2017 will bring the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man solo movie. That alone should – and most likely will – be an event comparable to the first time the Avengers appeared together on film. After all, Spider-Man is the most well-known Marvel comic book character.
And the good news is that Marvel intends to make the character its own. How? First of all, the first movie won't be an origin story. So we won't see Uncle Ben dying again and we won't see how Parker gets bitten. Then there is Aunt May, who is a total hottie, portrayed by Marisa Tomei. Robert Downey, Jr. will also appear, the actor having hinted at a relationship between Tony Stark and Auntie.
So yes - things are looking very interesting.
And then there is the director. Jon Watts’ debut was the horror movie Clown, which was followed by the coming of age story Cop Car. It’s safe to say that Marvel sure knows how to pick its directors.
But what is most interesting is the number of villains (or villainous characters) rumored for the flick. Besides the main baddie, there are at least two more bad guys. Who might they be? Well, check it out here. All of these are rumored characters, so grab a grain or two of salt, and tell us what you think!
Vulture
This is the most well-known rumor: Michael Keaton will portray the Vulture in the first MCU Spider-Man flick. Just as Kevin Feige said, the first Spider-Man will feature a villain unused until now.
The rumor is that Keaton's character will have developed an exosuit similar to Iron Man’s. However, since he is not a genius like Tony Stark, the suit feeds on the wearer's vital energies instead of some arc reactor. Basically, once it is worn, it cannot be taken off. Pretty much like in Clown.
Keaton's character's nickname is the Vulture because of his ability to reproduce and reverse-engineer any piece of technology. Which is cool, I believe, and makes the character a multi-faceted one. What is more interesting is that the Vulture will win every confrontation with the web-crawler until the final one.
And then he will be basically outsmarted by Peter Parker. Which is yet again very cool, showing that Parker is himself a genius.
But there is a twist concerning the Vulture. He is not actually a bad guy before putting on the suit. The bad guy is someone else.
Norman Osborn
The rumor is that the fall of SHIELD and HYDRA was good business for Norman Osborn. By hiring all of the scientists remaining without a job, he built an empire to rival Stark Industries. And, just like in the comics, Norman is not a good guy.
Instead, he just pretends to be one, and has his own plans concerning the post-Avengers world. For him, there cannot be too much power. And I wouldn't be too surprised if a connection between him and Zemo is established.
Thus Norman Osborn is the one who pushes Toomes into becoming the Vulture. He is also the one who watches from the shadows how Spider-Man deals with this villain. And, in the end, he is the one who reaps all the benefits.
As the rumor suggests, he won't have too big a part in Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, he may end up a big baddie after Thanos is defeated, with the rumors suggesting that a Dark Reign adaptation will follow the Infinity War.
Cletus Kasady
Spider-Man: Homecoming is the first comic book in which Spider-Man wears his black symbiote suit. So I wouldn't be too surprised if it will happens the same way in the movie. However, I don't expect to see Venom just yet. Instead, I do expect some hints at further installments in the franchise.
One of the villains who hasn't been featured just yet on the big screens is Cletus Kasady, better known as Carnage. And the actor to bring him to life seems to be Michael Mando, from Better Call Saul and Far Cry 3.
Of course, we shouldn't actually believe the tweet (you can see it below). However, why not? Nobody says that Cletus should become Carnage in this installment. Instead he could be just a psychopath and homicidal sadist. Just like in the comics. This would be perfect planning, I believe.
.@MandoMichael is spectacular at bringing carnage to life in #BetterCallSaul. pic.twitter.com/FyZU5jH7BW
"” BetterCallSaul (@BetterCallSaul) June 23, 2016
Just have Spider-Man capture this murderer in the beginning of the film and bring him back in the following spider-Man flicks.
Furthermore, if there is one guy who can portray him, that guy better be the actor who brought Vaas Montenegro to life.
Morbius the Living Vampire
Here is another interesting rumor, which gains more traction now that we know that a version of Ghost Rider will appear in the Marvel TV shows. Thus, the rumor says that Logan Marshall-Green will portray another iconic villain/anti-hero who hasn't appeared on the big screen just yet. And this character is none other than Morbius the Living Vampire.
And it makes sense having such a character on the big screen, because it will expand the MCU in a different direction.
What are the chances that this rumor is true? There aren't too many. However, I would like to see this happening. I guess everybody loves anti-heroes, those villains with a motive everybody can relate to.
The Tinkerer
Here is another villain rumor for Spider-Man: Homecoming, ever since the Vulture became the main candidate for the role of main baddie. In his research, Toomes will be aided by Phineas Mason as he develops the exosuit. And, of course, Phineas Mason is better known as the Tinkerer, an evil genius who can develop the most amazing gadgets from the most common materials.
As in the comics, for the most part, the Tinkerer from Spider-Man: Homecoming will not be a major villain. Instead, he will just aid the Vulture, and he will most likely work for Osborn. And, if I would make a bet, I'd say that he is an ex-HYDRA scientist.
What will his role be in the movie? I guess he would be like a second Arnim Zola. You know - the guy with the good ideas who plays second fiddle to the more important villain. Only in this case he will be the third fiddle, since Vulture and Osborn will have the more important roles.
Bokeem Woodbine
Lastly, there is Bokeem Woodbine's character. The actor, best known for his amazing role in Fargo, was also announced to be a villain. Which would raise the total number to three (or four, depending on the reports). But my best guess is that he won't be playing a major antagonist in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
So, in a way, he will be one of the early villains to be captured by Spider-Man. Most say that he will be a version of Mysterio, or even the Jackal. However, I don't know why. My best guess is that he'll be a street-level enforcer, akin to Tombstone. Time will tell.
I would be surprised if Spider-Man connects in some way with Black Panther and Bokeem Woodbine ends up playing a Black Panther villain. This should be taken into account, as far as I am concerned.
What do you think? What character will he portray?
Kraven
Hold on - nobody says that Kraven should be the main baddie of the film. However, if everything will lead towards a Spider-Man universe within the MCU, then Marvel should start building. And even if Kraven isn't known for too many awesome storylines, the ones he's in are awesome.
So what I want to say is that Las Hunt shouldn't come out of nowhere. Instead, the character should be introduced as soon as possible. Even from Homecoming. As we all know, Spider-Man is already active in the MCU. And his actions must have been noticed by the hunter.
Furthermore, if Kraven is indeed saved for later, he might have some scuffles with other Marvel characters. Such as Black Panther, of course. If he is portrayed as formidable as he is, I'd pretty much want to see the web crawler and the king of Wakanda teaming up.
And since the Marvel flicks are more successful when more superheroes are present, this would be easy money for the studio.
Alistair Smythe
Since Osborn will build his empire out of the SHIELD and HYDRA ashes, this would be a great opportunity to introduce Alistair Smythe. He is yet another scientist which can be co-opted by Osborn. And he could prove to be, on the long run, one of the better Spider-Man villains.
Of course, he already appeared on the big screens, in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. However, he was nothing else than a bully, basically being responsible for the creation of Electro. Which would be a great achievement, if it wasn't just an accident and if that Electro wasn't such a mess of a villain.
So Marvel can now bring the real Smythe, the scientist who holds a grudge against all superheroes. Why? Well, a reason can be found, seeing that every Marvel flick ended up with considerable destruction and loss of life.
Shocker
As the reports suggested, Shocker was supposed to be an opening villain for Amazing Spider-Man 3. Basically, he was going to rob a bank, only to be caught by the superhero. It didn't happen. And seeing the track of Sony, maybe it was for the better. After all, Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened on a similar note. And Rhino was butchered.
But still - this was a great idea. So Shocker could be introduced in the beginning of Homecoming, as one of the villains taken down by Spider-Man. Who knows? Maybe this is when Kraven notices the web crawler for the first time.
In any way, even if he is kind of lame when compared to other supervillains, this would be great fan service. And who knows? Maybe he will improve as the time passes. And maybe he will make a great impression once that Sinister Six movie arrives.
Eddie Brock
Do you believe there are too many villains already? Well, nobody said that Marvel should use them all in the first Spider-Man flick. However, Eddie Brock should be among the few to be featured. And that is because he is, essentially, Venom.
Homecoming, as said, is the comic book issue in which Spider-Man gains his symbiote suit. I don't know if it will happen in the movie as well. However, why would Marvel call the first Spider-Man flick this way? It couldn't be just because Spider-Man has finally returned to Marvel"¦
In any way, this would add an extra layer to Peter Parker. A conflict between the schoolboy and a flawed journalist would be a great addition to the story. And I'm not even mentioned the possibilities for the future movie.
Who knows? Maybe the symbiote will end up facing the entire Avengers team"¦ I wouldn't rule that out just yet. But, for that to happen, Eddie Brock needs to be introduced.
Jackal
As far as the Spider-Man rogue gallery is concerned, Marvel has plenty of villains to choose. And Jackal is one of them. I haven't seen yet in the MCU a weirder, more twisted and unilateral romance than the one between Miles Warren and Gwen Stacy. And the fact that this Gwen would be a 15 years old would make it even sicker"¦
Of course, this doesn't mean at all that Gwen Stacy should appear. Especially since I like Mary Jane more. This just means that the character should be adapted and his twisted feelings should be aimed towards someone else"¦
And, of course, this could lead to another amazing event in the MCU - a clone saga. And even if it won't be in the MCU, I would like to see it in a Spider-Man universe. If a studio can do it, than Marvel (or Disney) can do it!
Black Tarantula
The Hand already exists in the MCU, even if only on Netflix. This could be the clan's chance to arrive on the big screens. Black Tarantula could be that occasion.
A superhuman from all points of view, he could pose a serious threat to Spider-Man. Besides his training and apparent immortality, Black Tarantula has a healing factor comparable to the likes of Wolverine and Deadpool. And he would definitely whoop Spidey's butt.
Of course, it would be pretty difficult to bring him into the fold, especially in Homecoming. However, since both Daredevil (who is the first MCU superhero to go against the Hand) and Spider-Man operate in New York, this shouldn't be impossible. Especially if the writer delivers.
And since most of the Marvel flicks are actually good from this point of view"¦
Chameleon
The Chameleon is a master of disguise. And he is also the half-brother of Kraven the hunter. So he should fit perfectly into an ever evolving Spider-Man universe. He is, basically, the ultimate spy, being able to mimic virtually everybody.
How can he fit in Spider-Man: Homecoming? He could be hired by Osborn to track down the Spider-Man. He could be hired to find out who is hiding beneath the mask. For that matter, he could be employed by his own brother (though it would be hard to accept that coming from Kraven). There are numerous possibilities and Marvel should be able to find the right one.
He shouldn't be the type of villain who goes toe to toe with the web-crawler. Instead, he should be the one who operates in the shadows, ready to explore any false step the superhero makes.
And lastly"¦
Kingpin
For the moment, the Kingpin is caught in the smaller MCU, as a Daredevil villain. But how long will he remain in there? As we all saw, he has big plans for the future and he is ready to wait and do whatever it takes in order to see them coming to fruition.
Yeah, I know - this is wishful thinking. But it would be a great move from Marvel to make the most of its best MCU villain. And Vincent D’Onofrio would feel at home on the big screens.
He isn't that much of a threat, though. Nonetheless, that is why he is the kingpin. Because he can manipulate other supervillains into doing his dirty work. If Osborn would rule the city by day, then he should do it by night. It will be a terrible time for Peter Parker to become Spider-Man.
And this should make a great movie.
