It seemed obvious from the ending of Insomniac’s first Spider-Man game that Harry Osborn would be Venom in the sequel. In a twist on the typical 'Norman Osborn as Green Goblin' plot thread, Osborn is just regular capitalist evil rather than supervillain evil. His son Harry, Peter's closest friend, is absent during the game for a vacation that sounds more and more impromptu and suspicious as the game goes on. Finally, in the last scene, we see Harry suspended in a tank of green goo, baiting us with a Green Goblin reveal before the switcheroo of the Symbiote in the tank with him.
Since then, we've gone around the houses (or condo blocks of Manhattan) with who Venom could be. Maybe the bait and switch was itself only bait, with a switch to come later. What if Venom is an entirely new character and we must defend Harry? Could Eddie Brock emerge? Or Flash Thompson? What if it's Kraven? Maybe MJ? What if it's Peter himself, a theory that picked up particular speed after the gameplay trailer revealed he would get the iconic black Symbiote suit and hinted at his personality changing for the worse? After all that, turns out it's Harry.
While not 100 percent confirmed yet, the latest story trailer shown off at San Diego Comic-Con gets us 95 percent of the way there. It opens with Harry talking to Peter, then being introduced to Miles - Harry's friendship with Peter will pick up where it left off before his 'vacation'. However, that tank is still a major factor. We see Peter exploding in a tentacle swarm of Symbiote during his fight with the Lizard, and then we see Norman and Harry standing in front of the tank that brought him back to health. That tank, lighting them in an ominous green glow, still houses a spiky ball of Symbiote that looks remarkably like Peter's new repertoire of attacks.
There are other hints at Harry's downfall too. We see him stumbling and limping, which suggests he's not fully healed and may need to continue his treatment (which likely involves regular exposure to the Symbiote) in order to stay healthy. He also throws a mug through a window, which not only hints at his unstable mental state but also his increased super strength. With Venom's voice whispering in his ear, Harry's transformation looks set to be a key part of the game. However, instead of Peter trying to get his friend to see the light, defeating Venom and saving Harry's life, we know Peter will join him in this descent. It will be up to us as Miles to save them both, while also exploring the effects of the Symbiote first-hand through Peter.
There's still the question of what happens to Peter, however. Given that he's close friends with Harry, it's easy to think the Symbiote may be contagious. But given there's no suggestion (now that theories have died down) that MJ or Miles are impacted, that's unlikely. Peter may be a loser, but he still spends enough time with his girlfriend to infect her with an alien disease. And that's the key word: alien. We don't know how Norman got the Symbiote either, and the game will likely be retracing these steps.
In a short, blink and you'll miss it clip during the trailer, we see black tentacles crawling out of rocks, which matches up with the Venom movie’s asteroid origin of the Symbiote. The question is, is this a flashback showing how Norman acquired the goo, or part of the present day, with the Symbiote looking for its brethren that Harry is hosting, and using Peter to get close? And if it's the former, how does Peter become infected? Is it deliberate from either Harry or Norman, and if so, were they trying to infect Peter or Spider-Man? Does this change put his secret identity in jeopardy?
The latest trailer answers one very obvious question (who is Venom?), but in doing so provides room for far more questions. With that key answer in place, we can start to build the storyline around it. Even if we guessed it and then psyched ourselves out, it's clear that Harry as Venom is a great angle, and I hope Spider-Man 2 can live up to its potential this October.