“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” Viral Daily Bugle Site Teases Venom and Hobgoblin

If we are to believe that The Amazing Spider-Man film franchise will feature the Sinister Six, then the roster is nearly complete. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 already has cast Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as the Rhino, with the possibility that Colm Feore could play the Vulture, and the chance that Dane DeHaan and Chris Cooper, who play Harry and Norman Osborn respectively, could become the Green Goblin.

While the Sinister Six arc has been tossed around at a few press junkets, there is no conclusive evidence that confirms that six villains will appear at once in one Spider-Man film. Although the film’s viral site, The Daily Bugle, is dropping a few clues as to which villains, that don’t already exist in the Amazing Spider-Man universe, we could see in future installments. The faux news site’s first story hinted at Spencer Smythe and Hydro Man Now there are a couple more villains The Daily Bugle is hinting at. So hit the jump to see who they are.

A trial date has been set in the New York Appellate Court for alleged bio-terrorist Dr. Curt Connors. The former Oscorp biogenetics scientist has been indicted on twenty city and state counts, including trespassing, malicious destruction of property, theft of private property, aggravated assault, and using a weapon of mass destruction. Connors has pleaded “not guilty” to all counts. It is expected his defense attorney, Anne Weying, will claim Connors was not responsible for the actions of his genetically transformed alter ego, the Lizard.

Connors claimed that pressure placed on him by his employer, Oscorp, led him to rush his bio-restorative formula and test it on himself. He further stipulated to the grand jury that his decision to use the untested compound was made in an effort to protect the company from experimenting on innocent civilians, as directed by his superiors. Connors’ immediate supervisor at Oscorp, Dr. Rajit Ratha, has been missing since the day before the Lizard’s attack.

Oscorp spokesman, Donald Menken, responded, “We can’t corroborate or deny Dr. Connor’s claims. Dr. Ratha’s abrupt departure from Oscorp has left us with far more questions than answers. Needless to say, Oscorp has always complied with the most stringent local, state and federal regulations for all of our research and development.”

It’s not exactly clear if Dr. Curt Conners (Rhys Ifans) will be a part of the Sinister Six or if this just a part of the viral marketing ploy. But if you look at who wrote the article, you’ll see that he has a connection to the Spider-Man universe. Ned Leeds was an author for the Daily Bugle, with his appearance being in 1964 in The Amazing Spider-Man #18, and his first appearance in the Ultimate Universe was in Ultimate Spider-Man #121.

Fans familiar with the character would recognize that Leeds was also once thought to be the villain known as the Hobgoblin. However, it was later revealed that Rodrick Kingsley, the true mastermind and face behind the Hobgoblin, had brainwashed Leeds into thinking he was a villain.

Comingsoon.net dug a little deeper and found out that Anne Weying and Donald Menken are also characters in the Spider-Man world.. Weying is the the ex-wife of Eddie Brock, aka Venom and herself took on the symbiote for a brief period as She-Venom. Menken isn’t exactly a high-tier Spider-Man character, but his appearance in “The Amazing Spider-Man” #239, marked the beginning of the first full-fledged Hobgoblin story.

We’ll be sure to keep you posted as this viral campaign progresses.