Was the Lizard a waste of CGI? Does Electro's makeover make the cut? We put Spider-Man's
villains in a head-to-head showdown to answer one question: Who's the best at being bad?
In "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans,
and Jamie Foxx are all back in their respective roles as the Green Goblin,
Doctor Octopus, The Sandman, The Lizard, and Electro. It's time to line up this
quintet of antagonists and rank the maddest, baddest villains in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
Scale-obsessed scientist Dr. Curt Connors was the first foe of Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man
back in 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man." The Lizard returns in "Spider-Man:
No Way Home," but has the least screen time of all of the villains.
Not even warranting a worthy entrance, his arrival happens off-screen after he's captured by Doctor
Strange while Peter is dealing with Electro and Sandman. From there, he's left in the
van for a lengthy portion of the film before being a forgetful CGI beastie chasing after
the web-slinger. Even the method of putting him out of action is identical to his demise in "The
Amazing Spider-Man." Sadly, The Lizard feels like a plus one only there to build out the numbers.
The triple threat that rounds off the original group of cinematic Spider-Man villains
comes in the form of Flint Marko, also known as The Sandman. Last seen making amends for past
deeds in Tobey Maguire's "Spider-Man 3," Marko is still a danger to this particular wall-crawler,
although not nearly as much as the rest in the lineup. While prominent for most of the film,
his presence does raise a few questions in the final act that sees him fighting
against our heroes for reasons that aren't too clear. Instead, he's only put to the
forefront when it's time for him to bust into action. While still a feast for the eyes,
The Sandman makes for an ill-fitting piece to the much grander puzzle of "No Way Home."
Of all the foes that face off against Spider-Man in "No Way Home," Electro is without a doubt the
one that's had the most drastic change since the last time we saw him in "The Amazing Spider-Man
2." Jamie Foxx's original iteration was a bumbling scientist with a combover. But the
Maxwell Dillon we're reunited with here is, quite simply, much more like the actor that plays him.
Somehow, Dillon's time in the grid after his failed effort to become pure
energy has turned him into one of the few criminals in this group
you might want to hang out with. That being said, his obsession with a new form of energy
does make him a force to be reckoned with, making him an excellent fit for third place.
Spider-Man's enigmatic enemy in director Sam Raimi's original trilogy, Dr. Otto Octavius is
just as charming and equally chilling upon his return in "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
"Wait, no seriously, what's your actual name?"
And unsurprisingly, Alfred Molina's portrayal of the scientist we've not seen him play for 17 years
is seamless. From his scattered memories of a fistfight with Spider-Man to battling with the
voices in his head, Molina makes it crystal clear why his performance in "Spider-Man 2"
made him one of the best comic book movie villains in history.
We know that Octavius resorted to violence and criminal means to achieve his goal,
but we still managed to see the flicker of a good man in his final moments. In "No Way Home,"
more time is spent ensuring that the seemingly lost cause is found and sticks around a little
longer. Doc Ock feels almost Scrooge-like here before learning the error of his ways,
making his turn back to the light a joy to see.
No one gives their character more attention or advancement than Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn,
also known as the Green Goblin. The first foe of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man could've easily
phoned in his performance. Instead, he gets back into both mindsets as the man and the monster
controlling him, making him one of the most formidable enemies Holland's Spidey has faced.
In "Spider-Man: No Way Home," taking the iconic but performance-limiting mask out of the equation
makes the split between Osborn and Green Goblin so much more potent and petrifying. Holland's
hero is pushed to his limits by a monster on a glider that effortlessly gets inside his head.
There's no denying that the MCU has hosted many great villains over the years,
but Green Goblin reminds us that he helped set the bar long before the universe even existed.
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