Tear Jerker / Marvel's Spider-Man 2

• Both Spider-Men are struggling with balancing their personal and superhero lives: Peter is attempting to make ends meet paying the bills for Ben and May's house whereas Miles is struggling to write his college essay without mentioning his vigilantism.
• Both Spider-Men can visit the ones they lost; Peter visits Uncle Ben and Aunt May's graves, while Miles visits the trophy he and Phin won on top of Trinity Church. The first time you visit May's grave earns you a trophy, titled "You Know What To Do". When you visit Phin's trophy, you get "Just Let Go."
  • The names for the trophies upon visiting these memorials are also allusions to May and Phin's Last Words.
  • Peter actually has different dialogue for the different stages of the story at May's grave. During the time he wears the black suit, he's arrogant, saying that there's no more helping people one at a time with the new suit. After, though...
  Peter: Glad you couldn't see the last few days, May. Not my best.
  • And after you beat the main story:
  Peter: Parker luck's back, with a vengeance...
• Peter, who mentioned being ecstatic about his first day as a teacher, gets fired by the principal as he fled the school with Miles to fight Sandman. From her point of view, a teacher abandoned his students during a city-wide crisis to do who knows what. Ganke lampshades how difficult it must be to be both Spider-Man and a regular person.
• In contrast to the previous game, most Spider-Man rogues in the sequel have quite the tragic backstories.
  • Sandman's situation is pretty saddening if you collect all the memory crystals: He made an honest attempt at going straight for the sake of his daughter, Keemia, just for Kraven's hunters to come along and ruin it by capturing him. Ultimately it was his inability to find his daughter during the whole fiasco that caused him to blow his stack and wreak havoc on New York. Even the Spider-Men can't help but feel bad for him.
  • There's also Curt Connors' issues with his family. While most literations have them staying together despite everything that's happened or they eventually return after some amount of time, Connors' wife left with his son after the first time he transformed into the Lizard and he hasn't seen them since. While Connors doesn't outright say it, it's clear that he's still hurting from these events as he hasn't bothered to clean out his son's room. If that wasn't bad enough, the password to his underground laboratory are the notes to his favorite song from his toy piano.
    • Speaking of the underground laboratory, it's tragic to see that Connors' Lizard problem has been persistent enough that he's built a special bunker to contain himself whenever he relapses. And even that isn't enough to hold what Kraven's modified serum turns him into.
    • During the fight with the Lizard, Peter initially appeals to Connor's humanity. But then, the Symbiote's influence, coupled with his desperation to save Harry, causes him to rage against the poor doctor, calling him weak and having no remorse for the beating he's inflicting on him.
      Peter: No wonder your family left you... you're not strong enough!
  • Mysterio falls victim to this as well. Beck acknowledges that despite genuinely reforming, there are people out there who still see Mysterio as a villain. Overlaps into heartwarming, however, as he still wishes to atone for his mistakes and prove himself. Which makes it all the worse when you finish his side mission and discover his two business partners planned to use his virtual reality attractions to covertly empty people’s bank accounts and stick him with the blame.
• When exploring Peter's house early in the game, you can look in what was once May's room, and find a locket containing photos of Peter and Ben. Peter gets audibly choked up, showing that while he's mostly accepted May's loss, even for the Amazing Spider-Man, grief is a lifelong process.
  Peter: Oh man. Hits you like a rogue wave sometimes.
• While the flashback sequence of 15-year-old Peter and Harry sneaking through the school is full of heartwarming and funny moments, it ends on a very bitter note with Harry falling to his knees after Norman informs him of his mother's passing. Peter can only watch from a distance, initially confused and concerned for his friend.
• The entire sequence that introduces Harry using his "Agent Venom" superhero look to aid Peter in rescuing Tombstone from the foundry. You'd think that the combination of Harry's inexperience and the symbiote's traditional corruptive presence is going to make the whole thing go badly somehow, but instead, Harry more than proves his worth as a hero, fighting well in tandem with Peter, listening to his friend's advise on how to handle himself and apparently possessing full control throughout the entire sequence. He slips up with the booby trap on Tombstone's cell, but makes up for that through risking his life to save the Reformed Criminal. Throughout it all, you can see that Harry would be a great hero, worthy of being a "Spider-Pal", but for everybody that knows what the source of his powers are, there's this lingering sense of inevitable dread throughout it all, just knowing that it won't last and Harry will somehow wind up going the opposite direction into becoming consumed by the monster he's wearing. Underscoring this, Peter and Harry's attempt to do a celebratory fist-bump after rescuing Tombstone gets killed when the symbiote tries to use the contact to jump to Peter, emphasizing how it's not satisfied with Harry and wants a more powerful host.
  • Furthermore, it's possible to encounter Harry as Agent Venom aiding in crime events from this point forward until the mission to rescue Conners, appearing to help either Peter or Miles in fighting off street thugs. It's bad enough with Peter, but Miles getting aid from Harry has the two "newest" Spider-Men hitting it off with each other and getting along great, empathising the upcoming tragedy. In particular, the Final Boss will be these two exact people forced to fight to the death through Venom's absolute hatred of Miles for forcing his separation from Peter.
• Peter nearly dying after being stabbed by Kraven. MJ refuses to believe he’s dying and desperately tries to help him evacuate, and when that doesn’t work, she screams for Harry to come help. For his part, Harry loses it and nearly kills the hunter in a blind rage, and when it looks like Peter has passed, the both of them fall apart until the symbiote saves him.
  • Just how quickly Peter's condition deteriorates as MJ tries to help him walk to safety. He does try to keep a brave face and give a heroic Sorry That I'm Dying-type message, but at the same time he sounds almost scared by how quickly he's fading.
    Spider-Man: MJ... I don't think— am I breathing? [...] I can't... I can't s-see.
  • One can only imagine how haunting this is from Harry's perspective. Not only was he was gifted a second chance at life, but his best friend turned out to be a beloved superhero. Now he was dying not long after reuniting with him and establishing a business to help heal the world as partners. Needless to say, it's very understandable why Harry went off at Kraven when he did.
  Harry: WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?! [...] I'LL KILL YOU!
• While there's probably no one more deserving than him, seeing Scorpion spend his last moments squirming in terror away from Kraven is a truly pitiable sight.
  • Likewise, for as much as they were all ruthless super-villains, it's a real shame to lose a large number of villains who had great potential for this series: Scorpion, Vulture, Electro, and Shocker.
  • Shocker is the one who really didn't deserve this, especially considering how ineffective he really is as a villain.
  • Vulture was part of a group committing a terrorist campaign against New York, but he was recruited to the Sinister Six because Dr. Octopus promised him a treatment for his cancer. There's something sad about him getting viciously killed by another man with cancer who's seeking what he's considering to be a good death.
• The entire battle with Martin Li. Not only is Miles clearly ready to make Martin pay, he’s forced to hear four speeches (one from his mentor, one from his best friend, one from his mother, and one from his late father) about how he’s doing more harm than good.
• After Peter's brutal fight with Kraven, Miles just barely stops him from killing the hunter. Unfortunately, Peter is so far gone and at the end of his rope that this one act immediately turns Miles from friend to enemy. And as the camera gets into position, a health bar pops up with one horrifying word.
  PETER
  • What follows is a brutal smackdown where even more than lashing out at Miles and his loved ones, Peter berates himself. It starts merely as an assertion that the symbiote makes him a better Spider-Man, but quickly devolves into him admitting that he simply doesn't feel strong enough to go on without it. It's only thanks to Miles that he breaks free of both the Venom symbiote and his anguish.
  Miles: We've gotta be stronger than that! This time, you have to save yourself!
  Peter: (despaired) I...can't!
• Harry's breakdown over the course of the game. The symbiote gives him a level of strength and movement that he hasn't been able to experience for years due to his genetic disorder, only to lose that and experience his condition getting worse than ever after the suit jumps to Peter. As the game progresses from there, with his body failing on him and the previously spry young man reduced to hobbling about on his cane (a cane he clearly hates and perceives as a symbol of weakness due to his own insecurity), Harry's emotional state crumbles as he becomes consumed with long-suppressed jealousy towards Peter for being basically everything Harry wants to be; a healthy, powerful, and scientifically accomplished superhero with loving friends and family, plus the approval of Norman. Between all that and the symbiote making Peter turn his wrath on Harry, it's no wonder he's so broken by the time the suit is taken off that he willingly embraces it and becomes Venom.
  Harry: (Flailing desperately at Peter with his cane) I saved your life! And you won't save mine?! Do you want me to die?!
  • The pure desperation in Harry's voice as he's attacking Peter is heartbreaking. And then the symbiote bonds with him, and it all goes to hell.
• When Venom takes over Harry and begins rampaging through Oscorp, Norman uses the PA system to beg his son to stop. He starts off by insisting they're close to finding a cure, apologizes for using the symbiote despite being warned against it when that fails, and finally just futilely begging Harry to let Norman save him. It gets worse when Kraven arrives and starts luring Venom outside to hunt him, at which point Norman starts audibly crying and begging Harry not to get himself killed.
  Norman: Harry, I'm begging you! STOP! They're going to kill you out there! I can't lose you too!
• Venom might have given Kraven the death he wanted, but it's made very clear that Harry is unbelievably horrified by it from the way they're staring at their hands afterwards. The camera even shows this from Venom's perspective to really let it sink in. Then the symbiote uses Emily Osborn's voice to emotionally manipulate him into going along with the plan to turn the entire world into symbiotes.
• When Venom turns MJ into Scream and makes her attack Peter, the latter spends the whole battle being raked over the coals by Scream, who calls him out for his selfishness and inability to get his life together and how it negatively affects Mary Jane. By the end of the fight, Peter is crying almost as much from the realization of how terrible of a boyfriend he was as he is from desperation to save the woman he loves.
  Scream: I always come second! I live in your shadow, where my dreams turn to dust! (...) My life is constantly interrupted by you! Looking for answers, leads - because you lost a job or can't pay a bill! I write words I don't believe in for a man I despise, so YOU can be happy!!
  Peter: I'm sorry I caused you so much pain! The house, my job, our life together... I promised you I'd be better, but I wasn't. I should have listened, I should have been there... we're a team! Me and you! I never want your life to be worse to make mine better! Your dreams are just as important as mine!
• As Miles and Martin Li delve into Peter's subconscious to purge the last of the symbiote from him, we get a deep dive into just how much pain and insecurity he's been hiding. They first find themselves in the Raft, with Li noting that the sheer number of prisoners Spider-Man's put in there over the years must weigh heavily on a man who always believes in second chances. Miles is then attacked by spectral versions of the Sinister Six and an endless horde of prisoners, highlighting the sheer hopelessness and frustration of watching your enemies escape again and again to cause more pain and destruction. Following Aunt May's voice through visions of her house and the F.E.A.S.T. shelter, Miles and Li finally discover the focal point of the symbiote's influence, the part of Peter it's been feeding off of all this time... and when they break through, they discover Peter himself kneeling by May's deathbed, begging for forgiveness and sobbing that it's all his fault. All his insecurities, his need to be a better Spider-Man, everything that the symbiote preyed upon stems from his inability to forgive himself for not doing enough to save both May and the city.
  Peter: This is all my fault. I'm sorry... I'm sorry...
  • Li has his own share of sobering moments, displaying a painful awareness that his need for revenge ended up destroying everything good he'd built in his life while hurting and killing countless others. He's visibly shaken when he hears May's voice, quietly notes that the apparition of F.E.A.S.T. is (rightfully) the closest he'll ever be allowed to his life's work again, and accepts Miles' inability to forgive him for Jefferson's death without argument.
• There's a surprising moment for Venom of all people in the final battle. Once Peter has made it clear that he has no interest in rebonding, Venom genuinely falters, a look of actual pain on his face due to the rejection, before he goes One-Winged Angel and goes after Miles and MJ. It's clear that, despite Venom's evil and monstrous plan, he genuinely cares for Peter and enjoyed being bonded to him, and Peter's full rejection of their 'friendship' is the final straw in their shattered relationship.
  • More then that. It's almost as if the Symbiote GENUINELY doesn't get why Peter doesn't seem to accept his plan as being what will truly heal everyone. While it's methods were partially self motivated there's also the fact it didn't feel the plan was complete without Peter.
  • There's even the moment where the symbiote realizes that Peter lured him away from the meteor so that MJ and Miles could destroy it - he doesn't sound angry at Peter's deception, he sounds betrayed.
  Venom: The meteorite ...? You took it from us?!
• Peter's scream of utter grief and horror after he's forced to render Harry comatose to kill Venom to stop the creature's plan. He had already chosen not to give Aunt May the antiserum in the previous game, so seeing him make the same hard decision to save New York by ending a loved one's life again is sad to watch. Thankfully, Miles was there to resuscitate him.
• Norman Osborn is not a good person, but his rage after Harry falls into a coma after the symbiote is finally destroyed is heartbreaking and completely understandable, especially when he loses it and uses Harry's cane to smash up the room around him while sobbing uncontrollably.
  Norman: Why ...?! WHY?!
  • Blended in with Nightmare Fuel; Norman immediately makes a phone call with an employee as he stands beside Harry's bed, and demands that the G-Serum get set up. This is how the Green Goblin is born in this universe; not out of a freak accident or even just For the Evulz. It's just... grief.
  Norman: Get...the G-serum ready... ASAP.
  • Just Norman's entire emotional state after the symbiote leaves Harry for Peter and Harry's health instantly worsens. The next time we see Norman, he's grown serious stubble and has clearly driven himself ragged over being no closer to finding a cure for his son or the symbiote. Then Peter, who is wearing the symbiote that was keeping Harry healthy, lies to Norman about Harry's health improving, and Norman is so elated that he immediately pulls Peter in for a hug and starts crying for a moment before telling Peter that he's like a son to him and that he's proud of him. And while all of this is happening, an already emotionally fragile Harry is right by the door and clearly misconstrues the exchange in the worst possible way.
• Doc Ock's cameo in the post-credits. He's become so embittered and so thoroughly embraced his new life as a supervillain that he's nearly unrecognizable as the cheerful, friendly scientist that mentored Peter in the first game.
  Otto: What do you want?
  Norman: The Spider-Men. You know who they are, don't you?
  Otto: Why?
  Norman: They ruined my son.
  Otto: ...Good. We all have to experience loss. Even you, Norman.
• While still heartwarming as well, a couple of FNSM missions are heavy and tragic at times:
  • "Find Grandpa" is given by Tasha, a young woman that's lost her grandfather with dementia, and she spends most of the search frightened, guilty and upset at herself for how "taking care of him felt like a thing I had to do". Earl, as it turns out, wandered off to spend the day revisiting the zoo where he proposed to his late wife, then went down to the park where they used to feed ducks; while he describes it as a good, lucid day for the most part, his slight confusion and accepting shrug when Spider-Man tells him his granddaughter's been looking for him shows that he forgets who Tasha is from time to time. Earl and Spider-Man share a brief conversation before Tasha comes, with Earl confessing that being here makes it feel like Billie's still with him, and that he's afraid of the day he can no longer remember what her eyes look like.
  • "Howard" features the man himself inviting Spider-Man to sit down and sightsee with him at the pier, while he expresses a strange wanderlust he's never shown before. After some reminiscing, he reveals that he's "finally going on an adventure", and asks Spidey to help guide his birds (now an entire flock of pigeons) up north so they can finally tour outside the city while he's away, to the tune of the Alessi Brothers' "Seabird". Following an aerial tour of Manhattan and Brooklyn, as Spider-Man leads them to a wooded area of Queens, he calls Howard to tell him the good news; Howard thanks him for doing it and, indirectly, for the kindness he's shown him, then falls quiet. After a train ride back to Lower Manhattan, Spider-Man sees an ambulance with two EMTs at the dock, with one of them remarking that "it looked like he was at peace". While this is already a sad mission to complete with Miles, it's even harder with Peter, who's known Howard as a friend for years and is audibly crying after the mission's done.
    Spider-Man: Don't worry, Howard. The flock is free.
• If you swing by the old Murdock & Nelson offices, you’ll find out that it’s been vacated, its plaque gone. While the building is being put up for preserving, the fact that even Matt Murdock can suffer the same things as Peter can hurt. Alleviated a bit with a future update, which puts the plaque back on.
• Peter’s choice to take a break from being Spider-Man. It's clear that the events of the story have left him in a really bad mental state. While it doesn't last long (Peter mentions that his break is over once you switch back to him in the post-game), it’s still sad to see him so worn down that he has to just give it up for a bit.
• While taking care of symbiote nests and random crimes, Peter sounds incredibly scared. It shows just how badly the events of this game have dug into his psyche. There's no jokes, no quips, only fear when getting started, and shaky relief when it's over.