Summary
After half a decade of anticipation,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2has finally released to great fanfare. Insomniac has woven yet another spectacular tale that dives deep into the characters of Peter Parker and Miles Morales, all while delivering spectacular gameplay that builds from the foundations of the first. From beginning to end,Marvel’s Spider-Man 2finds new ways to thrill players, and the game’s many supporting characters are essential to that experience. Many faces from the first game return for the sequel, but some of them have gone through a considerable amount of change in the years sinceMarvel’s Spider-Man.
Yuri Watanabe is one of a long list of supporting characters inMarvel’s Spider-Man, serving as the titular wall-crawler’s contact within the NYPD. Compared to Peter Parker’s penchant for quips and lightheartedness, Yuri is solemn, serious, and has no patience for funny-business.Spider-Man 2sees her in a much different role than the first game, however, as now she’s abandoned the police force in favor of life as a vigilante. After the events ofSpider-Man’s DLC, Yuri is now taking down bad guys in vicious style asthe Wraith. It’s a considerable change, but it’s one that elevates Yuri above her previous status.
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Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Why Yuri Became the Wraith Explained
InMarvel’s Spider-Man, Yuri Watanabe is shown to be a devoted cop who takes every aspect of her job seriously, especially bringing wrongdoers to justice. She showed up sporadically throughout the game’s primary story, but she played a much greater role in the second part of theCity That Never SleepsDLC. In this storyline, crime boss Hammerhead is terrorizing the city by waging war on the other crime families and stealing Silver Sable tech. While Peter already tangled with the villain’s forces in the first part of the DLC, the second installment is when the situation gets especially severe for Yuri.
In an attempt to stopMarvel’s Spider-Man’s titular turf warat the source, Yuri and Peter attack Hammerhead’s base. Unfortunately, things go south very quickly, and most of Yuri’s forces are captured and killed in front of her. She’s left deeply scarred by this event, and becomes increasingly vindictive towards Hammerhead as her and Peter continue to try and thwart his plans. This all culminates in a grand confrontation between Peter and Hammerhead, and when all is said and done, Yuri arrives to exact her vengeance on the crime boss. She shoots him in cold blood, and though he is revived, Yuri is placed on leave and ultimately leaves the police force.
As players traverseInsomniac’s New York, they can find recording that hint towards Yuri’s descent into vigilantism. She isn’t shown to be the Wraith just yet, butMarvel’s Spider-Man 2wastes no time following up on what she’s been up to. Peter comes across her once again as he’s investigating a cultist group known as The Flames, who Yuri has been investigating for much longer. The two ultimately team up to take on the cult, much to the dismay of Yuri, and both Peter and the former cop are forced to contend with the right and wrong way to hand out justice.
Pete and Yuri ultimately end on good terms once the cult is taken care of, with Yuri deciding to make an effort to see things his way from now on. The two amicably depart, knowing that the cult’s leader Cletus Kassady is on the loose but must be taken care of at a later time. Though Yuri is very different from the woman she was now that she’s the Wraith, she’s nonetheless proven to be a much-needed ally to Peter and Miles. It’s much too early to talk about if she’ll appear ina potentialMarvel’s Spider-Man 3, but she would be a welcome source of help should the Spider-Men need it.
