Amazing, Sony Introduced 2 Of Spider-Man's Greatest Enemies & Made It Impossible For Either Of Them To Ever Fight Him

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While it didn't feature the eponymous superhero, Sony's Spider-Man Universe spotlighted a handful of Spider-Man's greatest enemies only to crush the possibility that they'll ever fight him. Although recent reports suggest that Sony's Spider-Man Universe is now defunct, with Kraven the Hunter being its final installment, Venom's appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home has canonized Kraven's universe as part of the MCU's multiverse. Furthermore, Venom specifically recognized Spider-Man in Venom: Let There Be Carnage after spotting him on TV and suggesting that the multiverse-spanning symbiote hivemind is well aware of Spider-Man's existence.

Despite the tease and his brief appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home's credits, Venom did not come toe-to-toe with the wall-crawler before rounding out his trilogy in October with Venom: The Last Dance. While it didn't come as much of a surprise, Kraven the Hunter didn't so much as reference Spider-Man when it was released two months later, despite Peter Parker's existence in the SSU being confirmed in Madame Web. These decisions suggest that Sony never really intended for Spider-Man to face these enemies, but it isn't as if this anticipated battle would have made sense in the first place.

Sony's Venom And Kraven The Hunter Are Both More Heroes Than Villains

Sony Painted Spider-Man Adversaries As Heroes In Their Own Right

Venom swiftly became the flagship character of Sony's Spider-Man Universe as his debut movie raked in over $800 million for the franchise and its sequels outperformed every other SSU installment. As the protagonist, it stands to reason that Venom's origin movie portrayed him as a sympathetic antihero with noble goals enforced with lethal efficiency. This is also a relatively comic-accurate depiction of Venom, who would become the Lethal Protector of San Francisco shortly after debuting as a newer villain among Spider-Man's iconic rogues' gallery.

Eddie Brock's initial hatred of Spider-Man was because he believed he ruined his life and career, though he has no such connection in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Kraven the Hunter, on the other hand, flipped the script on Kraven by turning him from an obsessive villain into a true antihero. Kraven's cinematic origin story shows him hunting down powerful villains and even enlisting the help of the overtly good-natured lawyer, Calypso. His heartwarming relationship with his brother, Dimitri, also helps to humanize Kraven significantly. Kraven the Hunter ends like a typical superhero movie, with Kraven emerging as a noble if overly violent bulwark against organized crime, even if orchestrated by his brother. This makes them being in Spider-Man's crosshairs somewhat nonsensical.

It Wouldn't Make Sense For Sony's Venom Or Kraven To Fight Spider-Man

Spider-Man Isn't A Villain

Sony's versions of Venom and Kraven adhere to a moral code. Although they are blasé about killing - something which many superheroes balk at and essentially the only thing that labels them "antiheroes" - both are only willing to kill criminals or those they deem to be too evil to be kept alive. For Venom, this doubles as a way to sustain himself as he feeds on the brains of criminals. Kraven, meanwhile, is even more honorable as he enforces a noble code of honor - something which is reminiscent of his comic book characterization but more overtly virtuous.

By skirting around the comic-accurate origins of both Spider-Man adversaries and giving them virtuous goals, Sony wrote itself into a corner when justifying the long-awaited fight between them and their supposed arch-rival.

As a superhero, Spider-Man falls decidedly outside of these self-imposed parameters. Venom and Kraven's moral codes give them no reason to fight or kill Spider-Man as he subdues the criminals of New York, ostensibly pursuing the same objectives as the two antiheroes. By skirting around the comic-accurate origins of both Spider-Man adversaries and giving them virtuous goals, Sony wrote itself into a corner when justifying the long-awaited fight between them and their supposed arch-rival. In the entire SSU, only Vulture - who appears in the Morbius post-credits scene - has any reason to fight Spider-Man.

Sony And Marvel Missed The Perfect Opportunity To Have The Fight Everyone Wanted

Mysterio Turned Spider-Man Into A Villain

Despite being an MCU movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home provided the perfect set-up for these not-so-villainous adversaries to fight Spider-Man. The movie sees Mysterio weave false narratives first to portray himself as the world's latest superhero, and later paint Spider-Man as a murderous villain. He also reveals Peter Parker's identity to the world, sowing division among the population as they take the villain in disguise at his word. This movie was then followed up by the multiverse-focused Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Venom appears in the MCU for the first time after revealing a history with Spider-Man.

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Mysterio's semi-successful attempt to paint Spider-Man as a murderer was the perfect opportunity for Sony to have its new slew of antiheroes attack him. Kraven and Venom's qualms would have been misguided but justified if they believed Mysterio's yarn, allowing them to maintain their more heroic characterization in a fight borne out of misunderstanding. Now, the best hope to have Venom, Kraven, and Morbius fight the wall-crawler is to migrate them to the MCU down the line now that Sony's Spider-Man Universe is no more.

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Spider-Man

Spider-Man is the name given to several individuals who have employed a spider-moniker throughout Marvel Comics. Typically gaining their powers through a bite from a radioactive spider, the different Spider-Man heroes employ super-strength, agility, and intellect while utilizing webbing to swing and tangle up their foes. The most notable of these Spider-Men is Peter Parker, who remains one of the most popular superheroes throughout the world.

First Appearance Amazing Fantasy

Alliance Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Secret Defenders, Future Foundation, Heroes for Hire, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers, Web-Warriors