Spider-Man: Homecoming actor Michael Mando teases the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or maybe Sony) return of Mac Gargan with a cryptic tweet. Marvel Comics readers know Gargan eventually becomes the supervillain Scorpion. Still, MCU viewers only briefly met the character in Homecoming, and he was absent from the sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home. Equally absent in the sequel film was Michael Keaton's Vulture, leaving plenty of screentime for the introduction of another classic Spider-Man villain, Mysterio.
For years fans have speculated and hoped for the MCU introduction of the Sinister Six, a team of Spider-Man's greatest rogues who assemble for the sole purpose of destroying the web-slinger. As Sony continues to build its extended Spider-Man universe with Venom 2 and Morbius, it seems increasingly likely dreams of a big screen Sinister Six might soon be a reality. Marketing for both Sony movies has heavily featured connections to the MCU. Plus, with Keaton set to appear in Morbius, its possible Vulture will act as a criminal version of MCU's Nick Fury, slowly assembling a team to take down Spider-Man. Classic versions of the Sinister Six have included Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Vulture, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, and Scorpion, just to name a few.
Now, a picture Mando posted to his Twitter account, with a scorpion emoji as the posts only caption, teases Scorpion's return to the MCU or, possibly, Sony's Spider-Verse. The picture features Mando in a black leather jacket in a desert landscape of dunes, nothing about it suggests any connection to his MCU character, aside from the curiously added scorpion emoji. Take a look for yourself:
Putting aside the obvious explanation, that Mondo is just having a little fun with his MCU fans, this could be a hint we'll see Scorpion again soon. Gargan could easily pop up for a cameo in Morbius or Venom 2, so maybe that's what Mondo is teasing with this post. It's long been rumored Morbius may be setting up another Sony attempt at a Sinister Six movie. Another possibility is that he's heard from Marvel Studios about returning to play the character in the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel.
This isn't the first time Sony's tried to get a Sinister Six assembled. In the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man days, Sony planted a ton of Sinister Six easter eggs throughout The Amazing Spider-Man 2. They even hired Drew Goddard to direct a Sinister Six feature film. The previous attempt could have featured Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Rhino, Electro, Green Goblin, and the Lizard, as all of those characters had been introduced in some form or another in the Garfield Spidey films.
Now that Marvel and Sony have a tenuous partnership in the Spider-Man franchise, it remains to be seen how much input Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has in the creation of Sony's Sinister Six film. The solo Spider-Man outings are mostly Marvel creatively controlled. In the past, Marvel has had little to do with Sony movies, like Venom, for example. However, Keaton's appearance in Sony's Morbius film indicates a new level of cooperation between the two studios. If Mondo's Scorpion post is a hint at his future role in the MCU/Sony Spider-Man franchise, it's a safe bet he could end up going from Spider-Man: Homecoming to Sinister Six shortly.
Source: Michael Mando via Twitter
