Yuri Watanabe

Name: Yuriko Watanabe

Aliases: Yuri, “Best Bud”

Age: 32

Gender: Female

Height: 5’9”

Weight: 135 lbs

Race: Human

Occupation: NYPD Captain

Physical Description: Yuri is a Japanese-American woman with chin-length black hair and an athletic build. She is often seen wearing a black leather jacket over a red and black flannel shirt with tight dark denim jeans and black shoes.

Personality: Yuri is a no-nonsense individual with a strong moral code and low sense of humor. At the start of the game, she seems to regard her relationship with Spider-Man as little more than partners and says that she barely "tolerates" him, but as the story progresses, she shows more than once that she does genuinely care for his well-being despite their clashing personalities, such as taking him to the hospital when he is injured and getting upset when he leaves it to take care of crime despite being injured at the time.

However, Yuri has a dark side: even before her fall from grace, she faced disciplinary charges for police misconduct, mainly in the form of excessive force against criminals. During the Maggia gang war instigated by Hammerhead, Yuri is slowly pushed to her limits by the infamous gangster.

Abilities: A police captain, Yuri has been shown to be able to handle different types of firearms and appears to be a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. In the "Turf Wars" expansion episode she single-handedly takes out a room full of gunmen. With a Sable Rifle, she managed to break into the Bar with No Name and massacre all of Hammerhead's men there. With her extensive police training, Yuri is also able to pilot helicopters. Spider-Man describes Yuri as "cool under pressure and uniquely focused". Yuri's personal sidearm is a black semi-automatic pistol.

Backstory: Yuri was born in Astoria, Queens borough of New York City. Her father, a second generation cop, was imprisoned after it was discovered he was taking bribes from the Maggia. Her father's fall from grace motivated her to join the police force, with the intent of righting her father's wrongs and single-handedly taking on the Maggia.

Yuri started out as a detective at the NYPD's Chinatown precinct, but relocated several times in her career. Over the course of over a decade, Yuri brought down countless Maggia fronts, earning her the ire of Maggia boss Hammerhead and eventually earning her the rank of captain.

Over time, she formed an alliance with Spider-Man. She was one of the few authorities to really trust him, despite their sometimes-conflicting personalities. She would go on to give him her contact information, and the two would work together to tackle crime in the city.

Yuri also had an ill-fated history with street criminal Cletus Kasady, who constantly eluded capture.

Yuri serves as the main point of contact for Spider-Man within the police department. She works with him throughout the main campaign, providing leads on major and minor criminal activities and points of interest.

When the police move in to apprehend Wilson Fisk at Fisk Tower, Yuri asks for Spider-Man's assistance, which he provides. In the beginning of "Keeping the Peace", Spider-Man stops by to chat with Yuri, who asks for help restoring the department’s active crime database. Later, she appears in "A Shocking Comeback", alerting Spider-Man of Shocker's resurgence and later takes him back to prison. She also puts Spider-Man in contact with veteran police officer Jefferson Davis, who had worked the Fisk case for many years prior to his arrest. After Davis' death, Yuri attends his funeral following the Inner Demons' attack on City Hall, standing in salute with her fellow officers.

After the Sable International mercenaries capture Spider-Man in "Dual Purpose", she arrives just in time to vouch for him. Later, after escaped inmates attack Ryker's Island and The Raft, she offers Spider-Man a ride via helicopter to help her control the riots. The helicopter is shot down, but Spider-Man uses his webs to prevent it crashing, saving Yuri's life. After the Sinister Six's attack on Spider-Man soon after, Yuri pulls him from the water, saving his life. She helps get him to the hospital but is disheartened when he insists on leaving. However, as the Sinister Six wreak havoc on the city, Yuri concedes and accepts his help recapturing the villains.

Some time after when only Doctor Octopus and Mister Negative remain at large, Spider-Man informs Yuri that Oscorp has the Devil's Breath antiserum at their Upper West Side facility. However, she informs Spider-Man that a helicopter carrying Mayor Norman Osborn went down at the address of the facility. After Li is defeated, Octavius arrives, steals the antiserum, and kidnaps Norman to Oscorp Tower. Yuri calls one last time before Spider-Man goes after Octavius, informing him that she and the rest of her men were infected by Devil's Breath and were returning home. Before the call ends, Spider-Man thanks her for being both a partner and a friend.

After he defeats Spider-Man returns the antiserum to Oscorp, allowing them to mass-produce it and cure most of the infected, including Yuri. She returns to active duty, telling Spider-Man that the city still needs to be cleaned up, and for the job they need "Spider-Cop".

In an effort to stop the brewing Maggia gang war, Yuri and her team break into Hammerhead's base with Spider-Man's help. Despite her efforts, the team is overwhelmed by Hammerhead, who leaves most of them dead. Yuri is emotionally scarred by the incident and forced to call the families of the fallen officers to inform them of their fate. Spider-Man reassures her that they will bring Hammerhead to justice, and the two continue working together to track him. However when progress is slow and Spider-Man proves unable to live up to his promise, she loses patience and launches a one-woman assault on the Bar with No Name, brutalizing every criminal in her wake, which greatly disturbs Spider-Man. She later appears during his fight with Hammerhead, where she apparently kills him with a shot to the head. Moments later, however, he is revived by a police officer on his payroll whilst being transported to the morgue.

Yuri is placed on administrative leave in the aftermath of the Hammerhead incident. However, she has not given up her agenda against him or the Maggia.

(Note: This character is taken directly from the Insomniac Spider-Man Series.)