Could the surprise reveal of a Marvel Comics character in the closing minutes of Spider-Man: Far From Home hint at villain Scorpion appearing in the sequel? Major spoilers follow.
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When Spider-Man (Tom Holland) returns to New York after defeating Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in London, he’s shocked by DailyBugle.net newsman J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) outing his secret identity on national television. Fooled by Mysterio’s deceptions, Jameson labels Spider-Man a menace and a murderer responsible for the death of “the greatest superhero of all time.”
In Spider-Man: Homecoming, career criminal Mac Gargan (Michael Mondo) was left scarred by an encounter with the wall-crawler, who interrupted a sale of Stark technology put into motion by Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture (Michael Keaton).
When Gargan and Toomes were reunited in the same prison, a revenge-seeking Gargan pressed Toomes about rumors he had learned Spider-Man’s secret identity — a rumor Toomes falsely denied. Now that he’s been exposed by Jameson, Peter Parker will surely be targeted by his vengeful enemies.
In Marvel Comics lore, a Spidey-hating Jameson funded an experimental process that turned Gargan into the costumed supervillain known as the Scorpion, who wielded a vicious mechanical tail as part of an armored battle suit. His transformation into Scorpion left Gargan scorned, and the villain made repeated attempts on Jameson’s life, all thwarted through Spider-Man’s intervention.
Because the Marvel Cinematic Universe Jameson hails Mysterio as a hero, he has motive to sic a superpowered minion on Spider-Man — and with Gargan having a clear grudge against the webhead, the pair could forge a partnership that ultimately sours when Jameson realizes he’s unleashed a monster.
Scorpion could also be a clear choice because, like Mysterio, he’s a primary member of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery that has yet to suit up on the big screen.
“In terms of how we ended up with Mysterio in the first place, I mean, I wanted to put a character on screen that we hadn’t seen before,” director Jon Watts explained during a Far From Home set visit.
“Of the big, iconic villains, Mysterio was the one who jumped to the top. Because of who he is, what he may-or-may-not be able to do, it’s really opened up a lot of possibilities for the kind of story we can tell with him.”
Watts is next expected to return for Spider-Man 3 but his involvement has not yet been officially confirmed.
“I mean, I try to think about it one movie at a time,” Watts told Screen Rant when promoting Far From Home.
“We’re definitely telling the story of this kid growing up, and we end the movie putting him in a very unique spot that we really haven’t seen Spider-Man in before in the films. So, I don’t know. For me, I’ll wait until the next one to start to figure out how we’re going to get to where I want it to end.”
Spider-Man: Far From Home is now playing.
