It’s no secret that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is shaping up to be an exciting, action-packed sequel to its 2019 predecessor, and following the events of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, players will undoubtedly enjoy swinging through the streets as both Peter and Miles. With a host of new gameplay changes and combat potential, the game also features a plethora of villains that the Spidey duo will be pitted against.
Here’s every villain we know of that’s coming to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, both returning and new.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Villains
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Kraven The Hunter
To kickstart this list, we have Kraven the Hunter, a savage and expert tracker who travels to New York in pursuit of a worthy adversary to hunt. Arguably the flagship villain of the game, this superpowered hunter has received a lot of attention from the marketing team since his first teaser dropped and seems to be one of the primary antagonists for the Spider-Man duo.
Kraven commands a legion of hunters outfitted with deadly helicopters, snipers, and even robot dogs. It’s no doubt that Kraven’s army will be the bulk of the minions you’ll be fighting throughout Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Grizzly
This axe-wielding, bear-suited hunter is one of Kraven’s stronger minions and looks to play a smaller role within the story. We see a brief glimpse of him pushing over a tree and preparing to wrestle Peter’s Spider-Man in what looks to be one of many boss fights in the game.
Venom
The antagonist that holds the most story intrigue is one that has fans excited about facing off against this hulking, tendril-smacking monstrosity. We saw Venom’s reveal in the first teaser trailer, where after Peter and Miles teamed up for some ass-whooping, Venom creepily appeared from the shadows with his signature teeth-revealing smile.
We have since had a better look in the story trailer, where Venom tears apart one of Kraven’s helicopters before jumping into the spotlight. It’s fair to say that his look is very comic-book-accurate, but what is interesting is that the host within is not who we think.
The senior creative director at Insomniac Games, Bryan Intihar, said at the Summer Games Fest 2023 that Eddie Brock, the failed journalist who inevitably bonds with Venom, will not be the symbiotic host in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Instead, the goal is to create an original story not seen in movies or comics before.
Though it’s implied that Peter’s best friend, Harry Osborne, will take that lead, creating a more personalised Venom could bring some interesting story cues into the mix. This lines up with the teaser we received at the end of the first game, with Harry floating in a tank surrounded by what appears to be the black symbiote.
The Lizard
Insomniac’s take on the Lizard is quite different from what we’ve seen in the past. Instead of the anthropomorphic lizard-human hybrid that is Doctor Connors, we receive a much more animalistic version that has been juiced up to look more like a mini-Godzilla.
In Insomniac’s gameplay reveal, we see Lizard flee from a pack of Kraven hunters, causing chaos throughout New York City. Though make no mistake, the Lizard demonstrates sheer strength as he tears through most of them and even sheds his skin to grow larger. An interesting story thread that makes for at least one of the game’s bigger set pieces.
Peter has gone toe-to-toe with him before, as one of the collectibles from its predecessor gives insight into Spider-Man curing Doctor Connors. So how he transformed back into the Lizard, paired with his ever-growing size, could open up new lore for this take on the hulking Lizard.
Mr. Negative
In a very brief glimpse in the story trailer, we get a shot of Mr. Negative himself showing off his longer hair. He was one of the predecessor’s main antagonists, but little is known about how he will factor into the story or if he will even use his superpowers. Despite this, it will be nice to catch up with his situation and how his relationship with Peter is doing after his defeat by the web-slinger himself.
Teased Spider-Man 2 Side Villains
In a teaser trailer that first introduced us to Kraven the Hunter, we happened to get a short glimpse of his tablet that gave away some more information on returning villains from previous Insomniac Spider-Man games.
Taskmaster
This returning character, who was an optional boss in the first game and only accessible after completing certain milestones in his challenge boxes, might be brought to the spotlight momentarily by Kraven. Taskmaster is a formidable foe who mimics and learns combat manoeuvres from his foes. It is hard to say if he will be an optional boss once again or be present during the main story.
Kingpin
The first boss players squared up against in the original Marvel’s Spider-Man is also a target for Kraven’s great hunt. Though what the king of the criminal underworld will contribute to the story is currently unknown.
Black Cat
Treated more as an anti-hero than a villain, this expert cat burglar also holds the mark of the hunt and could offer some story tension between Peter and Felicia Hardy. Black Cat makes a return from Marvel’s Spider-Man three DLC packs, but her purpose in the story is currently unknown.
Prowler
A returning villain from Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Prowler is also on Kraven’s hit list, which could offer interesting story implications between Miles and his uncle Aaron Davis. Since most of the villains have been aimed at Peter, this is a particular hunt that could heighten the tension between Miles and symbiote Peter, as personal morals could interfere with the greater danger to the city.
Shocker
It seems this bank-robbing, electric gauntlet welding engineer is back on the streets again and out of jail for whatever reason. He may serve as a story boss for one of the missions or be one of the targets that Kraven ticks off his list.
Tombstone
This tough brute of a crime boss is also set to return following his boss fight in the first game. He was defeated by Peter and played a smaller role in the game, which will no doubt be similar in the sequel.
Wraith
Arguably the most interesting of the side villains, Wraith was Peter’s source of intel from the first game and the former captain of the New York Police, Yuri Watanabe. Following the outcome of the DLC, Yuri becomes a dangerous vigilante who brutally hunts down those responsible for the deaths of her police force. Her drive is about giving what she believes to be true justice, even if it means killing those who have done wrong. Now that she’s being hunted by Kraven’s forces, it will undoubtedly raise the personal stakes for Peter — as if they weren’t high enough already.
That’s everything we know about all the antagonists that will be featured in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. It’s going to be interesting to see how Insomniac juggles all these villains while managing to tell a cohesive narrative, but given their track record in the previous two titles, they are the team to pull it off.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launches on October 20th on PS5.
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