Sinister Six

Sinister Six is an American animated superhero film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is a spin-off of the Spider-Verse franchise and focuses on a group of supervillains who must rescue a kidnapped Spider Man solely to kill him themselves. The film is directed by Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson, while being written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also served as producers.

Plot[]

Over the years, Spider Man has fought and defeated many supervillains. One of them is Doctor Octopus / Doc Ock. Doc Ock is thought to be the supervillain with the most ambition to kill the Web Slinger. On one occasion, he confronted Spider Man once again. But he is interrupted by five other supervillains - Kraven the Hunter, Chameleon, Venom, Electro, and Beetle - who also want Spider Man. The seven fight to a standstill when the seven of them are attacked by a group of soldiers who immediately capture Spider Man and flee, leaving the six supervillains behind.

Spider Man is taken by the soldiers to Vundagore Mountain, where he meets Anton Rodriguez, the leader of an army known as the Tarantulas, and Miles Warren, a former teacher at Empire State University who holds a grudge against Spider Man after he allegedly killed his love interest, Gwen Stacy. Meanwhile in New York City, Doc Ock does not accept the fact that Spider Man was kidnapped, thinking that he has the right to finish off the Web Slinger. He plans to find Spider Man's location and kill him on the spot. He contacted the five previous supervillains to help him find Spider Man with the motivation that Spider Man was theirs to kill.

Chameleon tracks down the members of the Tarantulas, discovering that they are at John F. Kennedy International Airport and planning to go to Vundagore Mountain. The group fought the Tarantulas and killed them, before finally hijacking the plane they were traveling on. Along the way, the group begins to get to know each other, with Venom calling themselves "sinister" for saving a superhero only to kill him. Suddenly, the plane is attacked by Vulture, a member of the Superior Six who works for Warren. The plane breaks down and crashes, apparently killing the group. Vulture left, without knowing that the group is still alive.

Spider Man, revealed to be Peter Parker, is being held by Warren in a room. Warren reveals that he will make Spider Man feel lost when he releases many mutant spider clones into New York City and kills the people Spider Man loves: the New Yorkers. On the other hand, the group is camping near the plane wreckage, which Doc Ock is not happy about. The group then told their respective backstories: Electro once had a boyfriend named Max who she loved very much who died accidentally at the hands of Spider Man, causing her to have a grudge against the Web Slinger. Venom tries to survive after his boss J. Jonah Jameson tricks him, only to be continually interrupted by Spider Man. Kraven has the ambition to kill Spider Man as a challenge, which Chameleon participates in because he is his brother. Doc Ock himself refused to tell his backstory. Beetle then appears and reveals the direction Vulture went. Doc Ock insists on leaving but is rejected by the others, causing him to have to stay with them until the next day.

The group continues their journey the next day. Electro asks about Beetle's backstory, to which she replies that she is the daughter of Tombstone, which automatically makes her an enemy of Spider Man as well. The group is then attacked by Sandman, a member of the Superior Six. Although Sandman is repulsed, Chameleon ends up seriously injured. Kraven asks the others to postpone the journey for Chameleon's sake, to which all agree. The group ends up at the home of an elderly couple, who happily takes them in. At Vundagore Mountain, Warren is informed by Vulture about Doc Ock's group. Warren then sent Hobgoblin and Shriek to take care of them.

At the home, the group bonds with the elderly couple. Knowing Doc Ock's problem, the elderly couple advises him about forgetting the past and focusing on the future. Hobgoblin and Shriek suddenly appear and start a fight. Hobgoblin is defeated while Shriek is killed by Electro. The murder is watched in horror by the elderly couple, calling the group "sinister". Doc Ock reluctantly kills them to get rid of the evidence, causing arguments in the group. They then use the Hobgoblin as a guide to Vundagore Mountain. On the way, Hobgoblin taunts the group as the "Sinister Six". On the other hand, Warren extracts Spider Man's powers, before ultimately creating mutant spider clones, calling them Doppelgangers. The Sinister Six and the Hobgoblin arrive at Vundagore Mountain. They are suddenly attacked by the Tarantulas and the Superior Six consisting of Vulture, Sandman, Morbius, Boomerang, and the freed Hobgoblin. Each group member fights with the other group members except Doc Ock who rushes into Vundagore Mountain. The Sinister Six manage to defeat the Superior Six and the Tarantulas, while Doc Ock kills Rodriguez.

The Sinister Six reunite and find a weak Spider Man. Doc Ock reveals their intentions for coming to Spider Man, to which the Web Slinger responds that they are "sinister". Suddenly Spider Man's head explodes, shocking the Sinister Six. Warren has set up a burning trap for them while he goes to New York City with the Doppelgangers. The Sinister Six manage to escape and discuss what they will do next. Doc Ock insists on avenging Spider Man's death, but the Sinister Six disagree, stating that it doesn't change the situation that Spider Man is dead. When asked why he wanted to kill Spider Man so badly, Doc Ock finally explained his backstory: Since he became one with his tentacles, he lost everything until Spider Man appeared, giving him at least one thing: The life goal to kill the Web Slinger. After that, Doc Ock remembers the old couple's advice and decides to focus on the future: They replace Spider Man as the protectors of New York City. The Sinister Six use Warren's plane and catch up with him when Warren releases the Doppelgangers. It is revealed that Spider Man is still alive and forced to witness the massacre of New Yorkers.

The Sinister Six appear and fight the Doppelgangers. Warren then took out his ultimate clone, Jackal. Despite initial difficulties, thanks to Doc Ock's strategy and teamwork, Jackal is successfully killed. Warren tries to escape before being stopped by the Sinister Six. After forcing Warren to destroy his Doppelgangers, Doc Ock kills him. Finding Spider Man still alive and weak, Doc Ock decides to save his life and spare him, revealing that he has a new idea: He will focus on the future with little motivation from the past, where he will continue to fight Spider Man with the Sinister Six.

In the post-credit scene, the Sinister Six watch the news about themselves fighting Spider Man. Suddenly, a mysterious portal opens. From within, someone emerges who reveals himself to be Morlun and that he needs the Sinister Six to "exterminate the spiders".

Cast[]

Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus / Doc Ock. A supervillain who has control over four prosthetic tentacles and is very ambitious about killing Spider Man. He later formed and led the Sinister Six.
David Harbour as Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter. A hunter-themed supervillain who is determined to hunt down Spider Man as a challenge and is Chameleon's older half-brother. He later became a member of the Sinister Six.
Barry Keoghan as Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon. A supervillain who is able to change his form into other people and is the younger half-brother of Kraven the Hunter. He later became a member of the Sinister Six.
Tom Hardy as Mac Gargan / Venom. A supervillain who has extraordinary superpowers via a black alien symbiote attached to his body. He later became a member of the Sinister Six.
Zoë Kravitz as Francine Frye / Electro. A supervillain who has the power of electrokinesis. She later became a member of the Sinister Six.
Chloë Grace Moretz as Janice Lincoln / Beetle. A supervillain who uses high-tech armor when in action. She later became a member of the Sinister Six.
Chris Pine as Peter Parker / Spider Man. A superhero with spider powers who is the protector of New York City. He was kidnapped by Miles Warren to create the Doppelgangers before being saved by the Sinister Six.
John Malkovich as Miles Warren. A supervillain and former biological teacher who wants revenge on Spider Man by slaughtering the New Yorkers using Doppelgangers. At the end, he is killed by Doc Ock.
Danny Trejo as Anton Rodriguez. A soldier who leads the Tarantulas. He is later killed by Doc Ock.
Mark Hamill as Jason Macendale / Hobgoblin. A supervillain who uses bombs as weapons and rides a glider to fly. He is a member of the Superior Six. He is later defeated by Beetle.
Debra Wilson as Frances Barrison / Shriek. A supervillain who has sonic scream ability and is a member of the Superior Six. She is killed by Electro.
Steve Blum as:
- Jimmy Natale / Vulture. A supervillain who can fly via wings and can emit acid from his mouth. He is a member of the Superior Six. He is later defeated by Electro.
- Michael Morbius / Morbius. A vampire supervillain who is a member of the Superior Six. He is later killed by Kraven the Hunter.
John DiMaggio as:
- William Baker / Sandman. A supervillain who can control sand and is a member of the Superior Six. He is later defeated by Venom.
- Frederick Myers / Boomerang. A supervillain who uses a boomerang as a weapon and is a member of the Superior Six. He is later killed by Chameleon.
Rosemary Harris and David Burke as the Elderly Couple. An old married couple who happily takes in the Sinister Six. Unfortunately, they were killed by Doc Ock to get rid of the evidence.

Apart from the previous cast, there is also a voice cameo from Josh Brolin as Morlun.

Production[]

The Sinister Six have been in development hell for years. The group was originally intended to appear in The Amazing Spider Man series before the series was ultimately cancelled, leaving the Sinister Six abandoned. After Sony's Spider Man Universe was created, the Sinister Six was planned to be formed, only for that universe to be canceled as well, again abandoning the Sinister Six.

After the success of the Spider-Verse franchise, Sony decided to make an animated film based on the Sinister Six. The studio hired people from Spider-Verse to work on the film. Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson were hired as directors, while Phil Lord and Christopher Miller served as writers and producers. Lord also served as screenwriter, Daniel Pemberton as soundtrack composer, and Michael Andrews as editor.

In June, Columbia Pictures and Sony announced the film and its main cast: Alfred Molina, David Harbour, Barry Keoghan, Tom Hardy, Zoë Kravitz, and Chloë Grace Moretz. On July 6, Sony released the first trailer, which revealed a supporting cast such as Chris Pine and John Malkovich. A second trailer was released in October revealing the release date: January 6. The final trailer was released on Desember 6.

Release[]

Ultimately, on January 6, the film releases.

Trivia[]

The film has the same animation style as Spider-Verse.
Several of the cast have worked with Columbia Pictures and Sony previously on Spider Man projects. Among others:
- Alfred Molina once played Dr. Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in Sam Raimi's Spider Man 2, a role he reprized in MCU's Spider Man: No Way Home.
- Tom Hardy once played Eddie Brock and Venom in Sony's Spider Man Universe.
- Zoë Kravitz once voiced Mary Jane Parker in Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Chris Pine once voiced Peter Parker / Spider Man in Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
- Rosemary Harris once played Aunt May in Sam Raimi's Spider Man series.
Each trailer and the film's release date is the 6th. This may refer to the group itself.
January was chosen as the release month because the Sinister Six's first debut was in January.