One of the most-hyped video games still to release in 2023 is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, a sequel to the 2018 best-selling Spidey adventure that allowed players to freely roam New York City and take selfies atop the Chrysler building. Insomniac Games was tight-lipped about the much-anticipated sequel’s development until last month when it finally dropped a gameplay trailer at the PlayStation Showcase. This week, Creative Director Bryan Intihar took the stage at Summer Game Fest to tease even more information about the game, including that Venom isn’t who you think he is.

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Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd, Intihar proclaimed, “It is not Eddie Brock,” prompting audible gasps from fans in the auditorium. The creative director continued, “Our goal was to tell an original story, something you haven’t seen in the comics or the movies yet.” And perhaps out of fear that spurned gamers would burn down the building, Intihar assured everyone that “[a]ll those things you love about the character are going to be there.”

The gameplay footage for Marve’s Spider-Man 2 released last month shows Peter Parker wearing the alien symbiote as he teams up with Miles Morales to catch The Lizard — and simultaneously dodge the unrelenting henchmen of Kraven the Hunter. Many fans wondered if Peter would be able to shake off the black goo in time for a proper Venom confrontation or if Insomanic would save that epic battle for the third game. But Insonamic apparently feels there’s no time like the present for the Web-Slinger to face off with one of his most infamous adversaries.

It’s heartening to hear Intihar say that despite his origin, Venom will be the baddie we all know and love. Unfortunately, Venom’s only cinematic adaptations thus far have been as a squeaky raptor who’s jealous of Peter Parker’s dance moves and a chaotic roommate who never cleans up after himself. Personally, we’d be willing to accept that Venom is Uncle Ben back from the dead as long as the creature acts appropriately.

Of course, most people assume Insomniac’s Venom will turn out to be Harry Osborne, given a post-credit scene at the end of the last game showing Harry submerged in a tank covered in strands of symbiote. That makes a certain amount of thematic sense, so we give it our blessing.

People who eschew comics but still want to see a better approximation of the character should check out the ’90s Fox cartoon or the late-’00s animated Spectacular Spider-Man, which originally aired on the CW. Those are two note-perfect iterations, with the qualifier that they are children’s cartoons and Venom can’t rip off as many heads as he’d like. If Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 gets anywhere close to his presence in the comics, gamers will be facing a savage threat indeed. And with Tony Todd apparently voicing Venom, we’re hopeful that everyone’s dreaded antihero will be properly terrifying.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launches exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on Oct. 20.