30. Norman Osborn / Not Really The Green Goblin – “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
Norman Osborn is one of the greatest villains in all of Spider-Man lore. Casting Chris Cooper to play Norman Osborn was an inspired choice in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” However, the end result is one weird scene in the dark where Cooper is painted green-ish, with sores on his face and claws for nails. The scene itself is purely exposition, and a complete waste of a great actor and a great character. It’s sad. Makes you wonder what could have been if they pared down all the villains from ‘ASM2’ and stuck with just Cooper as the big bad.
29. Felicia / Almost The Black Cat – “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
Like many superhero franchises these days, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ series was looking at the horizon rather than keeping its eyes on the prize. This was especially true of ‘ASM2,’ where Marc Webb and the writers were introducing the alter-egos of villains-to-be. One of many was Felicia Hardy (Felicity Jones), Norman Osborn’s assistant at Oscorp and, later, Harry’s. Felicia Hardy was, of course, The Black Cat in the comics and presumably, if the series had gone on, we’d finally see this character on the big screen. Alas, the ‘Amazing’ series never went past episode two, so we didn’t get to see the anti-hero character on screen. But maybe it’s for the best considering how poorly the villains were rendered in this series.
28. Richard Parker – “The Amazing Spider-Man” & ‘2’
The mythology behind Peter Parker’s father Richard Parker in “The Amazing Spider-Man” films is ridiculous, even if some of his backstory is sort of rooted in comic book history lore. In ‘ASM,’ Richard seems like just a plot function: he’s here to foreshadow Oscorp technology that will enable future bad guys down the road. And the entire story is rooted in conspiracy: he has to explain his disappearance and is killed in a plane crash in an assassination attempt. Richard Parker’s story is right out of a spy movie like James Bond and doesn’t fit at all in a Spider-Man movie. Campbell Scott does his best to make the character believable, but the entire storyline of Peter Parker’s parents was always something that perturbed even the most lenient of fans.
27. Karen / The A.I. Voice In Spider-Man’s Suit – “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
A sort of minor spoiler here if you’re not good at recognizing voice performances. So, in ‘Homecoming,’ perhaps antithetically to the character, Spider-Man has a mech suit/costume that’s not unlike Iron Man’s. Built by Tony Stark, it has many of the same bells and whistles and in the system itself is Karen, the A.I. voice that guides Peter Parker along as he discovers all the doohickies in his suit. The “character” is pretty straight forward, the counterpart to Iron Man’s Jarvis A.I. computer, but she provides an equal amount of dry comedic wit. And here’s the clever part. Jarvis (now Vision) was voiced by Paul Bettany. Karen? She’s voiced by Bettany’s wife Jennifer Connelly.
26. Happy Hogan – “Spider-Man:Homecoming”
After having taken the backseat following the events in “Iron Man 3,” where the hapless Happy Hogan was seriously injured, Jon Favreau returns as the character for “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” Happy has always been a welcome presence in the Iron Man universe, giving Tony Stark a character who’s more grounded in reality to play off of and it’s something that works tremendously with Peter Parker as well. This is especially true when you notice the similarities to both Peter and Tony’s “superhero” origin. Here, Happy is allowed to be placed in a legitimate place of power (an infrequent occurrence when facing down with his boss) and the exasperated dynamic he shares with Tom Holland’s Peter offers one of the strictly comical aspects in the film.
25. Aleksei Sytsevich/The Rhino / Paul Giamatti – “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
Covered from bald head to booted toe in tattoos, with a Russian accent as thick as pomegranate molasses, Aleksei Sytsevich, i.e. The Rhino, definitely isn’t your typical Paul Giamatti character. That’s what makes him all the more devilishly enjoyable. Relishing the opportunity to play such a brutish knucklehead, Giamatti’s screeching animal of a man is a tragically-short-but-nevertheless-colorful highlight, one that makes you wish Marc Webb allotted more time for this eccentric, high-strung mobster weirdo to pounce onto the screen. It’s Giamatti at this absolute wildest, and despite his short appearance, Giamatti charges with full conviction, even if it’s over the top.
24. The Lizard / Dr. Curt Connors – “The Amazing Spider-Man”
One thing Spider-Man has always done better than most other comic book movies? Villians. Rhys Ifans’ Dr. Connors/The Lizard in “The Amazing Spider-Man” certainly fits among this fold. Motivated not by evil or profit or any of the other hard-to-believe tropes that populate the genre, Dr. Connors is driven mad because he…wants his arm back? Ridiculous as it sounds, it makes for a complicated and, at times, rich storyline. Webb’s iterations, though, never were able to carry the weight of the great characters that populate Spider-Man’s universe, and Ifans himself is colorful in so-so material. All of which is especially shameful since we had to sit through four Spider-Man movies just to see The Lizard.
23. Green Goblin / Harry Osborn – “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
There’s plenty to quibble over regarding Marc Webb’s oft-derided “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” but Dane DeHaan’s performances as first Harry Osborn and then, of course, Green Goblin isn’t one of them. If there’s fault to be had with the character, it’s the accelerated nature of his storyline, both his descent into being pure EVIL and his friendship with Peter deteriorating into mistrust. DeHaan meanwhile shares a genuine chemistry with Andrew Garfield’s character and is convincing as a the big bad once he’s revealed. He’s a little emo, obviously, but we just wish we could’ve spent more time with the character first so that when that big payoff happens, there’s more than just DeHaan’s performance holding it all together.
22. Aaron Davis – “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
Whether the role is big or small, it’s always nice when Donald Glover appears on screen. While he only has two small scenes, he makes the most of them as a low-level gangster slinging weapons for Vulture just to support his family. His “criminal with a heart of gold” complex feels warm and organic, and he even teaches Spider-Man a thing or two about the right way to interrogate someone. And for fans, they’ll get a treat when the see the nickname on his police rap sheet in regards to his secret identity.
21. Gwen Stacy – “Spider-Man 3”
In Spider-Man comics lore, Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s young teen love, with Mary Jane coming around later in his life. However, in Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3,” Gwen Stacy is brought in after Mary Jane, with Gwen picking up many of the Mary Jane traits from the comics. The result is a pretty decent character, but not the best portrayal of Gwen Stacy in the ‘Spider-Man’ film series. Bryce Dallas Howard is perfectly fine as Gwen, bringing a different vibe to the series than what Kirsten Dunst had previously done. Unfortunately, Howard was overshadowed by a completely bonkers “dark” Peter Parker.