Ranking All Cinematic Spider-Man Villains (Worst To Best)
I'm still excited about the fifth best MCU film so I decided to go back and watch the other Spider-Man movies. I feel like Spider-Man and Batmn both have great rouges galleries, it's probably why they're my favourite heroes.
It's time to rank the cinematic Spider-Man villains. I'm going to try and asses each villain indipendant of the movie they appeared in and simply judge it on how entertaining/engaging I found them. I don't even care about comic book accuracy if it didn't pull me out of the story! So here we go!
Villain/Rank:
#14- The Rhino/Aleksei Sytsevich in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
How Engaging Was He:
Paul Giamatti's Rhino was way more off putting than I anticipated. I don't care that he book ends the movie. I kind of liked that. What did bother me was I could barely understand what he was yelling and it just didn't draw me into the character at all.
Villain/Rank:
#13- Mac Gargan/Scorpion in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
How Engaging Was he:
To be fair Michael Mando's version of Scorpion, never suits up but he's got that telling tattoo on his neck and it looks like he could head up the Sinister Six. Granted, you have to wait till the mid-credit scene before you can get a real taste of what kind of villain he'd be. Let's just say I thought Michael Mando was great on Orphan Black, and I'm pretty sure he'll be bringing that same menace whenever he re-appears in a movie. If anything his scenes makes me want to continue with Better Call Saul so I can get to his character.
Villain/Rank:
#12- The Shocker/Jackson Brice in (2017)
How Engaging Was He:
I mean I definitely dug how he went out. But that was more about who took him out. Unfortunately, Logan Marshall-Green's shocker just didn't have enough screen time to make a bigger impression on me. And yet he still felt like more of a character than The Rhino in TASM 2. I liked that he worked well as a true bad guy that even the main villain couldn't get along with.
Villain/Rank:
#11- The Tinkerer/Phineas Mason in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
How Engaging Was He:
I liked that Michael Chernus' Mason got to have neat little snipes here and there, like when he reminds The Vulture that he is curious by nature. It was enough to keep an unflashy no goodnick like The Tinkerer engaging for me.
Villain/Rank:
#10- The Lizard/Dr. Curt Connors in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
How Engaging Was He:
I just straight up don't like The Lizard as a villain. So Rhys Ifans had an uphill battle with me from the jump. My problem with this version of the villain was that his plan didn't feel that evil because the movie put so much effort into explaining that Doctor Connors legimtately knew that changing everyone would make their lives better. It wasn't a theory he came up with that made him look crazy. He tested it out on himself and spoke from a place of experience. Don't get me wrong, I get that he can't make the decision unilaterally. I'm just saying make him more of a bitter "I'm a monster, and now everyone will know my pain!" type guy not a "oh wow, this would make everyone's life better!" misguided guy. Just underwhelming considering he's the main draw villain wise in the movie.
Villain/Rank:
#9- The Shocker/Herman Shultz in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
How Engaging Was He:
I know you think I'm crazy, especially since I've been a Bokeem Woodbine fan from way back. The movie that put him on my radar will be a future episode of Movies vs. Matrimony! Hear me out though! In addition to just being cool, wouldn't you be excited if he popped back up again! My enjoyment of the Herman Shultz Shocker comes from knowing that he didn't get killed off and he'll definitely want a rematch with Spider-Man and Ned. Meaning, it'll be way more personal next time and that always makes for interesting encounters.
Villain/Rank:
#8- Venom/Eddie Brock Jr. in Spider-Man 3 (2007)
How Engaging Was He:
I get that Topher Grace isn't anyone's idea of a muscle bound rage-a-holic but I really did appreciate the desperation that Tohper's Eddie showed before he got in the suit. Once he was in the suit that kind of all went away and we lost the redeeming qualities of this version of the character. Even though I liked the moment because it had flashes of Eric Forman, Venom's best moment in suit makes him look like a pervert when he talks about his spidey sense tingling. Not really keeping the same energy, you know?
Villain/Rank:
#7- Green Goblin/Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
How Engaging Was He:
Honestly, Dane Dehaan's take on Green Goblin isn't much better than Venom. Both feel shoehorned into their films and lose the pathos they had going into their final form. Although I must say that upon rewatching TASM 2, Harry kinda sucks until he's Green Goblin. At least he's visually interesting and gets to follow through on his Gwen Stacy destiny in a legitimately affecting way.
Villain/Rank:
#6- Hobgoblin x Green Goblin Hybrid/Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3 (2007)
How Engaging Was He:
I have James Franco's Harry this high up for the work he put in throughout all three movies. Since I wasn't a fan of whatever villain he was in Spider-Man 3. In a movie that had three villains who actually stepped on each other's story lines instead of feeding each other's why waste it with a made up villain? I loved all the anger Harry had that his best friend was also his sworn enemy and the extra hurt that his best friend would hide that from him. All of that stuff played well. I just can't abide by a lazy costume compared to his dad's and an overall lack of a villain name.
Villain/Rank:
#5- Sandman/Flint Marko in Spider-Man 3 (2007)
How Engaging Was He:
I really liked the scene where Thomas Hayden Church's Sandman forms for the first time keeping it together around the locket of his daughter. It was great visual storytelling. I did find that Flint was a bit stiff. I also felt some way about him retroactively being Uncle Ben's killer and then having the other two villains sort of over shadow his arc. To the point where Venom and Harry Goblin get clear endings and Sandman just kind of flies off but I don't know if his daughter will survive, and I'm not sure why Spider-Man thinks that just forgiving a murderous thief who escaped jail is better than apprehending him so he can face time for his crimes but... the movie was done so there was no time for any of those answers. The fact that I actually wanted those answers must speak to how engaging the character was though. As a Plus, with Sandman and Rhino, Spider-Man has faced off against the Sideways crew... that's pretty cool.
Villain/Rank:
#4- Electro/Max Dillon in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
How Engaging Was He:
I get that I'm a big Jamie Foxx fan. But there is a reason I think he's so talented! Here are 10 of his best performances and this one doesn't even appear on it even though, if you are keeping it 100, you have to admit he did a great job with the material provided. There is an argument to be made that what Jamie did with Electro, especially in his strictly Max Dillon scenes, belonged in a different movie. However, that's because he was showing more charisma than Dane and was easier to understand than Paul. Maybe everyone was in a different movie, I guess. The important thing is that Jamie was 100% interesting to watch when he was doing his thing in this movie. I loved how part of his character bled into the score when you could hear his paranoid thoughts. Jamie's Electro was an interesting idea in a movie that didn't have room to properly execute it.
Villain/Rank:
#3- Green Goblin/Norman Osborn in Spider-Man (2002)
How Engaging Was He:
You'll have to forgive the awkward get up, it was the first crack at Spider-Man, after all! Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin and Norman Osborn was simply great casting. I was completely on board with his vengeful scheme. He created something great and his board wanted him ousted. I especially appreciated how brutal he got with people who got in his way. The relationship between him and Peter was also well executed. I suppose I'm not really excusing the costume since Norman isn't higher up on this list. Am I wrong or would this have been a much cooler visual? It could also be that the next two villains are just that good! You decide.
Villain/Rank:
#2- The Vulture/Adrian Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
How Engaging Was He:
If you've seen the movie you know why the Vulture is so ill! Everything starting from when Adrian opens a certain door down to the end of a certain car ride is cinematic gold! Tired of cryptic phrases? Listen to the Spoiled Rotten episode about Spider-Man: Homecoming! Michael Keaton killed it as Batman, I think he should have won the Oscar for Birdman, and now he's a dope Spider-Man villain. It's safe to say, with that info I provided about Batman and Spider-Man, that Michael has reached legendary status in my eyes! Another sign of a great villain? Vulture's reason for what he was doing was hard to argue with. His monologue about how people like Tony Stark treat people and the way he was dismissed from his job all made cases for his Vulture activities. Sure he has to be stopped, but at least you understand why he started in the first place, he's not just crazy.
Villain/Rank:
#1- Doc Ock/Dr. Otto Octavius in Spider-Man 2 (2004)
How Engaging Was He:
There are many reasons people think Spider-Man 2 is the best Spider-Man film and up for debate for the best superhero film (if you haven't seen The Dark Knight). One such reason is Alfred Molina as Peter Parker's hero turned enemy, Otto Octavius! If you haven't noticed the top three villains have all had personal connections with Peter. Not everyone has to be connected to Spider-Man, but it certainly creates more palpable tension and makes for better conflict. Outside of his connection to Peter, he had the four arms all with different personalities who caused him internal conflict. I guess what I'm saying is in addition to being important to Peter, the audience could also just enjoy Doc Ock on his own.
-YG