How to find Grandpa in Spider-Man 2

There's a misty-eyed old man on the loose!

Spider-Man and Tasha
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Find Grandpa in Spider-Man 2 is a Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman app (FNSM) request in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. It’s the only FNSM request in Downtown Brooklyn, and it begins when you talk to a young woman standing under the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch, just north of Prospect Park.

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How to complete the Find Grandpa FNSM Request in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

The first step to finding Grandpa in Spider-Man 2 is talking to Tasha, who will tell you that she needs help finding her Grandpa Earl. She gives you an old photo as a clue to his whereabouts. You have to find Grandpa Earl by identifying the location in the photo. You won’t have a map marker to give you an easy ride on this one.

Press L3 to look at the photo, and you’ll see it’s of a large circular plaza with buildings in the background. Look closely, and you’ll see that the main building has a sign that says “PROSPECT PARK ZOO.” Look at it for a while, and Spider-Man, too, will eventually realize that the photo was taken at Prospect Park Zoo.

Map of Prospect Park
The zoo is right here. Screenshot by Dot Esports

As mentioned above, this mission starts just north of Prospect Park, so you’d think you’re already pretty close to Prospect Park Zoo—but it’s a big park. Fortunately, I scoured the whole place looking for the zoo, so you don’t have to. It’s just a short distance directly south of the arch and easy to spot (see the map above).

Spider-Man finding a note
That’s the note you’re looking for. Screenshot by Dot Esports

When you get to the plaza in the photo, use L2 to scan it. The clue you’re looking for is a note resting on the brock planter east of the circular pond. The note is from Billie and is addressed to “My wonderful Earl”. It mentions the botanical garden, so that’s the next location you need to go to. Fortunately, it’s also in Prospect Park, and this time, you get a map marker, so follow it across the park to the east.

Spider-Man finding an inhaler
The inhaler is an easy-to-spot shade of orange. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Scan the botanical garden for a clue. This time, you’re looking for Grandpa’s inhaler, which is on top of a short stone pillar next to some benches, just in front of the building on the east side of the garden. When you pick up the inhaler, you’ll then have to complete some puzzles.

How to solve the Find Grandpa puzzles in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

The first molecular puzzle
The first puzzle is easy, although I did mess up the first time. Screenshot by Dot Esports

To solve this puzzle, you have to destroy all of the corrupted atoms without destroying any of the essential atoms. Whenever you destroy an atom, any atoms directly linked to it will also be destroyed, as will any atoms no longer linked to the essential atoms.

So, for the first puzzle, you just need to destroy the second atom from the left and either of the second atoms from the right, and you’ll be left with just the four green essential atoms.

For the second puzzle, only destroy neutral atoms. Don’t touch any of the green or red ones.

The third puzzle is much harder, and you’ll need to rotate it, which makes it more difficult to describe what to do. But here goes…

  • At one end of the molecule, there’s a long chain of atoms in the order of orange, green, red, orange, orange, orange, red. Destroy that second orange atom.
  • In the middle of the molecule, there are two single red atoms; one above and one below. Destroy both of these. The orange atoms next to them will also be destroyed, but this won’t break the chain.
The third molecular puzzle
It’s not actually as complicated as it looks. Screenshot by Dot Esports
  • Now rotate the molecule so that it looks like the screenshot above, and destroy the right-most orange atom and the red atom in the bottom right.
The third molecular puzzle
This is the trickiest one, so I’ve highlighted it for you. Screenshot by Dot Esports
  • Rotate the molecule again until it looks like the above screenshot, and destroy the orange atom I’ve selected in the screenshot. Puzzle solved!

How to follow the trail to Grandpa Earl

Map showing the location of Grandpa Earl
The runaway grandpa is right here. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Follow the blue trail south through the gardens, past a cafe, down some stairs, and west across a busy road. Continue west through more of the park, then follow the path around the lake. Like, all the way around, pretty much (although you could just follow the above map). Eventually, the trail will lead you through some bushes, and you’ll find Grandpa Earl sitting on a bench overlooking the lake.

Spider-Man, Tasha, and Earl
Spider-Man is relieved not to have to listen to any more of Earl’s long-winded stories. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Talk to Grandpa Earl, and he’ll offer some thought-provoking relationship advice until, eventually, Tasha finds you, and the Find Grandpa mission will complete.

Find Grandpa rewards in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

After completing this FNSM side mission, Find Grandpa in Spider-Man 2, you will gain 2 Hero Tokens, 200 Tech Parts, and a whopping 600 XP. Grandpa Earl also offers relationship advice and tells you cherishing stories about Grandma, so it’s nice to sit, listen and just enjoy Grandpa’s presence.

Author
Image of Gavin Mackenzie
Gavin Mackenzie
Gavin Mackenzie has been playing video games since the early 80s, and writing about them professionally since the late 90s. Having been a writer and editor on various British magazines including PLAY, GamesTM, and X360, he's now a freelance guides specialist at Dot Esports.
Author
Image of Dominique' McClain
Dominique' McClain
Dominique' McClain is a passionate writer on anything Esports and video games. She has 4+ years of experience covering games in the industry and enjoys Overwatch 2, Fortnite, and Elden Ring.