The Heart of the Matter

## Trophy

**Staying Positive**
Defeat Li

**The Heart of the Matter** is the forty-third main mission in *Marvel's Spider-Man*. With the information Mary Jane Watson gained about Norman Osborn's secret lab, Spider-Man heads across the city in an attempt to find the Devil's Breath antiserum. This is the penultimate mission of the story.

## Story

Spider-Man heads off to retrieve the antiserum. Along the way, Spider-Man calls Yuriko Watanabe to tell her he is finding the cure. Yuri then informs him that a helicopter just went down at the address of the secret lab.

Mister Negative has captured Norman, and his Inner Demons patrol the ground and rooftops outside. Spider-Man defeats them. Sable International troops arrive and attack Spider-Man. At the culmination of the fight, Silver Sable appears. Sable threatens to kill Spider-Man for his damage to her men and her client, but listening to his logic, she finally decides that they are better off working together rather than against each other and agrees to a temporary truce until Norman is secure. She allows him into the building, but when Inner Demons show up outside, she stays behind to fend them off, leaving him to follow Li's trail through the building.

After reaching Li, Li gets the jump on Spider-Man as he enters the lower level, and Li sends Spider-Man to a "negative zone" to try and convince him again. When Spider-Man exits, Norman is screaming in the other room. Dr. Morgan Michaels then gives Li the only sample of an antiserum developed against Devil's Breath, and Li tortures Osborn before Spider-Man interrupts and battles him. Spider-Man tries to urge Li that Osborn deserves true justice, which will not happen if Li continues to be violent, though Li is undeterred.

Upon Li's defeat, Doctor Octopus enters the room. Via cutscene, he fights Spider-Man and knocks him out, taking the antiserum for himself. He then takes Norman and heads out of the building. Silver Sable rushes in moments later to find Spider-Man on the floor, mortally wounded. Sable and Dr. Michaels take him to F.E.A.S.T., where Dr. Michaels works to save his life.

Though he is saved, Spider-Man insists on finding the antiserum before resting, especially when he learns Aunt May is sick and in bed from the Devil's Breath. Mary Jane insists he use his brains to defeat Otto rather than relying solely on his spider-powers. At the scene's end, a spider from Osborn's lab that hitched a ride on Mary Jane's coat bites Miles Morales.

## Walkthrough

At the lab, Inner Demons patrol the ground and rooftops. Players need to take them out, and can either use stealth or combat to do so, depending on player preference. Stealth may be easier to preserve health early on, though a battle will occur regardless eventually.

After the battle against Demons, Sable troops arrive, some with rocket launchers and some with jetpacks. Taking out the rocket launcher enemies first is ideal, making it easier to take the jetpack troopers out with aerial attacks thereafter.

Entering the building leads to a brief cutscene after which players must follow Li's trail. Players should be careful when contacting the areas of negative energy, as they can cause significant damage. Following it eventually leads to a brief cutscene and then a short segment in the negative zone. Here, players must chase Li throughout it before a brief cutscene as he exits.

### Mister Negative boss battle

After attempting to intervene, players then face off against Mister Negative. His skill set has increased since the previous battle, as he now wields an electrical blade and is swift moving. Hurtling debris at him helps, but webbing does not. Players need to keep mobile to avoid the attacks, getting hits in when they can.

After Li takes enough damage, a brief cutscene begins following which Li summons a large demon in the negative zone, along with several smaller demons then appear. Once the initial enemies are dealt with, the demon will return with a sweep attack that must be dodged. It will make more appearances as the fight continues, summoning more enemies.

Staying airborne and using debris to smash into Mister Negative works well as it means most of the attacks can be avoided. Throwing objects at Li and using melee attacks against him will eventually defeat him, and a cutscene ends the mission. The final mission, "Pax in Bello", can then be begun.