There are only two full blown successes in the form of the original Universal Monsters and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many are still trying to get in on the action in multiple ways, setting up sequels and planned crossovers that don't lead anywhere. Spider-Man and his friends have been a priority for Sony. Sony is trying its hardest to ensure it can have its own strong live action cinematic standing without Holland in the picture, since he is in the picture with Spiderman. The opening weekend of Morbius and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter helped Sony build toward an end game after striking big with Venom.
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko wrote The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 in January 1964 and the team is what it says on the tin. Spider-Man's enemies got tired of being beaten up by him alone and decided to team up. The Six are a constant threat to Spider-Man because they change members with each new incarnation. In the comic books, 36 villains split into six teams of Sinister Six and held a contest to see who could defeat Spider-Man first. At one point, the Sinister Six were able to headline their own comic in the form of Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber.
Sony has been trying to make a Spider-Man movie for nearly a decade, and they want to bring six of the villains together. In the end credits of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, they revealed the Sinister Six's technology-based abilities and roster ahead of a planned movie that never came. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Six were brought into the fold for the second time, after first in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thanks to Doctor Strange's spell at the end of No Way Home, Morbius is the most naked attempt yet. He asks Morbius if he wants to join him in kicking the ass of Spider-Man, since he is a free man in this world who doesn't owe a soldier anything.
It feels hard to get excited about the prospect of the Six in live action, even though it is a good reason to start a supervillain group. The more villains you have, the easier it is for you to be a loser. No Way Home is an example of a film that doesn't have a key to it. The film's flimsy tether of the villains all fated to die against Spider-Man, so you could axe the pair from the film entirely.
Video games and animation have done better than the Six. Spider-Man is one of the earliest threats he has to contend with in his rise to greatness because of the Spider-Man cartoons. In the first season of The Spectacular Spider-Man, the team's villains were given room to exist as regular people before they were brought into the supervillain fold. When they came together at the end of the season, they were given solid characterization and their respective actors brought them to life, so it felt earned.
Most of the villains who make up the Six have already been beaten by the web-slinger offscreen, something that was established in its opening moments. It feels like a genuine escalation when they are all standing together. Insomniac doesn't lose focus on its two main villains, Mr. Negative and Doc Ock, when they wreak havoc in New York. When it comes to fighting the Six, the best move the game can make is to pair up the less plot-critical baddies for a single mission, while Negative and Octopus remain on their own to make up the game. It's the best way to handle the Sinister Six in any Spider-Man medium, as they feel like a credible threat in their own right, and you don't get sick of them.
The studio is too high off its own supply to make the movie. With most of the world aware that Sony has to play nice with Marvel and make do with the Spider-Man characters it does, it's easy to smell the desperation coming off them, trying to will movies into existence for characters like Madame Web. Sony is ignoring the lessons of crowd-pleasers like Spider-Verse and Venom, if they give them characters and actors who are compelling to watch for two hours. Sony isn't interested in building something that takes time and patience. The more post-credits scenes it crams in, the more it ruins the chance of its villainous group being a reality.
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