10 Villains We Want in Marvel's Spider-Man 2

There have been a few villains to take up the Beetle mantle in the comics, the most well-known being the original, Abner Jenkins. However, if we had to choose which incarnation we’d like to see appear, we’d go with the most recent, Janice Lincoln. It makes the most sense from a storytelling perspective. In the comics, Janice is the daughter of Tombstone, who appeared in the first game as a boss. We’d expect Janice wouldn’t take too kindly to Spidey imprisoning her father. Regardless of which version Insomniac could go with, Beetle would definitely fill a minor boss role, similar to Tombstone or Shocker. Beetle relies on tech, not powers, so there’s a lot of breathing room for this type of fight.

Miles Warren was once a respected professor and scientist, which made him a highly intelligent foe when he turned to villainy. By experimenting on his genes, he gained your standard superhuman power set. But it isn’t just his ability to go toe-to-toe with Spider-Man that makes us want to see him. He’s an expert in creating clones, and has made several new Peter Parkers over the years, including the Scarlet Spider Ben Reilly. His background may have to be tweaked a bit; his turn to evil came from an immense jealousy of Peter’s relationship with Gwen Stacy. We wouldn’t expect “Spider-Man 2” to go full “Clone Saga,” but a villain who can make copies of themself would be cool to see.

While Yuri Watanabe appeared in the first game, her Wraith alter ego didn’t. But it seems pretty likely we’ll be getting it in the follow-up. Her journey in-game is fairly similar to that of the comics; once a captain for the NYPD, she lost faith in the justice system and started taking the law into her own hands. In “The City That Never Sleeps” DLC, she murdered an enforcer for the villain Hammerhead and cut ties with our hero, hinting pretty heavily at her turn to villainy. While she and Spider-Man undeniably have the same goals, Yuri’s methods may prove to be too brutal for Spidey’s taste. Unless Insomniac decides to abandon the dangling plot thread, which seems unlikely, we can’t wait to see the fallout.

First, let’s address the elephant in the room: that movie was pretty terrible. However, that doesn’t mean the Living Vampire shouldn’t get another chance to shine elsewhere. Dr. Michael Morbius was born with a rare blood disorder. When he tried to cure himself via vampire bat experimentation, he gained a nifty power-set and a mighty thirst for blood. He’s always been one of Spider-Man’s more sympathetic foes, often feeling remorse for the actions he can’t usually control. His speed and flight would make for a great chase sequence through NYC, like a blend of Vulture from the first game and Man-Bat from “Batman: Arkham Knight.” Plus, piecing together his backstory would make for a compelling side quest.

Most of the time, how Spidey can damage a foe is pretty obvious: lots of webbing and punches. But how do you land a punch on someone made of bees? Having to think outside of the box in a fight is exactly why we want Swarm to appear. Once a Nazi scientist, Fritz Von Meyer’s consciousness was absorbed by mutant bees of which he gained control of. A bit silly in premise, sure. But he’s grown in power throughout the comics, able to change size and shape at will and control other insects on top of bees. This literal hive mind’s nature and powers would probably be a pain to program. That doesn’t stop us from wanting to kick his bee butt though.

There are a multitude of reasons we’d like to see this adversary appear in “Spider-Man 2.” There’s the legacy reason; Chameleon is the oldest recurring Spider-Man villain, having debuted in the first issue of his first run. Then there are his powers. Chameleon, as is befitting of the name, can change his face to look like anyone he wants. So you would never know when or where he would strike. Finally, Chameleon would just fit with the story. One of the two villains we know Spidey will be facing is Kraven the Hunter. And it just so happens that Chameleon is his half-brother. If Kraven needs a spy to get close to Spider-Man, Chameleon seems the most logical option.

Spider-Man has faced plenty of larger than life foes. But as far as Insomniac’s game goes, the biggest they ever got was Rhino. That could change, though, if the developer chose to include Sandman. As one of the wall-crawler’s most enduring foes, Flint Marko can shift his sand-like body into a variety of shapes, sizes, and densities. We have no doubt a boss fight against him would cause mass panic and destruction to NYC, making for an excellent set piece. His ability to change his size and power would offer a great challenge, too; Sandman can hit pretty hard. On top of that, Sandman is a founding member of the Sinister Six. Since he wasn’t in the first game, we think that should be rectified.

Sometimes, we just want to fight a big, mutated monster. And the Lizard fits that bill. We’re sure a fight against Dr. Curt Conners would be filled with lots of claw strikes, tail swipes, and gnarly bites. However, comic runs and adaptations show that he’s a sympathetic character, not able to control or fully get rid of his reptilian alter ego. Considering how great the story has been so far, we have faith Insomniac would handle that arc well. Additionally, Dr. Conners appeared in a mid-credits scene of “Miles Morales,” shown to be working for Norman Osborn. It seems likely he’ll appear in the upcoming sequel. We just hope his tragic transformation accompanies him.

Saying we want Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis in the sequel may be obvious, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Norman Osborn was seen in both the 2018 game and the “Miles Morales” spin-off, so we know for a fact that he’ll appear again here. The only question is if it will only be Norman. With his son infected by the Venom symbiote, we could see Insomniac holding off on Green Goblin until a potential “Spider-Man 3.” However, we could also see the studio chronicling his descent and using him for a final boss, similar to Doc Ock in the first game. Hell, maybe we’ll even get a double dose with Hobgoblin. That would make sense of this “Miles Morales” Easter Egg.

Like Chameleon, Mysterio’s tricks and illusions could make for great storytelling twists. Insomniac could come up with several clever ways to pull the rug out from under us at any given moment. However, given the right plan and his varied tech, Mysterio could provide a boss fight that’s not only incredibly fun, but also trippy. Being one of Spidey’s biggest bads, he’s made many appearances in video games before, though he hasn’t played a pivotal role in a story since 2010’s “Shattered Dimensions.” Additionally, just like Sandman, he’s one of the founding members of the Sinister Six. And since he was left out of the first game, it seems only right he appear here.