In “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Gargan is a small-time criminal (but with a notably violent record) who is looking to buy some enhanced weapons from Adrian Toomes’ (Michael Keaton) crew. They meet on a Staten Island ferry, beginning the set-piece where the boat gets blasted apart and Spider-Man has to think fast and web it together. In the post-credits scene, Gargan and Toomes meet in prison. Gargan asks if he wants payback against Spider-Man too, but Toomes brushes him off and denies knowing Spider-Man’s true identity. (Spoiler: he does.)
That’s some transparent sequel bait right there, but “Spider-Man: Far From Home” instead chose to use Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) as its big bad. Then “No Way Home” took the notion of a villain team-up in a different direction, reuniting past “Spider-Man” movie villains — notably Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock — from across the multiverse. With Sony’s Spider-Man Cinematic Universe looking dead, if Mando does return as Gargan, it’ll probably be in a future “Spider-Man” movie, not Sony’s white whale project of a “Sinister Six” movie.
“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” uses the MCU timeline as a basis (the events of “Captain America: Civil War” have been unfolding in the background of this season) but explicitly diverges from it. This Peter Parker is being mentored by Norman Osborn, not Tony Stark. So, while Mando does not reprise the role of Gargan, the character design resembles him, with a shaved head and scarred eye.
That look, too, has its roots in the comics. “Ultimate Spider-Man” reimagined Scorpion as Maximus Gargan, a Mexican crime lord. This Scorpion didn’t have the green costume, merely a scorpion tattoo, and fought with a chain with a hook on the end.
Marvel Comics
“Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” combined classic and “Ultimate” Scorpion, turning Maximus into a scorpion-themed cyborg.
Sony Pictures Animation
Mando’s appearance as Gargan also took after Maximus, and now so does “Your Friendly Neighborhood” Scorpion. The green tailed costume, though, is classic Steve Ditko. This Gargan is also a gang leader like Maximus, but he brags to the 1 & 10th-ers that, in a past life, his job was finding people — so, a PI, like classic Gargan.
It remains to be seen if/when the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself will return to Scorpion, and whether Mando will reprise the part, or how the costume will look in live-action, or if he’ll be as deadly a threat to Spider-Man as he is in this series.
“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” is streaming on Disney+ — the last two episodes of season 1 premiere on February 19, 2025.
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