Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 lands on the PlayStation 5 on October 20, and swings along 65 unlockable suits throughout the gameplay. One of them is by Alex Ross’ classic Spider-Man suit that hits the right nostalgic notes.
These suits are unlockable for both Peter and Miles, following in on the tradition of having multiple suits as they appear in different TV Shows, movies, comics and games. After the trailers and related announcements, fans demanded popular suits from movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Amazing Spider-Man.
A Tribute to Alex Ross’ Unmatched Sense of Aesthetic
A recent tweet uncovered four signature suits available in the game: The Animated Show Suit, Spectacular Suit, Alex Ross Suit and Sensational Suit.
SPECTACULAR, TAS, ALEX ROSS AND THE SENSATIONAL SUIT ARE ACTUALLY IN THE GAME HOLY SHIT!!! #SpiderMan2 pic.twitter.com/siVmIktDew
— 🍕Pete🍕 (@Spidey_pte) October 17, 2023
These are recognisable variants of the spidey avatar, but Alex Ross’ presence is felt by the community on a deeper level. For those of you who aren’t aware of Ross’ contributions; the writer and artist is known for his design work, painted interiors and covers. He rose to fame thanks to a miniseries called Marvels in 1994. This was done in collaboration with Kurt Busiek for Marvel Comics.
He made an iconic contribution to the Spider-Man saga when his concept and narrative art were used for Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). If you’re curious about Alex Ross’ creative process, his YouTube channel has some beautiful insights into creating concept art and developing characters.
In a video that covers the process behind creating Spider-Man through the years, Alex explains his thoughts that channel his inspiration:
I’ve always associated the costume with being a real thing ‘ and wanting to connect my visuals with the idea that there’s a person underneath.
Ross’ heartfelt recognition for fans who grew up consuming comics back in the 90s is truly phenomenal. It fuels his artwork that now carries the narrative over to live-action superhero films. In a conversation with The Washington Post, Alex pointed out he connects these narratives:
I was hoping that I could connect my way of interpreting these characters, which wasn’t too much of a case of overthinking or redefining them as much as trying to clarify how you could make them seem visually applicable to reality.
Of all the painters of my era, if none of them were as driven to that goal, I wanted to be the guy who leapfrogged ahead of them to make it my thing, so that everybody would think of me as sort of the Norman Rockwell of comics.
If you scour his website a little and dive into his process further, you’ll recognise how things fall into place with his unique take on Spider-Man’s outfit. It’s a subtle balance between a traditional comic look and a modern-era Spidey.
The Unlockable Suits in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Mix Traditional Styles With Modern Elements
More of these suits are iconic, in the context of how they are references to classic suits. For instance, at the New York Comic Con this year, two new suits for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 were revealed – Brooklyn 2099 and Kumo. However, other suits are variants of traditional outfits worn by Spider-Man through the years. The balance between nostalgia and practicality is what Insomniac seems to be focusing on.
Insomniac has carefully blended style with function. Other than the pure joy of swinging around New York’s skyscrapers in your favourite Spidey outfits, every suit has a unique ability for Miles and Peter to make use of. This improves the personalised gameplay every player has, and different ways of experiencing the game as a whole.
Other than the new suits and an expanded map to explore this time around, players have a lot to look forward to in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. From familiar (and, not-so-familiar) anti-villains like The Lizard, Venom and Mr. Negative to friendly characters like Mary Jane Warson and Black Cat, there’s a lot to wrap your Spider-Senses around.
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