1. Hobgoblin, Kingpin, Hammerhead, Punisher, Daredevil and Black Cat
OK, so I might be getting a little carried away with this one. Roger Stern is arguably the greatest writer of Spider-Man since Stan Lee. His masterful crafting of the mystery surrounding Hobgoblins true identity excited comic readers and invited them to get involved more than almost any story ever has. Hobgoblin acquired all the equipment and journals of the deceased Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, and took all of the power for himself with none of Osborn's crippling insanity. He blackmailed many of the most prominent businessmen, raided Norman Osborns hideouts for additional gear and information and made enemies of rival crime bosses and one friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It would be a lot to throw into a movie, but the Gang War could be done. Take Goodfellas as a reference. A villain like Hammerhead needs only as much screen time as Billy Bats had, but why not give it to him? Bats managed to be a memorable character in his short time on the screen. With Marvel pushing its shared cinematic universe and Spider-Man unable to appear in Avengers-related films due to contractual obligations, a movie like this creates crossover opportunities in Spider-Mans world with gritty antiheroes like the Punisher or failed big-screen characters who deserve a second chance like Daredevil. And who wouldnt love a Spider-Man film with a femme fatale like Black Cat? If Dick Tracy can juggle a dozen memorable, distinct characters then there is no reason for this movie not to be made. Hobgoblin and Kingpin are two of Spider-Mans most notorious and deadly enemies. The dynamic of them hating one another just as much as they do him is gold. There is an instance in the comics where Kingpin saves Spider-Mans life from the Hobgoblin. When a beaten Spider-Man asks why, Kingpin says Hobgoblin could become a real threat to his own empire and hed just assume let Spider-Man track him down for him. Its just good business, Kingpin says chillingly as he walks away, leaving Spider-Man with the sinking notion that even if he stops Hobgoblin, he'll be doing the Kingpins dirty work for him. That would make a great movie scene. Some of these are more likely than others. A few of them may be outright impossible. Some rely on certain facts already being established in a cinematic universe. It's doable, but difficult, for instance, to have a Hobgoblin before you have the Green Goblin. The Jackal story will work much better if Gwen Stacy has perished. And if you wanted to do Venom's full, complete, original comic book origin, you'd need a movie ten times as big as the Avengers. But as a lifelong Spider-Man fan, these are the characters I see as the most compelling for feature adaptation. Just, please... and I can't stress this enough... let the Rhino have a horn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
