Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman, and Lizard are all set to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the Sinister Six is short one member. For months, it's been rumoured that The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Rhino would fill that spot, but recent reports have debunked those claims.
Now, we're left to wonder if we're getting the "Sinister Five," or if Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have plans for a surprise sixth member of this villainous cabal.
With that in mind, we're now trying to figure out who that could be. It's almost certainly a familiar face, but not necessarily one you'd expect to see (especially as Marvel Studios has already picked the best of the best for the rest of the team). However, each of these characters could bring something major to this interdimensional Sinister Six, and we even have some thoughts on how that would work.
To check out our Spider-Man: No Way Home theories, simply click on the "Next" button below!
6. Shocker
Well, this would be a turn up for the books! Herman Schultz was soundly defeated in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but is bound to want revenge for being put behind bars by Peter Parker. Assuming he wasn't blipped, chances are Shocker has served his time and is now a free man on the streets of New York.
Augmented by tech just like how Doctor Octopus enhanced the Sinister Six in the Spider-Man video game, Shocker could become a credible threat...only to be taken out by the three Spider-Men.
Making the sixth member of the team a joke wouldn't sit well with some fans. However, that's still a better option than presenting us with the "Sinister Five," and there are a lot of cool ways Shocker's powers could be portrayed on screen (especially if he suits up). It's true that Spidey often beats him with relative ease, but Herman has also pushed the wall-crawler to his limits at times.
5. Scorpion
Talking of vengeance, we know from Spider-Man: Homecoming's mid-credits scene that Mac Gargan is desperate to get his hands on the neighbourhood friendly superhero who left him scarred for life. Adrian Toomes wouldn't divulge the wall-crawler's secret, but that's now public knowledge, and we wouldn't be at all surprised if Mac is out for blood.
He would feel like something of a random addition to Spider-Man: No Way Home, but having Mac show up in the suit would leave Peter reeling and definitely serve as a fun surprise for fans.
Scorpion could even be a villain who targets Spidey right at the beginning of the movie, only to be defeated and then quickly recruited by Doc Ock or Norman Osborn. The stage could be set to do more with the villain down the line, but this feels like a good role for him, especially as this iteration likely wouldn't be able to hold his own as a lead in one of these movies.
4. Venom
We don't think this is going to happen, but after Venom: Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene, there's simply no getting around the fact that Eddie Brock joining the Sinister Six is a very real possibility.
After all, just like the rest of Spider-Man: No Way Home's villains, he was magically transported into the MCU. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has confirmed that there was a lot of coordination with Sony Pictures to make that scene happen, so perhaps he will be thrown into the mix? If so, we just hope there's enough time to properly explain why Venom would join the team.
Honestly, we think it's considerably more likely that Venom appears in another stinger in order to set the stage for that eventual crossover. If he is part of the Sinister Six, though, we could live with it!
3. Chameleon
We met a man named Dmitri in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and while he was never confirmed as being Chameleon, it wouldn't be too hard to believe he was another of Mysterio's agents.
Marvel Studios could have a lot of fun with the concept of a villain like this. Plus, if Mysterio is somehow involved with Doctor Strange's spell bringing those baddies into the MCU, then Chameleon acting on his behalf does add up (we don't necessarily think he's going to pose as the Sorcerer Supreme, but that might explain why Strange seems to be acting out of character).
It all depends on how superpowered Marvel Studios is looking to make the character. Either way, it would be a shame not to do something with him, and while he's not the most powerful member of the Sinister Six, Chameleon is a character who does have a storied history with the villainous team.
2. Vulture
We know Adrian Toomes will appear in Morbius, and remember that the movie was once scheduled to be released prior to Spider-Man: No Way Home. That could explain how Vulture finds himself in another reality (or what brings the Living Vampire into the MCU), and it would be crazy to not have Toomes join the rest of these interdimensional baddies in the threequel.
Not only was he the wall-crawler's first foe in the MCU, but he also learned Peter's secret and pushed the teenager to his limits. With the final battle rumoured to take place at the Statue of Liberty, utilising another villain who can take flight makes sense...it's also highly likely Toomes would turn on his teammates.
He never really seemed like a full-blown baddie, and could see the error of his ways as this fight continues. That would make for an interesting subplot and make the fight a little more personal for our Spider-Man. After all, as of right now, not a single member of this group is actually someone he's squared off with in the past!
1. Mysterio
Spider-Man: Far From Home may have gone to great lengths to make us believe that Quentin Beck died in London, but we're not buying it. After scoring the ultimate victory over Peter Parker by outing his life as Spider-Man to the world, we can't fathom the possibility Mysterio isn't out there gloating.
It's also a little weird that he made all those bold claims about the Multiverse right before Peter finds himself thrust into a battle with villains who all hail from different realities.
What if he really did hail from another world and it was always his plan to "out" Spider-Man? Tony Stark's tech may have been little more than a means to an end, as it obviously helped Mysterio to frame the webbed wonder for attacking London and "killing" him. His comic book counterpart has a history of travelling from world to world, so simply put, this needs to happen.