The Hollywood Reporter has published a ranking of villains from Spider-Man films, timed to the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland's fourth outing as the character. The list spans live-action adaptations across multiple franchises, from Sam Raimi's original trilogy to Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, ranking each portrayal from worst to best based on faithfulness to the comics, screen time and overall execution.

Entries ranked lowest include obscure or underused characters such as Dr Ashley Kafka from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the mysterious "Man in the Shadows" (revealed as minor villain Gustav Fiers), and Paul Giamatti's much-maligned Rhino. Other figures discussed include the Tinkerer and dual iterations of the Shocker from Spider-Man: Homecoming, praised for strong performances but held back by minimal screen time, and Topher Grace's Venom from Spider-Man 3, whose comic-accurate origin is undercut by a thin revenge plot.