Summary
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2is amplifying the franchise’s Easter eggs with one of its new locations seemingly being dedicated to such references. Opening the sequel up toQueens and Brooklynis already a huge expansion in terms of how large the open world will be, but Coney Island looks important for at least one narrative sequence, where Peter introduces Harry to Mary Jane and Miles. The amusement park here is essentially full of Spider-Man villain references, but it is likely different from the references fans are used to fromMarvel’s Spider-Man.
InMarvel’s Spider-Man, Insomniac made a point of referencing classic Spider-Man villains as costumes of choice at an ESU Halloween campus party. This was an intelligent way for Insomniac to establish a handful of villains Spider-Man had already faced at some point in the continuity, including Mysterio, the only villain referenced at the party who has not been seen elsewhere in-universe yet.Hydro-Man, Speed Demon, and Big Wheelare referenced inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2’s carnival, but these Easter eggs might not be intended to have any explicit purpose in canon.
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Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Coney Island Theme Park is One Big Nod to Obscure Villains
In this case, the amusement park might be an explorable attraction full of villain Easter eggs that hold no meaning withinMarvel’s Spider-Man 2’s narrative. Because while ESU party-goers dressing up as murderous terrorists and criminals should have already been egregious, an amusement park dedicated to others would seem far more reprehensible.
Speed Demon is a fairly normal-sounding name for a roller coaster,Big Wheel is on-the-nose for a Ferris wheel, and ‘Hydro Bench’ referencing Morris Bench’s Hydro-Man works well for whatever attraction it is, but if they were directly named after the actual characters they’re referencing that would seem like an odd commemoration that treats them like laughing matters rather than threats to the city.
But because they haven’t been seen yet, it seems as if these villain references are intended to be references alone, meaning that fans will probably never see a Speed Demon, Big Wheel, or Hydro-Man in theMarvel’s Spider-Manfranchise. It would be too convenient now to suddenly feature a Hydro-Man named Morris Bench due to the amusement park attraction, just like how it would be odd to feature villains named after the roller coaster or Ferris wheel after the fact, instead of the other way around.
It is also fully possible that the amusement park will have a bunch of other rides and attractions with names referencing additional villains, and this could be an insight into what otherSpider-Man villains Insomniac has potentially decided not to move forward with. Spider-Man has enough villains that Insomniac shouldn’t feel the need to incorporate all of them, but it hopefully won’t limit itself to the most popular and exclude obscure villains so brashly by banishing them all to Coney Island as Easter eggs.
References to established villains that were previously undisclosed are a fun way to treat these characters, andMarvel’s Spider-Man 2might still allude to such antagonists, though Coney Island might turn out to be a graveyard for possible villains who were pitched and turned down internally, let alone laughed about and instantly binned. Like Kraven and Venom, there are clearly villains whom Insomniac reveres and wishes to pedestal, leaving obscure and humorous villains to the wayside where they may arguably belong.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2launches on October 20, exclusively for PlayStation 5.
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