The MCU multiverse is about to explode with Spider-Man: No Way Home and one possibility is the arrival of the Sinister Six.
With great power comes great responsibility. And with the power of the multiverse, Marvel has taken up a lot of responsibilities. Multiverse will bring in a lot of superheroes and supervillains in the MCU. And since the news broke about Spider-Man: No Way Home to be Marvel’s first step towards exploring the multiverse, fans could not help but think about a future with the Sinister Six. And finally, the studio seems to have hinted that the Sinister Six are coming with or without Spiderman.
The Spider-Man Villains
Let us begin from the beginning. We had Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Thomas Church as Sandman, and Topher Grace as Venom in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man franchise. This followed with Rhys Ifans as Lizard, Jamie Foxx as Electro, and Paul Giamatti as Rhino in Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man franchise. Ultimately we had Michael Keaton as Falcon and Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio in the MCU Spider-Man franchise. Other than this, we have Morbius who will debut in his solo movie in 2022.
Spider-Man in the Multiverse
With the entry of Spider-Man into the multiverse, Marvel decided to up the ante of its superhero movies, even of those that came out before as well as outside of the MCU. As a result of that, we now have confirmation that Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx will be reprising their roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The movie in itself seems to be setting the stage for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This is proven by the fact that we will see Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Rumors of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire as Spider-Mans from other timelines are still making rounds. And all this just adds to the excitement. Moreover, Sam Raimi will direct Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness! Talk about a multiverse and switching timelines!
New Villains to the List
According to the latest rumors, Willem Dafoe too will be making a comeback as well and might just be the main villain of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Also, Jeff Sneider, host of The Sneider Cut podcast on Collider, said that he heard that both Rhino and the Lizard (from the Amazing Spider-Man franchise) will reportedly be joining the list of villains in the movie. These make it a total of five villains. As for the sixth position, the number of contenders is a handful.
Marvel’s Sinister Six
The Sinister Six (all enemies of Spider-Man) in the Marvel comics has been through a lot of changes in its members. The notorious group of supervillains had its original incarnation organized by Doctor Octopus. Its members included Doc Ock, Electro, Vulture, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, and Sandman. Among the multiple variations of the Sinister Six throughout Marvel history, there is a version of Sinister Six in the Spider-verse storyline (2014) which is headed not by Doc Ock but Norman Osborn AKA Green Goblin. This group consists of Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Electro, Kraven the hunter, Vulture, and Mysterio. The group also had Morbius and Scorpion in other variations too.
Will we see Vulture or Mysterio or Sandman in Spider-Man: No Way Home then? We don’t know yet. However, we must remember that Mac Gargan (played by actor Michael Mando) AKA the Scorpion had his cameo in the post-credit scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming. And that the Morbius trailer (release date- Jan 19, 2022) had a cameo by Adrian Toomes AKA the Falcon (Michael Keaton). This means that Sony and Marvel are already bringing together characters that once belonged exclusively to either of the production giants.
So it seems that the MCU has several supervillains of the Sinister Six available, although not from one variation, but many. But it’s all the same. The Sinister Six are ready to be introduced sooner or later. So, can we expect a cameo from Morbius or Scorpion in Spider-Man: No Way Home as well? We don’t know that either. But again, these are all possibilities.
The Tease by Sony
Sony may have shared Tom Holland’s Spider-Man with Marvel but this hasn’t stopped it from creating its own Spider-man universe. We already have Venom (Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock). We also have its second installment i.e. Venom: Let There Be Carnage on its way of release. Morbius is more of a Sony venture in association with Marvel. There is also the rumored Spider-Man movie that will reportedly have Olivia Wilde in the titular role. And we also have confirmation of Aaron Taylor Johnson as Kraven the Hunter in his solo film which will release on January 13, 2023. So considering the Sinister Six as a Sony venture, we already have Venom, Mobius, Kraven the Hunter, and the Scorpion (from the Spider-Man: Homecoming cameo).
The question that stands now is that will we see the Sinister Six in MCU Spider-Man: No Way Home or will we have to wait for some more time until Sony gathers the villainous team for its on-screen debut?
