Out of every superhero, whether they are from Marvel, DC, or otherwise, Spider-Man has (arguably) the most exciting and original villains, with many of them have been fascinatingly adapted throughout the seven live-action movies. Most of them were accurately depicted, but others had the wind taken out of their sails.
Seeing how these villains, as depicted in the movies, would fair in The Hunger Games would be fascinating. Some of the villains are simply human beings with no superpowers, but could easily outsmart others, and others have all the powers in the world, but don’t have a clue how to use them.
Rhino
Out of all of the live-action Spider-Man movies, Rhino was, by far, the most inconsequential of them all. The villain was an embarrassment, as Spider-Man didn’t even take him remotely seriously. At the end of their fight, Spidey literally pulled down his trousers with his webs. And in the Hunger Games, there’d be a line of villains queuing up to do the same thing.
In Amazing Spider-Man 2, Rhino was just a Russian mobster, and it wasn’t until he returned at the very end of the movie in a mechanical Rhino suit did he look remotely like the comic book villain. Fans will never know how that fight ended, as the Amazing Spider-Man series was canceled after the second installment, but Spidey likely made short work of him, just as the other villains would in the arena.
Lizard
With a ridiculous plan to turn all humans into lizards, Lizard had a flat characterization in The Amazing Spider-Man. But it wasn’t just the nonsensical plan about Lizard that made the portrayal of the character so inaccurate. Lizard is a potential threat when roaming around the city causing destruction, but that’s all there is to it.
The villain was fairly insignificant too, as the police were on as much of a manhunt for Spider-Man as they were for Lizard. If the Lizard acted just as reckless in the Hunger Games as he does in the movie, he would draw so much attention and even smoke himself out for his competitors.
New Goblin
Compared to his father, New Goblin, who appeared in Spider-Man 3 was pretty useless, as he couldn’t even control his glider. The only new gadgets he has compared to Norman Osborne are the spikes on his wrist, and the new suit makes him look like a green ninja, but that isn’t going to serve him well in the arena.
The biggest problem that Harry Osborne had was that he was too driven by his emotions, and if there’s one thing contestants of the Hunger Games have to leave at the door, it’s their feelings. The only thing Harry Osborne was really good at was emotionally blackmailing people, but that kind of power isn’t exactly going to work in the Hunger Games world.
Sandman
When any villain has the ability to control the environment around them, it’s going to make for some tough competition. The character can shapeshift and manipulate the Earth’s environment, and the Hunger Games arena works to Sandman’s advantage, as the terrain suits his powers perfectly.
However, though the character arguably has the best superpowers for the battle royale, he’s too remorseful about the crimes he commits, which would set him back in arena full of unapologetically deadly villains.
Electro
The character design and his story arc might not have been well received by critics or fans when he appeared in Amazing Spider-Man 2, but there’s no denying how powerful the character is. Electro brought the whole of Times Square to a standstill and not even a whole convoy of cops could slow him down.
Guns can’t stop him either, as he is able to soak up bullets like they are nothing more than a mosquito bite. And though there are tons of funny memes about Electro’s return in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Electro’s unique abilities and his strength are why it will be great to see him come back under Jon Watts’ direction.
Vulture
Making Vulture a sympathetic Spider-Man villain is one of the things that Homecoming got right, as the character is just a guy who is trying to provide for his family. He has no superpowers, but he is intelligent and he has perfected his skills with the mechanical wings.
And as Vulture was one man who almost singlehandedly took down an invisible Avengers jet, what he could do against a group of villains, most of whom inadvertently ended up getting themselves killed, would be fascinating to see.
Green Goblin
Green Goblin is the most famous villain in the series, and he’s the Joker to Spider-Man’s Batman, as they are seemingly destined to fight forever, no matter which variation of the Goblin it is. 2002’s Spider-Man introduced Goblin in such a threatening way, and it was in part the seedy manner of Norman Osborne that made him so threatening.
But in the end, he inadvertently killed himself with his own glider, which was such a rookie mistake, and there’s no room for that kind of error in the Hunger Games. However, before that happened, he did put up a good fight, and he came close to taking down Spider-Man on several occasions.
Venom
Along with New Goblin and Sandman, Venom was yet another villain in the overstuffed Spider-Man 3. Although he was another villain that fans feel wasn’t accurately depicted, the symbiote is still a force to be reckoned with.
Despite Venom being one of the worst superhero villains, there’s very little that can slow him down, and there’s almost nothing other villains could do if they saw the character leaping towards them. As long as there aren’t any bells in the vicinity, Venom would do pretty well in the Hunger Games arena, especially seeing as the character literally bites people’s heads off - even if that didn’t happen in the movie.
Mysterio
It’s fascinating that the two villains seen in the two MCU Spider-Man movies haven’t actually had any real superpowers. Vulture was just an opportunistic thief with some mechanical wings, and Mysterio was a tech genius who created illusions with flying drones. But that doesn’t mean the characters can’t hold their own in a battle royale, especially Mysterio.
Though Mysterio’s plan doesn’t make any sense in Far From Home, in the Hunger Games arena, Mysterio could essentially make the other villains believe anything, creating all sorts of illusions. And if he can almost take out Spider-Man with his parlor tricks, then he could do the same to Spidey’s enemies.
Doctor Octopus
Spider-Man 2 was a perfect superhero movie mostly due to the villain, Doctor Octopus, and the relationship and conflict between him and Peter Parker. One of the best things about Spider-Man 2 is that, as it was directed by horror auteur Sam Raimi, he brought that vision to the Spidey sequel.
When Otto is about to undergo surgery to have to tentacles removed, and the tentacles then viscously attack all of the surgeons, it’s something straight out of Evil Dead. The tentacles have a mind of their own, they move quickly and they’re brutal. And that kind of terror in the Hunger Games would make Octavius the best hunter in the arena.