With Insomniac Games confirming that Eddie Brock would not be behind the symbiotic mantle, we all had one question on our mind before launch, that being: who is Venom in Spider-Man 2 PS5? And why is he that big?
Well, we got the answer to one of those questions during our Spider-Man 2 review playthrough. So, if you’ve been setting up your evidence board, and pinning all of the Spider-Man 2 PS5 characters on it to find the suspect behind the symbiote in one of the best PS5 games, but can’t figure it out, here’s the man behind Venom.
Since this is a big moment in the game’s story, it’s worth noting that this article will have spoilers, so make sure you bookmark this page so you can come back later.
Who is Venom in Spider-Man 2 on PS5?
As many predicted, it was Harry Osborn who played the antagonistic symbiote known as Venom in Spider-Man 2 on PS5. After the first two games teased Harry being cured by the symbiote in Norman Osborn’s apartment, Insomniac Games decided not to make a last-minute decision and change Venom’s host.
In the mission Good Men, Peter is fatally struck and almost dies, with the symbiote leaving Harry and healing Peter. Of course, the symbiote isn’t without its caveats, and over time, it makes Peter pretty nasty, and occasionally takes control of him.
After a fight with Miles, Peter finally takes the symbiote off and keeps it in a test tube, taking it back to Oscorp. It’s a bad move though, as Harry breaks it and releases the symbiote, taking it back and becoming the monstrous Venom in the mission Don’t Be Scared. In fact, this is the one and only mission you get to play as Venom, and it’s a lot of fun.
Harry is Venom up until the end of the game, where the symbiote is finally destroyed with Peter and Miles’ help (at least, that’s what they think), and while Harry does die momentarily, he’s brought back thanks to Miles’ bioelectricity. However, he’s currently in a comatose state.
Insomniac Games made a great choice here with Harry being Venom instead of Eddie Brock or anyone else. It directly parallels the first game’s story, with Aunt May succumbing to Devil’s Breath due to Doc Ock releasing it into the city, while this time, another one of Peter’s loved ones almost dies, however this time he is the villain.
While it would’ve been easy for Insomniac Games to set up Eddie Brock early in the game’s story, it wouldn’t have had the emotional weight of Peter having to almost kill his friend in order to save the city. It’s pretty brutal for a Spider-Man adventure, but considering the stakes involved, and the fact that it affects Peter, certainly makes it a traditional Spider-Man story.
This isn’t the first time Harry has been a host of Venom either. In the Ultimate Spider-Man show, Harry takes on the mantle after becoming the “Black Suit Spider-Man” when messing with a sample of the symbiote. He later gets influenced by it, becoming Venom for a short while before being saved by, of course, Spider-Man.
Before the game’s release, we had a few alternative predictions for Venom’s identity in Spider-Man 2. While these didn’t come to fruition in this game, it’s possible that Venom takes on a new host in a sequel. However, considering we know one of these characters definitely can’t be him now, we think it would’ve been a good story.
Kraven
The greatest hunter that there is, Kraven has been trying to prove he is the best of the best for years in the comics. He made his Insomniac Games debut in Spider-Man 2, and we thought it was possible that he would become Venom in an attempt to prove that he could take on the various heroes and villains of New York.
Considering Kraven’s strength and speed, having the symbiote attached to him would have made for an interesting version of Venom.
Norman Osborn
Everyone is expecting Norman Osborn to take his iconic mantle of Green Goblin, especially considering that it was seen in the first game that Osborn was working on the Green Goblin tech, but what if Norman had become Venom?
We believed that during the events of the game, there was a chance that Osborn’s obsession with having everything, including Spider-Man’s powers, would force him to take on the symbiote himself.
Norman has never taken on the Venom symbiote, however, he has joined with the Carnage symbiote to become the brutal Red Goblin in the comics. It was completely possible that Insomniac would take cues from that storyline but give it a Venomized twist.
Eddie Brock
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A superhero game based on an iconic character creates a “new and original story” or character as a villain for their game, but it ends up being someone we already knew about in an attempt to make it seem unique. That’s literally what happened with Batman Arkham Knight.
It was entirely possible that Insomniac Games would trick us like Arkham Knight, which famously created the titular Arkham Knight as a villain who ended up behind Jason Todd, a character popular in the comics.
Eddie Brock becoming Venom wouldn’t be too shocking either, considering that Venom and Eddie are (ironically) synonymous with each other. However, with the hype surrounding Venom’s true identity before launch, it would have been disappointing if Eddie was the man behind the symbiotic mask.
That’s who Venom is in Spider-Man 2 PS5. If you’re having a great time playing one of the best open world games, you may find it a better experience by picking up one of the best PS5 controllers. And if you’re struggling for space with your PS5, here’s the best PS5 SSDs too.