here's my thing about MCU Spidey & this absolutely pisses off Spider-Man fans so going no-reply: I actually get why they make all the villains jilted Iron Man folks, cause Peter's ACTUAL baddies don't work thematically

they work in the comics because Spider-Man's villains are fundamentally secondary to the demands of the narrative, it doesn't matter that Mysterio has NOTHING to do with Spider-Man cause Mysterio is just some random threat this week to keep him from making rent

the comic is the story of the life and trials of Peter Parker, either having his social life disrupted by villains or escaping the problems of every day life by going off to punch some goofy doof like Electro in his silly mask

the problem, of course, is that these are action movies, they need to be structured around a villain whose actions drive the plot and has internal life, existing when we aren't looking at him "Some guy in a Rhino suit" doesn't cut it

which is why basically EVERY Spider-Man movie RADICALLY reinvents its villains so now Doc Ock is Pete's friend & teacher driven mad by the arms or Lizard was an old friend of Pete's dad

now I WILL grant that defining Pete entirely through the lens of Tony Stark is a mistake, like he's more Iron Lad than Spider-Man in these movies, the inclination to steal from Michelinie/Layton was smart but they gotta find a better way to adapt it

(Michelinie/Layton are comic GODS and absolutely loved the bitter traitorous employee angle)

I think a big part of this problem is that Pete's villains don't really COME from anywhere stylistically, they're always mad science adjacent but there isn't a single piece or worldbuilding or visual style that informs them as a broad group

like Iron Man villains as a broad group are armor/tech related or spy related, Batman villains are horror movie icons, Superman villains are aliens from space, Pete's baddies are...like what links Rhino, Electro, Hammerhead, and Green Goblin?

it's not just about creating a list of themes to inform character like "animals" or "natural elements" either, because they're wildly different interpretations on theme, like why is Electro a living man of lightning but Doc Ock is just a mecha octopus kinda sorta

like if I asked you to pitch me a Spider-Man villain who was Yeti themed, what would you hand in? RT with answers please I'm genuinely curious