10 Movie Villain Reveals That Were Genuinely Surprising

3. The Vulture - Spider-Man: Homecoming

Michael Keaton Vulture Spider Man Homecoming
Marvel Studios

Although the MCU might have had a "villain problem" at one point in time, The Vulture very much broke that pattern. Michael Keaton's portrayal brought a surprising amount of humanity to the character, giving a bit of depth to a villain who could have been seen as a simple criminal.

However, in a surprising twist, the film also gave viewers a glimpse of The Vulture's home life. Just before the third act kicks into gear, Peter Parker is ready to take his date to the Homecoming ball, nervously ringing her doorbell and being greeted by none other than his greatest enemy so far, who turns out to be his date's father.

Not only is the twist perfectly executed, and the subsequent superpower-less confrontation between the two characters one of the best sequences in the film, but it proved just why Spider-Man stories are so great.

They excel when Peter's home life conflicts with that of his alter-ego, as well as the way they reflect real teenage issues - which don't get much bigger than the father of the girl you're trying to date literally being hellbent on killing you.

Advertisement
Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.