In Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, they cleverly reserve most of their deep lore dives for your collection of Spidey suits. While it’s already included most of the costumes you’d want to see, here are several that Insomniac hasn’t added to Spider-Man 2 but could.
As a lifelong Spider-Nerd, I’ve consistently been impressed by how Insomniac’s mined the character’s back catalog for their collection of optional costumes. It’s included all the suits that have gotten a weird second life in Spider-Man video games, such as the original Spider-Armor or Peter’s “Bombastic Bag-Man” look, and a number of costumes like the Spirit Spider that only ever appeared on one page in one issue of one comic. It’s a clever way of including the continuity porn that long-time fans (such as me) crave while not slowing down the games’ story or action.
Between the 3 Spider-Man games Insomniac has produced to date, it’s featured most, if not all, of the major suits in Spider-Man history. The one big omission from the first game, the Secret Wars black costume, was finally added in Spider-Man 2. That being said, Spider-Man’s been around for over 60 years now, and there are still a few costumes that Insomniac could throw into the mix. Here are 11 suits for Peter and Miles that haven’t made it into Spider-Man 2, either because they’re even more obscure than some of what we’ve seen or they’re simply too new.
Assassin Suit
What If? Spider-Man vs. Wolverine (2008)
This alternate-universe story has become sort of famous in Internet comics culture as “that one story where Spidey straight-up shoots a dude in the face.”
This What If? saw Spider-Man give up his life as a superhero to become a globe-trotting spy for hire, working alongside Wolverine. As part of his career transition, Peter received additional training that enhanced his spider-sense and made him so used to violence that he eventually incorporated pistols into his web-shooters.
“Assassin Spidey” was later pulled into the squad for the comics’ original Spider-Verse crossover, where he died abruptly in a big fight scene halfway through. However, he was also one of dozens of alternate Spider-Men who seemingly got resurrected during this year’s “End of the Spider-Verse” story arc.
Ben Reilly Suit
Sensational Spider-Man #0 (1996)
Among long-time Marvel fans, the words “Clone Saga” are profanity. This is one of the most infamous story arcs of ‘90s Marvel, which disrupted the Spider-Man books for years before limping to an unsatisfying conclusion.
Long story short: in a 1970s story, a villain called the Jackal tried to kill Peter by creating an exact clone of him. That clone was thought dead until he reappeared in the ’90s. Worse, for a while, both Peter and the clone, going by the name “Ben Reilly,” were led to believe that Peter had been the clone the whole time.
Subsequently, Peter left New York with MJ and left his “brother” Ben to take over as Spider-Man for a while. Ben put his own fresh spin on the costume while he was at it and was the guy in the suit during the big DC Vs. Marvel crossover in 1996 (left). Later, in Tom DeFalco’s MC2 future continuity, Peter and MJ’s daughter May took up Ben’s costume when she became Spider-Girl.
Actually, come to think of it, Ben’s web-shooter gimmicks might have influenced Peter’s devices in the first Insomniac Spider-Man. Ben Reilly’s impact webbing isn’t a million miles away from Insomniac Peter’s “web bomb.”
Ben Reilly Suit II
Free Comic Book Day Spider-Man & Venom (2021)
Decades later, Peter discovered that A) Otto Octavius had filed to claim the intellectual property rights to Spider-Man, and B) the Beyond Corporation had bought those rights. Beyond immediately hired a resurrected Ben Reilly as their officially licensed in-house Spider-Man.
Before Peter could talk his way out of that, he ended up in the hospital, which left Ben to carry the Spider-torch for a few weeks. Notably, Ben was in the suit during the 2021 crossover Devil’s Reign.
Ben’s Beyond suit is armored and packed with wearable technology, and he got to go into the field with a support team. Unfortunately, a combination of Beyond’s memory experiments and unrelated dark magic (long story) eventually turns Ben into the new villain, Chasm.
Bullet Points Suit
Bullet Points #4 (2007)
In the limited series Bullet Points, by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) and Tommy Lee Edwards, a Nazi assassin takes out the creator of the Super-Soldier Serum before it can be administered to Steve Rogers.
This sets off a series of alternate events that dramatically change the development of the Marvel Universe, which includes Bruce Banner getting bitten by a gamma-irradiated spider instead of becoming the Hulk. Bruce eventually adopted a special suit and worked alongside Tony Stark at SHIELD.
Captain Universe Suit
Amazing Spider-Man #329 (1989)
You might recognize this as a skin from several past Spider-Man games, such as Shattered Dimensions or Web of Shadows. It originates from Spider-Man’s arc during the Acts of Vengeance crossover in 1989, where he briefly became the host of the cosmic Enigma Force.
While he was Captain Universe, Peter could fly, project energy blasts, and transmute matter into other forms, as well as being strong enough to KO the Hulk. It was a temporary boost, however, as the Enigma Force only showed up long enough to deal with a single specific problem: a “Tri-Sentinel” that would’ve otherwise blown up a nuclear power plant.
Peter’s Dark Ages Suit
Dark Ages #1 (2021)
In a future Earth where electronics no longer work, Peter is one of the former superheroes who’s working to build a better civilization alongside T’Challa, Jean Grey, and Sue Richards. His Dark Ages suit blends chunky mechanical web-shooters with a light armor version of the classic Spidey costume.
Miles already has a Dark Ages suit in Spider-Man 2, which is made to resemble his symbiote from this continuity. This would neatly complete the set.
Earth-30847 Suit
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000)
In the comics’ Spider-Verse event, the Marvel vs. Capcom universe was given its own designated number within Marvel’s extended multiverse. Like Assassin Spidey, MVC Spidey died (in Spider-Verse #2, above) but was presumably resurrected with the rest during “End of the Spider-Verse.”
Given MVC2’s prominence in arcade history, it seems like it ought to have a representative in Insomniac Spidey’s wardrobe somehow. I’m thinking that the Insomniac version would be a version of the classic costume, but it would come in one of several obnoxious alternate palettes like green and orange to match the alt colors in MVC2. In a perfect world, this costume would also be super pixelated, in the same way that Miles’ Spider-Verse suits have lower frame rates.
Iron Spider Mk. II Suit
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7 (2023)
During 2023’s Carnage Reigns crossover story, Carnage stabbed Miles in the back. To save Miles’ life, Tony Stark gave him an injection of medical nanites, which also built this suit around Miles while he recovered.
In addition to healing him and amping his strength, the suit lets Miles channel his electricity through the legs to shoot repulsor blasts. However, Tony, being a jerk, did take the suit back at the end of the story.
Resurrection Suit
Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1 (2020)
This in-name-only Marvel Zombies sequel is set in a brand-new horror continuity. Five years after a space plague turned most of Earth’s superhumans into zombies, a scarred, desperate Peter (above, left, holding the staff) leads a group of survivors alongside the X-Man Forge.
Like a few other costumes Insomniac has included, this would need a few adjustments for a game, but the general theme of a post-apocalyptic Spidey would be a great look for a suit. He spends most of this book wearing the remnants of his old costume under a ragged jacket and pants, and he could have a half-singed mask to match his scars from the comic.
An alternative for Spider-Man 2 would be the Spider-Man from the 2018 one-shot Marvel Zombie, who’s dressed in rags under a poncho.
Ricochet Suit
Amazing Spider-Man #434 (1998)
In the Identity Crisis arc, Norman Osborn bought the Daily Bugle and used it to make Peter’s life hell, including putting a $5 million bounty on Spider-Man’s head. In the face of that, Peter chose to temporarily retire Spider-Man in favor of taking up four new costumed identities.
Ricochet is the closest of the four to “Spider-Man Classic,” with a super ‘90s “leather jacket over tights” look, and would be the easiest fit for an Insomniac Spider-suit.
All four alternate costumes and names would later get recycled into brand-new characters for the short-lived spin-off Slingers. Three of the four are still alive and occasionally active in the comics, while the fourth, Hornet, is the current superheroic identity of long-time supporting character Hobie Brown.
Vampire Hunter Suit
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #11 (2023)
In a Halloween adventure with Blade (and his recently-discovered daughter Brielle), Miles got an upgraded costume to help fight a weird breed of vampires preying on Brooklyn.
While the colors are similar to Miles’ classic costume, the high collar and long coat would give Miles something as cool as Peter’s upgraded Noir suit. The Spider-symbol on the belt is a UV light for driving off vampires.
Granted, this suit came out too recently to have any prayer of making it into Spider-Man 2 at launch, but in a proper moral universe, this should be a fixture of Miles’ future game appearances.
If you’re interested in reading more about Spider-Man 2 suits, here’s a ranking of the best ones.
Published: Nov 23, 2023 12:26 pm