Marvel’s Spider-Man has leaped ahead of Peter Parker’s days as a fledgling crime-fighter and instead chosen to portray him as an older and more experienced Spider-Man, relatively speaking. This is preferable after so many popular iterations of the character have portrayed him either at the origin of his spider bite or in the throes of high school at Midtown High or university at Empire State University. But while Marvel’s Spider-Man should continue to look forward instead of backward, there is a lot of contextual information missing that could help inform future plots and character developments.
Insomniac Games introduced its own iteration of the Sinister Six in Marvel’s Spider-Man composed of characters who were either established in the game’s narrative canon or had debuted in the events of the game itself. Other characters were established with a history of antagonizing New York City at some point in the eight years prior to Marvel’s Spider-Man. However, Marvel’s Spider-Man has yet to clarify or confirm whether Peter had any flings or old flames with supplementary characters from the comic book source material besides Mary Jane Watson and Felicia Hardy.
Felicia Hardy Was a Significant and Recent Part of Peter’s Life in Marvel’s Spider-Man
Marvel’s Spider-Man introduced Felicia Hardy’s Black Cat through cheeky side activities where players would find Felicia’s stake-out sites abandoned on rooftop corners and aim a camera lens around to locate tiny cat plushies. But it was not until Marvel’s Spider-Man’s first DLC story expansion in The City Never Sleeps, titled The Heist, that fans had their first glimpse of the felonious feline.
The City That Never Sleeps is a crime drama told across three episodic installments, featuring the reprisal of Silver Sable, as well as the debut of Joseph Martello’s Hammerhead and the Maggia. Meanwhile, at its heart is the scandalous reacquaintance of Spider-Man and Black Cat, whose history together is briefly skimmed but recent enough to still affect Peter.
Their fling was significant enough, in fact, that when Felicia tells him that she has had a child, Peter is instantly concerned that it may be his. This puts Peter in a predicament where he is seeing MJ again, but is now entangled in Felicia’s life again as well.
Felicia having a son turns out to be untrue, but The Heist still demonstrates the chemistry between Peter and Felicia, while also bringing Peter and MJ closer together. If a relationship as significant as this was under wraps and shelved in his life, the possibility for other interesting stories with other past love interests is fairly high, even if they are only referenced or used as a talking point between Peter and other characters.
The Chances Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Features Gwen Stacy, Betty Brant, or Others Are Slim
In the beginning of Marvel’s Spider-Man, Peter and MJ are not on relatively good terms. There is no scathing resentment or malicious intent between them, but they are not presently speaking to one another before Peter finds her at Wilson Fisk’s auction house as the Inner Demons arrive. Peter then reconnects with MJ and the two become trusted partners in Marvel’s Spider-Man’s third act, but the tension between them from beginning to end is palpable for anyone who has dealt with emotional inequality and dissatisfaction within a relationship.
Peter is currently living in and renovating Aunt May’s place in Queens following her death, and Peter and MJ seem to be effectively starting their lives together. Therefore, this development would feel undercut if Peter was to have his sights suddenly set on a new love interest, even if it was a memorable character from his past that Insomniac decided to randomly introduce.
Marvel’s Spider-Man’s open-world island of Manhattan is rife with optional side activities and collectible knick-knacks scattered about. These collectibles all have resource Tokens ascribed to them, but they also go a long way in establishing subtextual lore that players could easily overlook if they decided not to embrace Marvel’s Spider-Man’s plethora of collectibles. In particular, strewn-about backpacks include references to Peter and MJ’s first date at an Italian restaurant, Fiorito Osteria; a red-and-white baseball cap from his days working delivery for Pizza Amigos; and a high school newspaper clipping with an article written by MJ that confirms the existence of Eugene “Flash” Thompson.
Peter’s thesis, graded ‘A’ by Professor Warren, is probably the closest thing to a Gwen Stacy reference that could be extrapolated from these collectibles. But a “Good Luck” card signed by co-workers at the Daily Bugle when Peter left to go into research does reveal and confirm that Eddie Brock, Betty Brant, and Gloria Grant exist in Insomniac’s Spider-Man universe. Nonetheless, since these women are tied to his old employment at the Bugle, the chances that players see them again are low.
It is also not mentioned if either Betty or Gloria were romantic interests, only “great people.” It is also entirely plausible that Peter may not have had other relationships prior to Mary Jane, and thus there is nothing to discuss in terms of his romantic life that fans do not already know now. Eddie could definitely show up again since the alien symbiote will be making its debut in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and the two are traditionally bonded, though it seems as if Harry Osborn may be this continuity’s Venom instead.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Could Set Up a Role Reversal Between Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy
Mary Jane is clearly a primary character in Marvel’s Spider-Man. Stealth sequences could have easily been given to Miles Morales exclusively, and Insomniac must have already had plans to develop and establish him as his own Spider-Man in the near future. But it is arguable that MJ’s stealth sequences are much more involved and entertaining, whether she is sneaking through Tombstone’s garage or signaling for Spider-Man to descend stealthily from the ceiling in Grand Central Station and subdue Demons.
That said, it is uncertain what her role will be in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The last time players saw MJ, she and Peter talked in the restaurant they frequent, which also happened to include Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Stan Lee cameo. The two spoke about the possibility of Peter becoming a father someday, which may have implied some light foreshadowing, and they then took a professional trip to Symkaria during the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
Considering all the development made toward their relationship in Marvel’s Spider-Man thus far, Insomniac could decide to upend and subvert fans’ expectations by swapping her character’s original arc with that of Gwen Stacy. In the comics, Gwen is popularly known for dying at the hands of Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin, and controversy still surrounds the debate of whether Peter’s webbing was the actual cause of her death or not. But while Gwen’s death devastates Peter, he eventually leans on and falls in love with MJ, and the two become the iconic couple fans know them to be.
Instead, MJ could die instead of Gwen Stacy, but that would require Gwen Stacy to be introduced and established in some way during the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. This is likely far-fetched, but with teases of Green Goblin making an appearance at some point as well in the franchise, it may be a storyline that Insomniac is considering within its own unique continuity. Otherwise, Peter and MJ might start a family together, and Insomniac may have other plans in store for them.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is available now on PS4 and PS5.