2. Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Kingpin
The head of the New York City crime syndicate, The Kingpin is most often fighting against Daredevil or Spider-Man. The Kingpin has no superpowers but has a breath-taking intellect, a mean streak that runs not bone but marrow-deep, and brute strength that Lex Luthor (his most similar character in the DC universe) can only dream of. He was portrayed by Michael Clark Duncan in Daredevil, and was actually a decent enough reading of the character that he later reprised the role in MTV’s animated Spider-Man series. However there is one actor who could really turn the screws with a characterization of The Kingpin, and that is Philip Seymour Hoffman.
The man has a magnificent, physical presence on screen and a proliferating ability to chew up scenes and dominate proceedings. If you are looking for a man who can command everyone’s attention, turn you into a quivering wreck through the sheer force of his rhetoric, then be quite happy to kick you while you are down, Hoffman is that man. A fantastic example of Hoffman’s acting abilities is to be found in last year’s film The Master, in which the big guy put in a mesmerizing, scintillating performance as the inquisitive leader of a cult. He was justifiably nominated for an Oscar, and in this humble writer’s mind, deserved to win. Marc Webb, if you are listening, you might want to consider The Kingpin (and Mr. Seymour-Hoffman) as a worthy villain for Spidey Numero 3.