Insomniac's Spider-Man Nearly Had A Different Ending
They say eight legs are better than two, which was definitely the case when it comes to Insomniac's Spider-Man from 2018. While the world of comic book video games was once remembered for the likes of the dumpster fire of Superman 64, the modern era has delivered epic entries like Rockstar's Arkham trilogy and Marvel's Spider-Man.
Although Spider-Man games are nothing new, Insomniac took the best bits of the Arkhamverse, stuck them in a red and blue suit, and saw the wall-crawling hero leap to glory on PlayStation 4. With a sequel finally confirmed to be on the way, Insomniac is looking back at the Spider-Man ending there never was.
What Was The Original Spider-Man Ending?
For those who want a refresher, Spider-Man featured an already established Peter Parker taking on the might of the Sinister Six. There was a not-so-surprising reveal that Dr. Otto Octavius was the head of the crime syndicate, and after besting the likes of Electro and Vulture, Web-Head had to take on Doc Ock. There was a suitably epic final boss, but according to Insomniac CEO Ted Price, it was supposed to be much grander.
Speaking to gamesindustry.biz, Price explained, "Originally, we were going to have a boss battle that took you all over New York City, and it was way out of scope". Instead of dashing around the entirety of NYC, there was a rather sedate confrontation where Peter bested his mentor on a Manhattan rooftop.
Continuing about why things were scaled back, Price added, "The temptation is to just brute force it, put our heads down and run through the brick wall. But the team took a step back and thought about what was important to the players, and that was the breakdown of the relationship between Peter and his former mentor, Doctor Octavius".
In the end, the more intimate battle between teacher and pupil rounded off Spider-Man's story. "They rethought the fight and realised they didn't need to destroy half of New York to pay off the relationship", concluded Price. "In fact, it would have worked against what we were going for. As a result, the final battle is much more up close and personal, and has a far bigger emotional impact than planned -- and it fit within the time we had."
What's Next For Spider-Man?
Of course, Spider-Man didn't end with Doc Ock being shipped off to Raft. 2020'S PS5-exclusive Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales was billed as much more than a DLC, as it gave Parker's replacement his own time to shine after he was sorely underused in the first game. Miles Morales might've been smaller than its predecessor, and yet, it felt much bigger in some places. In particular, the final boss fight with the Tinkerer was an improvement on the confines of the Doc Ock fight.
We can't wait to see what Insomniac has up its sleeves with the tentatively titled Spider-Man 2. This time, it's both Peter and Miles suiting up, with an equally dangerous roster of villains expected to step out of the shadows. The first trailer seemed to tease Kraven the Hunter, while players know Candyman legend Tony Todd will be voicing Venom.
Some are already calling for a Venom spin-off in the vein of Miles Morales, but either way, the Spider-Verse continues to grow. It's refreshing that the Insomniac team isn't afraid to dial down the action in fear of something being too much - we're looking at you, Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers. Still, Spider-Man set the bar high and we're expecting that things will be bigger and better this time around. We can hear the Green Goblin's cackle from here.