Smackin' It Raw: WWE's Tag Team Division

WWE's tag team division has been pretty bad for a very long time now but it seems like they are trying to make it better now although very, very slowly. So I have decided to take a look at the tag teams in WWE right now as well as a couple of people who could make decent tag teams.

Kofi Kingston & R-Truth: The Tag Team Champions and thus the cornerstone of the division. I'm not a fan of tag teams that have just been slapped together and its painfully obvious that what these guys are. WWE has transition Kofi to a tag team wrestler these days since before R-Truth he was teaming with Evan Bourne in Air Boom with the hope that they could revitalize the tag division. I think Kofi meshed much better with Bourne and they made a much better tag team, they even had half of the four things that ever tag team should have, a team name and matching attire, they still didn't have a team entrance theme or a team finisher though unless you counted Kofi hitting the Trouble In Paradise followed by Bourne's Air Bourne. How sad is it when your team feels so slapped together that all I can talk about is one of the partners old tag teams instead. Maybe if they keep Kofi and Truth together for a while after they lose the titles and they keep competing for them then I wouldn't feel as though they are so slapped together.

Darren Young & Titus O'Neil, The Prime Time Players: The possible future of the tag team division. The Prime Time Players have nearly everything you need to be a successful tag team, the only thing that's missing are those tag titles. WWE should put the titles on these guys ASAP and build the tag division around them as the dastardly team that cheats at every opportunity to keep the titles.

Jimmy & Jey Uso, The Uso's: The Uso's are the guys who SHOULD be the face of the tag team division in my opinion. Being twin brothers they have been a team their entire lives and work better together then anyone else on the roster. On top of that despite the fact that WWE has done them no favors at all since they first got on the roster in terms of building their credibility these guys are still over with the fans. When they come out and do their song and dance at the start of their entrance they always get the people going. One thing that can really push these guys over the top as huge fan favorites is if WWE would bring in their father Rikishi in a managerial role for them though that may not be something Rikishi wouldn't be interested since his wrestling days are still not behind him.

Epico & Primo: These two are another team that work very well together. WWE may be hesitant to put the tag titles back on them any time soon because they didn't seem to be all that over when they were champions but guess what happens when you don't put your champions on TV for weeks at a time, they don't get over. Epico & Primo are both great wrestlers and can put on a great match with any team in the division and I think they deserve another shot at the tag titles or at the very least a nice feud over the titles to get the fans behind them more. Rosa Mendes being in their corner only helps them as she is a perfect fit for the duo and fairly good mouth piece as well.

Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel: Kidd and Gabriel were a tag team that were just getting their footing a few months back before an injury sidelined Gabriel but in a shocking move by WWE's part once Gabriel returned they paired the two up again and they are once more finding their footing. These guys can really be a huge fan favorite team with their wrestling styles which compliment each others very nicely. They are also seeming to take the opportunity given to them and make a go for it as well since they have been asking fans on Twitter and Tout to suggest tag team names for the duo with them sending a Tout out themselves saying they may go with “International Airstrike.” It might not roll right off the tongue but hey its something at least. Also helping them out is the fact that both guys are experienced tag team wrestlers with both holding WWE tag team gold in the past, Kidd with DH Smith and Gabriel with Heath Slater.

Camacho & Hunico: These two have been paired together for a while now but haven't been much tag team and have seemingly yet to even consider going for the tag team titles. Why not? They aren't doing anything else and both guys are pretty decent wrestlers if nothing else they can be one more team that adds a bit of depth to the tag division with them challenging for the titles in triple threats or fatal four ways. Maybe they can be a team that  another team has to face to become number one contenders. Hell why not make them number one contenders and give them a run for the titles, they have worked together well enough so far why not throw them in the thick of the tag division.

Now as I said before I am not a fan of two guys who have nothing else to do and are slapped together as a tag team. That said some times that scenario gives birth to great tag teams take for example The New Age Outlaws, Beer Money, The Rock -n- Sock Connection, The Hollywood Blondes, Booker T and Goldust, The Big Show and Chris Jericho or The Miz and John Morrison. Its something that has been proven to work before but it takes the right combination of guys to do it. Here are a couple of guys who I think could breath some new life in the tag team division and certainly their careers if they were teaming together including a few that we have already seen together in the past.

Michael McGillicutty & David Otunga: These guys have been a tag team that were slapped together  before due to The Nexus ending and  they worked pretty well with one another even if they weren't the most over with the crowd. After losing the tag titles they just simply went their own different ways. Why not bring them back together again? Since John Laurinaitis has been gone Otunga has been doing nothing and McGillicutty has been toiling away on NXT it will only help both men to get back together. One of the biggest problems with them before is that they were deeming boring by Jerry The King Lawler, well since then Otunga has really come into his own as an annoying heel that everyone hates while McGillicutty has been coming into his own as well on NXT having great matches. Put them back together and hide their weaknesses by having Otunga do most of the talking while  McGillicutty does most of the wrestling.

Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins: These two broke into WWE as a tag team called The Major Brothers and later graduated to The Edgeheads, Edge's lackeys to help keep the world title around his waist. During this time they captured the tag team titles before going their separate ways. Once again like McGillicutty & Otunga these two didn't have a falling out when they split up. With Tyler Reks requesting and being granted his release that leaves Curt Hawkins without a tag team partner again. Zack Ryder has been struggling quite a bit as of late himself so why not pair the duo up once again. When they were a tag team before they were nobodies and although you can make the case that Hawkins still is a nobody they have both improved leaps and bounds from where they used to be and now both have their very own distinct personalities. Hawkins can get a bit of rub off of Ryder and they can be a nice addition to the tag team division.
 
Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara: Mysterio and Sin Cara are very easy to pair up together and although Sin Cara has been labeled as a huge future superstar ever since he arrived in WWE he hasn't really done much of anything to prove himself. Putting him with the very well established and beloved Mysterio can do wonders for Cara. WWE has been talking about these two having a match at Wrestlemania to set a new record for most masks worn at any public event since last year until both men got sidelined for this this years Wrestlemania but if they can both stay injury free it seems like a it might be the way for them to go for next years Wresstlemania and if they are already a tag team, maybe even champions at the time it would be easy to make the match happen with them even saying they want to do so to set the record.
 
Drew McIntyre & Jack Swagger: Here we have a classic case of two guys who aren't having anything done with them. Whenever McIntyre and Swagger are on TV you can be pretty sure that both are going to lose whatever match they are in, at the moment they are nothing but a couple of glorified jobbers. They were once so much more though and that is where these two can come together. Think about it Swagger was once a World Champion while McIntyre was a Intercontinental champion and pegged by Vince McMahon himself as the future of WWE. So what went so wrong for these guys? Both have complained as of late after loses that “they are better then this!!” so it seems like it would be easy to pair them off. They can both be put in an embarrassing match together with some other wrestlers and leave together citing they are better then this and just like that you have a new tag team who are out to prove they are indeed better then what they have been given.

Christian & Trent Barreta: This one may seem like it comes from out of nowhere and it kinda does but here's how I rationalize it. There is a old tried and true tradition of sticking a young wrestler with an experienced veteran in a tag team. Doing so gives the younger guy a huge rub instantly just by the association with the veteran. This is something that has worked time and again. As for why I picked these two here's why. Christian has always been a great tag team wrestler and has won the tag titles a total of nine times, seven with Edge, and once with Chris Jericho and Lance Storm. Trent Baretta was also in a pretty entertaining tag team with Caylen Croft before called The Dudebusters. Though they were entertaining they never really got a fair shake and Croft was soon released. It would be pretty easy to pair Baretta and Christian together as well since Baretta's current character can be compared with Christian's earlier in his career when he was more of a goofball teaming with Edge. Christian can just take Baretta under his wing saying that he sees a lot of himself in Baretta and we're off to the races with them.

Michael McGillicutty & Ted DiBiase: Dibiase and McGillicutty are a coulple of third generation wrestlers who really have nothing else going for them at the moment. Teaming them up seems like it could work pretty easily. The only thing I would change here would be having McGillicutty changing his name and going by his real name of Joe Hennig. WWE have said almost every time McGillicutty steps into the ring that he is the son of Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig and grandson of Larry “The Ax” Hennig so why they don't just have him going under his real name makes no sense to me, even if they keep the first name and call him Michael Hennig instead it wouldn't be so bad. They can recycle DiBiase and Cody Rhodes gimmick when they were Legacy of them thinking they are better then everyone else because of their pedigree and  that they should be entitled to more then other because of it. I can easily see these two working well together and helping both men make it to the next step in their careers.

Smackin' It Raw: Seven ways to make a three hour Monday Night Raw work

Every Since Monday Night Raw went three hours it has at times during each show feel like a chore to watch. Making something you love feel like a chore is the quickest way to turn people away but it doesn't have to be that way WWE Raw could work at three hours and be entertaining from start to finish. Here I present to you seven ways in which a three hour Raw can work and while we are at it improve WWE as a whole:

Unify the WWE & World titles:

The two world titles was a great idea when the brand split first happened and the wrestlers on Raw and Smackdown never crossed over to the other shows. That time is long over now though. Somehow there is still a brand split but its only in the loosest of ways with Raw and Smackdown wrestlers showing up on whatever show they want. Hell earlier this year Raw became “Raw Supershow” officially allowing Smackdown wrestlers to show up on Raw whenever they want. The brand split still held where Raw wrestlers stuck to Raw, that is unless there was a storyline reason. But lets face any wrestler can go on either show they want so the point of a two world titles is dead. That said I think they should hold off on a unification match until Wrestlemania this year to give it more of a big match feel but its time for the Undisputed WWE Championship to make a return. That said I never liked it when they called the title that, call it what they did before WWE bought WCW and call it “The WWE World Championship” as a bonus that all incorporates both titles name into one. The worst part about it would be that odds are that the beautiful looking World Title will disappear.

Unify the Intercontinental and US titles:

Same story with the world titles, there is no need for two secondary titles so these two need to be unified as well. Alone these titles have no prestige anymore but if you unify them you can make a big deal out of it and make the title feel special again, have former World and WWE champions compete for it while still using it to elevate the younger talent. I wouldn't wait to unify these titles until Wrestlemania though for this one the sooner the better. Since the IC title has a much greater history in WWE thats the title that should stay.

Make the tag team division relevant again:

Every week we hear on TV how the tag division is fiercely competitive. They must think we are all idiots. That division hasn't been important since the early 2000's when you had a deep tag division with Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz, Too Cool, The APA, The New Age Outlaws and more. Back then we had real tag teams but the last half a dozen or more years our tag teams are more of the two wrestlers slapped together type. Rarely have they had tag team names and their attire didn't match, those things might not seem all that important but it is. It shows better unity between the two wrestlers making them feel more like a team. All that said things are not really as bad right now as they have been in recent years, it looks like the tag division is on a upswing again even if it is going very slowly. For the first time in years we have more then two tag teams that don't feel like two guys slapped together. Curt Hawkins & Tyler Reks feel the most slapped together and they were but they are slowing making it work for them and months ago even took the step to get the matching attires. Primo & Epico, The Uso's, and The Prime Time Players all feel like real tag teams. Oddly enough the Tag Champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth are the team that feels like and are the most slapped together of the teams in WWE right now. I'd say get the titles off of those two let them go back to single action and give the titles to one of the teams mentioned above. After that bring in more teams and really build up that division and make it feel special again.

Give the divas more time:

The divas division is nothing more then a joke for two reasons. First off most of the girls have no business in a wrestling ring with minimum training at best. The second and in my opinion bigger reason is the lack of time given to the diva matches. Why would anyone care about the Divas title if the matches get less then two minutes of TV time each week and if your lucky five minutes on a pay per view. WWE needs to break out of that trend and look to their past on how to make a good Divas division again. Before Trish Stratus and Lita called it quits the Divas matches were just as long as any other match. With Raw at three hours now there is no reason you can't give these girls 10 minutes out of your three hour long show. You can make people care about the divas again taking the girls who can't wrestle well such as Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox follow the example of Rosa Mendes and other Divas who have taken a strictly managerial position. Granted both women have shown a lot of improvement which is all well and good but keep the title away from them until they are actually good enough to carry it. Instead leave the wrestling to the likes of Beth Phoenix, Tamina Snuka, Natayla and to a lesser extent Eve and current champion Layla who have both shown they can actually be decent if given the time to wrestle and improve. While we are at it Hire back Kharma who was fired for no reason and bring in Sara Del Ray who I heard was recently hired. Del Ray, Phoenix, Natayla, Kharma and Snuka have it in them to make the Divas division feel like its worthy of more then just the time to use the bathroom or in my case take the dogs out to use the bathroom.

Bring back the Crusierweight title:

With a world title and a secondary title gone the titles instantly feel more special because there are less of them. That said I think there would still be a place for a Crusierweight title to make a come back. The reason this title could make a comeback is because it would be different from the other titles that anyone could compete for. With this one there is a weight limit that would keep the heavyweights from competing for it. Traditionally the weight limit for these titles have been 220-225 lbs I suggest we lower the weight limit to 210-215 lbs instead since more and more of the world title contenders these days are closer to 220-225 already. Bring in a few high flyers and make this division the spectacle that it should be which is the problem WWE has always had with this title. Don't let it become a joke again with divas or Hornswoggle as champion. Make it serious. Reintroduce it in a eight man tournament. On the current roster that tournament could consist of of Sin Cara, Tyson Kidd, Evan Bourne, Hunico, Justin Gabriel, Yoshi Tatsu and to really give it a rub Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan who weighs in at only 210 lbs himself. To have two former world champions competing for the title and praising it up will make it feel important right away. During the tournament give each match a bare minimum of 10 minutes with the tournament final having at least 20. It shouldn't have 20 minutes each week but 10 minutes to the crusierweight champion while having another crusierweight match on the show would make the division feel important right away.

More time for matches and less time for backstage skits and bad comedy:

With three hours every week there is no reason why the matches we are getting right now on the show are as long as they were when there was only two hours. This isn't a race anymore its a marathon. There should be at least two matches that are long enough for two segments on the show. That's two matches that have commercial breaks during them. Longer matches usually mean better matches and better matches mean more people caring about the product. It seems like Raw went three hours it seems like the amount of matches and match times are the same and the only thing that has increased is the amount of backstage skits and comedy. We don't want or need that we want and need more wrestling. I hate to take a term from TNA but WWE needs to make wrestling matter again.

Work on getting the younger talent over:

One of the main reason for the brand split all those years ago was to be able to give TV time to the younger wrestlers who would of been overshadowed by all of the established wrestlers that were already on the roster and found their way there after WCW was bought up. That's not the case anymore and if anything WWE needs more main event stars what better way of doing that then by giving the younger guys a chance to shine. Give them more time on TV both in matches and by cutting short promos before the matches. This method has always worked to get younger guys over for a reason. Also while your getting a younger guy over don't bring in a main eventer and have them destroy that person every week. Zack Ryder looked like he was going places late last year until Kane kicked the shit out of him every week on TV and made to look like a loser every chance they got earlier this year. If you want to have a main evener beat a younger guy that's fine but have it be a competitive match where the main eventer wins. That way even in a loss the younger guy seems like he belongs and that he could be a main eventer as well.

Movie Review: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

What can be said about Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory that hasn't already been said a thousand times before? This movie is after all an absolute classic.

We all know what the story is about. Some bum kid buys a chocolate bar that has a golden ticket within the wrapper that wins him and five other kids a lifetime supply of chocolate, a meeting with the mysterious Willy Wonka and a tour of his candy factory. Charlie is the only good kid and at the end of the movie Wonka rewards his kindness by giving him the chocolate factory.

Gene Wilder is absolutely brilliant in this movie which only helps cement him as one of the greatest comedic performers of all time. Anyone who would still argue after watching this movie could also be directed to a couple of Mel Brooks movies. Wilder's delivery in this movie is perfect every time weather he is being funny, genuine, annoyed, crazy or down right creepy.

As far as what I can say that hasn't been said about this movie before? Well I don't know if its been said or not since it seems pretty obvious to me so I'll just go ahead and say it. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is a slasher movie aimed towards children and not only that but Willy Wonka & The CHocolate Factory gave birth to the entire slasher genre. Yup you read that right. Willy Wonka is to children what Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees, Freddy Kruger, Leatherface or any slasher icon is to adults. Here's why.

As is the case with most slasher movies a group of kids are lured into a dangerous place and one by one each kid is picked off due to their biggest character flaw. One by one each the group of kids are narrowed down as Willy Wonka's cronies those creepy little Oompa Loompa's take them away singing about the fallen child in pure glee while their cruel master Willy Wonka watches on in approval. Soon there is only one child left, Charlie, but that wasn't for lack of trying since Charlie and his grandfather narrowly avoided being slashed to bits by a giant ceiling fan.

Having survived his deadly game in his house of horrors Willy Wonka rewards Charlie with the entire chocolate factory. This might seem like a kind gesture but it is actually Wonka's final ironic revenge. Charlie is a child so poor he could only afford to purchase two or three chocolate bars throughout the entire golden ticket madness but now had access to all the chocolate and candy in the world so you can be sure that at some point this poor kid will develop diabetes. That Willy Wonka is clever if nothing else.

They "kill" one bad kid at a time until only the good one is left formula was quickly adopted by horror and the the slasher genre was born. Most people point to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Halloween for starting the slasher boom but Willy Wonka & The Chocolate factory predated both of those to invent the slasher genre.

To go with all the horror this movie also has one of the most genuinely frightening scenes in the history of film. I am of course talking about the boat ride. Everything starts off good enough with Wonka reciting a fun little poem but it soon all goes to hell. The boat speeds up, crazy images of insects crawling over peoples faces and chickens getting their heads chopped off are projected on the walls and Wonka begins to scream. He is no longer singing a fun little song as much as he is screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a scene so frighting that it was sometimes edited out of the TV version! Not bad for a "kids" movie right? Just to refresh yourself here's the dubious scene in question:

Despite all the horror of this movie its still fun film for the whole family. The songs are fun and easy to sing along with and it carries a good message. Be good little boy or girl or Willy Wonka will lure you into his chocolate factory of death where the Oompa Loompa's will surely pick the child's bones after Wonka is done with them. I give this fun family classic a 8 out of 10!

 

Re-Ranking Catwoman

Back on January 9th of this year I put up an article called "Ranking Catwoman" which you can find here. In that article I did exactly what it sounds like and ranked the various women who have played Catwoman throughout the years from TV, movies, animation and video games and in that article I said that I would revisit that article once The Dark Knight Rises came out to put Anne Hathaway where I think she belongs on the list so lets now take a look at where she stands against the rest with the new rankings (and more pictures!)

#10 Halle Berry (Catwoman 2004)

#9 Eliza Dushku (Batman: Year One)

#8  Grey DeLise (Batman: Arkham City)

#7  Ertha Kitt (Batman 1966)

#6 Gina Gershon (The Batman)

#5 Lee Merriwether (Batman 1966)

#4 Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns)

 #3 Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)

Anne Hathaway  might be the most faithful live action of Catwoman to date all without her being called Catwoman once in the entire movie. Much like her comic book counterpart Hathaway plays the part of a bad girl who doesn't necessarily want to be bad, she just does what she has to do to get by and if that means kicking a crippled Bruce Wayne in his bad leg to steal his mothers pearls. Though when the time comes shes ready to do the right thing she is there to help out. All that said though she is still not my favorite live action Catwoman.

#2  Julie Newmar (Batman 1966)

#1 Adrienne Barbeau (Batman: The Animated Series)

Once again you can check out the original article here with details on each Catwoman.

Game Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

Just when I think I'm done with Spider-Man articles for now he snags me with his web and pulls me right back in. Last week saw the release of The Amazing Spider-Man the video game fittingly enough based on the movie The Amazing Spider-Man.

The last few years hasn't been all that kind in regards to Spider-Man video games in fact you can pretty much say the webslingers games have been on a downward spiral since 2004's Spider-Man 2 which is the benchmark for all Spider-Man games. Spider-Man 2 introduced the open world play of New York, anything you can see you could swing to. In addition to that there was a solid story and game play all around. Up next we got Spider-Man 3 which much like its movie counterpart was garbage and a huge fall from the last game. Ultimate Spider-Man made another good showing but after that it all went to hell with Friend or Foe and Web of Shadows. Shattered Dimensions had its moments but that was followed up by the less then stellar Edge of Time.

So to say Spider-Man games have been hit and miss is a bit of an understatement. So what do I think of The Amazing Spider-Man? Well first off I had reservations because it has that horrible stigma of it being a "movie game" but then again the best Spider-Man game to date had been based on a movie. So with all that said what do I think of THIS Spider-Man game?

Well first off gamers be warned this game takes place after the events of the movie so there are some spoilers in the game that might ruin the movie for you. There is one thing in particular that is a major spoiler for the movie that comes up again and again which is terrible. To release a game that takes place after the events of a movie that isn't out yet was a poor decision. It should of been released the same week or week after the movie.

Of course this is something that will not be remembered even a month from now and all people will remember is the game based on its own merits. So how does it stand up? Well for the first time in years we once again get the open world game play that we loved in Spider-Man 2. New York is your playground and you can go anywhere you see fit. I don't care swinging around New York as Spider-Man is easily one of my favorite game play mechanics of all time. The swing around feels natural and you feel like you are Spider-Man.

The combat system here is pretty much the same as it has been since Spider-Man 2 but if its not broke don't fix it. Sure there are some things that are updated but that's to be expected they are only small updates that make things feel smoother.

I don't care for most of the character designs though, the game makers went for the Spider-Man villains based on animals, ok so that doesn't narrow it down, they went for the villains that are based on and looked more like animals like Rhino, Vermin and Scorpion. The designs were all done in a similar style to that of The Lizard and left a lot to be desired for me.

The costume variety left a little to be desired as well. One of the things I love about the Spider-Man games is the large variety of costumes and Spider-Man has a lot to choose from. This time including the default costume we get 11, though you can make a case of there being only 8 costumes altogether. The default costume is the one we see in the movie with the addition of a belt for some reason, so there is the costume with the belt and without. Another costume is nothing more then a party hat. That's three of your costumes right there. Another costume is the vigilante costume from the movie. The other costumes are for the most part newer ones from the comics.We get the Big Time, Future Foundation, Negative Zone and new Scarlet Spider costumes. The biggest disappointment is the "original costumes." Unfortunately they don't mean the old school red and blue or black costumes but the red and blue and black costumes from the original Spider-Man trilogy. The coolest costume is the Stan Lee skin which at the moment is only available to those who pre-ordered the game from Amazon. These costumes are good and all but what about the original costume or black costume from the comics. What about The Iron Spider, Bombastic Bag Man, 2099, Noir or new Ultimate Spider-Man costumes? Who knows maybe we will get some DLC with them later.

 
 The game isn't about Spider-Man's fashion choices though  its about the game play itself and that is top notch. This is easily the best Spider-Man game since the bench mark of Spider-Man 2. Spider-Man seems to be the exception to the rule of movie games sucking with his movie games being the best games he has to his name. If your a fan of Spider-Man and his games then I highly recommend The Amazing Spider-Man there isn't much out there better.

My Top 5 Worst Spider-Man Villains

After listing off My Top 30 Spider-Man Villains I figured that it would be only right for me to explore the other end a little bit and also list My Top 5 Worst Spider-Man Villains. Spider-Man might have one of the best rogues galleries in comics history (With only Batman's rogues gallery as any real competition to that title) They can't all be hits, in fact there are indeed some real losers out there, I think that these following five are the worse. Somehow "villains" like The Walrus, Grizzly, Gibbon and Kangaroo managed to avoid this list.

 #5 Rocket Racer 

 Real Name: Robert Farrell

First Appearance: Sept 1977's Amazing Spider-Man #172

About: Only mostly a villain Rocket Racer has had most of his run ins with the law as a small time bugler. Has his name would suggest he has a rocket powered skateboard, ok so the skateboard might not be suggested in the name but the rocket powered part is. Although still mostly a villain Rocket Racer unlike most villains has a very strong code of ethics and a deep respect for Spider-Man. Rocket Racer might of been well ahead of his time. Yup you heard that right had Rocket Racer debuted in the mid to late 1990s instead of the late 1970s he could of been a lot more relevant but alas that was not the case. Not helping matters is the fact that he seemed to be the only person to think the Bat-nipples in Batman and Robin were a good idea and stole the idea for his redesigned costume. Awful.

#4 Stegron 

Real Name: Vincent Stegron

First Appearance: March 1974's Marvel Team-Up #19

About: Gotta love Marvel's line of thinking. Hey The Lizard is popular so lets make a new improved version of the same character but instead of merely making him a lizard lets make him a DINOSAUR! Yeah kids love Dinosaurs right? He'll be a hit! Well not so much. Stegron even has a similar origin to The Lizard's. You see Vincent Stegron was obsessed with the experiments that Dr. Conners did that on himself that caused him to become the Lizard and recreated them only with Dinosaur DNA from the Savage Land instead of plain old Lizard DNA. Shockingly (not really) Stegron never caught on despite his dinosaurness since he is mostly seen (and rightfully so) as a Lizard wannabe and why use a wannabe when the real deal is already part of Spidey's rogues gallery.

#3 Hypno-Hustler

 

Real Name: Antoine Delsoin

First Appearance:  Nov. 1978's Spectacular Spider-Man #24

About: Disco was really damn popular at one point in the 1970s and during that time we have gotten great characters like Dazzler and Hypno-Hustler. Wait, what's that? You have never heard of Hypno-Hustler? I can't imagine why hes a guy who uses a guitar to hypnotize people so that he can carry out his petty crimes of robbing the small club owners safe. As if that wasn't enough he also has boots that emit knock out gas. Yup this Disco all star was a real dud.

#2 Big Wheel

Real Name: Jackson Weele

First Appearance: 1978's Amazing Spider-Man #182

About: Now here's a crappy low level villain if there ever was one. Simply put Big Wheel is a giant metal wheel that has spikes, guns, arms and runs over things. Sounds great huh? Jackson Weele is naturally  a crooked businessman who was blackmailed by fellow Spider-Man "villain" and top 5 worse Spider-Man villain, Rocket Racer, and attempted to gain vengeance on the kid by running him over in a giant wheel or something. Spider-Man saved the other would be crappy villain and Big Wheel flew into The Hudson River. Somehow Big Wheel has shown up more then once and every now and then pops up to terrorize skaters everywhere and to be a general non-threat to anybody.

#1 Typeface

Real Name: Gordon Thomas

First Appearance: Nov 2000's Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol. 2 #23

About: You know your a crappy villain when you make Big Wheel look like hes on par with The Green Goblin but that's just what the pathetic Typeface does. Spider-Man might have some of the best villains in comics but as you have seen in this article hes got some pretty lame ones as well but all of those lame villains take a backseat to this smuck. Basically he writes letters on his face and uses weapons shaped as letters to fight with. Watch out Spidey Typeface just threw a giant lower case "g" at you!

Well there we go that pretty much sums up all of my Spider-Man villains lists, hope you enjoyed them. If so make sure to comment below or share it Twitter,

My Top 30 Spider-Man Villains Part 3 #10-1

With twenty of my top thirty Spider-Man villains behind us its time to dive headfirst into the top 10. We probably have some of the most popular Spider-Man villains represented in the top ten as they should be the real question is the order. Well that might just surprise you.Well enough of the stalling already lets just get right to it.

#10 The Hobgoblin

Real Name: Rodrick Kingsley

First Appearance: June 1980s Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 #43 as Rodrick Kingsley and Mar 1983s Amazing Spider-Man #238 as The Hobgoblin

About: Even though Norman Osborn was now "dead" the writers of Spider-Man were still longing to use The Green Goblin. They wanted Norman back but this was back during a time when a new character didn't return from the dead every month so a compromise was made and The Hobgoblin was born. The Hobgoblin had stumbled on Norman Osborn's Green Goblin gear and stole his for his own changing the colors and name. The Hobgoblin was a instant hit with fans and for a short while became Spider-Man's primary enemy. Like what was done with The Green Goblin before him there was a mystery set up around the identity of who The Hobgoblin was and just like before it played out in Amazing Spider-Man for a very long time before the big reveal of Rodrick Kingsley. Also like The Green Goblin there have been many people to take up the guise as The Hobgoblin but once again like The Green Goblin at the end of the day its only the original that truly matters.

#09 The Kingpin

Real Name: Wilson Fisk

First Appearance: July 1967s Amazing Spider-Man #50

About: Like the name should suggest The Kingpin is not only one of Spider-Man's top villains hes also one of Marvel's top villains epically when it comes to a lot of the street level heroes in Marvel such as The Punisher and of course his #1 adversary Daredevil. However The Kingpin has long been a sharp and painful thorn in the side of Spider-Man. Being The kingpin of crime Wilson Fisk has sent a lot of trouble Spider-Man's way in the form of other super villains that he sends to take out Spider-Man for him. Despite the fact that he holds the New York underworld under his thumb he is just as much a family man as he is a criminal mastermind if anyone threatens or hurts his family he makes sure to use all of his many resources to make sure that person learns their lesson one way or another. The Kingpin has also set up many other business to help New York and for charity. This was of course to keep people from making the connection that Wilson Fisk and The Kingpin are one and the same.

#08 The Scorpion

Real Name: MacDonald "Mac" Gargan

First Appearance: Dec 1964s Amazing Spider-Man #19

About: Macdonald Gargan was nothing but a lowly street thug until he was hired by J. Jonah Jameson to go under an experiment to give him super human powers. In a mad quest to defeat Spider-Man Jameson selected a scorpion as the animal that the tests would be based on given that the scorpion is a natural predator of spiders. The experiment was for the most part a success giving Gargan the proportionate strength and abilities of a scorpion but in a huge draw back the experiment also caused Gargan to go a little mad. After being defeated in his first encounter with Spider-Man The Scorpion swore vengeance on both the Wall Crawler and the man who turned him into the monster he now was, J. Jonah Jameson. Over the years this has caused a lot of intense battles where Spider-Man has to repeatedly save Jameson's life who will in the end most likely just do an editorial about how it was all Spider-Man's fault and how he and The Scorpion were probably in cahoots from the beginning. In more recent years Mac Gargan had abandoned the Scorpion persona in favor of bonding with the Venom symboite but after a few years of this the symbiote was stripped of him and he once again became The Scorpion only this time with a major upgrade.

#07 Venom

Real Name: Edward "Eddie" Brock

First Appearance: Dec 1984s Secret Wars #8 (Alien Costume) May 1988s Amazing Spider-Man #300 (As Eddie Brock)

About: Easily the most popular of all of Spider-Man's modern day villains Venom is also easily the biggest threats to the web slinger. During the Secret Wars Spider-Man's costume had been damaged so he went to get a new one but on the way accidentally released an alien symboite which had been imprisoned. Despite the initial tingling of his spider sense after the symboite touched him the warnings went away. The symboite quickly creates the famed black costume, soon Spider-Man discovers that the symboite has powers of its own, such as enhancing his own strength, creating its own webbing and changing into other clothes. Eventually Spider-Man finds that the symboite feeds off his emotions making him very angry and dangerous. No longer wanting anything to do with the symboite he rejects it causing the symboite to harbor very bitter feelings towards Spider-Man an attribute it would share with its next host Eddie Brock who blamed Spider-Man for all the troubles in his own life. After Eddie Brock and the symboite bonded they declared themselves Venom. Now together all of Spider-Man's most personal secrets was learned by Brock such has his secret identity of Peter Parker. This and other knowledge would be used to exploit Spider-Man time and again by Venom. Another advantage that Venom had over Spider-Man was his ability to override Spider-Man's spider sense so that Spider-Man would never know when Venom was about to attack him. Somewhere along the way Eddie Brock was separated from the symboite and put in prison, where he shared a cell with Cletus Cassidy. When the symboite returned to Brock they re-bonded and escaped of prison but in doing so the symboite left a piece of itself behind which boned with Cassidy to create Carnage. Venom's hate for Carnage was so strong that it caused him to put aside his differences with Spider-Man a number of times so that they could team up and defeat him. After being a threat to Spider-Man and his family for several years Eddie Brock who never desired to be a villain in the first place eventually used the symboite for good instead of evil, despite his hate for Spider-Man and the battles they were sure to have when ever they encountered one another. After a while Eddie Brock discovered that he had contracted cancer soon after which the symboite left Brock and offered itself and all of its knowledge to Mac Gargan, The Scorpion. After joining with Gargan the symboite once again regained its vicious streak and has pushed the already unstable mind of Gargan over the edge and again become a huge threat to not only Spider-Man but anyone who decided to get in his way. After the symboite was separated from Gargan it was once again put to use for good with Flash Thompson who is the current host. Gargan and Flash are all good and all but its Eddie Brock who is easily the best host of the symboite to date and after several years apart from each other I continue to count down the days until they are once again together, hey it has to happen sooner or later right?

#06 Kraven The Hunter

Real Name: Sergei Kravinoff

First Appearance: Aug 1964s Amazing Spider-Man #15

About: After hunting every dangerous animal he could think of Kraven The Hunter got bored of hunting big game and wanted a new challenge. He got that challenge when he heard of Spider-Man and knew that if he could defeat him would be known as the worlds greatest hunter. Immediately Kraven left the plains of Africa and made his way to New York City where he picked up the trail of Spider-Man, eventually they fought and after thinking he had defeated the web slinger Spider-Man pulled out a victory. This would ultimately be Kraven's downfall nearly every time he faced off against Spider-Man as he constantly underestimated his foe. Eventually Kraven starts to lose his sanity and becomes obsessed with defeating Spider-Man thinking of only that. Eventually in the classic storyline Kraven's Last Hunt he accomplishes this goal and after thinking Spider-Man to be dead he buries him alive. After this Kraven dons Spider-Man's costume in a mad attempt to prove that he is better then Spider-Man at his own game after defeating a bunch of street thugs Kraven hunts down Vermin, another Spider-Man villain, and after defeating him cages him. Eventually Spider-Man comes to and after escaping his grave finds Kraven who no longer has any interest in fighting him claiming that he has nothing to prove to him. Instead he releases Vermin who since Kraven was wearing Spider-Man's costume thinks it was actually Spider-Man himself who attacked him. Kraven then leaves Spider-Man to fight Vermin and after deciding that he has done everything that ever wanted he picks up shot gun and turns it against himself ending his life knowing that he had soundly bettered Spider-Man in every conceivable way. But of course this is comics and the dead never stay dead forever. After other family members picked up the mantle of Kraven The Hunter the true Kraven was recently brought back to life.

#05 J. Jonah Jameson

Real Name: John Johnah Jameson

First Appearance: Mar 1963s Amazing Spider-Man #1

About: While not a villain in the traditional sense I don't think that anyone can argue that J. Jonah Jameson is one of the top villains that Spider-Man has to go up against. Since Jameson is a popular public figure and considers himself a man of the people who would never do anything to hurt anyone or commit any crimes he cannot be arrested. So how is he a villain? Well how about the fact that he uses every single resource available to him to try to make New Yorkers hate Spider-Man, something that has worked quite well for several years. Whats more Jameson has was the man who paid to turn Mac Gargan into the Scorpion for no other reason then to destroy Spider-Man, he also commissioned a the first several Spider Slayer robots for the same reason. Still at the end of the day though Spider-Man takes Jameson's hate against him with stride because he knows that despite going about it the wrong way Jameson only means well. His rational is that if you were truly a hero then you wouldn't hide behind a mask and the real heroes were the normal people who put there lives on the line every day like police, firemen and astronauts like his son John. At the end of the day though Spidey always gets the last laugh on old Triple J since Jameson has Spider-Man on his payroll and doesn't know it.

#04 The Green Goblin 

Real Name: Norman Virgil Osborn

First Appearance: July 1964s Amazing Spider-Man #14

About: When it comes to Spider-Man's villains The Green Goblin takes a back seat to no one. When Norman Osborn ingested The Goblin Serum he gained superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, and healing factor most importantly though he also gained his psychosis. With the addition of his goblin glider, pumpkin bombs and other trademark weapons you have one of the most iconic comic book super villains ever. The Green Goblin's worst acts make nearly every other Spider-Man villain seem tame. He was the architect behind the clone saga that caused Peter Parker to think that he was a clone of Ben Riley who was at the time believed to be the real Peter Parker. During this revelation The Goblin killed Ben Riley who was the closest Peter ever had to a real brother. After his own apparent death his legacy caused his son Harry who was the best friend of Peter Parker to go insane himself and take up the mantle as the second Green Goblin, his worst and most defining act of villainy though is of course the death of Peter's first love Gwen Stacy. Nearly every time you see The Green Goblin you know something epic is going to happen even more now then ever since he rose to power in the Marvel Universe becoming not only Spider-Man's greatest enemy but one of the biggest threats to every hero in The Marvel Universe.

#03 Electro

Real Name: Maxwell Dillon

First Appearance: Feb 1964s Amazing Spider-Man #9

About: Max Dillion was a lineman for an electric company when one day he was struck by lighting while repairing a power line, the lighting strike caused a change in Dillion's nervous system giving him electrical powers and causing him to take on the name Electro. As one of Spider-Man's villain's he can claim what no one else can. He was the first man to defeat Spider-Man. When Spider-Man first tried to touch Electro he was nearly killed due to the charged electricity within him. Another time after regaining his lost powers Electro defeated Spider-Man again and demanded he beg for his life, Spider-Man did so and Electro was more then satisfied and left Spider-Man to live. another one of his most high profile crimes came when he caused a breach in the super villain prison known as The Raft allowing almost every villain imprisoned there to escape. Although a constant threat I find that Electro is often times forgotten when talking about Spider-Man's greatest villains. Not only has he defeated Spider-Man before but he has done it more then once most villains can't even claim one victory over Spider-Man let alone multiple victories.

#02 Doctor Octupus 

Real Name: Otto Gunther Octavius

First Appearance: July 1963's Amazing Spider-Man #3

About: Doctor Octopus is easily one of the leading villains in Spider-Man's rouge gallery. Due to the dangerous experiments he often took part in he created four metal arms to conduct his experiments from a distance but after a lab accident they were bonded to his body. When compared to Spider-Man's other rouges Dr. Octopus' genius is unrivaled and ranks up there with any of the most brilliant minds in the Marvel Universe including the likes of Mr. Fantastic & Iron Man. He is also one of the best multi-taskers in the entire Marvel Universe with the mental capability to be able to use each of his metal arms to do four completely different things at once while using his own hands to yet again for another task. He also both formed and lead the original Sinister Six which pushed Spider-Man to his limits. Another time he beat Spider-Man's partner at the time The Black Cat near death putting her in critical condition after. The biggest defining moment of his villainy however was murder Gwen Stacy's father Police Captain George Stacy.

#01 Mysterio

Real Name: Quentin Beck

First Appearance: June 1964s Amazing Spider-Man #13

About: Yes! Mysterio! I LOVE Mysterio! In my opinion Mysterio has got to be not only one of Spider-Man's most under rated villains but one of the most underrated villain's in all of comicdom. The guy made special effects for movies and brought that talent into his life of crime, I'm thinking that these days that ability makes him more relevant then ever. His awesomely original powers of illusion also makes him brilliant tactician. On top of that hes got one of the best costumes that have ever been seen in comics. Its a completely green skintight outfit with a grid on it, a nifty purple cape with fantastic eye buttons keeping it in place and of course the fish bowl! I love the fishbowl! You know what else makes Mysterio super under rated and awesome? His goal of evil much like everything else with Mysterio is truly original. He doesn't want to rob a bank, or even that age old conquer the world thing, no all Mysterio uses his powers for is to drive Spider-Man mad! That's it! He doesn't even want to kill Spider-Man, just make him go insane, well not just Spider-Man he wants to drive Daredevil nuts too I guess but that's all the better! He's also succeeded in his evil plot of insanity driving on multiple occasions with Spidey as well before Spider-Man realized he was being screwed with by Mysterio but still that gives Mysterio a higher success rate against Spider-Man then nearly all of his other villains! Everything about Mysterio is stupendous! Did I mention that I LOVE Mysterio? Because I do.

So there you are my top thirty Spider-Man villains. Not every one of Spidey's villains are home runs though some of them are just plain awful and since I just did the top thirty Spider-Man villains then keep an eye out in the next few days for the top five worse Spider-Man villains. We're gonna have some real stinkers on that one. Until then though let me know what you think of my top thirty villains with a comment below.