Every Live Action Spider-Man Villain Ranked
The new trailers for Spider-Man: No Way Home have been released, and it’s poured petrol onto a fire that’s been burning since 2019. Fans are eagerly awaiting the film’s release later this week, with theories, leaks and insanely high expectations all around. While there is a lot to discuss, I wanted to focus on the aspect many people, including myself, are most excited for: the villains.
Out of all the rumours and leaks, the villains are at least one component we know is definitely happening. Alfred Molina has appeared in the first trailer, and subsequent trailers featured Electro, Sandman, Lizard and Green Goblin. Plus, we’ve had new posters spotlighting the villains, and press featuring Dafoe, Foxx and Molina together. So it’s clear the multiverse shenanigans is going to bring together villains from the films of Sam Raimi, Marc Webb and Jon Watts respectively. This is particularly exciting for fans of the previous films, as we get to see more from characters we thought had reached their conclusion. Personally, I think the inclusion of Sam Raimi’s villains is the main selling point. The Spider-Man films were a huge part of my childhood, and are still some of my favourite comic books films, so recapturing that magic is incredibly exciting.
While I am excited, I think it’s a bold move to have so many villains in one film. Historically, having too many villains in a superhero film leads to its downfall, especially for Spider-Man. Both Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 suffered from having too many villains because everything was underdeveloped. That being said, it works so well in the comic books, the medium which birthed the Sinister Six, so if they’re able to achieve that level of magic on screen it would be awesome. Also, I’m really hoping for some redemption. Jamie Foxx, and hopefully Thomas Haden Church and Rhys Ifans (who are still unconfirmed), are talented actors who were let down by the writing, so a second chance is always worth our time.
With the villains in mind and the film release imminent, I want to rank every live action Spider-Man villain we’ve seen on the big screen to date. It’s not normally in my nature to rank numerically, however it worked well last time when I ranked the Spider-Man films (see my previous article for the full list:https://medium.com/@adam.d.lester17/every-spider-man-film-ranked-ae937bed0a61 ). This list isn’t solely about the actor’s performance, it’s about the way the character is written, how they have been adapted from the comic books, how they function in their film, and the impact they leave on the audience. And of course I’ve given each their own food metaphor because it helps to keep things in perspective. I have tried to be brief for each, but rest assured as an enthusiast of films, comic books and Spider-Man, I have a lot to say.
All clear? Then we’ll begin at the bottom and work our way to the top.
-
#11. Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), played by Dane Dehaan.
I don’t want to weigh in too heavily because this is all obviously subjective. That being said, I think we can all agree this is objectively the worst Spider-Man villain.
The writing and the arc for this character are both very poorly executed. The scenes of Harry being a spoilt brat and shrieking like a giant baby are painful, and when he collapses into his alter ego it’s an absolute car crash. Horrible costume design, complete lack of depth, and a overhanging sense someone at Sony mistakenly thought this was “cool.” Just as we thought this character had damaged the film enough, they poorly recreate an iconic comic book story involving the death of Gwen Stacey, and even that reads as hollow. I can forgive a lot if the villain is at least entertaining, but they didn’t even manage that. This character makes me feel sad and frustrated in equal measure.
Which character is he supposed to be? Green Goblin? Hob Goblin? New Goblin? He doesn’t resemble anything recognisable. I know which Marvel villain name adequately describes this character: Abomination.
Food metaphor: I used this same description for the film itself, but this is a drunk person’s vomit on the pavement. There’s signs this once vaguely resembled food, but having been bungled through a pretty nasty pre-digestion process, it’s now a multicolored acidic mess.
#10. Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), played by Jamie Foxx.
This is universally recognised as a mistake on almost every conceivable level. Jamie Foxx is a good actor, but he’s totally misused here. He initially plays a borderline offensive “nerd” caricature, a stereotypical Big Bang Theory wet dream, then spends the rest of the film as a sparkly blue one dimensional bad guy who is more baffling than menacing. His powers aren’t quantified so the audience has no idea what he’s doing, they spend so little time developing the character it means we as the audience have no idea who he is, and his motivations are so flimsy the film has a hard time justifying his existence. By the time he’s teaming up with Harry Osborn, this borders on being a comedy. The writing is so terrible it can best be understood if you’re viewing the film as a pastiche, a harsh mockery of Spider-Man stories.
I don’t blame Jamie Foxx too much for this because the dreadful writing is the main offender, but I do question anyone who read the script for ASM2 and said “yes.”
Food metaphor: severely under-cooked chicken. Will definitely give you food poisoning.
#9. Venom in Spider-Man 3 (2007), played by Topher Grace.
I don’t want to sound like a mean comic book purist, but this didn’t work. Practically nothing we saw on screen was Venom. It didn’t help they were the tertiary villain in an already crowded film so audiences had a tough time caring, but every aspect of this missed the mark. The design of the character left a lot to be desired, the writing for both Eddie Brock and Venom is completely flat and generic, and don’t even get me started on how wooden Topher Grace’s performance is. This character was dropped 104 minutes into a 149 minute film as the third villain, so of course it was going to feel forced and shoddy, but it shouldn’t have been this infuriating. The screenplay was so terrible I actually preferred hearing the primal screeches of the Venom symbiote, rather than Eddie Brock’s creepy dialogue which mixes a pantomime villain with a horny teenager.
Food metaphor: a roast dinner which contains all relevant consistuent parts, however the meal was prepared by someone who used the contents of a toolbox instead of kitchen utencils. So after hours of hammering and drilling and lord knows what else, you sure as hell can’t recognise what’s on the plate, despite being told it’s a roast.
#8. The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), played by Paul Giamatti.
I have to put them on the list, but there’s not much to say. It’s just so misguided. I know some fans would place this character lower on the list, but there is a saving grace: his screen time is significantly shorter. The audience is forced to see far less from The Rhino than the other two rancid, toxic waste villains this film spewed out. Paul Giamatti is usually amazing, and he’s lucky I often forget he is even in this film. I can only assume he said yes to this film because the studio had kidnapped a close family member.
Food metaphor: a very simple meal which went disastrously wrong. You tried to cook a basic dish, like cheesy pasta, and it somehow resulted in both a flood and a fire in different parts of the kitchen. You’re not sure how it went so wrong, all you can do is laugh at the absurdity.
#7. Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3 (2007), played by James Franco.
To this day I am still confused by this villain. It’s not aggressively bad, but also isn’t anywhere close to good, it’s just…there. Up until this film I partially liked Harry Osborn’s arc. In Spider-Man he’s a brat who is trying to live up to his father’s expectations, then in Spider-Man 2 he’s trying to be a professional but also wants revenge and is still living in his father’s shadow. Then in this film he goes on a weird journey from angsty teenager who is mad at everything, to having his memory wiped via an accident, then goes back to evil for a bit but not for long, it’s just messy. The costume design looks like he’s going snowboarding, and he also doesn’t pose much of a threat to Spider-Man, evidenced in the fact he’s defeated within the opening minutes. While all of this is happening, James Franco was unable to deliver a convincing performance, because the script doesn’t know what it wants him to do.
Food metaphor: the sandwich you put in your bag to have at work or school, then you forget about it. So when you take it out at the end of the day it’s warm, squashed and no longer appealing.
#6. The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), played by Rhys Ifans.
I’m sad to say this depiction of the character didn’t hold together. They clearly had good intentions, and I think sticking to one simple villain while telling Spider-Man’s origin story is a very smart decision, but it’s clear this wasn’t thought through. Rhys Ifans is a great casting choice, and I like some of the scenes featuring Curt Connors, it’s just the Lizard side that’s the problem. The design looks like it could be from literally any other film ever, his scheme is totally ludicrous and doesn’t make sense, and worst of all he doesn’t keep the lab coat on! That’s Lizard 101.
Food metaphor: tinned soup with no accompanying bread. Just a big ol' bowl of sauce with nothing to dip in it. Disappointing.
#5. Sandman in Spider-Man 3 (2007), played by Thomas Haden Church.
Fans may be quick to judge Spider-Man 3, and there’s many reasons I would agree with, but we often forget about how Sandman wasn’t actually too bad. Granted, the visuals are dated so some of the sequences are laughable today, and they don’t use his powers in the same creative way we’d see in Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s comic books, but there’s still a lot to like. Most times the character is back in human form they actually work quite well. They’re sincere, they’re grounded, there’s an element of tragedy and an overlap with Peter Parker’s own story, so I would argue there is the basis of a good villain here. The Sandman side of things is clunky and boring, but as Flint Marko we see an element of complexity and emotion that none of the villains so far on this list have offered.
Food metaphor: burn toast, plain and simple.
#4. Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
I genuinely didn’t think they would be able to put Mysterio on the big screen without it seeming goofy. Well I’m glad to say I was wrong. The way they adapted the character and updated them for a modern audience worked pretty darn well. It meant changing the origin and making the character fit into the MCU, which was too forced for my liking, but I still like the overall story. Jake Gyllenhaal was clearly having a great time with this character, and it was great to see a Quentin Beck who was charming to a degree, but also just barely containing his rage.
The main thing I liked about this is the character’s design. The fishbowl head filled with smoke is something I never thought could work on screen, and yet somehow they pulled it off. However, this also leads into my main issue, because this version of Mysterio is a very visual character but there’s not enough substance. For a character so whacky and unique they’re not used in a particularly original way. Consider the following:
- He’s a villain whose origin/ motivations link back to Tony Stark, which we not only saw in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but also scattered throughout the MCU.
- The ‘bait and switch’ routine whereby Mysterio is revealed to be a villain part way through was wasted because even casual viewers knew he was the villain.
- The way he functions in the story and the plan he is executing is pretty much exactly the same as Syndrome’s in The Incredibles. We’ve seen it before and in a better film.
So while there is a lot to like about this iteration of the character, I do still see their flaws.
Food metaphor: the pizza you get from your back-up pizza place, for times when your number one isn’t available. You’re still getting good pizza, but it’s 75% quality instead of the 100% you deserve.
#3. The Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002), played by Willem Dafoe.
This may be nostalgia talking, but this is one of the best villains in a comic book film, let alone a Spider-Man film. Willem Dafoe’s performance is incredible, he absolutely nails the duality and the internal struggle which becomes more and more external as the story develops. While the film as a whole is dated now and some of the visuals don’t quite hold up, the effort Dafoe put into the physicality and the stunts is still impressive, and I think the film largely looks like a comic book come to life. The most important thing is that Green Goblin still holds up as a menacing villain and he works with the story. His origin is told in a satisfying way, his motivations are made clear, and his actions and their impact on Peter are brutal. In the third act of the film he finds out Peter’s identity, attacks Aunt May at her own home, and makes Peter choose between killing MJ or a Tramway car full of school kids. That is EVIL. It’s evil in a way that is personal, and it’s exactly the sort of gambit Spider-Man would fight against and still emerge victorious. Granted there are times where it feels like Green Goblin is easily thwarted by a cheeky bit of webbing in the eye, but largely he is more than a challenge for a Spider-Man who is still early into his career.
As much as I love this film and this particular performance, I sadly couldn’t put it higher because there are a couple of drawbacks. Firstly they made the strange decision to hide Willem Dafoe’s face when the costume is on, which is baffling considering how expressive he is. The other downside is the film as a whole is quite rushed, which means we spend less time with Green Goblin than I wanted to. Still, it made it into the top three, so childhood me is happy.
Food metaphor: a basic dessert, but executed really well. It’s not selling something too fancy or complicated, because it doesn’t need to. You ordered sticky toffee pudding, they gave you a damn good sticky toffee pudding.
#2. The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), played by Michael Keaton.
This very nearly took the top spot, because it’s well documented I love this vision of The Vulture. They’re a dark and complicated villain who forges their own path and seeks alternative means to money after legitimate avenues are closed off. The character explores themes of inequality and status frustration, and while it doesn’t justify their actions it does give the audience an insight into why they do what they do. The story is notably simple, which aids this villain because there’s space to flesh out their motivations and goals. By the time it’s revealed how Adrian links to Peter, I’m fully captivated, and it’s a testament to how well crafted the story is. Plus the scene where he’s threatening Peter in the car gives me chills every time, it is a masterclass in screenwriting, acting and building tension. Michael Keaton is great throughout the entire film, but this sequence in particular settled any doubts the audience still had. Keaton absolutely sells the desparation and the sincerity in the character’s threats, and yet he’s still restrained and calculated. This isn’t a villain based solely on big action sequences, there are multiple tones and some stripped down character moments which are more impactful than anything else in the film.
Even if we take Keaton’s performance and the writing out of the equation, this character scores highly on appearance alone. They did a really great job of adapting a kind of goofy 60s character and making them palatable for a mainstream audience. If you go back and look at Steve Ditko’s original design for The Vulture it is iconic, but doesn’t necessarily translate to the screen well. Instead here we see the suit become more of a technical marvel, with various weapons and razor sharp wings. It’s practical, it’s menacing, it presents a physical challenge for Spider-Man, and it looks amazing. It honours the legacy, but takes it to a new level for a wide audience.
Food metaphor: a goddamn wedding cake. It looks amazing, has a lot of layers, it keeps everyone happy, and it makes you want more.
#1. Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004), played by Alfred Molina.
This is still the best out there and I mean that sincerely. The film has aged very well as a whole, which is great for someone who still raves about it like the nine year old me who saw it for the first time, but in particular Doc Ock holds up. They’ve adapted the character from the comic books in a really smooth way, keeping hold of the key aspects but making amendments where necessary. The design itself is also great, they modernised it and made it suit the real world this film inhabited at the time, and the practical work they put into the robotic arms was truly a stroke of genius. None of that however would mean anything without the man in the center of the robotic arms. Alfred Molina’s performance is fantastic from start to end, which is really worth praising when you consider how much of a visual character Doc Ock is. It’d be easy for the arms to steal the show and become the main talking point, but it’s Molina’s performance that still to this day has people praising this particular version of the character.
What was great about this villain is it felt like there was a story. Quite often villains can end up feeling like a plot device, they’re there to get the story going and to give the hero an obstacle to overcome. With Spider-Man 2 it feels very much like a coin, because it has two sides to it. This isn’t just Spider-Man’s film and his story, its Doc Ock’s too. If you track Otto Octavius from start to finish, his arc reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. He is motivated by a need to prove himself, but also by the loss of his wife and the loss of his own humanity. Yes there are some big action set pieces where Spider-Man is genuinely in over his head, but there’s also a lot of time spent with Doc Ock and his own thoughts. By the time we reach his inevitable conclusion and see him tear down his own creation in a act of self-sacrifice, it’s a moment which feels earned because of the time we’ve spent with him. In fact this film impacts me every time I rewatch it. I see the charming, romantic, passionate and intelligent Otto Octavius at the start of the film and I feel sad because I know the suffering he is going to endure, I know he has good intentions but is taken down a tragic path. If a film can have that impact on me seventeen years after I watched it for the first time, that is more impressive than I have the words to convey.
This is a villain I could watch every day and still find new things to love about it. Creative action sequences, impressive visuals, a killer performance, and a script which treats the villain as if this is their film. This really is the complete package.
Food metaphor: your favourite snack. The one that is your go to and has been for years. It’s there for you when you’re sad, when you’re happy, it can completely lift your spirits and make you feel something that other food can’t.
-
So there you have it. A list of villains who are bad in a good way and some who are bad in a bad way. Each of them is unique in their own way, and for better or worse have cemented themselves in cinematic history. Obviously we’re all going to have had our own experiences of these films and villains over the years, but I hope at least one of these villains resonates with everybody reading this.
As I said before when I was ranking the Spider-Man films, regardless of the quality, we’re all winners when we’re living in a world where filmmakers can adapt Spider-Man on the big screen and express their passion. So while some of these adaptations have been a bit icky, we’ve had some absolute gems along the way, and they’ve given fans plenty to discuss over the years. And I’m looking forward to more discussions taking place after we’ve all seen villains of the past finally take to the big screen once more. This is a chance for many of our childhoods to come to life again, which is nothing short of being a gift.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is released in UK cinemas on December 15th.
