9 Things To Know About The Vulture Before 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'

With Michael Keaton In final negotiations to play the suspected main villain In Spider-Man: Homecoming the big rumor is that villain is none other than #theVulture (unless you buy this fan theory). Before jumping to any assumptions about this winged senior citizen, let's take a look at a few facts about the character.

The Vulture is a Genius

Earning a Masters of Science in electrical engineering, Adrian Toomes is brilliant in the fields of electronics and mechanical engineering and has a talent for invention -- even creating the flight harness for which his character is known.

The Vulture Has Super Strength

Due to the exposure of the electromagnetics in his flight harness, Toomes gains superhuman strength, allowing him to lift around 700 lbs.

The Vulture is a Founding Member of the Sinister Six

After escaping prison and seeking revenge on Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus organized a team of villains that hated the wall-crawler--including the Vulture, Sandman, Mysterio, Electro, and Kraven the Hunter. Many have suggested that The Sinister Six is still on it's way to the big screen, but only time will tell. It's one of the best reoccurring villain team-up in comics, so here's hoping!

There is More Than One Vulture

There are three men that have been referred to as the Vulture in the Marvel Universe. The original, Adrian Toomes, is an elderly business man and inventor swindled out of his company, who then used the flight-enabling harness he had invented to live a life of crime as the Vulture.

After sharing a jail cell with Toomes, Raniero "Blackie" Drago tricked Toomes into revealing the location of his spare suits. After breaking out of prison, Drago took the suits, using them to continue his robberies for a short time before being stopped.

Clifton Shallot was an academic who turned himself into a duplicate of the original Vulture using his expertise in bio-mutation. Due to this mutation, Shallot had genuine wings and talons, not needing a flight harness like the others.

Rather than a super villain, like the rest of the Vultures, Jimmy Natale is a mutated vigilante who would mercilessly kill and eat other criminals.

There Are Even More Alternate Versions of The Vulture

While most commonly seen as an older male, there are also many alternate dimension versions of the Vulture. The Animated Marvel Universe (Earth-12041) depicts Toomes as a homeless teenager who was used as a test subject in human experiments after being kidnapped by Doctor Octopus. Through this, Toomes' DNA was merged with that of a vulture, allowing him to shift freely from his human form to his vulture form.

We Almost Saw The Vulture On The Big Screen Before

Back in 2009, before Sam Rami's fourth installation of Spider-Man was canceled in order to reboot with The Amazing Spider-Man, John Malkovich was apparently in negotiations to play the Vulture in the would-be Spider-Man 4.

Even The Amazing Spider-Man franchise had plans to bring us the Sinister Six, with the flight suit already made and ready to wear. Due to The Amazing Spider-Man 2's lack of success, Sony never even got to the casting stage.

The Vulture is Much More Than a Thief

Don't let this character's mild-looking demeanor fool you. The Vulture started out as a thief aiming to ruin his former partner, but he is a strong fighter and an unforgiving killer despite his age. Most of his villainous career he was obsessed with two things: revenge and death. Because of that, nothing seems to be to low for him. From kidnapping, killing, and brainwashing his fellow villains. His criminal career even began after discovering his business partner, Gregory Bestman, had been cheating him out of his share of the profits. So, revenge runs deep with this one.

The Vulture Was Able to Return to His Youth

For a short time, the Vulture became young again by stealing people's life force. After being attacked by David Kalen -- who was capable of dissolving anything he touched -- Toomes reverted back to his old age when Kalen's power negated his youth.

The Vulture Tried Being A Vigilante for a While

Toomes attempted a short stint at being a hero under the tutelage of Al Kraven, the son of Kraven the Hunter, but returned to a life of crime.