Shortly before Kraven the Hunter flopped with critics and audiences at the box office, it was reported that Sony Pictures would end its plans for a shared universe based on Spider-Man characters (previously called the Spider-Man Shared Universe or SSU). Aside from the Venom trilogy, Sony’s attempts to spin off Spider-Man characters like Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter were seen as low points for the superhero genre. Despite most fans, critics, and audiences agreeing that the one good idea regarding the franchise was to end it, Sony Pictures’ Tom Rothman hinted that the franchise isn’t done yet.
Sony Pictures will once again try to build a shared universe out of Spider-Man’s supporting cast. Even though this sounds like a bad idea to do a second time, this is the same studio that re-released Morbius, thinking online jokes were a sincere demand, resulting in the movie bombing twice.
However, for the sake of positivity, there are a few characters and ideas in Spider-Man’s supporting cast that could support feature films. Not only that, combined they could actually make for a unique shared universe, one that manages to sidestep the issue of not having access to Peter Parker Spider-Man. Here are eight characters Sony actually could (and should) make films about.
Spider-Girl
Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz
First Appearance: What If #105 (February 1998)
If Sony Pictures can’t use Peter Parker as Spider-Man in their own shared universe corner, a clever way around that could be his daughter, May Parker / Spider-Girl. A Spider-Girl film that takes place in the distant future following the daughter of Peter Parker and a new era of villains inspired by his greatest foes, possibly giving cinematic debuts to female spins on his villains from the comics like Scorpia or Kraven the Hunter’s daughter Ana Kravinoff, would give Sony Pictures their own answer to the popular Batman Beyond series, one which almost had a feature film adaptation made of it.
If Sony Pictures wanted to make a Spider-Girl movie, an even bigger film, they could establish a live-action Spider-Girl as the daughter of Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker and Kristen Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson. This would make it the legacy sequel to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy in place of Spider-Man 4. A Spider-Girl movie, either as its own standalone film or connected to the live-action film franchise that helped kick off the modern age of superhero movies, seems like a no-brainer.
Solo
Created by David Michelinie and Marc Silvestri
First appearance: Web of Spider-Man #19 (October 1986)
Solo? A Star Wars Story? Not quiet. If one isn’t familiar with Solo, that’s alright. He is a rather minor character and not one of the heavy hitters in either Marvel Comics or Spider-Man’s unique corner of the universe. Real name James Bourne (not to be confused with Jason Bourne), Solo is a counter-terrorist operative who works as a bodyguard. He is a master marksman and hand-to-hand combatant, with limited teleportation abilities.
He is a strange pick to build a movie around, but Blade and Guardians of the Galaxy have shown that even obscure or lesser-known characters can carry a movie if done well. Sony doesn’t need to make a Solo movie for $140 million. Given his nature as a gun-for-hire, Solo could be a mid-budget blockbuster, like the Equalizer movies. An action film not catered to hardcore Marvel fans, but more to an older moviegoing audience that draws inspiration from Rambo and Commando more than Spider-Man, is a new direction for the genre. The superhero film version of what the internet likes to call a “dad movie.” His catchphrase, “While Solo lives, terror dies!” already makes for a great tagline that would look great on a poster and feels like something that could have been made in the 1980s.
Slingers
Created by Joseph Harris and Adam Pollina, ChrisCross
First Appearance: Slingers #0 (September 1998)
Slingers is a team of characters, one made up of four college students who adopt the mantle of a former alias that Peter Parker / Spider-Man wore during the Identity Crisis arc. Many of the suits were featured in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The short-lived team in the comics consists of a mismatch of personalities, including:
- Prodigy (Ritchie Gilmore)-Team leader who is a wrestler for Empire State University whose suit gives him super strength.
- Dusk (Cassie St. Commons)-Goth daughter to a rich socialite, she dies and is resurrected with supernatural powers, including teleportation and manipulation of shadows.
- Hornet (Eddie McDonough)-Empire State University first-year student who was born with cerebral palsy, whose supersuit gives him the ability to fly.
- Richotte (Johnny Gallo)-Fast agility and leaping abilities allow him to bounce off walls.
Slingers provides Sony Pictures with a more comedic spin on a superhero concept. Four unqualified college students who are given superpowered suits with no knowledge of what to do with them and watching them fumble into being superheroes, or at least attempt to, is the set-up for a great superhero comedy. The Spider-Man universe’s version of a Ghostbusters-type film. In a world where most superhero movies involve the fate of the multiverse or are overly serious, a straightforward superhero comedy that isn’t a meta-winking joke like Deadpool could help Sony Pictures Spider-Man Universe stand out.
Wraith
Created by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr.
First Appearance: Yuri Watanabe–The Amazing Spider-Man #600 (July 2009)/Wraith–The Amazing Spider-Man #663 (June 2011)
Wraith and her alter ego, Yuri Watanabe, are better known to audiences thanks to the character’s inclusion in Insomniac’s Spider-Man video game series. Yuri Watanabe was a former NYPD captain who worked alongside Spider-Man before eventually becoming disillusioned with the justice system and becoming a vigilante known as Wraith, who actually killed criminals. Jane DeWolff, Spider-Man’s former police ally who was killed by the serial killer Sin-Eater, was a friend and mentor to Yuri Watanabe, whose death became a motivating factor for Yuri’s transformation into Wraith.
Wraith allows Sony Pictures to put its own spin on a Punisher story and on the many violent vigilante films that inspired the Punisher, like Charles Bronson’s Death Wish or Taxi Driver, through the lens of a female protagonist. Not only could Wraith go up against a variety of Spider-Man’s lesser-known street-level foes like Sin-Eater or gangster and former Venom host Angelo Fortunato, but she could also go on a quest to kill some of Spider-Man’s superpowered (but less iconic) foes like Vermin, Coldheart, or Jack O’Lantern. A Wraith movie doesn’t need to cost a lot of money, and if positioned right, could be a violent R-rated action revenge film more so than a superhero film.
Spider-Woman
Created by Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #32 (February 1977)
Spider-Woman occupies a strange place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man contract. Despite having no real affiliation with Spider-Man, the most famous version of Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew, is seemingly part of his film rights. Sony Pictures used three different characters who adopted the Spider-Woman mantle in the comics for Madame Web, while also potentially developing a solo Spider-Woman film with Olivia Wilde set to direct that never materialized.
If Sony Pictures needs a superhero to build a universe around but cannot quite use Spider-Man, Spider-Woman is more than a fair substitute. Spider-Woman could be the main hero of Sony Pictures Shared Universe that connects various titles like Wraith, Solo, Slingers, and more together. Her comics tend to lean more into espionage, so Sony Pictures Spider-Woman could be a globe-trotting spy series that could fill the James Bond void in their film slate following Amazon’s purchase of MGM in 2022.
Black Cat
Created by Marv Wolfman and Dave Cockrum
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979)
Black Cat is one of Spider-Man’s most iconic supporting characters, who, apart from a brief tease of Felicity Jones as just a character named Felicia in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, has yet to be adapted to the big screen. Felicia Hardy follows in the footsteps of her famous thief father, Walter Hardy. Trained in martial arts and acrobatics, Black Cat later gained the ability to alter probability fields, giving others “bad luck”, giving her an advantage in combat and escaping large enemy gunfire. She is one of Spider-Man’s most morally complex characters, walking the fine line between villain, anti-hero, and even a straightforward superhero.
Sony Pictures spent years trying to develop a Black Cat spin-off film that would team her up with fellow Spider-Man character Silver Sable, titled Silver and Black. The project remained stuck in development hell, despite having The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood set to direct. If Marvel Studios has no plans to introduce Black Cat into the MCU anytime soon, Sony Pictures should move forward with a Black Cat solo film and explore her transition from cat burglar to genuine hero, similar to the G. Willow Wilson Black Cat written solo series Marvel is currently publishing.
Sinister Six
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (October 1964)
One of the original Spider-Man spin-off plans that Sony announced was The Sinister Six, which would be part of The Amazing Spider-Man film series. Despite having Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard set to write and direct the project, Sony Pictures scrapped the Spider-Man villain team-up film entirely after the disappointing reaction to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in favor of an MCU reboot. The Venom spin-off was revisited and repurposed into the 2018 film, while Sinister Six remained in development hell. On the surface, it appears that Sony Pictures was hoping Sinister Six would be the crossover film featuring Venom, Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, and more, reworked from a group of villains into a knock-off Avengers team.
This idea of turning straightforward villains like Kraven the Hunter into heroes was a significant problem for Sony’s shared universe, showing a misunderstanding of the characters and trying to fit square pegs into round holes. The source of inspiration for The Sinister Six on film should be Reservoir Dogs or The Usual Suspects, a group of criminals who are bad people that the audience still manages to root for. The members of the Sinister Six don’t need to be good; they just need to be facing off against a worse foe or get the audience invested in their own personal stories enough that they won’t want to see the “hero” like Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, or whatever superhero Sony Pictures can sub in to bring them down. If Sony Pictures wanted to make a statement, they would make a Sinister Six film featuring a collection of reimagined Spider-Man villains that would allow them to embrace being criminals.
Miles Morales
Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli
First Appearance: Ultimate Fallout #4 (August 2011)
The most obvious pick for a live-action Spider-Man spin-off film is Miles Morales. The biggest issue with the Sony Shared Universe of Spider-Man movies is the misleading title, suggesting there isn’t a Spider-Man. Yet Spider-Man doesn’t have to be Peter Parker. While there are plenty of multiversal variants from Spider-Man 2099 to Spider-Man 1602 that would make for compelling leads, it’s hard to argue that Miles Morales as Spider-Man makes the most sense as a franchise lead. With the animated Miles Morales trilogy of the Spider-Verse films set to conclude in 2027 with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, the live-action debut of Miles Morales would be a big deal.
Now, Sony making a Miles Morales Spider-Man movie might close the door on the character appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that certainly would be a risk. Yet giving Miles Morales a shared universe centered on his Spider-Man is a unique prospect that even the comics haven’t been able to offer him. A live-action series of Spider-Man films centered on Miles Morales without the multiverse concept could give film audiences a new perspective on Miles’ story, giving him his own street-level series that best suits Spider-Man.
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