One of the few things I like about Spider-Man 3 is the depiction of Sandman. The character was never that interesting to me in the comic books — few Spidey villains were — but he proved to be a pretty cinematic creature, even if he sometimes reminded me of The Mummy. Surprisingly Venom, who was always interesting in the comic books — until he started finding underground cities and acting less like a bad guy — did not translate so well to the big screen.

So, as long as it seems, via an interview with MTV.com, that Sam Raimi still doesn’t know who the villain(s) in Spider-Man 4 will be, despite it going into production in March, I thought I’d offer an opinion, which is likely an unpopular one: he should go with Absorbing Man. Too much like Sandman? Maybe, but the special effects could be cool. Oh, wait, is he too much of a Thor villain? Man, Marvel is so confusing. Okay, then I pick Kraven, since he probably requires the least amount of CG of all the Spidey villains.

According to a poll on MTV’s SplashPage, the fans want Spidey to battle The Lizard, but knowing Hollywood, that’s just going to look like Spidey vs. a velociraptor (in a lab coat). Meanwhile, second choice, Carnage, would just be a mess of CG that will be nearly as disappointing as the Venom of the last film. In the new interview with Raimi, he makes it seem that neither of these are who he’s got in mind, but unfortunately we still have no clue.

Anyway, them’s my thoughts, which don’t matter much since I haven’t read a Spider-Man comic since the mid-90s and even then barely knew much about most of the superhero’s enemies. So, let’s check in with the rest of the film blogosphere for other responses after the jump:

• Eric Ditzian at Splash Page shares the Raimi quotes that have fanboys talking:
  

  “I love the Lizard,” said Raimi. “There’s a great story there in the Marvel comic books about Dr. Connors. I’m less familiar with Carnage.”

  Raimi then took a long pause. “I’m not allowed to say at this point,” he confessed.

• Paul Tassi at JoBlo.com points out why any official quotes about the movie are dangerous:
  

  Villain speculation on SPIDER-MAN 4 is only surpassed by villain speculation on BATMAN 3 (DARK KNIGHT 2?), but it’s still a hot topic for debate nonetheless. But with a lot of Peter Parker’s remaining foes a bit on the cartoonish side, what bad guy will fit with the tone of the movie?

• Joseph Baxter at The Feed picks The Lizard over Carnage:
  

  I personally think that the villain should be the Lizard, based on the fact that he is an iconic Spidey villain and the fact that the Curt Connors character is already set in place from the previous films and ready to go. Also, in regards to Carnage…no disrespect intended towards those who voted for him, but I can’t image how, given the general consensus that Venom was handled so very poorly in Spider-Man 3, that the vote ended up being this closely split on seeing Carnage get a treatment in the same series. (Really?? You want to see Carnage after all of THAT? Really??)

• Liam at Filmonic also chooses The Lizard:
  

  I hope they go for the Lizard. It’d be interesting to see how Peter Parker deals with his professor turning into a reptilian humanoid monster. I’m not sure how the Lizard would cause Parker to grow as a person though. Maybe he has a phobia of reptiles?

• Rob Keyes at ScreenRant doesn’t think the evidence points to either of the poll’s top choices:
  

  I can pretty much guarantee Carnage will not be in Spider-Man 4. After what happened with Venom in Spider-Man 3, they’ll be leaving the symbiotic villains behind until the franchise restarts and/or the Venom solo film gets underway.

  However, Raimi later explains that the next movie doesn’t have so much to do with a character introduced in the films so far or about intertwining with/setting up the Venom spinoff. This partially puts a damper on The Lizard’s full introduction.

• Elisabeth Rappe at Cinematical hopes Raimi does know the film’s villain already and is just being secretive:
  

  With several drafts and screenwriters behind them, and Spider-Man 4 set to go before cameras in March or April, I’m honestly surprised they still don’t have a villain in mind. Naturally, Raimi might be exaggerating and they are working with one (there’s a coy “I can’t say” at the beginning), but I find its sketchiness a bit troubling.

• Charlie Jane Anders at io9 quotes Raimi’s more specific info about the plot of the next film, which she thinks sounds repetitive:
  

  Gary Ross is still revising the screenplay, but Raimi explains the criteria that will determine the next movie’s villain:

  What we’re trying to do right now is really understand the journey Peter is going to go on this time and have the villain maybe be a counter to that growth, something that he has to overcome. Or maybe he has to grow in a way to overcome the villain, because there always seem to be stories of coming of age, of a young man growing up and learning things about life, so once we are identifying the exact movement that Peter has to grow to, I think the villain-and we’re trying this right now; we’re trying to choose a villain based on who would be the proper counter to that growth, so we really have dramatic conflict.

  How many times can one hero come of age though?

• Perez Hilton also senses a lack of originality for the next installment:
  

  Well, Sam has thought about this pivotal point and he revealed that the idea of this film will be following Peter Parker as he tries to find the ultimate balance between his personal life and his hero duties:

  “I think it’s about putting his head down and moving forward with the knowledge that he has this responsibility. And it’s about the growth of that understanding, that it encompasses more than just his sense of duty toward others but he also has a sense of responsibility as a human being toward the ones he loves.”

  Um, sorry, but weren’t the last three movies basically about the same thing?

• John Lichman at Current Movies believes there’s no reason to be playing detective after this “news”:
  

  Speaking of vague attempts at news, Sam Raimi speaks on Spider-Man 4 without saying anything.

• However, when it comes to comic book movies, there doesn’t have to be actual news to inspire fanboy discussion, especially if the “news” celebrates and encourages these fanboys to speculate incessantly. Back to the Splash Page post:
  

  So, while Raimi didn’t drop any specific names, we did get a chance to whisper in his ear about who fans hope will fight Spidey when the movie hits theaters in 2011. And as Raimi himself said, he liked what he heard.

  “Everyone your readers—the guys who check out your website—mentioned are excellent characters,” the director declared.