Aside from Batman, Spider-Man arguably has the best rogues gallery in all of superhero history. For over 50 years, the Web-Slinger has battled a variety of super villains, from freakish mad scientist creations to alien life forms. Some of those rogues have been adapted for the big screen, but for the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, it hasn’t been revealed of the villain will be someone already seen on the big screen or someone who hasn’t gotten that honor yet. The latest news points in the latter’s direction, as The Vulture is apparently flying our way.
Spider-Man’s winged foe is rumored to be in the MCU Spider-Man movie, although Birth.Movies.Death hears that it may be in a "non-main villain" role. So if Vulture does appear and clash with Spidey, it won’t necessarily be as the movie’s main mastermind. The report also noted that the previously-mentioned Spider-Man: Homecoming is the title Sony is working with currently, but until an official logo is released, take that with a grain of salt.
Vulture, a.k.a. Adrian Toomes, was introduced in 1963’s The Amazing Spider-Man #2 as the second super villain Spider-Man ever battled, following behind The Chameleon in the previous issue. He invented a special harness that boosted his strength and allowed him to fly. With wings attached on his arms that directed where he went, Toomes kicked off his criminal career, but was soon foiled by Spider-Man. When not operating alone, Vulture has been a member of the Sinister Six various times.
Outside of the comics, he’s appeared in animated shows like Spider-Man: The Animated Series and The Spectacular Spider-Man, as well as video games like Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, but he has yet to appear in live action. Back when Sam Raimi was still planning to make Spider-Man 4, John Malkovich was in negotiations to play Vulture, but that obviously never became a reality. Vulture’s wings were briefly glimpsed in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in OsCorp next to Doctor Octopus’ arms, but since that franchise was scrapped and their Sinister Six never formed, we’ll never see those particular wings in action.
Because the new Spider-Man movie has Peter Parker back in high school, it would be fitting for the villain he faces to be one of the first he fought in the comics. Although he’s had some superhero experience (namely in Captain America: Civil War), Peter is still early into his crimefighting career, so he may not have fought a full-blown super villain yet. Vulture would be a good bad guy to start him out on, whether he was the main villain or a pawn in someone else’s scheme. The sight of a high schooler exchanging blows with a senior citizen would also make for an interesting contrast.
Directed by Jon Watts and written by John Francis Daley & Jonathan M. Goldstein, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movie hits theaters on July 7, 2017.
