Which ‘Spider-Man 2’ do you mean, video game or movie or what?

Last week, I was listening to an episode of a podcast in which one of the hosts referred to “the second Spider-Man,” and I had absolutely no idea what they meant. Is it the new PlayStation 5 game Marvel’s Spider-Man 2? Or could it have been Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004)? They probably weren’t referring to the forgotten middle child of the movie Spider-Mans, Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2,They may have meant Spider-Man: A Faraway Home (2019). As the podcast went on, it finally became clear that the host was referring to an option that hadn’t even occurred to me: Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse2023 is the second film in the Spider-Verse series of animated films.

That’s too many Spider-Mans 2. Spider-Man 2s. Spiders-Man, Spider-Men, whatever! It’s too many, OK?

I have no ideas on how to fix this problem, and it’s not going to end anytime soon. There was a misunderstanding Thursday during the San Diego Comic-Con. Spider-Man 2 panel — about the PS5 video game. You could have been forgiven for thinking that the panel was about Across the Spider-VerseSDCC attendees are not allowed to attend the MCU because Hollywood actors and writers were on strike.

I suppose it’s remotely possible that you could’ve thought that SDCC panel was about the video game tie-in for the Sam Raimi movie Spider-Man 2Also titled Spider-Man 2 (2004). Of course, there’s also the game tie-in for The Amazing Spider-Man 2,, which is — again, of course! — also titled The Amazing Spider-Man 2, (2014). Or it could’ve been about the Game Boy Color game Spider-Man 2, The Sinister Six You can also play the PlayStation game (2001). Spider-Man 2: Enter ElectroAlso from 2001. The Game Boy game was actually the first-ever “Spider-Man 2” — unless you count comic book issues, but people would at least say “Spider-Man #2” in that situation, so that’s more or less fine.

In 2023, most of the examples listed above aren’t Spider-Man 2. But still, it’s a pretty goofy problem in an era of reboots and sequels for beloved characters invented decades ago. Failing an actual solution to this important societal issue, I recommend that everybody assume that the phrase “Spider-Man 2” refers to the 2001 Game Boy Color game unless explicitly told otherwise.