If you haven’t already seen the new Spiderman movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, stop reading. In this blog, I am going to write about why the villains in the latest Spiderman movie are such good villains.
In the second act of the movie, we are introduced to the villains Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman, and The Lizard. All of these villains appeared in previous Spiderman movies, so their character was already somewhat developed. Even for people who had not seen the previous movies, they are developed enough in the second act to feel like relatable, understandable people. Each villain gets their share of screen time to develop themselves and show the way they are perceiving the new universe they are in. The only problem is that Sandman and The lizard didn’t get as much screen time. They definitely had their moments but were lacking in depth. Overall, the other villains felt like they had real emotions and motivations.
Their humanity made Peter Parker’s goal to “fix” them even more agreeable. Their characterization makes it clear that they are only bad people because of the modifications they have. They come to understand that they are in a different world and that they need help to go back. So when they ultimately betray Peter and start to terrorize his world, we more clearly understand the shock and frustration going through Peter’s mind. This humanization also makes their endings more fulfilling, because we see the good shine through them. They become understandably apologetic and relieved. Their character arcs go full circle without them dying like most villains. Them not dying also closes out their characters from the other movies. It makes it so that we still see the good ending where the villain is reformed and go on to live happily after being saved. Because ultimately, a good villain is not just evil, but facing a difficulty that results in them becoming a bad person. And the best way for us to have closure is for them to become healed and reformed. Spider-Man: No Way Home does this and so much more. It truly is one of the greatest movies of all time.