I must say, I am heartened to see Sony focusing on one of the major assets of the Spiderman franchise and giving the bad guys front billing in their cinematic universe. With one fell swoop, all of their jobs have become a great deal easier, from writing all the way up to marketing these films. Now that we know to expect both the Sinister Six and Venom in their own movies, let's take another look at the first trailer for The Amazing Spiderman 2
So who's going to be in the Sinister Six? The most economical path would be to use the actors you already have. This opens up the possibility that we have already seen all the members: The Lizard, Electro, Rhino, Vulture, Doctor Octopus and a Goblin to boot…the octopus arms and vulture wings encased in glass within Oscorp suddenly take on a new significance! This would be another smart move by Sony for sure.
Curt Conners has been skillfully played and sufficienctly developed as a character in the last movie. This familiarity could be used to great effect when we see the epic ego/mind clash that occurs between Dr. Conners and Dr. Octavius on a team together. There could be a rotating membership in the Six. This would allow the writers to jump head-first into storytelling without the burden of origin stories and character development, while still maintaining access to the many, many extraordinary villains in Spiderman's Universe. Sooner or later, I wouldn't mind seeing somebody like a Mysterio or a Kraven join the Six. On the balance, Dr. Conners could become an ally and mentor to Peter, much like his role in the Raimi trilogy. There's certainly more than one way to expand a Universe….
Next on the table: who's behind the seventh door seen in the trailer? Well, if I was a betting man I would put money on the one villain who's getting his own movie...I will just say that it all
adds up, and duck now! Venom makes financial sense though, and his story could be fit into the Oscorp matrix in several ways (at least one of which would stay true to the comics mythology).
The bigger question: who will stand up against all this villainy?! Seeing as how the Six were formed directly as a result of Spiderman's actions, Peter Parker will be there. Almost certainly, Black Cat will also lend a hand. Could we possibly see a Miles Morales or other pilgrim(s) from the comics migrate to the big screen soon?...It is noteworthy that this very thing is occuring within the pages of Marvel Comics right now. Whatever the case, we can be assured that for every great villains' story, there will always be something like a hero there to fight against them!
There was no longterm plan in place with 2012's
The Amazing Spiderman and yet, Sony was still able to passably set up the chessboard. Now, they're in good position to give their fledling universe some strong legs...legs that can go for
miles. In fact, I wouldnt be surprised if Warner Bros. takes a page from Sony's book regarding their own, Gotham City rogue's gallery in the near future.
All told, this is a canny move for everyone involved in the Spiderman franchise. Success is all in the execution now: it's going to take equal parts skill, courage, inspiration and a sense of balance to get the chemistry right. However, if they can do it, they will create a Universe that not only comes alive on-screen but stays alive in the minds of audience members long before and
after the movies themselves! Whatever awaits, I hope the "brain trust" and everybody else involved are going to have a lot of fun opening up the Spidey toy-chest and playing!
-OX