Spider-Man 4: Bring on the Big Bad Villains!
Now that Spider-Man 4 is a go and the main actors seem to be getting on board, the next logical step is to announce/leak/identify/speculate on who the villain or villains may be for this next installment of Peter Parker’s growing role as the hero he’s striving to become. Below are some logical, and in some cases, wishful theories on who might be stepping up to the plate to fill the boots and shoes of villains past such as the Green Goblin and Sandman.
The Lizard - This is probably a highly likely and perhaps obvious choice, but for those reasons alone it deserves to be brought into the conversation. No discussion about possible villains for Spidey in his fourth installment would be complete without the inclusion of The Lizard, the murderous alter ego of Dr. Curt Conners. Since the first movie, fans of the comic book series have known the background of Dr. Conners, a scientist who lost his arm and became dedicated to studying the regenerative properties of creatures such as lizards in order to possibly regrow it. He did, but with very negative side effects. Setting up Dr. Conners to become The Lizard would be a logical payoff, and it would set up an interesting plot line for Peter, as he is forced to combat someone he has long trusted as a professor and a role model.
The Kingpin - Are there still some remnants of resentment and disappointment left over from the interpretation of this character in the very mixed Ben Affleck vehicle Daredevil? It’s possible, but that may not make it completely impossible to have this crime lord as an emergent figure in the next Spider-Man installment. With Spider-Man developing more and more as a hero for New York, it might make sense for a figure, such as The Kingpin, to think of organizing the criminal element in order to fight off the vigilante presence. This would also allow a second villain to be brought into the film, as Kingpin is not typically known for wanting to get his hands dirty in the public eye. It would be an interesting intellectual element to add to a film franchise known for its heart and action.
The Scorpion - Speaking of villains for hire, original wearer of The Scorpion costume, Mac Gargan, fits the bill quite nicely. Originally hired in the comics as a private investigator by J. Jonah Jameson to follow Peter Parker, Gargan soon became involved in experiments that would lead to his donning the super-powered costume of The Scorpion. In a film such as Spider-Man 4, Gargan would be a perfect character to add as the hired muscle to Kingpin’s intellectual might. Possessing super agility, a highly powered tail and body armor, The Scorpion would be a formidable opponent on screen. The story of average guy becoming a hero/villain through the intervention of science has already been seen in virtually every character Spider-Man has faced in the film series thus far, with Sandman, Venom and Doctor Octopus all sharing a similar origin in that regard, which could make Scorpion’s big screen debut a limited possibility.
The Black Cat - One thing that has been lacking in the Spider-Man film series thus far is the presence of a physically formidable female foil. Felicia Hardy, young college student turned cat burglar, would be an easy addition to the plot line. With her history as an anti-hero in most senses of the word, Black Cat would be an interesting element to add to the action parts of the film as well as a possible rival to Mary Jane, with Black Cat representing many of the things that Mary Jane is not. It would also be an interesting idea to see someone featured in the film series who is not “powers based”, but who is simply a highly trained and skilled fighter, gymnast, and criminal. Of course this could also be a reason why choosing her as a villain would not be a good idea.
Mysterio - Another one of Spider-Man’s classic, original villains, Mysterio would be a special effects fan’s delight. Quentin Beck may have begun his career as a special effects and stunt man for Hollywood films, but he soon found himself turning to crime. Often one of Spider-Man’s most confounding villains, due in large part to his ability to use a vast bank of tricks, optical illusions and intricate traps to try and destroy Spider-Man’s life, Mysterio could prove an intriguing match up on screen, as he is known for being able to hide in plain sight. A logical plot point might involve Mary Jane beginning the transition to film and Beck working on the film as a stunt man or special effects coordinator. Either way, adding this villain to the mix would allow a director’s imagination and scope to run rampant!
Carnage – In looking for more modern villains from the Spider-Man universe, Carnage is perhaps one of the most well-known, directly behind Venom, the creature that helped spawn him. Since Spider-Man 3 didn’t fully provide fans of Venom with quite enough in the way of screen time for their favorite symbiote, adding Carnage to the slate of characters appearing in the fourth film would be the payoff for that initial investment. It could be quite a feat pulling off a character such as Carnage onscreen, a character known for his serial killer like behavior. How would such a character come across the symbiote this far removed from the original Venom character? That would also be a logistical feat of gymnastics, but stranger things have happened!
While there are a host of other choices for Spider-Man 4, any of these would provide a logical step from the end of the last film, which more than likely saw the end of the characters of the Green Goblin and Sandman. And really, who wants to see someone in the flesh wearing that helmet of Electro’s?
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To say that Black Cat is not power based is blasphemous. Kingpin modified her genetic code to be stronger (as a test). Yes yes, she originally was not powerbased, however continuity has since been retconned to explain her origins.
for carnage….when the symbiote gets knocked off of spider man in the church and falls to brock. some lands on his jacket and he takes it off and throws it aside. that is one way to link the symbiote.
It’s gonna be Moebius. The human vampire!
Looking at the track history of recent superhero sequals, they’ll probably bring all six of them in and kill them off in one fatal swoop.
Or it could be J Jonah Jameson…. which could make it the most disappointing comic book movie of all time.
It should be Kingpin. Too bad that would conflict with the Daredevil movie.
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I’d like to see Black Cat (played by Ali Larter maybe?) but for the main villain: Kraven or Vulture
Two words: Kraven the Hunter. Oh, wait, that’s three. But still.
And how about Man-Wolf, who is already linked to Mary Jane and might provide some conflict between Peter’s need to fight him and MJ’s probable sympathy for him?
I vote for Carnage. That leaves an hour and a half for some awesome Venom story and a half hour of Carnage’s origin leading up to the best cliffhanger ending of them all. Spidey appears to be dead or dying. What will happen in Spiderman 5?
Kraven the Hunter!!! They’ve missed the boat by not doing his story in the black costume and re-telling the burial of Spidey by Kraven.
I think they need to cross pollinate universes and send spidey after Dick Cheney. If Dick is wiling to shoot the pie-hole off his own friend, I can’t believe that Parker has a chance.
i say connors is going to try to use the sample of symbiot he got from peter to create he growth formula, thus creating lizard and that sample can easily turn into carnage as well.
dude the rhino he was awesome with the crushing and the horness, Morlun with the whole trying to eat and mouth hands, and who could forget kraven that guy was awesome
these spiderman flicks tend to have a Main Villain and a side plot.
i’m going with Lizard for villain related to Main Plot. Doc Conners has already been introduced in previous films and could easily be worked into a storyline involving genetic research and the Spider powers.
side plot featuring Black Cat would play along nicely with Doc Conners. Felicia Hardy is a great character who could have an interesting presence both in and out of costume, which is something that Sam Raimi likes to do.
the other characters suggested in this list and in some of the other comments seem to lack enough depth to make good characters for a Raimi film. Morbius or Kraven are cool and all but they’d really be coming totally out of left field for this series and those two characters are hard to emphathise with and hard to tie in to the life of Peter Parker out of the costume.
I think they need to cross pollinate universes and send spidey after Dick Cheney. If Dick is wiling to shoot the pie-hole off his own friend, I can’t believe that Parker has a chance..
This may be just a geeky thing in the back of my head, but wasn’t Black Cat injected with the Super Soldier formula like Captain America?
Hi there! In response to the comments about Black Cat’s powers, yes, you are correct, she was modified at one point in time with heightened strength and such, but currently her “extras” are mechanical and costume-based. I was writing about her in the frame that in a movie introducing her, they probably wouldn’t have her powered up right away. Sorry for not being clear! Thanks for pointing that out!
SM4’s villians should be the Lizard and Kraven the Hunter. It would be an interesting movie to have the Lizard luring Kraven to NYC for the Ultimate Hunt…
i agree that it should be the lizard and Kraven the hunter. but i think if this is the case then the neogenic nightmare saga, with Spidey turning into Man-Spider would so rock!
They need to do the treatment to spiderman like they did with batman, get a good director, good actors and start all over, only spiderman 1 was enjoyable the rest was all a mess the last one being the worst of them all, they could copy paste the script from the comics and get a better result than that horrible one!
Kingpin – Done in daredevil
Carnage – Too similar to Venom
The Scorpion – A bit of a sidekick more than anything
Mysterio – Could be either cool or cheesy
The Lizard – Could be done well
Black Cat – More of a support role, but can’t wait to see her in action in that costume!
What about Chameleon?
Bruce Campbell is The Lizard!!!
You were all thinking it!
The Lizard – Not from NYC
Kingpin – Will most likely be in it. He is the Criminal MasterMind of NYC
The Scorpion – They haven’t played out Jonah’s true hate for spiderman just yet (Remember, Jonah made The Scorpion)
Black cat – More of an allie the enemy
Mysterio – Though Very Intresting, I dont see him being brought in until the 5th Spider man movie.
Carnage – In the original Comic’s. Carnage did come along only a few comics after Venom. But for the sake of the movie, they shouldn’t bring in yet ANOTHER symbiote.
The people I do want to see in this movie are: The Shocker, Rhino, Electro, Kraven or The Chameleon.
The Lizard and Black Cat (it would be about freakin time!!!!) are the likely choices…..
To note: I really think they could do a lot with Mysterio’s character.
The Lizard would probably be a good idea… along with Black Cat (maybe played by Summer Glau). Dont get me wrong, many of the ideas above are very good, but I think having Lizard in there, as a foe, then Black Cat as a foe then as an ally will be a good idea… put that love triangle in there as well.
-=R=-
bah! I personally vote for the black cat she’s way more like ly to share the city with the lizard from what sources have told…….