Sony’s E3 2018 press conference (opens in new tab) was full of interesting sneak peeks at upcoming games and tantalizing teases that got conspiracy theorists running to their corkboards. Was that look at The Last of Us 2 (opens in new tab) a flashback or flash-forward? What the crap is even happening in Death Stranding (opens in new tab)? And who was the mystery villain teased at the end of the Spider-Man PS4 trailer?
While we can’t answer the first two of those questions (yet), it looks like someone may have dropped the ball on the third. So be warned, there are POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD. Don’t scroll past this picture of Spidey if you want the reveal to be a surprise.
According to voice actor Chris Jai Alex, the villain is most likely Dr. Octopus. Alex, who plays Rhino in the game, let the involvement of the many-armed baddie slip during an interview with Call of Duty YouTuber Drift0r (opens in new tab), saying that boss fights in the game will feel different depending on who you’re fighting.
The original video with all its context has since been taken offline, but Alex says all he needs to in just a few words. “Doctor Octopus is really tall, Rhino is big.”
Now, technically all Alex is saying here is that Doc Ock is in the game, not that he’s the off-screen presence Peter Parker seems so shocked to see at the end of the E3 trailer. But if you know a bit of Spider-Man comics history, it’s not hard to put two and two together. Or rather, five and one.
See, one of the most infamous bands of villains to ever fight Spider-Man is a group that calls itself the Sinister Six. While membership has changed over the years, it has, at varying times, included Electro, Vulture, Scorpion, and Rhino, all of whom are present in the game. Doc Ock is also often found among the Six’s ranks – and was the original founder – so seeing five villains gathered around Spider-Man at the end of the E3 trailer with a sixth off-screen carries a certain implication.
The idea that we would be seeing Insomniac’s version of the Sinister Six and that the mystery villain would be Doc Ock is one of the most popular theories to be floated on social media. So maybe consider this less of spoilery surprise and more confirmation that you knew who it was all along.
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