Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is set to introduce Venom to Insomniac's Marvel universe, potentially opening up an exciting connection between it and Square Enix's Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. While the two games are unlikely to take place in the same universe, with Square Enix's other Marvel title, Marvel's Avengers, set to introduce its own take on Spider-Man separate to Insomniac's, that hasn't stopped fans from contemplating what a shared Marvel Gaming Universe could look like. Given Venom's connections to cosmic Marvel and the Guardians of the Galaxy specifically, a potential avenue for a crossover between the two series has opened up, and it would be great to see it explored in a future game.
[Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.]
Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 game will feature Venom as a key antagonist, with Harry Osborn donning the symbiote. However, while Venom was originally depicted as an out-and-out villain in his formative comics appearances, the character has shifted into taking on a more heroic role in recent years. This shift was most prominently felt during Brian Michael Bendis and Valerio Schiti's Guardians of the Galaxy run in 2015, which saw Venom (then being worn by Flash Thompson), explore the origins of the symbiotes alongside Rocket Raccoon, Drax, and others. The series introduced a retcon that revealed how the symbiotes were inherently noble in character, and that it was their hosts that corrupted them. While it's unlikely such an expansive plot point would feature in Marvel's Spider-Man 2's story, it is worth noting that the majority of Venom's depictions over the last decade have taken on both a cosmic and more heroic focus, meaning the potential is there for a similar journey to occur in video games.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy does not contain any direct references to Venom, instead boasting a lineup comprised of the initial team featured in James Gunn's MCU films, including Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot. However, the game does feature a direct reference to the Klyntar, which is the name of the alien species the symbiotes refer to themselves as. Lady Hellbender attempts to kill the Guardians with "Klyntarian gas", and there's an additional reference to the Celestial who was murdered by Knull - the god of the symbiotes - in the comics. This doesn't mean that Venom will appear as a character in a potential Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but it does illustrate that the more recent additions to the character's lore have made it into the gaming medium, and could potentially influence Marvel's Spider-Man 2 as well.
How Venom Connects Marvel's Spider-Man And Guardians Of The Galaxy
It's still unclear whether the symbiote seen at the end of Marvel's Spider-Man will be manmade, like in the Ultimate universe, or be of alien origin as it was in the main 616 comics. If it's the latter, then it would prove the perfect opportunity to introduce more sci-fi elements to Marvel's Spider-Man, and further integrate the character into the wider Marvel mythos. The first Marvel's Spider-Man included references to the Avengers, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and even the Inhumans, illustrating that the supernatural and cosmic elements of Marvel exist in that universe. With that in mind, it would make sense if the Venom of Marvel's Spider-Man did have an alien origin; the same could also be said if the symbiote turned out to be manmade, but there are seemingly more stories to be told by making the symbiote extraterrestrial.
Making Venom an alien would also open up the door for the character to explore his more heroic side. They might still be best known as a Spider-Man villain, but the Tom Hardy Venom films show that audiences are happy to accept the character as a reluctant or even willing hero. This could also factor into future Marvel's Spider-Man games from Insomniac. The first entry told its own unique Spider-Man story about Peter Parker as a young adult, blending the Ultimate comics with more classic Spider-Man stories and introducing a new dynamic between the character and Doctor Octopus. By approaching the more recent Venom comics for inspiration, Insomniac could further distinguish its depiction of Spider-Man from previous iterations, and possibly even show the potential of what a cosmic Venom game could look like, even if it ended up coming from a different studio.
Again, it's doubtful that Insomniac's Spider-Man and Wolverine games will crossover with that of a different publisher's, but the possibility that Venom could one day venture into space in a Guardians of the Galaxy video game is there. While Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy may not take place in the same game universe as Marvel's Spider-Man, its Venom references demonstrate the influence of Bendis and Schiti's Guardians comic, as well as Donny Cates' and Ryan Stegman's Venom run, which has further entwined the character with Marvel's cosmic elements. Said elements may or may not end up featuring in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but the fact they've been given shout-outs in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy means that the door could be open for them to pop up in Insomniac's games too.
Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 Should Include Venom
Square Enix's Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy elected to go with a lineup that resembled the one from the MCU, with Star-Lord being joined by Gamora, Rocket, Drax and Groot, but a sequel could expand that group further, and Venom would be the perfect candidate. Bendis and Schiti's 2015 Guardians comic was a breath of fresh air, departing with the then conventional lineup by bringing in Venom, the X-Men's Kitty Pryde, and the Fantastic Four's Thing. The addition of Venom would not only help Square Enix's Marvel games feel less MCU-like, but also open up the door to explore one of the most exciting mythologies in Marvel's recent history, with the aforementioned duo of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman having completely redefined Venom's lore in their run on the character.
The reference to Knowhere being decapitated by what Drax speculates to be a "large sword" in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a direct reference to Cates and Stegman's comic, which revealed that Knull, the progenitor of the symbiotes, forged the very first one out of darkness and wielded it as a weapon to kill a Celestial. Although the Guardians were not an ever-present force in the recent Venom run, it could be possible to integrate them into a video game where they help Venom defeat Knull and unlock the secrets of the symbiotes. There would be some overlap with the Harry Osborn version of Venom from Marvel's Spider-Man, but if Marvel's Avengers can have its own version of the wall-crawler as well, then that shouldn't prove prohibitive.
Regardless of whether or not it would be possible for Venom to appear in a Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, or even for the version from Marvel's Spider-Man 2 to crossover between the two series, Venom is now a cosmic Marvel superhero, and any game that approached the character that way would have a lot to gain. They've come a long way since the days of swearing vengeance on Spider-Man, and it would be great to see that journey reflected in the gaming medium.