Why the hell are so many of Spider-Man's greatest villains green?

[Bombtrack]

This fact just struck me. Think about it. So many of them have green uniforms, green skin, and/or even have green in their names.

So what's the reason? Did Lee, Kirby, and Ditko think that they all needed to be opposing colors to red and blue of Spider-Man? Or did they just hate the Irish?

The Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)


Doctor Octopus


The Green Goblin II (Harry Osborn)


Green Goblin's III - V

The Lizard


Electro


Dr. Doom (primarily FF nemesis but still one of Spidey's biggest foes)


Vulture I and II



The Scorpion


Mysterio


The Jackal


Jack O'Lantern


Sandman


The Green Spoiler

[Mojambo]

1. That is strange.

It has to be more than coincidence.

Green must be Stan Lee's least favorite color.

[KSAtheist]

2. Contrasting colors.

Spider man is mostly red, which is opposite of green on the color wheel. It's mainly for artistic effect.

[Bombtrack]

3. Also 2 of Batman's greatest villains (Joker, Riddler) were green

And Spidey is sort of the Batman of the Marvel Universe.

[KSAtheist]

5. Really?

I always thought Daredevil was the Batman of the Marvel Universe.

[Bombtrack]

8. well it's debatable. You could make the case for both, plus Iron Man

I say Spider-Man cause he's the mascot of Marvel, with Hulk being a secondary mascot of Marvel. Batman is one of the 2 mascots of DC, probably secondary, but still one of the big 2 there.

They're also both named after "scary" animals

But the main thing of why I say that is because both Spidey and Batman are primarily protectors of a city and crimefighters, NYC and Gotham respectively, not people who are always epically saving the world from intergalactic and other threats like Superman, the Fantastic Four, or Silver Surfer.

Also it's THE big debate among the stoned college dude and/or nerd and/or high school lunch table set that I've encountered, of the "who would win between" variety. The debate being between Spider-Man and Batman

[AmyDeLune]

4. Limited Palette as Well

Until the 1980's most comic book colors were a combination of red, yellow, and blue, as well as white and black. Now with computerized coloring and improved printing techniques, the range of colors and tones has improved dramatically. :) I wonder what Jack Kirby would have done with a computer...

[Bombtrack]

9. That's probably why there are so many red-heads. Often times a brunette

appears to have red hair because it was harder obviously to make brown.

[CanuckAmok]

6. I dunno, but that Doctor Octopus looks like Elton John.

And you NEVER see them together, do you?

I'm just sayin'...

[JohnKleeb]

7. oh my god, yes

[Bombtrack]

10. Did Elton ever sport the Pete Rose haircut?

[Seabiscuit]

11. The guy who created Spiderman must have been a Dr. Seuss fan.

and read "Bartholamew and the Oobleck." The Oobleck was this green slimy substance that got into everything.

[bloodyjack]

12. I really wish the Jackal weren't one of Spider-man's greatest villains

The clone saga from the mid-90s forced me out of comicdom for quite a good while :(

[wolfgirl]

13. spidey-envy eom

[Deja Q]

14. I think that the creator of Spider-Man had a thing for Eclectus birds...

And what did Nader spoil this time? I thought he helped out with the 2k4 recount effort, unlike somebody else...

[Bombtrack]

15. We wouldn't have had Bush running for reelection if Nader hadn't spoiled

it in 2000.

[Longgrain]

16. Hehehe

loved the Nader pic at the end...;)