Theory: No Way Home's Missing Sinister Six Villain Is An MCU Newcomer

Spider-Man: No Way Home has hinted at the arrival of the Sinister Six, but there’s one member missing, and it could be a Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomer. The MCU has been bringing various characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen for over a decade, and though its first three phases, collectively known as the Infinity Saga, have now come to an end, this universe keeps expanding. The focus of the Infinity Saga was Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) quest to acquire the Infinity Stones, the Infinity Gauntlet, and get rid of half of life in the universe, and the MCU’s Phase 4 is moving away from that and introducing new concepts, the biggest one being that of the multiverse.

The MCU’s Phase 4 is focusing on both TV shows and movies, and the multiverse has already been addressed (though in different capacities) in the TV series WandaVision and Loki, and will be further explored in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Following Mysterio’s (Jake Gyllenhaal) final act of framing Peter Parker (Tom Holland) for his murder and revealing his identity to the entire world at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter will have to deal with the consequences of having his biggest secret exposed in Spider-Man: No Way Home. This will lead Peter to seek Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help so he can protect the ones he loves, so Strange agrees to cast a spell that will make everyone forget Peter is Spider-Man, but it won’t go as planned. The botched spell will further mess with time and space and create more multiverse problems for the MCU, making way for the arrival of a variety of villains from previous Spider-Man movies.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home confirmed the return of Spider-Man 2’s Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Electro (Jamie Foxx), though only the former made a proper appearance. However, the trailer also offered some hints at the arrival of other villains, making way for the potential formation of the Sinister Six – but if all those teases turn out to be true, Spider-Man: No Way Home would be missing one member of this group of supervillains, and it could be an MCU newcomer.

No Way Home Will Feature The Sinister Six

Spider-Man fight multiverse Sinister Six No Way Home theory

The Sinister Six are a group of supervillains who have appeared in various Spider-Man comic books, and who have also been endlessly teased to be making the jump to the big screen. Back in 2013, a Sinister Six movie was announced along with Venom as a spinoff of The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, but the project has encountered various obstacles ever since. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 even teased a line-up formed by Rhino, Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, and the Green Goblin as the leader, but once Marvel Studios announced plans of making its own Spider-Man movies, the Sinister Six were left aside.

Now, on both sides of the Spider-Man universe – that is the MCU and the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters – potential members of the Sinister Six have already been introduced, and all those teases in the trailer of Spider-Man: No Way Home seem to confirm that Peter’s third solo adventure will see the arrival or formation of the Sinister Six. This will most likely be a multiverse version of the Sinister Six, with Doctor Octopus coming from Sam Raimi’s trilogy universe and Electro from Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man world, and the rest of the members could also come from those universes as well as the current one in the MCU, thus forming a very special version of the team.

Which Sinister Six Members Have Featured So Far?

As mentioned above, some characters who could be part of the Sinister Six have already been introduced in the MCU. Spider-Man: Homecoming had Adrian Toomes a.k.a. Vulture (Michael Keaton) as the villain, and unlike many other MCU villains, he survived his debut movie and will appear in Sony’s Morbius, thus connecting both universes. Homecoming also saw the introduction of Herman Schultz/Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine) and Mac Gargan/Scorpion (Michael Mando), both also alive and now imprisoned. The sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, had Quentin Beck/Mysterio as the villain, and even though he died at the end of the movie, he was a genius trickster, and he could have faked his death as a larger plan to expose Peter and more.

Spider-Man: No Way Home will add Doc Ock and Electro to the mix, and the trailer also teased the return of the Green Goblin, though it’s still unconfirmed if it will be Willem Dafoe’s version from Raimi’s Spider-Man or a new one. Now, fans have found a couple of subtle teases at the appearance of two other villains, also from outside the MCU: Sandman and Lizard. Sandman was one of too many antagonists in Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, where he was played by Thomas Haden Church and where he was forgiven by Spider-Man and given the chance to run away. Lizard, on the other hand, comes from The Amazing Spider-Man, where he was played by Rhys Ifans and where he ended up in jail. This leaves one spot open in the Sinister Six team, which could be taken by an MCU newcomer.

Who Could Be The Final Villain?

Spider-Man battles Doc Ock, Electro, Sandman, Kraven, Mysterio, and The Vulture.

The MCU could either bring back some of the aforementioned villains to fill in the final spot in the Sinister Six, such as Scorpion or even Mysterio, who is believed to be posing as Doctor Strange, or this universe could go for another character not seen on screen yet. Technically, Scorpion could still fall into this category as the audience hasn’t seen him in full Scorpion mode, but there are other villains who can take the spot. An option could be Aaron Davis/Prowler, who in the comics forms his version of the Sinister Six with Bombshell, Electro, the Hobgoblin, Sandman, and the Spot, and who made a brief appearance (though as a low-level criminal) in Spider-Man: Homecoming, played by Donald Glover. Some fans believe that thanks to rumors about Charlie Cox’s return as Daredevil in No Way Home, the final Sinister Six member could be none other than Kingpin, who hasn’t appeared in the movie side of the MCU yet, and while he doesn’t have a connection to the team, this wouldn't be the first time the MCU makes changes to its characters to fit the narrative.

Another option, though it seems like a stretch as the character has recently been cast, is Kraven the Hunter, one of the original members of the team. Sony is working on a Kraven movie with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing the role, so even if he doesn’t appear in No Way Home, there’s still even a slight chance that he could make his first big-screen appearance in a post-credits scene, thus completing the Sinister Six team. Although the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home solved a couple of questions about the story, it also left many more, most of them related to the upcoming villains, so hopefully, this will finally be the moment fans of the Sinister Six have been patiently waiting for.

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