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All Of The Live-Action ‘Spider-Man’ Villains, Ranked From Worst To Best

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Ask any comic book fan which superhero has the most iconic cast of villainous characters, and you’ll likely get one of two answers: Batman or Spider-Man.

Having previously tackled the best live-action Batman villains of all time, we’re now turning our attention to the Spider-Man franchise, which began in 2002 with Sam Raimi’s instant modern classic Spider-Man.

Not only does Spider-Man, the character, boast some of the greatest bad guys in the history of comic books, but its cinematic counterpart also features some of the most beloved performances in the history of the comic book movie genre, which we’ll detail below.

None of the Sony Universe villains — Venom, Morbius, Kraven, whatever the hell Madame Web is defined as — will appear on this list, as Spider-Man did not actually appear in any of their movies. Michael Mando’s Scorpion/Mac Gargan has also been omitted, as he was only teased in Spider-Man: Homecoming and not given any definable arc (he does, however, look set to be featured in 2026’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day).

The Top 11 Best Live-Action Spider-Man Villains, Ranked

11. Green Goblin, Dane DeHaan – The Amazing Spider-Man 2

A jittery concoction of bizarre creative choices that never cohere, the “sick Harry” arc throughout The Amazing Spider-Man films quickly devolves into unintentional comedy, with Dane DeHaan’s tone playing more petulant more than tragic, and the aesthetic decisions winding up more repulsive than bold.

10. Shocker, Logan Marshall-Green & Bokeem Woodbine – Spider-Man: Homecoming

Despite two different characters taking up the mantle of Shocker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the result has half the depth of a decent Spider-Man villain — which also seemed to solely exist so the studio could sell another villain in the trailers.

9. Lizard, Rhys Ifans – The Amazing Spider-Man/Spider-Man: No Way Home

When it comes to playing a lonely, sympathetic one-armed scientist, Rhys Ifans’ take on Curt Connors largely works. Once that relatable humanity devolves into an insatiable reptilian lust to turn the entire island on Manhattan into a bunch of lizards, the character falls apart — a common theme through the duo of The Amazing Spider-Man films.

8. Electro, Jamie Foxx – The Amazing Spider-Man 2/Spider-Man: No Way Home

Electro would be even lower if not for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which rips the original version of it in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to shreds so thoroughly that not only was the infamous blue-lightning design reworked, but the character openly comments on how lame the previous version was, too.

7. Venom, Topher Grace – Spider-Man 3

If I wanted to, I could actually argue that Topher Grace’s Eddie Brock/Venom is the greatest comic book movie villain of all time, as the character has since turned into a meme about being a legendary hater, with fans retroactively getting a massive kick out of the fact that he went to church to ask god to kill Peter Parker without A) even being infected by the Symbiote yet and B) knowing that Parker is Spider-Man. And if being a villain isn’t being synonymous with praying on your enemy’s downfall, I’m not sure what is.

6. New Green Goblin, James Franco – Spider-Man 3

As an idea, an arc — James Franco’s Harry Osborn was largely well-conceived and executed… until he actually becomes the Green Goblin in Spider-Man 3, which all somehow feels rushed despite the fact that it had been building for three movies. His place in the middle of this list represents the totality of Harry Osborn across the trilogy — solid in one, best in two, miscalculated in three — and not just his brief stint as New Goblin.

5. Sandman, Thomas Hayden Church – Spider-Man 3

Quietly the most humane piece of Spider-Man 3, Thomas Haden Church’s weary physicality and the wordless, helpless creation sequence give Sandman a tragic weight the movie itself doesn’t always deserve. His power set also provides for one of the franchise’s most thrilling set pieces as he and a vengenance-seeking Symbiotic Spider-Man — having just learned that Flint Marko was actually responsible for Uncle Ben’s death — duke it out in the subway.

4. Mysterio, Jake Gyllenhaal – Spider-Man: Far From Home

A perfect marriage of actor and meta-text as Jake Gyllenhaal was able to weaponize his A-list leading-man charm into cult-leader smarm, which is then bolstered by illusion sequence nightmares that represent some of the most unique set-pieces in the cinematic history of Spider-Man.

While the drone tech of how Mysterio pulls off his ruses are a bit silly, the theater-kid vindictiveness and personal betrayal of Peter Parker absolutely isn’t, and results in one of the Mt. Rushmore Spidey movie villains.

3. Vulture, Michael Keaton – Spider-Man: Homecoming

The general opinion of Jon Watts’ trilogy of Spider-Man films seems to change with the season, but one aspect that’s remained consistently revered in the performance of Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/Vulture — perfectly illustrated by the instantly memorable scene in which he displays more menace from the front seat of a car than most Spider-Man villains ever do from behind a mask.

2. Doc Ock, Alfred Molina – Spider-Man 2/Spider-Man: No Way Home

Picking between the final two options on this list — the undisputed GOATs of live-action Spider-Man villainy — is like debating chocolate vs. vanilla. You can make a compelling case for either and both sides of the argument would be valid. Personally, I actually prefer Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock to Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn as far as a big picture “character” is concerned . But I’m also trying to be objective in this exercise, and with that comes assessing factors beyond just your feelings.

And objectively, Osborn was the tougher lift: first film in Raimi’s trilogy, no tonal template to build on, and a far less sympathetic character. Thus, Doc Ock lands at #2.

He’s here not for anything he didn’t do, but for what he does do: elicit ultimate empathy. You adore him as Otto Octavius — your heart breaks during the accident and Rosie’s death — and you root for his redemption for the rest of his run as Doc Ock. That makes for an incredible character.

But the all-timers in villainy don’t provoke empathy so much as uncertainty — that unnerving inability to understand why the person is the way they are, and the inherent fear of that incomprehensible darkness. Hannibal Lecter. Hans Landa. Anton Chigurh. The Joker.

Alfred Molina’s portrayal of Otto Octavius is one of the most beloved ever put to screen in the comic book genre. But that very warmth caps his ultimate evil — an idea eventually expanded on in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where he winds up helping the good guys in the end.

If this were a list of the best individual pieces in Raimi’s Spider-Man, Doc Ock might find himself at the top. But in a discussion about being the pound for pound best villain in the franchise, there’s one name that ranks above.

1. Green Goblin, Willem Dafoe – Spider-Man/Spider-Man: No Way Home

Not only is Willem Dafoe’s portrayal of Norman Osborn the best live-action Spider-Man villain performance, it’s also one of the finest in the history of the genre.

Green Goblin is just so evil — he murders his chief scientist, terrorizes a public parade, goes after elderly women and children, and more. He’s irredeemably unhinged, holding heated arguments with himself in the mirror as his face contorts like The Mask.

As Norman, both before and after the transformation, he’s callous, calculating, and cold — a man so consumed by Oscorp that he shows more fatherly affection to Peter Parker than to his own son, Harry.

And yet Dafoe threads just enough humanity beneath the derangement to keep him grounded — an undercurrent of “Do I actually feel bad for this guy?” that hums through the film despite the fact that the character never really earns it. That’s just incredible acting, folks.

By the time he begs Peter to not tell Harry of his Goblin exploits, your brain tells you the evil he’s reigned on Peter and New York City deserves equal and retributive suffering elsewhere… but your heart agrees: Don’t tell Harry.