Summary
- Spider-Man 2 explores the theme of redemption through the characters' choices and actions, showcasing that even villains can choose to change for the better.
- The symbiote represents the corrupting influence that can lead Peter to become aggressive and make harmful choices, emphasizing the struggle of staying true to one's principles.
- The author relates to redemption arcs as a reminder that people can change and improve, and highlights the importance of taking steps towards self-improvement, even if life doesn't fit neatly into a single redemption arc.
Spider-Man 2 is a game about redemption, and I’ll be explaining that with evidence, so don’t read on if you’re avoiding spoilers. This theme is evident very early 🦩on in the game, as it reintroduces you to fa🌳miliar villains from Spider-Man’s world and shows you how they go on the straight and narrow.
Tombstone, who you have the opportunity to soundly defeat in the first Spider-Man game, is now working as a carnival worker, picking up go-kart racers when they wipe out and keeping them safe. Mysterio now runs a series of next-gen entertainment centers, though they’re severely malfunctioning – he’s doing his best. The Lizard, Dr. Connors, is helping treat Harry’s illness. Black Cat isn’t quite reformed, but seems more interested in getting to Paris to keep her girlfriend safe than benef𝓰iting herself. And, of course, the Prowler gives up his crime-doing ways and passes on h𓂃is tech to Miles.
At the same time as all this redemption, 🧸the symbiote makes Peter increasingly aggressive and moody as he bonds with it. He becomes less and less like himself, going so far as almost killing Kraven before Miles stops him and convinces him to remove the symbiote. He does a lot of harm to a lot of people, defying the principles he stands for because of the corrupting influence of the alien creature he wears as a suit.
The symbiote has been used as an allegory for many things over the years, including 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:addiction and mental illness.
The villains have to reckon with the choices they’ve made in the past and consciously choose to make better choices in the face of difficulty. It’s easy to go back to what you know, to do the things that hurt you, because it’s familiar – going against your instincts to do the good, right thing is muꩲch harder. Peter, in turn, has to go against the symbiote to make better choices, which is made even harder because the symbiote amplifies the worst parts of his personality, emphasising his insecurities. Every character must do the work to redeem themselves.
I’ve always loved redemption arcs, largely because they remind me that people can change. I spent my early twenties in therapy, learning to cope with my mental health and substance abuse issues, and stopped going a few years ago when my therapist told me I’d shown a marked improvement. Also, I’d clearly run out of things to talk about in sessions, and she felt bad taking my money just to gossip. I haven’t gone back since – when I think about returning, I often feel like I’ve done my time. I did the work,ꩵ twice a month for years, and I’m not the person I was then anymore. Redemption arcs tell me that I don’t have to be the person I was when I was younger and that I can change the kind of person I am simply by acting differently. I am not inherently good or inherently bad, and my actions define me because I have no inherent self.
But that means choosing to do the right thing, forever. Without getting into the weeds of it, I’ve been having a hard time lately, and more and more, I’m noticin༺g my bad mood rubbing off on other people. This is one of thosꦡe situations in which I’m aware that I’m being a bit of a jerk, and I know there are steps I can take to improve the overall vibes. In this case, I could reach out for help and go back to therapy. It’s the kinder thing to do for the people around me, and it lowers the chances of me doing or saying something that hurts my loved ones.
Real life isn’t authored by a room of writers, and my life isn’t going to fit neatly into a single redemption arc that fixes my problems forever. The very human writing of Spider-Man 2’s characters reminded me that no villain has to stay a villain, and I don’t have to be the villain in somebody else’s life just because things are hard right now. ಌI can and will take the steps towards making myself a better person, because no💛body else will do it for me.

There's No Going Back To Arkham's Traversal After Marvel's Spider-Man
It's no surprise Rocksteady's Suicide Squad is leaning into traversal consideri🌞ng how poorly Arkham's open world has aged.