Not only does Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse give us a whole team of heroes from across the multiverse, it gives us an equally devastating group of villains. Spider-Man has one of the richest collections of villains that frequently cause havoc for him across New York, and several of his biggest opponents all appear in the movie. Since this is an adaptation of the ‘Ultimate’ universe, some of the appearances are a little different than you might expect. Just because we’ve seen some of these villains in live-action before doesn’t mean their characters can’t be expanded in new and interesting ways! So let’s take a look down the New York’s most wanted list.
Kingpin
Wilson Fisk A.K.A. the Kingpin is the driving force behind the entire story. Obviously, he’s controlling most of the crime elements in New York as he usually does, however he also has a horde of supervillains on his payroll. It says everything we need to know about this version of Kingpin if he can force villains like the Green Goblin to do his bidding. Wilson is a hulking figure here, and uses his brute force to dish out some punishment on the Spider-Heroes. But there’s more to him than just a crime-boss.
Kingpin is the one funding the research into the Multiverse and the construction of the super collider underneath New York. There’s a surprisingly emotional reason motivating Kingpin to crash all these different universes together. Obviously, the Spider-Team have a few things to say about opening up a black hole underneath a city of 8 million people. Which isn’t unreasonable, Wilson. Just calm down.
The Prowler
Unfortunately for Miles Morales, this is where his connection to the dimensional destruction really begins to hit home. The Prowler A.K.A. Aaron Davis is also Miles’ Uncle. The Christmas holidays just got a little more awkward in the Morales/Davis household. The Prowler is another supervillain working for the Kingpin in New York as a both enforcer and hitman. He’s able to climb walls and keep up with Miles’ spider-abilities thanks to rocket propelled boots and climbing gauntlets. No matter how much Miles wants to escape his Uncle, he’s going to have to face his fear and deal with the problem head on.
There’s been several different versions of The Prowler in the comics, but Into the Spider-Verse mainly sticks with his origin from the Ultimate universe, in which he’s Miles’ Uncle. He even tries to exploit the young hero into working with him once he figures out that he’s the new Spider-Man. Luckily, Miles figures out what he’s doing before making any serious mistakes. Could The Prowler try and pull the cinematic version of Miles into a life of crime? We’ll have to wait and see.
Green Goblin
This is like no other Green Goblin you’ve seen on the big screen before. There’s no glider or rubber masks here. The Ultimate version of the iconic villain has appeared in some of the animated series, but here on the big screen; he’s literally monstrous. We’ve yet to see Norman Osborn in his human state. So far we’ve only seen the big green scaly dragon version of the villain. And from the brief moments in the trailer where he’s fighting Spider-Man as Miles is hiding, it’s clear that the Green Goblin is incredibly destructive. In the comics, he even played a vital role in the death of the Ultimate Spider-Man alongside the Sinister Six – just to give you an idea of how deadly he can be.
Did we mention that the Goblin is complete with a pointy purple hat? Where does a huge green villainous dragon find a purple hat that fits him perfectly? Is there a special shop catering to monsters? This is getting off topic. Norman Osborn will always be a devastating villain for Spider-Man to fight, green scaly dragon or not.
Scorpion and Tombstone
Think you know the Scorpion? Think again. Into the Spider-Verse brings audiences its own unique version of the arachnid villain. There’s no goofy green costume to be seen here. In the comics fans will know that J. Jonah Jameson himself paid for Mac Gargan, a private investigator, to be experimented on. This meant he was encased in a suit with a prehensile tail that could shoot acid at Spider-Man. Lovely. The Ultimate Comics then gave him a gangster origin as a Mexican crime boss; Maximus Gargan. He’s a regular human, but he wields a chain with a spiked ball on the end. Nice guy.
Into The Spider-Verse combines the two distinct versions of the villain to create a new version of Scorpion. He’s a hispanic gangster working for Kingpin, while sporting tattoos all over his torso and head. The cinematic Gargan is robotic from the waist down, sporting brown armored legs that can split into four, alongside his iconic spiked tail of course.
What’s that? Another gangster working for Kingpin? He really does surround himself with some questionable figures. Tombstone, also known as Lonnie Lincoln, has enhanced strength and also feels absolutely no pain thanks to an experimental gas he was exposed to when he was younger. Spider-Man’s tackled him many times before both in the comics, animated television series and most recently in the Marvel’s Spider-Man game on Playstation.
Usually, he’s depicted as a crime boss or working within other criminal organizations. During Into the Spider-Verse Tombstone will be one of Fisk’s underlings as an enforcer and bodyguard, following Kingpin at all times. He’s voiced by Martin “Krondon” Jones III, who also stars in The CW’s Black Lightning as Tobias Whale!
Mystery
There are rumors of another villain making an appearance within the main plot of the film, hiding in plain sight. Without speculating or spoiling anything, it’s clear that with Into the Spider-Verse Sony is set on expanding their universe and adapting characters in new ways. Who knows what dimensions and alternate realities that villains could fall out of? So expect the unexpected!
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse swings into theaters on December 14.
