In the comics, Spider-Man has some of the greatest foes ever created. Unsurprisingly, the movie version of the character has also had several incredible foes, including the live-action versions of Green Goblin, The Vulture, and Doctor Octopus. Even one of Spider-Man: No Way Home’s many great feats was finally turning Amazing Spider-Man-era baddies like Jamie Foxx’s Electro or the Rhys Ifans Lizard into interesting characters with enjoyable personalities. Still, across the live-action Marvel adaptations handled by Sony/Columbia Pictures, several famous Spider-Man foes have been done dirty.
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With Spider-Man: Brand New Day ushering in a new age of Peter Parker/Spider-Man exploits, these particular villains need a redo in the forthcoming Tom Holland Spider-Man films. Let these villains finally be as interesting in theaters as they are in the comics.
1) The Rhino
Poor Aleksei Sytsevich/The Rhino. He’s been utterly ruined in two different Sony/Marvel blockbusters, and that’s despite deeply talented actors Paul Giamatti and Alessandro Nivola playing him. Gifted performers, though, couldn’t overcome screenwriting that’s constantly overthinking The Rhino and how to portray him on-screen.
Whether it’s turning him into a giant robot or a Hulk-like creature, the movie versions of The Rhino are convoluted entities that also look deeply ugly to boot. It’d be great to see him square off against Spider-Man in a visually pleasing aesthetic while also not wasting the time of any talented actor tasked with realizing him on the silver screen.
2) Ezekiel Sims
Ezekiel Sims isn’t an especially famous or long-running Spider-Man adversary. He only just debuted in the comics in June 2001 and doesn’t have a massive fan base. Still, this character’s primary original comic book appearance was so heavily intertwined with Spidey, with Sims initially posing as an ally only to be a secret villain who eventually redeems himself after being inspired by Peter Parker’s heroics. Having his only live-action film appearance be in Madame Web, where Peter Parker only appears as a newborn, deprives Sims of much of his comic book personality and interesting moral complexity.
Bringing this character back for a new movie wouldn’t be the worst idea, especially since it’s doubtful any new incarnations of Sims could be worse than his Madame Web iteration.
3) Felicia Hardy/Black Cat
Maybe it’s because Sony executives are terrified of the character coming off as a Selina Kyle/Catwoman ripoff, but it’s very weird that Felicia Hardy/Black Cat has only one cameo appearance to her name across all Spider-Man films. Only a brief The Amazing Spider-Man 2 presence (where she was played by Felicity Jones) has allowed this staple of Spidey’s adventures to emerge in live-action.
Finally bringing her back into the newest Spider-Man adventures would be long overdue, especially since Tom Holland’s Spidey, now older and presumably free of MJ, could finally have some of his character’s comic book sensual chemistry with Black Cat. There’s plenty to do with the character to make her more than just Catwoman 2.0.
4) Chameleon
Despite being Spider-Man’s first super-powered villain in the comics, Dmitri Smerdyakov Chameleon has been reduced to the fringes of live-action Spider-Man media. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Numan Acar portrayed a man named Dimitri who was presumably set up to become Chameleon in subsequent movies. Kraven the Hunter, meanwhile, reduced Fred Hechinger’s Smerdyakov to being a captive for most of the run time before the film’s final minutes revealed that he had procured both superpowers and a hatred for his half-brother Kraven. Given how badly Kraven the Hunter did at the box office, plans for Hechinger to keep playing a more nefarious Chameleon in sequels will never pan out.
The Chameleon shouldn’t be a bunch of sequel teases that never went anywhere. Let him come back and finally leave a massive impression on audiences. It’d be a worthy outcome for a character that has such an important historical place in Spidey’s comic book history.
5) Kraven the Hunter
Much like his half-brother Chameleon, Kraven the Hunter has always been just on the cusp of getting to duke it out with Spider-Man, yet has never quite shared the screen with this Wall-Crawler. Despite an Amazing Spider-Man 2 end credits tease indicating his imminent arrival, Kraven’s only live-action film appearance was in his infamous solo movie, portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. That drab, forgettable motion picture cannot be the end of Kraven’s silver screen history, especially since he’s never gotten to contend with his ultimate prey, Spider-Man.
Bring Kraven back in a post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day title with a new actor (to ensure that Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven movie is truly dead and buried), a snazzier comics-accurate costume, and a lethal conviction for taking out Spider-Man. He’d be a great foe for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, especially since this character’s inherently grimy, dour persona would make for a fun contrast to the MCU’s youthful, upbeat version of Spidey. If any Spider-Man comics villain most desperately needs a redo on the big screen, it has to be Kraven the Hunter.
Kraven the Hunter is now streaming on Netflix, Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2025.
What Spider-Man villains do you want to see in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!
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image courtesy of Netflix -
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