Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Reducing Venom’s Weaknesses Was A Creative Decision

Communicating information efficiently was the top priority.

By Saad Ali November 5, 2023

2 minutes read

Story Highlights

According to Bryan Intihar, reducing Venom’s weaknesses was a creative decision to enable effective communication of an otherwise complex part of lore.
Marvel’s approach with Insomniac’s games explains all of the changes made by the devs to this version of Spider-Man.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has set up several plot points for the inevitable DLC and sequel, leading fans to speculate about all sorts of possibilities.

Creative Director of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Bryan Intihar, has revealed that the reduction of Venom’s weaknesses in this universe was a creative decision. In episode 821 of IGN’s Beyond (30:49 in the video below), Intihar revealed a lot of exciting information along with explaining why Insomniac took so many creative liberties with the game.

Those savvy with the original Spider-Man lore may have noticed that the symbiotes in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 were not the same as the ones from the comics. For the uninitiated, Symbiotes in the comics have around five weaknesses with the notable ones being fire and high-frequency sounds. Additionally, they’re also weak against the heat generated by high-voltage electricity.

According to Intihar, going through all those vulnerabilities raised the question of how the team was going to communicate that mountain of information effectively. This led to simplifying the symbiotes in Insomniac’s universe which was then discussed with Marvel. After the team received the green light, it was decided that the symbiotes would only be vulnerable to high-frequency sounds but this meant ensuring that fans understood this was something unique to the game’s reality.

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The mission where you rescue Dr. Connors with Harry serves as an explanation for this change. Moving on, Intihar expressed how brand owners are usually pretty strict but Marvel only demands great games with great stories. This explains all of the creative changes that exist in this continuity since some don’t make a lot of sense.

Among all of them, the one that stands out the most is Anti-Venom. While it serves a great narrative purpose due to Harry Osborne being Venom, the suit’s powers aren’t compatible with Spider-Man. Originally, Anti-Venom’s abilities cure the radiation that gives Peter his powers. This is lethal for the latter and it even resulted in his death as we saw in Edge of Time. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, on the other hand, switched things up.

All things considered, Insomniac gave us another great story that significantly expanded the scope of this universe. With references to the Spider-Verse version of Miguel O’Hara, Daredevil, and Carnage along with the inevitable appearance of Green Goblin, you just can’t predict where this story is heading.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 hit the shelves on October 20, 2023, exclusively for the PlayStation 5. In our review, we deemed it as a cut above its predecessor with a solid 4/5. Whether you’re just starting or nearing the end, I highly recommend checking out our curated list of the 14 best abilities in Spider-Man 2 for greater insight.

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