Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the highly anticipated PlayStation sequel that brings back Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they deal with the new threat of Kraven the Hunter and Venom. They won’t be tackling things alone since they’ll have the support of friends and family, and one important member is Mile’s mother, Rio Morales.

Played by Jacqueline Piñol, Rio has been in three different Spider-Man games from Insomniac Games. In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Rio is supportive of Miles (played by Nadji Jeter) and his activities as a superhero in addition to helping out as a councilwoman.

“Nadji and I had some really heartfelt moments,” Piñol tells Nerd Reactor. “And each game has allowed us to play a few of those key moments that I think – although not as a playable character – but on that mission when the gamers get to go through those scenes or if they choose to, I think it just gives it more depth. You’re going to care more about Miles. You’re going to be more invested in his journey and his outcome when you see the vulnerable sides of him.”

“When you see the things that he cares about that have high stakes for him – because if anything were to happen to his mom or things that his mom cares about, it would affect Miles greatly, especially after having lost his dad,” she explained. “So I really love the way the writers and Insomniac took the story. And it’s not just about action/playing because – of course, that’s exciting – but sometimes it carries more weight when there’s something big at stake. I think that the important part of me being in those moments with Nadji is that it gives every character and the story more depth.”

In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Miles wants justice for his father’s death and seeks out Martin Li, aka Mister Negative. Rio wants him to move past that, but the thirst for vengeance is strong.

“Because obviously, there’s that part of you that’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s go get them,'” Piñol said. “You just can’t help yourself. You want to get revenge? Absolutely. So, in real life, I mean, it’s tough to say. I think before I was a mom, I was more of a risk-taker. And I would have been more like, ‘Oh, stop at nothing to get back at him,’ you know? When you become a parent, things change and you go, ‘I need to do whatever I can to keep myself safe and protected because I have to protect my son.’ And I just don’t want anything to backlash at my son, right? So moms think that way. And I think Rio is wired in a way to be very protective of Miles because he’s already lost one parent. So whatever we can do to make sure we’re safe and together, but I think she would do anything to protect him, even if she was in danger.”

On Peter Parker:

“I feel like there’s a bit of a motherly and sort of endearing relationship that I feel toward Peter, because even though he’s older than Myles, he’s still almost like a son, almost like I need to look out for him,” she explained. “Especially if my kid has friends, I want to make sure those friends are okay too. I need to protect them because they’re hanging out with my son. And if Peter is such a big influence on Miles and Miles looks up to him as a mentor and a guide, and they’re out there facing the dangers of the world, of course, I want to make sure Peter is okay. So I think that’s not something that is blatantly apparent in the game, but I will tell you that as Rio, that is something that I really felt. I’m hard on him because I know he’s older and more mature, so he should know better. He’s more experienced. But if you’re taking my son under your wing, you better be careful.”

You can see Jacqueline Piñol as Rio Morales in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which is now available on PlayStation 5.