Who is Howard in Spider-Man 2?

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has a ton of characters with interesting backstories to discover, one of which is the homeless man Howard.

A familiar face to returning players of Insomniac’s Spider-Man series, Howard has made an appearance in all three games with side missions centered around his pet pigeons.

For new players, however, Spider-Man’s relationship with Howard may be confusing. Fear not though, as we’ve got a full explainer.

Be warned there are spoilers for a particular side mission in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 below.

Howard in Spider-Man 2 explained

John Howard is a recurring character in Insomniac’s series of Spider-Man games, having first appeared in Marvel’s Spider-Man after asking Spider-Man to help find his missing pigeons located across Manhatten.

This resulted in several pigeons being located across the map, which you would then have to chase down by web-swinging before collecting them and returning them to Howard. After collecting all of the pigeons, a PlayStation trophy was awarded.

The pigeons, which were previously owned by Howard’s late wife, make a return in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. This time, you need to find three missing pigeons, which have been captured by a group of thugs to help them commit crimes.

Howard returns to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 with another side mission centered around his pigeons, where he asks Spider-Man to help them find a new home where they can be free. After swinging across the city, Spider-Man eventually relocates the pigeons to a park in Astoria.

After Spider-Man returns to Howard to tell him about their new home, he cannot be found and, instead, there is an ambulance with two paramedics. It turns out Howard has now passed and has reunited with his wife in the afterlife.