Of all the villains in Spider-Man's vast rogues' gallery, any of these eight could be the perfect fit for Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4 in the MCU.
After Michael Keaton's Vulture (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio (Spider-Man: Far From Home), 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home opened the villain floodgates. Five iconic big bads from past non-MCU Spidey movies busted in through the Multiverse, including Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin.
Currently, Spider-Man 4 is being developed as Tom Holland preps for his next adventure as the MCU's web-slinger. However, after No Way Home's Multiversal shenanigans, the door is now open for even more notable antagonists to take on the friendly neighborhood hero.
9 Options for Villains in Tom Holland's Spider-Man 4
Screwball
Described as the first "live-streaming supervillain," Screwball was introduced in Marvel Comics' Amazing Spider-Man #559 in 2008. She is known for committing crimes for Spider-Man to thwart and recording them so she can stream them on the internet, humiliating Spidey while building her online popularity.
She made her biggest appearance yet in the 2018 Spider-Man game from PlayStation, where she was utilized as a side villain for Yuri Lowenthal's hero. In the game, she lured Spider-Man into the open through small petty crimes before upping the ante with her goons.
Screwball would be a fairly easy villain to incorporate into Tom Holland's story, especially now that he is back to having his identity secret.
She could be someone buying into J. Jonah Jameson's rantings about the wall-crawler and wanting to humiliate Spidey for an eager public following the events of No Way Home. It could even be somebody Peter encounters while trying to push forward educationally as he continues keeping New York safe.
Tombstone
Lonnie Lincoln from Marvel Comics is better known as Tombstone, a massive albino man with filed teeth. He is usually depicted as a notorious crime boss deeply embedded in New York City, and he has near-impenetrable skin and superhuman reflexes.
Tombstone was utilized as both a friend and foe in PlayStation's recent Spider-Man games, although he was a force to be reckoned with for players fighting him in the first game.
The MCU could use Kingpin as a different option for a crime lord should the Spider-Man movies not want to use Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin for Spider-Man 4. It would also be a new kind of villain for Holland to face — one coming from Earth-616 whose body is enhanced by some outside influence.
While his potential motives in the MCU are hard to nail down, he would give Peter all he could handle from a physical perspective.
Mr. Negative
Martin Li is a powerful Marvel supervillain known as Mr. Negative. He gets his name from the colors of his skin, hair, and clothes being inverted when transforming into his alter ego. Along with superhuman strength and reflexes, Li's other powers include mind control and advanced energy manipulation.
Mr. Negative was one of the main villains of 2018's Spider-Man game, running New York's FEAST center while terrorizing the city and Spider-Man with his demons.
Considering FEAST was introduced in No Way Home, Li could easily be introduced in a similar fashion helping lead the organization after Aunt May's death. This would allow him access to Peter if he's still involved, and he would have no obstacles in terrorizing New York at the same time.
All Marvel would have to do is explore FEAST further, particularly if the movie is less Multiverse-focused the way many fans are hoping for.
Spider-Slayers/Alastair Smythe
Alistair Smythe is a legacy villain in Marvel Comics, taking after his father's (Spencer) dedication to eliminating Spider-Man. Eventually paralyzed from the waist down, he encases himself in a bionic shell allowing him to walk again, which also gives him superpowers as he adopts the name "Ultimate Spider-Slayer."
Outside of the video game based on 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Smythe has not been featured often in past Spider-Man media.
Smythe and the Spider-Slayers could give the MCU its own mega-corporate big bad similar to Oscorp Industries in Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi's original Spidey trilogy. It could even come around as new competition for Stark Industries with Iron Man out of the picture.
It would also tie in well with the tech-based past villains like Vulture and Mysterio, forcing Spidey to dig deep into his bag of tricks for a potential victory.
Agent Venom (Flash Thompson)
Flash Thompson starts as a star high school football player and Peter Parker's biggest bully before joining the United States Army as an adult. He loses both of his legs in battle and is eventually bound to the Venom symbiote, controlling the entity through drugs.
In the MCU thus far, Flash Thompson was made a key part of Peter's supporting cast through Tony Revelori's portrayal of the character. The last fans saw of him was in Spider-Man: No Way Home as he was building a social media presence and promoting a new book on his "friendship" with Spider-Man.
Although part of the Venom symbiote was left behind in No Way Home's post-credits scene, it seems to be potentially on its way back to its own world as seen in the first trailer for Venom: The Last Dance. However, if Marvel and Sony find a way to bring it back into play, this villain could become a real possibility.
Hobgoblin
Multiple people in Marvel Comics have taken on the mantle of the Hobgoblin, who was first introduced as a criminal mastermind equipped with Halloween-themed weapons similar to the Green Goblin. The first person to be unmasked as the Hobgoblin was Ned Leeds, a co-worker of Peter's at the Daily Bugle.
In the MCU, Jacob Batalon's Ned Leeds was seen in all three solo movies and the two most recent Avengers movies as Peter's best friend at Midtown Tech. By the end of No Way Home, Ned has no memory of knowing Peter after their countless adventures together.
Batalon has spoken sparingly on the Hobgoblin idea, which may be more of a possibility now that Ned and Peter are essentially strangers. What would drive Ned to villainy is still in question, although a reunion like that would bring every bit of drama a comic book movie fan could ask for.
Chameleon
Chameleon and Spider-Man have an extensive history dating back to the web-slinger's first-ever solo issue in Marvel Comics from 1963. Dmitri Smerdyakov is Spidey's first villain chronologically, known as a master of disguise who can impersonate virtually anybody he sees
Chameleon is already in line to appear in 2024's Kraven the Hunter, going back to his roots as Kraven's half-brother for Sony Pictures.
Considering he is already being used in Sony's Spider-Man Universe soon, his potential for an appearance in Spider-Man 4 may not be quite as likely. However, should he enter the equation, he would surely give Tom Holland's hero all he can handle.
Prowler
Originally introduced in 1969, Hobie Brown's Prowler started off as a petty thief before turning his life around once he had an encounter with Spider-Man. Most often, however, he serves as a terrifying villain.
The Ultimate take on Marvel Comics utilizes Aaron Davis, another career criminal who uses high-tech tools and top-level agility to terrorize the Big Apple. He is also known as the uncle of popular Spider-Man character Miles Morales, which has been explored in the animated Spider-Verse series.
Donald Glover took on the role of Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming, although he has never evolved into the Prowler in the MCU. The closest he came to that was a short cameo appearance in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, where he donned the live-action costume in the movie's animated setting.
As far as fans know, Davis is still lurking in the MCU, but he has not been seen since Homecoming and showed no signs of evolving into a full supervillain. Anything could change moving forward, however, and many would still love to see him embrace a battle with Tom Holland's leading character.
Knull
One major character that has not been used in live-action or animation for Marvel is Knull, who is best known as the being who created the symbiotes. His most notable ties are to characters like Venom and Carnage, and he also has a connection to Gorr the God Butcher by helping him kill other gods.
While Knull has not been seen on screen before, Thor: Love and Thunder introduced the necrosword for Christian Bale's Gorr, which Marvel could retcon to have Knull be its creator.
Having Knull involved would also help tie Sony's Spider-Man movies and the MCU together more concretely than ever, particularly since the gloop of Venom symbiote may not even be on Earth-616 anymore.
While this may be a long shot considering Sony is trying so passionately to build its own non-MCU story, this would only expand the entire universe further by having Holland face such a terrifying god-level enemy.
Spider-Man 4 is currently in the early stages of development at Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures, and it does not have an official release date.
Read more about Spider-Man 4 below:
Spider-Man 4: Release, Cast & Everything We Know
Sony Reveals the Plan for Next 3 Upcoming Spider-Man Movies
