Warning: SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home are ahead!
Spider-Man: No Way Home saw the Marvel Cinematic Universe being visited by characters from the past Spider-Man film series after Tom Holland’s Peter Parker interfered with a spell Doctor Strange cast on his behalf. Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman and Lizard didn’t waste anytime causing trouble in the MCU, while Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Peter arrived in the third act to help out their younger counterpart. But No Way Home’s third act also nearly saw other characters from elsewhere in the multiverse nearly forced into the MCU, and one Spider-Man fan seems to have figured out who some of these individuals were.
For those who need a refresher on Spider-Man: No Way Home, Green Goblin was able to unleash the aforementioned spell Doctor Strange has kept contained after it went haywire. Silhouettes of light started appearing in the sky of people being pulled in from other universes, and the only way Strange could halt their entrance was by casting a new spell making everyone in the MCU forget that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker was Spider-Man. With six of these silhouettes looking particularly distinctive, TikToker kevinmoranrob has thrown out some convincing suggestions on who these Spider-Man characters could be, so let’s go over them.
Superior Spider-Man
During the 2010s, there was a period in the main Marvel Comics universe when Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker’s body, but rather than resume his villainous ways, he carried on the Web-Slinging mantle. Believing he could do a better job at crimefighting than Peter did, Otto christened himself the Superior Spider-Man and delivered a more ruthless form of justice. So while Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius was his usual four-tentacled self, evidently there’s a version of him in the multiverse that ended up becoming Spider-Man, whether that was through the same method his comics counterpart did or some other way.
Kraven The Hunter
Following the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, many Spider-Man fans thought the next Web-Slinging movie would see Peter Parker tangle with Kraven the Hunter. After all, with Peter being framed for Mysterio’s death, there could have easily been a story about someone hiring Kraven to capture or kill Peter. That didn’t end up happening, but there appeared to be a tease for the big game hunter-turned-supervillain in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Maybe that was the Kraven Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be playing in early 2023.
Scorpion
Marvel Comics’ original Scorpion, Mac Gargan, was a private investigator J. Jonah Jameson originally hired to figure out how Peter Parker took such amazing photos of Spider-Man, but later convinced to undergo an experimental procedure combining his genetics with scorpion DNA. With these new abilities and a mechanical suit outfitted with a cybernetic tail, the Scorpion was born! Although Mac Gargan was played by Michael Mando in Spider-Man: Homecoming, he never became Scorpion, but apparently one of his doppelgängers became a full-blown supervillain.
Black Cat
Much like Catwoman with Batman over at DC Comics, Black Cat has occasionally been an enemy to Spider-Man, but more often she’s depicted as an antihero or ally, and there have even been times when those two have been romantically involved. Felicia Hardy is a skilled burglar, gymnast and martial artist, and there was a time when she could affect probability fields to give her adversaries “bad luck.” Felicity Jones appeared as Felicia in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and for years there’s been a Silver & Black project in development that would see a different version of Felicia paired with Silver Sable. Maybe that was the Black Cat teased in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Rhino
Like Mac Gargan, Aleksei Sytsevich underwent scientific experimentation that enchanted his physical attributes, and was also given specialized armor that made him even more powerful. As The Rhino, not only is Alexsei is one of Spider-Man’s strongest foes, he’s also gone toe-to-toe with The Hulk on numerous occasions. The Aleksei Paul Giamiatti played in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 piloted a gigantic mech suit at the end of that movie, but the Rhino who seemingly cameoed in Spider-Man: No Way Home more closely resembled his traditional form.
Mysterio
Finally, MCU fans certainly don’t need to be informed how menacing Mysterio can be. We watched him manipulate and wreak havoc on Peter Parker’s in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and even though he died in that movie, a video he recorded beforehand was released to the masses by his minions revealing Peter’s secret identity and framing him for both his death and the Elemental attack on London. Well, it looks like there’s another version of Mysterio antagonizing a different Spider-Man; perhaps the one who was supposed to appear in Spider-Man 4?
There we have it: while not officially confirmed, there are some solid guesses for characters who might have been thrust into the MCU had Tom Holland’s Peter Parker not made his noble sacrifice. You can keep enjoying Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters now, and while we wait for an update on what’s happening with the next Spider-Man movie, browse through our upcoming Marvel movies guide to learn what the MCU is sending to the silver screen in the coming years.
