Spider-Man Homecoming 2 will set-up The Sinister Six - and that’s a good thing

With Jake Gyllenhaal being courted to play Mysterio in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, and with Michael Keaton’s Vulture confirmed to return, it sounds to us like Sony are getting ready to set up the Sinister Six in the superhero sequel to their hugely popular Homecoming.

But who are the Sinister Six? We’re glad you asked, here’s your guide to the villainous gang Sony’s been trying to get onto the big screen since 2014.

Sinister Six: The Past

The Sinister Six first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 in the early ‘60s and they’re probably best described as an evil Avengers.

Essentially a gang of powered thugs, the Six were first brought together by Doctor Octopus, who decided to contact all of Spider-Man’s villains in the hope of teaming up to take him down.

Of Spider-Man’s huge array of enemies, only Vulture, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, the original Mysterio, and Sandman responded to Octopus’ request, and they refused to give up the chance to kill Spider-Man themselves, so they ended up taking him on one at a time, which sort-of defeated the purpose of the gang. Poor old Doc Ock.

Sinister Six: The Present

Now, it might sound like that’s waaaay too many villains to introduce in one movie, but that’s where it gets interesting. You’ll remember that Spider-Man: Homecoming was praised for its refreshing approach to the reboot formula, ignoring Peter Parker’s origin story on the assumption we already knew it.

If Homecoming 2 takes the same approach, they won’t need to tell us about Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman or Vulture, as we’ve already seen them in other movies. That leaves just two members of the Six to introduce, and Homecoming handled more villains than that effortlessly (we met Vulture, Tinkerer and two Shockers in that film).

Of these two, one, Mysterio, is heavily rumoured and the other, Kraven The Hunter, was withheld from Ryan Coogler, who wanted him for Black Panther. Sounds like Sony already had plans for the character.

Sinister Six: The Future

If Venom is successful, a Sinister Six movie could lead to a whole bunch of villain-focused solo movies, which will set Sony’s Marvel universe up as a genuine alternative to the main MCU. It’s something they’ve wanted to do for a while, with Amazing Spider-Man 2 containing significant teases that were supposed to lead to a Sinister Six spin-off.

Speaking of Venom, he’s joined the Six in the past (replacing Doctor Octopus) – though it didn’t end well, with the erratic villain turning on his colleagues after they were defeated by Spidey.

If Hardy’s solo movie is a huge success, you can bet that the Sony moneymen will be trying to find a loophole in the Marvel contract that keeps Venom out of the MCU – and a Sinister Six membership could be that loophole.

But whatever happens, with Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 set to feature at least two of the Sinister Six’s founding members, the film will definitely start to set up the villainous gang – let’s hope we see all of them together on screen sooner rather than later.

Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 will swing into cinemas on July 5, 2019.

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