Spider-Man’s first Marvel Studios movie was aptly named Spider-Man: Homecoming because that’s exactly what it felt like. While popular Marvel characters like Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, and Iron Man were all in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter Parker was still under the Sony umbrella. That meant he couldn't be in any of the Disney/Marvel projects, ruling him out of the MCU. That is, until Sony and Marvel made a deal to bring the webslinger to the legendary franchise.
Eventually, Tom Holland was cast as The Amazing Spider-Man as he joined the MCU. With it came a host of iconic Spidey villains like The Vulture, Electro, and the Shocker. We haven’t seen the latter since Homecoming, but it sounds like he could be back in the not-too-distant future.
Spider-Man's Shocker teases potential MCU comeback
During an interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, actor Bokeem Woodbine - who portrays The Shocker in the MCU - was asked where the villain has been since Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he had a very interesting answer, responding:
“That's a very good question. I'm wondering the same. But I get a feeling it might not be the last time you see the Shocker.”
Whether that’s Woodbine giving a hint that he knows something we don’t or if he’s dropping a line to Marvel that he wants back into the MCU, it goes without saying that it would be great to see him as the Shocker in a future MCU or Spider-Man project. After all, Spider-Man 4 is on the horizon.
Bokeem Woodbine is a veteran actor. There’s no other way to say it. He’s graced us with projects like Jason's Lyric, Fargo, and Strapped. With over one hundred projects under his belt and more to come, it shows that he’s more than a sought-after performer. He’s reliable. Both will go a long way to him re-joining the MCU at some point. Plus, the Shocker is a classic Spider-Man character and a perfect villain to bring in for the fourth Spidey movie.
The Shocker (real name Herman Schultz) made his comic book debut in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 46 (written by Stan Lee with art by John Romita Sr.) where he fought an injured Spidey. Like most villain’s first appearances, Herman got the best of the hero the first time around. The next time, Shocker was defeated when Spidey webbed his thumbs up so he couldn’t press the buttons on his signature gauntlet.
Since then, Herman has been a D-list character at best. He’s constantly lost to Spider-Man and isn’t even taken seriously by his peers. However, Bokeem Woodbine changed that with his performance in the MCU. He’s believably tough, holding his own against the webslinger and he never nearly succeeded in defeating him. This also made Spidey's defeat of him look that much better; this wasn't just a random villain with vibrating gauntlets, it was a new, formidable version of The Shocker.
So bringing him back in the near-future would be an amazing and shocking move (no, this writer does not regret those puns).
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