Spider-Man: Brand New Day is hitting theaters and making a splash because of the sheer number of villains, some of which might need more of an introduction. While parts of the production are a bit confusing, with audiences asking things like “Where does Sadie Sink fit in?” the rogues gallery has some very interesting through lines drawing from creators like Gerry Conway and other comic books like Daredevil.
The title itself had fans concerned. The Spider-Man: Brand New Day storyline takes place post the controversial Spider-Man: One More Day. One More Day saw Peter sell his marriage and memories to Mephisto to save Aunt May, splitting up Peter Parker and MJ Watson for over 20 years. While fans still argue about the comics, this story has an interesting through line between this and the comics. Spider-Man: No Way Home resulted in the death of Aunt May (much like One More Day) and Peter Parker being erased from everyone’s memories (just like Peter and MJ’s marriage). While the characters never got together or got married, audiences can experience Peter and MJ falling in love without the comic book characters’ history.
That love doesn’t come without trials, however. Let’s take a moment and break down just who Peter will be fighting when it comes to basic heroes. Spider-Man’s rogues gallery is massive, with several standouts. Let’s break down just who the standouts are, where they started, and how they might make things difficult for our favorite webslinger.
Tarantula (1974), created by Punisher creator Gerry Conway, was inspired by the idea that other countries/regimes could have their own Captain America. Hailing from the dictatorship of Delvadia, Antonio acted as a government enforcer and symbol similar to Captain America or the Red Guardian. Antonio’s appearance in Spider-Man ended with Peter Parker thwarting him, but Tarantula came to a more tragic end after his encounter with the Brand Corporation. In an effort to give him tarantula-like powers, the Brand Corporation injected him with a mutagenic serum that was designed to give him spider powers. The process was interrupted and caused him to be turned into a tarantula-like creature. He was eventually captured by Kraven the Hunter and participated in Kraven’s last hunt.
Ramrod (1973)Originally appearing in Daredevil #103, Ramrod was a construction foreman turned into a cyborg by Moon Dragon and attorney Kerwin J Brodrick. With this technology, Ramrod was designed to be an unstoppable force with strength, durability, and steel plates that allowed him to take hits and keep on coming. He is the definition of a “street-level hero,” using his street-level fighting skills to go up against Daredevil in San Francisco.
Boomerang (1966)Frederick Meyers was born in Australia and moved to America as a child. Developing himself into a baseball star, he was pushed out of his baseball career when he was caught accepting bribes. He joined The Secret Empire, a criminal organization loosely connected to HYDRA. Meyers was given a special suit designed to suit his baseball skills. The character has a cult following, leading to him having a long history battling everyone from Spider-Man to Hawkeye, Nick Fury, and Morlun. Recently, Meyers has teamed up with a symbiote from another dimension named Passenger, the two of them calling themselves Comeback.
Scorpion (1964)MacDonald “Mac” Gargan is one of Spider-Man’s more serious foes. A former private investigator hired by J Jonah Jameson to discover how Peter Parker could take amazing pictures of Spider-Man; he joined Jameson on his crusade against Spider-Man. Jameson signed him up for a procedure where he would get the abilities of an animal from a scientist named Stillwell. Stillwell outfits him with a club tail and calls him Scorpion since the scorpion is a predator of the spider. Gargan became a feature of Peter’s rogues gallery, joining the Sinister Six with the likes of Venom and the Green Goblin. Gargan’s mind, warped by the procedure that made him the Scorpion, has had multiple adventures, from being Venom in the Dark Avengers to joining an invasion of Asgard.
Hulk (1962)One of the most famous Avengers and members of the MCU, Bruce Banner’s alter ego Hulk is set up as an accidental villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Exposed to a gamma bomb test after saving teenager Rick Jones, Banner transforms when enraged and angry – becoming a hulking monster with immense strength that acts as a battering ram and tank for the Avengers. Banner and his alter ego have a great deal of control in the MCU – or at least they seemed to – until Brand New Day revealed that Hulk would be a major villain and take on both Spider-Man and the Punisher.
WHO IS WILLIAM METZGER?
William Metzger is an unusual character. Appearing in the miniseries X-Men: Children of the Atom (1999), the character doesn’t seem to have any powers or abilities. Metzger’s an extremely minor character with no abilities and a connection to politics. Metzger dies at the end of the miniseries, but he runs an anti-mutant organization. He runs propaganda through “The Militia,” an anti-mutant publication. Metzger stirs controversy, encouraging anti-mutant sentiment and even joining in on the development of an anti-mutant weapon.
Metzger isn’t a well-known figure in X-Men rogues galleries. He’s not William Stryker, one of the X-Men’s famous military antagonists. He’s not Bolivar Trask, the famous inventor of the Sentinels. Metzger is specifically a propagandist who is in charge of Damage Control, the department responsible for attempting to manage the growing number of people affected by superpowers and superhuman abilities in the MCU.
The choice of Metzger might make him the most intriguing character in the film. One could ask questions about how Metzger fits in with the likes of Trask and Stryker. The idea of propagandists being villainous has real-world connections and implications. Putting such a figure at the head of an organization like Damage Control is an intriguing concept with wide-reaching implications. While Metzger is an interesting choice, audiences are fickle. They might not trust the idea of Metzger when they’re looking for Stryker (one of the figures behind the Weapon X program that gave us Wolverine in the X-Men films) or Trask (consistently the inventor of the Sentinels). Propagandists, in a world where the truth is seen through a lens of political bias and artificial intelligence, make sense – but it’s not familiar.
These standout villains have a long and sordid history with Spider-Man’s mythos. As the comics continue to shift and create new heroes and villains, the movies offer a way for audiences to have a passing familiarity with these characters. While it doesn’t look like we’ll spend a lot of time with each of these characters, it’s a nice nod for people who don’t want to get into the comics but still interact with the world. One way or another, paying attention to the history of these characters is important. The MCU shouldn’t erase its comics history like Peter erased his marriage or his identity in Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s paid homage, and it’s paid it rather well.
Which villain are you the most excited to see? Share with us in the comments below!
