10 Villains Who Could Kickstart The Spider-Man Reboot

Earlier this year, we brought you a list of ten characters that we'd love to see appear in the Spider-Man re-reboot, comprised of a few friends, foes and females from Peter Parker's comic life. Now, with the news that new Spidey star Tom Holland has reportedly already filmed his Captain America: Civil War cameo, we thought it was time to start pondering which of the character's iconic villains could kick his latest screen adventure off on the right foot! Co-producer Kevin Feige was quoted as saying he'd like to see new, unseen-on-screen villains used when the new reboot arrives in 2017. While this rules out more than a handful of the Wall Crawler's foes, he's certainly not short in this department. Fortunately, there are still a plethora of interesting and dangerous baddies that Marvel's favourite son could face off against when the studio gets their hands on him. So, we've put together a list of ten such villains who could really kickstart the Marvel Studios era Spider-Man. Read on to find out if your favourite foe makes the cut... 10) Chameleon Since Tom Holland's Peter Parker is soon to be making some fairly powerful friends, an enemy that can take their form to attempt to mislead the young hero could be pretty darn dangerous. Over the years, Chameleon has led Peter into some truly unenviable situations, and seeing him have to keep his wits sharp to get out of another would make for an interesting story. By playing off of the stronger allegiances that Spider-Man ends up taking with him after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Chameleon could lull the hero into a state where he could be manipulated or misled. Peter would have to show maturity above his age and rely on his instincts to know who/what to trust. So far, we've only seen Spidey take on physically challenging foes during his screen-time, so a villain that tests his intelligence would certainly be an intriguing change. 9) Shocker Wait, didn't we see something like this pretty recently? And didn't it fall spectacularly flat? Yes and yes, but nothing about Electro was done right in Amazing Spider-Man 2. Fortunately, having a character like Shocker in the villain roster allows for this story to get a rather cheeky second attempt. After spending an early part of his super-villain life as somewhat of a joke, Herman Schultz is a character that's developed a more menacing side over recent comic book stories. He'd make a good starting point for a fledgling hero like Parker and, if used properly, could become a recurring character who turns himself into a greater threat as Peter gains stature. His involvement in various teams like the Sinister Six also makes him a good candidate, as he'd open early doors to the team finally getting a place on the big screen once the franchise is established. 8) Massacre As one of Spider-Man's Z list foes, Massacre would be a sizeable long-shot to appear in the reboot. After all, some of you reading this may not actually be that familiar with the character. So, who is he? Formerly Marcus Lyman, a stock trader whose wife was killed in a Wall Street attack, Massacre is emotionless and unable to feel human connection as a result of shrapnel in his skull from the same attack that killed his beloved. Pretty grim stuff, eh? But as a villain he's the perfect foil to Peter Parker's optimistic, never-say-die attitude. Massacre has absolutely no qualms about taking the lives of innocent people after suffering the loss of his wife, and his vengeful motivations would test Peter's resolve. Essentially the anti-Peter, Massacre represents the dangerous path that could have been taken after the death of Uncle Ben. Seeing him overcome someone as ruthless as this is one of the things that makes a hero like Spider-Man so inspiring. 7) Scorpion Scorpion is an example of a classic Spidey villain. A small-time and crooked individual, he accepts an offer from J. Jonah Jameson to undergo a procedure that will grant him power and ability to track the Web-Slinger. When the experiment forced the loss of what sanity and reason he had, however, Mac Gargan became enraged and vowed to destroy Jameson and even Spider-Man, whom he deemed partly responsible. While Spidey has most often been able to dispatch the villain with relative ease, his strength and unnerving resilience always makes him a dangerous foe if underestimated. A newly confident Peter Parker, fresh from meeting heroes like the Avengers, may be liable to make such an error and could easily be drawn into a deadly conflict with a psycho like Gargan. Relying on all of his wit and spry athleticism, this would make for a visually striking on-screen contest and surely couldn't disappoint, right? 6) Vulture Another of Peter Parker's wildlife-themed foes, Vulture has actually been hinted at in Marc Webb's recent movies and seemed to be a shoe-in for a spot in any Sinister Six film. He was also rumoured to be making an appearance in the canned fourth instalment of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man series, with John Malkovich apparently as good as cast for the role. The appeal for a villain like Vulture would again be visual. Some of the more enjoyable scenes in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were those that saw Spidey take to the skies, and his opening scene in the movie captured what was truly exciting about the way he does what a spider can. A winged foe like Vulture would force Peter back into the air and could offer up some fairly spectacular fight scenes. 5) Rhino Okay, now we've definitely seen this one before, but there's always hope that his closing cameo in Amazing Spider-Man 2 left enough untrodden ground for a potential return to be considered. After all, the promise of the impending clash between Spider-Man and Rhino was probably one of the only things that would have dragged viewers back to the big screen for the now scrapped Amazing Spider-Man 3. But even that version of the Rhino could still have been improved. While the mechanized Rhino suit has appeared in Spider-Man comics, the original version was an immensely powerful Aleksei Sytsevich who was enhanced by a series of chemical and radiation treatments. His Rhino armour was fused to his skin, and was designed to be as tough as the animal's true hide. This kind of brawn versus brain battle is a trademark of the Spider-Man world, and Rhino is the ultimate in brawny foes. The original version of the villain deserves a place on the big screen, and readers need only browse the pages of the Gauntlet storyline to see just how superior Aleksei is compared to the mechanized rip-off. 4) The Spider-Slayer Depending on your Spidey history, you may be thinking of a different picture when someone mentions The Spider-Slayer to you. For the most part, Spider-Slayers have been formed of a team of robots designed by Spencer Smythe to defeat and destroy Spider-Man, at the request of J. Jonah Jameson. As the years have rolled by, however, Smythe's son Alistair took over the monicker and eventually became an augmented Spider-Slayer himself. As the man responsible for so many attempts on the Wall-Crawler's life and with a near insatiable hatred for the hero, Smythe's Spider-Slayer represents a ruthless and cunning foe for Peter Parker. In - let's say- business terms, he also makes sense as a first villain for the rebooted series. Smythe is a recognizable, but not vital character to Spider-Man's world. Experimenting with a newer villain like this has its own escape route for the studio, but could still be a more than worthy gamble. 3) Mysterio Mysterio is a villain who has been suggested for near enough every Spider-Man movie since Sam Raimi's first trilogy entry, and so he's clearly a foe that fans would love to see realized on the big screen. Working along similar lines to our earlier Chameleon suggestions, Mysterio would be a test of Peter Parker's intelligence and spirit. A special effects wizard able to conjure illusions that are both outlandish and convincing, Quentin Beck has been a thorn in Spider-Man's side on many an occasion. He's also a villain who's a lot less villainous than many of the others. While The Amazing Spider-Man 2 tried their hand at making an oddly likeable villain, they failed miserably with their wet portrayal of Max Dillon. Beck could be the joker in the pack for this series, and could even see the series get its answer to The Avengers' Loki. 2) Kraven The Hunter Touted as a member of Marc Webb's ill-fated Sinister Six in the continuation of the Amazing Spider-Man series, Kraven The Hunter is a villain who's simply crying out for a big screen appearance. He offers so much, and has justifiably been included in some of the Web-Slinger's greatest comic book tales. Kraven brings something that few of the other foes on this list can, in that he is able to consistently take the upper hand against Spidey. So far in his movie appearances, we've only really seen Peter be truly overpowered once, against Otto Octavius in Spider-Man 2. There were moments we feared for him in the other movies, of course, but only Octavius had to essentially defeat himself after Pete's reasoned mind work its magic on him. Kraven would not be so easily dissuaded from his hunt, and would pursue Parker until he could craft his own resolution to the conflict. Fitting him into the larger MCU could also be covered as he could conceivably been 'watching' the heroes of The Avengers for some time, biding his time until the right prey enters his domain. 1) J. Jonah Jameson He's been arguably the biggest nuisance in Peter Parker's quest to do right by the citizens of New York, and ultimately J. Jonah Jameson was the biggest villain whose (full) presence was missing from Marc Webb's series. J. Jonah Jameson is a crucial foe in Spider-Man's formative years, and he simply has to make his way back to the character's on-screen life. JJJ has been the architect of so many great Spidey conflicts - just take Scorpion's origin, for example - and holds the key to capturing the downtrodden essence of Peter's early heroic career. While he may never truly become the villain of any one movie, he's the constant dark presence, the "slow knife" to quote Christopher Nolan's Talia Al Ghul. J. Jonah Jameson has it in for the Wall-Crawler as much as any of his more immediate foes do and is a key component to bring back to the fray as the new series kicks off in 2017. So, how'd we do? Are our suggestions for the franchise hitting the mark of a Netflix's Daredevil? Or perhaps we're falling sadly into Fantastic Four territory? Let us know your thoughts on which villain should kick the Spider-Man reboot off in the comments below!!