As is the case with every anticipated MCU release, there will be endless talk about Spider-Man 4 until it has finally been released (if it ends up being released). With details about the film being hard to come by, fans are left to wonder what the plot might be, and which foes from the excellent Spider-Man rogues gallery will be featured. Those behind the scenes of the MCU are in luck, considering Spider-Man has dozens of fantastic villains to choose from.
While Spider-Man: No Way Home did shake things up, it seemed like the MCU planned to have Spider-Man go up against tech-based villains. If that trend does continue, there are a few of his villains that could make a serious splash. One excellent and underrated foe that could be featured is none other than Alistair Smythe.
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Who Is Alistair Smythe?
Alistair Smythe | |
|---|---|
First Appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #19 (November 1985) |
Created By | Louise Simonson, Mary Wilshire |
Abilities | Genius-level intellect, bioorganic carapace |
Foes | Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson |
While many will best know Alistair Smythe from the iconic Spider-Man animated series from the nineties, the character has actually been around since the eighties. Even more importantly, Smythe’s main source of villainy, the Spider-Slayers, has been around in concept since the sixties. Their first major appearance back when J. Jonah Jameson used one (which was built by Alistair’s father) to battle Spider-Man. At his core, Alistair Smythe is a robotics genius who becomes obsessed with destroying Spider-Man after his father's death. To accomplish this, Smythe creates more deadly Spider-Slayers than his own father could have ever dreamed of.
For decades, Smythe has sent all manner of Spider-Slayers to kill Spider-Man. These robots are so effective that Spider-Man has almost been beaten by a number of them over the years, only managing to survive certain encounters with help from others. Despite an injury that rendered him unable to use his legs, Smythe’s genius wouldn’t let that stop him from continuing his villainous ways. He’s even crossed paths with other heroes in his battles against Spider-Man, including She-Hulk and the Scarlet Spider.
Eventually, Smythe would design a suit of his own that allowed him to get into the action himself. At this point, though, much of Smythe’s wrath was turned toward the returning Jameson instead of Spider-Man. Smythe would later take on Spider-Man while Otto Octavius was in his body, an encounter that the robotics genius would not survive. While it seemed like Smythe would likely remain dead, he has since been resurrected, though his status in the comics is mostly unknown, leaving the door wide open for a potential return in the future.
What Makes Alistair Smythe So Dangerous?
Believe it or not, it is more than just Smythe’s mind that makes him so dangerous. Outside of his genius-level intellect, Smythe’s bioorganic body armor gave him many of the same abilities as his foe Spider-Man, though he added claws and blades to the suit’s design in order to cause more damage. Whether due to training, his ability to learn quickly, or some unknown perk of his armor, Smythe is also an excellent fighter. He can take on Spider-Man and give him some trouble, even when the more ruthless Doc Ock was in charge.
With that acknowledged, it truly is Smythe’s genius that makes him a terrifying and twisted villain. Like other brilliant Spider-Man villains, Smythe tries to have backup plans for his backup plans. When one Spider-Slayer fails, there tends to be another nearby. When one plan ends up failing, there’s always someone else to manipulate to continue an attack. It can't be understated just how often Smythe has posed a serious threat to Spider-Man, especially during the character’s earlier days.
One of Smythe’s most brilliant plans actually put everyone who Spider-Man had ever cared about in danger. With a whole host of Spider-Slayers on the prowl, Smythe used a unique mini Spider-Slayer to penetrate Spider-Man’s mind for information on his loved ones. This put Spider-Man in a tough spot. He had to choose between stopping the Spider-Slayers going for those he cared about, or the one ready to kill Jameson. As one might expect, everything turns out fine, but that’s not to say it wasn’t a great plan on Smythe's part. It’s also worth noting Smythe tried the same consciousness switch plan that Octavius had, though it was blocked because Octavius had done it first in the Superior Spider-Man.
Why Is Alistair Smythe The Perfect Spider-Man 4 Villain?
MCU Spider-Man Movies | Release Date | Box Office | Budget | Rotten Tomatoes Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spider-Man: Homecoming | July 7, 2017 | $880.2 million | $175 million | 92% |
Spider-Man: Far From Home | July 2, 2019 | $1.132 billion | $160 million | 90% |
Spider-Man: No Way Home | December 17, 2021 | $1.922 billion | $200 million | 93% |
While the movie may still be quite a ways away, with Peter Parker now on his own as he goes off to college, the classic Spider-Man formula of the MCU may end up changing a bit. It is possible that Peter will simply get two new friends and a mentor figure at the school. But regardless of how things shake out, Smythe can pose an interesting challenge for Spider-Man.
The character would force Peter to fall back onto his intellect, which fans haven’t seen much of thus far. Additionally, the dynamic threat of the robotic Spider-Slayers would allow writers to tie back into Stark-tech if they wanted to. If that’s not the route the MCU goes, the introduction of Smythe would also help to solidify the importance of other tech companies in Peter’s life. This may even result in some form of rudimentary suit upgrade helmed by Peter without any outside help.
Spider-Man 4 will need a strong story to tell if it is even going to happen, something that has already been acknowledged by those behind the character. In an interview with Variety, Tom Holland had this to say about a potential Spider-Man 4:
I feel very protective over Spider-Man [...] I feel very, very lucky that we were able to work on a franchise that got better with each movie [...] I want to protect his legacy. So, I won’t make another one for the sake of making another one. It will have to be worth the while of the character.
Smythe is also a varied enough character that he could fit multiple roles in the story. He could act as a teacher at the school Peter attends, a rival in class, an expert for a company Peter interns at, or something a bit less personal. Spider-Man is at his best when Peter Parker is at his worst. Smythe could be the perfect villain to send Peter’s life, which would presumably be on the upswing by the start of the movie, back into chaos. All it would take is some nano-tech and a few Spider-Slayers, and suddenly, Spider-Man is forced to fight innocent people and hordes of robot sidekicks.
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