Top 5 Villains For Tom Holland's Solo SPIDER-MAN Film

After several versions of Green Goblin and "Goblin Jr.", Spider-Man's archvillain is probably not the main antagonist of the reboot. Which begs the question of who will menace the webslinger next July?

By MarkJulian - Apr 11, 2016 09:04 AM EST

Filed Under: Captain America: Civil War

If early reactions from the first screening of Captain America: Civil War are any indication, Tom Holland is a great Spider-Man and perhaps the best Peter Parker to date. Anticipation for the solo Spider-Man film should skyrocket through the roof after Civil War officially hits theaters on May 6th. If you combine buzz about Holland's performance with recent confirmation from Kevin Feige that a few MCU characters will definitely appear in the Sony and Marvel collaboration you'll realize that the Jon Watts directed superhero feature has the potential to be something truly special.

But what do we actually know about the solo Spider-Man film? Watts is directing from a script penned by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein. The film will star Holland, Marisa Tomei as May Parker and Zendaya Coleman as Michelle. But who is playing Uncle Ben? Who'll follow in J.K. Simmons footsteps as the next J. Jonah Jameson? Previously, Kevin Feige touched on the new topics he's hoping to tackle in the reboot. "It’s the soap opera in high school, and those supporting characters, that are interesting." He would also confirm to Birth.Movies. Death that, "Right now we’re interested in seeing villains we haven’t seen before." Given Feige's comment, whcih Spider-Man villain will be selected for the film? Will we see yet another version of Green Goblin or will Marvel convince Sony to go with someone new like Kraven the Hunter? Here's the top 5 potential candidates to antagonize Peter Parker's webslinger next July.

CHAMELEON

Dmitri Smerdyakov is a longtime Spider-Man villain that's been plaguing the wall-crawler since 1963. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Chameleon is actually the half-brother of Kraven the Hunter (a villain that will appear later in the list) and an immigrant of the Soviet. From a very young age, Smerdyakov displayed an uncanny ability to impersonate others and later combined that talent with crafty disguises to impersonate (and steal from) some of the richest superheroes in Marvel - including Henry Pym, Tony Stark and Reed Richards.

The chameleon would certainly present a different type of villain than Spider-Man typically faces (at the cinema). By no means a physical threat (he was once defeated by Mary Jane Watson), the master of disguise has wreaked havoc on Peter Parker's personal life in comic stories where he learned Spider-Man's secret identity. Even when he's simply pulling off a regular burglary, his ability to quickly shed and adopt new disguises has led him to get away from Spider-Man on more than one occasion. Defeating this adversary would shine the spotlight on the wall-crawler's spider-sense, rather than his agility or strength.

Another long-time Spider-Man foe, Quentin Beck has been menacing Spider-Man since 1964. Another Lee and Ditko creation, Mysteri fights very similar to Chameleon, preferring misdirection and trickery rather than physical confrontations. Their differences stem from Beck's background as an ex SFX supervisor and Hollywood stuntman. Using those skills, he employs holographic illusions, hypnotism and even robotic doppelgangers to combat Spidey.

If Marvel and Sony are going for a fun and light tone for their Spider-Man reboot, Mysterio would be the perfect villain. His powers are very cinematic and he and Spider-Man often exchange great one-liners whenever they clash in the comics.

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KINGPIN

Vincent D’Onofrio is absolutely killing it as Wilson Fisk on Daredevil's Netflix. But if his goal is to control New York and if the city is truly part of his soul, surely he would take note of all the street-level superheroes popping up in his backyard. First Daredevil, then Jessica Jones and now Luke Cage and Iron Fist are right around the corner - each exists as a potential threat to whatever Kingpin is planning next for NYC.

However, the greatest street-level superhero in the MCU will soon be making his debut, albeit in a film, not on Netflix. Though Fisk is currently in prison, he's currently in the midst of rebuilding his criminal empire. Perhaps something Fisk organizes from behind bars is thwarted by Tom Holland's teenage webslinger and Fisk dispatches Mysterio, Chameleon, Shocker or someone else to handle his 'Spider' problem?

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MORBIUS

If Marvel and Sony are looking to distance themselves from previous Spider-Man films and use a new villain, Morbius, the Living Vampire is about as far as you can get. Created in 1971 by Roy Tomas and Gil Kane, Michael Morbius is a tragic biologist and biochemist who inadvertently turns himself into a pseudo-vampire while attempting to find a cure for his own rare and fatal blood disease. Think Peter Parker getting bit by a radioactive bat instead of spider.

Another reason to introduce Morbius is the apparent shift in the MCU to the supernatural. Though not a real vampire, Morbius would be a great introduction to true Marvel vampires like Baron Blood. With Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange film releasing later this year, the MCU appears poised for an explosion of traditional fantasy.

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KRAVEN THE HUNTER

It's a real head-scratcher that in the 5 live-action Spider-Man films since 2002, we've yet to see Kraven the Hunter make his cinematic debut. Created in 1964 by Lee and Ditko, Sergei Kravinoff isn't your typical villain. He doesn't want to rob banks, control the world or destroy it. He lives purely for the thrill of the hunt. A fanatical big-game hunter, Kraven views Spider-Man as the ultimate prey, with a victory legitimizing his claim as the greatest huntsman of all-time (sorry Chris Hemsworth).

Besides maintaining peak, Olympic-level conditioning, Kraven regularly ingests potions from unspecified jungle plants that improve his strength, durability and agility. This is actually pretty similar to how Black Panther maintains his superpowers and tying the two together for the purposes of continuity in the MCU should be fairly easy. In comic book lore, after Spider-Man defeats his half-brother, the Chameleon, Kraven comes to NYC to settle the score. Might something similar occur in the reboot?

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139 Comments

1 2 3 4

ENigmaShow - 4/11/2016, 10:00 AM

Yep. Mysterio or bust. I'm dead serious.

McU - 4/11/2016, 10:00 AM

My best bet is Mysterio. I think the most suitable villain for Tom Holland.

Claymore - 4/11/2016, 10:03 AM

@McU - it would be cool if it's mysterio and kingpin has like a short scene fighting spiderman

McU - 4/11/2016, 10:24 AM

@Ryuk1995 - I doubt Kingpin would show up. I know he exists in the MCU now but his character is way too dark to fight a 15 year old Spider Man.

Claymore - 4/11/2016, 11:00 AM

@McU - Nah I disagree He would be in the movie 10 minutes it's not like he has a foul mouth could kill some people just like villain do In mcu movies his characters could easily be the same character from the Netflix show just pg 13

McU - 4/11/2016, 11:17 AM

@Ryuk1995 - He is sitting in a prison now. So I think it would take some time. Mysterio in other hand is perfect nemesis for his solo flick.

Claymore - 4/11/2016, 11:26 AM

@McU - Definitely I want mysterio no goblin for awhile

McU - 4/11/2016, 11:37 AM

@Ryuk1995 - Done with Goblin too after ASM 2.

JedimasterD - 4/11/2016, 10:01 AM

NEXT!!!!

01928401 - 4/11/2016, 10:01 AM

Damn. And I really wanted to find out 1-4.

Scarilian - 4/11/2016, 10:04 AM

@PietroJaximoff -
5. Chameleon
4. Mysterio
3. Kingpin
2. Morbius
1. Kraven The Hunter

Kingpin wont happen, neither will Chameleon as neither would put up much of a fight against Spider-man.

01928401 - 4/11/2016, 10:17 AM

@Scarilian - I could see Kingpin pulling some strings, but I think one of the more physical, thug types will be in the first movie. Scorpion, Rhino, Vulture, etc.

I think Kraven is a damn guarantee for a sequel.

TheEpicJuicebox - 4/11/2016, 10:28 AM

@Scarilian - I'm pretty sure we are gonna get kraven because the Sony leak said so and everything else that happened was foretold a year ago in the Sony leak

ThedamnBatman - 4/11/2016, 10:02 AM

Next....

ShellHead - 4/11/2016, 10:04 AM

Kingpin!

The72nd - 4/11/2016, 10:04 AM

Kraven, mysterio, hell I wouldn't even mind seeing doc ock again. just not green goblin yet.

LEVITIKUZ - 4/11/2016, 10:04 AM

I don't want Mysterio..... yet.

He's my favorite Spidey villain but I would prefer to see Watts do someone before Mysterio.

Still hoping for Shocker.

The72nd - 4/11/2016, 10:09 AM

@LEVITIKUZ - DONT MOCK THE SHOCKER

01928401 - 4/11/2016, 10:20 AM

@LEVITIKUZ - Definitely down for Shocker. Favorite Spidey villain.

TheBeard - 4/11/2016, 3:48 PM

@LEVITIKUZ -

DEVWoulf - 4/11/2016, 10:04 AM

Because your name isn't Josh, I'll click next.

SuperCat - 4/11/2016, 10:05 AM

Mysterio!

SupahSmashBro - 4/11/2016, 12:29 PM

@SuperCat - LOL, what the hell is that from?

Retribution13 - 4/11/2016, 3:41 PM

@SupahSmashBro - Yeah, I wanna know too.

mendigoblindado - 4/11/2016, 10:05 AM

Matt Smith for Mysterio

JohnDoe - 4/11/2016, 10:06 AM

I'm all about Morbius. Differentiate from previous Spidey films! Also allows an intro to Blade, who can be used on Netflix.

Do. It.

Pitydafool - 4/11/2016, 10:06 AM

Kraven (played by Gerard Butler) and give me "Kraven's last hunt". Prolly to early for that story line but whatev.

Scarilian - 4/11/2016, 10:08 AM

@Pitydafool -
Eh, Kraven would work better as a villain when they've established Lizard. Have Kraven arrive wanting to hunt both Spider-man and the Lizard.

1 2 3 4

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Top 5 Villains For Tom Holland's Solo SPIDER-MAN Film

After several versions of Green Goblin and "Goblin Jr.", Spider-Man's archvillain is probably not the main antagonist of the reboot. Which begs the question of who will menace the webslinger next July?

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