ForComicJunkies: REBOOTED SPIDER-MAN VS . . . ??

It's happening. We're getting yet another Spider-Man reboot. The reason that this is pretty exciting is that Spider-Man will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an official capacity. That means we're going to be seeing ol' Webhead join the Avengers and possibly appear on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Netflix Defenders series. The new Spider-Man film will premiere summer 2017. Since Spidey himself has been cast, the main question on everyone's mind is who will he be fighting? I think we can all agree that the best of the previous Spider-Man films were the ones where he just faced one villain. I'm hoping they give us a villain that we haven't seen yet. Most comic fans will agree that next to Batman, Spider-Man has the greatest rogues gallery. So who will we see Spidey trade punches with in 2017? I have some thoughts . . .

SCORPION

I admit that the Scorpion may not be a strong enough villain to carry a film, but I think there is still potential here. The original backstory was that he was created by J. Jonah Jameson to hunt down and take care of the "masked menace" of Spider-Man. His name is Mac Gargan. He's always been a two timing crook. I think it would be interesting to see a "failed fathers" type of theme with Spider-Man. Peter feels that his father failed him by leaving and Scorpion feels that Jameson failed him by eventually dumping him. It's not an "original" idea per se but one that would be interesting to see played out with two costumed characters in colorful costumes. Or they could go the Ultimate route and Scorpion is a big ass dude that chokes Spider-Man with a chain.

Yikes . . .

Either way, I think Scorpion is a prime candidate to appear in a live action Spider-Man film. He's got a cool gimmick and could definitely hold his own against our Friendly Neighborhood Hero.

MYSTERIO

Rumor has it that Marc Webb wanted to use Mysterio in his Amazing Spider-Man films. This comes from an interview with Dan Slott (current writer of Amazing Spider-Man) where he suggested Mysterio as a villain for a future film and Webb agreed. This particular villain is just ripe for a film adaptation. His name is Quentin Beck. He was a movie special effects wizard and he felt unappreciated by his superiors blah blah blah now he's a super villain. You know. That old story. He can do a lot of cool things with holograms and hallucinogenic gases. He's been known to frame Spider-Man for his crimes. There is also a Daredevil comic where he tries to convince Matt Murdock that he's losing his mind and all that. It was good. Written by Kevin Smith! . . . Yeah good stuff . . . Anyway, Mysterio would be awesome to see in a movie. However, instead of the fishbowl head I recommend they go with the Ultimate version of the character:

Technically, it's the same character. In the comic book story Spider-Men, Peter Parker is accidentally transported to the Ultimate Universe. There he discovers that that world's Peter Parker is dead and Miles Morales is Spider-Man now. They fight Ultimate Mysterio, which the Ultimate Peter Parker had previously battled. It turns out that Ultimate Mysterio was another disguise for the main Marvel Universe's Mysterio. He had breached into another dimension and was using that to commit his crimes. In the Ultimate Universe, he could be more of a bad ass and disappear without a trace. That was one of my favorite stories. It would be awesome to see it done in live action with a brand new Spider-Man.

KRAVEN THE HUNTER

This is the big one. The main rumor is that Kraven is definitely the villain eyed for the Spider-Man reboot. During the infamous "Sony Hack" one of the leaked e-mails was one executive saying that his favorite Spider-Man story was "Kraven's Last Hunt."

That's some terrible cosplay

In that story, Kraven thinks he kills Spider-Man. He then dons the costume and starts enacting terrible vengeance on New York's worst criminals. I'll be honest, I never read that story. Kraven would be cool to see I guess. If done right, Kraven could be a really interesting villain to see on film. He's a world class hunter/poacher. I'd love to see a cool hunter/prey superhero film. Like I said, if done right, it could be unique and very exciting.

CHAMELEON

Fun fact - He was Spider-Man's first super villain. He was in Amazing Spider-Man #1 way back in 1962. Back then he could imitate anyone. He created rubber masks to impersonate anyone he wanted (like Mission: Impossible style). In the animated series, he had a hologram projector that would make him look and sound like whoever he wanted. In the Ultimate Spider-Man comic books, he was part of a team that could impersonate anyone. If I'm not mistaken he was a shape shifter.

Oh yeah. He framed Spider-Man. What an asshole

He'd probably be the "cheapest" villain to hire. You wouldn't have to pay one actor to play the Chameleon. He would be played by several different actors throughout the film. It would never be the same guy/girl twice. Now THAT would be unique and interesting!

CARNAGE

Yeah. Yeah. Long shot. I know! But holy crap! Wouldn't this be freaking awesome to see? Carnage is like a super powered Joker. He doesn't care who he kills or why. He just likes to kill people. He likes screwing with Spider-Man. He's probably better off in a sequel after Venom is reintroduced.

Oh my god! That's so cool!

The symbiote has been a huge part of Spider-Man comics since the late 80s. It would be awesome to see it done well in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since Venom is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy now in the comics, maybe we'll see it (or at least a mention) in a future Guardians of the Galaxy film. That would get me hooked on a feeling . . . If you know what I mean . . .

That was a reference to Guardians of the Galaxy in case you missed that . . .

SHOCKER

Again, probably another villain that couldn't hold his own for a whole movie, but still a great visual and interesting power set. His name is Herman Schulz. He's a high school drop out but was still a technical genius. He could build anything and he used his skills for crime. He built two super powered gauntlets that could project energy. He called himself the Shocker. He was one of my favorite villains from the animated series. He has a cool look (well for a cartoon) and cool powers. He'd be a lot of fun to see in a live action film. Like I said, he couldn't hold his own in a film by himself but MAYBE if they can figure out how to do more than one villain in a Spider-Man film without screwing it up, then it could be exciting and fun to watch.

This movie has the potential to be the best of the Spider-Man movies. Since Spidey is part of the MCU now we can possibly see the most faithful, honest adaptation of Spider-Man. But then again . . . This is the 2nd reboot within just a few years . . .