5 Spider-Man Characters That Were Ruined by the Movies

The success of the first Spider-Man movie in 2002 wasn’t Marvel’s first film success –Blade and X-Men had come first – but it was the biggest gross by a Marvel character for years to come. Since then, Spider-Man movies have been a fact of life, with mixed results. When Spider-Man movies are good, they can be some of the best superhero movies around.

However, that’s not always the case. There have been some rather bad Spider-Man movies, from the mainline films to the spinoffs, and the biggest reason behind their failure is often the characters. The Spider-Man movies have ruined several characters over the years, squandering the potential of some of the most popular heroes and villains from the comics.

Venom (Spider-Man 3)

Spider-Man 3 was the first time the Spider-Man movies ran out of steam. There are multiple reasons behind this, but one of the biggest problems with the movie is Venom. While Venom has since became a solo movie star, no one would ever want Topher Grace’s Eddie Brock/Venom to star in his own movies. While Spider-Man 3 did its best to replicate the comic origin of Eddie Brock and Venom, it was just another part of a film overstuffed with plot and characters.

Grace was the wrong actor to play Venom and his performance never had the sheer hate that made Venom work as a villain. Spider-Man 3‘s Venom was also scrawny compared to pretty much every other version of Venom. Venom’s visuals were the biggest problem with this version of the character – the costume never actually looked like a living thing and the mouth looked strange. Fans had high expectations for the character and Spider-Man 3 didn’t meet them.

Harry Osborn (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

The Amazing Spider-Man started pretty well, but the second one was something of a fiasco. While it was a financial success, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had a lot of problems and the characters were the biggest. The movie’s version of Harry Osborn, played by Dane DeHaan, was especially disappointing, considering how well the Raimi movies had done with the character.

Harry Osborn was Peter Parker’s best friend, the one person who saw past his bookish exterior to the person within. That relationship changed drastically as the years went on and he eventually became Spider-Man’s most dangerous enemy, taking his father’s place in some brilliant early-90s issues of The Spectacular Spider-Man (from the creative team of J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema). The Raimi movies were able to replicate what the comics did in their own way, creating the perfect arc for James Franco’s Harry. Instead of doing what the Raimi movies did and introducing Harry earlier in the timeline, Amazing Spider-Man 2 tried to establish a friendship between Peter and Harry and then destroy that relationship in one movie, all the while establishing that Harry was evil. The Raimi movies gave Harry an arc; director Marc Webb’s version barely managed to establish the character before getting rid of him.

Electro (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

Jamie Foxx is a great actor, but even he couldn’t save Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. While the character’s return in Spider-Man: No Way Home was a huge improvement, his debut took a great character and completely ruined him. Electro in the comics isn’t a particularly deep villain, he’s just a crook with amazing powers who loves what he’s become. Electro has the power to do whatever he wants and hates Spider-Man because the hero stands in his way. It’s a simple relationship that doesn’t need anything else added to it.

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Amazing Spider-Man 2, for some reason, decided that it would be better if Max Dillon started out as the ultimate Spider-Man fan. His brutal transformation and Spider-Man’s failure to stop it changed him into a hater. This is a pretty standard plot for Spider-Man villains, but Electro didn’t need it. The movie had all of the tools to make Electro work and instead decided to take the character in a direction he didn’t need to go.

Kraven the Hunter (Kraven the Hunter)

Kraven the Hunter has been battling Spider-Man for years, his obsession with the one person he can’t beat defining him. That is what makes Kraven such a great villain. He can defeat nearly anything he puts his mind to, but Spider-Man being able to defeat him drives him crazy. A Kraven story without Spider-Man only works when another character is placed in the Spider-Man slot. Kraven needs that person, the one he can’t beat, in order for the character to work.

That’s why the movie Kraven was always going to be a failure. It changed Kraven a lot, but most of these changes still could have worked. Without Spider-Man, though, the key to the character is gone: an extremely formidable killer proving that he’s an extremely formidable killer is not a story that needs to be told.

Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2)

This one is going to be controversial, but that doesn’t change how true it is. Peter Parker is meant to be the audience stand-in. He’s nerdy and shy, full of self-doubt and mental anguish. He’s an everyman with the same problems as the audience – some of them intensified for dramatic purposes. Once Peter puts on the mask, though, all of that goes away and he becomes Spider-Man.

Andrew Garfield played an amazing Spider-Man and perfectly captured the essence of the hero. Many fans agree that when it comes to playing that part of the character, he’s the best. Garfield’s Peter Parker, on the other hand, is terrible.

The problem with Garfield as Peter is that he’s just too cool. His Peter is good-looking and suave. There’s no sense that he’s scared of failing or struggling to keep his friends. Garfield plays the character with the supreme confidence that is perfect for Spider-Man, but doesn’t work at all for Peter Parker. Garfield’s Peter Parker is one of the worst parts of The Amazing Spider-Man films because the movies don’t understand who Spider-Man is. Garfield does his best with what he’s given, but what he’s given isn’t Peter Parker.

You can stream the Spider-Man movies on Disney+.