All of The Spider-Man Villains You Definitely Missed In The MCU
Spider-Man has a massive following and was one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes, even before a live-action movie was made with Tobey Maguire back in 2002. Now, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has become one of the favorites in the MCU and beyond. The movies are great, and it turns out the writing is much smarter than you might have noticed. There are several villains besides the Big Bads that you most likely missed.
The Spider-Man’s main villains in the MCU thus far
So far, the MCU has already introduced some significant contenders for Spider-Man in just two movies. Vulture, aka Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), was a hardened villain for Peter as a newbie hero, but he was able to come out the winner in the end.
Following up with Spider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, was a well-known villain in the comics. So while his turn was a shocker to a lot of audience members, it wasn’t to others. He did give Spidey a significant run for his money, almost winning in the end. However, he did reveal Peter’s identity, so maybe he did have the last laugh.
Shocker
Thanks to Looper, there’s a list of comic book villains that were named or shown in the first two MCU Spider-Man movies. The first one is the Shocker.
You might think it’s the crony that Vulture vaporizes because he threatened to leave and tell the world what Toomes is doing since he calls himself “Shocker.” But actually, it’s Herman Schultz who takes the cuffs afterward. In the comics, Shultz was never a mastermind, but he did manage to create the gauntlets himself.
Prowler
Donald Glover has wanted to play Spider-Man/Miles Morales for a long time, and while he got to voice him in the TV series, Ultimate Spider-Man, the role in Sony’s classic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse went to Shameik Moore. But Glover did get a spot in a Marvel movie as Aaron Davis, known as the uncle to Miles.
In Homecoming, Aaron isn’t Prowler yet but is still on the wrong side of the law and trying to buy weapons from Toomes. He has a funny scene with Spider-Man after grocery shopping, where he mentions his nephew, but that’s about it. In Into The Spider-Verse, you can see Prowler in full force, but in both iterations, Aaron honestly does care for Miles; he just has a wicked side as well.
Scorpion/Venom
You probably noticed this one, since it’s a bit more prominent and has been touched on a lot more. When Toomes is seen in jail after he (as Vulture) gets caught, one of his buyers who also has a bone to pick with Spider-Man asks for his identity. Toomes doesn’t give him up; however, that man is Mac Gargan. Gargan becomes Scorpion in the comics and then also becomes the third host for Venom. Since it’s made a bit obvious in Homecoming, and he doesn’t have an extensive Marvel movie history, look out for Gargan coming back in a later film.
Jackal
This one was just a name tossed in the wind, but as Looper pointed out, Peter Parker said he had a science teacher named Ms. Warren at some point in Homecoming. In the comics, one villain — Jackal — has a Warren in his last name (Miles Warren). “Warren” can be an unsuspecting surname, so this might be a coincidence. However, is anything ever entirely a coincidence in the MCU? Something to sit on, for sure.
The Tinkerer
Lastly, there’s the Tinkerer who you can probably guess from the context of Homecoming. Michael Chernus played him, and he is the one always “tinkering” in Toomes’ warehouse headquarters. He’s a scientist by the name of Phineas Mason in the comics and the MCU, as stated by IMDb. If the MCU ever wants to bring Doombots into the mix, you might see Phineas Mason again, too.
Basically, Spider-Man has been introducing villains all around Peter, left and right. Whether they all come together to take Spidey down as the Sinister Six or some other evil organization, or they just are fun Easter eggs, it’s fun to spot them.
