Transient Buckeye Intro: We've got a little less than a month left in the regular season. While the Big Ten entered 2026 flying high, this year has been a bit....bumpy. Unfortunately, it looks like the league of supervillains (the SEC) is resurgent once more, while our beloved conference looks like its strongest programs are roughly as heroic as the ensemble from Mystery Men (see it if you haven't, it's gloriously stupid). We might be in need of a hero in the morning light, but we're not going to get one. What we are going to get is a comparison between each of the Big Ten teams and a particular villain from the Spider-Man Universe, courtesy of commenter IWasSayingBooUrns. So pick up today's edition of the Daily Bugle, grab a drink in your favorite Manhattan coffee shop, and make sure your web-slingers are filled up. Take it away, IWasSayingBooUrns!
Superheroes have always been something that fascinated me. I spent my formative years watching Spider-Man, Batman Superman and the X-Men cartoons on TV. I picked up comics from my local 7-11 until we got a comic book store in my area. I forced my parents to take me to way too many showings of the X-Men and Spider-Man movies. Even now, I work part-time at a local comic book store (gotta love that employee discount!). So I knew I wanted to do a superhero related power poll.
However, it has become clear in the last few years that we might actually be the baddies of college football. Instead of saving the day, we are the ones obsessed with material wealth and power. There is no Captain America or Superman here. We are a conference of villains.
For my inaugural poll, I decided to tackle one of the most famous comics rogues galleries, Spider-Man’s. There is a generally agreed upon “big three” for heroes’ rogues galleries; Spider-Man, Batman and The Flash. All three have varied and iconic villains and I went with my favorite hero of the three, Spidey. None of you are getting Black Cat however, I don’t feel that way about any of your teams, especially my putrid Spartans.
#1 UCLA (9-0, 6-0): Electro
Last Week: 1 High: 1 Low: 1 First-Place Votes: 8 Last Place Votes: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #9 (November 1963) (*)
Max Dillion was a lineman (not the football kind) when he was struck by lightning. Instead of killing him, this accident gives Dillon the power to store and control electricity. Despite his huge power potential, Electro is often defeated by his foes outsmarting him or using his weakness to water against him.
Resident smarties UCLA hopes to not be outsmarted as the only undefeated team in the conference. Their play so far could definitely be described as electric as they have a potent running game but also a very stout defense. Finally, like Electro, UCLA looks the best when they wear their classic uniform. Always choose the costume Max Dillon!
[TB Note: I don't object to references to linemen, but if anyone utters the words "bucket bunny," the cattle prod is coming out....]
#2 Indiana (8– 1, 6-1): Mister Negative
Last Week: 2 High: 2 Low: 15 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Cameo - Free Comic Book: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (May 2007) Full Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #546 (January 2008)
Martin Li might seem to be benevolent and philanthropic, going so far as to establish the F.E.A.S.T. project (Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter and Training) where Peter Parker’s Aunt May volunteers. However, he is actually the villain Mister Negative, the leader of the Inner Demons gang who is attempting to take over the NYC criminal underworld. After an experiment with a synthetic drug gave him access to the Darkforce and the Lightforce, he gained many abilities including mind control, a healing touch, object empowerment and the ability to switch between his normal and “photo negative” reverse appearance.
Mister Negative is the newest villain on this list and like Indiana, managed to hide their villainous persona from the public while they powered up using their own “synthetic drug” (i.e. NIL funding). Now they are the exact opposite of the doormat football program they were before as they have taken control of the B1G syndicate and hope to keep their tenuous hold onto college football power.
#3 Oregon (6-3, 4-2): Chameleon
Last Week: 7 High: 3 Low: 4 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #1 (December 1962)
Dimitri Smerdyakov is a Soviet supervillain, actually the first supervillain Spider-man faces, who is a master of disguise. Initially Dimitri had no special abilities, his impersonations were from elaborate masks, costumes and makeup. As the years have passed, the Chameleon has developed more technological means to impersonate others and was eventually given powers by a serum to alter his form at will. Dimitri is also famously the half-brother of Kraven the Hunter.
Oregon might not be able to alter their appearance by serum, but they certainly have a wardrobe that would rival Chameleon’s. They also managed to disguise themselves as a national contender this season, though this ruse was uncovered early on this season by Oklahoma State.
#4 Iowa (7-2, 4-2): Vulture
Last Week: 5 High: 3 Low: 12 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #2 (February 1963)
Adrian Toomes was a skilled engineer who constructed a flight harness that along with flight, gave the wearer superhuman strength and durability. After his business partner embezzled their profits and fled, Toomes turned to a life of crime.
Like the Vulture, the Iowa Hawkeyes are also a big toothy bird. Despite Michael Keaton’s more youthful appearance in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Adrian Toomes is most known as being an old, spiteful and crotchety man. This description fits Kirk Ferentz to a tee, despite Kirk still retaining his hair. The Vulture also tries to fight Spider-Man on his terms, in the sky. Usually this wouldn’t match Iowa at all but this year Kirk has his team using an actual aerial attack, astounding everyone.
#5 USC (7-2, 4-2): Kingpin
Last Week: 4 High: 2 Low: 6 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #50 (April 1967)
Wilson Fisk is a criminal mastermind who utilizes wealth and political power to take on his foes. Despite his obese appearance, his bulk is largely muscle instead of fat. This along with various combat disciplines, he is still able to face off physically against superpowered foes such as Spider-Man. Despite appearing in Amazing Spider-Man first, he has become one of the primary antagonists for Daredevil, in large part due to the legendary Daredevil run by Frank Miller.
Like the Kingpin, USC doesn’t have the reputation of being a B1G villain at this time. Instead USC is still thought of as a PAC villain as they have been inconsistent (to put it kindly) since joining the conference. The money and potential power is still there however, so there is always the potential for them to become B1G villains, though it’s probably too late for that this season.
#6 Ohio State (6-3, 4-2): Green Goblin
Last Week: 3 High: 4 Low: 7 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #14 (April 1964)
Norman Osborn is the industrialist head of OsCorp, a company he co-founded with his mentor, ESU professor Mendel Stromm. Osborn discovers Stromm may have embezzled from the company and he has him arrested. In Stromm’s notes, he finds notes for an experimental strength and intelligence formula. Osborn attempts to recreate the formula in a botched experiment that gives him increased abilities but also drives him to insanity. He then decides to become the Green Goblin.
Gobby is another villain that could claim to be Spider-Man’s archenemy, even though he was a little late to the show. Likewise, OSU could claim to be the B1G archenemy despite their later arrival. While not as egregious as killing Gwen Stacy, Hayes punching Charlie Bauman led to his downfall, just like Norman Osborn. Both OSU and Green Goblin fell from prominence following their attacks. Norman Osborn would decades later inexplicably be named the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. despite his checkered past. Likewise, OSU managed to top the CFB in 2024 despite their history in losing to Michigan to end the regular season.
#7 Northwestern (6-3, 3-3): JJJ
Last Week: 6 High: 6 Low: 9 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #1 (December 1962)
J. Jonah Jameson has been both the publisher and EIC for the Daily Bugle. He has also managed to become one of the most consistent antagonists for Spider-Man. He has smeared Spider-Man (usually unfairly) from his position at the Bugle, he has been directly responsible for multiple villains such as Scorpion, the Spider Slayers and the Human Fly, and he has cheated Peter Parker out of the true value of his photographs that were sold to the Bugle.
Yes, I’m making this comparison because of Northwestern being recognized as one of the top journalism schools in the country. Northwestern has a much better relationship with journalism however, but sometimes JJJ isn’t all bad
#8 Wisconsin (6-3, 4-2): Rhino
Last Week: 9 High: 5 Low: 11 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #41 (July 1966)
Aleksei Sytsevich was a low ranking member of the Russian Mafia who volunteered for an experimental procedure which gives him an extremely durable skin suit, complete with rhinoceros-like horns and superhuman strength. He is generally considered to be the dumbest of Spider-Man’s villains, so despite his incredible strength, Spider-Man is often able to defeat him with relative ease.
I’m not saying that Wisconsin is as dumb as the Rhino, but they have found one play style work and they don’t (successfully) deviate from it. Running really hard into others and hoping they are the ones left standing afterwards. Luke Fickell tried to tweak this formula but going back to what works seems to have Wisconsin on the verge of the best season of the Fickell era.
#9 Illinois (6-3, 4-2): Mysterio
Last Week: 12 High: 7 Low: 10 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #13 (March 1964)
Quentin Beck was a special effects master and stunt man working for a Hollywood studio. He tried to become an actor but this was poorly received. Like so many villains on this list, his next idea was to turn to crime! For his first crime he frames Spider-Man for robbing a bank and stops Spider-Man with the help of a gas that stops his Spider-Sense and a chemical agent that dissolves Spidey’s webbing.
Like Mysterio, I don't know what I’m seeing with Illinois. Are they a good team that can hold Oregon scoreless for a half? Are they a bad team that loses to Purdue at home? Are they just a mediocre team that struggles to beat Maryland? Perhaps only the master illusionist Bret Bielema knows.
#10 Minnesota (5-4, 3-3): Morbius
Last Week: 8 High: 8 Low: 13 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #101 (July 1971)
Michael Morbius is a Nobel Prize winning biochemist and biologist who is searching for a cure to a rare and fatal blood disease he is afflicted with. His attempts to cure himself end up mutating Morbius into a “living vampire” giving him the strengths and abilities common to supernatural vampires while not truly being one. In order to keep his disease in remission, he is forced to feed on the blood of others.
Gonna be honest, this comparison is purely because of that weird interaction at the end of the Minnesota - Washington game. PJ Fleck is a weird dude.
#11 Nebraska (5– 4, 2-4): Carnage
Last Week: 11 High: 9 Low: 14 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance (as Cletus Kasady): Amazing Spider-Man #344 (December 1990)
First Appearance (as Carnage): Amazing Spider-Man #361 (February 1992)
Cletus Kasady was a serial killer who shared a prison cell with Eddie Brock. During his incarceration he bonded with the Carnage symbiote and has been an equal villain to both Spider-Man and Venom. With the symbiote, Cletus is superhumanly strong, is able to shape-shift and create weapons with the symbiote and retains Spider-Man-like powers like wall-crawling and a danger sense.
Surprisingly, there aren’t many RED villains for Spider-Man, probably to contrast with Spidey’s own costume. Big Red could easily be a moniker for Carnage though and like Nebraska, their heyday was in the 90s. Who doesn’t remember those awesome red Maximum Carnage cartridges? Both have attempted to make returns, with varying degrees of success, since the 90s but would love a return to glory (or infamy).
#12 Washington (5-4, 2-4): Man-Wolf
Last Week: 10 High: 8 Low: 14 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance (as John Jameson): Amazing Spider-Man #1 (December 1962)
First Appearance (as Man-Wolf): Amazing Spider-Man #124 (June 1973)
John Jameson is the son of Bugle EIC J Jonah Jameson. He is an experienced pilot and astronaut and is saved by Spider-Man in ASM #1 when his capsule malfunctions on re-entry. Much later, Jameson is on the Moon and discovers the Godstone that morphs John into a white-furred werewolf that goes by the name Man-Wolf. Not necessarily villainous, but later on John Jameson marries Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk) but the marriage is annulled when Jennifer discovers her feelings were influenced by the character Starfox (no not the barrel roll one).
Huskies and Werewolves, I’m gonna take the easy comparisons when they’re there. Like Man-Wolf, Washington’s previous marriage ended in a separation. While there were hopes for the Huskies under Jedd Fisch, it seems like Washington is also doomed to transform into something they don’t want to be….a mediocre football team.
#13 Penn State (5-4, 2-4): Hobgoblin
Last Week: 14 High: 11 Low: 17 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #238 (November 1982)
The true identity of the Hobgoblin was a long running mystery in the various Spider-Man comics he appeared in. Marvel initially revealed him to be Ned Leeds, a journalist co-worker of Peter Parker at the Daily Bugle, which was counter to what writer Roger Stern had planned. He later retconned this revelation and revealed that his original identity for Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley, was truly the man behind the mask and that he had established Leeds as a fall guy.
Hobgoblin was arguably the primary antagonist for Spider-Man in the 80’s before the creation of Venom. Penn State was also a primary antagonist for college football in the 80’s before the rise of the Catholics vs Convicts rivalry. Also like Hobgoblin, Penn State hasn’t managed to repeat the success of the 80’s and often finds itself on the outside looking in when discussing the top programs.
#14 Michigan State (3-6, 1-5): Scorpion
Last Week: 16 High: 10 Low: 14 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #20 (October 1964)
Mac Gargan was a private investigator hired by J Jonah Jameson to learn how Peter Parker managed to get pictures of Spider-Man. He was later subjected to a procedure, funded by Jameson, to turn him into a Spider-Man foe. He had armor grafted to his body along with a cybernetic tail. While continuing to fight Spider-Man, Gargan also attacked Jameson for his part in becoming Scorpion.
Aside from being one of the few schools that matches the typical color scheme of Spider-Man villains, MSU also has a similar villain trajectory. While initially a match for Spider-Man and the rest of the rogues gallery, Scorpion has been left behind and is largely considered a lower tier villain. MSU also used to be one of the top teams in the conference but has largely fallen behind the pack. Also, fans may want to blame this list’s JJJ (Northwestern) for our current predicament (Fitz) but really MSU is in this situation due to their own greed.
#15 Michigan (5-4, 2-4): Doctor Octopus
Last Week: 13 High: 15 Low: 17 FPV: 0 LPV: 0
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #3 (April 1963)
Dr. Otto Octavius (talk about some nominative determinism) is a brilliant but mad scientist who develops a harness with four robotic limbs. During a lab accident, this harness becomes fused to Dr. Octavius and he decides to turn to a life of crime. Dr. Ock is born! Through his storied history with Spider-Man, it could be argued that he is the web slinger’s arch enemy.
Like Otto, Michigan was there almost from the beginning. Otto was responsible for the formation of the Sinister Six (Spidey’s first villain team) and while Michigan isn’t responsible for the creation of the Big Ten, they sure do like to act as if they are the leaders of it. Following the 2012 storyline “Dying Wish”, Otto controversially manages to steal the body of Spider-Man and becomes the so-called “Superior Spider-Man” Michigan is also notable for a few controversial steals the past few years.
#16 Purdue (3-6, 2-4): Ultimate Comics Shocker
Last Week: 15 High: 10 Low: 18 FPV: 0 LPV: 2
First Appearance: Ultimate Spider-Man #8 (April 2001)
Herman Schultz from the Ultimate Universe (an alternate line of comics launched in the early 2000s) was very similar to the Shocker from the mainline series. A gifted engineer (he attended MIT, not Purdue) that constructed vibro-shock gauntlets used to commit his crimes. Ultimate Spider-Man routinely handled Shocker without much effort and he became a punchline in the series.
However, he finally managed to get the drop on Spider-Man due to his overconfidence and kidnapped and unmasked Spider-Man, angered in discovering that Spidey was a teenager. This sure sounds like a Purdue Harboring to me. Despite his initial victory, Shocker was beaten by Spider-Man and returned to being a punchline. Such is the life of a Shocker…and a Boilermaker
#17 Maryland (3-6, 1-5) - The Lizard
Last Week: 18 High: 11 Low: 18 FPV: 0 LPV: 1
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #6 (August 1963)
Dr. Curt Connors was a surgeon in the war (Marvel likes to be coy with which war that is) and lost his right arm in a blast. He became a geneticist that was researching reptiles’ ability to regrow limbs. He developed a lizard DNA-based serum that he hoped would regain his arm. Instead it turned him into an anthropomorphic human sized lizard. Peter Parker was able to undo the transformation but Connors has continuously regressed into the reptile villain in the years since.
Maryland is our resident reptile, although lizards and turtles belong to different orders (Squamata and Testudines respectively). Maryland also finds themselves transforming into something else like Dr. Connors, usually when the calendar turns to October. This year the transformation occurred early and Mike Locksley lost his job. Better than losing your arm!
#18 Rutgers (2-7, 1-5): The Burglar
Last Week: 17 High: 15 Low: 18 FPV: 0 LPV: 5
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (June 1962)
The man only known as Carradine (with an unrevealed first name) is the one that started it all. He robbed the television studio where Spider-Man was performing and Spidey allowed him to escape. Days later, he burglarized the Parker household and shot Peter’s Uncle Ben. As Spider-Man, Peter caught the burglar in a warehouse and recognized him as the man he let escape previously. He learned the lesson “with great power there must also come great responsibility" (not actually a line attributed to Uncle Ben until decades later) and Spider-Man as we know him was born
Like The Burglar, Rutgers is probably best known in college football as being where the first college football game was played. And like the burglar, multiple attempts have been made since to make them relevant again but those have all failed.
(*) Note about dates listed for first appearances. Comics are listed with a cover date but this isn’t actually the date it goes on sale. They are listed, usually, two to three months after their on-sale date. This is due to a historical tradition of comics being sold on newsstands. The date listed on the cover was when the comics were to be pulled from shelves and displays. Despite this no longer being a common practice, comics have continued to use these “future” cover dates. The dates I have listed are instead the publish date, when the comics first went on sale.
Transient Buckeye: Fascinating read, there. I was unaware of the cover date listing for comic books, so today I've learned something new. Please give a big shout-out to IWasSayingBooUrns in the comments. And then we can all go back to our normal supervillain business, like finding ways to undermine, mock, and backstab one another's teams.
Who is your favorite Spider-Man villain? Why is the Marvel Comics Universe inherently superior to D.C.? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Archiving This Year's Power Polls:
Transient Buckeye
Transient Buckeye
Transient Buckeye
Transient Buckeye
Transient Buckeye
BoilerUp89
Transient Buckeye
Transient Buckeye
Transient Buckeye
Transient Buckeye
