Originally Posted by
Revolutionary_Jack
A lot of people have noted that Spider-Man villains tend not to be too interesting. Ta-Nehisi Coates pointed this out once when he asked how come Spider-Man's villains aren't all that good compared to Batman's.
In the movies, every Spider-Man rogue ends up knowing Peter's identity and/or become versions of Norman Osborn, one reason could be is that they're lazy and that Thanksgiving scene in Spider-Man 1 was this moment that every Sony producer became fixated on. The other reason is that the villains aren't all that deep. Dr. Octopus for instance is a thug-in-labcoat for the majority of his stories. Neither Ditko, nor Lee ever intended to be sympathetic. This idea that Dr. Octopus is Peter if he went dark is something, or a subtitute Dad figure that Spider-Man 2 and the PS4 game do is just not the character as conceived. This was an idea that Tom Defalco and others who came after took, and it's a very Batman-idea for a villain characterization. The problem is that its redundant. Peter doesn't need to be warned that he could end up becoming a villain. Him letting the burglar go already showed him and proved things to him about what he would do if he doesn't use his powers for good. The best stories with Dr. Octopus like The Master Planner or The Owl/Octopus War is about Octopus being this dumb moronic villain threat who Peter after messing and fudging around, finally gets his s--t together and kicks his ass royally. That's what Dr. Octopus is about. That's also what most of Spider-Man villains' are about. That's also why Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut is this great story, and that has Spider-Man going against someone out of his wheelhouse.
Norman Osborn/Green Goblin is different. But on the whole he's a mix of Luthor/Joker with a bit of Ra's Al Ghul thrown in (the whole coming back from the dead thing). He's a villain on a significantly higher level than others and genuinely dangerous and scary when done right.
In general, in the case of Batman, the Fantastic Four, and for that matter even the X-Men in some stories, you can argue that the Joker, Dr. Doom, and Magneto are more interesting than the heroes. But in no way are any of Spider-Man's villains more interesting or complex as characters than Peter, J. Jonah Jameson, and Mary Jane Watson, or Aunt May, or even Flash Thompson. That's by purpose and design.
Reply With Quote
