According to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 tumblr page (a rather impressive viral campaign that we started covering recently) which is presented as an outlet for the digital edition of ‘The Daily Bugle’ – the popular fictional newspaper that Peter Parker has previously photographed for – a new story has surfaced following the court case of Dr. Curt Connors, a.k.a. The Lizard.
“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. Connors’ 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.”
Though it remains unclear as to how much the viral website will tie in with the film, what’s interesting is that the story’s byline features fictional reporter Ned Leeds. Spidey fans will recognise him from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ comics (starting with #18) as a reporter who works alongside Peter Parker and eventually marries Bugle secretary Betty Brant. Now how does any of this hint at potential villains in ‘THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2’? The thing is, Leeds is also found to be one of Spider-Man’s more perplexing opponents, The Hobgoblin – or at least, one of his many identities. In the comics, Leeds is brainwashed by amoral billionaire Roderick Kingsley, an obsessor and fanatic of the Green Goblin and frames him for The Hobgoblin’s actions.
Perhaps more notable is the mention of Anne Weying and Donald Menken. The former is the ex-wife of Eddie Brock, whom fans will recognise as Venom and Weying herself later took on the symbiote for only a brief while as antagonist She-Venom. Intriguingly Menken is first seen in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ #239, as an Oscorp employee. The issue is notable because it features the beginning of the first full-fledged Hobgoblin story.
Does this mean The Hobgoblin is to feature in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2? Perhaps he’ll join Rhino (Paul Giamatti), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Adrian Toomes (and perhaps his alter-ego, The Vulture, played by Colm Feore), Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Chris Cooper) and Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard (Rhy Ifans) as one of the Sinister Six? Only time will tell.
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 is directed by Marc Webb and will be swinging into UK cinemas on 18th April, 2014 and US cinemas on 2nd May, 2014.
Source: ComingSoon
