RANKING Every Live Action Spider-Man Villain / Green Goblin 2002 SPEED-ART
Hey, I'm back, and with me another Speed-Art! This one’s of the ol' Green Goblin - whose animated evolution can be found on Tell It Animated- and while I draw this green meanie to life, I’ll rank each main Spider-Man Villain from worst to best! This isn't going to be including side villains, as that doesn't seem fair to rank them among the others, so this will be focusing on the main villains in each film. Let's get started with the worst of the worst!
10. The Green Goblin –The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
And in last place, at number 10, is The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Green Goblin. I don't even know where to begin with this one. The acting choices by Dane DeHaan are baffling once he transforms. I'm okay with his performance before he becomes the Green Goblin. It's not the best, but him teaming up with Electro at least made for some interesting scenes. Although the chemistry between him and Andrew Garfield is pretty much non-existent. I thought these guys were long-lost best friends, but they act like they're strangers. And even the design of him is way too overdone and weirdly gruesome. It feels like they just wanted to make him different enough from the 2002 Goblin, but they went way too far.
9. Venom – Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Now the next character had great potential as a Spider-Man villain, but there wasn’t as much heart put into this bad guy, especially compared to other characters. So coming in 9th place is Spider-Man 3's Venom. The look of him here is quite smaller than his comic counterpart and retains the suit texture of his Spider-Man. When he's in his Venom form, he doesn't really talk or show much of a personality. They basically have Topher Grace show his face the entire time, and I get it. They paid for the actor so they might as well use him, but I just wanted to see more of Venom. He really comes off as too much of a throwaway villain, only showing up in the last half hour of the movie and having such a little amount of screen time. So that's why Venom 2007 is much lower on my list than I'd like.
8. Electro – The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) / Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Coming in 8th place is going to be The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Electro. And I guess he also appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home as well, which is a much better portrayal, but it doesn't sync up with anything we knew about the character before. He acts like a completely different person. I don't know when this character change could have happened since the version in No Way Home is supposed to be just before his death at the hands of Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man. So why is he so different? With that said, I do sort of like his blue-man group look when he's wearing his hoodie, but after he puts on the full electric suit, it feels like a little too much for me. His new look in No Way Home is a big improvement overall. I just wish there was some sort of continuity for the character, so that's why I can't really put him higher on this list.
7. Lizard – The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) / Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Landing in lucky number 7 is The Amazing Spider-Man's Lizard. This is a character they teased a lot in the Raimi films, and I'm glad we finally got to see him in action here. The CGI is actually really good, and some of the fight scenes are top-notch. Rhys Ifans does a serviceable job as Curt Connors, although the evil plan to turn everyone into lizards was really underbaked. This villain was one of the lucky few who got to return in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but I think his role was the smallest out of all the returned characters. I believe he only did a voice-over and was fully CGI. The shots of him healing were either reused or deleted scenes from The Amazing Spider-Man, so his return doesn't really add much to his ranking here.
6. New Goblin – Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Coming in 6th place is gonna be Spider-Man 3's early antagonist, the New Goblin, aka. Green Goblin Junior. After discovering his Dad's secret Goblin chamber, Harry Osborn decides to avenge Spider-Man. Unfortunately, for most of this movie, he has amnesia and acts super goofy, and then when he finally remembers again, he goes back to where he left off fighting Spider-Man to then quickly turn good. Although his sacrifice for Spider-Man is a pretty well-done scene, it was just a bumpy road to get there. And it sounds like I'm complaining here, but I do think the heart and core of this villain is done very well. It's expertly set up in Spider-Man 1 and 2 and, for the most part, pays off pretty well here. So that's why New Goblin comes in at 6th place.
5. Sandman – Spider-Man 3 (2007) / Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
And just passing the halfway point for this list is Sandman from Spider-Man 3. He's played competently by Thomas Hayden Church, and I think his actions are well explained in the movie. He has a good back story with his daughter needing medical help and he needs to commit crimes to get money. Does he go too far? Yes, of course. He's not a good guy, but you can sympathize with him. His re-birthing scene as Sandman is also really well done, and I like when he becomes the giant Sandman in the final. The CGI still looks pretty good. Where he loses points is the unneeded retconning. Having him kill Uncle Ben by mistake was unnecessary lore-building. Unfortunately, much like the Lizard, he is under utilized in Spider-Man: No Way Home, so his appearance there doesn't really add any notches for him on this list. The scene at the end, where he becomes human again, is a reused shot from Spider-Man 3 and that was probably the cheapest shortcut I've ever seen in a major motion picture. That should not have made it into the final film.
4. Vulture – Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
And coming in 4th place is going to be the Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming. This is the first live-action version of The Vulture, and the choice to go with a younger version of him was the right one. He's played expertly by Michael Keaton, and his Vulture suit and wings are pretty sweet. You have some sympathy for him at the start because it seems he's just trying to help his family and keep his workers employed, but he, like all villains, goes too far in one direction and takes too much, even accidentally killing some people. But he deserves to be this high for the car scene on the way to the prom alone. Michael Keaton is a great actor, and I hope we get to see more of his character soon in the MCU.
3. Mysterio – Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Rounding out my top 3 is Mysterio from Spider-Man: Far from Home, another character who has only appeared in one film, but his actions had a ripple effect on the next film and the entire Spider-Man series. Jake Gyllenhaal is an amazing actor and to get him in a Spider-Man film is just a treat. Some of my younger viewers may not remember, but he was briefly considered to take over the Spider-Man role in the early 2000s. That never happened, so to have him face off against Tom Holland's Spider-Man now is really awesome. He uses technology instead of strength to attack Spider-Man, aiming to mentally destroy him, and these sequences are amazing to see, if not a little far-fetched with how well done the effects are. But the only real ding I have for him is he's another disgruntled employee or associate of Iron Man, so he doesn't really feel as connected to Spider-Man or Peter Parker as some of the other Villains have. Also, I need to mention his suit is amazing here. It’s such a great interpretation that retains his comic look but doesn't make it seem goofy.
2. The Green Goblin – Spider-Man (2002) / Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Gliding into the number 2 spot is gonna be the Spider-Man 2002’s Green Goblin. I thought about putting him in first but had to save that spot for my next choice. What can I say about Willem Dafoe that hasn't been said a million times? He just chews the scenery here and has such an amazing screen presence as both the Goblin and Norman Osborn. His Jekyll and Hyde scenes where he talks back and forth with himself are some of the best in the movie. And I'm just gonna say it. I really like his suit in the 2002 film. He couldn't show his face here because he needed to hide his identity, and the mask they chose is very well designed. He also got a second chance to play the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and his look there builds nicely upon what they started in 2002. It introduces more purple, allows him to show off his face, and the battle-damaged look is awesome. He's just as good in No Way Home as he was in the original film, plus he got some of the best scenes in the movie.
1. Doctor Octopus – Spider-Man 2 (2004) / Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
But coming in first place is gonna be Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus. This is a villain who you really feel bad for when he is taken over by his arms. He loses his wife, and he loses his mind. You get some nice scenes before his transition when he's mentoring Peter Parker, and it really seems like he wants to do good for the world. So when his arms take over, and he puts all of New York at risk, you really hope he can snap out of it. Plus, the scene where his arms come alive and take out all of the doctors is absolutely terrific and totally feels like a Sam Raimi Evil Dead scene. It hits me every time in the end when he's finally able to regain control and sacrifices himself to save the city. It's such a wonderful moment. And he also got another go at the character in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and while he doesn't get to shine as a villain for too long, it's nice having him team up with the Spider-Men later on. Plus, the train sequence where he fights Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2 is by far the best Spider-Man action scene almost 20 years later. So for those reasons, Doctor Octopus comes in first place.
So that is my ranking of every Spider-Man villain. Feel free to leave your own ranking in the comments for this video, and if you haven't seen it, check out the Evolution of the Green Golbin on Tell It Animated!