40. Flash Thompson – “The Amazing Spider-Man”
Of all the Flash Thompson’s out there, Chris Zylka’s Flash is perhaps the most generic of them all. He’s the bully jock who think he’s the shit and thinks Peter is a nerd who should be picked on. Sure, it’s faithful to the comics, but the actor and character has no dimension. And next to Tony Revlori’s fleshed-out version of Flash, every other iteration pales in comparison.
39. Jackson Brice – Shocker #1
Jackson Brice is a bit of a tool and, as played by Logan Marshall-Green, he’s doubly so. The defining trait of the character is that he’s out for himself and disloyal. Of course, his super-powered weapon doesn’t last long and he gets his rather quickly.
38. Flash Thompson – “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 3”
There is little more to be said about Joe Manganiello’s version of Flash than about Zylka’s. He’s an empty-headed jock who might better belong on the beaches of “The O.C.” But with a character written to be so awful that we’re supposed to laugh at his downfall, what can you really expect? Still, Manganiello brings little to the role that speaks to the charming self-awareness he has since adapted (what’s not to love about Big Dick Richie from “Magic Mike”?). Basically, until ‘Homecoming,’ Flash Thompson was nothing but a plot point, a chance for Peter to learn of his powers and see the vulnerability of the bullies of the world.
37. Herman Schultz – Shocker #2
Herman Schultz as the stand-in shocker would be a pretty dull, no-nothing character, and in many regards he is. But there’s something about the excellent Bokeem Woodbine that imbues the character with a little bit of discernible soul — he’s believable as one of the blue collar workers just trying to make a buck anyway they know how.
36. Electro / Max Dillon – “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
Jamie Foxx’s turn as Electro in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” can be described as an ill-advised homage to the villains in Joel Schumacher’s anti-magnum opus, “Batman & Robin.” Ignoring the fact that glasses, bad hair, and buckteeth don’t make Foxx a believable dweeb, the over-the-top effort he gives creates more of a caricature than a character. Electro’s no-one-pays-attention-to-me motivation is silly, and his transition to supervillain is abrupt, involves eels, and, along with giving him a hodgepodge of electrical powers, inexplicably fixes his crooked teeth. Generally speaking, the end result is beneath what we expect from an actor of Foxx’s caliber.
35. Venom / Eddie Brock – “Spider-Man 3”
Traditionally a physically-imposing brute in the comics, Topher Grace’s casting as Spidey’s most popular villain was not received with open arms. Essentially the nega-Peter Parker — lanky, smarmy, and conniving — this version of Eddie Brock looks like he would quiver at the sight of an actual spider, let alone Spider-Man. Grace does his best, but between being grossly miscast and being Sam Raimi’s afterthought when Sony forced his hand to include Venom in this already bloated epic, it was an uphill battle few could conquer.
34. Phineas Mason / The Tinkerer – “Spider-Man: Homecoming”
Michael Chernus is a great character actor that you’ve seen in movies all over, from “Captain Phillips” to “Orange Is the New Black” and he almost makes The Tinkerer convincing. The character in the comics has a gift of engineering genius, able to invent sophisticated gadgets from nothing more than leftover spare parts. And so Mason helps craft the Vulture suit and other mech weapons out of alien technology scavenged from the New York incident in “Avengers,” but we’re not sure we buy it.
33. Betty Brant / “Spider-Man 1, 2, & 3”
In the comics, Betty Brant is a pretty strong supporting character. She actually is Peter’s first love. However, in the Raimi ‘Spider-Man’ films, she’s reduced to “cute girl secretary” that gets yelled at by J. Jonah Jameson, and vaguely flirts with Peter. You honestly can’t blame Elizabeth Banks for the lackluster character, as she does just about as much as you can expect with the material, or lack thereof, that she’s given.
32. Sandman / Flint Marko – “Spider-Man 3”
Even the biggest “Spider-Man 3″ detractors cannot ignore Thomas Haden Church’s turn as Flint Marko, i.e. the tragic but ultimately underused Sandman. Carrying a weighted honesty that propels Sam Raimi’s overly mangled trilogy capper into stirring emotional resonance, despite its cluttered narrative, Church’s villainous turn is clouded with integrity and heartbreak, which keeps the special-effects-heavy blockbuster as rooted to the ground as it can be despite the silly VFX and the sequel’s overwhelming cartoonish-ness. That said, Church’s performance gets clouded in the story’s messiness. As a result, we get only a brief glimpse at his dramatic potential. It’s a shame, and possibly the film’s truest disappointment.
31. Dr. Curt Connors – “Spider-Man 1, 2 & 3”
There are many reasons to mourn the loss of “Spider-Man 4.” Key among them, though, is never knowing what would’ve become of Dylan Baker’s Dr. Curt Connors, as Sam Raimi’s long-term vision ultimately meant to have Peter Parker’s trusted professor in “Spider-Man 2” and “3” turn into The Lizard, a mutated villain that’s only briefly hinted at in Raimi’s last sequel and then realized, by Rhys Ifans, to mixed results in “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Nevertheless, Baker, as always, brings a fine gravitas to his sadly not-fully-realized role, though one can’t help but wonder what it could’ve been if the great character actor got to live up to the part’s full worth. As is, though, he remains a rich, welcomed presence.
