A lot of Spider-Man fans have loved the last two Spider-Man games that Insomniac has developed. Both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales were games that allowed their characters to shine in ways that many fans had hoped for. With people anxiously waiting for the sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man there is a decent expectation that the long-time villain turned anti-hero Venom will play a major role in the game.
The character has been hinted at in both games in the series so far and, considering the unique approach that the franchise seems to be going with, there are a few different versions of Venom that could appear in a sequel. But the Venom symbiote also tends to attract the attention of some other Marvel villains that relate to Spider-Man. The two most noteworthy of these are Carnage and Cletus Kasady.
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The two generally feed into each other’s most depraved and violent tendencies. Cletus was already a serial killer and violent man by the time he became host to the Carnage symbiote, but the powers he gains only offer him a new set of tools to continue down this dark path. While Spider-Man stories are no strangers to heartbreak and violence Carnage might be a little over the top for the next Spider-Man game.
The possibility is not null though either. While it might be difficult the new Venom: Let There Be Carnage movie may pull off a PG-13 rating. If the movie can translate such a violent character in a way that is seen as acceptable for teenage audiences it might be possible to do the same with the next Spider-Man game. The games have thrown fans a few curve balls so far and regardless of what anyone thinks they know even the version of Venom that is introduced might not be what fans expect.
Still, it is hard to get past the incredibly violent actions that Carnage and Cletus Kasady tend to commit wherever they go. While it might have been a little easier to write around in earlier Spider-Man games the current series deep open-world could lead to its own set of narrative problems. Either Carnage’s violent actions are taken in front of the player or substantial parts of the story’s conflict are conducted off-screen. This could turn every Carnage mission into a chase or fetch mission and does not seem like the best approach for either the game or the character.
Even with the barest-bones approach to Carnage, the character might still be too extra for the game. This is not a bad thing though. Marvel titles have excelled over the past decade for their gradual introduction of characters and major story arcs. This approach has been applied to several different forms of media and often helps the franchise to shine. Continuing to use this same approach for the Spider-Man games could provide a jumping-off point for a video game MCU even.
But none of these steps should be rushed. Each game can and should introduce a couple of new characters but loading up the plate too much could do more harm than good. This does not mean that Carnage needs to be absent from the series as a whole though. Sliding in easter eggs that lead up to Carnage and other symbiotes is definitely within the realm of possibility for the next installment, and could very well be the right thing to do.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is rumored to be in development.
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