With Electro and Rhino definitely appearing in Marc Webb’s upcoming THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, there’s been plenty of other villainous names thrown around to appear in some form. Whilst Electro and Rhino are the only two actually confirmed, it seems near-guaranteed that we’ll see Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin alter-ego appear, likely towards the climax of the film. Added to this, there’s constant speculation that we may see small cameos from Black Cat, Malice, The Vulture, Spencer Smythe and maybe even Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. There’s a few more names that you can now add onto the ‘maybe’ list.

As a promotional tool for the film, the powers that be have set up a Tumblr account for The Daily Bugle; the fictional newspaper headed up by J Jonah Jameson. The Bugle has recently released a faux article, written by reporter Ned Leeds, which alludes to some other possible villains at least existing in Webb’s Spidey-world.

The article reads:

A trial date has been set in the New York Appellate Court for alleged bio-terrorist Dr. Curt Connors. The former Oscorp biogenetics scientist has been indicted on twenty city and state counts, including trespassing, malicious destruction of property, theft of private property, aggravated assault, and using a weapon of mass destruction.

Connors has pleaded “not guilty” to all counts. It is expected his defense attorney, Anne Weying, will claim Connors was not responsible for the actions of his genetically transformed alter ego, the Lizard.

Connors claimed that pressure placed on him by his employer, Oscorp, led him to rush his bio-restorative formula and test it on himself. He further stipulated to the grand jury that his decision to use the untested compound was made in an effort to protect the company from experimenting on innocent civilians, as directed by his superiors. Connors’ immediate supervisor at Oscorp, Dr. Rajit Ratha, has been missing since the day before the Lizard’s attack.

Oscorp spokesman, Donald Menken, responded, “We can’t corroborate or deny Dr. Connors’ claims. Dr. Ratha’s abrupt departure from Oscorp has left us with far more questions than answers. Needless to say, Oscorp has always complied with the most stringent local, state and federal regulations for all of our research and development.”

Now, to the untrained eye, that’s just a regular piece of propaganda for the film. But there’s much, much more in there…

Firstly, the article is written by Ned Leeds. Spidey-fans will recognise that name, as Leeds, at one point in time, was the Hobgoblin, not to mention marrying Betty Brant. There’s also a mention of Anne Weying in there, who is the ex-wife of Eddie Brock, aka Venom. For a brief spell, Weying was also ‘at one’ with the symbiote, becoming She-Venom. Mentioned along with Weying we have Donald Menken. Menken doesn’t have any real villainous alter-egos, although he first appeared in comic-book form back in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #239, which is the story that began the whole Hobgoblin debacle.

The Spidey sequel will see Peter Parker looking to juggle his high school graduation, his affection for Gwen Stacy and his promise to her father that he will stay away from her, and the small matter of a couple of supervillains – namely Electro and Rhino.

Andrew Garfield returns as Pater Parker/Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Sally Field as Aunt May and Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben. Joining them is Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, Chris Cooper as Norman Osborn, Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as Rhino. There’s also an unknown role for Sarah Gadon and Felicity Jones, with Jones confirmed to be playing a villain who is tied to the Green Goblin.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is released on 18th April, 2014.

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