What Could Be Next For Insomniac’s Marvel Universe?

Something that is said in the world of tech, ‘once it’s up for sale, it’s already outdated’. The next thing is being created and thought of, even anticipated. That phrase trinkles down to video games. Once a video game franchise shows signs of life, fans think where it could go next. Right now, the shared universe that Insomniac is creating with Marvel characters, has many directions it could go. It started with Spider-Man, got a little more extension with Miles Morales coming in but expanded with Marvel’s Wolverine. Wolverine is an ideal character to have a game based on. And an ideal character to expand a franchise like Insomniac did. But with four games in this universe (Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Marvel’s Wolverine) it’s always fun to think where the brand will go. Better yet, which character will be used.

The most likely candidate is The Hulk. Much like Wolverine and Spider-Man, Hulk has had a fair share of games that have done well and have a fanbase. That’s because Hulk has great mechanics that could easily be translated into video games. His rage could benefit from a large sandbox world, which has been done before but not in a long while. The way that could work with modern systems will definitely be a big selling point of the game. His transversals could benefit from Insomniac’s systems. Fans wanted to see what the publisher could do with Spider-Man and that part of his game was one of the most enjoyable. Seeing The Hulk jump and sprint then jump again has the makings to be fun, especially when the landing means destruction. A rage system will be interesting to see. And Bruce Banner will have his spots to give more layers to the game. There could be some puzzles that need to be done and that’s up to Banner. Since The Hulk has villains that match and sometimes surpass the strength of The Hulk, a lot of the boss fights will be titanic, chaotic, explosive and immense. Has the potential to have some of the boss fights ever in video games because of that. And what Insomniac has done is give fans some customization with the other heroes. The Hulk could offer that since he has had dozens of different looks the last few decades. The Hulk is right there and arguably the most ideal.

Due to his recent popularity, Iron Man could find himself in Insomniac’s next game. Iron Man is another character that would make transversal a big part of the game and one of the most entertaining parts of the game. Some flare from Marvel’s Spider-Man could land in here since both characters are smart and use their brains to make things. So that would mean Tony Stark would have a big presence in the game as well. What could help this game stand out just a bit is different usage of the suits. Stark has a plethora of suits which many have different properties. It would be fun to use different suits throughout the length of the game. One could be more offensive, one built for more speed, one that puts Stark in outer space, one for stealth, and another that triples his size. The different suits could either be hardset in the game or a player could choose a particular suit at any time to fit their playstyle. Another interesting feature the suits could provide is a fully customizable system. This opens up the chance to make a suit and be fully in charge on how the suits looks from color, to armor plating, to helmet, to paneling, to boots, to texture and lighting. It would bring uniqueness because each player will have an Iron Man that won’t be seen anywhere else. As for story, it may dip its toes into a political thriller genre, something militaristic given Iron Man has enemies that come from those worlds. And  Iron Man does have a diverse cast of villains ranging from the supernatural to mechanical. Boss fights and suit selection would be a fun dynamic to play with in an Iron Man video game.

The Punisher allows Insomniac to be a little different. Spider-Man and Wolverine, and these other potential characters, give Insomniac the chance to really open up and be over the top. But The Punisher could bring craziness down. It will be a hyper violent game given The Punisher’s nature but also has opportunity to be an emotional game. A game like this could be a toss up between open world or linear and either would suit the character. Since The Punisher is a no non-sense guy, side missions may not be the most ideal. Or since The Punisher wants to eliminate as much crime as he could, there could be pop up missions where crime is happening and the player has the choice to stop it to gain XP or some other benefits. If such a game did come out, it might have some shared qualities as a Grand Theft Auto game. Explosive shootouts, intense getaways ranging from the streets, air or water, heists, stealth missions, all areas The Punisher excels in. So, this game has the opportunity to be highly versatile when it comes to gameplay.  But each will benefit The Punisher. A player could be in full control of which weapon loadout The Punisher will have before a mission, if the game allows such a feature. And of course, be in charge of how The Punisher will appear since he too has had different looks during his run. But the main selling point of the game will be that versatile gameplay that ranges from hand to hand combat, run-n-shoot, shooting, driving, boating, piloting, and stealth. All of which is ironic since he is normal guy.

Venom is another obvious choice to get a game. He was playable for a short time in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 after all. He was aggressive, nasty, strong, still agile and overall fun to play as. Venom already had a foundation that Insomniac could build on. In fact, it was in the rumor mill that Insomniac was going to make a Venom game. But with each passing year, it seems that the game will remain as a fan rumor. It would have been fun to play as supervillain throughout a game since that is an element that few superhero games allow, if at all. To play in that aggressive, animalistic and powerful style would have been a great change of pace before Wolverine showed up. But if Insomniac wants to expand the universe, and make it connected, they may want to step away from a Spider-Man adjacent character.

Captain America would capitalize on this type of game. It might blend parts of Marvel’s Spider-Man and the Arkham games. He did have a video game tie to Captain America: The First Avenger, called Captain America: Super Solider. It did kind of go under the radar for being a quality game with good gameplay mechanics. So, Captain America would be a good candidate for this type of game since the mechanics have evolved since then. But he is receiving a game and sharing it with Black Panther some time down the line. Black Panther would be another ideal character for Insomniac to use but again, there is a game coming. So, both Captain America and Black Panther would probably have to wait a while.

Marvel is not short of character for Insomniac to use. Wishes for Daredevil have been expressed. Thor would maybe feel like a God of War game. A Doctor Doom game has tons of potential to be a fresh, different and massive game. But Marvel does have a few characters that are in front of the line to be selected to have a video game treatment. These are the characters that are in high demand. Characters that just make perfect sense to be the main star of a video game. It’s up to Marvel and Insomniac if the franchise will continue. Marvel’s Wolverine just released with mixed reviews and no news or hints of post launch content. But again, Insomniac has the materials to expand the franchise by using an iconic Marvel character.