Table of Contents
Summary
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 features dual perspectives of Peter Parker and Miles Morales, allowing players to connect with their journeys of protecting New York City.
- The game showcases the emotional growth of Miles Morales, who maintains hope and resists giving in to darkness despite the traumas he has faced.
- Miles becomes a source of inspiration for Peter Parker, reminding him of the importance of morals and values, ultimately leading to Peter stepping back and allowing Miles to take on the role of the city’s sole sentinel.
Throughout the course of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, fans get different perspectives into the lives of Peter Parker and Miles Morales. It’s an added benefit of the game because by showing the narrative through two lenses, it’s easy to connect with their journey and the overall landscape of protecting New York City.
Of course, this dual approach keeps the game fresh as gamers toggle between Miles’ younger coming-of-age story, and an older, wiser Peter, who’s still struggling to get his bearings in the Big Apple. What’s for certain is both Spider-Man are selfless paragons of virtue, who have different styles, but one ultimate goal. Interestingly, Spider-Man 2’s emotional ending does confirm who’s the best wall-crawler between the duo in an arc that’s layered with nuance, endearment, and a meta-statement for kids today.
Spider-Man 2 Confirms Miles Morales Is Incorruptible
Miles has had an emotional rollercoaster of a life in this series. He lost his dad, Jefferson, in the 2018 game when Martin Li (Mister Negative) hired suicide bombers to attack a Norman Osborn political rally. Since then, Miles has been wracked by pain. Seeing his mom Rio suffer and his uncle Aaron become a criminal broke him.
However, Spider-Man 2 has Miles fighting through the darkness and maintaining a sense of hope. It’s confirmed when he hunts Li down after the villain gets kidnapped by Kraven. It turns out that Kraven wants Li to kill people in his gladiator arena, building to a fight with Miles. However, the young webhead doesn’t murder Li, despite wanting to for so many years. Miles lets him go, giving him secret orders to find Peter and bring him here to save everyone.
Now, Peter has shown mercy in the past across many movies, games, cartoons, and comics, but he still gives into his hatred and rage. It’s why the black gooey symbiote is able to bond with Peter. As Peter lashes out at MJ and everyone else, though, Miles is there to remind him to let go of the anger. They’ve all been through tragedy and trauma. But Peter can’t let the residual pain of Aunt May and Uncle Ben dying ruin his legacy. Becoming more vengeful will ruin Peter’s life, so Miles helps Peter remember what redefines them as superheroes. Li eventually meets Peter and lets him know how Miles spared him. This inherent goodness convinces Li to turn a new leaf, and kickstarts dominoes for Peter to rescue his charge and save the day. Clearly, Peter knows the student has become the master.
Spider-Man 2’s Miles Morales Heals Peter Parker’s Mind, Body & Soul
Miles embodying this philosophy about never giving up inspires Peter. The no-kill cardinal rule aside, Peter’s proud to know Miles is mature enough to remind him about morals, ethics, and values. But all this is shrouded by Peter being poisoned by a symbiote who wants him to embrace the rage instead. Luckily, when Miles is freed and finally gets a chance to cure Peter permanently, he has a key partner in the fight — Li, himself.
Li knows the catalyst to liberation from the symbiote is in Peter’s mindscape, so he uses his mind-control powers to send them there. Miles helps fight Peter’s nightmares, convincing him to forget all the pain. Peter decides to move forward, but they first need to burn out the symbiote’s core in Peter. Along with Li’s energy, Miles channels his electricity and venom, helping to expunge the alien at last.
Peter’s relieved, grateful that Miles had the wherewithal to adapt with Li. As Miles indicates, he had to think fast because life wouldn’t be the same without his big ‘brother.’ At this point, Miles is all heart and soul. Sure, he’s innocent and has much to learn, but his experiences really sharpened him up as someone Peter wants to be. MJ is also thankful because Miles not only frees Peter’s mind from the anguish of the past, but he’s liberated Peter physically. With a purified Peter in hand, they can finally resume their duties as protectors of the Big Apple.
Spider-Man 2 Makes Miles The Wall-Crawler For This Generation
The books have oscillated between who’s the better Spider-Man. It all depends on who’s writing, Marvel’s objective, and what events are lined up. Peter, for example, got influenced by Tony Stark to hunt former friends in Civil War, while Miles got way too violent in Secret Empire and with the Champions. It’s appreciated, though, as this direction gives two generations of fans Spider-Man stories that are totally different.
Insomniac Games leans more into the modern era and a Spider-Man that gamers, millennials, and Gen-Z can connect with most. It makes Miles the voice of reason as someone who understands a lot more that with great power comes great responsibility. Peter struggled with this, ergo why he broke bad with the black suit and its unlimited power. A lot is due to Peter being hardened by life, work, and fighting so many criminals over the years. But it’s still no excuse as Miles has been through just as much drama with Jefferson, Li, and fighting the Underground in his 2020 solo game.
Through it all, Miles remained wise beyond his years; something the sequel amplifies in a big way. Peter’s more human but Miles is more bulletproof. Is Miles perfect? No way, but his code, resilience, and overall tenacity stand out a lot more. Chalk it up to the fire of youth, but Miles is the gold standard. Tomorrow is built by teenagers, after all, so it’s a great message to embolden young gamers through one of pop culture’s most iconic characters at present. Ultimately, Miles’ unflappable nature and internal strengths are why Spider-Man 2’s finale has Peter stepping away a bit, filled with confidence and trust that Miles — the better Spider-Man — can be the city’s sole sentinel.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is available now for PS5.
