Showing posts with label Kraven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kraven. Show all posts

April 21, 2014

MAJOR SPOILERS: What Could We Expect To See In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 3?


It's a bit early for a write-up like this, but since a majority of the international markets are getting the film early. I decided to get his out of the way. I'm sure I missed a bunch of tidbits that were teased in Amazing Spider-Man 2. However, I have a few theories and ideas of where the third installment could be going. I'm not reviewing the film, but there are major plot SPOILERS contained in the explanations. You've been been warned!


SINISTER SIX: While it was assumed that Electro was going to be one of the six members, Max doesn't make it out alive. His return isn't very likely, and I assume that Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard will be reluctant to join the villainous team. At the end of the first film we see Curt pleading the shadowy figure to leave Peter allow, I doubt they'll be able to convince him to kill Spider-Man.

It looks like Harry Osborn and his shadowy friend are using "willing" hired guns to operate the Oscorp tech. Breaking Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich out of prison to operate the Rhino mech-suit, at the end of the movie. Considering a majority of the tech is robotics, I'm starting to believe that this shadowy man might be in fact Dr. Spencer Smythe. A notorious robotics engineer who has a grudge against Spider-Man, creating the Spider Slayers. His son Alistair has already been revealed as working for Oscorp and is played by B.J. Novac. Currently, the Sinister Six lineup includes Goblin, Doc Ock, Vulture and The Rhino. I won't rule out The Lizard entirely, but it's possible from the poor reception of the character, they might not bring him back.



FELICIA HARDY/BLACK CAT: It's revealed that indeed Felicity Jones is playing Felicia Hardy, and works for Oscorp as an assistant to Norman Osborn. It's unknown where her loyalties lay, but starting her off as a villain wouldn't be hard to see. Hardy's father was a famous cat bugler, who worked for Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk. Felicia would eventually take a position at Fisk Enterprises, something that was mirrored with her employment at Oscorp. Considering that Mary Jane Watson might not even be featured in Amazing Spider-Man 3, originally played by Shailene Woodley (completed cut-out of the films and eventually recast). It's possible we could see Parker and Hardy become an item, before Mary Jane enters the picture. This wouldn't be going against the comics, since Black Cat and Spider-Man did briefly date.

Black Cat is the type of Spidey character the franchise needs. Considering we've never had a female villain in the franchise. And we know that Sam Raimi had originally intended to use the Black Cat (played by Anne Hathaway) in his never-filmed Spider-Man 4. Female characters are rare in this franchise, let alone ones that play both villain and hero. If Sony is looking for spin-offs a Black Cat film could be spot-on. Producers have been talking non-traditional lineups for the Sinister Six, adding a female character like Hardy into the mix would mess with the boys-only supervillain group.


DR. ALISTAIR SMYTHE/SPIDER SLAYER: B.J. Novac is revealed to be Dr. Alistair Smythe in the film, and is the son of notorious villain Spencer Smythe (possible identity of the shadowy figure), who invents the Spider Slayers. These are group of robots who are programmed to hunt, capture and or kill Spider-Man. Alistair himself is turned into one of these Slayers, as he's eventually becomes a cyborg. I'm not sure that's a route they'll want to go, but that door is a possibility. I still think that Spencer is the one who built, the Vulture wings and Ock's arms. Basically, becoming an evil version of Lucius Fox, providing all the robotics and bio-tech weapons he needs. Smythe could fall into the realm of an untraditional member of the Sinister Six, if they go that way. It's very possible he could end-up becoming the new Doctor Octopus.


MACDONALD GARGAN/SCORPION/VENOM: The Venom symbiote has been revealed to be an Oscorp experiment, and could easily join the ranks of The Sinister Six. It's possible we could see a new origin of Venom, but since he's getting his own spin-off movie, that could be saved for another film. The producers haven't actually revealed which host Venom will be using, my assumption is that they could end up using either MacDonald Gargan or Flash Thompson. The Gargan version of Venom worked for Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers, which could be another untraditional Sinister Six member. Plus, Mac has a long history fighting against Spider-Man as the villain Scorpion.

Having Mac start out in the Scorpion suit then having his ass handed to him by Spidey. Could fuel his anger to go a little more extreme than the other members, by bonding with the Venom symboite. At the end of the film seeing the government using it for their own means, with Flash Thompson as the host could be the way to go. Flash taking the more heroic role of Venom, recently in the comics. It's less likely we'll see the return of Eddie Brock, since that version has already been done by Raimi. Marc Webb and Sony have been seemingly trying to reinvent the villains, so not using Brock as Venom might be a good creative move. Since characters like Gargan and Thompson (a disabled veteran turned superhero) have stronger stories and arcs than Eddie.


SERGEI KRAVINOFF/KRAVEN THE HUNTER: We're starting to see that some characters from the video game tie-ins are making their way into the sequels. Felicia Hardy and Alistair Smythe were featured characters in The Amazing Spider-Man Game, and would eventually have small roles in Amazing Spider-Man 2. It's plausible to think that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Game, could have a similar trend. In the new game we see notorious Spidey villain Kraven The Hunter, playing mentor rather than antagonist. Parker is going to need his own team-mates, if he's going up against The Sinister Six. Kraven might have been originally a member of the Six, but we've heard from producers the lineup won't be entirely traditional.

In the Ultimate comics (which the new movies are sort of based on), Sergei is an Australian (rather than Russian) reality TV host. Who wants to hunt and kill Spider-Man live on television to boost his ratings. His family has many links to Spider-Man as well his half-brother just happens to be spy for hire  and master of disguise, Dmitri Smerdyakov better known as The Chameleon. His offspring (which includes two sons and a daughter) also took up his mantle. If we do see Kraven, the writers could make him friend or foe. Sergei is one of the most popular Spidey characters, and it's shocking they haven't used him in the movies.



WILSON FISK/KINGPIN: Like Kraven, Wilson Fisk of Fisk Enterprises is featured heavily in the new video game. In the game Fisk and Oscorp start to work together, in some sort of merger. Marvel's Kevin Feige has revealed that they share the Kingpin rights, as the villain is equally known as a Spider-Man baddie as he is a Daredevil villain. We've seen Oscorp take-up a majority of threat for the city, but it would be interesting to see Osborn working alongside Fisk. Organized crime has always been apart of the Spider-Man comics, and not including that might change in the future. Fisk could have employed people like Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich (The Rhino), Herman Schultz (Shocker), Lonnie Thompson Lincoln (Tombstone) and crime lord rival Hammerhead.

Fisk is also the reason Felicia Hardy gets her Black Cat powers, and the two might be tied-together (at one point Felicia works for Wilson), if Sony wants to eventually turn Hardy into Black Cat. Although, they've been messing around with origins lately, so changing Black Cat's origins as well wouldn't be surprising.


DR. MICHAEL MORBIUS: I'm not entirely sure if the Easter Egg with Morbius in the film was nothing more than just that, a tease. I haven't actually seen anything that suggests that, Sony has the rights to use Morbius in their films (as a vampire, he could be directly connected with Blade movie rights, which included all Marvel vampire characters) and have the intention to do so if they did. Showing up at the end of the original Blade film (in an alternate ending), could mean the character is either at Marvel Studios or shared with Sony (Kevin Feige hasn't confirmed this). He is a cool and complex character, that has spin-off potential and would make a cool team-up parter for Parker. I'm sure Marvel Studios would want to use Morbius, if they ever put together Midnight Sons or Legion of Monsters movies.

It's also established that since the Connors innocent, they've scrapped the animal divisions at Oscorp, so it's unknown if Michael is even still doing research at the company. This suggests we'll see less animal-spliced (Eels/Electro and Lizard/Connors) characters in future films. That could exclude Morbius and his bat experiments, that led him to turn himself into living vampiric creature.

February 28, 2013

SPOILER SPECULATION: Could The Rhino Be A Replacement For The Kingpin In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 As A Russian Mob Boss?


A great deal of villains will be showing up in Amazing Spider-Man 2. Rhino (Paul Giamatti) and Electro (Jamie Foxx) have been confirmed while a recent addition of Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper) could mean the Green Goblin might appear as well. While it's tempting to think that all these villains will be connected by the Sinister Six and Oscorp, it might not be the case.


We know that Oscorp will factor in with Osborn and also possibly Electro but an actual criminal could be the main villain of the film. The Rhino is best known as a buffoonish Soviet thug who robs banks but that will likely be slightly altered for the film. A recent image posted by director Marc Webb on Twitter gives us a clue to where they might be going with the Rhino. As the image shows a page full of Russian ring tattoos (for fingers) which could mean Rhino is a former convict (Whiplash in Iron Man 2) or apart of the Russian mafia. I'm going with the latter. 

A possible replacement for The Kingpin? One of Spider-Man's biggest and well-known villains has been the Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) but since his rights (along with Daredevil) reverted back to Marvel he likely won't be apart of the Spidey franchise. Webb could include a new gangland boss of New York City in the place of Kingpin which seemingly could be The Rhino. Spidey's crime fighting has never actually had organized crime react to him in the films, besides a few run of the mill crooks.  It would be nice to see a villain that wasn't just a science experiment gone wrong for once. A bunch of side villains including Hammerhead and Tombstone that were straight up criminals could also be connected to the Rhino. The criminal aspect might also help backup rumblings that Felicity Jones might be playing cat bugler Black Cat. At least in the cartoon series Alistaire Smythe (who creates the Spider Slayer robots) works for The Kingpin, helping him take down Spider-Man. Smythe was included in the recent video game tie-in for the last film. 

June 11, 2012

SPECULATION: 'AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2' Villain The Jackal? Plus Other Possible Villains


Sony had rebooted the Spider-Man with the Amazing Spider-Man heading to theaters next month. The studio has already tapped James Vanderbilt to start work on Amazing Spider-Man 2 and it's been given a release date of May 2nd 2014. It's possible the sequel's villain will be teased or introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man. I understand Spidey fans are anticipating the return of Norman Osborn and The Green Goblin but there are plenty of other villains to consider. Also, everyone knows that Gobby kills Gwen Stacy and the studio isn't likely willing to go that route so early. We should expect the studio to bring in unused villains for the next couple of films. I have my own theory that The Jackal is a very strong candidate.


JACKAL AND KAINE: In this new film there have been hints that Peter may or may not be a genetic experiment developed by his parents. Genetics has always been apart of the Spidey mythos but it could mean that the clone saga could rear it's head. The Jackal is the brains behind the secret program to clone Spider-Man which leads to the powerful villain Kaine. Oscorp has been thought to house a majority of these villains in the making for the new franchise. So it's possible a slew of unused villains could stream out of the company such as Smythe and The Jackal.


As the sequel is already heading into production we should assume the villain will be introduced in the first film. In the more recent trailer for Amazing Spider-Man there is shadowy figure that questions Connors in prison about Peter discovering the truth about his father. Many are assuming this is Norman Osborn because Oscorp is front and center in the film. However, this man seems a little too dishevelled to be the usually impressively dressed Norman. My theory is that he could be Dr. Miles Warren who becomes the Jackal leading to the ominous powerhouse Kaine. I also wouldn't count out this being Smythe as he's featured in the video game tie-in. Having Warren/Jackal as a straight up evil scientist and not "changed/conflicted" by an accident like all the previous villains would be something fresh. Not to mention he's a character I could believe killed Parker's parents. Perhaps, blackmailing them to work for him and his illegal cloning experiments or risk the safety of Peter.

One reason why this might not be Jackal is the death of Gwen Stacy. Green Goblin kills Gwen in the comics and if the Jackal is plausible that could mean that Parker could his cloning technology to bring Gwen back. If that's the case then Jackal wouldn't get involved until after the return of Green Goblin. That being said killing off Gwen (and keeping her dead) could ground this reboot similar to the death of Uncle Ben and Harry. Kaine could also come into play as a misunderstood villain and would eventually become one of Spidey's allies.

OTHER POSSIBLE VILLAINS


DR. MICHAEL MORBIUS: Raimi had talked to Empire magazine about bringing the living-vampire into his Spidey franchise during the early days of Spider-Man 4. He also went into more detail about his love of vampires when asked about Morbius by Fear during press for Drag Me To Hell. The only issue would be the Morbius rights might be attached to Blade which is now back with Marvel Studios. The character had originally been wanted for the Blade sequel and even had showed up at the end of the first film in a deleted scene.

“I like it in the Marvel comics when Spider-Man fights Morbius,” said Raimi. “He’s really cool. A vampire! I like that combination of superhero plus supernatural.”

"I Guess They're... umm, very appealing like the best of villains. They have some positive qualities, That is they can be very sexy and alluring, and umm they way in which they attack you is a very sensual it's almost something you desire. You know the bat, we're all scared of bats. Ew! so thats kind of cool. Some vampire stories go there some of them don't obviously. But umm, that why I like the fact that there's a cure against them in some of the lore like the garlic, or the cross. Thats really interesting, that there's a way to stop them. There's a whole story that can be made with all those elements so its got some real rules and laws. And then you could be turned into one of them, is interesting also. There's a lot of enticing qualities for a story teller and audience."

The main reason the Lizard ended up becoming the villain Amazing Spider-Man was the outcry from fans. Raimi had teased Dr. Connors for his last two films but ended up pursuing other villains for Spider-Man 4. The reboot went into development and the Lizard championed by the online community and Spider-Man fans alike. Depending on if Sony owns the rights to Morbius it would be a different type of villain than we've seen before as he's more of a horror creature than science experiment. While interesting his development into the living-vampire could have similar origins to The Lizard.


KRAVEN THE HUNTER: Besides the Lizard the most wanted classic villain fans have wanted to see is Kraven. Considering they've been using the Ultimate version of Spider-Man in the new film it's possible to a more plausible version as Kraven is a TV celebrity. The main trend of the villain selections (minus Venom) has been using classic villains Green Goblin, Doc Octopus and Sandman. If they wanted to bring the Sinister Six into the fray they'd have to bring Kraven into the franchise. Electro, Vulture, Shocker and Rhino (Paul Gimanti had lobbied for the role) could also be some classic villains to be considered.


DR. ALISTAIRE SMYTHE: An interesting aspect with Smythe is that he's established in the Amazing Spider-Man video game as an Oscorp employee. Apparently the game is tied with the new film so it could mean Smythe will be involved. Smythe is best known for development of many different generations of Spider Slayers. It doesn't seem like the best option but still it would be interesting to see a non-transformed threat and see more of a raobotic villain.