‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is a pretty great mantra to live by when it comes to Insomniac’s Spider-Man games. The first game in the series perfectly encapsulated the Spidey experience, with excellent swinging, fluid and agile combat, and a great set of gadgets to wield, while the Miles Morales spin-off continued this but offered Miles’ camouflage and venom abilities (not to be confused with the raging symbiote). But with Miles Morales’ powers growing, there’s one ability that he could use from the comics in Spider-Man 2 on PS5, which is a little bit controversial: his bioelectricity sword.
Yes, you heard me right. A Spider-Man with a sword. For those unaware, in the Spider-Man: Miles Morales run from writer Cody Ziglar, during a battle with a new villain called Rabble, Spider-Man is struggling to protect his loved ones from her incredibly advanced technology, so Miles Morales conjures a sword out of his bioelectricity. This leaves Rabble pretty confused, as well as Miles. Despite being pretty badass, in my opinion, the idea of a Spider-Man wielding a sword is against his ideology. Fortunately, it’s not an actual sword.
It’s not hard to find out why people don’t like the idea of Miles spawning a bioelectric sword out of nowhere. Discussion on the r/Spiderman subreddit consists of plenty of people complaining about it, with some even going as far as comparing it to the CW’s The Flash show – which, let’s face it, is never a good thing to be compared to. Not only that, but swords aren’t very ‘Spider-Man’, in all honesty.
Insomniac has, understandably, not yet given any Spider-Man in its series the ability to pull out a sword in combat, and I think it goes against Peter and Miles’ ‘no killing’ rule. However, considering Miles is very willing to fire shotgun-esque venom blasts at any bad guy in his path, I think a bioelectric sword (or venom sword, in Insomniac’s version of Marvel’s New York) is actually more kind. But that’s not the main reason I want Miles to wield his new comic ability. It’s more about delivering a significant change in gameplay. Yes, it’s likely to be one of the best PS5 games to release on the console so far, but even the best games of all time have some room for improvement, right?
Aside from how cool Miles would look with a sword of pure electricity, it would allow for a subversion of the tried-and-tested gameplay we saw with the previous two Spider-Man games. Let’s say casting and using the sword takes a lot of Miles’ energy, and by using it, he becomes much slower and weightier. Instead of the agile, jumping-off-the-walls-style combat that we’re used to, it becomes much more soulslike, akin to that of an Elden Ring-lite, with every attack or miss being extremely risky.
Many of us, including myself, are used to both Spider-Men being able to jump around an area quickly, dodging any-and-all attacks without breaking a sweat, but having Miles be weighed down by a powerful, yet energy-depleting sword would make things much more interesting. And if it comes as a surprise during the story, it would be an almost plot twist-like experience that would be remembered long after completing the game. However, I’d hope it isn’t a story beat, but rather an ability Miles can wield at any time against the Spider-Man 2 PS5 villains, as an ultimate ability or something similar.
Insomniac could even introduce it in a different way than the comics. Instead of being a random ability that Miles just unlocks due to ‘plot’, he could’ve gained enough energy to do it from the ending of the Miles Morales spin-off, where he absorbs the energy of Roxxon’s Nuform reactor. Maybe, after the energy explodes out of him, some is left over within him, allowing him to access his new abilities (and maybe this is why he has some new tricks up his suit sleeve in Spider-Man 2).
Will it happen? It’s always possible, especially given the fact that Peter has lots of new abilities thanks to the symbiote when he’s using the black version of his Spider-Man 2 suit, and Miles has been confirmed to have stronger venom attacks now, so maybe Insomniac is hiding this amazing ability as a late combat curveball. Considering they’re keeping who Venom is in Spider-Man 2 under wraps, it’s definitely interesting to think they may be keeping a new Miles ability under lock and key. But honestly, considering the Miles Morales 2022 comics run only introduced the sword in May this year, I expect it won’t happen, much to my disappointment.
While Spider-Man 2 on PS5 might have a swordless Miles Morales, there are still plenty of reasons both yourself and I will love it. From the range of Spider-Man 2 PS5 characters we’ll be meeting again (or for the first time), to the incredibly talented Spider-Man 2 voice actors and cast behind them, I’m hoping it’ll be one of the best open world games, and I’m sure you are too.