After the events ofMarvel’s Spider-Man, the episodic City That Never Sleeps DLC,Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, andMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, it’s fair to say that Peter Parker is off the market romantically in Insomniac’s franchise. Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane Watson, while not without its tribulations, is sealed and cemented with seemingly no chance that Peter will ever have his eyes on anyone else. Peter’s past relationship with Felicia Hardy being exhumed was a phenomenal piece of storytelling, for example, but only further demonstrated how far along he and MJ are with the two then settling down inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Miles Morales, on the other hand, took one swing and knocked it out of the park with Hailey Cooper. Peter’s days of unsuccessfully juggling love interests may be in Insomniac’s rearview—much less never truly explored in Insomniac’s run as of yet—buta future Spider-Man game developed by a different studio under a brand-new continuitywouldn’t need to be. Peter Parker has so many love interests with varying degrees of intensity and importance that a game with romance options could be a wonderful way to explore many or most of them.
Peter Parker’s Love Interests are as Legion as His Comic History
Between comic books, movies, television, and games,Peter Parker has had copious flings/dates/relationshipswith some being more unique or remarkable than others, some not working out as well as others, and some being mere crushes that never developed into anything concrete. These include but are not limited to:
Peter’s most significant relationship besides MJ is undoubtedly Gwen, for example, and it’s endlessly arresting to imagine if he would have ever had as big of a relationship with MJ if it wasn’t for Gwen’s untimely demise. In a gamified setting, it could be one of the most memorable moments inaSpider-Mangameever if players were able to optionally date Gwen and later play through the sequence where Spider-Man ‘catches’ her by the leg with webbing after Green Goblin tosses her from the George Washington Bridge/Brooklyn Bridge.
Another players’ playthrough, then, may never see them romance Gwen but instead romance MJ from the beginning and potentially even save Gwen’s life as a result of her never being a Spider-Man-related target. This could only be one out of countless permutations that aSpider-Mangame with romance options would provide.
Romance is a Classic Part of Spider-Man’s Difficulty Balancing Great Responsibilities
There are certainly more than enough love interests in Peter’s life that having players decide which of them to date would provide a wide breadth of choice, and because they’re all so strikingly different from one another it could create a ton ofdynamic potential in players’ day-to-day lives balancing duties as Peter and Spider-Man.
For instance, something as mundane as either a dinner date being interrupted by crime in the area or crime in the area making Peter late for a dinner date could be exciting and add a layer of urgency if players are to successfully romance the character of their choice. A game like this would likely need to be an RPG and not an action- or action-adventure game like nearly allSpider-Mangames have been, but it’s high time Spider-Man branches out and Insomniac’s blockbuster run probably coming to a close with its third installment would be an ideal opportunity to do so since whatever followsMarvel’s Spider-Manwill be held to a standard of originality and excellence.
