Spider-Man has enjoyed longevity and success on the big screen ever since iconic Evil Dead director Sam Raimi helmed the original trilogy starring Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Since then, the character has been rebooted twice, first under the relatively short-lived Amazing Spider-Man series starring Andrew Garfield, and later in the more successful MCU version starring Tom Holland.
Every superhero needs a cabal of villains to fight against, and the Spider-Man films have delivered on that front. While practically all of the villains Spidey faced in the films were tragic and/or sympathetic heroes, their evil quotients differed across the board. Some were victims of circumstance, while others gave in to their darker impulses.
Updated on March 23rd, 2022 by Derek Draven: The Spider-Man franchise got a major shot in the arm with the recent release of the worldwide record-breaking smash hit Spider-Man: No Way Home, which brought back many villains from past films. Those events significantly shifted the evil nature of each villain, especially when the three Peter Parkers set about to save them all from their own personal demons. For that reason, it's time to re-examine them all in the aftermath of No Way Home's narrative, and how they rank on the baddie scale.
Harry Osborn / The Green Goblin (Spider-Man 3)
Harry Osborne was an otherwise great guy who suffered the unfortunate fate of having an evil and misguided man for a father. In the end, that legacy would be passed down to Harry, with disastrous results. Harry and Peter's friendship was one of the best of any Spider-Man film, but that changed after the death of his father.
He unwillingly took on the Green Goblin persona, then made the mistake of antagonizing Peter, who was already under the corruptive influence of the Venom symbiote. After getting some sage advice, he used his powers to become a hero who sacrificed himself for the ultimate good.
Doctor Curt Connors / The Lizard (The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Dr. Curt Connors created a revolutionary therapy that could regrow lost limbs, which he hailed as a medical marvel. Oscorp demanded that he bypass human trials, and Connors was fired when he refused. He then tried out the treatment on himself, re-growing his lost arm, while also taking on the form of a monstrous humanoid lizard.
The therapy caused him to act completely out of character, and after being given an antidote, Connors returned to his senses and saved Spider-Man from death. He would later receive a permanent cure in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Flint Marko / Sandman (Spider-Man 3, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Few actors other than Thomas Haden Church had the physicality to pull off Sandman in a way that comic book fans were expecting, and he turned out one great performance. Flint Marko was not a good guy, but he ended up becoming one in the end.
It all started when Spidey learned that it was he who shot his Uncle Ben to death, albeit accidentally. Overwhelmed with rage, Spider-Man tried to kill him in his Sandman persona, but after expressing guilt and remorse over Uncle Ben's death, the two made peace with one another. Sandman would later be cured of his condition by the MCU's Peter Parker during the events of No Way Home.
Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Comic fans know Doc Ock's story well — a freak accident ends up grafting a pair of mechanical tentacles to Octavius's body, warping his mind in the process, and turning him into a lethal villain.
Octavius would later sacrifice himself to prevent New York City from being destroyed by his own unstable experiment, but his story was not yet done. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Octavius was pulled out of his own universe, where he was cured by the MCU version of Peter Parker. He later turned up in the final battle to aid the three Spider-Men in taking down the rest of the villains.
Adrian Toomes / The Vulture (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Michael Keaton brought his own wicked charm to the role of Adrian Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it ended up being one of the best highlights of the film. Part of Keaton's skill-set is his ability to flip back and forth between comedian, hero, and villain without batting an eyelash. That range helped sell Adrian Toomes' evil agenda.
Even outside of his Vulture persona, Toomes had few redeeming qualities, save for a deep love for his family. In the meantime, he was quite happy selling Chitauri weapons on the black market, murdering people, and attempting to kill Spider-Man. He refused to divulge the wall-crawler's true identity to Mac Gargan while in prison, but it remains to be seen if that's a sign of repentance or not.
Max Dillon / Electro (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Though the second Amazing Spider-Man film was a major letdown, it did manage to modernize the comic book villain Electro. He finally made his electrifying debut as a largely forgettable average Joe who ends up wielding incredible powers. Max Dillon was evil for a different reason than other baddies.
Largely ignored by the rest of the world, he felt shunned and unappreciated but felt that he had a kinship with Spider-Man. When that illusion faded, he flew into a selfish, murderous rage, succumbing to his own hatred and a desire to get back at everyone who wronged him. Though destroyed at the end of the film, he would later be spared by the events of No Way Home, and eventually de-powered by force.
Quentin Beck / Mysterio (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Comic book fans are aware of Mysterio's origins, but his introduction in Far From Home is downright insidious. This version of the character started out as a bitter ex-Stark Industries employee who decided to masquerade as a superhero from a parallel universe in order to set himself up on Earth.
The deception is carefully planned out, and Beck felt little remorse over what he was doing. Even after failing to kill Spider-Man with a pack of heavily armed drones, a dying Beck attempts to put a bullet in his head by distracting him with a hologram. Fortunately, Peter sees it coming a mile away, but it's a testament to how manipulative and evil Beck really is.
Harry Osborn / The Green Goblin (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
The Harry Osborn depicted in Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man trilogy was far more sympathetic than the one pumped out in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This version of Osborn started out as a regular kid suffering from a fictional and rare genetic condition called retroviral hyperplasia, which can be cured with Spider-Man's blood.
This ends up accelerating his affliction, turning him into a sickly and ghoulish-looking creature who doesn't really need a mask to crown himself as the Green Goblin. The performance was hammy, and the Goblin look over-the-top, but the character's menace and evil were unmistakable.
Eddie Brock / Venom (Spider-Man 3)
Comic book fans were understandably upset by the miscasting of Topher Grace as Eddie Brock in the third film, especially given the rivalry between Peter Parker and Eddie Brock. The character's fall from grace was fairly consistent with his comic book origin story, including the way in which he obtains the alien symbiote and becomes Venom.
While the comic book version of Venom went from villain to anti-hero, and finally to superhero, this version focused primarily on the former. Brock's thirst for vengeance was all-consuming, and he wasn't afraid to use the seductive powers of the alien symbiote to get it, making him the second-most evil villain on the roster.
Norman Osborn / The Green Goblin (Spider-Man, Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Of all the villains of the Spider-Man films, the original Norman Osborne was the most sinister. His own inner demons and toxic personality eventually created a creature of total chaos and hatred in the form of the Green Goblin. He was impaled and killed by his own glider in Spider-Man, but the story wasn't complete.
Osborne later resurfaced in Spider-Man: No Way Home as the central villain. He murdered MCU Peter Parker's beloved May, leaving him devastated. It took the combined presence of two other Spider-Men to keep Parker from exacting bloody revenge, and instead save the life of Norman Osborne by permanently purging his Goblin persona.