Over the years many developers have tried and failed to create their own unique entry in the Marvel universe. Even more developers have tried and failed to make a decent superhero video game. Insomniac Games have managed to tick both boxes so far, and Insomniac’s Marvel Universe is starting to grow with every entry.
Things started relatively tentatively with Marvel’s Spider-Man back in 2018. Set in New York, the game obviously focused on the story of an established and experienced Peter Parker, with numerous easter eggs, hints and acknowledgments to other significant Marvel superheroes, from the Avengers to Daredevil and even more. Miles Morales continue the trend, and the upcoming sequel, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 looks set to broaden the horizons even more.
Back in 2021 we not only got the expected announcement of the upcoming sequel, but the incredibly well-hidden surprise of Marvel’s Wolverine. Nothing more has been announced since then regarding this game, but it points to an even larger universe that can only continue to expand, and with these first two characters in Spider-Man and Wolverine being the centre of Insomniac’s Marvel Universe, there’s one very obvious and overdue appearance we need to see; Deadpool.
Insomniac’s Marvel Universe is the Gaming MCU
Every man and his dog has attempted to replicate the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the poorly received DC Extended Universe, to the one and done Dark Universe (thanks Tom Cruise), it’s been the hot topic for the last fifteen years for every franchise and property to suddenly need movie spanning stories and film-hopping characters.
The same hasn’t really been attempted on the gaming landscape, but it appears Insomniac Games are in the midst of starting their attempt. With the announcement of Marvel’s Wolverine came a considerable heap of fan questions, most of which go unanswered, but the biggest and most important “are they connected?”. We expect so, is the answer. We’d be shocked if they’re not, is the safe bet.
Anyone that has any passing comic knowledge will know that Wolverine and Spider-Man are two characters with a long history together. Some normal, some tragic, some flat-out weird (remember when they switched bodies and Logan was way too happy to be a teenager again?). They also share a select group of mutual friends/villains/acquaintances. In this case, we’re talking about the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool.
He’s about to star in a film with Wolverine, Deadpool 3, there’s been endless amounts of comics with the back-talking assassin teaming up with the reluctant ally Spider-Man, or the more likely to kill him Wolverine. He just fits with them both. It could be argued that it may be too much to expect him in the upcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 just for the sheer amount of promised content already, with the likes of Kraven the Hunter, Wraith, Venom, a symbiote-suit-wearing-Peter and more already shown off, and no doubt more to come.
As well as that, the family friendly themes of Marvel Spider-Man and it’s spinoff/sequels may be too PG13 for Deadpool to work properly, except, that’s not true. Check Nolan North’s appearance as Deadpool in Marvel’s Midnight Suns for proof. Even if this was the case, what’s to stop him appearing in Marvel’s Wolverine? Rumoured to be R-rated featuring blood, guts, gore and vulgar language, there’s no excuse for him not to make an appearance.
Insomniac Games have done a great job of creating a world that felt lived in far beyond the limitations of what we could get to and where we could go, and whilst it managed to hint at the existence of other heroes out there, it failed to show them.
One criticism of the first game could be one that is levied at the early MCU – if there’s all these heroes, where are they? It’d be a good start to nullify this argument quickly if Insomniac decided to throw Deadpool into the mix, even more so if they kept it quiet and barely gave his appearance any fanfare at all. Just act like he’s always been there.
Do you think we’ll get an appearance from Deadpool in either of the upcoming games? Do you think there’s space for him in Insomniac’s Marvel Universe? And would he be the next best choice for an inevitable third character to get their own game? Let us know in the comments!
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