8 Sadistic Spider-Man Villains Who Should Debut in The MCU

With the dust barely settling on Tom Holland’s near-perfect Spider-Man trilogy, all signs are pointing to a sequel trilogy happening for the world-famous wall-crawler soon. While there have been 8 live-action films in the last 20 years, filled with some of the best and brightest that is the Spider-Man rogues' gallery, we decided to look to the future and predict which tricky troublemakers may have our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in their crosshairs.

Not on the list are seemingly confirmed villains like Morbius, Kraven, and The Scorpion, the latter two of which were hinted at in the final scenes of Spider-Man No Way Home. We also wanted to challenge ourselves by picking villains that have never been depicted in live-action before. With all that out of the way, join us as we discuss 8 sadistic Spider-Man villains who should debut in the MCU!

Black Cat

The first entry might not necessarily be the most sadistic, but Felicia Hardy aka The Black Cat is well overdue to make a live-action appearance. Over the past decades, all of Spider-Man’s cinematic threats have been male, so what better way to blaze a new trail than to slide this femme-fatal into a film as Spidey’s main antagonist? Making her comic book debut in Amazing Spiderman #194, way back in 1979, Black Cat was initially created as a Spider-Woman villain before editorial changes put her on Peter’s path.

The daughter of Walter Hardy, an accomplished burglar, Felicia found herself following in her father’s footsteps. Under the moniker of The Black Cat, Hardy would go on to be one of the deadliest thieves in Marvel, using her heightened strength, agility, and skills as a martial artist to get the job done. While she initially had no superpowers, the character was later given the psionic ability to affect probability fields, essentially giving her enemies “bad luck” (which was incredibly fitting given her codename). In her first foray as Black Cat, she crossed paths with Spider-Man. Since then, the two could be seen either fighting or kissing one another, depending on the comic. With Peter’s relationship on hiatus after the evens of No Way Home, Felicia could be a fun addition to the Parker Dating Pool.

The introduction of Black Cat can allow Marvel to explore the grey side of their universe, as Felicia finds herself more on the side of good these days than evil. Also, given the history of the character as a sexually abused woman, Hardy could potentially be seen as an inspiration to those who feel their story would never be told in a superhero epic. Felicity Jones played Felicia in Amazing Spider-Man 2 although the role was reduced to nothing short of a cameo.

Morlun (and the Inheritors)

Belonging to the Inheritors, a group of dimension-hopping hunters hoping to feast on anyone possessing a Spider-Totem, Morlun is well-known for his involvement in the Spider-Verse & Spider-Geddon crossover events. In those stories, he and his clan travel to different dimensions, draining the lives out of numerous versions of Spider-Man for their own sustenance. This outside threat causes some of the remaining Spider-Men (and Women) from across the multiverse to band together in hopes of stopping these energy vampires once and for all.

While Morlun is a fairly recent addition to Spider-Man lore, what he lacks in longevity, he more than makes up for in brutality. Using his superhuman strength, speed, and stamina, he was able to drain the life-forces out of many versions of Spider-Man, without even breaking a sweat. As a matter of fact, the Inheritor was only subdued once the otherworldly Spider-Men started to work together.

Considering Marvel’s newfound interest in exploring the multiverse and the financial success of Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse, a live-action version of Spider-Verse has to be in the cards when thinking of the big picture. They say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, and that sentiment rings true of the villains of the comic book version of the story. Not only would bringing in Morlun give you an excuse to bring in Spider-Gwen (Ghost-Spider), Spider-Man Noir, or Spider-Ham, but if you include his family in the mix, you may just have the right amount of destruction and devastation for an instant classic Spider-Man film! In the meantime, the Inheritors will be waiting until the Hunt… is on.

The Chameleon

Spider-Man is left with a bit of an identity crisis at the end of No Way Home, and what villain would be better to underline that theme than the master of disguise and skilled impressionist known as The Chameleon. Chameleon, also known as Dmitri Smerdyakov, has the distinction of being Spider-Man's first supervillain, debuting in the pages of Amazing Spiderman #1 in 1963.

The character has since appeared in different Spider-Man properties and gets his namesake because of his ability to mimic anyone's body language and speech patterns. That, plus his ability to make convincing masks, was his claim to fame in early years, and he managed all this without superpowers. Since then, Chameleon has used technology to achieve his means, often shown wearing a holographic belt that can help him appear to be anyone he wants. This ability has made him incredible at espionage and a dangerous threat in general.

The most sadistic version of the character could be seen murdering his victims via an acid bath, then examining their screams of pain so he could better train his voice to sound like them. He would kill a person, assume their identity, and try to live out their lives the way he felt THEY should have. As Peter Parker takes time to find out who he wants to be in this world, it would be apropos if he faced a villain who could be anyone he wants to be. Chameleon can also serve as a surrogate for those who don't feel comfortable in their own skin. Did we mention he also just so happens to be Kraven The Hunter’s half-brother?

Screwball

Another villain who could be a welcome addition to the MCU is Screwball, a social media influencer who used her massive platform to commit crimes for her adoring audience. As the world's first live-blogging super-villain, not much is known about Screwie other than the fact that she loves an audience and loves to exploit Spider-Man. Most know Screwball from her appearance in Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4, where players had to complete her “Screwball Challenges” to beat the game.

The lack of female villains depicted in live-action Spiderman films is downright criminal, and the addition of Screwball would not only diversify his silver screen rogues’ gallery, but the film could make a point about the dangers of social media fame by pointing out the need to constantly up the ante to get more followers. Screwball has yet to be completely fleshed out as a character in the comics, only making sporadic appearances to stir up trouble, but the MCU could add additional layers to the villain that didn’t exist initially. In the era where TikTok and “challenges” are all the craze, why not try a live-streaming villain for a Spider-Man sequel?

Anyone who would harm innocent people purely for entertainment has sadistic tendencies, but when you factor in her constant need for an audience, Screwie is downright sociopathic. With her parkour skills, 18 million followers, and desire to be the talk-of-the-town, Screwball might be one challenge too many for the wall-crawler.

The Jackal

After High School, Peter will need to go to college, and odds are he would end up attending Empire State University just as he did in the comics. If that’s the case, it may be time to introduce one of Spidey’s oldest foes, Miles Warren also known as The Jackal, who was introduced to readers in Amazing Spider-Man #31 in 1965. A certified expert in biochemistry, Warren was a professor at ESU who became obsessed with cloning and the evolution of man. The professor developed an unhealthy obsession with one of his students, Gwen Stacey, who was dating his pupil Peter Parker. After Gwen’s death at the hands of the Green Goblin, Warren became heartbroken and blamed Spider-Man for her death.

Determined to reverse her fate, Miles made flawed genetic clones of Gwen Stacey and Peter Parker, creating a perversion of the couple themselves. Once the professor learned that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, he became hell-bent on ruining his life and would do so by creating exact clones of the wall-crawler and causing confusion over which version of Spider-Man was the real one. Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom would take on the Scarlet Spider moniker, started as clones of Peter Parker created by Warren. The Clone Saga, the story in which most of these revelations come to light, has been marred by fans for being convoluted and confusing. Marvel Studios could potentially streamline the event for fans who are unfamiliar.

Miles Warren would eventually go full-on insane in the comics and develop a split personality which he blamed all of his malicious deeds on, calling him The Jackal. Jackal's grotesque visage and his advanced intellect combined with his unethical science experiments, make him a foe worthy of a live-action adaptation. Bringing him into the fold allows you to introduce characters like Ben Reilly and others involved in the Clone Saga storyline if you choose to.

Carrion

This next one might be dicey, as it plays on world events, but what about bringing in Carrion? This failed clone of Miles Warren created in 1978 also had Warren’s hatred for Spider-Man, blaming him for the death of Gwen Stacey. Retaining the professor's memories, he set his sights on destroying the web-head once and for all. Carrion's body resembles a human corpse, giving him a zombie-like appearance as Warren had created the clone but seemingly died before he could release him. The clone was left developing in the capsule for far too long, causing its body to age at an artificially accelerated rate. His ghoulish appearance aside, Carrion could disintegrate organic matter to ash with a simple touch and has the powers of telepathy, self-levitation, and telekinesis of organic matter. He also has unlimited access to Miles Warren’s scientific equipment used in his "cloning" experiments.

Later on in comics, we would see different versions of Carrion including a college classmate of Peter Parker, and a S.H.I.E.L.D Agent named William Adam. Both men were exposed to the dangerous virus by accident, becoming villains because of it. The final version of Carrion resembles a sentient and incredibly viral version of the virus itself, that can hop from body to body, controlling them at will. It can even create a physical form for itself that resembles the classic appearance of Carrion himself.

Marvel is known to “remix” some villains to best suit their needs, and I believe you could combine various versions of Carrion to make the ultimate villain. You can have a rival of Peter Parker find a substance that makes him the living Carrion, and his defeat could release the sentient Carrion Virus, which could ravage New York City until Spider-Man comes up with a cure. Having a fictitious virus run rampant for the sake of cinematic drama might be a bit much for those experiencing the horrors of the Covid-19 pandemic, but art is best when it imitates life, don’t you think?

Mister Negative

There will be an Aunt May-sized hole left in New York City when we pick back up with Spidey. She was such a giving person, even going so far as to work for FEAST, a non-profit organization that does its best to provide food, emergency aid, shelter & training to those in need. In the pages of Marvel Comics, May isn’t the only character associated with the organization as it was originally founded by Chinese immigrant and kind-hearted philanthropist Martin Li. If that name rings a bell, it's because Martin Li is one of the characters in Marvel’s Spiderman, the critically acclaimed PlayStation 4 game. In it, players got to deal with Li, or more importantly, Li’s sadistic crime lord alter ego Mister Negative.

That’s right! A mild-mannered community leader by day, and cutthroat criminal mastermind by night, Mister Negative masquerades as a man of the people while strengthening his chokehold on New York City. After exposure to the drug D-Lite, Li mastered control over both the Darkforce and the Lightforce. He has the power to heal, once healing Eddie Brock’s Cancer, and the ability to corrupt and brainwash his enemies with the same touch. Using the latter, Li managed to take control over Spider-Man, as the wallcrawler was not immune to the Darkforce’s ability to fully corrupt one’s morals and values.

Li can show up as a man who wishes to lead F.E.A.S.T. in May’s absence. Using his charm and outright generosity to disarm anyone on his trail, he could covertly build his personal army, the Inner Demons from the shadows. His duality makes him a perfect antithesis of everything Peter Parker is, and his perversion of May’s legacy may give Peter the motivation he needs to step up and take him down.

Hobgoblin (Ned Leeds)

What is a better superhero tale than best friends turning into bitter enemies? As soon as Ned Leeds was introduced to us Spider-Man fans in Spider-Man: Homecoming, a quick google search revealed one name; Hobgoblin. Many people have committed crimes under this moniker, the most well-known version being Roderick Kingsley, a fashioned designer turned criminal who happened upon Norman Osborn's Green Goblin gadgets and gear and altered it to distinguish himself from the original. His reflexes, speed, stamina, and intellect were all enhanced by taking the Goblin Formula, making him extremely dangerous.

In the comics, Ned is a reporter for the Daily Bugle and is tasked with investigating the Hobgoblin. Unfortunately, after tracking the villain down, Leeds ends up kidnapped and brainwashed by the Hobgoblin and used as a patsy for all of his crimes. That is one of the most tragic things of all. Leeds never wanted to become the villain, he was only brainwashed into thinking he was so he could take the fall if Hobgoblin was ever captured. As a matter of fact, when things got too dangerous for Kingsley, he "leaked" Ned's identity as the Hobgoblin, which ultimately gets Leeds killed in a case of mistaken identity.

Is this tragic story in the cards for OUR Ned Leeds? There is no straight answer to that question. His eventual turn to the Darkside was hinted at in a joking way in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and he's already shown to be incredibly skilled at technology. Now that he and Peter are no longer friends, all bets are off on whether or not Parker could keep his "guy in the chair" safe.

With no friend to steer him from his dark fate, we might see a completely brainwashed and unhinged Leeds don the yellow Goblin mask and unknowingly face off against his former best friend. While none of us may be ready for it, the MCU may have already laid the groundwork for the death of Ned Leeds, and we didn't even know it.