‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’: Meet the Villains

Columbia Pictures/Marvel Studios Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes.

Spider-Man: Homecoming, like all comic book movies today, can’t have just one villain. While Michael Keaton’s Vulture is the marquee enemy our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man faces, he’s not the only one in the movie.

Homecoming is the first Spider-Man movie that’s part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it was produced by Marvel Studios with Sony Pictures. Sony made the previous five Spider-Man movies itself and is also planning to make Venom and Silver & Black, which will take place outside the MCU. Homecoming was directed by Jon Watts and stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

Here’s a look at the villains of Homecoming.

Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/Vulture

Columbia Pictures/Marvel StudiosMichael Keaton as the Vulture.

The Vulture was one of Spider-Man’s very first villains, appearing in Amazing Spider-Man #2 in May 1963. That story didn’t establish the Vulture’s past, as that came later on. In that very first story, Spidey had to use an “anti-magnetic inverter” to stop the Vulture’s wings.

It was later revealed that the Vulture is really Adrian Toomes, whose parents died when he was young. As an adult, he became an inventor, only to be robbed by his business partner. His partner fired him, so he used an electromagnetic harness invention to fly and steal back what he thought was his money. He decided to become a criminal from that point onward.

Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz/The Shocker

GettyBokeem Woodbine plays the Shocker.

There are technically two Shockers in Homecoming. The main one is played by Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo). Herman Schultz made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #46 in 1967. He is a small-time robber who built himself a battle suit that sends shock waves (hence the name “Shocker”) from his hands. He later became a member of the Masters of Evil team and has worked with other Spider-villains.

Logan Marshall-Green as Jackson “Montana” Brice

GettyLogan Marshall-Green plays Montana.

Logan Marshall-Green stars as Jackson Brice, also known as “Montana.” The character first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #10 in 1964 and was also a Daredevil villain. He doesn’t have any superpowers and is proficient with a lasso. Like Schultz, the movie version of Montana helps Toomes in his crimes. They use gauntlets that once belonged to Crossbones (Frank Grillo’s character in the Captain America movies).

Michael Chernus as Phineas Mason/Tinkerer

Columbia Pictures/Marvel StudiosMichael Keaton as the Vulture with Michael Chernus as the Tinkerer.

Since Phineas Mason, a.k.a. The Tinkerer, debuted in the same early issue of Amazing Spider-Man as the Vulture, it seems only fair that he also appear in Homecoming. In the comics, Mason is an old man who uses technology for nefarious purposes. He is also frequently hired by other villains to build tech for them. He’s played by Michael Chernus in Homecoming.

Donald Glover as Aaron Davis

GettyDonald Glover plays Aaron Davis.

Donald Glover, who voiced Miles Morales for a Spider-Man animated series, plays Miles’ uncle, Aaron Davis. In Homecoming, Davis is just a small-time criminal associated with Toomes. Davis was not introduced in the main Spider-Man comics universe, but debuted in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man Vol. 2 #1 in November 2011. He is the Ultimate universe’s Prowler, a criminal who wears a high-tech suit. The original version of the character was Hobie Brown, who debuted in a 1969 issue of Amazing Spider-Man.

Michael Mando as Mac Gargan/Scorpion

GettyMichael Mando plays Mac Gargan.

Better Call Saul‘s Michael Mando appears briefly in Homecoming as Mac Gargan, who will likely become Scorpion in later movies. He first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man in 1964 as a private investigator for J. Jonah Jameson, who wanted Gargan to find out who Peter Parker could get such great photos of Spider-Man. Jameson also paid for Gargan to get experimental treatment, which drove him insane and gave him the characteristics of a scorpion. Since Jameson doesn’t appear in Homecoming or the MCU (at the moment), it looks like Gargan’s comic book origin will be changed on its way to the big screen.