Last week, I asked readers which villain they'd like to see brawl with the ol' web-slinger in "Spider-Man 4," the next installment of Sony's "Spider-Man" movie franchise.
After all the votes were counted, Curt Conners' reptilian alter ego The Lizard narrowly edged out the psychopathic symbiote Carnage as the most-wanted bad guy for the next film. With a series of mentions in previous films establishing Connors' character, seeing The Lizard in "Spider-Man 4" certainly seems possible—but with a "Venom" spin-off green-lit, one has to wonder whether we'll see Carnage in "Spider-Man 4" or "Venom" first.
Read on for the full breakdown of the votes and a selection of reader comments explaining why they voted the way they did.
POLL RESULTS
Lizard: 29%
Carnage: 26%
Mysterio: 10%
Venom (again): 8%
Electro: 7%
Kraven the Hunter: 7%
Morbius the Living Vampire: 4%
Shocker: 2%
Vulture: 2%
While Lizard and Carnage were certainly the favorites, a few characters also received a significant chunk of write-in votes, including Black Cat, King Pin (who already appeared in "Daredevil"), Hobgoblin and the supervillain team The Sinister Six. Oh, and a special message to whoever cast the one vote for Rocket Racer: You are my hero.
Here's what readers had to say in the comment section and Twitter:
john@themovies: I voted for Carnage. The perfect villain to make a darker Spider-man. In Spider-Man 3, our hero became darker because of the symbiote. Putting him against Carnage will create a dilemma for Spider-Man in not crossing the line of methods like the Punisher. But there are 2 villains in the movie. We could only vote for one. My second choice is Kraven the Hunter. Certainly if Marvel goes with Kraven's last hunt, where he buried Spider-Man for two weeks. The combination of these two villains can create a darker fourth installment. And Bruce Campbell would be great as Kraven. And last but not least, I would like to see the Black Cat appear. The other villains will certainly back for the fifth and sixth movie.
@MarkWaid: Is "Max Baucus" an option?
Mas-face: Lizard is obviously the best choice. I also think it would be great if they showed Mysterio because Mysterio serves as great comic relief. I always loved it in the comics when Spidey had snide comments about Mysterio having a fishbowl for a head. Lizard would be an excellent visual feat plus he could also have a good personality conflicting with his beast-instincts. Kraven the Hunter never appealed to me because he isn't very cool. I mean he doesn't have any powers he's just strong and manly. My line-up for the series: SP4: Lizard and Mysterio SP5: Scorpion and Electro SP6: Venom and Carnage (Venom helps spider-man defeat carnage, its great) (But Raimi won't like this one) I'm a big fan so I'll see 4 no matter what (as long as the Jonas Brothers aren't it) but they need to bring something new in so it'll get everyone's attention
@lonelypond: Kraven good choice -- his polish + poise excellent PP contrast; no Morbius, too many vampires out there already
adamant877: Here goes: After the events of SM3, old "Doc Connors", using the remaining symbiote that he took from Peter, and adding lizard DNA, creates a formula that he believes will grow back his missing arm. After taking the formula, he is transformed into the Lizard, and starts terrorizing the inhabitants of New York as (what J. Jonah Jameson dubs) "The Giant Alligator in the Sewers of New York!" Meanwhile, Sergei Kravinoff (Kraven), host of the wildly popular reality/hunting/survival television program "The Ultimate Game", comes to town to find the creature and kill it. Peter soon discovers what happened to his friend and colleague, and just before Kraven can get off his kill shot, he saves the Lizard, further enraging the big game hunter who now starts to adjust his sights onto the web-slinger! Sergei travels with his brother, Dmitri (Chameleon), who happens to be an ex-Russian military spy, and an expert makeup artist/impressionist, who is tasked with finding out Spider-Man's true identity, so that Sergei can flush him out into the open. (*You could even throw in an intro, or even a cameo of Mysterio, thanks to the production team of "The Ultimate Game" coming to town.)
RamoneC: I voted Mysterio. The best Spider-man baddies are always the ones who mess with his head. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing Rhino in there either, but he's more of a thug. Possibly as a henchman? I can't see a Carnage this close to Venom's appearance in the third. Villians that are just a riff off the hero have always bothered me (i.e. Bizarro, Man-bat, Venom, Carnage, etc.). Sinestro may be the one exception to that rule.
Chris: I voted for the Lizard, they've been setting him up since the beginning. But I would also like to vote for Kraven the Hunter and Black Cat/Felecia Hardy. Like another voter here said, Do the whole Lizard thing with Kraven being some tv hunter that comes to town to hunt the giant reptile as "Ultimate Game"...During all of this Spider-man meets Black Cat, and they decide to take Lizard and Kraven together. Or something to that effect at least, it'd take me a while to actually write out the story behind this...
Final Taxi: I would love to see Chameleon as a villain. Maybe not the main villain of the movie but at least a minor. The part could be played by Bruce Campbell and would explain why his face was in many of the other Spiderman movies. He could even put on a Stan Lee mask. Carnage make the most sense as a villain which would spin off into a Venom movie.
So, there you have it, folks. Keep an eye on the site tomorrow for the next weekly poll!