If Sony doesn’t want to keep getting criticized for fundamentally failing to understand how building a sustained superhero universe works, then maybe the studio should stop making the same mistakes over and over. Yesterday was a dark day indeed for Marvel following the Multiverse Saga delays, but the resurrection of El Muerto may be the scariest development of all.
As recently as April there were serious questions being asked over whether or not Bad Bunny’s stint at costumed crimefighting was even going to happen at all, only for the project nobody asked for, needs, or wanted to emerge phoenix-like from the ashes to reportedly set a start date for shooting in the first week of August.
With the exception of Morbius, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has done a resolutely stellar job of generating nothing but apathy, and the plot synopsis attached to El Muerto on the aforementioned listing isn’t going to do a damn thing to dispel any doubts about the company’s propensity for butchering the overwhelming majority of its spin-offs.
“A wrestler gains superpowers through a mystical mask who originally fought Spider-Man in a charity wrestling match in which he nearly unmasked the web-slinger before being stung by Spider-Man with a paralyzing poison.”
In Sony’s world, Spider-Man (which may or may not be Tom Holland, because who knows at this point) is capable of producing poison, which he uses to paralyze a professional wrestler who then mutates into a superhero as a result, with his interactions opposite Peter Parker serving as the catalyst for the title hero to use his already-magical mask for good. Sure, why not.