"Spider-Man: Homecoming" is around the corner, so I decided to rank the live-action villains from this extremely popular franchise. Get ready web-heads because this list is going to make your spider sense tingle...
10. Rhino
There's not much to say about the Rhino as he was barely in the film. Despite being played by Paul Giamatti, the character was cringe-worthy and underdeveloped. Although, the rhino suit was pretty cool.
9. New Goblin (Harry Osborne)
"Spider-Man 2" left us with the promise of Harry Osborne taking up the Green Goblin mantle. Unfortunately, they created a completely new character rather than Harry becoming what Norman left behind. Despite using the same arsenal and technology, the Green Goblin's legacy was nowhere to be found in this character.
8. Green Goblin ("The Amazing Spider-Man 2")
The biggest mistake from "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was they were planning future story lines without focusing on making a good movie. This Green Goblin is the result as they wanted to kill Gwen Stacy and plant the seeds for "Sinister Six." If this was the only villain of the story, maybe we could have seen a successful Green Goblin, not one thrown into the last 20 minutes.
7. Venom
Venom had so much potential. Just look at him. Sadly, this is another issue of forcing too much into a single film. Again, a villain thrown into the last 20 minutes. And I don't know about you but Eric Forman from "That 70's Show" simply wasn't intimidating at all. Here's to hoping Tom Hardy's performance in the "Venom" film does justice to the character.
6. Electro
As the main villain of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," Electro should have been more involved in the story. Regardless of being played by Jamie Foxx and his two big action scenes being truly enjoyable, the character was lacking in development and came off cheesy.
5. Sandman
One of the best parts of "Spider-Man 3" was Thomas Haden Church's adaptation of Sandman. He was a sympathetic character, trying to do right by his daughter, which makes for a great antagonist. The biggest problem with Sandman was that he was Uncle Ben's real killer. Not every villain needs to know Peter on a personal level. If Sandman had more time to be developed, he could have been higher on my list.
4. Lizard
"The Amazing Spider-Man" went back to basics by having only one villain and this is why the Lizard works so well. He was fleshed out and fully developed. We understood his point of view. Not everything was perfect though. He didn't look like a lizard that much, and he barely wore his lab coat which is a staple of his comic book counterpart.
3. Doctor Octopus
What a perfect villain! There's a reason that "Spider-Man 2" is regarded as one of the best super hero movies of all time and it starts with Doc Ock. Doctor Octopus was taken straight out of the comic books. He was tough, sympathetic, and even a little crazy. Not to mention, that fight on the train is still an absolutely 'spectacular' scene. pun intended.
2. Green Goblin ("Spider-Man")
Again, another perfect adaptation. Willem Dafoe's performance was unforgettable and menacing. He embodied everything the character should be. From cold yet likable father figure to sympathetic psychopath, he set the bar for every comic book movie villain to come. And I will never forget those eyes. Those horrible yellow eyes.
... and finally, the baddest of the bad...
1. Emo Peter Parker
The jerk that broke Mary Jane's heart and is blamed for ruining the franchise. Only the worst kind of people have the power to do even that (we're looking at you Avi Arad)... but in all seriousness, Peter's emo/cool guy phase is still embarrassing to watch, even after all these years and reboots.
And there we have it, my ranking of the Spider-Man villains so far. I hope "Spider-Man: Homecoming" lives up to the hype and takes our breath away.
It will be interesting to see how these new villains fit into my list.
