Where are your favorites?
In anticipation of Spider-Man: No Way Home, I'm officially calling this week Spider-week. It started off with my "How to Make Something Sweet" of Spider-Man 3, and it is continuing strong into Tuesday, where I am ranking my top ten favorite Spider-Man villains. This discounts the movies and the video games. This is based purely off the comics. With that said, here are my ten favorite Spider-Man villains.
Remember to come back later this week to continue celebrating Spider-week. On Thursday, I'm ranking every single on-screen Spider-Man we've gotten. That night, I will be seeing No Way Home, so my SPOILER-FREE review for that will be out on Friday. On Saturday, my ranking of the movies will be updated. On Sunday, I'm ranking every on-screen Spider-Man villain. Then, Monday, I will be doing my first ever SPOILER review of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
10. Carnage
Carnage is a really interesting character. He's a spawn of Venom that meshes with Cletus Kasady, a deranged serial killer. The two of them together are a very dangerous mix, and Spider-Man has to team up with Venom to take Carnage down. I really like this character. He is a purely evil version of Venom that is also one of the most violent comic book characters of all time. There was an argument that Let There Be Carnage was going to be rated R because of the history of the comic book character. I love this character, and I do wish his translation to the screen was a little better.
9. The Lizard
Dr. Curt Connors, aka the Lizard, is kind of an underrated Spider-Man villain. I think he's a good prototype for later, greater villains like Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, which I appreciate. A mad scientist turning into a mutant lizard is prime material for a comic book, and he's a very good version of that. Like Carnage, this is also a very violent and aggressive character. And, like Carnage, I wish his screen incarnation was a little bit better.
8. Sandman
I have a lot of nostalgia for Sandman, and I don't know why. I've loved Spider-Man since I was born, and, for some reason, I remember Sandman being one of the first Spider-Man villains I learned about. I love the simple look of the character, with the iconic green shirt and the sand-fist. It's a strange, unique idea for a superhero villain, and I think he's executed really well. There have been rumors floating around that he is going to get his own solo movie, which I would be all for.
7. Kraven the Hunter
The only character on this list to not appear in a movie (yet), Kraven is a fan favorite. And it's very understandable why. He's violent and unforgiving, but he's also somewhat of an anti-hero. He's kind of like The Predator in the way that he wants to hunt something that is worthy of his skill. The thing he chooses to hunt is Spider-Man. He's absolutely nuts, and I love that about the character. He's very cool. I'm excited to see his solo movie and I think he's going to appear in Insomniac's Spider-Man 2.
6. Mysterio
Mysterio bumped up my list after Far From Home, because I started to look in to the character. And he is awesome. First of all, I absolutely love the fishbowl and cape look. I think it's eerie and intimidating. Second of all, his illusions are some of the scariest things in the Spider-Man comics. They are also very cool. I really love his power set, and, while he hasn't had a ton of great comic appearances, I think he's just a really cool character on his own.
5. Electro
Electro is awesome. From the look to the power set to the outright craziness, he's just fun. I think the electricity power set is creative, because he's really the most famous of the electric comic book characters. I think his powers also balance out Spidey's. He's a really hard character to defeat for the web-slinger. I don't know. I've always thought Electro was just awesome. So, yeah.
4. Kingpin
I feel like I'm kind of cheating putting Kingpin here. Because he is a great villain. He's even a great Spider-Man villain. But I really think he's better as Daredevil's arch nemesis versus one of Spider-Man's many foes. However, he's still a great villain. He's extremely intimidating and scary, because he always has people in the police department, so he can barely ever be stopped. His physical figure is enough to terrify you away from fighting him. He's a classic villain that hopefully returns this week in Hawkeye.
3. Venom
The top three Spider-Man villains are all fantastic characters. Venom is basically a bigger, scarier, and more violent version of Spider-Man. I mean, his physique looks like an alien version of the web-head. And that's basically what he is. The symbiote is a very cool idea for a character that can be taken in all different kinds of directions...and he is. Obviously, he's a classic foe that Spidey has faced off against tons of times, but both the black suit Spider-Man and Carnage have come from Venom. I love that he's transformed into an anti-hero over the years. I think he's a super cool character, and I'm hoping he returns in No Way Home.
2. Doctor Octopus
I think, as all of the characters on this list, Doctor Octopus is just an insanely cool character. His tentacle arms are just iconic comic book imagery, and I think that the character himself is just awesome. Not only can he physically match Spider-Man, but he can also challenge him mentally. He is one of the smartest people in Marvel Comics, which, in my opinion, is much scarier. If I am being completely honest, I've never really liked the haircut and weird coloring of the costume, but the tentacles are super cool, so I can ignore that. He's a great villain the has given Spider-Man some of his greatest challenges to date.
1. Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)
Green Goblin is essentially the Joker of Marvel. He is completely insane. And I love characters that are completely insane. He kills without thought. He constantly puts Spider-Man's closest friends and family in danger. And, to make him even more terrifying, he's the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the Marvel universe in Oscorp. I love the complex relationship with Peter and Harry, and I think it elevates this character to a complete other level. He's one of my favorite comic book characters of all time, and he's a fitting nemesis for another one of my favorite comic book characters of all time.