Well, a few months ago one of the Spider-Man 2 effects guys gave an interview in which he said he was working on designing Venom and Man-Wolf for the third Spider-Man movie. But Daniel Gillies, who played John Jameson in Spider-Man 2 is supposed to be coming back for the third film, so if you assume Church will be playing Venom, that still leaves open the question of who will be playing Man-Wolf.

Then again, you know what internet rumors are worth, so maybe Venom and Man-Wolf won't be in the movie and the villains will be Stegron and the Hypno Hustler.

If they make Venom the villain, I am highly unlikely to see the movie.

Why can't they go with the classic villains? Mysterio, Electro, Sandman, Vulture, and Scorpion are all out there. I think the Scorpion in particular would make an excellent villain - stronger the Spidey and a tail that blows things up. He'd be very striking on screen.

Venom is a classic Spider-Man villain at this point. He's got a striking image, fills a villainous niche, and is reasonably popular. He's not going away.

I was thinking of posting about this, too, as well as the rumors that Thomas Hayden Church has been signed to play a villain and that the bad guys for Spider-Man 3 will be Hobgoblin (obviously well set up by the last movie) and Sandman.

That leaves the question of who Topher Grace is going to play. Church would make a much better Sandman, as Grace can't really pull off a thug. Presumably James Franco would be the Hobgoblin if they're following the original Harry-becomes-the-Green-Goblin plot, but maybe he'll just be a sort of villainous venture capitalist funding somebody else in the suit.

Grace's build and his persona are already Peter Parker-like, so he'd work best as a villainous Parker foil. I guess that would be Lance Bannon, Ned Leeds... both good Hobgoblin candidates... or Eddie Brock.

I hope they don't overdo the number of villains, though. Two is fine, since Hobgoblin is close enough to Green Goblin and moviegoers will want to see something new. A movie with Hobgoblin, Sandman, and Venom would push dangerously into Joel Schumacher territory.

On to the other villains: A younger Vulture makes about as much sense as a Black Cat with testicles. Mysterio would be a perfect villain for a blockbuster movie, though, and Bryan Brown would be pretty good casting even if it's an in-joke.

Man-Wolf would be pushing beyond Joel Schumacher territory, and into Ed Wood territory. Oh, how I pray that's a joke.

I thought Felicia named herself Black Cat after her father?

Hmm, maybe that's it: Topher Grace is going to play Black Cat who is secretly Peter's homosexual lover, Felix. Nah, too Tony Randall...

On the topic of a younger Vulture, I have a soft spot in my heart for that concept because one of the first Spidey comics I ever read was the Lee/Romita issue that introduced Blackie Drago, the new, younger Vulture -- who promptly got his butt handed to him by the cranky, old Vulture we all know and love and has not been seen in the nearly 40 years since.

If by some weird twist of fate I ever wound up being a professional comics writer, one of the stories I would write is "Whatever Happened to Blackie Drago."

Which is not to say that I think Topher Grace would make a good Vulture. I think Ned Leeds is the best fit for him in terms of matching the way the characters have been depicted in the comics.

Ned only really works as a rival for Betty Brant's affections. Now, since I was introduced to Spiidey through the old Grant Animation/Bakshi cartoons (available on DVD and owned by me) I was in favor of having Peter and Betty use up the romance in the first movie or two. In fact Elizabeth Banks played "Miss Brant" and played Marcella Howard in "Seabiscuit," while she might not be Kirsten Dunst, she certainly very beautiful. Anyway, I'm apparently the only one who thought it was a good idea. We already did the whole "rival for MJ" thing, so Ned's kind of useless. Hmm, Grace might not make a bad Molten Man.

Still, I think Smythe is the best plan: he could be a geeky rival of Parker who gets hired to make the Spider Slayers. There's no good reason for for Smythe to be a particular age.

If I'm recalling correctly, Mysterio wasn't a stuntman so much as a special effects designer. He may also have done some stunt work in conjunction with that, but his real gig was effectively creation of the illusion of reality in films.

I forget what they established happened to the original in M2 continuity, but Blackie Drago's daughter, well, Blackie Drago, has been a supporting character in Spider-Girl for a while.

I'm still holding out for the Lizard. Although since we already met Connors and it was Dylan Baker, I guess Topher won't be playing him. Sigh.

Ben Reilly!!!

(MAX runs for his life.)

Hmmm. Too thin to play the Rhino.

The Owl is usually protrayed as middle-aged. Also, he has the one of the lamer power-sets in comics: "I can glide on the air current! Oh god, I hope there's an updraft before I hit the East River...." Oh, and he has some pokey stabby things strapped to his wrist but mostly he's the sort of bad guy who might be found at the other end of Charlie Brown's kite string.

This isn't necessarily bad, if the movie Owl accepts that power-wise, he's two notches below Pastepot Pete and as a consequence decides to focus on his other strengths, like not being insane and having an account at ThugCo, Inc. The movie Spider-Man hasn't had a sane enemy yet, has he?

Oh, I have it: Grace can play low-status, right? Leap Frog!

I always thought the Owl's fate was sealed when Stan Lee forgot he had created the Owl and used the Kingpin when he needed Spidey to face a fearsome crime lord. I like to think there's a parallel world out there in which the Owl learned Daredevil's secret identity in a critically acclaimed Frank Miller/David Mazzuchelli storyline and was subsequently overused by every two-bit writer who thought he was Miller's heir at Marvel (the parallel world's version of DC has been plagued by two-bit Miller wannabes who think Batman has to be a cranky jerk, just like our world, so some things don't change).

As for the Owl's "pokey-stabby things," call it a hunch, but I think Marvel could get some mileage out of a character with pokey-stabby things on the ends of his hands.

"As for the Owl's "pokey-stabby things," call it a hunch, but I think Marvel could get some mileage out of a character with pokey-stabby things on the ends of his hands."

I think if you are going to rely on short range weapons[1], it helps either to be very very good with them, something I never got the impression the Owl was, or have the ability to heal from the repeated ass-wuppings you are going to receive. Having both, of course, is just gilding the lily.

I can't recall how the Owl survived going hand to hand with Doc Ock or why exactly he thought that would be a good idea.

I seem to have a previously unsuspected sneaking fondness for the Owl but I don't think his strengths are in the area of combat. I realize that the Mighty Marvel Style tends to focus on fighting [2]. So far in the movies, Parker has gone two for two against insane powerhouses. Running him up against a guy whose inherent abilities are a bit lame, who compensates by out-thinking the opposition could be fun.

1: There's a rather mean-spirited comment on wrist-claws in one of the older Grendel miniseries (But then, I hate the entire Grendel-o-verse in large part because the whole thing seems mean-spirited, when it isn't reveling in bloodshed) where someone with a set of claws attacks the badly drawn woman who is the current Grendel, only to have his hand lopped off before he can get within arm's reach.

2: As seen in the memorable "what's his name the annoying French-Canadian speedster comes out of the closet" issue. I can't fathom why QUEER AS FOLK never had anyone bat another character through a building while outing themselves. It seems like such a natural idea.

An interesting idea for Spidey 3 might be to have him individually fight a bunch of low-level supervillains. Not long fights, and they don't team up or anything, but they can show that he sometimes fights people other than muggers or bank robbers. And maybe some of them got the idea that if he is succeeding as a costumed crime-fighter, they might succeed as a costumed criminal. So you could show Spidey fighting Rhino, Stilt-Man, Scorpion, Vulture, etc., with a plot leading up to a big showdown with the "real" villain of the picture, whoever that is. Sandman (although he could be one of the lower level crooks), Mysterio, Hobgoblin, maybe Electro or Smythe. Huh, who knows.

"An interesting idea for Spidey 3 might be to have him individually fight a bunch of low-level supervillains. Not long fights, and they don't team up or anything, but they can show that he sometimes fights people other than muggers or bank robbers."

This could lead in the direction of a Million Zillion Villains and a subsequent loss of focus for the plot, esp if the bad guys are played by name actors.

I'll admit I liked the Dark Side bar in the days of the Bwah ha ha JLI but it may well be that I have no taste.

"And maybe some of them got the idea that if he is succeeding as a costumed crime-fighter, they might succeed as a costumed criminal."

I don't get the impression that the public sees Spiderman as a success. OTOH, if he learns he's the reason Manhattan is swarming with crappy costumed bad-guys, more guilt for Peter.

"So you could show Spidey fighting [...] Stilt-Man [...]"

Uh, no. I know, I know, "no bad characters, only bad writing" but Stilt-Man is the exception.

Bendis used Stilt-Man just fine in Daredevil. ;-)

Spidey has one of the top three rogues' galleries in superhero comics.

It might be very interesting to have a Sinister Six led by a mastermind of some sort.

The Sinister Six were originally led by Dr. Octopus, who has sort of bounced back and forth between being a criminal mastermind and being a schmuck with four extra arms.

"Presumably James Franco would be the Hobgoblin if they're following the original Harry-becomes-the-Green-Goblin plot, but maybe he'll just be a sort of villainous venture capitalist funding somebody else in the suit."

Harry never becomes the Hobgoblin, so what are you talking about? He becomes Green Goblin two and is sent to a mental institution.

Roderick Kingsley is his doctor and after Harry tells Kingsley all of his secrets about the suit, the Dr. then steals the suit and becomes the hobgoblin. Later, Ned Leeds - the boyfriend of the Bugle's cute assistant to JK Simmons who pays Peter - becomes the Hobgoblin.

My theory (and the most sane one out of all the rantings I'm reading) is the main character is Sandman, with a set up for Ned Leeds to eventually become the hobgoblin in the movie.

I think we'll see Eddie Brock as Eddie Brock ..

My secret hope is that Church is Eddie Brock and Topher Grace is carnage. :)

Chris "FanBoy" Durnell yawned the following:

"If they make Venom the villain, I am highly unlikely to see the movie."

WAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! If I don't get what I want I'm going to pout and stay home and watch re-runs of Gilligan's Island .. WAAAAAAAAAAAH!

If 'they' don't make the movie the way *I* want (points to self) then I'm staying home and boycotting the franchise! WAAAAAAAAAAAAH

My friend, please do us all a favor and STAY HOME. That's one more seat for me in the theater to rest my legs up on while I'm enjoying WHOMEVER is in the movie!

"Why can't they go with the classic villains? Mysterio, Electro, Sandman, Vulture, and Scorpion are all out there."

Maybe you're dumb or blind or ignorant but haven't you heard the rumor that SANDMAN will be the next villain?

Jesus.

And what's with this obsession with using only classic villians? They've used Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus for Christs sake, probably the two best villains from the past that they can choose from! Followed by Sandman and The Lizard, all great backgrounds and stories! Be patient - nothing has been announced other than two new actors in the newer movie.

Also, what's so bad about bringing Venom to the big screen? I know you don't care to read his biography or see how Eddie Brock isn't just a black evil spiderman who wants to kill everyone - he's just like spidey in that he has conviction but he only wants to destroy SPIDERMAN, noone else. Or maybe you don't know that. Or maybe you just didn't care to read the storyline?!

You want a guy like Vulture who is a rediculous old man flying around with wings? Scorpion, Electro and Mysterio are all characters that would be good when there is filler material needed. Great animated series villains, HORRIBLE big-screen beliveable villains.

"I think the Scorpion in particular would make an excellent villain - stronger the Spidey and a tail that blows things up. He'd be very striking on screen."

He'd also be unrealistic. Venom is a character that has mutual hatred for Peter Parker and Spiderman each for separate reasons, with the exact power of spiderman and only one weakness. He's also the only one to ever defeat Sandman, one of your beloved 'classic' villains.

I wish FanBoys would stop saying, "I WONT SEE THIS MOVIE IF VENOM IS IN IT" without even knowing that Venom was the first charater in years to come out who wasn't simply introduced as an immediate villain, but rather a twist on a development of a new black costume that turned out to be an alien with feelings for peter parker.

Go back and read the Secret Wars, fan boys. Then come back and say that venom sucks.

PS - CLASSIC venom. Not the new garbage spiderman storylines and the rebirth series.

SpiderNutBall, as long as we're being pedantic, Harry Osborne's psychiatrist was Bart Hamilton, and he's the one who became the second Green Goblin. Harry became the third Green Goblin. Roderick Kingsley did become the first Hobgoblin, but he had nothing to do with Harry -- he was a fashion designer who wanted to become a crime lord, so he tracked down Osborne's Goblin formula. And Ned Leeds did become the second Hobgoblin, but only after being brainwashed by Kingsley.

Now, that whole storyline played out over 20-years, and I think it's far too convoluted and incestuous to play out well on the silver screen, so if I were in charge and I wanted to do another Goblin story, I would limit myself to using Harry and maybe Ned Leeds if I wanted to have some sort of rivalry theme (then you could have a Harry-Ned Goblin rivalry, a Ned-Peter rivalry over Betty, a Betty-MJ rivalry over Peter, and maybe even a Peter-Harry rivalry over MJ, although I think that's played out after the first film).

Okay, yes, "Father of Chris Durnell," if you don't think you are going like a movie, the general solution is to not see it.

I want Carnage. I've never liked spider-man as a character. the reason i've been addicted to the spidey series for 15 years now is because of the awesome looking villains that have appeared throughout. My ultimate favorite is Carnage. His story is very in-depth. I think for Spiderman 3, John goes in space, crash lands with the symbiote, which ends up a part of Spidey's life. Then, in the end, Spidey faces off against Lizard and whomever else the other villain is(smythe?) and ends up loosing his costume to make Venom. Venom fights spidey at the end, which opens the story for Spiderman 4, which would introuduce my favorite villain, Carnage, in jail. He would become Carnage and Venom would have to team with Spidey to take him out. Now, am i the only one who thinks Carnage should team up with Carrion, Demogoblin, Shriek, and Doppelganger to recreate the Max Carnage story once more? that would be awesomeness. Carnage vs. Venom and Spidey. The way it should be. Now these movies would introduce tons of villains in the middle if you think about it: Carnage, Venom, Lizard, Man-Wolf, Smythe...that would make an excellent storyline. And Carnage would be the most excellent character to hit the animation desk in history. Think about it. A symbiotic monster shredding victims like there's no tommorrow...this is some excellent entertainment, plus a visual masterpiece. Carnage all the way baby! Go Cletus Kasady, the greatest madman to walk the Earth!!!