Digging into the dual protagonist design of Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Insomniac had its work cut out for it with Spider-Man 2 . To say expectations were high going into this sequel is an understatement, buffered by both the first game's major success and the bridge between console generations that was Miles Morales. This new Spidey adventure had to take the best elements from those games, mix them with new characters, features, and stories, and produce the kind of game fans will talk about for years. Somehow, they did just that; Spider-Man 2 is, to get the easy pun out of the way early, amazing. 

Peter Parker and Miles Morales face several villains throughout . While most of these villains have complete arcs in the game's campaign or are used to set up future appearances in sequels or potential DLC, there is one villain who appears in the game but doesn't have a clear story arc ahead.

Last week, we asked you to share pictures of Miles Morales moving through the world of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

While is one of the biggest releases of the year, it also came with a number of bugs, which a recent update has helped to alleviate — unfortunately, the patch has also removed a hidden exploit that allowed players to free-roam the city as Venom. The first game in the series to feature both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable protagonists, also had a major focus on adapting the popular symbiote storyline from the classic comics, including the introduction of iconic Spider-Man villain Venom alongside fellow Marvel antagonists Sandman and Kraven.

Just as we're all wrapping our heads around the idea that the new Ultimate Spider-Man is an adult Peter Parker who is married to Mary Jane with two kids, Marvel has now unveiled our first look at Spider-Man's arch-enemy, the Green Goblin on the cover of Ultimate Spider-Man #2 by series artist Marco Checchetto. And he's got a real Sam Raimi, Willem Dafoe kind of vibe about him.

Last week, we asked you to share pictures of Peter Parker himself swinging through Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

Miles plays an enormous role in ; however, he is, throughout large sections of the game, overshadowed by Peter Parker and can come off feeling like a secondary character rather than a joint protagonist of equal importance. Though Peter is the original Spider-Man and, therefore, has decades of fan recognition, Miles Morales has, in recent years, become just as popular and widely beloved as his friend and mentor, both in the comics, as well as the film and video game adaptions. Although Miles doesn't solely possess the spotlight in the latest installment of Insomniacs' games, he does go through a lot.

features a solid roster of playable characters, but one minor inclusion is definitely way worse than the other options. Bouncing between a variety of protagonists was a concept first introduced in the original, which occasionally set Peter's story aside to follow the footsteps of Mary Jane Watson or Miles Morales. Neither of these offered gameplay that was quite as dynamic as Peter's, with Mary Jane's segments, in particular, receiving some flak, but improves both of these options while introducing another that falls behind either.

Spider-Man vs. Venom is a rivalry that's been going on for over 30 years - but not quite like this, as Dylan Brock, the current Venom and son of Eddie Brock, is going toe-to-toe with Peter Parker's Spider-Man protege, Miles Morales, in January.

The perfect DLC for could significantly improve the story, but it would be a completely different game in terms of both gameplay and narrative. The popular action-adventure title by Insomniac Games allows players to take control of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they face new threats to New York City, but this time even more united. Both heroes take on their Spider-Man persona to fight crime in the city and stop Kraven’s plans, as they try to understand the presence of the Symbiote known as Venom. Other than Peter and Miles, there are many returning characters, such as Mary Jane.

NOTE: There are major spoilers ahead for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

Whether or not Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will receive post-launch DLC similar to the first game remains to be seen, but creative director Bryan Intihar sure seems to be hinting at not just upcoming content, but possibly upcoming content related to fellow Marvel superhero Daredevil.