10 Spider-Man Villains (And Combinations) Deserving Of The Big Screen

4. The Shocker

The Spider-Man films have all been generous in giving the villains a close association with Peter Parker and a deeply personal motivation for going after Spider-Man. In some cases, as with the Sandman being revealed as Uncle Ben€™s killer, such moments even trigger unforgivable retconning that undermines everything about all the relevant characters€™ very cores. It all makes for good theatrical drama, but the trick has already been overplayed. It makes me wonder what ever happened to, €œStop that thief! He€™s getting away!€ Shocker is the shining example of that type of villain. He works for whoever pays the most and keeps as much as possible for himself. In his original appearance, his origin took a page to tell. In a movie, he could appear fully costumed in the opening scene and leave not even the most uninitiated viewer confused. How hard is it to convey that he€™s a crook with a suit who€™s trying to steal money? A villain like Shocker probably couldn€™t carry a movie all on his own, but he could be teamed with just about anybody. Spider-Man€™s rogues gallery is rife with iconic, but largely one-note villains like this who could be utilized as warm-ups for Spidey or cannon fodder for the lead antagonist. It would make many a moviegoer drop popcorn down the hatch and sell loads more action figures to boot, so I€™m surprised I even need to suggest this. Not every villain has a deep psychological imbalance that brings them to a life of crime. Some of them just want to get rich. Ask yourself which you'd rather see more of: a dark, brooding scene where Herman Schultz invents his vibro-shock weapons, or him using them to stop an armored car and then getting chased by your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man? Having a villain or two in a movie for one action-packed scene without the need for lengthy exposition is just good fun, and no one fills this type of role better than the Shocker. Scarecrow enjoyed a similar role in the second and third movies of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. I would love to see more of that in not just the Spider-Man franchise, but all superhero movies.