Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 would have forced Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man to keep breaking his golden rule thanks to a cruel Marvel villain. Only the MCU’s Spider-Man will reach his fourth solo installment with Sony and Marvel Studios’ upcoming Spider-Man 4. Plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 were canceled after The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s box office disappointment, as were Sony’s plans for their Sinister Six spinoff. Just a few years before, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 was delayed indefinitely, until Raimi and Sony decided not to move forward with the project.

According to various sources throughout the years, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 went through various drafts before its cancelation. Some drafts had Dylan Baker’s Curt Connors transform into the Lizard, and others introduced John Malkovich’s Adrian Toomes a.k.a. Vulture. Some versions of Spider-Man 4 also featured Anne Hathaway’s Black Cat and others Angelina Jolie’s Vulturess. In the end, the Spider-Man movie franchise was rebooted twice, and Vulture made his first film appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming, played by Michael Keaton.

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 Was Set To Kill Off The Vulture

John Malkovich’s Vulture Could Have Died A Brutal Death

A storyboard for Spider-Man 4‘s final battle reveals that Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker would have had a brutal battle with John Malkovich’s Vulture atop a skyscraper. Vulture would have beaten Spider-Man to a pulp, but Spider-Man would have stabbed Vulture with a blade from one of the villain’s own wings, causing him to fall. The storyboard doesn’t exactly confirm whether Vulture died afterward, but it suggests he would have been badly wounded.

Some details suggest that Spider-Man 4‘s Vulture would have been a particularly ruthless version of the villain. Scrapped plans for Spider-Man 4 describe John Malkovich’s Vulture as a criminal who got his nickname because he left “nothing but bones” everywhere he went. Hence, Spider-Man 4‘s fight scenes could have been even more violent than Spider-Man’s final battle with Green Goblin in Spider-Man, with Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2, and the scrapped Spider-Man 3 final battle where Venom spit out Eddie Brock’s skeleton before dying.

The Vulture’s Death Would Have Fit Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Villain Rule

All The Main Villains In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Movies Die By Their Own Hands

Spider-Man 4‘s Vulture could have died after Spider-Man stabbed with his own wing, adding him to the list of Spider-Man villains who died due to their own actions. Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin stabbed himself with his own glider at the end of Spider-Man, Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus drowned himself while deactivating his fusion reactor in Spider-Man 2, and Topher Grace’s Eddie Brock jumped into an exploding pumpkin bomb while trying to save the Venom symbiote in Spider-Man 3. James Franco’s Harry Osborn died similarly to his dad when Venom stabbed him with his own glider in Spider-Man 3‘s final battle.

The only antagonist in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy not to die by their own hand is Thomas Hayden-Church’s Sandman, who apologized for his participation in Uncle Ben’s murder and flew away at the end of Spider-Man 3. Sandman was cured, and both Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus were saved from their death in Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s ending, although it wasn’t made explicitly clear whether these variants are the exact same as the ones featured in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy or if they are slightly different variations of the same characters.

How Spider-Man 4’s Vulture Would Have Differed From Michael Keaton’s MCU Villain

Sam Raimi And The MCU’s Vultures Are Very Different From Each Other

Michael Keaton’s Vulture created his helmet and wings from the scraps he stole from the Avengers’ battlegrounds. Vulture also hoards a large variety of weapons and tools, some of which he sends to the Tinkerer for repurposing. While Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes is ruthless, he isn’t nearly as violent as the version of the villain teased by Spider-Man 4‘s scrapped plans. Instead, the MCU’s take on Vulture is based on the character’s scavenger nature, which makes him a villain more akin to the Collector and Thanos rather than Green Goblin or Mysterio.

Vulture’s description in Spider-Man 4‘s canceled plans makes him seem like one of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest Marvel movie villains ever. Leaving “nothing but bones” after killing his victims puts John Malkovich’s Vulture on the level of antagonists as cruel as Jessica Jones‘ Kilgrave, who mind-controls his victims into doing horrific things; or Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3‘s High Evolutionary, who experiments on animals. Both the MCU’s Vulture and Spider-Man 4‘s Vulture adapt comic-accurate aspects of the same character, and both fit their respective movie franchises. However, only one of them pushes the boundaries in their battle against Spider-Man.

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