Note: Contains major spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home

With Spider-Man: Far From Home rounding off Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Watts perfectly put the pieces in place for what comes next and cemented Tom Holland's Peter Parker as a cornerstone of the evolving Avengers roster.

Jake Gyllenhaal suited up as the goldfish bowl-wearing Mysterio and joined forces with Peter Parker to take on the monstrous Elementals – well, until Mysterio was revealed to be just as much a villain as his comic book counterpart.

Holland is still contracted to another Spidey solo movie and while there are plenty of villains to pluck from his extensive rogues gallery, it looks like Far From Home might have already teased another evildoer's arrival.

tombstone
Marvel Comics

For those up on their Spider-Man lore, the name Tombstone could mean big trouble for the vigilante hero. Although audiences would rightly be questioning how they could have missed a hulking albino with filed teeth and a murderous streak in Far From Home, Watts (possibly) teased the debut of Lonnie Lincoln.

Tying to Mysterio's complicated past with Tony Stark, Far From Home unveiled a group of brilliant minds who'd previously worked for the fallen Iron Man. Among them was Beck's costume designer, 'Janice'. Claire Rushbrook played the minor part, and although Janice doesn't do a lot apart from iron Mysterio’s cape, she could have a pretty famous dad.

Beetle
Marvel Comics

In Marvel comics, the character Janice Lincoln is better known as the villainous Lady Beetle and is also the daughter of Tombstone. Even if Janice didn’t appear until 2010, Tombstone was introduced in 1988's Web of Spider-Man #36. Being the only African American in his area – and standing out as an albino – Tombstone originally had no powers. It was only when he was blasted with an experimental gas that he developed his superhuman strength.

Fans of the acclaimed Spider-Man: The Animated Series will know all about Tombstone. Those of a certain age were probably hiding behind the sofa when he came on the screen in the '90s. Elsewhere, gamers recently went up against the muscular monster in Sony's Spider-Man PS4 game.

Given that Janice is one of the many New York citizens to adopt the Beetle moniker, she's unlikely to return as the big bad of Spider-Man 3 and Tombstone is definitely an unconventional choice compared to rumours of Kraven the Hunter or Norman Osborn, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be a secondary villain like Shocker in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Tombstone has another easy way into the MCU thanks to his comic book connection to the Daily Bugle. Although Far From Home's version of the news outlet was modernised into TheDailyBugle.net with JK Simmons brilliantly back as J Jonah Jameson, Watts could still expand the Bugle's staff. In the comics, Tombstone's feud was with Daily Bugle editor (and childhood friend) Robbie Robertson. Robertson is also MIA for now, but that doesn't mean he won't pop up in Spider-Man 3.

While it might be hard to imagine how the ghoulish Tombstone would look in the usually grounded MCU, remember the franchise has a history of turning sometimes ludicrous villains into something a little more serious, (*cough* Mysterio.)

There have been various reports that the MCU is leading to the arrival of the Sinister Six or a whole standalone for the team of supervillains. Tombstone was a member of the expanded Sinister Twelve rather than the more intimate Sinister Six, but that doesn’t mean Watts can’t adapt the source material.

The MCU is notorious for leaving nothing to chance and is famed for sprinkling breadcrumbs ahead of time. It would be more than a coincidence if the writers simply plucked the name Janice out of thin air without looking to the comics. Ultimately, there's going to be a bit of a wait before Holland swings back across the New York City skyline, so let's park this one in the maybe pile for now.


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Headshot of Tom Chapman
Tom Chapman

Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen. 

Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.

These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN

Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.

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