Sony is littering the road to Amazing Spider-Man 2 with bread crumbs that hint at a larger Spider-Man universe they are slowly building around this rebooted franchise. With multiple sequels already lined up, and continued teases of an eventual big showdown between Spider-Man and a team of villains known as The Sinister Six, it's sometimes hard to remember that Amazing Spider-Man 2 will actually be about Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) battling the super powered threat of Electro (Jamie Foxx).

The latest bit of viral marketing for the sequel continues to expand the scope of ASM universe by once again dropping Easter egg teases that fans of the comics will gleefully speculate and debate about... right up until a lot of them turn out to be red herrings. So which new villains are being hinted at now? Read on for the breakdown.

An article published in a faux version of The Daily Bugle (the newspaper where Peter Parker sometimes makes his living as a photographer) discusses the upcoming trial of Curt Connors (a.k.a. The Lizard from Amazing Spider-Man 1) while also managing to introduce several new names into the ASM universe - names which carry significance in Spider-Man comic book lore:

By Ned Leeds, City Bureau

A trial date has been set in the New York Appellate Court for alleged bio-terrorist Dr. Curt Connors. The former Oscorp biogenetics scientist has been indicted on twenty city and state counts, including trespassing, malicious destruction of property, theft of private property, aggravated assault, and using a weapon of mass destruction. Connors has pleaded “not guilty” to all counts. It is expected his defense attorney, Anne Weying, will claim Connors was not responsible for the actions of his genetically transformed alter ego, the Lizard.

Connors claimed that pressure placed on him by his employer, Oscorp, led him to rush his bio-restorative formula and test it on himself. He further stipulated to the grand jury that his decision to use the untested compound was made in an effort to protect the company from experimenting on innocent civilians, as directed by his superiors. Connors’ immediate supervisor at Oscorp, Dr. Rajit Ratha, has been missing since the day before the Lizard’s attack.

Oscorp spokesman, Donald Menken, responded, “We can’t corroborate or deny Dr. Connor’s claims. Dr. Ratha’s abrupt departure from Oscorp has left us with far more questions than answers. Needless to say, Oscorp has always complied with the most stringent local, state and federal regulations for all of our research and development.”

To make it short, the names to notice (and their significance) is listed below:

  • Ned Leeds - Bugle reporter who in the comics was brainwashed into becoming  the dreaded Hobgoblin.
  • Anne Weying - Successful lawyer and ex-wife of Eddie Brock. Becomes Lady Venom for a time in the comics.
  • Donald Menken - Personal assistant to Norman Osborn in the comics.
Amazing Spider-Man 2 viral campaign - She-Venom, Hobgoblin

So does this mean we're going to see Hobgoblin, Lady Venom and... Norman Osborn's assistant play roles in the new Spider-Man franchise? Perhaps Mr. Menken - either of the other two would be surprising (Lady Venom... really?).

As it stands, the future Amazing Spider-Man franchise installments have been built up with so much villain fanfare that it would be more surprising if there was a baddie from Spidey's rogues gallery that WASN'T in part 2, 3 or 4. But again, the purpose of viral marketing is to keep the film's universe alive and keep fans buzzing - and here we are, buzzing about it, getting sucked deeper into the Amazing Spider-Man web.

Now, how about that awe-inspiring trailer - about the actual Spider-Man vs. Electro story -  to REALLY set things off?

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be in theaters on May 2, 2014.

Source: tumblr (The Daily Bugle)

Featured Image by Charles Vess