Ten villains we want to see in a sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man

Insomniac’s Spider-Man game isn’t just a great showcase of a certain friendly neighborhood wallcrawler being the best web-swinger in town. It’s also a game where some of Spidey’s villains get a chance to shine, briefly stealing the show before they find themselves clobbered and webbed to a wall. Spider-Man has always had one of the greatest collections of rogues in comic book history, a nefarious library of black hats who always emerge to menace Spider-Man again and again and again.

Naturally, we want to see more of them in the inevitable Spider-Man sequel. Whether they’re the biggest of the bads or goofy distractions, here’s a look at ten Spider-Man villains we want to see in the future.

Green Goblin

You’ve got villain’s in Spider-Man comics, and then you have villains. No other antagonist can hold a candle to Norman Osborn and his cackling alter-ego, a hate-driven bundle of insanity and genius who has plagued the wallcrawler over the years and exacted a bloody toll on the life Peter Parker in the process. Always plotting, always scheming, the Green Goblin isn’t just a more personal villain, but also a visually exciting and challenging answer to Spider-Man’s ability to crack jokes and spin webs.

You think Willem DeFoe would be up for some voice acting? Someone get me my rolodex, I have a phone call to make.

Venom

BY now, this one should be obvious. Hinted at in Spider-Man, Insomniac has a very different take planned for Venom, who has generally served as a dark mirror to Spider-Man. Brutish in stature, able to counter everything that Spider-Man can throw at him and possessing a taste for grey matter, Venom is a monsterous reflection of power without responsibility when handled properly.

The Lizard

Speaking of monsters, you can’t have beasts running around New York City without giving them a tragic backstory! I’ve always imagined Curt Connors to be a prime example of this, a man driven to help himself and mankind, transformed by his hubris into a raging beast that operates on pure instinct. Much like Parker’s greatest villains, Connors represents a facet of the character without the burden of responsibility, resulting in a creature whose good intentions have paved the road to a personal hell for the misunderstood villain in the process.

Plus, he looks rather snappy in his usual attire of scales and torn lab coats. Always liked that look.

Mysterio

CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED! I don’t care what anyone says, Mysterio is a GREAT Spider-Man villain. A man whose genius was cast aside in an industry that valued cheaper and quicker results, special effects expert Quentin Beck should have been a Hollywood star with his revolutionary skill in creating special effects. Instead, he chose a life of crime and ridiculous costumes, creating an iconic threat based on smoke and mirrors.

That’s what I’ve always loved about the character, whose ability to master sleight of hand on a grander scale has always made him a fun master of illusion who is capable of tricking reality itself. The only way this could be better? Getting Bruce Campbell to voice the character, a role he should have played if Sam Raimi’s original pitch for Spider-Man 3 had not been derailed by Hollywood executives. Still, never too late to make things right, right? Because that would just be…

Groovy.

Alistair Smythe AKA The Spider-Slayer

There’s more than one arachnid-themed individual in New York City! While Spider-Man might fight for what’s right, Alistair Smythe is more than happy to make the webhead’s life a living hell with his array of technological terrors, a mechanoid insect army of Spider-Slayers that are designed to give the web-slinger a run for his money. Able to turn the tables on established gameplay ideas, the Spider-Slayer is just what the sequel needs to help it stay fresh.

Big Wheel

Two words: BIG. WHEEL. Two more words: ‘Nuff said.

The Sandman

Another icon from the past, the Sandman has always been a reliable punching bag who possesses the power of a god and the mindset of a goon. Able to be as fluid as seasand one moment and harder than concrete the next, the Sandman is a force of nature in the body of a thug. If you ever wanted a boss fight that could go from street-level to all-out brawl across an entire borough, then the Sandman is a perfect villain to throw at Spider-Man.

If you don’t mind getting sand in your boots, that is.

The Hood

He may be a larger threat in the grand scheme of things than just a mere Spider-Man villain, it’s hard to not like the Hood. A career criminal granted an impressive array of powers, the Hood’s real threat lies not in his ability to cause devastation, but his talent for uniting the super-criminal underworld and actually being a competent leader.

With Wilson Fisk behind bars and New York still recovering, the blue collar criminal mastermind is just the man that the City’s darker underbelly needs to unite the warring factions across the various boroughs.

The Spot

I’m not going to lie to you: The Spot’s primary power is “Stop hitting yourself”. Able to conjure up portals all over his body and within his vicinity, The Spot is utterly ridiculous and thus technically awesome even though he happens to resemble a man cosplaying as a Dalmation. Bizarre to the extreme, villains like the Spot are perfect for when a heavy story needs a lighter touch thrown into the mix. We could all do with a laugh from time to time.

Morlun

Originally, the idea for this final entry was leaning towards a more vampiric villain. Obvious answer? Morbius the living vampire. Don’t get me wrong, Morbius is a terrific nightmare fuel monster, but Morlun and his brood of Inheritors are capable of posing a much more tangible threat whenever they appear. Morlun’s entire schtick is that he happens to be a vampire who feeds on totemic heroes, heroes such as Spider-Man who are connected to the web of life that holds the universe together.

Just being in his vicinity makes Morlun stronger. How do you fight a foe who is capable of turning your best punches into nourishment? That makes for a villain who is about as unstoppable as the Juggernaut when he’s given a chance to shine, an inevitable death on two legs whose hunger knows no bounds. Considering just how close Morlun has come to actually killing Spider-Man in the past, and it’d be criminal not to have him pop up as a villain that players would need to flee from, not fight.

 

Last Updated: September 28, 2018