“Spider-Man: No Way Home” hits theaters on Dec. 17, bringing some beloved villains from past iterations of the franchise back into the fold as they’re dropped into the universe inhabited by Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Here’s what we know for sure: Doc Ock and Green Goblin from Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy will appear, as will Electro from “The Amazing Spider-Man” duology, plus Lizard and Sandman from as yet unspecified universes.
The problem for them is, they’re all destined to die. As Doctor Strange explains to Holland’s Peter Parker in the trailer, each of their fates is to die in battle with Spider-Man. But, to be fair, that’s not quite true for all of them.
So, for those with rusty memories who maybe don’t remember what happened the last time we saw these villains, here’s a quick and easy refresher!
Doc Ock
Doc Ock is the shortened name for Doctor Otto Octavius, played in the Raimi trilogy by Alfred Molina. While he initially had a mentor relationship to Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker, a busted neurochip turned him murderous.
When last we saw him in 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” he had managed to briefly regain cognitive control over his robotic arms. As his final act, he sacrificed himself to save the city, drowning his nuclear experiment and himself in the river.
Electro
Thanks to 2014’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” Electro (Jamie Foxx) became a bit of a joke. The blue appearance, the overly “nerdy” performance pre-transformation, the whole “Spider-Man forgot my birthday” thing. Max Dillon’s entire relationship to Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man was that they met on the street one time, and then Max got angry after feeling snubbed. An Oscorp employee, Dillon falls prey to an electrical accident that turns him into Electro, and he uses his powers to get revenge on Spider-Man.
At the end of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” Peter (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen (Emma Stone) teamed up to overload Electro, causing a massive explosion. (You’d be forgiven for forgetting this one).
Green Goblin
Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin was the first Spidey villain we met in Sam Raimi’s trilogy, and he was absolutely terrifying. The father of Peter’s best friend Harry Osborn (played by James Franco), Norman tests an unstable strength enhancer on himself that turns him into the Green Goblin, and a nemesis for Spider-Man.
He does indeed die in battle with Spider-Man at the end of that film, after he attempts to distract Peter (Tobey Maguire) and kill the hero with his glider. Thanks to his spidey sense, Peter leaps out of the way just in time, and Goblin impales himself instead, setting up a trilogy-long dilemma as Peter just killed his best friend’s dad.
While Dafoe would reprise his role in hallucination/flashback form in “Spider-Man 2” and “Spider-Man 3,” 2002’s “Spider-Man” is the last time we saw the character alive.
Sandman
Like we said, Strange’s ominous warning that all the villains of “No Way Home” are fated to die in battle with Spider-Man isn’t exactly true — at least if we’re referring to the Sandman we’ve already met. Played by Thomas Hayden Church in the Raimi trilogy, Sandman — a sensitive convict named Flint Marko who was accidentally transformed — doesn’t die in “Spider-Man 3.” He simply apologizes to Peter, earns his forgiveness, then dissolves into sand and flies away.
Lizard
Given that we’ve only seen Lizard in CGI form in the “No Way Home” trailers, it’s hard to say for certain that he’ll be played once more by Rhys Ifans. But his take on the character also didn’t die in “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Instead, he survives his battle and winds up in prison, as we discover in a post-credits scene.
