Starting with the Sam Raimi‘s trilogy in 2002, Spider-Man, one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes, has made his mark on the big screen with more than 10 movie appearances and still counting. And of course, along with the Web-Slinger, a lot of Spidey’s iconic villains from the comic book are also brought into real life, from the genius Doctor Octavius to the formidable Venom. The Spot, also known as Jonathan Ohnn, is the latest addition to the bad guy squad, who makes his appearance in Sony’s most recent animated sensation Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Making his comic debut in 1984 The Amazing Spider-Man, The Spot serves mostly as a small-time villain and fodder for the Wall Crawler to fight against, which is a shame since he has such a unique ability. In Across the Spider-Verse, however, the bad guy finally gets a much more prominent role, and his character arc is so impressive, many fans consider him one of the best Spider-Man live-action villains ever. Here’s why.
#1. He has a one-of-a-kind superpower.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
The Spot, voiced by Jason Schwartzman, is a scientist from Alchemax, who was turned into a mutant by the destruction of the Super Collider. Jonathan, The Spot’s real name, lost his human face and skin in the process, and in return gains a unique superpower that lets him spawn dimensional holes on his body. He can also create portals through space and time, and can transport any object through these portals.
When they first encounter, this transportation power alone causes Miles a lot of trouble. He tries attacking The Spot, only to either get his punches sent right back at him, or have himself travel to a different place. It takes a while for Miles to contain the villain, only for him to escape with ease just moments afterward.
#2. He has undergone a drastic character arc from a small-fry to a supervillain.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
When The Spot first appears on the big screen, he looks nothing like a dangerous foe, just a goofy and petty thief full of holes, who can scare no one but trypophobic people. However, he’s actually way stronger than that. Even Jonathan himself didn’t fully understand his true power, and struggled to even steal the money out of an ATM. However, once he unlocks his true potential, The Spot is one of the most formidable enemies that Miles has ever witnessed.
Later on, The Spot learns the power to transport himself into the Spot Dimension (by kicking his own butt, no less), which enables him to traverse into different universes at will. With his newfound upgrade in power, Jonathan collects more dark matter from other universes’ colliders to make more holes on his body. Thanks to the dark matter, the villain gets stronger with every minute, and at the end of the movie, he becomes a dangerous entity who can travel to dimensions at will, and is powerful enough to destroy the balance of the multiverse.
#3. His backstory connects heavily to the first film.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Remember the scene where Miles throws a bagel at a scientist in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse? That unlucky scientist is Jonathan Ohnn, who later transforms into The Spot. It turns out, he’s also the one that brought the radioactive spider from Earth-42 to Earth-1610, which bites Miles afterward and turns him into Spider-Man. Therefore, in a way, the villain proclaims that he’s the one who created Miles, and Miles is the one who created him, and it’s a statement that we can all agree on.
This is a very nice touch by Sony to connect the events of the two movies. The two hero and villain, who are seemingly unrelated to each other, actually connect in a way that no one would’ve expected.
#4. He swears revenge on Miles for a unique reason.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
The Spot appears at first as a friendly and awkward guy, who’s still learning how to use his power, and Miles underestimates him a bit, dubbing him “villain of the week”. This clearly touches a nerve, and The Spot starts acting more hostile, demanding Miles to show him some respect. As the one who helps “create” Spider-Man, The Spot believes he’s Miles’s worthy arch-nemesis, and the way the latter nonchalantly acts infuriates him.
Besides, with his current mutated outlook, Jonathan has lost everything: his job, his family, and eventually his life. That alone can drive a good man crazy, and this time, it needs only a little spark to send him into a vengeful breakdown.
#5. He’s not a bad man at heart.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
While portrayed as a villain, The Spot initially acts quite friendly toward others, including Miles himself. Even when he’s angry, he tries not to kill the innocent, like how he choose to teleport the Mumbhattan scientists out of the collider’s barrier instead of killing them. He also politely apologizes after causing a ruckus in the Lego universe. However, as he gets stronger later on, The Spot seems to slowly lose his sanity, and now he’s solely focused on one mission: to make Miles pay for what he “did”.
#6. He has some epic supervillain lines in the movie.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
A good villain needs to have his way with words, and The Spot himself also has some cool and epic quips in his collection. Let’s take a look at some of his most spine-chilling lines below.
“I created you. You created me. I was in this collider room when you BLEW IT UP! Cause of you... I lost my job, my life, my face! My family won't even look at me! I made you into a hero. You made me into this! LOOK AT ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME! LOOK AT ME! I'LL MAKE YOU RESPECT ME!” Said The Spot before kicking himself into the Spot Dimension.
“This is gonna be good for us, Spider-Man. You and me, we're finally gonna live up to our potential. You'll finally have a villain worth fighting and I WON'T BE JUST A JOKE TO YOU!” Spot spoke to Miles in Mumbattan.
“I'm gonna take everything from you. Like you took everything from me. [...] See you back home...Spider-Man.” This is his last line in the movie. Scary.
Do you think Spot is a good Spider-Man villain? Do you look forward to his return in Beyond the Spider-Verse? Let us know your thoughts in the comment,