Marvel Studios Reveals Different Version of Hydro-Man From Spider-Man: Far From Home

The newest Spider-Man movie from Marvel Studios made a lot of major changes to some villains from the comic books, especially when it came to Hydro-Man. While the character is typically portrayed as a bumbling criminal named Morris Bench, Spider-Man: Far From Home showed him more as a mindless creature who was actually the fabrication of Mysterio in an effort to manipulate public perception. But the movie almost featured a very different version of the Marvel villain, as revealed in a newly released piece of concept art.

Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding posted a new piece of key art on Instagram that showed the film’s battle between Spidey and Hydro-Man, revealing a comic-accurate appearance for the villain. Take a look:

Of course viewers know that Hydro-Man was little more than a hoax, and that Mysterio was the true villain of the film. Spider-Man: Far From Home writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers explained to CBR earlier this year why this was the perfect opportunity to bring Mysterio into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“We asked ourselves [why we why chose Mysterio] for months,” McKenna said. “He’s so iconic and such a challenge to write with the illusions. Thematically, he represents deception and illusion, and so much of the film has Peter lying to himself, while the world [after the events of Avengers: Endgame] would be in such chaos people would be willing to believe in anything.”

“After everyone Blipped back, the whole world would just be so dazed and confused and vulnerable, including Peter,” Sommers added. “Mysterio [felt like the best choice] to take advantage of that.”

Black Widow is set to premiere on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall of 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022. Disney+’s She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel don’t have release dates, nor does the cinematic reboot of Blade or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.