Summary
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, like the two InsomniacSpider-Mangames preceding it, features a massive selection of fashionable suits for each playable character. While many of thesesuits are tied to theSpider-Mancomicsand other media featuring the wall-crawler, others have been conceived by Insomniac, with the game serving as their debut. This has yielded some mixed results.
Generally speaking, Insomniac seems to have stuck the landing when it comes to suit design.Marvel’s Spider-Manwas host to a wide assortment of original outfits, including the Advanced Suit, which has been widely regarded as one of the character’s best new costumes. Other new additions haven’t gone over quite as well, such as the Evolved Suit in the most recent game, which wasroasted bySpider-Man 2players, with many criticizing its aesthetic design. While the fashion of the suit is a subject of debate, the Evolved Suit has one problematic aspect that is less discussed.
Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Evolved Suit Features Ironic Product Placement
The Evolved Suit has drawn more intense scrutiny than others because it is introduced as a new, canon suit for Miles in a cutscene, and many argue that its quality doesn’t match that of other canon, narratively significant suits inMarvel’s Spider-Man 2. Some of the most commonly critiqued aspects of the suit include the way it exposes Miles’s hair, its unused hood, and the inclusion of its Adidas sneakers. This last point is worthy of some additional criticism.
One ofSpider-Man 2’s best side questchains revolves around the Mysteriums. These Mysteriums are combat challenges with a twist, and completing them will further a Mysterio side narrative via audio logs from Mysterio’s assistants. In one of these audio logs, an assistant suggests that Miles could help their business by giving a “Spider-Man endorsement,” to which Miles explicitly replies in the negative, stating that the Spider-Men have a hard rule against endorsing products or aligning with businesses.
Knowing this information, it’s not hard to see the irony in the Evolved Suit’s Adidas product placement. Other versions of the character could have perhaps pulled this off (Across the Spider-Verseeven features a joke about Miles endorsing a product), but this rendition of Miles outright refuses to endorse a brand on principle. This contradiction is one ofSpider-Man 2’s most jarring inclusions, as one of the titular heroes seems to be going back on his ethics.
Again, the fact that it is introduced as Miles’s new suit and a crucial part of his superhero identity and image causes a problem. If the outfit were simply an unlockable, non-canon cosmetic, it wouldn’t feel so ironic and could be brushed off as a partnership with Adidas without it tying into the narrative explicitly. The Adidas branding could have even been beneficial, as it shows how Miles is expressing himself as a modern teenager by wearing a common athleisure brand. As it stands, though, it’s a strange and contradictory oversight that is hard to ignore.
This aspect of the Evolved Suit is far from being one ofSpider-Man 2’s most controversial inclusions, but it’s a bit of a head-scratcher. It doesn’t do the suit any favors either, since its overall appearance has already proven to be at least somewhat controversial.
After all, sneakers are nothing new to Miles Morales’s suits, as theSpider-Versemovies pair his Spider-Man costume with sports shoes at many points, and they even appear in other costumes in theMarvel’s Spider-Mangames. In other words, sneakers, branded or not, aren’t inherently bad additions to a Miles Morales costume. However, the official branding of Adidas, coupled with the character’s reasonable in-game refusal to support brands, is a mark against the Evolved Suit.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales face the ultimate test of strength inside and outside the mask as they fight to save the city, each other and the ones they love, from the monstrous Venom and the dangerous new symbiote threat.Explore an expansive Marvel’s New York with faster web-swinging and the all-new Web Wings, quickly switching between Peter and Miles to experience different stories, epic new abilities and high-tech gear.Wield Peter’s symbiote abilities and Miles’ explosive bio-electric powers in battle against new and iconic Marvel Super Villains – including an original take on a symbiote-infused Venom, the ruthless Kraven the Hunter, the volatile Lizard, and more from the Marvel Rogues’ Gallery.
