Sony Marvel Characters Who Should Join MCU After Morbius

With Sony's Marvel Universe colliding with the MCU thanks to Morbius, there are a number of other Spider-Man-related characters who should join the world next. The trailer for Sony's upcoming Morbius solo movie caused waves when it confirmed that the film takes place in the MCU, most noticeably due to the appearance of Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes - last seen in prison at the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Exactly how Vulture figures into Morbius isn't clear just yet, but his inclusion tantalizingly opens up the possibility for more of Sony's big-screen Spider-Man characters to be tied into the MCU. If early theories are correct and Morbius is to be included in Sony's finally fully-realized Sinister Six, then the door remains open for the spots as yet unfilled on that team.

If the aim is to continue producing solo Spider-Man villain/anti-hero movies, there's even more potential there for great minor characters from the Spider-Man back catalog to debut on-screen with Sony and move across to the MCU. It's an exciting opportunity. Here are the Sony Marvel characters who should join the MCU after Morbius.

Morlun

An energy-sucking 'vampire' (for want of a better word), Morlun's M.O. was to hunt animal totems around the world and consume their life and power, killing them and ensuring his longer-lasting life. Originating in J Michael Straczynski's run on The Amazing Spider-Man comics, Morlun's arrival was preceded by a man named Ezekiel. Ezekiel was an older man who had similar powers to Peter Parker, and informed him that the spider that bit Peter was sharing its power with him - creating a bridge between man and beast, witnessed only a few times in the history of the world (one such other animal totem is the Black Panther). Ezekiel opens Peter's mind, opening his eyes to how many of his villains are animal-themed, as well as challenging him as to what he truly knows about his powers. He also warns him of Morlun's imminent arrival.

The Morbius movie could easily pave the way for the coming of Morlun, one of Spider-Man's biggest and most brutal, powerful enemies. Morbius gains his vampiric abilities from scientific experiments on bats (as per the recently-released teaser trailer), potentially marking him as an animal totem; not to mention that he's opening the floodgates for future vampire characters (of which Morlun is clearly derived). With Mahershala Ali already announced as the next actor to play Blade, Morlun could be another stepping stone to introducing the undead Avenger.

When considering that Morlun is also responsible for going after every parallel-universe version of Spider-Man in the Spider-Verse comics crossover, could he also present a bridge between Tom Holland and a live-action version of Miles Morales? Perhaps even the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield incarnations of Spider-Man?

Jackal

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Speaking of animalistic enemies of Spider-Man, fans are often divided over their enjoyment of the Jackal as a recurring villain. The Jackal was responsible for the headache of the much-maligned Clone Saga - which left Peter Parker dead and clone (or is that, original?) Ben Reilly taking his place as the Scarlet Spider. Initially a Professor of Biology at Empire State University, Miles Warren becomes obsessed with Spider-Man's first love, Gwen Stacy. He swears revenge on Spider-Man following her death at the hands of the Green Goblin, and soon becomes responsible for creating the aforementioned clone of Peter Parker (as well as multiple others). He has a horrid Jekyll-and-Hyde persona (his 'Hyde' manifesting as the Jackal). He also creates clones of himself and Gwen Stacy, causing more than one problem for Spider-Man.

Whilst the Spider-Man clone saga has presented one long entangled mess after another, a streamlined version could work wonders, creating new and profound obstacles - not to mention identity issues - for Tom Holland's Spider-Man to overcome. The introduction of the Jackal could also lead to the arrival of more key Sony Marvel characters.

Ben Reilly

After coming back from the dead, Ben Reilly returns to his Scarlet Spider persona to fight crime with Peter Parker's blessing. Having Tom Holland double up on his roles could be an exciting new take on the big-screen Spider-Man mythos; not to mention, Holland himself has been vocal about his desire to see the clone saga brought to life. If Reilly did make an appearance, he would most likely have to be killed by the end of any movie outing to prevent further story complications (and fan-theorizing ad infinitum) - which would make for an emotional denouement. That, or he's made free to wander out into the world, to fight crime wherever it is he chooses to go.

Miguel O'Hara

The Spider-Man of the year 2099, Miguel O'Hara is a fan-favorite who has actually already made an appearance on the big screen; he features in a cameo in the end-credits tag for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In a dystopian future run by mega corporations, O'Hara is yet another brilliant geneticist whose experiments end up going awry. Having attempted to recreate the abilities of the original Spider-Man in other people, the procedure ends up becoming successful on him. He changes his ways from soulless scientist into anti-corporation superhero; his main goal being to bring down the shady business he used to work for, called Alchemax.

Fans may recognize the name Alchemax from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, as the company Wilson Fisk owns. Fisk uses Alchemax's resources and scientific personnel to pierce the veil of dimensions, trying to bring a parallel version of his deceased wife and child through to his world. Sony could easily set up a Spider-Man 2099 movie, where Alchemax accidentally rip through time and space, bringing Miguel O'Hara back into the present day. Having him pop up allows for all the other 2099 characters to come through, too; some of which are popular versions like Doom 2099 and Punisher 2099. The casting for O'Hara is primed and ready - Oscar Isaac, who's already provided the voice for the animated Miguel in that Spider-Verse post-credits scene, might fancy a proper stab at the role, in live-action this time.

Doctor Octopus

Beloved by fans, Doctor Octopus is one of the all-time classic Spider-Man villains. Already having been given a near-perfect on-screen rendition by Alfred Molina all the way back in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 and a Rule 63 version of the character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (with the Kathryn Hahn-voiced Olivia Octavius), the Sony/Marvel rendition of Doc Ock should be looking for a more modern spin with which to take on the arch-fiend. What better way than the Superior Spider-Man?

Taken from a well-received comics run where Doc Ock transplants his consciousness from his own dying body into Peter Parker's, the tentacled menace is given a small dose of the web-head's goodness as Parker slips loose the mortal coil. This inspires him to actually try and become a hero. The storyline led to some great moments and a fun arc for Otto Octavius. If Sony were to introduce Doc Ock in an MCU Spider-Man movie, the option to go down the Superior Spider-Man route is available to them. It would make for a terrifically fun outing on-screen, allowing for Sony's other Spider-Man villains to come back and fight a weirdly dark and aggressive hero. Pairing him with the Avengers would be great fun as well, with the heroes struggling to make sense of Peter's dark emo turn and proclivity for talking like a middle-aged man.

The Rhino

Although fans received a brief moment with the Rhino at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Andrew Garfield's last outing as Peter Parker, it wasn't enough to satiate fans. Paul Giamatti's big moment in the mechanized Rhino armor ended before it even began, leaving audiences rolling their eyes as the film cut to credits just as the two were about to tussle.

The awesome PS4 Spider-Man game gave us an exciting glimpse at another realistic take on The Rhino, a hybrid of the suit we recognize from the comics and the mechanical version seen last on screen. As one of Spider-Man's toughest (and most sympathetic) villains, Rhino deserves another chance at big screen realization. His constant struggle to feel something - anything - whilst trapped inside his big Rhino suit is juicy storytelling material.

If he appears somewhere in Sony and Marvel's joint outings - and is done justice, both in size and appearance - the character may finally be redeemed. He could be one of the last two pieces of the Sinister Six puzzle that Sony have been trying to build for years; Vulture, Scorpion, Venom, Morbius, and Rhino makes 5.

Slingers

In the late 90s, Spider-Man was wanted for murder, with a five million dollar bounty on his head. In order to continue being able to fight crime, Peter Parker adopted four new superhero identities; The Hornet, Prodigy, Ricochet and Dusk. When Spider-Man's name was eventually cleared, he retired the extra costumes. They were soon adopted by a gang of plucky youngsters, recruited by a Golden Age superhero named the Black Marvel. They became the Slingers.

Although not always the most popular of characters, they have made multiple comebacks over the years. Right now, they're primed and ready to make their appearance in the Sony Spider-Verse. As per the ending to Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man is now not only wanted for the murder of the well-liked 'hero' Mysterio, but Peter Parker is too (having had his identity literally shouted from the rooftops by J. Jonah Jameson).

A glimpse of some street art of Spider-Man tagged with the word 'murderer' in the teaser trailer for Morbius shows us that the world around Sony's Spidey still believes him to be Quentin Beck's murderer. This sets up Peter's potential to adopt a slew of new costumes and identities, and eventually the capacity to pass them onto four new characters. It could even be a Disney+ show. Whether anybody actually wants to see these characters on-screen is questionable, but it's definitely an option.

Next: Morbius Movie Trailer Breakdown & MCU Story Reveals