Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy was key in redefining the superhero genre and paved the way for worlds like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it also referenced and teased other characters from Marvel Comics that eventually made their way to the big screen – and here’s every one of them. After a couple of live-action movies that were only released in Europe, Spider-Man made his proper big screen debut in 2002 in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which introduced Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, James Franco as Harry Osborn, and Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson.
Raimi explored the origin story of Spider-Man, following high-school student Peter Parker who, on a school trip, is bitten by a genetically engineered spider, which leads him to develop spider-like abilities. In addition to that, Harry’s father, Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), becomes the villainous Green Goblin after an experiment on himself goes wrong. The audience continued following Peter’s journey and struggles in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, where he came across other villains: Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Eddie Brock/Venom (Topher Grace), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and New Goblin, as Harry carried on with his father’s legacy and went after Spider-Man to avenge Norman’s death.
However, these aren’t the only characters from Marvel Comics who were featured in some capacity in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. Throughout the three movies, Raimi referenced and teased many other characters from the comic books, either by casually name-dropping them, through subtle visual references or by introducing the characters before their transformations. Here’s every Marvel character referenced and teased in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies.
Black Widow
Black Widow was referenced in a very subtle and easy-to-miss Easter egg in the first Spider-Man movie. As mentioned above, Spider-Man told the origin story of the web-slinger, including the process of designing the best suit for his new superhero persona (though at that moment, he was more interested in winning an amateur wrestling match and, with that money, buying a car to impress MJ rather than in being a superhero). Spider-Man showed this through a montage of the many designs Peter came up with, and among the possible symbols he came up with was the Black Widow one. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) made her big screen debut in the MCU’s Iron Man 2 in 2010, after which she joined the original Avengers team in The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, took part in the Civil War conflict in Captain America: Civil War, and joined the rest of the MCU in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Black Widow sacrificed herself in Endgame so Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) could take the Soul Stone, and her solo movie was released in 2021, though it’s set between Civil War and Infinity War.
Doctor Strange
Perhaps the best-known reference to another Marvel character in Raimi’s Spider-Man movies is the one related to Doctor Strange. Spider-Man 2 introduced Doctor Otto Octavius, a scientist working on behalf of Oscorp and who becomes Peter’s mentor, but just like Norman, an experiment gone wrong was the trigger of his transformation into a villain. This experiment left him attached to robotic tentacle arms and the inhibitor chip he created was destroyed, so the arms became sentient. Octavius became Doctor Octopus, a name given to him by The Daily Bugle, but they explored other options before settling on “Doctor Octopus”. J. Jonah Jameson’s (J.K. Simmons) employee, Ted Hoffman (Ted Raimi), suggested “Doctor Strange”, which Jameson liked but immediately turned down as it was already taken, confirming that Stephen Strange was an active superhero in Raimi’s universe at the time. Just like Black Widow, Doctor Strange made his big screen debut in the MCU in 2016 in his first solo movie, after which he had a minor role in Thor: Ragnarok, joined the fight against Thanos in Infinity War and Endgame, was key in unleashing multiverse chaos in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and continued exploring the multiverse in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Curt Connors/Lizard
Curt Connors made his first appearance in Spider-Man 2, as a college physics professor under whom Peter Parker was studying. In the comics, Connors was a geneticist researching the ability of some reptiles to regrow missing limbs, and he develops a lizard DNA-based serum that would allow humans to do the same. Connors tested it on himself to regain his missing right arm, but he ended up transforming into a feral anthropomorphic lizard. Connors didn’t transform into Lizard in Spider-Man 2 and 3, but his presence in both movies could have set it up for the canceled Spider-Man 4. Connors helped Peter analyze a piece of the Venom symbiote in Spider-Man 3, and in the scene where he calls Peter to tell him about what he has learned about the symbiote, a reptile’s skeleton is seen in the background, referencing his transformation into Lizard. Connors was later played by Rhys Ifans in The Amazing Spider-Man, where he did transform into Lizard, and returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he was given a cure before being sent back to his universe.
John Jameson/Man Wolf
Spider-Man 2 also introduced John Jameson (Daniel Gillies), the son of J. Jonah Jameson and, to Peter’s surprise, MJ’s fiancé. John didn’t have a big role in Raimi’s Spider-Man universe as by the end of Spider-Man 2, MJ realized she didn’t love him and left him to be with Peter. In the comics, John Jameson was an astronaut, and he went through three notable transformations. First, after being infected with spores that gave him super strength, he was forced to wear a strength-restraining Jupiter suit and fought Spider-Man at his father’s urging, calling himself “Colonel Jupiter”; later, while on the moon, he found the Godstone, an other-dimensional ruby, made it into a pendant, and the jewel grafted itself to his throat, extending tendrils through his body, and as moonlight activated the gem, he transformed into Man-Wolf; and after being transported to the dimension where the ruby originated, he took the mantle of Stargod. John Jameson made a cameo appearance in Venom as the sole survivor of Carlton Drake’s mission, and he becomes infected by the Riot symbiote, but his fate is left unknown.
The Hobgoblin
There’s a lot of talk about the MCU’s Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) possibly becoming Hobgoblin in Spider-Man 4 or later, but Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy teased the arrival of this character first. In Spider-Man 3, as Harry settles at his father’s lair, his new technology is shown, and among those is a very distinctive mask between Norman’s Green Goblin mask and Harry’s New Goblin one. The mask is similar to Norman’s but with sharper teeth, a more aggressive expression, and a gold tint, with this being the Hobgoblin mask in Raimi’s universe. Unlike the above-mentioned characters, the Hobgoblin hasn’t made his big screen debut yet, but if Ned does become Hobgoblin at some point, it won’t be long until this character is properly introduced.
Was Mysterio Hiding In Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy?
Mysterio didn’t appear in Raimi’s Spider-Man movies nor was he teased in some way, but there’s a theory that suggests Bruce Campbell was playing Mysterio through Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, but he was hiding in plain sight. Campbell had cameo appearances in all Spider-Man movies made by Raimi, and while he played different characters – ring announcer, snooty usher, and a French maître d’ – it’s believed by some that he was actually playing Mysterio, who disguised himself as other people in order to keep a close eye on Spider-Man. Mysterio eventually made his big screen debut in the MCU’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, and while he met his fate at the end, he left a major mark in Spider-Man’s life as he framed the young hero for his death and revealed his identity to the whole world, leading to the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.