So, I’m getting ready to watch the most anticipated superhero film of 2021, Spider-man: Far From Home.
While I have carefully avoided spoilers, I’ve seen the trailers and they provide several hints as to what we can expect. Like most good trailers, there’s also a bit of redirection.
Here’s what I think is going to happen:
1. We’re going to see all 3 Spider-men
I wasn’t convinced of this, at first, but that scene in the trailer with the Lizard getting his head snapped back from a hit from…
…somebody who was obviously digitally removed from the trailer.
Well, that was the moment, I realized we’re probably getting not only Tom Holland’s Spider-man, but Tobey Macguire and Andrew Garfield’s too.
2. We’re probably not going to see the Sinister Six
We’ve been promised a Sinister Six movie for as long as I can remember. The problem is that we kept killing off and miscasting villains, particularly in the Sonyverse.
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-man killed off two of the most iconic villains in the first two films: the Green Goblin…
and Doc Ock.
They managed to kill off another Goblin and Venom in the next. By the end of the original trilogy, only Sandman’s fate was uncertain. The rest we’re dead, and a lot of people thought that Sandman’s exit was so ambiguous that it appeared that he too may have “given up the ghost.”
Since we’re talking about the Sinister Six here, we should bring up the numbering problem of the Raimiverse. The first film had one villain. The second technically had two: Doc Ock (of course) and Harry Osborne who would become the New Goblin in Spider-man 3. In Spider-man 3, the Spider-man played by Tobey Maguire of Earth-96283 found himself squaring off against three villains for no other reason than the name of the film was Spider-man 3.
Sandman was great…
…and Harry Osborne’s New Goblin…
…promised at the end of the previous film, did not disappoint. Venom was the problem. Not even Sam Raimi wanted Venom in this movie. Venom was slapped into the overstuffed film and miscast with Topher Grace as Eddie Brock/Venom, who is supposed to have a decidedly bigger build than Spidey. Even Topher Grace has no idea why he was chosen to ay the part! As a result, we got a snivelling weasel Eddie Brock and a smaller Venom who was just weasel Brock having his petty revenge for jazz dancing, symbiote-influenced Peter Parker’s earlier petty revenge.
Even after the travesty of the That-70s-Show-Reunion-Venom, a Spider-man 4 was in the works. The problem was that Sony was pushing for John Malcovich’s Vulture to replace JK Simmons’ J Jonah Jameson as the head of the Daily Bugle, and the character of Felicia Hardy was to be changed into “Vulturess” instead of the Black Cat. Rounding out the intended roster of villains were the Lizard and Mysterio …just so Spider-man 4 would have four villains. A fifth film would’ve presumably featured five villains. The last of six planned films wouldve featured the Sinister Six. It was an odd, forced and completely arbitrary way to go about things. That is NOT how you build up to the Sinister Six, folks.
Sony then rebooted the franchise into The Amazing Spider-man with Andrew Garfield as the titular protagonist of Earth-120703. The first film finally gave us the Lizard as our main villain.
The second gave us Electro…
yet another Green Goblin…
the Rhino…
Paul Giamatti’s Rhino was unexpectedly awesome
…and hinted at Doc Ock and Vulture.
Early trailers even showed a Venom symbiote that was later deleted.
Since Felicia Hardy was present also, we also had the future Black Cat. Electro presumably dies but the film also included BJ Novak as Alistair Smythe, who in the comic books becomes the villain called the Ultimate Spider Slayer. I just counted out a Sinister Six and didn’t even mention the rumor of Scorpion. The Amazing Spider-man 3 and a Sinister Six film were both planned before the second movie came out …and were scrapped due to dismal earnings.
The MCU’s Spider-man started tossing in villains by the handful. Tom Holland’s Spidey not only faced the Vulture in Spider-man: Homecoming…
…but also Shocker. Mac Gargan, the future Scorpion, was also introduced. All three villains managed to survive the film’s adventure.
Shocker and the future Scorpion
Spider-man: Far From Home concentrated on Mysterio, whom we are led to believe died at the end of the film with a revenge video outing Peter Parker as Spider-man.
Now the trailers have informed us that villains who died fighting Spider-man are featured in Spider-man: No Way Home. We have confirmed on the roster the Green Goblin of Spider-man…
Doc Ock of Spider-man 2…
Sandman of Spider-man 3, the Lizard of Amazing Spider-man and Electro of Amazing Spider-man 2.
There are lots of villains who could fill out that roster to make the Sinister Six.
- Mysterio. He died. It’s vaguely possible he could return under the stated rules for this film.
- Vulture. He is alive but no one says all of the villains have to be resurrected foes.
- Venom. An end credits scene from Venom 2 sets up this possibility.
Personally, I think we’re only getting 5 villains.
3. Someone is going to die
The trailers suggest MJ. My money’s on Aunt May.
Look for a spoiler-laden review in 2022 to see if I was right.
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