If you played through Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and felt like something was missing, you’re not alone. You spent hours swinging through Brooklyn and Queens, beat the main story, and then realized—wait, wasn't there a massive serial killer teased?
Honestly, the way Insomniac handled Cletus Kasady was a masterstroke in slow-burn storytelling, even if it left a lot of us screaming at our monitors when the credits rolled.
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He isn't just a random thug. He’s the guy who eventually becomes Carnage, the most unhinged villain in the Spidey mythos. But in this game, he’s not wearing the red suit yet. Instead, he’s operating under a creepy alias called The Flame.
Finding Cletus Kasady in Spider-Man 2
You don’t just stumble onto Cletus while stopping a random car chase. You have to put in the work. His entire presence is tucked away in a series of side missions appropriately titled "The Flame."
These missions become available fairly early, but they get progressively darker as you go. You’re working alongside Yuri Watanabe—now the lethal vigilante Wraith—and she’s obsessed with him. For good reason. The guy is a total psycho.
The story arc follows a cult of arsonists who worship "The Crimson Hour." It sounds like typical comic book fluff until you realize their leader is a red-headed lunatic with a penchant for poetic destruction.
Why the Cult Leader Twist Actually Works
Most people expected Cletus to be a cellmate in the Raft. That’s the classic comic origin. But Insomniac did something different. They made him a messianic figure.
- The Charisma: He’s not just a loner; he has hundreds of followers willing to die for him.
- The Motivation: He isn't just killing for fun (though he clearly likes it). He’s trying to bring about a literal apocalypse.
- The Look: He’s got these gnarly burn scars and a vibe that screams "I haven't slept in three weeks because I’m busy thinking about fire."
It’s a massive departure from the "serial killer in a jumpsuit" trope, and frankly, it makes him way more dangerous. He has resources. He has an army.
The Moment Everything Changed
The final mission in this questline, "It's My Job," is where the Cletus Kasady Spider-Man 2 connection goes from "implied" to "holy crap, it’s happening."
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During a high-stakes train heist, Cletus manages to steal a specialized Oscorp symbiote. It’s not the Venom symbiote. This one is different. As he holds the canister, the substance inside literally turns blood-red.
He looks Peter straight in the eye and promises "truth, judgment, and carnage."
Then he just... leaves. He gets on a helicopter and flies away into the New York skyline. No boss fight. No final showdown. Just a promise of future nightmares.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
There’s a lot of confusion about why we didn't get to fight Carnage in the base game.
Some fans were convinced there would be a surprise DLC. Others thought he was being saved for a spin-off game, similar to Miles Morales.
Here is the reality: Insomniac is playing the long game. By letting Cletus escape with the symbiote, they’ve created a "ticking time bomb" scenario. Yuri (Wraith) even mentions at the end that she’s tracking his aliases, specifically naming Cletus Kasady.
It’s official. He’s out there. He’s bonded. And he’s coming.
The Problem With the Symbiote Timeline
There is a bit of a weird continuity thing that bothers some players. At the end of the main story, Peter and Miles destroy the meteor, which supposedly "kills" all the symbiotes in the city.
So, did the Carnage symbiote survive?
The most likely explanation is that Cletus was far enough away, or the specialized container he stole shielded the symbiote from the "anti-venom" pulse. Or, more simply, Carnage is just too mean to die that easily.
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Actionable Insights for Players
If you haven't finished the missions yet, here is exactly how to make sure you see the full story:
- Check your map for the Flame icon: It looks like a stylized fire symbol.
- Complete all four missions: They unlock at different points in the main story, so keep checking back after major campaign beats.
- Listen to the audio logs: There’s a lot of lore about Cletus’s past aliases (like Archie Abel and Walter Wachtman) hidden in the environments.
- Finish the quest before the final boss: It adds a lot of weight to the "symbiote invasion" vibe of the third act.
Whether he shows up in a massive DLC expansion or serves as the primary antagonist of Spider-Man 3, Cletus Kasady is now a permanent shadow over Insomniac’s New York. He didn't just appear; he made an entrance that most villains would envy.