As enjoyable as
The Amazing Spider-Man was, it didn't exactly tell "The Untold Story" we were promised. The trailers featured some fairly prominent scenes featuring Peter Parker, Curt Connors and Doctor Ratha, as the latter two seemingly hinted at there being more to Spider-Man's powers than he realises. Rumour has it that Sony weren't too happy with the first cut off the film and removed these scenes, although whether or not that means we'll get more details on this in the sequel remains to be seen. However, now that they haven't gone down the route of yet another rumour - that Peter's father was more involved with his son gaining powers than just the spider bite - they have another option open to them. When J. Michael Straczynski took over the reigns of
The Amazing Spider-Man comic book series all the way back in 2001, he made the somewhat controversial (but ultimately brilliant) decision to explore the mystical side of Peter Parker's powers.
While there has been talk of eventually exploring the death of Gwen Stacy at the hands of the Green Goblin, there's really no need to cram that into the sequel. Oscorp could still play a role in this film, but it would arguably be a much better idea to keep that as a subplot before fully exploring it in a third instalment. A loose adaptation of "Coming Home" would work very well, introducing Ezekiel and simply HINTING at there being a whole other side to Spider-Man's powers. That would be more than enough, especially as going as in-depth as the comic books simply wouldn't work in the universe created by Marc Webb. Dropping Ezekiel from the film altogether is an option, but if that means it works better in the science based world of this iteration of Spider-Man, then so be it. After all, there were enough loose ends in
The Amazing Spider-Man, without introducing a character like Ezekiel with powers similar to the hero and then not explaining it. However, I'm not a screenwriter and there is arguably many ways in which he COULD be tied into the story.
There are many iconic villains who should be given the chance to face off against Spider-Man on the big screen, and as much as I'd like to see Electro, Mysterio or the Scorpion (to name but a few), I believe it would be even better to see Morlun. Similar to how
The Dark Knight Rises benefited from pitting Batman against a foe who completely overpowered him, it would be incredible to see our hero facing off against a villain who can find him wherever he attempts to hide and is near-invincible. Imagine the two of them fighting through the streets of New York in an epic 10 or 15 minute battle before Spider-Man eventually concocts a serum which will stop him (Morlun intends to feed off his energies and is eventually poisoned when Spider-Man injects himself with radiation). The fact is, while he may not be the most recognisable of villains - not that those mentioned above are likely to be any more well-known to regular moviegoers - the introduction of Morlun brings with it the opportunity for spectacular action AND a truly incredible story.
Perhaps Sony would be better off waiting to explore this whole concept in the next reboot. It could arguably form the basis of an entire trilogy, and condensing it all into one film may fail to do it justice. There are also several differences between Marc Webb's universe and the time in which the "Coming Home" storyline takes place, meaning it would be a very loose adaptation indeed (not that the events of
The Amazing Spider-Man were really based on any specific comic books). Regardless, I believe that this would be a very unique and interesting direction for the studio to take the sequel in. The ending in particular - Aunt May discovering a bandaged and sleeping Peter with his Spider-Man costume on the floor in tatters - is another moment it would be great to see, and exploring Aunt May's feelings about her nephew being a supehero (as both JMS did in
Amazing and Bendis did in
Ultimate) would be another interesting idea to come out of this. What do you guys think? Is Morlun a good choice of villain for the sequel or would you be happier with them bringing some "classic" bad guys to the big screen? Sound off with your thoughts in the usual place!