Spider-Man has one of the best rogues galleries in all of comics. They say that a hero is only as good as his villains, and the wall-crawler is basically unmatched in that department. Some of the best have already appeared in the PlayStation games developed by Insomniac, including familiar faces like Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, and Venom. While casual fans might worry that Insomniac has used up all the best villains already, there are still plenty of great options that the studio could pull from. We’re probably a long way away from the next Marvel’s Spider-Man, but we’ve compiled a list of three villains that would make a strong fit in a future game.
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Hallows’ Eve– Janine Godbe debuted as a supporting character in the Spider-Man comics back in the ’90s, where she started out as the love interest of Ben Reilly. The character disappeared for decades outside of the occasional appearance in Spider-Girl, but her profile was greatly elevated two years ago in the Dark Web crossover. In that story, Janine was given powers by Sy’m and Madeline Pryor, allowing her to use masks that allow her to transform. Hallows’ Eve has gotten a big push from Marvel since then, with the character appearing not only in the Amazing Spider-Man ongoing, but in her own eponymous limited series, as well as the recent Blood Hunters. She’s even received her own Marvel Legends figure!
While her popularity makes a solid case for Hallows’ Eve appearing in the next Marvel’s Spider-Man, it’s her transformation masks that would make her a great fit for a video game. Since each mask grants Janine different superhuman abilities, she could appear in multiple boss fights, with each one highlighting a different mask and power. In the short time since Hallows’ Eve made her debut, we’ve seen her use multiple mask types, from ones based on heroes like Captain America and Hulk, to monsters like vampires and werewolves. We’ve even seen her turn other people into werewolves as well (which might be a way to bring in the Man-Wolf). There’s no limit to what the developers could do with the character, and that would make her a compelling addition to the Insomniac universe.
Swarm– If there’s one thing that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle proved, it’s that gamers love to beat up Nazis. Spider-Man might not have been around in the ’30s and ’40s, but he does have a recurring Nazi enemy of his own, and it’s one that hasn’t often appeared in the world of video games: Swarm. The scientist Fritz von Meyer has a body mostly composed of bees, with a skeleton underneath them all. Swarm first debuted in an issue of The Champions, but has been mostly associated with Spider-Man over the years.
Since Swarm made his debut in the ’70s, the bee-covered bad guy has made for a great visual under the right artist. That visual would look great in a video game, and the PS5 DualSense controller’s Haptic Feedback could make players feel each bee’s “stings.” In the comics, Swarm has often been something of a punchline, but he could be a pretty great enemy in a video game.
Morlun– Out of all the villains Spider-Man has fought over the years, Morlun has proven to be one of his most intimidating. Debuting at the start of J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr.’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, the villain very nearly killed Peter. It took all of Spidey’s strength and cunning to stop Morlun during their first encounter, and the villain has been a consistent thorn in Peter’s side ever since. Most notably, Morlun has had a big role to play in the Spider-Verse stories in the comics.
It’s unlikely that Insomniac will start doing multiverse stories in the games, but Morlun would still make a lot of sense from a narrative perspective. The ending of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 set up an appearance by Cindy Moon in the next game, better known as the hero named Silk. Silk’s origin is closely tied to Morlun’s story, so it’s possible we could see the two characters appear in the same game. Morlun’s physical strength would also make him an intimidating enemy, and a heck of a final boss.
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Spider-Man has appeared in a lot of video games over the years, but few have been as well-received as the ones developed by Insomniac. After multiple critically and commercially successful games, it will be interesting to see where things go from here. There are a lot of compelling villains Insomniac could use, and our suggestions are just some of the many that are left unused. Hopefully the studio will pick some interesting choices as they continue to build up this version of the Spider-Man universe.
Would you like to see any of these Spider-Man villains in the next PlayStation game? Which characters would you choose to appear? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
