Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 crafts a harrowing emotional story for both Peter Parker and Miles Morales. And even though the game draws on familiar elements of the wall-crawlers’ history, the climax is more dire than anything the two heroes have faced. Spider-Man 2’s final hours are also packed to the brim with hints at the future, new villains, and even unexpected heroes. There’s a lot to take in during Spider-Man 2’s final act, so we’ll help break it all down, piece by piece.
Warning: There will be massive spoilers ahead for the end of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Carnage and the Chameleon
Before jumping into the ending proper, it’s important to break down two of Spider-Man 2’s sidequests that could be vital for the series' future. The Flame quests see Peter helping the new vigilante Wraith, who is actually Peter’s old police friend Yuri Watanabe. The duo battle a fanatical cult led by an enigmatic figure known as The Flame.
While there are hints of his motivations throughout, we learn The Flame’s true name is Cletus Cassidy in the final side mission. His goal was to ambush and steal another Symbiote from Oscorp, which he hopes to use to wreak havoc and destruction. Of course, Cassidy is best known as the person behind Carnage, one of Spider-Man’s most terrifying villains. The sidequest ends with the Symbiote in Cassidy’s control and Wraith trying to hunt him down, meaning we have no idea what could happen next. It’s possible we could see a big DLC for Spider-Man 2 with Carnage, or he could return in the next game.
Another sidequest has players hunt down “unidentified targets,” ultimately leading to the apartment of Dmitri Smerdyakov, who fans might better know as the shape-shifting villain The Chameleon. Here, we find out The Chameleon is Kraven the Hunter’s brother. As Spider-Man swings out of the apartment, we see an unassuming civilian looking on, who vows to “complete the work” Kraven couldn’t finish. Yet again this could be setting up The Chameleon as a DLC villain or something for the next game.
It’s worth noting that the first Spider-Man had the “City That Never Sleeps” DLC, which revolved around the villain Hammerhead, who wasn’t featured in the main game.
Spider-Man 2: The Final Showdown
Through the combined efforts of Peter, Miles, and MJ, the group finally manages to take down Venom by using the particle accelerator at the Emily-May Foundation. The Symbiote is torn off Harry Osborn and is seemingly completely dissolved, but it’s clearly taken a toll on Peter’s best friend, leaving him comatose.
Norman Osborn arrives at the foundation and finds the two heroes evacuating Harry, clearly blaming Spider-Man for what’s happened to his son. Harry’s fate is now one of the big lingering questions at the end of Spider-Man 2.
Peter Parker Retires
As life moves on, we see Mary Jane leave The Daily Bugle and start a news podcast called “The New Normal.” The whole gang is at Aunt May’s house as Peter leads MJ outside, revealing that he’s started his own small-scale Emily-May Foundation in the garage. At this point, he announces he’s planning to retire as Spider-Man, breaking the news to both MJ and Miles as an alert rings on the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man map. In a touching moment, Miles tells Peter, “I got this, Pete. All of this.”
The ending sets the stage for Miles to become New York City’s sole Spider-Man as Peter finally has the chance to get the happy ending he deserves. Of course, things likely won’t be that simple. But at least for now, it’s easy to see Peter focusing on finding a cure for Harry. It would be interesting to see Peter serve as more of a mentor for Miles rather than an active hero or maybe even a mentor to more than one hero, which a later scene hints at.
The Rise of Green Goblin
As Harry lies in a hospital bed unresponsive, we see an increasingly agitated Norman Osborne, who turns destructive in his grief. As he stares in agony at his son, Norman makes a call and asks someone to “Get the G-Serum ready.” That is, of course, the serum that, in the comics and films, turns Norman into the Green Goblin, one of Spidey’s most iconic villains. Over the past two games, there have been possible hints about Norman taking this turn, but it could be more complex. It’s not clear if Norman wants to inject himself with the serum to hunt down Spider-Man or if he plans to inject Harry in a last-ditch effort to save him.
Things don’t quite end there, however. The first post-credits scene shows Norman visiting Otto Octavius in prison, begging him to reveal the identity of Spider-Man. Otto says Norman deserves to be in agony but provides an especially interesting wrinkle when he shows off the book he’s writing, calling it “the final chapter.” There are a couple of possibilities for how Doc Ock could come back based on Spider-Man’s past.
Insomniac likes to use terms or ideas from Spider-Man’s past but puts its own spin on them. There’s one Spider-Man arc called “The Gathering of Five and The Final Chapter” from 1998. This storyline saw a crossover between various Spider-Man titles of the time and features multiple clashes with Green Goblin as he undertakes a ritual to gain immense power. The storyline proved quite controversial at the time as it also resurrected Aunt May.
It’s entirely possible this scene could be a red herring, of course, and we’re instead going to see a big return for Doc Ock. One of the villain’s more famous storylines is from The Superior Spider-Man, where a dying Doc Ock implants his mind into Spider-Man’s body and takes over his life. Considering Octavius knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man, it’s easy to see how the scientist's broken mind could hatch some kind of plot like this. It would also explain how to bring Peter out of retirement if he turns into some kind of pseudo-villain controlled by Octavius.
A New Hero?
One of the most interesting scenes in Spider-Man 2’s final hours takes place after the credits. Miles and his mother are having a small party at their apartment, with Miles finally set to meet the man she’s been dating. After the doorbell rings, the man introduces himself as Albert Moon and introduces his daughter Cindy. It’s a small moment, but Cindy Moon is the identity of the hero Silk, first introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man in 2014.
This seems to hint that we could see a new hero enter the fray with Cindy possessing Spider powers of her own (or close to getting them). This could even lead to a situation where Miles gets his own protege. With Peter now attempting to retire, it would make sense that Insomniac might want a new hero to enter the spotlight, or we could even see three playable characters in the future. Only time will tell.
