We came across a report in May that suggested that some classic Spider-Man villains would show up in Sony Pictures' Silver and Black. Now, we have another report from That Hashtag Show that confirms that five such villains – Mendel Stromm (Robot Master/Gaunt), Anton Rodriguez (The Tarantula), Mac Gargan (Scorpion), Dmitri Smerdyakov (The Chameleon) and Lonnie Lincoln (Tombstone) – will indeed appear. It also contains new details about the villains’ roles in the story. THS describes the upcoming Gina Prince-Bythewood flick as "an old school action film in the vein of The Dirty Dozen".
Mendel Stromm previously appeared in Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie. Portrayed by Ron Perkins, that version of the character helped create the formula that led to Norman Osborn's transformation into the Green Goblin. He was immediately killed by the new persona.
In the comics, the character became obsessed with robotics, and eventually transformed into a cyborg named Gaunt. The latest live-action iteration will resemble that version, and he’ll have had "a long history" with Silver Sable and her Symkarian people:
Without getting too spoilery, it seems as though Gaunt, in search of human perfection, did some vile experimentation on the Symkarians, and now Silver is looking for revenge. Gaunt has continued – maybe even perfected – his work, and is enhancing humans with exo-suits. It's those exo-suits that lead into our next two villains.
Those villains are The Tarantula and Scorpion, both of whom will have small roles in Silver and Black. In regard to The Tarantula, THS reported:
In the film, Rodriguez is one of Stromm's henchmen out to nab Felicia Hardy. Sent to intercept Felicia and Silver, Rodriguez presents himself as a bit of a ladies' man before attacking the duo with an exo-boot comparable to the toe blades he used in the comics.
Scorpion's appearance in the movie is particularly interesting, because the character also appeared in Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Homecoming. It's unclear whether Michael Mando, who played the character in Homecoming, will return in Silver and Black or Sony will cast someone else in the role. Whoever does play the supervillain will be outfitted with an Strom-designed exo-suit that will reportedly feature the scorpion tail. He’ll have several encounters with Black Cat and Silver Sable, and will return for the movie's "action-packed" final battle sequence.
According to the website, rather than a villain, The Chameleon will be the man in the know at the Tri-Border of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Silver Sable will seek his help in locating Black Cat, who’s hiding somewhere in that region. The Chameleon will appear in just a few scenes to trade information with the heroine, but he will have the opportunity to show off his trademark talent as a master of disguise.
Tombstone, the last one of the five villains, is after Black Cat because "she has taken something that belongs to him". His role in Silver and Black will be small, but the good news is that he’ll sport his trademark look.
