Categorizing Villains. Who's A-list? Who's B-list?

[Mister Mets]

There was an interesting question on a podcast: How would you determine the ranks of Spider-Man villains? Who would be A-list? Who would be B-list? C-list? And so on?

A complicating factor is that there are some villains who are interesting because they're not very good at it.

A criteria I'm considering is that A-list is basically villains with staying power who could support a TPB length story.

B-list would be newer big villains (Mister Negative) as well as some of the classic guys who you can't really imagine being the main bad guy in a five part story. You could also make a case that derivative villains are B-list at best, so that Carnage and Morlun would be in this category.

[Frontier]

I do it by tiers:

Top Tier - Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom (Naturally).

High Tier - Pretty much all of the Lee/Ditko villains, with other villains like Shocker and Carnage inching into it.

Mid Tier - Pretty much the B-List Rogues, like Spidey's crime boss villains.

Low Tier - The C and D-Listers.

[Tuck]

I'd say an A-list villain is anyone whose absence (other than due to being unavailable) in a creator's run would be conspicuous.

[Frontier]

I'd say an A-list villain is anyone whose absence (other than due to being unavailable) in a creator's run would be conspicuous.

Or the villains that are almost guaranteed to pop up the most in cartoons and video games.

[Tuck]

Mid Tier - Pretty much the B-List Rogues, like Spidey's crime boss villains.

What about Kingpin? (At least during times he's getting some use as a Spidey villain.)

[bob.schoonover]

I probably need more grades than A and B. Or a multidimensional grading system. Or something else to do during halftime of CLE/GS.

Clear A-List: Osborn, Kingsley, Otto, Electro, Vulture, Mysterio

A-List when they're a villain: Venom, Black Cat, Lizard, Sandman, Morbius (maybe?)
A-List when they're SM villains: Kingpin, Juggernaut (maybe?)

A/B-List (aren't super compelling on their own, but through gadgetry can make a compelling story): Jackal, Smythe, Tinkerer

B-List (not good as a primary villain in a long arc, but really solid when either on a team or feuding w/other villains): Shocker, Rhino, Tombstone, Hammerhead, Mr Negative, Beetle, Scorpion, Silvermane - pretty much any gangster

B/C-List (derivative characters that can be part of a good story, especially one involving their antecedents): Carnage, any other symbiote, every non-Osborn/Kingsley Goblin, Lady Octopus (bring her back!)

C-List (can't carry an arc, don't have interesting character traits to elevate a story, aren't particularly tied to any other heroes or villains to create drama in group settings): Kraven*, any Kravinoff family member, anyone that has met Kraven, Chameleon, Shriek, Doppleganger, Carrion, Morlun

*Kraven has been interesting in exactly one story

[Frontier]

What about Kingpin? (At least during times he's getting some use as a Spidey villain.)

I'd say Kingpin is probably high-tier, but he's always been much more prominent and major then Hammerhead or Tombstone even back when he was a Spidey villain.

[Tendrin]

I think it's obvious that karma is Spider-Man's greatest villain.

Because it's actually the Chameleon, see.

[bob.schoonover]

I think it's obvious that karma is Spider-Man's greatest villain.

Because it's actually the Chameleon, see.

He comes and goes, he comes and goes

[Jman27]

I do it by tiers:

Top Tier - Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom (Naturally).

High Tier - Pretty much all of the Lee/Ditko villains, with other villains like Shocker and Carnage inching into it.

Mid Tier - Pretty much the B-List Rogues, like Spidey's crime boss villains.

Low Tier - The C and D-Listers.

Yeah I agree with your list. I kinda see Venom as a rival more than anything now however. Spidey needs more Top Tier villians

[Mister Mets]

A slight issue with my "classic villain who can hold a TPB" designation is that there are some major Lee/ Ditko villains who don't quite qualify but have had impact, although that could be handled by grandfathering in the original Sinister Six. The counterpoint would be that Sandman, Electro, Vulture and Mysterio are all B-listers.

What about Kingpin? (At least during times he's getting some use as a Spidey villain.)

I could see an argument that Kingpin's A-list as the best of the Spider-Man crime boss villains. The other ones are mainly in the book because Kingpin's off fighting Daredevil.

[Michael Watkins]

A-list: characters that I like

B-List: characters that you like

[Mister Mets]

A-list: characters that I like

B-List: characters that you like

At least we can agree on the C-list of characters neither of us like.

[Frontier]

A slight issue with my "classic villain who can hold a TPB" designation is that there are some major Lee/ Ditko villains who don't quite qualify but have had impact, although that could be handled by grandfathering in the original Sinister Six. The counterpoint would be that Sandman, Electro, Vulture and Mysterio are all B-listers.

I don't know.

I wouldn't say there's a wealth of good, complex, stories with those guys but I think they're too popular to really count as B-Listers, and by that logic I think guys like Hammerhead and Tombstone, who would probably C-Listers compared to that ranking, are cult favorite enough to warrant being B-Listers.

That's story of why I did my tiers the way I did.

[Mutant God]

A-List: Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom, Vulture, Carnage, Black Cat, Electro,

B-List: Hobgoblin, Jackal, Rhino, Sandman, Scorpion, Mysterio, Kraven, Lizard, Chameleon, Morlun, Mister Negative, Shocker

C-List: Tombstone, Calypso, Molten Man, Hydro Man, Massacre, Spider-Queen, Beetle, Prowler, Tinkerer, Crime Master, Smythe/Spider-Slayers, Morbius,

D-List: Kangaroo, Overdrive, Jack O'Lantern, Screwball, White Rabbit, Demogoblin, Boomerang, Deadpool, Cardiac, Spot, Enforcers, Man-Wolf, Human Fly, Grey Goblin, Menace