After the great success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony Pictures is looking to further expand the Spider-Man cinematic universe by introducing Juan-Carlos Sánchez (played by Bad Bunny) as El Muerto in a self-titled standalone film set to hit theaters on January 12th, 2024. El Muerto will be the first Latino lead live-action Marvel movie but little is known about the film or the villains that may fight the new hero.
El Muerto or also known as Juan-Carlos Estrada Sanchez is a masked wrestler turned superhero whose superpowers originate from his luchador Mask. El Muerto was first introduced in 2006's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man issue No. 6 where he not only fought his greatest foe El Dorato but even Spider-Man himself. From Venom to Black Cat, these are the best villains Bad Bunny's El Muerto could fight in his new standalone film.
While El Muerto is a Sony-owned character, Marvel has been very open to working with the studio to create the best iterations of their Spider-Man characters that can interact with MCU characters. The Collector was first introduced in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and as his name implies the guy loves to gather up some of the rarest intergalactic collectibles.
El Muerto gains his superstrength from his luchador Mask and this could be a wonderful MacGuffin that the Collector chases after to keep the mask inside his museum. This mixture between Sony and an MCU character like the Collector could be a great opportunity to bring back Benicio del Toro and let him be a full-time villain against the wrestling superhero.
With a new standalone character, Sony has the opportunity to further expand its Sony Spider-Man Universe by having its anti-heroes cross over or even fight. Venom has proven its track record with audiences and has become a beloved comedic comic book character that's also not afraid to bite a bad guy's head off.
Venom would be a great enemy for El Muerto to fight as they both have quick and fluid movements in hand-to-hand combat, leading to a visual spectacle. Venom has become a much sillier character on film than its comic iteration and this humor could be perfect for a fight against a luchador superhero played by Bad Bunny.
Sony has been looking to debut Black Cat in live-action since Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 which was canceled by the Studio in 2010. This sleek and fur-cuffed character has been one of the most popular female characters in the Spider-Man universe and was recently featured in Sony's Spider-Man game on PS5 and PS4.
Black Cat would make an amazing enemy or even love interest to El Muerto and their battles could be interesting as Black Cat is sufficient in both hand-to-hand combat as well as gun combat. Introducing Black Cat in El Muerto will add the much-needed female heroes into Sony's comic book films and some fans might even point out the similarities between Between DC's Catwoman & Marvel's Black Cat.
While Donald Glover was introduced as Aaron Davis in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, he was not introduced as the costumed vigilante The Prowler who is a well-known villain to Peter Parker and who is also Miles Morales' uncle. Aaron Davis was introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #78 in November 1969 as an enemy of Spider-Man but has since been associated with Miles Morales.
The Prowler sports a wicked purple and green costume and would serve as a great compliment to El Muerto's masked appearance inside the ring or on the streets of New York City. The Prowler's gauntlet canons would be a dangerous match to El Muerto's wrestling moves and it would force the luchador to act swiftly in combat.
Many may not be familiar with Crusher Hogan as he dates back to the original introduction to Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 where Spider-Man stepped into the ring to fight Hogan for three minutes. Since his first appearance, Crusher Hogan has only appeared in Marvel comics a total of 13 times.
Hogan would be a tough opponent against El Muerto as they're both skilled in the art of wrestling and would be on the same playing field coming with a wrestling background. The Sony Spider-Man Universe has made a trend with Venom and Morbius both fighting copy-like villains. However, it could diverge and take inspiration from its rival MCU.
Audiences have now seen three separate stand-alone films that take place within Sony's Spider-Man Universe but they have yet to see Spider-Man and even worse, still don't know which Spider-Man is in this specific universe? While it may seem odd to introduce the Spider-Man of this universe in an El Muerto film, the character once fought the web-slinger in his first appearance in 2006's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man issue No. 6.
In the comic, El Muerto sought to battle Spider-Man and approached J. Jonah Jameson about setting up a wrestling match in which the two could exchange blows. El Muerto is extensively trained in both freestyle and shoot-style grappling which would make for an exhilarating fight against Spider-Man as they could grapple and fight in midair.
Tombstone is an albino mob boss who was first introduced in Web of Spider-Man issue No 36 in 1987 as a side villain to the symbiote suited Spider-Man. Tombstone would go on to be quite a formidable foe as he's almost seven feet tall and over 400 pounds with a soft whispering voice that will send chills down viewers' spines.
Tombstone would be an epic adversary to El Muerto as this would harken back to some iconic WWE matches like Mysterio vs Undertaker or even Mysterio vs The Big Show. The difference in size between El Muerto and Tombstone would be visually interesting and would make audiences truly fear for the safety of our new anti-hero.
Ed Garner is certainly the most unfamiliar enemy found on this list as he's the leader of the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, which gathers superhuman fighters who are too powerful for conventional wrestling. Though some superhero and wrestling matchups are secret dreams for the fans. Wrestling fans are known to love their handicapped matches as it pits one unsuspecting hero against a team of incredibly powerful enemies.
Forcing El Muerto to fight more than one enemy at a time could lead to some eye-popping combos and takedowns from our new hero and force him to be outmatched. Edward Garner is a thin mustached man with no powers so he must create a federation of wrestlers which is perfect for the world of wrestling.
Juan-Carlos Sánchez was actually not the first El Muerto as the luchador mask was originally his father's (Marcus Estrada). Marcus Estrada helped train his son and guided him to the point where he could wear his luchador mask and absorb the powers like superhuman strength (lifting 30 tons) and endurance.
Marcus Estrada as an enemy against El Muerto would make the plot very family-driven and would challenge our hero to decide to fight his flesh and blood. This would make the film very dramatic and provide a plot that's rarely seen in the comic book film genre today. Redditors have determined the top 10 wrestling matches that will convert nonfans into die-hard wrestling fans and El Muerto could be the next best thing.
The most likely villain to face off against El Muerto is El Dorado, another supernatural luchador who dawns a completely gold outfit with a long red cape. In 2006's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man No. 6, El Muerto was forced to wrestle Spider-Man in the hopes of appeasing El Dorado but doesn't give in and fights for his family's legacy.
El Dorado's ability is extreme strength combined with combat skills and this would be a deadly battle between El Muerto and could include Marcus Estrada to help his son fight. The final confrontation of the film could be a "mascara contra mascara" which means "mask against mask." and could lead to El Dorado finally taking off his mask and losing his powers forever. Whichever enemies appear in El Muerto, Bad Bunny is ready to perform his now-signature “Canadian Destroyer” on the big screen.
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