The comic origins of every single Spider-Man 2 costume

Much like its 2018 predecessor, Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 includes a host of costumes for both Peter Parker and his teenage counterpart Miles Morales — more than 60 confirmed so far, each with its own special abilities.

You would think a guy as well-dressed as Spider-Man might quit while he’s ahead, but no: If there’s one thing we know about the web-spinner, it’s that he loves nothing more than changing costumes as frequently and fabulously as a Super Bowl halftime show. Some of the game’s suits are original, some harken back to Spider-Man’s history in comics and other media, and all of them range from cool, to iconic, to downright quizzical.

In the interest of our educated readership, Polygon is providing you with this reference guide to the many outfits of Spider-Man 2, along with handy background on the stories and moments that inspired them.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for all suits in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. If you’re the kind of player who wants to be surprised by the costumes and abilities you’ll encounter, consider yourself warned. If you want to know how to get them in the game, read our guide to unlocking all the suits in Spider-Man 2.]

The Amazing Fashions of Peter Parker

Advanced Suit and Advanced Suit 2.0

Five years after the debut of Insomniac’s first Spider-Man game, the default Spider-Man costume (a higher-tech, armor-textured variation on the classic comic book design) has become an institution in itself. For their sequel, Insomniac has upgraded the look and technology of the costume ever so slightly, giving it a brighter, slimmer, and more streamlined appearance.

Amazing and Amazing 2 Suit

Both of these costumes are adapted from the suits Andrew Garfield wore in the two Amazing Spider-Man movies. While the first is a fairly dramatic departure from the standard Spidey style that leans heavily into texturing and rubbery realism, its later replacement hews much closer to the look and feel of Peter’s usual threads.

Anti-Ock Suit

A rerun from the previous game, the Anti-Ock suit is specially designed (and aptly named) to combat Doctor Octopus, whose tentacles Peter realizes can be controlled by the neural interface he himself designed. In other words, you can shut down his arms, and slap the Doc silly.

Anti-Venom Suit

Designed by artist John Romita, Jr. and created by writer Dan Slott for Marvel Comics in 2008, Anti-Venom is what happens when an alien symbiote receives the touch of Mr. Negative, turning its colors in reverse, and giving it appropriately toxic effects against other symbiote enemies. In the original comics, it was OG Venom Eddie Brock who took on the new identity; here, it’s Peter himself who receives the dubious gift.

Arachknight Suit

A mashup of Spider-Man and the slightly-unhinged-multiple-identity-hero Moon Knight, the Arachknight was a goofy product of the 2018 Infinity Warp comic event, which imagined a variety of offbeat alternate universes that played Madlibs with Marvel characters. The design and ethos, by Spider-artist Humberto Ramos, has been ported over to the game this time around.

Black and Gold Suit

First appearing in the game Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, this variation on the Stark suit is a bulkier, clunker, and more fully equipped tech suit for Peter.

Classic Black Suit/Black Suit

Designed by artist Mike Zeck way back in 1984’s Secret Wars comic book event, this look has become a staple for the Spider-Man mythos, being the distinctive look of the alien symbiote that becomes Peter’s erstwhile replacement outfit. In Spider-Man 2, what begins as (apparently) a simple suit of black threads gradually takes on more powerful and alarming implications depending on the jerkiness of Peter’s behavior, which activates his latent symbiote tendencies.

Classic Suit

An icon. A legend. A Steve Ditko original. Accept no substitutes.

Homemade Suit

Also appearing in the previous Insomniac game, this sweatshirt-based ensemble is modeled on the initial costume worn by Tom Holland in the MCU’s Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming. As the name implies, it’s a thrown-together dry run Peter creates before he gets access to his real-deal Spider-Man outfit.

Hybrid Suit

Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Entertainment

Another MCU-inspired design, this one hails from 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Built using nanites from Doc Ock’s tentacles, it’s among the higher-tech variations of the various Peter costumes.

Into the Spider-Verse Noir Suit

Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Entertainment

Based initially on Marco Djurdjevic’s design for the comics, this is the suit of the alternate-reality Spider-Man who lives in a shadowed world of dingy streets, femmes fatale, and mysteries within mysteries. The particular design seen here is the sleeker, hatted variation used in 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse animated film.

Iron Spider Suit/Iron Spider Armor Suit

Designed by artist and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada for the 2007 Civil War comic series, the Iron Spider was Peter’s very first Stark-designed and weaponized tech suit, which he wore before running afoul of Stark and his cronies in the aforementioned series. The costume has since been seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and various cartoon adaptations, before appearing in both of the Insomniac games as an unlockable suit.

Kumo Suit

The Japanese word for “spider,” this suit has an appropriately ninja-esque vibe, and is original to this Insomniac sequel.

Last Hunt Suit

Here we have Peter cosplaying as his nemesis Kraven the Hunter, whose Steve Ditko-designed suit is refashioned into gold-plated, leather-pants-ed, and fur-stole-ed fabulousness. Sadly, laser nipples are not included.

Life Story Suit

The 2019 comic series Spider-Man: Life Story imagined the career of Spider-Man as if it were told in real-time, with Peter aging and progressing through the decades since his debut in 1962. This suit, one of several appearing in that mini, was designed especially for space-themed adventures, which explains the astronaut headgear.

New Blue Suit

It’s new. It’s blue. It’s got a spider emblem in a tiny little circle on the chest. What more does anyone need?

New Red and Blue Suit

Obviously modeled closely on the classic design, this variation sports a shinier and more textured look, and has a spider-emblem reminiscent of the MCU design worn in the earlier Tom Holland films.

Saving Lives Suit

With its purple highlights and angular eyes, this suit has a look reminiscent of the John Romita-designed Prowler costume, which first made its debut in the comics way back in 1969.

Scarlet III Suit

A comic-inspired costume, this was actually the second Scarlet Spider outfit worn by spider-clone Ben Reilly. Its debut in 2017 proved so unpopular with fans that it was rapidly phased out and replaced with…

Scarlet Spider Suit

…this bad boy. A homespun outfit fashioned out of a hoodie, this extremely ’90s bit of comic ridiculousness was likely, in turn, the inspiration for the MCU’s Homemade Suit, discussed above.

Secret Wars: Civil War Suit

The 2015 Secret Wars comic event saw the villain Dr. Doom create a reality called Battleworld, where various permutations of the Marvel Universe existed side by side, most of them a riff on a past storyline. One such warzone saw the Marvel heroes in a perpetual state of Tony Stark-fueled destruction, and this Leinil Francis Yu-designed Spider-Man suit saw its debut there.

Spider-Man 2099 Suit

Here we have the suit of Miguel O’Hara, the surly Spider-Man of the year 2099, who first appeared in 1993’s Spider-Man 2099 in a costume designed by Rick Leonardi. The costume’s distinctive arm spikes and retractable spider-claws reflect the kind of edgy attitude for which O’Hara himself was known.

Spider-Punk Suit

This comic-inspired suit was the work of artist Olivier Coipel, who designed the British punk rock Spider-Man for 2015’s Spider-Verse event. A variation of the look recently appeared in animated form in this year’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse film.

Stealth Suit

This black, be-shadowed stalking outfit is actually inspired by the original, trench-coat-free version of the Spider-Man: Noir costume from the comics. It appeared previously as a free suit in Insomniac’s first Spider-Man game, and makes a return to the gamerverse here.

Superior Suit

Image: Insomniac Games/Sony Entertainment

The distinctive, black-highlighted outfit of Otto Octavius, worn first during the period in the comics when he forcibly inhabited the body of the seemingly dead Peter Parker. Among other features, Otto equipped his costume with his characteristic metal tentacles, not depicted here.

Upgraded Suit/Upgraded Classic Suit

These costumes are adapted from those worn by Tom Holland in the MCU’s Spider-Man films. The classic blue version appeared as the hero’s Stark-designed outfit in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, while the black variation replaced it beginning with Spider-Man: Far From Home two years later.

Webbed Suit/Webbed Black Suit

These are the costumes worn by Toby Maguire in the Sam Raimi-directed film trilogy that launched Spidey’s big-screen career in 2002. A more realistically textured version of the standard suit, with raised, metallic web lines instead of sewn-in fabric, it comes in both standard and symbiote varieties.

The Ultimate Looks of Miles Morales

Upgraded Suit

Hewing very close to the classic design, this is Miles’ default costume for most of Spider-Man 2. It makes its debut in video games or anywhere else for the first time here.

10th Anniversary Suit

In 2021, a decade after Miles Morales debuted in the comics, Marvel commissioned artist Chase Conley to design a new suit for the character. Distinctive for its turtlenecked sweatshirt, dangling drawstring cords, and neon pink highlights, it didn’t last long before giving way to Miles’ older and more classic look.

Absolute Carnage Suit

A product of the 2019 Absolute Carnage comic event, this costume is what happens when the Miles Morales outfit is transmogrified into the sociopathic Carnage symbiote. Buyer beware.

Into the Spider-Verse Suit/Across the Spider-Verse Suit

Modeled closely on his comic book design, these versions of Miles’ suit were worn in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie, and its 2023 sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie. Unlike its comic counterpart, it’s a more streamlined outfit that removes the red web lines, and replaces the stylized spider-emblem with a graffiti-inspired circular design.

Advanced Tech Suit

Inspired by the design of Peter’s Iron Spider suit, but with the armored fabric of the Anti-Ock Suit, this is Miles’ version of the high-tech battle outfits Peter sometimes sports. It previously appeared in the original Marvel’s Spider-Man game.

Agent of SHIELD Suit

In 2014, following the events of the Cataclysm crossover, the comic book Miles Morales enlisted as an agent of super-spy agency SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Acronym Invention Agency, true believer!). Wearing a version of their blue military-esque uniforms but with a Spider-Man flavor to hide his secret ID, this is a variation on the costume Miles briefly trotted out.

Best There Is Suit

Sometimes Spider-Man likes to take himself seriously. Other times, he likes to cosplay as Wolverine in a zipper hoodie and Doc Martens. This is an instance of the latter.

Bodega Cat Suit

The breakout character of 2020’s Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was, of course, Bodega Cat, whose legacy remains now and forever untarnished. This suit, unlocked after completing the Cat’s Pyjamas story campaign in that game, returns for an encore appearance here.

Boricua Suit

This Puerto Rican flag-inspired costume appears in honor of Miles’ identity as a proud Nuyorican.

Brooklyn 2099 Suit

Resembling both the Miguel O’Hara 2099 suit, and the Miles Morales variation seen in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, this version features baggy pants and narrower red eyes, which are (as we all know) the hallmarks of NYC’s greatest borough in the far-off ‘90s of this century.

City Sounds Suit

This fedora-topped, sweatered outfit resembles the hottest looks of the 1920s Jazz Age. It’s Miles Morales for the Louis Armstrong set.

Classic Suit

Designed by artist Sara Pichelli in 2011, Miles’ default costume evokes the classic Peter Park look without replicating it entirely, replacing its blue highlights with red-on-black webbing. In the decade since then, it’s become as much a classic as the Ditko original that inspired it.

Crimson Cowl Suit

An homage to the comics villain the Crimson Cowl, who appeared in the Thunderbolts series with a Scarlet-Witch-esque designed by artist Mark Bagley, the look also pays homage to the hooded Scarlet Spider design (also by Bagley) mentioned above. It previously appeared in the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales game in 2020.

Dark Ages Suit

Marvel Comics’ 2021 Dark Ages crossover imagined one of those dystopian futures of which comic creators are always so fond, in which all the heroes’ hopes and dreams have gone sour, and only the most tough and brutal remain standing. Miles’ costume for that series, designed by artist Iban Coello, is a symbiote-covered bit of leathery madness.

Evolved Suit

With its visible hair, sweet sneakers, and bright blue highlights, this new look is surprisingly appealing for both superhero action and default casual wear.

Family Business Suit

Another armored suit strongly reminiscent of the Iron Spider design, whose influence continues to make itself felt throughout the Insomniac universe.

Forever Suit

This new costume designed for Spider-Man 2 has a Wakanda-inflected design, complete with panther ears and a pointed nose. Cats and spiders living together? Now I’ve seen everything.

Great Responsibility Suit

Given as a gift to Miles by Peter Parker to acknowledge the younger hero’s risk-taking and courage to save innocent lives, this suit previously appeared in the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales game, where its Parker-resembling look preceded the classic Miles costume.

Homemade Suit

As with Peter’s sweatshirt-based equivalent, this was Miles’ very first costume from his video game debut, fashioned at home a the outset of his superhero career.

Into the Spider-Verse Spider-Boy Suit

Miles’s first costume in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie was a cobbled-up concoction made from a store-bought Spider-Man outfit, sneakers, and a towel cape. A fine Halloween idea if I ever saw one.

King in Black Suit

Continuing from 2018’s comic book Absolute Carnage event, the King in Black crossover revolves around an invasion of Earth led by Knull, the titular King in Black, and dark god of the symbiotes. The symbiote suit worn by Miles for that series was the spiky horror-show with its distinctive forehead spiral, seen here.

Life Story Suit

As with the Peter Parker version seen above, this is a space-fitted astronaut suit modeled for the game from the Spider-Man: Life Story series, in Miles Morales colors this time around.

Miles Morales 2020 Suit

Returning from the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales game, this update of the classic Miles suit is, apparently, fit for a kid of the current decade. Because what says the 2020s if not large Walkman headphones and rolled-up jacket sleeves?

Miles Morales 2099

Another variation on the surprisingly influential Spider-Man 2099 design, this one uses Miguel O’Hara’s emblem on a hooded black bodysuit for a futuristic but youthful feel.

Most Dangerous Game Suit

Miles’ own variation on Kraven the Hunter’s absurd but glorious style is the thing to wear when you’re seeking the only prey worth stalking: Spider-Man.

Programmable Matter Suit

Returning from the previous Miles Morales game, this glowing, armor-paneled design is strongly inspired by the various Iron Man suits, whose Stark tech led to many of the Spider-Man costumes on display here.

Purple Reign Suit

A prince pun! But also inspired by the purple color scheme of the Prowler, of course, who gifted it to Miles in the previous Spider-Man: Miles Morales game. It comes with both claw-tipped fingers and a utility belt, making it a versatile costume for the cat burglar in all of us.

Shadow-Spider Suit

Designed by comic artist Sean Izaakse for the Champions series in 2018, this was the costume of an alternate-reality Miles Morales, whose dark path to avenge the death of Peter Parker follows a very different course from the Miles we know. It makes its video game debut in Spider-Man 2.

Smoke and Mirrors Suit

It’s Miles by way of the villain Mysterio – specifically the version of that nemesis who appeared, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, in the Spider-Man: Far From Home film. It’s green, purple, and has a glass headpiece so you can pull off all the magic tricks your heart might desire.

Sportswear Suit

Miles’ very first suit in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it features not only a hoodie, but a hoodie and a puffy jacket. Perfect for those Brooklyn winters.

STRIKE Suit

Sometimes your mission calls for a popped collar and oversized gauntlets, and nothing else will do. The STRIKE Suit provides.

The End Suit

Adapted from the 2020 comic Miles Morales: The End, this suit (designed by Damion Scott) was worn by an aged and battered Miles Morales as he made a last stand for humankind in the Brooklyn of the future. While the hooded sweatshirt evokes his youthful past, black camo pants speak to the worst of all possible things to come.

TRACK Suit

What’s white, black, red, and absolutely stylish? This newly debuted look for Miles Morales, baby.