Hey, fellow web-heads—if you are stuck on the final Martin Li fight in The Heart of the Matter, I feel your pain. I wasted a few attempts treating this like the earlier train and warehouse scraps, and that was my first mistake. In Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Li is not a punch-bag when he is glowing white with negative energy. If I mash melee during that state, Spider-Man gets countered, phased through, or outright flattened. The real fight is about patience, wave reading, Focus discipline, and controlling the phantom chaos. Here is the rhythm that finally worked for me in the current Remastered version on PS5 and PC as of 2026.

Phase 1: Wait Out the Glow, Then Punish Recovery

My rule for phase one is simple: do not confuse Li’s attack animation with a damage window. While he is wrapped in white negative energy, I stay mobile and survive his AoE slam or full dash chain. The moment the glow drops and he slumps into exhaustion, that is my cue. I press Triangle for a Web Strike, land a short combo, and back off before greed gets me killed. That recovery state is the reliable punish window—not the flashy attack itself.

Floor waves are the other phase-one check. I read them by direction. A horizontal energy wave crossing the arena is a jump or an air-dodge. A vertical beam is a side dodge to the left or right. When several projectiles overlap, I prioritize movement over damage and bank Focus for healing. Forcing a Finisher during an unsafe glow is a bad trade; preserving health for phase two is worth far more than a few extra punches.

Phase 2: Respect the Negative Zone Sword Pressure

When Li pulls me into the black-and-white Negative Zone, the fight becomes a sword-pressure test. I expect a lunge, a flurry, and bigger shockwaves. The Spidey-Sense halo is my best friend here: when it turns red, I dodge immediately. Against the lunge, a Perfect Dodge is ideal. If I have the web-shot interrupt unlocked, I use it to break his rhythm, but I still wait until Li finishes recovering before I commit to Web Strike.

The temptation is to chase him across the arena. I do not. I keep space during active strings, let the Perfect Dodge build Aura Points, and avoid attacking before his recovery. Attacking too early turns that advantage into negative Aura and usually feeds Peter to the next sword hit. My loop is dodge first, survive the string, punish once, then reset position. Boring? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

Giant Shadow Demon and Phantom Summons: The Real Endgame Check

Here is the part that tricked me most: the Giant Shadow Demon has no health bar. I stopped wasting time trying to defeat the giant directly. Instead, I keep damaging the human Martin Li while jumping and web-swinging over the giant’s sweeping hand. When the giant raises a fist for a slam, I dodge sideways to avoid the shockwave. Staying airborne during the sweep is safer than sprinting underneath it, at least for me.

When black smoke marks a phantom wave, I switch to crowd control. Web Bombs, Electric Webs, Concussive Blasts, Spider-Bro, and Web Blossom all help me manage the Inner Demon Phantoms. They are weak but numerous, which makes them useful Focus targets. I save Finishers for emergency healing rather than spending them on minions that do not decide the encounter. That Focus discipline is the difference between a clean finish and a frustrating restart.

I also look for glowing rubble or negative-energy orbs on the ground. Holding L1+R1 lets me throw debris at the giant’s head or at Li. I repeat this after each available environmental object or summon cycle. Once enough debris connects—or the relevant phantom pressure is cleared—Li returns exhausted. That is when I press Triangle to zip to him and trigger the scripted finish.

Quick Checklist and Version Notes

I use a five-trigger memory aid: horizontal wave = jump; vertical wave = side dodge; red sword tell = Perfect Dodge; giant sweep = stay airborne; black smoke = crowd-control gadgets. That checklist carried me through the fight without panicking.

One important note: this encounter belongs to Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PS5 and PC, the current version as of 2026. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 uses different Miles Morales and Martin Li mechanics, including its Shield and Hurricane-style encounter, so I would not transfer this strategy there. If you are planning a fresh Remastered run, check official game and edition information before you start, and keep your expectations separate from the boss tactics above. For me, the final Li fight stopped being a damage race and became a rhythm game: wait for the glow to fade, dodge the sword pressure, control the phantoms, and throw the arena at the giant. Once I accepted that, the scripted finish finally felt earned.

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