2014 is shaping up to be quite the epic year for movies, preferably comic book-based films. By now it's already a dead giveaway that the box office will bask in the glory of big 'ol bags of cash before the year is over with. But the one movie that has all the comic book enthusiasts and geeks talking is The Amazing Spider-Man 2. With less than a year until its release, the sequel has fans wondering just what in the heck will go down in Spider-Man's second outing. When production for TASM2 first began, things seemed simple and standard protocol; pictures of shoots involving Spider Man's new and upgraded suit, actors announced as official castmates, and subtle teases of what would be contained in the film via Twitter pics sent from Marc Webb. But, as time went by and teases were dropped, bigger news arose that lit up the interwebs; the reveal of Paul Giamatti as Rhino, Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, and Colm Feore as Adrian Toomes/Vulture. To add on top of this that Jamie Foxx is playing Max Dillon/Electro. Electro, Rhino, Vulture......and the Green Goblin. Four of the six members of the elite group of supervillains known as the Sinister Six. Could it be that this monstrous collection of villains will eventually get together in a sequel, or possibly in the recently announced fourth film in the series? It definitely seems plausible at this point in time, and with Dr. Curt Conners/Lizard behind bars and still very much alive in this universe, he may count as a possible fifth member. And that only leaves one member remaining.
With tons of speculation already drowning the internet in the forums and every other external form of communication, there is still
plenty left to speculate over. One of the more interesting topics that has yet to be revealed up to this point (as far as Marc Webb's tight-lipped mouth allows it) is the acquisition of the sixth member of the Sinister Six. By now it's clearly evident that two of the original members are present (Electro and Vulture), along with two members of the later Sinister Twelve (Green Goblin and the Lizard) and Rhino as a recruit later on down the road. And there's still one left to choose from, either from the original set or from the Sinister Twelve. If this manages to come to light, who would be better suited to fit the bill as the sixth member? Since the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Sandman has already been utilized in the Sam Raimi's original trilogy and with the Green Goblin apparently being recycled, it would seem somewhat understandable to go back and take either Doc Ock or Sandman and place them into this universe. It would seem silly to recycle more than one of the original trilogy's villains when fans want to see fresh faces, but doing so would formulate half of the old Sinister Six. But since this is Marc Webb's baby, he is being given the opportunity to work in which ever way he sees is right. If it were me in his shoes, I'd leave Green Goblin as the only original villain and go with either Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, or Hydro Man as the sixth penultimate member.
Kraven would be an excellent choice as an added villain later in the sequels if he's not hidden somewhere in TASM2. His origin story would seem a bit goofy in this universe, as he was granted his powers of super strength and reflexes by drinking a witch doctor's magic mojo potion. But, since this is Marc Webb's vision, he could have Kraven make sense if he focused on his Spectacular Spider-Man origin instead, where he started off as a big game hunter who attempted to hunt Spider-Man, but after failing went to Mile Warren/Jackal to have his DNA merged with that of a lion, leopard, and cheetah, making him superhuman and turning him into a beast much like Dr. Connors turning into the Lizard for the first time. This side of the origin would make more sense as it fits into the biological nature and theme of the first ASM film.
Mysterio, on the other hand, is on opposite planes. He is by far one of the more out-there villains for this universe, and how his origin will take place in a universe that is primarily focused on biology and experiments is almost sure not to happen. But one could hope. His far-out abilities and level of trickery would be an impressive hurdle to jump if this universe somehow became psychological, but due to the villains already present in the film (Electro, Rhino, and Green Goblin to take note) who suffer from some sort of experimentation, Mysterio's role in this universe may seem one hurdle too much to handle, maybe even overkill. But I want to see him solely on how they make his character (depending on which version they would stick with) fit into the world and ultimately him becoming a formidable foe for Spider-Man to take down. In the animated series he showed his stripes by turning into quite the challenge for Spider-Man at certain points, so capitalizing on the chance of applying him into this universe and into the Sinister Six shouldn't be totally disregarded.
One villain who fits into the idea of an average civilian getting caught into hazardous trouble and turning into a mutant monster or a being with bizarre powers is Hydro Man. Much like Electro who is comprised of pure electricity and can phase through plug-ins and circuits, Hydro Man can break down into water and slip through any surface and merge into form of water supply, essentially becoming "godlike" as Marc Webb described Electro in TASM2. The idea of controlling water and becoming one with it terrifies me, as the possibilities are certainly scary enough to think about in this universe. With Electro looking to be a major antagonist to deal with alone, imagine how Hydro Man would handle in this universe, let alone be a key component of the Sinister Six. Where one single jolt of static could kill someone from Electro, Hydro Man could kill someone by merely surrounding a person in water while they're standing, drowning them instantly. That is indeed godlike. Hydro Man could be handled easily in this universe as he fits into the basic idea of something going terribly wrong, resulting in freak powers being granted to the wrong people, much where Max Dillon/Electro falls in. The semblance of the Sinister Six taking precedence in this series seems to be getting stronger with each passing day. Looking back on set pictures of Paul Giamatti in a giant, gray CG outfit, to Jamie Foxx in full costume as Electro, to the mere mentions of the Osborns and Adrian Toomes, sets up this monster sense of scale that may prove to be larger than life if Marc Webb handles it right and effectively. With how he did on TASM and his retelling of the origin story with a slightly more emotional payoff, things are looking up for TASM2. Of course there will be those that will automatically compare this to Spider-Man 3, where too much is going on too fast. But if one takes the time to look carefully at what is going on, it may seem likely that Marc Webb has a stronger grasp of the situation than Sam Raimi did on the third film. Marc has stated that the villains are "essential" and everything is set up exactly how it's suppose to be, so the fans will have much to look forward to next May. With two more sequels being released in 2016 and 2018, the Sinister Six seems like the go-to road for this new series. It would easily be enough to preoccupy the series as a whole, the Venom and Carnage saga be damned. One thing is for sure: in TASM2, there will be some connections made that will set up the future for how this series pans out, and the one connection that is on the rise, from now until the end credits of the film, is the Sinister Six.