Marvel is finally bringing back Michael Mando’s Scorpion in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but his return sounds suspiciously similar to that of another MCU villain in Captain America: Civil War. Michael Mando’s Mac Gargan had a brief encounter with Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Gargan swore revenge after being injured by the wall-crawler, but he has remained absent since then.
Nine years after Spider-Man: Homecoming, Michael Mando’s Mac Gargan will return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Mando joins Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, and Sadie Sink in the MCU’s fourth Spider-Man installment, which has yet to reveal its main villain. With so many big names in the film, however, Scorpion’s return might be overshadowed.
Brand New Day Risks Repeating Civil War’s Crossbones Mistake With Scorpion
Captain America: The Winter Soldier introduced Frank Grillo’s Brock Rumlow, who developed a grudge against Captain America after his brutal injuries at the end of his debut movie. As Crossbones, Rumlow could have been a huge threat to Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes. Unfortunately, Crossbones was quickly killed off at the beginning of Captain America: Civil War.
Spider-Man: Homecoming followed a similar pattern with the start of Mac Gargan’s feud with Spider-Man. Now, in the increasingly crowded Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Gargan’s return as Scorpion seems to follow in the footsteps of Crossbones’ abrupt sendoff in Captain America: Civil War‘s opening scene. Even if he isn’t killed off, Scorpion might simply become a secondary villain.
Scorpion is one of Spider-Man’s most famous and dangerous villains. Mac Gargan made his live-action introduction in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but he has yet to debut his costume and powers. Given that several Spider-Man enemies exist in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, featuring Scorpion as a side character would be a huge waste.
No Way Home Proved The MCU Can Handle Multiple Spider-Man Antagonists
Despite featuring Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, and the Lizard all in the same film, Spider-Man: No Way Home balanced every antagonist and gave each of them their fair share of screentime. Instead of feeling overcrowded, Spider-Man: No Way Home elevated its five main antagonists. Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Electro’s portrayals, in particular, benefited from their MCU team-up.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day can do the same for its ensemble cast. Despite sharing the screen with MCU icons like Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, Michael Mando’s Scorpion could still leave a lasting mark on Spider-Man’s MCU story. While he may not get the same screentime as Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, careful writing could ensure Scorpion has a memorable role.
