Sinister Six
| Sinister Six | |
|---|---|
| File:Sinister six1.jpg The Sinister Six. Art by Mark Brooks. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1965) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| In-story information | |
| Base(s) | New York |
| Member(s) | Doctor Octopus Shocker Lizard Electro Kraven the Hunter Mysterio The Sandman The Vulture Hobgoblin Hydro-Man Scream Venom |
The Sinister Six are a group of supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe, who serve as a collection of Spider-Man's greatest foes. The original incarnation of the Sinister Six was organized by Doctor Octopus and appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1965).
History
Original Sinister Six
After suffering three defeats in a row from the wall crawler, Doc Ock realized he required assistance from others in order to defeat Spider-Man. He contacted every known supervillain that had crossed paths with Spider-Man, but only five responded: the airborne assassin Vulture, the electrifying Electro, wild Kraven the Hunter, master illusionist Mysterio, and the dangerous Sandman. Knowing he'd never be able to keep the team together for long, Doctor Octopus quickly formulated a battle plan in which each individual member of the Sinister Six would battle Spider-Man in a carefully chosen location, giving each of them personal glory and Spider-Man an early death.
Among the supervillains failing to answer Doctor Octopus' call were Doctor Doom (who was busy trying to destroy the Fantastic Four) and the Green Goblin (who wanted to destroy Spider-Man on his own).
Spider-Man himself had his own problems, as he had somehow lost his powers and prepared to return to normal life as a teenager. While blaming himself for the death of his Uncle Ben, Spidey lost his balance and fell down the side of a building, ending up clinging to a flagpole. As Peter returned to his normal life as a student and a freelance photographer, he was unaware of the fact that the Sinister Six realized the Daily Bugle secretary Betty Brant played a large role in Spider-Man's life and kidnapped her, along with an innocent bystander—Aunt May. It was then left to the Vulture to spill the beans to J. Jonah Jameson, warning him to inform Spider-Man that Betty was being held hostage along with Aunt May and if he wanted to see them alive, he'd have to battle the Sinister Six.
Despite not having his powers, Peter put on his Spider-Man costume and went to fight Electro at an electrical plant. During the battle, Peter somehow regained his superpowers (the loss was speculated to be caused by his own self-loathing for the loss of his uncle, which he got over when facing a life-or-death situation) and easily defeated Electro. Spidey then battled against Kraven—who confronted him with some wild cats—and defeated this foe too. After defeating Mysterio, Sandman and the Vulture, Spidey went up against Doc Ock, who lured him into an enormous fishbowl. The two foes battled and Spider-Man was victorious.
Later versions
In Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #334-339, the villains all escaped prison and went to get revenge on the wall-crawler. However, times had changed as Kraven had committed suicide, so the Hobgoblin took his place. The group was organized once again by Dr. Octopus, who claimed they would try to defeat Spider-Man. However, this was a trick, part of a larger plan by which Octavius alone would be the master of the world. The Sandman, at this point in his career reformed, aided Spider-Man in defeating the Sinister Six, and ultimately stopping Octavius's plans to conquer the world.
In Spider-Man Vol.1 #18-23, the group reunited once more in a bid to take over the world with alien weaponry. Sandman's foster family was hit with a bomb, and Sandman, believing Octopus had attacked his foster family as punishment for betraying him, joined the other members of the Sinister Six in a plan to take revenge upon Octopus. Despite his grief, however, Sandman contacted Spider-Man and asked him to shadow the group as insurance against him being double-crossed or unexpected surprises. By this point, Octopus had already obtained his lost adamnantium arms (by killing a wealthy, unethical individual who offered to sell the arms to him) and stealing the old man's robot soldiers and weapons. Octopus easily defeated the other members of the six with them, then zapped Sandman with a weapon that transformed his living sand body into solid glass (Octopus, however, was apparently not responsible for the bombing of Sandman's foster family, which was apparently done by the other members of the Six in order to coerce Sandman into joining their revenge scheme; in addition, Octopus had not only anticipated the Six's plan to reassemble and take revenge upon him, but had deliberately facilitated it, even secretly paying Electro to help ensure the Six reassembled so that he could coerce the other members into aiding his scheme). The assembled Sinister Six went off on a rampage, stealing advanced weapons and technology from several sources, including raiding an alien dimension for advanced weaponry and attacking a facility specializing in cybernetics. In the process the had several successful encounters beating Spider-Man, the Hulk (in his Professor identity), the Fantastic Four, Sleepwalker, Deathlok, Nova, Solo, Cyborg X and Ghost Rider. Before acquiring more advanced alien weapons, the Hulk trounced the other members of the Six, then got stomped upon by Octopus because Octavius had the adamnantium arms. Defeated in his initial encounter with the Six, Spider-Man was left with hairline fractures on one arm and leg, but was able to pursue them with medical attention including cybernetic casts. Eventually, Spider-Man and several other heroes confront the villains as they are seizing a HYDRA base to gain access to deadly, world-devastating weapons (during the Six's raiding assaults on various locations, the group engaged in wanton mass murder, simply exterminating anyone who got in their way, shocking Spider-Man, as, despite their lack of scruples, these particular villains didn't generally kill wantonly). The last member of Octavius's Sinister Six was revealed to be Gog, and a combat between members of the super hero community summoned by Spidey (including the Fantastic Four, Nova, the Hulk, and Solo) broke out, ending when the broken-glass body of the Sandman shredded Doctor Octopus, nearly killing him.
A variation known as the Sinister Seven was formed by Mysterio to fight Kaine, a defective clone of Spider-Man that was killing villains, including Doctor Octopus and the Grim Hunter (Kraven's son). Eventually Sandman and Mysterio II (the original had died) formed a new version, with Venom temporarily replacing Doc Ock. The Sinister Six were defeated again (Ironically, Venom subsequently went on to attack the various members of the Sinister Six, nearly killing the Sandman and badly injuring Electro and Kraven before he and his symbiote were briefly separated from each other).
Another version put together by the Sandman was put together for the sole purpose of destroying Doctor Octopus and his charge, Senator Stewart Ward. When Spider-Man intervened, they were forced to add an extra member to their roster as a replacement for Doc Ock: the enraged Venom.
Sinister Twelve
In Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, had been unmasked to the public and imprisoned after losing a battle to Spider-Man. Defeated but unbowed, Osborn concocted a fiendish contingency plan. He contacted a group of supervillains who also bore grudges against Spider-Man, and all of them had been financed by Osborn's fortunes for years. (It was revealed that most supervillains have corporate funding in the Marvel Universe) Eager for revenge, the villains agreed to band together, and the Sinister Twelve was formed.
The Sinister Twelve was the largest gathering to date of Spider-Man's enemies. The major villains not part of the Twelve were either deceased (Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter), retired (Molten Man, Hobgoblin), or incarcerated (Rhino and Doctor Octopus.)
Mac Gargan, the Scorpion, was the de facto leader of the Twelve while Osborn was in prison, and it was he who kidnapped Peter Parker's Aunt May and threatened to kill her if Spider-Man did not help Osborn escape from jail. A desperate Spider-Man, with help from the Black Cat, broke Osborn out, only to be confronted with the Vulture, Sandman, Electro, Chameleon, Lizard, Hydro-Man, Shocker, Hammerhead, Boomerang, and Tombstone. Osborn, now in the guise of the Green Goblin, introduced them as the Sinister Twelve. The final member of the group, Scorpion, shocked everybody present when he arrived, revealing that he had bonded with Eddie Brock's alien symbiote, becoming the new Venom. Although Osborn was displeased with Gargan's new power, he nevertheless watched with glee as the assembled villains converged on the hopelessly outnumbered Spider-Man and Black Cat.
Despite the odds, Spider-Man and the Black Cat fought back in a heroic last stand. Before the two could be killed, salvation arrived in the form of Captain America, Iron Man, Daredevil, Yellowjacket and the Fantastic Four, who struck back at the villains. Spider-Man's wife, Mary Jane Watson, had called S.H.I.E.L.D. to aid him, as she feared he was heading into a trap. A furious Green Goblin rocketed away and kidnapped her, and Spider-Man pursued him, fighting off Venom, who was trying to stop him. Spider-Man and the Goblin clashed once again upon a bridge (not the one where Gwen Stacy was killed), this time with Mary Jane's life at stake.
Finally Osborn gave a vital clue as to Aunt May's whereabouts, and was defeated by a combination of being shot by Mary Jane, struck by lightning, and attacked by Doctor Octopus, who was brainwashed by the police into trying to kill him. The Goblin fell into the river below, and Aunt May was found and saved.
In the aftermath, Peter received a pre-sent letter from Osborn, thanking him for all the "excitement" their rivalry has provided over the years and telling him to rest easy until they meet again. The rest of the Sinister Twelve were subdued by the heroes and arrested; Gargan ended up, ironically, in Osborn's old cell.
Civil War's Sinister Six
A new version of the Sinister Six apparently banded together during the Civil War but were stopped by Captain America and his Secret Avengers.
Sinister Six Membership
Original line-up
Second line-up
Third line-up
- Doctor Octopus
- Electro
- Gog (An alien Spider-Man originally encountered in the Savage Land).[1]
- The Hobgoblin IV
- Mysterio
- The Vulture
Mysterio's Sinister Seven
Sandman's Sinister Six
- The Sandman
- The Vulture
- Kraven the Hunter (Alyosha Kravinoff)
- Mysterio (Daniel Berkhart)
- Electro
- Venom (Eddie Brock) - replaced Doctor Octopus, who the others were planning to kill
The Sinister Twelve
- Green Goblin
- Vulture
- Venom (Mac Gargan)
- Chameleon
- Lizard
- Sandman
- Electro
- Hydro-Man
- Hammerhead
- Shocker
- Tombstone
- Boomerang
Civil War's Sinister Six
Insidious Six
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe an Ultimate Six consisting of The Sandman, Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, and Green Goblin (who tried to recruit Spider-Man as their sixth member) went up against Nick Fury and the Ultimates after the villains escaped the S.H.I.E.L.D. prison they were held in after each had been defeated by Spider-Man and arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D. for illegally altering their genetics codes. Spider-Man temporarily fought for The Green Goblin, believing he had kidnapped Aunt May. When Captain America informed Spider-Man otherwise, Spider-Man turned and helped defeat the Ultimate Six. Four members are still incarcerated, although in the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, the Beetle stole a vial containing some, if not all, of Sandman.
Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse 10th anniversary limited series, Mister Sinister assembles his own group dubbed the Sinister Six. This group is unrelated to the more established lineup of criminals, however. It includes Cloak, Dagger, Sonique, Sauron, and Phoenix.
MC2
In the MC2 universe there was a group of Spider-Girl villains (Dragon King, Funny Face, Killerwatt, Mr. Abnormal, Raptor and Sabreclaw) that banded together to defeat her, they called themselves the Savage Six.
Spider-Man: Reign
An older version of the Sinister Six, dubbed the "Sinner Six" has recently appeared in the second issue of Spider-Man: Reign. This version of the team, composed of Scorpion, Electro, Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, Sandman and Hydro-Man are forced into the employ of New York's fascist mayor, Mayor Waters. If the team manages to kill Spider-Man, they will gain their freedom from New York, which is sealed within the "Webb" security system, a giant energy sheild.
Other version teams
Ultimate Six
- The Green Goblin
- Doctor Octopus
- Electro
- Sandman
- Kraven the Hunter
- Spider Man - blackmailed into joining
Age of Apocalypse
- Mister Sinister (Leader, does not consider himself one of the six)
- Cloak
- Dagger
- Sonique
- Sauron
- Phoenix
- Blob (?character never named)
Savage Six
- Dragon King
- Funny Face
- Killer Watt
- Mr. Abnormal
- Raptor
- Sabreclaw
Sinner Six
- Sandman
- Electro
- Kraven the Hunter
- Scorpion
- Mysterio
- Hydro-Man
In other media
The NES game Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six had the third line-up, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Hobgoblin, Electro, Vulture and Mysterio.
Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Color, the Sinister Six consisted of Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Sandman, Vulture, Scorpion, and Kraven.
Spider-Man Animated Series
In the 1994 animated series, the Sinister Six was called the Insidious Six. Fox Kids censors felt that the word Sinister sounded too menacing for a children's program (even though another Fox Kids children's program, X-Men had Mr. Sinister as a villain). The Insidious Six was formed in the beginning of Season 2 as a two-part episode premiere, it was created by the Kingpin to settle off his debt with his enemy, Silvermane, and consisted of Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Shocker, Chameleon, Rhino and Scorpion to kill Spider-Man. They had kidnapped Peter Parker's Aunt May without having her know she was kidnapped, and the Six told Peter that if Spider-Man didn't come to them on time, they would do horrible things to Aunt May. When they fought Spider-Man inside a warehouse, they defeated and unmasked him, discovering he was Peter Parker. Dr. Octopus thought this wasn't the real Spider-Man, as the last time Spider-Man and Ock battled, the superhero was quite agile, powerful and nearly invincible, whereas Peter had performed horribly in battle. Spiderman's poor performance stemmed from a disease that was causing him to slowly lose his powers. Using this opportunity to keep his identity hidden, Peter lied that he was indeed not Spider-Man. The Insidious Six then warned Peter that if he didn't take them to see the real Spider-Man, they would hurt Aunt May. Peter then took the Six to the top of a roof and changed into Spider-Man without them knowing and defeated them, causing the Six to retire from working for the Kingpin. The Insidious Six were later called upon again in the only five-part and longest saga in the Spider-Man series, Six Forgotten Warriors, in Season 5 where the Kingpin needed the Six to help him get the rings of the Six Forgotten Warriors to activate the Doomsday Device. But the Six had failed because of Spider-Man, the Six Forgotten Warriors, the Wild Pack, the Red Skull and Electro defeating them. The Chameleon had also betrayed the Kingpin. The Vulture had replaced Mysterio in this group because Mysterio had died in the explosion of his own studio in the episode, The Haunting of Mary Jane.
See also
Sinister Syndicate - a similar group of Spider-Man villains assembled by The Beetle.
References
- ^ Roy Thomas (w), Gil Kane (p), Frank Giacoia & Tony Mortellaro (i). "Walk The Savage Land!" The Amazing Spider-Man, vol. 1, no. 103 (December, 1971). Marvel Comics.