Marvel's Spider-Man 2 cut content suggests several other members of Venom's extended symbiote family were once planned for the sequel

Peter Parker and Miles Morales had a heck of a time tackling Venom in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but judging by cut content that's recently come to light, they got off lightly.

Several images shared on Twitter by Venom sleuth Worm, gleaned from the massive data breach suffered by Insomniac Games last year, appear to show concepts that the developer originally planned to include in Spider-Man 2 but, for one reason or another, they ended up on the cutting room floor.

Much of the sequel centres around Venom, but according to the leaked footage, a multitude of other symbiotes were set to make an appearance. One image shows a boss encounter with the monstrous symbiote Riot, which Worm says was found on a PC build of Spider-Man 2. With bulging blue-hued arms the size of tree trunks, this guy looks like he could pack an even greater punch than the mighty Venom. 

Additional images showcasing in-game character models suggest Riot was set to appear alongside other Life Foundation symbiotes, including Agony, Phage, and Lasher.

As you might expect, according to the leak, all these additional symbiotes meant events would have played out differently. Though we don't know exactly how Riot and Co would fit in, it's claimed that Venom would have shown up in Act 2 "in an arc based on separation anxiety."

It's unclear when and why these ideas were scrapped, but even without extra symbiotes, Insomniac's latest earned a glowing review from us. "[It] improves on its predecessor across the board, while saluting the superhero genre over the last 30 years as a whole," we said in our Marvel's Spider-Man 2 review. "With a captivating narrative and unrivaled spectacle, it's the quintessential superhero game, in story and mechanical terms."

Meanwhile, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 cut Venom's fire weakness because it was too much to communicate to players.