Marvel Studios has done a great job of bringing a lot of Spider-Man's villains to the big screen as The Vulture, The TInkerer, Shocker, Scorpion, Prowler, Molten Man, Hydro-Man, Mysterio, and more have all appeared in some form across the wall-crawler's past two solo adventures in the MCU.
Now, with
Spider-Man: Far From Home in theaters and a mid-credits scene that sets the stage for a huge paradigm shift in the web-slinger's world after his secret identity was revealed, we're looking ahead to the bad guys he could square off with next.
There are a lot of amazing options, including some who have been seen in previous
Spider-Man movies and others who have yet to grace the silver screen. All of them have the potential to be Spidey's most fearsome foe to date, and we think you'll be surprised by some of the possibilities listed here.
So, to check them out, all you guys have to do is hit the "View List" button down below!
Hobgoblin
Does Marvel really want to go back down the Goblin route? The Green Goblin’s story was covered in-depth in all three of Sam Raimi’s
Spider-Man movies and even factored into
The Amazing Spider-Man before Harry Osborn took up the mantle in the sequel.
However, despite the similar look and name, the Hobgoblin is a very different kind of bad guy. A number of men have held the mantle, while the initial mystery of who was beneath the mask could make for very entertaining viewing on the big screen.
A successful fashion designer, Roderick Kingsley became the Hobgoblin when he discovered one of Norman Osborn’s caches of weapons, and managed to alter the Goblin formula to avoid going insane. Those ties with the Green Goblin mean that his origin story would have to be greatly retooled, but he’s worthy of a movie appearance.
Spider-Slayers
J. Jonah Jameson has revealed Spider-Man's secret identity to the world, and seeing as he's now an Alex Jones-type personality on the fringes of the mainstream media, how better to prove that the wall-crawler is a "menace" than to attempt to take him out with some killer robots?
He gave it a good go in the comic books, and while Aleister Smythe may not be as exciting on the surface as some of the other villains listed here, the Spider-Slayers would make a good secondary villain if nothing else.
Jameson trying to take the glory for stopping Spider-Man makes perfect sense, and considering the fact that both The Vulture and Mysterio have had ties to Stark Industries, Smythe could also have history there (perhaps he was instrumental in creating the Iron Legion?). Regardless, seeing Simmons' face on one of these robots chasing after Spidey would be beyond awesome.
Electro
We got to see Electro in action in
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the results were...disastrous? The villain still has a lot of potential, though, and a comic accurate take on him would be a lot of fun.
Due to the amount of the spotlight he's received in the past, Electro would have to be a secondary bad guy on the same level as someone like Shocker, and Marvel Studios should be able to do justice to his classic yellow and green costume (and not the awful blue skin/black rubber suit combination we got back in 2014).
Kevin Feige has said that Marvel Studios wants to move away from bad guys who got their powers in scientific accidents, but there are always ways around that, and they could even use the female Electro!
Jackal
Is it too soon for The Clone Saga? One of the coolest pieces of imagery in
Spider-Man: Far From Home was the wall-crawler fighting off duplicates of himself during Mysterio's illusion attack, and there's a lot Marvel Studios could do with both The Jackal and Ben Reilly. The problem is, this would be a lot to tackle in just the one movie so perhaps the slow burn approach would be best.
Miles Warren could be introduced as an ally of sorts to the wall-crawler who has an unusual fascination with his powers, and a pretty perfect mid-credits scene would be us seeing a duplicate of Peter in a containment tube.
Then, a fourth movie could really delve into what it means for there to be "another" Spidey and even Kaine could be brought into the fold. Ultimately, Ben would die or disappear and the stage would be set for us to learn that the man funding The Jackal's operation was actually Norman Osborn!
Scorpion
Scorpion is one of Spider-Man’s classic enemies, but perhaps not as A-List as the likes of Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. Even so, his story is perfectly suited for the big screen, especially after he made an appearance in
Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Daily Bugle has been re-introduced with J.K Simmons back in the role of J. Jonah Jameson.
In the comics, Jonah hires private detective Mac Gargan to find out Spidey’s secret identity. When he fails, he agrees to be bonded to a suit which will grant him the abilities to take the hero down and unmask him. Unfortunately, it also drives him insane, and a vengeful Scorpion ends up targeting both Spider-Man and Jameson thanks to his newfound powers.
That origin would need to undergo some changes on the big screen, of course, but Jameson hiring an ex-con with a grudge against Spider-Man so he can confirm that he and Peter Parker are one and the same definitely makes sense, and would be a fun story to see play out.
Kraven The Hunter
A fan-favourite choice (even with director Jon Watts), Kraven the Hunter is in desperate need of a big screen appearance. Marvel could head down any number of routes, but should go with exactly what the name implies – a hunter. He originally arrived in New the US with the goal to take out New York’s newest hero, but no doubt the best story for Marvel to adapt would be Kraven’s Last Hunt.
The leaked emails from the Sony Hack revealed that it is a story Sony are interested in, and we've since heard that they might be thinking about adapting it for a solo movie featuring the villain.
That tale is both critically acclaimed and loved by comic book fans, and, as we're sure you know, it takes the wall-crawler to some very dark places. With Spider-Man at his lowest ebb now that he's perceived as a villain and his identity has been outed, someone like Kraven coming along to make his life a living hell definitely seems pretty fitting!
Green Goblin
We mentioned Norman Osborn earlier in this post, and while the Green Goblin has been done to death on the big screen, there are still a lot of stories that haven't been told. Marvel Studios has the opportunity to not only give the wall-crawler a powerful new enemy, but to create a "Dark Reign" over the Marvel Cinematic Universe and build to the formation of the Dark Avengers.
We could see a monstrous version of the Goblin similar to the one in the Ultimate line of comic books, or a version who looks exactly like his comic book counterpart; either option would be something new.
The previous movies got a lot right about the Osborn family, but failed to nail every aspect of the characters, and if Marvel reveals that the spider that bit Peter was an Oscorp creation, that would immediately explain why the Green Goblin is looking to take the web-slinger down. Honestly, there's a lot that could be done with this villain that would make him feel fresh.
Doctor Octopus
He may be another bad guy we've seen before, but it's been over 15 years since Doctor Octopus made his big screen debut and after his impressive turn in the
Spider-Man video game, it's clear that there's still more that could be done with Otto Octavius.
The difficulty here is that the 2004 version was so perfect, it's hard to imagine what Marvel Studios could bring to the table that's new, so a complete reinvention of the character could be in order.
With something of an overhaul, the new Doctor Octopus could be Spidey's best big bad yet and seeing as the last version very nearly destroyed New York City, a more personal tale might be for the best. Either way, Doc Ock deserves another shot, and the Sinister Six would suffer without him.
Morlun
Morlun is not one of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original creations and is a fairly new villain (he was introduced in the early 2000s when J. Michael Straczynski took over writing duties on
The Amazing Spider-Man). However, despite not having decades worth of history, he’s still one of the Spidey's most powerful foes, and Peter Parker very nearly failed to survive their first encounter.
Mystical in nature, Morlun arrived on the scene at the time Peter discovered that his powers may be more magic than science based. He relentlessly tracked Spider-Man through New York and started murdering civilians whenever the hero managed to hide to take a rest.
With so much focus on Peter’s parents and science in The Amazing Spider-Man movies and technology being such a huge part of his MCU adventures, delving into another side of the hero's powers could be truly fascinating, and bringing in Ezekiel (who had identical abilities to Peter) would definitely open the door to some unique new storytelling possibilities.
Black Cat
Black Cat has flirted with being good and bad over the years, so bringing her in as an enemy of Spider-Man’s who eventually becomes one of his closes allies (and lover in the comic books) could definitely work. She’s a strong female character – something that's now a priority for superhero movies – and could be introduced in a number of ways.
One possibility is Felicia Hardy being Peter’s classmate in order to avoid the awkward age difference between them if Marvel ends up exploring their romantic feelings for each other. But now that his identity has been outed, it's just as likely that they could meet out in the world.
Spider-Man and Black Cat have clashed many times, though he often comes out on the losing end thanks to her ability to project bad luck onto others, and while Sony is reportedly considering a spinoff movie for the character, she's arguably an individual who would benefit greatly from some more direct links to the web-slinger.
Continue reading below to see how Spider-Man:
Far From Home wraps up the "Infinity Saga"!
R.I.P. Captain America
Right at the start of the movie, the pupils in Peter Parker's high school air an "In Memoriam" video paying tribute to Iron Man, Black Widow...and Captain America! The world clearly thinks that Steve Rogers is dead and are unaware that he returned to the present as an elderly man (then again, he could have passed away from old age shortly after the events of
Avengers: Endgame).
While we're bound to learn a little more about Steve's apparent "demise" in the
Falcon & The Winter Soldier TV series on Disney+,
Spider-Man: Far From Home wraps Captain America's story up by making it clear that, for now, it is indeed over.
The World Mourns For Iron Man
We don't really see how the world feels about Captain America and Black Widow's deaths, but it's clearly in mourning for Iron Man as there are an awful lot of tributes for the Armoured Avenger.
People are clearly aware that Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice and saved the world, but just how much do they know about what went down and have they been told that it was actually The Hulk who used the Infinity Stones to bring everyone back? Sadly, that's never actually elaborated on in this sequel.
Things Return To Normal
Remember how ravaged the world looked in
Avengers: Endgame? Houses were derelict, streets were littered with trash, and New York was surrounded by ships, boats, and abandoned cars.
Well, things have quickly returned to normal as the world looks just like you would expect, and there's no evidence that Thanos' attack has left any real, lasting scars on the Earth moving forward.
"The Blip"
There are, however, other scars that are still being felt for the people who disappeared when the Mad Titan unleashed the power of the Infinity Stones. That five-year period has been named "The Blip" and we get to see what happened when people returned (exactly where they were when they vanished) and learn about the aftermath of being displaced.
May Parker is working with a charity to help them and
Spider-Man: Far From Home provides at least some insight into how it must have felt to come back five years later and see that your home is owned by someone else and your possessions are now all gone.
Peter Parker's PTSD
Spider-Man died and was later resurrected, and that, along with Tony Stark's death, has clearly had a significant impact on him. When the wall-crawler is quizzed by the media about being the new Iron Man, it's clear that he's struggling to come to terms with his mentor's demise and the pressure that's being put on him to step up and fill that void.
While the sequel never really delves into his PTSD, it's good to see that Peter is still reeling from everything that happened in
Avengers: Infinity War and
Avengers: Endgame.
The New Iron Man
The world seemingly wants Spider-Man to be the new Iron Man, and it appears as if that's what Tony Stark had in mind for Peter Parker as well. That's a lot of pressure for a high school student!
Spidey doesn't want to fulfil that role and spends a lot of the movie, not necessarily dodging his responsibility, but seemingly mourning the fact he's no longer just a Friendly, Neighbourhood superhero. By the time the final act rolls around, he's accepted this new role for the most part and knows he has what it takes to be a true hero. The MCU seems to be in good hands with Peter.
E.D.I.T.H.
Well, sort of. Peter still has to go through something of a learning curve and that includes making the mistake of handing over E.D.I.T.H. to Quentin Beck. That's ultimately resolved, but what's really interesting is that Tony chose to entrust Spider-Man with access to all of his tech and satellites.
By the time
Spider-Man: Far From Home ends, Peter has regained control of E.D.I.T.H. (Even Dead I'm The Hero) and while it's not clear what he'll do with it, an argument could be made that he's now one of the most powerful heroes in the entire MCU and capable of unleashing all sorts of new technology. Who knows, perhaps he'll be the one who creates the Ironheart armour!
Avengers Disassembled
There's no real mention of The Avengers in the movie aside from Nick Fury pointing out that Captain Marvel, Thor, and a number of other heroes are off world or seemingly M.I.A.
In fact, Fury is attempting to create a new team and that must be because Earth's Mightiest Heroes have once again gone their separate ways. After all, who is left to assemble them with Captain America now an old man, Thor in space, Iron Man and Black Widow dead, Hawkeye back with his family, and The Hulk badly injured after using the Infinity Stones?
This movie provides no answers about what might come next for Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but with no team in place for the time being, it's no wonder Mysterio so easily fools the world.
Aliens On Earth
In the post-credits scene, we learn that Nick Fury and Maria Hill are actually Talos and Soren and they've been reporting back to the real Fury who is in command of a Skrull ship in outer space.
It's definitely significant to think that there could be more Skrulls on Earth, while what "Fury" says a little earlier in the movie about there being Kree sleeper cells on the planet could definitely pay off somewhere down the line. After all, it's hard to imagine that was a throwaway mention and the Kree could have easily started a "secret invasion" of their own after Thanos attacked the planet.
Outed
In the mid-credits scene, a video that was manipulated by Quentin Beck to make Spider-Man look like a villain is shared by The Daily Bugle and the web-slinger's secret identity is outed to the world. This is an interesting contrast to how Iron Man revealed his secret, and it's clear that the wall-crawler will now have to balance being branded a "menace" with protecting his loved ones.
Ending "The Infinity Saga" on a cliffhanger is a bold move, and almost immediately puts an end to Peter being the new Iron Man because it's clear now the world will never see him like that. Other upcoming Marvel Studios movies will no doubt touch on the fallout from
Avengers: Endgame, but
Spider-Man: Far From Home perfectly wraps things up while setting the stage for the future.