Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk, AKA Kingpin, recently returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Disney+ series Echo. The show’s climax showed Fisk appearing to be interested in the New York City mayoral elections, hinting that he’ll be taking on the role in the MCU. It prompted a belief that he’ll have a significant role in Spider-Man 4.
As the New York mayor, Fisk may use his power to label Spider-Man an unlawful vigilante or even a bad guy and turn the city against him. It will justify his putting a team together to take Spidey down – the Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation of the Sinister Six.
But who will join the Kingpin’s team in Spider-Man 4? Which villains will club together to take down the supposed menace of the Webbed Wonder in the MCU? It’s time for a discussion about it.
Who Will Join Kingpin’s Sinister Six?
Kingpin’s Sinister Six will likely be primarily street-level vigilantes – the kind of characters he can manipulate – but it may also throw in a couple of surprises and big guns, especially those with an existing vendetta against Spider-Man.
The first likely candidate is Herman Schultz, AKA Shocker, whose only MCU appearance was in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Schultz, played by Bokeem Woodbine, is a salvage worker who Adrian Toomes employed to work with him in his black market arms business. After Toomes murdered Jackson Brice, he gave Brice’s modified gauntlet to Schultz, and he became Shocker. He’s currently in custody and would relish being released and given a new purpose of bringing Spider-Man down – especially given that the hero’s actions ultimately led to his imprisonment. Kingpin has the power to have him released early and could easily control him, as Toomes did.
Another character only seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming who’ll likely join the team is Aaron Davis, AKA Prowler. Played by Donald Glover, street criminal Davis encountered Spider-Man and even assisted the hero with information about Adrian Toomes’ location. However, Spidey webbed him to his car and left him there, irking him somewhat. That’s only a mild reason to be angry with Spider-Man, but there’s still every chance something else will happen that will ultimately turn him against the Webbed Wonder. As a low-level crook, he’ll be easy for Kingpin to manipulate and, provided with the necessary equipment by Fisk, will likely join the Sinister Six. Marvel Studios didn’t bring in a star of Glover’s stature to only use him once.
Next up, it’s Scorpion. Otherwise known as Mac Gargan, and played in Spider-Man: Homecoming by Michael Mando, the character was presented as a potential buyer of Toomes’ black market weapons. After attempting to strike a deal with Toomes on the Staten Island Ferry, he was arrested by the FBI and imprisoned, thanks to the intervention of Spider-Man. In jail, he reunited with Toomes and vowed revenge on Spidey, making him a likely candidate for Fisk’s Sinister Six. Gargan has a scorpion tattooed on his next, foreshadowing his potential evolution into the villain of that name. Fisk will enjoy getting him out of jail, providing him with scorpion-themed high-tech armor to fight Spider-Man.
Now, we come to Venom. The mid-credits scene of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home revealed Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, AKA Venom, had ended up in the MCU due to the spell Doctor Strange cast at the start of the film. When he cast another spell to erase the world’s memories of Spider-Man, Brock returned to his universe, as did the other multiversal travelers. However, a remnant of his Venom Symbiote was left behind, meaning Marvel Studios must have plans for it. One could be for Peter Parker to become the black-suited Spider-Man, which he’ll use to defeat the Sinister Six, but another could be for an MCU Venom to join Kingpin’s Sinister Six – and that’s the most likely scenario. Which character it will be remains to be seen (it could end up being the previously discussed Mac Gargan), but Fisk will recruit them and utilize their power to bring Spidey down.
There’ll need to be at least one character never seen before in live-action. The character could be Hydro-Man. Otherwise known as Morris Bench, Hydro-Man is one of the most well-known and enduring Spider-Man villains never to appear in a live-action movie – and it’s about time that changed. Bench was a crewman working on a cargo ship when Spider-Man, fresh from fighting Namor, accidentally knocked him into an experimental generator that transformed him into a being of water. Angered, Bench became a villain and sought Spidey out. Easily manipulated and heavily influenced by money, Hydro-Man would be an ideal candidate to work for Kingpin as a member of his Spider-Man-hunting Sinister Six – and he certainly has the motive for it.
The final member is likely to be female, as it would be wrong to have six members and make all of them male. Black Cat seems like an ideal candidate for the role. Previously played by Felicity Jones in Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Black Cat’s real name is Felicia Hardy. Hardy, the daughter of a world-renowned cat burglar, became an expert burglar herself. Experiments by the Kingpin gave her the power to affect probability fields, which enabled her to give her enemies “bad luck.” That established link with Fisk makes her an obvious choice to work with him in live-action. She’d be a fantastic Sinister Six member and a great addition to the MCU. Her power could render Spider-Man useless, and her tendency to seduce men would make her a valuable asset to Fisk’s team.
So that’s the likely lineup of Kingpin’s MCU Sinister Six, at least initially: Shocker, Prowler, Scorpion, Venom, Hydro-Man, and Black Cat.
Other candidates include Vulture (though Toomes now has sympathy for Spider-Man, so it seems unlikely), Mysterio (assuming he faked his death), Rhino (an easily manipulated character who could be the team’s muscle), Hobgoblin (with Parker’s friend Ned Leeds in the role), Morbius, Mister Negative, and Sandman.
Regardless of which characters end up in Kingpin’s Sinister Six, Spider-Man 4 will be a hoot with the iconic villain team showing up.
