Discussing Wraith in Insomniac's Spider-Man

[Winter]

In My Opinion the worst entry from Insomniac's Spider-Man is the Expansion Pack The City That Never Sleeps. The Heist is frankly a borderline character assassination piece on Black Cat with her lying to Peter about having his child so he will help her in the aforementioned Heist and Silver Lining is just a retread of Silver Sable subpar subplot from the base game which has to regress what little character Sable had in the base game and has us spend more time with the overall worst character in this series, this game's version of Silver Sable.

But for me the overall worst part of the DLC is Turf Wars, the second DLC of the EP. I HATE what this DLC does to Yuri Watanabe aka Wraith as it's a complete betrayal of her character established in the base game. I knew she was going to go down a dark path as in the games Yuri is a minor antagonist in the comics but the way the game goes about it is just awful.

In order to justify this turn the DLC has to introduce character traits and impulses that were not established in the base game. Yuri here is now hot headed despite always being cool under fire in the main game. Yuri has a history with the Maggia, something that's never mentioned until now she has no patience for following the rules despite her ALWAYS insisting to Spider-Man to bring in criminals by the book.

One thing that bugs me is how Yuri's begins her start to darkness. See at the start of Turf Wars we get a scene where Peter and Yuri along with a bunch of cops go to try and arrest a few criminals and there's this one cop who;'s just the nicest guy and is a huge fan of Spider-Man and even has a Spider-Man Watch and he's so happy to be fighting alongside his hero and yeah he dies. He's apparently killed by Yuri who shot him by accented. This is such a major part of the story and Yuri's fall that it's NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN!!! Seriously about 5 minutes after his death no one mentions him or the failed raid again that you could cut it out and lose nothing.

But what's worse then that he the moment when she crosses the line. See during Silver Lining we learn that Yuri went to a bar for a few criminals and massacred everyone there... Off-screen... and we learn this more as an aside rather then it being a major moment... And JUST like the bit with the cop this is NOT mentioned again.

Which leads us then to Yuri's role in Spider-Man 2 (PS5). See Yuri shows up again as her Supervillain identity Wraith in a pretty solid side mission and here she's more of a anti-hero rather then a villain. We never see her kill anyone and there in-lines the problem because Peter talks about not seeing her and assuming she just left to clear her head after everything that happened which had me facepalm because Yuri's Moral Event Horizon was so poorly done that the sequel acts like Yuri murdering a bunch of people was not a bug deal actually.

Nope, no real issue here, Yuri just needed time to think and Peter never brings up the fact that she kill people. Oh sure she wants to kill a cult leader but Peter tries to keep her from doing so but she never kills anyone else.

And this lead me to a issue I have with Wraith in the series so far. This isn't the same character. Yuri in the base game is not the Yuri in the DLC and Wraith in SPM2PS5 is not the same character from the first game or the DLC. I honestly would be fine with Yuri becoming an anti-hero or a anti-villain if she was at least consistent with her character. I know the writers of this series can do this because they've done it no less then 5 times with 4 villains and one hero. Doctor Octopus, Mr. Negative, The Tinker, Harry and Peter all went through this arc and they have all been pretty well done but for some Reason they just couldn't pull this off with Yuri.

My guess is they intended for Yuri's fall to be the main focus of the EP but were forced to shorten it down to the second DLC and desided to just ignore it. Because I do see more of the Yuri from from 1 in 2 but TCTNS' Yuri doesn't bridge the gap between them.

Yuri was one of my favorite characters in the first game and I HATED what they did to her in the DLC and while I like her in the second game I feel that she's not as interesting as her first game counterpart. And truth be told I'm worried what Insomniac will do in the upcoming DLC because they have no been the best caretaker with her character and I'm worried that they will either have her o back to being a killer or kill her off. I'm hoping to be proven wrong and that she'll not only fully join the Spider-Gang but even be playable but I'm not holding my breath.

[CharlesPhipps]

Well, Yuri and Wraith are both established in the graphic novel, SPIRAL that I recommend you check out. The character was always designed with a basically "Batman" esque origin of being a police officer who is continually betrayed and undermined by the New York City Police Department (always a corrupt institution in Marvel comics because it's written by New Yorkers).

This eventually, combined with the influence of Spider-Man, results in her deciding to become a costumed vigilante like Spidey despite not possessing superpowers of her own. She does, however, steal Mysterio and Chamelon's tech from police evidence plus Fear Gas from Mr. Fear (Daredevil villain) as to not be completely overwhelmed.

But what you're describing in the above post, Winter, is actually the exact same problem a lot of fans generally have with the character's handling in the comics rather than the games. Which is the fact that, flat out, a good number of the audience agrees that Yuri is a hero not a villain. Or at the very least, feel exceptional circumstances warrant exceptional sympathy.

But to address the issues specifically to the character in the game:

1. Hammerhead is a terrorist not a gang member

The difference between the Punisher and Spider-Man is that Frank Castle kills and Spider-Man doesn't. Generally, people agree Frank Castle is a bad guy and that his actions are wrong because not all crimes deserve death (if any). However, in the PS4 game, the issue is that Hammerhead's goons lift a massive amount of SHIELD-esque technology from the WIld Pack and proceed to go on an unhindered killing spree across New York City. This is the difference between, at least for audiences, Hammerhead being a guy able to be dealt with by the legal system versus an enemy combatant. Ditto his terrorist buddies who have killed dozens, if not hundreds of cops throughout the DLC.

2. New York City goes through a major crisis in the game

Doctor Octopus causes it to suffer a mini-Covid-19, the city is taken over by the WIld Pack that turns it into a police state, Mr. Negative brainwashes large swaths of the citizens into becoming evil version of themselves, and then Hammerhead begins his terrorist activities. Now, in the 616 universe this is just what we'd call Thursday through Friday but the Insomniac version treats these events as uniquely awful. Yuri and the NCPD is doing their best to hold it together but they frankly fail in the face of the supervillains they're facing. I can understand why she's stressed and pushed to the limit.

3. Peter is a redemption junkie

It would be pretty much monstrous of Peter to be, "You're a murderer, Yuri! I'm taking you in!" Especially when he has been always trying to appeal to the better nature of so many other "bad" guys throughout the story. Peter would rather have Yuri turn back from the Dark Side than try and punish her.

4. Yuri was very popular with fans

As a fan of Yuri myself, I'm glad they dialed back her handling in the DLC.

[Winter]

Well, Yuri and Wraith are both established in the graphic novel, SPIRAL that I recommend you check out. The character was always designed with a basically "Batman" esque origin of being a police officer who is continually betrayed and undermined by the New York City Police Department (always a corrupt institution in Marvel comics because it's written by New Yorkers).

This eventually, combined with the influence of Spider-Man, results in her deciding to become a costumed vigilante like Spidey despite not possessing superpowers of her own. She does, however, steal Mysterio and Chamelon's tech from police evidence plus Fear Gas from Mr. Fear (Daredevil villain) as to not be completely overwhelmed.

But what you're describing in the above post, Winter, is actually the exact same problem a lot of fans generally have with the character's handling in the comics rather than the games. Which is the fact that, flat out, a good number of the audience agrees that Yuri is a hero not a villain. Or at the very least, feel exceptional circumstances warrant exceptional sympathy.

But to address the issues specifically to the character in the game:

1. Hammerhead is a terrorist not a gang member

The difference between the Punisher and Spider-Man is that Frank Castle kills and Spider-Man doesn't. Generally, people agree Frank Castle is a bad guy and that his actions are wrong because not all crimes deserve death (if any). However, in the PS4 game, the issue is that Hammerhead's goons lift a massive amount of SHIELD-esque technology from the WIld Pack and proceed to go on an unhindered killing spree across New York City. This is the difference between, at least for audiences, Hammerhead being a guy able to be dealt with by the legal system versus an enemy combatant. Ditto his terrorist buddies who have killed dozens, if not hundreds of cops throughout the DLC.

2. New York City goes through a major crisis in the game

Doctor Octopus causes it to suffer a mini-Covid-19, the city is taken over by the WIld Pack that turns it into a police state, Mr. Negative brainwashes large swaths of the citizens into becoming evil version of themselves, and then Hammerhead begins his terrorist activities. Now, in the 616 universe this is just what we'd call Thursday through Friday but the Insomniac version treats these events as uniquely awful. Yuri and the NCPD is doing their best to hold it together but they frankly fail in the face of the supervillains they're facing. I can understand why she's stressed and pushed to the limit.

3. Peter is a redemption junkie

It would be pretty much monstrous of Peter to be, "You're a murderer, Yuri! I'm taking you in!" Especially when he has been always trying to appeal to the better nature of so many other "bad" guys throughout the story. Peter would rather have Yuri turn back from the Dark Side than try and punish her.

4. Yuri was very popular with fans

As a fan of Yuri myself, I'm glad they dialed back her handling in the DLC.

I still argue that they did a horrible job at handling her fall and attempted return to the side of the heroes. Contrast her with Martian Lee in Spider-Man 2 who has a fantastic redemption with his relationship with Miles being the center of point Miles' overall character arc in this game.

Keep in mind that I thought Mr. Negative was a pretty weak villain in the first game with little time devoted to his overall character but the second game... okay quick side tangent could Insomniac SERIOUSLY have just not given these game's their own subtitles because we already have a Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales is just sill because it's literally the character's names. Honestly the subtitle of the DLC would have been perfect for the first game given how little rest Peter gets and the relentless pace of the overall story. Ugh, anyways back to the silly.

Miles' arc in the game is honestly great and builds on a relationship that never got any focus and makes it unique and, IMO, more engaging then what we had in Into the Spider-Verse between Miles and Kingpin. I like Miles' origin in that film more then the games but I prefer Miles' arc in the games more then the films. Not that either is actually better then the one or the other it's just personal preferences.

But anyways I like that they build on what Lee did to Miles and that they don't just skip over it which makes the relationship more engaging.

But with Peter and Yuri, while they still have great chemistry and I think the arc is well handled I dislike how Peter just ignores Yuri murdering people. Yes Peter wants to redeem people but contrast this with his relationship with Otto in the first game. Peter struggles with what to do with his mentor and is horrified by what he has done and once it's clear that Otto has crossed a line and knew that he betrayed he does basically give up on him.

I dislike how they don't do this with him and Yuri, that she did this terrible thing and it's never brought up in this game. I can see him wanting to redeem her, she is a friend of his, but Peter had trouble reaching out to his other friends who fell to the dark side and struggled whether he should try to help them or just treat them as any other criminal.

Yuri betrayed him, she apparently murdered Hammerhead and DID murder a bunch of henchmen yet Peter has no issue working with her and these events are just dropped.

At the end of the day I am glad that the games are pretty much just ignoring TCTNS but at the same time I'm annoyed that the one point that the games are actually focusing on is poorly handled and I think if it wasn't for the characters chemistry that this would be poorly received.