissions from affiliate products, although this doesn’t influence the editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.