One of the many ways fans judge a superhero is by their rogues gallery. Batman is a fascinating guy, but he wouldn’t be nearly as popular without his many enemies.Spider-Manhas one of the best casts of costumed criminals in the business. While a few of his notable nemeses have taken to the screen, he still has a lot of foes that never appeared on film. One strange example is Mac Gargan, who briefly appeared inSpider-Man: Homecomingbut still hasn’t taken on the Scorpion mantle.
Marvel’s Spider-Man moviesare a bit of a mess thanks to a difficult rights agreement. Marvel and Sony share custody of the character, ensuring several complicated and unfortunate outcomes for one of the franchise’s most popular characters. The controversial ending ofNo Way Homeis broadly understood as a grim compromise between dueling media conglomerates. This continued battle will likely only continue to pull Spider-Man in separate directions to his detriment.
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
First Appearance Date
December 1964
Mac Gargan is one of Spider-Man’s most consistent enemies, though he’s not often his most threatening. Gargan worked as a private investigator who took on a surprisingly difficult task.Daily Bugle editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jamesonhired Gargan to tail one of his own reporters, Peter Parker, and determine how the young photographer acquired pictures of Spider-Man. Gargan immediately discovered that he wasn’t cut out to tail Parker, but Jameson insisted on more extreme methods. He hires Gargan again, forcing him into a dangerous and untested procedure to endow him with the powers of a scorpion. The inventor, Dr. Farely Stillwell, armed Gargan with a mechanical tail and sent him on his task. Scorpion successfully defeated Spider-Man twice, but the effects of the enhancements gradually damaged his mental health. Spider-Man defends Stillwell and Jameson from the monster they created, forging a cycle in which the Scorpion repeatedly attempts to defeat his nemesis and his benefactors.
Scorpion has been aregular foe of Spider-Manand several other Marvel heroes for the past 60 years. He’s worked with or for several of the biggest villains in the franchise. He rarely works on his own, frequently teaming up with other minor threats or carrying out tasks for larger ones. He usually exhibits superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes on par with Spider-Man. His mechanical tail often acts as a separate limb, but it typically comes with additional weapons. Scorpion became a much more notable threat in the comics when he became the newhost of the Venom symbiote. With that considerable boost, Gargan attained fame and achieved feats he could never have dreamed of. He lost the symbiote after the “Siege” storyline and returned to his old habits around 2010. Since then, he usually pops up as a henchman or teammate working against Spider-Man.
When did the MCU set up Scorpion?
Michael Mando, probably bestknown as Vaas inFar Cry 3or Nacho inBetter Call Saul, appears as Mac Gargan inSpider-Man: Homecoming. He’s only in two brief scenes, but it’s a clear setup for future appearances. That film set up minor antagonists like Shocker as members of Adrian Toomes' gang. Mando’s Mac Gargan is the buyer Toomes is meeting on the Staten Island Ferry, but his scene is slightly overshadowed during the resulting disaster. In the mid-credits scene, Gargan meets Toomes again in prison. Gargan demands to know Spider-Man’s identity, accurately sussing out that the former Vulture knows Parker’s name.Toomes, exhibiting a moment of decency, claims ignorance.
How couldSpider-Man 4include the Scorpion?
The next MCU movie has several potential paths to bring Michael Mando’s Mac Gargan back into the picture. It might be tough to follow the comics. J. K. Simmons' J. Jonah Jameson probably wouldn’t hire a known criminal straight out of federal prison to investigate a kid who may or may not ever work for him. However, Scorpion can still be a notable side villain. He’s rarely capable of carrying a story on his own, but he’d make a great mini-boss for a bigger foe.Imagine Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpinhiring a bunch of the goons that Spider-Man put away to carry out a new campaign of terror. Maybe the movies will finally introduce Norman Osborne or one of Parker’s many enemy scientists. Gargan probably won’t take Eddie Brock’s gimmick any time soon, but he could still be a fun part of the nextSpider-Manmovie.
Mac Gargan is just one of many mid-credits scenes that Marvel has left hanging for many years. He’s not the most important example, and the franchise could certainly go on without him.Using Scorpion would be a great wayto bring Spider-Man back to his own world. Mac Gargan won’t be the key to the new MCU, but he could be a fun new threat for a more contained Spider-Man story.
