15 other Spider-Verse characters who deserve their own movie

Black Cat, at this point, feels like the Always a Bridesmaid of the Spider-Man movie world. She’s appeared in live-action films twice, played by Bryce Dallas Howard and Felicity Jones in two different universes, but she’s never gotten the chance to shine in costume as Marvel Comics’ resident sexy antihero thief. She’s even gotten her own movie in development, only to then have it turn into a potential team-up movie before getting seemingly canceled altogether. That’s all a shame, because there’s a lot to mine with Black Cat. She’s a versatile, interesting, dynamic character even before you factor in her superhuman ability to manipulate the luck of those around her, and in the right hands she could shine with her own film.

There’s definitely solo movie hope for Chameleon, as he’s set to appear in the Kraven The Hunter movie already as a supporting character. Beyond whatever current plans Sony has, though, it’s worth noting his potential as both a supervillain and an antihero capable of leading a movie. A master of disguise, as his name suggests, Chameleon’s ability to assume the identity of just about anyone in the Marvel Universe could come in handy in the current multiverse landscape. But there’s also something really compelling about a guy who’s willing to transform himself so much, including in some stories physically erasing his own face, that he loses his sense of self-identity. Whether as body horror film or a crime drama, a Chameleon movie could really work with those themes.

Now that the Venom characters are thoroughly established with their own movies, it’s time to look forward to what else Sony Pictures might be able to do with that branch of the Spider-Man family tree. The answer? Knull. Put simply, he’s the God of Symbiotes, a being of intense cosmic horror who, in one memorable Marvel event, set out to wipe out Venom’s relative autonomy and basically cast Earth into eternal darkness. If that’s not a worthy enemy for Eddie Brock and his friends, we don’t know what is.

Though The Kingpin of Crime, played in live-action by the great Vincent D’Onofrio, gets all the love lately, he’s not the only organized crime game in town. The Maggia is essentially Marvel Comics’ answer to the real-life mob, heavily fictionalized to avoid any unpleasant similarities to real-life criminals. And, because The Maggia is so heavily fictionalized, it’s become a bastion for all sorts of villainous weirdos, from the bruiser known as Hammerhead to the calculating cyborg (yes, really) known as Silvermane. A whole movie about this kind of mob could appeal to both comic book movie fans and mob movie fans.

Businessman, father, scientist, supervillain, and occasional leader of government-backed super teams, there’s really nothing Norman Osborn can’t do. Famously played by Willem Dafoe in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Norman’s life in comics extends far beyond his relationship with the Green Goblin, making him a versatile and deeply dangerous character who could, with the right actor, carry his own film in a number of ways. He’s smart, he’s scary, and even he gets conflicted sometimes about the path he’s on, all of which make for solid superhero movie drama.

Let’s be clear: Overdrive is not some kind of major Spider-Man villain. He popped up in the late 2000s, made a few appearances, and is sort of forgotten by a lot of readers at this point. But let’s also be clear: Overdrive is so much fun. He’s a villain who uses nanites to instantly transform just about anything into a super-car of his own making, and he uses that ability to battle Spider-Man with the power of pure gasoline-fueled madness. If there’s one thing the Fast & Furious movies have taught us, it’s that people absolutely love movies about cars doing crazy things, so why not push that into pure comic book territory?

On the surface, there’s not much to Rhino but pure, bruising power. He’s a big guy in a Rhino suit who runs through walls and tries to crush Spider-Man, sometimes working for and with other supervillains and sometimes serving interests like Eastern European organized crime. That’s it, right? Well, not exactly. Despite appearances, there is a heart under all that armor, and with the right attitude a Rhino film could be fun, heartwarming, and even highly dramatic. Just imagine this guy crushing foes for the Russian mob, only to one day realize he’s on the wrong side. And like Chameleon, Rhino is set to appear once again in Kraven The Hunter, so he’s still on the radar.

This one is a long shot, not because Ben Reilly isn’t well known enough, but because he’s just so damn complicated, and making a film about him would be even more complicated. Long story short: Ben is a clone of Peter Parker, who at times believes he is Peter Parker, has occasionally been the reigning Spider-Man, and has been resurrected by various means in comics on multiple occasions. To make a movie about him, you’d have to get one of the already-cast Spider-Man actors to agree to the gig, then weave in a plausible backstory, then set him off on an adventure that stands on its own. It’s a tall order, but when you’ve got Ben Reilly just full-on being the Scarlet Spider, it’s a lot of fun, despite the long road.

If you follow comic book history, you know that Mac Gargan has had a rough time of it over the decades as an enemy of Spider-Man. He was basically goaded into undergoing a supervillain transformation, then he got infected with the Venom symbiote, then he started working for the government, and then he got back in his traditional Scorpion suit because it got life support upgrades that could keep his failing body alive. That’s a lot of struggle, but all of it makes him an interesting survivor, a character who’s determined to keep fighting, even if he’s not always on the right side. Plus, he’s already appeared in live-action, albeit out of costume, in Spider-Man: Homecoming (played by Michael Mando), so the foundation is there for more stories.

Hobie Brown, voiced by Daniel Kaluuya, was the resident scene-stealer of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, so it makes sense that he’d be a top candidate for a standalone movie of his very own. And when you look at his comic book origins, it’s easy to see something taking shape. A version of Spider-Man from an alternate Earth where Norman Osborn is a tyrannical president, Spider-Punk uses the aesthetics and philosophies of punk rock to fight back against authoritarianism, and he looks super cool while doing it. It’s an idea so cool, and timely, that the movie almost writes itself.

Another memorable Across the Spider-Verse scene stealer, Jessica Drew has at various points been considered for a spinoff (according to reports), but since other characters bearing the “Spider-Woman” moniker are popping up in Madame Web, now seems like a good time to get her name upfront again. Though she’s certainly not the only character to bear the name, Jess is the best and most complex of the Spider-Women so far, particularly in stories where she gets to have a life well outside of her superheroes. The Across the Spider-Verse version, voiced by Issa Rae, got to be pregnant while adventuring with the other characters, and a whole live-action movie devoted to a soon-to-be Mom trying to save the world would be a welcome breath of fresh air.

This one is out there, but when talking about wild versions of Spider-Man from other realities, it’s difficult to avoid mentioning “Spiders-Man,” the Spider-Man who’s not a man at all, but a colony of radioactive spiders assuming the identity of Peter Parker. Introduced as an alternate reality take on the “Spider-Man” concept, “he” was so popular that he started appearing in a few multiverse crossover stories, and still ranks as one of those characters comic fans bring up all the time as an example of how inventive the superhero genre can get. So, can you make a Spiders-Man movie? It’s hard to say. Should you? Absolutely yes.

When it comes to super-teams set up to take down Spider-Man, the Sinister Six (and their offshoots like the Sinister Syndicate) gets all the press, but they’re not the only game in town. Yes, that’s a group composed of some of the best Spider-Man villains of all time, but most of them have already had major film appearances. The solution? Focus on the villains who are … well, not the best. Introduced in their own eponymous series in 2013 as a new version of the Sinister Six, the Superior Foes feature characters like Boomerang, Shocker, Beetle, and even Overdrive battling to prove they’ve got what it takes to beat Spidey. They don’t, but watching them come to terms with their place in the superhero world is great fun, and it makes for a great ensemble action-comedy premise.

Here’s another really tricky one you’d have to lay a lot of groundwork to pull off. Superior Spider-Man is Peter Parker … or at least, his body is Peter Parker’s. Once upon a time, Peter seemingly died, and Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus, took over the young Spider-Man’s body in order to save his own consciousness. Having achieved this, he set out to become a more ruthless, more efficient, altogether better version of Spider-Man, hence the name. Again, laying the groundwork for this, not to mention getting Tom Holland or Andrew Garfield to play an entirely different character, would be difficult to do. But if you could pull it off, the payoff would be extraordinary.

You want a Spider-Man villain with an interesting backstory and an outlook on the world worth turning into a whole movie? The original Tarantula just might be your guy. He originally emerged as a revolutionary in a fictional Fascist country, then got caught being a little too murderous, then became a costumed hero on behalf of said Fascist country, then adopted a life of crime. That is some complicated, rich stuff when it comes to superhero drama, and it’s easy to imagine a story of a superpowered criminal who returns to his freedom-fighting ways once he realizes the damage he’s causing.