After his most recent appearance, Tom Holland’s MCU tenure as Peter Parker has reached a turning point, with theories abounding over which new villains he could face in Spider-Man 4. After Doctor Strange wiped the memories of everybody who knew him, Peter started life afresh as the anonymous man behind the mask just as he embarked on a new personal trajectory by going to college. This has brought Parker full circle, poised to reassert himself as a street-level protector of New York City – which has opened up questions over which street-level villains he could now encounter in upcoming MCU releases.

Spider-Man 4 Could Have Kingpin & Venom As Its Villains

Split image of kingpin and venom from Marvel comics

Daredevil and Kingpin have been making the rounds in recent MCU installments, from Matt Murdock’s initial cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home to Wilson Fisk’s central role in Echo. It was in this appearance, after establishing yet another arch enemy in Maya Lopez, that Wilson Fisk seemed to be eyeing up running for office as New York’s mayor – a job he could very well secure. With Spider-Man 4 set to depict Parker’s return to form as New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, a run-in with Wilson Fisk as a newly established villainous mayor is all but inevitable.

Venom, meanwhile, enjoyed a fleeting foray into the MCU after Eddie Brock found himself transported from Sony’s Spider-Man Universe to Peter Parker’s universe, only to be zapped back home after a short conversation with a bartender. The post-credits scene in which this was portrayed made sure to highlight a piece of Venom that he inadvertently left behind, confirming that No Way Home wasn’t the last that the MCU would see of the Venom symbiote. It stands to reason that Spider-Man 4, therefore, will be the movie to immediately pick up on this exciting MCU plot thread.

Why Kingpin & Venom Would Work Well Together As Spider-Man 4 Villains

Custom image of Kingpin, Spider-Man, and Venom.

Venom and Kingpin are two of Spider-Man’s most iconic rivals – and there are a lot to choose from. This fact alone is enough to generate an inordinate level of hype for Spider-Man’s fourth MCU outing if two of his biggest enemies were to star alongside him. Additionally, having these villains rear their heads in the same movie would facilitate a particularly compelling story as part of Peter’s new narrative trajectory.

Although Kingpin has been wasting no time in racking up a selection of powerful enemies, Spider-Man has yet to factor in. Despite their long history in the comics, this gives Parker an unknown entity to face in his next adventure. Venom, meanwhile, presents a personal fight for Peter to overcome – whether Marvel decides to initially have the symbiote bind with him, or bind with somebody close to him as it is wont to do in the comics. Both, meanwhile, could offer substantial physical and mental challenges for Peter to overcome, depending on what best suits the Spider-Man 4 narrative.