When it comes to offering a wide and wildly inventive array of superheroes, many would argue that Marvel just about shades ahead of DC. On the flip side, when it comes to the discussion on which has the better selection of iconic villains, DC probably comes out on top, with Batman's rogues gallery leading the way in that respect. In fact, the only Marvel comic book icon that really comes close to matching the Caped Crusader for offering the coolest and most recognizable a collection of iconic villains is Spider-Man.
By and large, Batman villains have translated well to the big screen, save for the travesty that was Batman & Robin (the nightmares involving those endless Mr. Freeze puns just won't go away). That’s not quite been the case for Spidey, who, like Batman, has undergone any number of reboots and sequels over the years, bringing several notable villains to the multiplex, but often with mixed results.
So, which soared and which sank? Here are Spider-Man’s Best Cinematic Movie Villains Ranked from Worst to Best, including all the latest names from Spider-Man: Homecoming.
16. Dr. Curt Connors – Spider-Man 2 & 3
Spider-Man fans may rant and rave about seeing some of their most beloved comic book villains disappoint on the big screen, but what about the villain that never really got to be a villain?
Dylan Baker came on board to play Dr. Curt Connors, the one-armed professor who transforms into the Lizard, from Spider-Man 2 onwards, and he did a solid enough job with a limited role that essentially required him to look academic and spout science-based mumbo jumbo.
Yet even his mere presence was a hint at something big on the horizon. Dr. Connors is a pretty iconic Spider-Man villain with a well-established and important handicap. There was a feeling that, sooner or later, Baker would be expected to jump into the role of a lifetime as Lizard. That role could have come with the aborted Spider-Man 4. Sam Raimi was reportedly keen to finally turn Dr. Connors into the lizard for the fourth film, potentially alongside the Vulture, but ultimately exited the project, taking Baker’s dream with him.
For that reason, he has to rank as Spider-Man’s weakest cinematic villain – he’s the villain that never was!
15. Scorpion/Mac Gargan – Spider-Man: Homecoming
Michael Mando’s role in Spider-Man: Homecoming amounts to little more than two meetings with The Vulture – one on a Staten Island ferry and another in the post-credits prison encounter – but there could be big things to come from the character. Listed as Mac Gargan in the credits, all the signs point to the nefarious foe playing a pivotal role in the sequel to Homecoming, with the character sharing the name given to another of Spidey’s most memorable villains, The Scorpion.
In one single chat with Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes, during that prison encounter, Gargan may have set in motion the events that will result in fans finally seeing some incarnation of the Sinister Six – a collective of villains that team up to take on Spider-Man. And in casting Better Call Saul’s Mando, Marvel and Sony have chosen wisely, with anyone who regularly tunes into the understated Netflix show happy to attest to the actor’s abilities. Deliver on that potential and his place on this list may need revising.
14. The Gentleman/Gustav Fiers - The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2
In years to come, the late Michael Massee’s version of the Gentleman, Gustav Fiers, may end up ranking as being The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2’s biggest cinematic sin. And that’s not because Massee does a poor job, but quite the opposite – the brief glimpses we do get of the character tantalize but ultimately never deliver.
Amounting to little more than a post-credits teaser in the first film and a vehicle to shoe-horn the idea of the Sinister Six movie that was meant to follow the second film, that we never really got to see more than a glimpse of The Gentleman is a real shame, and the studio only has itself to blame. Having taken their eye off the ball somewhat with the Electro-led sequel, The Gentleman is reduced to little more than the cinematic equivalent of a Netflix TV series end-of-episode teaser.
Sure, Massee is suitably mysterious in the role and deserves some credit for what he does with extremely limited material, but it ultimately amounts to a wholly unsatisfying cameo and reminder of what could have been if Sony hadn’t been in such a damn rush to expand the Spidey universe.
13. The Shocker/Jackson “Montana” Brice – Spider-Man Homecoming
There’s a point, late on in Spider-Man: Homecoming, when Tom Holland’s Peter Parker quips, while facing off against the Herman Schult (Bokeem Woodbine) incarnation of the Shocker, that the “other guy was way better with those things” in reference to the shock firing gauntlets the character wears – and he’s kind of right.
Though only in the film for a limited time, Logan Marshall-Green’s Jackson “Montana” Brice is actually pretty darn effective as the Shocker and more than capable of wielding those gauntlets to devastating effect. Maybe it’s down to the fact that Marshall-Green is the spitting image of Tom Hardy, but he brings a certain devilish charm to the role, serving as one of Adrian Toomes’ hoodlum foot soldiers, responsible for bank robberies and arms deals.
Sure, he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but Marshall-Green knows that, and plays the role with the right mix of brutishness and short-sighted behavior. What a shame then that he’s ultimately turned to ash by Toomes after making empty threats about informing the Vulture’s family about the truth behind his ill-gotten gains.
12. Rhino/Aleksei Sytsevich - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Another wasted opportunity in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and something of a bizarre bookend to the actual, central events of the movie itself, Rhino would have been mentioned earlier on in this list were it not for the fact that Paul Giamatti gives it his all in what is a largely thankless role.
The idea of Giamatti, better known for gentler, more indie-focused fare like Sideways and American Splendor, would transform into a crazed, tattoo-laden, bank-robbing Russian sounded fantastic prior to the film’s release. But, as has often been the case with Spider-Man sequels of late, it’s been a case of one villain too many, with Giamatti’s Aleksei Sytsevich sidelined from much of the movie’s main action and left to serve as little more than a teaser for an Amazing Spider-Man 3 movie that, ultimately, never ended up being made.
As over-the-top as Giamatti’s brief stint as Rhino may have been, everyone still wanted to see how that fight with Spider-Man that serves as the movie’s cliffhanger would have turned out. That the film cut to black before the payoff leaves something of a sour taste in the mouth
11. The Tinkerer/Phineas Mason - Spider-Man: Homecoming
Arguably the brains behind the Vulture’s underground operation, it’s Phineas Mason's the Tinkerer who develops Toomes’ flying suit and the Shocker’s gauntlets. He’s even the one who pushes for the gang to rob Tony Stark’s private jet, all from the comfort of his workshop, where he spends countless hours developing weapons capable of turning enemies (or out of control colleagues) to ash and making walls disappear.
Evidently not a man to be messed with, it’s also unclear as to the Tinkerer’s whereabouts come the end of the film – the Vulture and Shocker are both captured, but there is no mention of any further arrests. Given that Orange Is The New Black star Michael Chernus was recruited for what amounts to a bit part role in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the suspicion is that there's more to come.
With the potential for a Sinister Six movie featuring Shocker, Vulture and the Scorpion alongside a few more, as-yet-unknown Spider-Man villains – the Tinkerer could come to the fore as the brains behind another, even bigger operation. As it is, he’s understated, intelligent, and also compellingly real.
10. Venom – Eddie Brock - Spider-Man 3
When news first broke that Venom would feature in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, the follow-up to the Evil Dead filmmaker’s two near-perfect Spidey entries, pretty much everyone was excited. When it was later confirmed that Topher Grace, the scrawny lead character from That '70s Show, had landed the part of Eddie Brock, pretty much everyone was … confused. As good a comedic actor as Grace undoubtedly is, few if any Spidey fans would have picked him as the big and brash Brock.
Fans went with it though, confident that Raimi could deliver a film and eke an appearance from Grace that would be everything Venom fans had been imagining for all those years. Heck, Michael Keaton was largely viewed as a comedic actor prior to landing the part of Batman, so why not?
Then they saw the film. Not only is Grace a thoroughly lightweight Brock, lacking any real characterization and coming off more like a less savvy Peter Parker, but Grace was barely given enough screen time to make a real impression in the role, combining for a thoroughly unsatisfying incarnation. Bring on Tom Hardy's Venom, so everyone can forget this ever happened.
9. Green Goblin – Harry Osborn - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
While Dane DeHaan did a solid enough job in the early goings of Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the latter half of the film sees him emerge as the Green Goblin, and it’s a muddled take at best. Fans had already seen Harry Osborn’s tale of anguish over the death of his neglectful and demented father and the anger he felt towards Spider-Man play out over the course of Raimi’s trilogy with largely underwhelming results, but that doesn’t stop Webb’s movie from going over pretty much the same ground, albeit in a much worse way.
In this version of Spider-Man, Norman Osborn is rendered into little more than footnote, seemingly introduced to plant the idea of Harry being terminally ill and in need of Spider-Man’s special blood, which later becomes the motivation for his murder of Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy. Hmmm.
Along the way, there’s boardroom frame jobs, an unlikely pairing with the loose cannon Electro, and the world’s most convenient secret supply of Green Goblin exoskeleton-led weaponry and an evil magic potion. Sure, Dane does a good job of looking demented once he becomes to Goblin but, Willem Dafoe had already done that, and a damn sight better too.
8. Electro – Maxwell Dillon - The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Jamie Foxx is an Oscar-winning actor who would have been capable of turning his hand to pretty much any character in the Marvel universe. That he will be forever ed for this mannered and disappointing Electro in what is far and away the worst Spider-Man movie to date is a crying shame. While Foxx comes off a little mannered in the role, he can't be blamed for the fact that the character he is playing is such a tired combination of superhero clichés and ill-advised stereotypes.
A Rain Man-esque computer programmer Dillon essentially becomes electric after falling into a vat of … electric eels (don’t try that at home, it won’t work). Electro scores some points for at least looking the part, with the visuals that go into creating the character being pretty eye-catching at least.
But he’s hardly a compelling villain, and he lacks a killer backstory or real motivation for his actions. It’s also somewhat problematic that Spider-Man’s first major African American villain on the big screen should not only be turned a blueish white, but also be characterized as something of a weirdo, especially after a glut of super-smart white inventors turned crazed monsters in the movies previous.
7. The Shocker – Herman Schultz - Spider-Man Homecoming
As anyone who watched the excellent second season of Fargo will attest, Bokeem Woodbine has looked primed for big things for some time now, and after several years spent paying his dues with smaller roles in films like The Rock, this fine character actor is finally getting some time in the spotlight.
He may be the second man to earn the title of the Shocker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but it’s a title that fits, as Woodbine’s Herman Schultz is the perfect sidekick to Keaton’s Vulture, with the pair combining to great effect during the film’s standout Staten Island ferry showdown with Spidey.
There could be even better things to come from Woodbine as the Shocker too, who is left incapacitated but very much alive by the end of the film. With the movie’s post-credits sequence hinting at the potential for a Spidey outing that sees Peter Parker going up against the Sinister Six, Woodbine’s solid turn as Schultz could become something with a little more substance in the next movie. Fingers crossed.