New Faces, New Hairstyles, New Problems — Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Crazy to say but Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is less than one month away. This is many people’s most anticipated game of the year, including myself. Insomniac Games have had a good track record recently with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. The newly released gameplay features Symbiote Spider-Man fighting the Lizard and it looks awesome. I cannot wait to get my hands on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 very soon.
The story trailer released two months ago, leaving everyone excited for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s narrative. We not only see Harry Osborn in action but finally get a closer look at Peter, MJ, and Miles in the PlayStation 5 Exclusive. The new look for our trio has left some questioning why Insomniac Games went the direction they did. While I don’t agree with everything, here are my thoughts on the new look for our heroes.
Peter’s New Face: Is it Bad?
Peter’s new look is now fully realized in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. While it was used in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the PlayStation 5 Exclusive shows the face swap was for good reason. They gave Peter a better hairstyle to fit this face model and it works excellently.
The opening scene in the Story Trailer with Peter and Harry looks amazing. I can see them as the best friend duo. Peter’s face is shown a couple more times in the trailer like at the carnival and in a tuxedo, likely undercover for a Spider-Man mission. His neck is massive in some of the shots, making his head look a bit small in comparison. It’s probably the lighting making Peter’s neck standout more because it looks fine in the opening scene.
The carnival scene is fun as we see everyone’s new look, hopefully enjoying the carnival for once. I have already accepted this new face model for our older Peter Parker and it looks great in this story trailer. If you’re still dissatisfied with Peter’s new face, it will only look better when the game launches on October 20th.
Miles’s New Hairstyle: Why?
Miles is back in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 as the story utilizes both Spider-Men to tell its fresh cinematic story. Nadji Jeter is back once again as Spider-Man and he looks great. However, the point of contention with his new look is his haircut.
It seems like video game devs love using this hairstyle on their black characters and Insomniac Games is continuing this trend with Miles. From my understanding, as an Asian American who grew up in a community of minorities, this hairstyle is uncommon and I have yet to see someone in person rock this hairstyle. Not to say this only exists in video games, people do have this hairstyle in real life. Whether it works for them or not, I’m not going to judge that.
I am going to judge if this hairstyle works for Miles? It’s definitely his worst cut since his initial debut in the 2018 game (I maybe exaggerating but I don’t like it). Near universal praise for Miles’ fade in his standalone game in 2020 and now we get this? I don’t 100% hate it but I can see the issue with its popularization in video games and other media. I know Insomniac Games wanted to try something new for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 but they missed the mark here.
However, there are people online who do like the new style and I’m not gonna hate on them for liking it. The hairstyle is the issue, not how Miles looks in the game. I mean he is also lacking style in his normal clothes but it’s okay. I’m accounting the lack of drip and the terrible haircut to Miles being in high school because he’s too busy being Spider-Man. Regardless, the new Miles Morales haircut ain’t it for me.
New Face Model? Or Update Face Model? What’s up with Mary Jane?
Mary Jane’s new face may confuse some players as she looks different from her appearance in 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man. Presumably, people thought they also updated her Face Model just like with Peter Parker. However, this is not the case.
Stephanie Tyler Jones is the Face Model for Laura Bailey’s Mary Jane. She returns for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 but with the enhanced power of the PlayStation 5 and a new hairstyle, she’s going to look different. I can see the similarities after looking at both photos side by side but still, MJ’s new face does look confusing at first glance.
What do I think of the new face for MJ in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2? Insomniac Games are definitely taking advantage of the PlayStation 5 to make everyone look better. I do prefer the old hairstyle more but that’s just my preference. She looks great all around and I can see why people still prefer the old face, just like with Peter. Then again, I’m sure the facial changes on MJ is to capture Bailey’s performance better.
From the few shots in the Story Trailer, MJ looks great. At the carnival scene, the original trio look awesome and I cannot wait to see how their dynamic plays out now that Harry is back in the picture. She seems to have a much bigger role in the story and I hope she’s able to assist Miles in getting Peter away from the symbiote. All in all, MJ looks great in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Travis “tvsonic” Vuong
Business e-mail: travisvuong56@gmail.com
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