Just who will Spidey be fighting in his first solo adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let’s figure it out.
Spider-Man had five cinematic outings and fought a decent chunk of his rogues gallery in the process. Now that he’s being rebooted, however, it’s a whole new ballgame now that everyone’s favorite web head will be playing in the same sandbox as Captain American and Iron Man.
Will Marvel choose to reboot villains from the earlier films or move ahead with untapped villains? We’ll look at some of Spider-Man’s top villains and judge the likelihood of seeing them joining the MCU.
Rhino
Likelihood of appearing: 25%
While Rhino hasn’t had the moment in the sun he deserves, he did have an extended cameo in Amazing Spider-Man 2. Given that the last two films will be completely ignored, it’s unlikely that Marvel will want to evoke memories of them. Still, given that Rhino was one of the bit players… he has a better shot at reappearing than most.
Black Cat
Likelihood of appearing: 50%
Felicia Hardy hasn’t had her time on screen she deserves. Though she isn’t exactly a villain, she isn’t exactly a hero either which could make for a great dynamic with Peter. Using her, however, is very dependent on if they decide to use Mary Jane or Gwen again as too many love interests will bloat the film.
Shocker
Likelihood of appearing: 20%
Shocker is a fun villain, but he’s also not a heavy hitter. If we do see him, it’s more likely he’ll be a background villain or a henchman rather than the antagonist of the piece.
Sandman
Likelihood of appearing: 10%
After Spider-Man 3, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing Sandman make an appearance as a central villain. He’s also not the most popular villain, which doesn’t help his chances.
Chameleon
Likelihood of appearing: 60%
Ah, Chameleon. Spider-Man’s first true super villain. The reason he hasn’t appeared on screen yet is he’s just not as flashy as some of Spidey’s other rogues. However, he has two factors going for him: the first is that he hasn’t been seen on screen before and the second is he can present a real emotional obstacle for Peter. If he does show up, expect him to have another villain with him for fight scenes.
Mysterio
Likelihood of appearing: 50%
Mysterio is a ridiculous villain. We all know it, but we all love him anyway. Like Chameleon, his chances of appearing in the MCU are higher because he has a lot of untapped potential. Second, he has the capacity to create some really cool VFX shots that would look great in a trailer.
Vulture
Likelihood of appearing: 40%
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 was famously canned when the director insisted on using Vulture as the villain. Again, Vulture isn’t exactly a fan favorite but he could be used for a few interesting fights. He also hasn’t been seen on screen before, which makes him a bit more likely to finally see the silver screen.
Electro
Likelihood of appearing: 5%
We just had a Spider-Man movie with him. Seeing as how the MCU Spider-Man is trying to distance itself as much as possible from the Sony iteration, expect Electro to stay in stasis. At the most, he will be a background villain.
Scorpion
Likelihood of appearing: 50%
Aside from not being used, Scorpion also has an interesting back story that involves J. Jonah Jameson making some rather rash decisions based on his distaste for Spider-Man. J. Jonah essentially condemns a man to a horrible life because he wants to take out Spider-Man, which could be the basis for a very cool character story.
The Lizard
Likelihood of appearing: 15%
Curt Conners has a good chance of showing up in the film, but the Lizard is far less likely given his appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man.
Green Goblin
Likelihood of appearing: 30%
Ah, the Green Goblin. Spider-Man’s arch nemesis. While it isn’t hard to imagine Oscorp, Norman, and Harry being in the MCU… we imagine they’ll save those for a sequel. The simple fact of the matter is that the Green Goblin (in various forms) has been seen on screen a lot since the character’s initial outings. Marvel will want to build up the characters so they can clash in the second film.
Kraven
Likelihood of appearing: 35%
On the one hand, the character is pretty ridiculous. On the other hand, Marvel has proven they can take ridiculous characters and make them very compelling on screen. Overall, the biggest ace in the hole Kraven has is that he hasn’t been portrayed on screen before. However… he isn’t exactly the most epic of characters which diminishes the chances we’ll see him appear in a central capacity.
Kingpin
Likelihood of appearing: 20%
Will he be mentioned? Quite possibly. Will he be a central villain? We really hope, but we also have a feeling Marvel wants to keep its TV and movie characters in separate worlds (despite the fact they exist in the same one). Kingpin is also a very dark character, which would clash with the John Hughs-esque film Marvel is keen on making.
Venom
Likelihood of appearing: 45%
It’s much more likely that Venom and Eddie Brock will be set up in the film as Marvel loves to tease the plotlines of their sequels. As an antagonist, we probably won’t see him until the second or (probably) third film. Like the Kingpin, Venom is a dark character that won’t quite mesh with their lighter approach to Spider-Man. However, after Spider-Man has found his place in the MCU you can bet money Marvel will be doing a movie based on the Black Costume Saga.
Doctor Octopus
Likelihood of appearing: 50%
Aside from the Green Goblin, Doc Ock is probably the most iconic of Peter’s classic villains. He’s also the antagonist of what is widely considered Spider-Man’s best cinematic outing, Spider-Man 2 and hasn’t been mentioned since. As a result, it wouldn’t be a bad move to bring back the character as Peter’s first solo challenge in the MCU. If Spider-Man 2 showed anything, it’s that he and Peter can really set the basis for a strong emotional story.
