Spider-Man boasts one of the most iconic rogues galleries in comic book history, and the MCU is only now capitalizing on its potential after Sony’s deal with Marvel Studios made it feel impossible. Sony’s ill-fated Spider-Man franchise recently drew to a close with Kraven the Hunter nailing the coffin as the worst-performing movie in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Kraven was one of four Spider-Man-adjacent characters adapted by Sony into live-action movies, joining Madame Web, Morbius, and Venom.

Despite their close ᴀssociation with Spider-Man in Marvel Comics, the wall-crawler did not appear in any of Sony’s Spider-Man movies (save for the MCU’s Spider-Man cameo in the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage) either as an adversary or ally. The notable absence of Spider-Man was always a sticking point for Sony’s live-action offerings, with Venom propping up the cinematic universe with his billion-dollar trilogy thanks to boasting a similar level of popularity. With Sony’s franchise now out of the picture, the guard rails are off for the MCU and it has already been capitalizing.

The MCU’s Spider-Man Has Never Had The Villains He Deserves

Spider-Man’s Villains Aren’t As Rich As They Could Be

Tom Holland joined the MCU as its version of Spider-Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and has since gone on to star in one of the MCU’s highest-grossing franchises. This is largely due to the quality of the movies he stars in, often topping lists of the best MCU movies ever made, though the sheer star power of Peter Parker cannot be overlooked. The MCU’s Spider-Man has faced many villains at this point in his career, though they barely amount to more than a handful relative to the true scale that Marvel can potentially adapt.

While all are prime examples of Marvel Studios’ expertise with villains, they don’t reflect the full potential of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery. Spider-Man: No Way Home came closest to depicting the sheer number of villains that Spider-Man is often pitted against, though each came from alternate universes where they were already well-established characters, precluding them from being ᴀssociated with the MCU’s Spider-Man altogether. The distinct lack of Norman Osborn – arguably Spider-Man’s greatest nemesis – in the MCU remains a sore spot for many Marvel fans, for instance.

Meanwhile, the Elementals were shown to have been illusions crafted by Quentin Beck and aren’t typically ᴀssociated with Spider-Man in the first place. Quentin Beck is also more closely ᴀssociated with the MCU’s Iron Man, despite being a foremost villain of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery in the comics. While Adrian Toomes is arguably the best example of the kind of villain Spider-Man deserves, Shocker was practically sidelined and barely resembled his comic book counterpart.

Sony Cut Off Too Much Of Spider-Man’s Villain Potential

Sony’s Ownership Of Some Of Spider-Man’s Greatest Villains Prevented Marvel From Adapting Them

It’s hard to see how many villains have been stripped back in or excluded from the MCU and not see the ᴀssociation with Sony’s ownership of the rogues’ gallery. By spotlighting them in their own attempted franchises, iconic Spider-Man villains like Venom and Kraven the Hunter were never going to be allowed to enter the MCU outside of Venom’s largely uneventful cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home miles from the main event and his main rival. Even iconic Spider-Man villains like Doc Ock and Green Goblin were simply the same characters from Sony’s Spider-Man movies.

Norman Osborn is supposed to be a highly influential figure in Marvel Comics outside of Spider-Man’s adventures, yet he is conspicuously absent from the MCU. Introducing Sony’s versions of Spider-Man villains as variants, meanwhile, makes it less likely that Marvel can adapt these with its iconic flair in live-action, cutting off such characters as Otto Octavius (with whom Sony and Alfred Molina admittedly excelled) from the MCU’s Spider-Man mythos. Thankfully, this isn’t the case for Marvel Studios’ latest Spider-Man story taking place in an alternate universe.

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man Is Finally Giving Spider-Man The Right Villain Community

It Has Already Introduced A Large Host Of Villains

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is the latest animated Marvel offering on Disney+ which explores the story of Peter Parker in an alternate universe to Earth-616. While there are many parallels to be drawn between this version of Peter and Tom Holland’s rendition – such as the relationship between him and Norman Osborn mirroring that of the MCU’s Peter Parker and Tony Stark – the rogues’ gallery in this version of New York is comparatively far richer. Making Norman Osborn a key player is an instant win for the show, but it continues to introduce a litany of adversaries, including:

• The Lizard
• Wizard
• Symbiotes
• The Arsonist
• Speed Demon
• Tarantula
• Benjamin “Big” Donovan
• Unicorn
• Rhino
• Chameleon
• Doc Ock
• Bulldozer
• Scorpion
• Leapfrog

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man showcases a New York that is teeming with villains in a way befitting of Spider-Man stories. It has additionally taken some creative liberties with many, such as gender-swapping Lizard and debuting a version of Rhino embodied by the father of the original, Aleksei Sytsevich. So far, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been a big hit with critics, showing how well Marvel deals with the property. Hopefully, now that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has failed, this could lead to a richer rogues’ gallery in Earth-616.

Upcoming MCU Movies

• 
  
  

  
  

  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  
  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Powered by

  
  

  
  Expand
  Collapse
  

• 
  
  

  
  

  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  
  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Powered by

  
  

  
  Expand
  Collapse
  

• 
  
  

  
  

  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  Powered by

  
  

  
  
  Expand
  Collapse
  

• 
  
  

  
  

  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

  Release Date

  
  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Powered by

  
  

  
  Expand
  Collapse
  

• 
  
  

  
  

  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Powered by

  
  

  
  Expand
  Collapse