Berserk Button: Threatening Aunt May sets Spidey off so much that he's able to drive off Venom. To clarify, he can almost never match Venom in a fair fight, except when Venom tries to go after Aunt May.
Attacking Gwen or any of his other friends is a bad idea, as well. Also, do not make him work with the man who shot his uncle. No matter how remorseful that man is.
Well Done Son Guy: In spades. If you've seen the first movie, well... this is taken up multiple notches.
Flash Thompson
Book Dumb: Not completely stupid (especially compared to his pal, Kenny Kong), but still a walking academic disaster area.
Character Development: The second season saw Flash abandon much of his Jerk Jock characteristics in a bid to impress a girl he had a crush on. As a result, he also became less antagonistic towards Peter.
Ascended Extra: In the comics, she appeared in two panels on the second page of the first Spider-Man comic, Amazing Fantasy #15, and doesn't show up again for over thirty years.
All Guys Want Cheerleaders: In the first episode, Peter has a big crush on her and asks her out. The results? They ain't pretty.
The Cheerleader: Mean as hell and none-too-bright, Sally does the stereotypes proud.
Even Jerks Have Standards: She doesn't like Peter, but, after one dangerous incident, openly admits that she's glad he's alright and even hugs him out of relief. Also, back toward the end of the first season, it's mentioned that "even Sally" is worried for Peter when she heard that Aunt May had a heart attack.
Makes a point of laying off Peter if Liz asks her to.
Ship Sinking: Very against Liz/Peter. She got her wish when Liz broke up with Peter (but it was actually Peter who broke her up).
Spared by the Adaptation: Although considering that her comics counterpart dies as an adult and the series was canceled while she's still in high school...
Liz Allan
All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Is a cheerleader and Peter's first girlfriend on the show, though Peter later decides that he does not, in fact, want a cheerleader.
Big Bad: Of Season 2 and arguably the whole show. Due to the fact that he was working with Tombstone to make supervillains and was responsible for Otto Octavius Jumping Off the Slippery Slope, he's got some connection to every major villain except for Venom.
Good Is Not Nice: Most notably, when Rhino asks for Peter, JJJ notices Peter and gestures for him to hide, then lies to Rhino - claiming that he's never met Peter, that everything is done through email - even though this could easily cost him his life.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: When Aunt May has a heart attack, he feels it's his responsibility as Peter's boss to break the news to him. It backfires, but that's not his fault.
We also see that he is extremely affectionate to his son.
Mean Boss: He does care about his employees, but it's still hell working for him.
Not quite: most of his employers seem to honestly respect him and take his bellowing in stride.
Smug Snake: Becomes one after switching from The Dragon to The Starscream - he's just not as good at scheming on his own as he is at carrying out someone else's schemes which leads to his becoming a pawn of the Green Goblin.
Like A Father To Me: Never overtly stated, but Electro very much treats Doc Ock like a surrogate father.
The Millstone: He really tries to help Doc Ock, but he's so impulsive with using his powers that he probably does more to foil his schemes than Spider-Man.
My Name Is Not Durwood: Inverted, as he now hates being called "Max Dillon" and insists on being referred to as Electro.
Never My Fault: Max beats out Harry in terms of blaming others when he accuses his accident of being Curt Connors' fault even though it was Max's own negligence that caused it.
Trigger Happy: Much to the misfortune of everyone else in the vicinity, including his own teammates.
Curt Connors/The Lizard
Anti-Villain: Type IV. He's a perfectly nice guy, it's just that there's this one time he turned into a mindless, vicious animal, and no one is ever going to let him forget it.
Heroic Sacrifice: Somewhat subverted, in that while the act really was a heroic self-sacrifice that ended in his disintegration, the episode in question uses The End... Or Is It?, as after things seem to have ended, he's shown reforming and then blowing away on the wind, so he's really Not Quite Dead.
Revenge: ...is something he really isn't interested in, unlike most of Spider-Man's Rogues Gallery. He just wants his "Big Score," and would leave Spidey alone if he didn't keep trying to stop him.
Story Breaker Power: Getting there by "First Steps", once he's started to get a proper hang of his abilities. It's probably no coincidence that his last appearance in the show is in the episode where he absorbs Rockaway Beach. Yes, all of it.
That Man Is Dead: He doesn't take it as far as Electro, but on a few occasions he and Spidey seem to refer to "Flint Marko" like he was a totally separate person to emphasize this.
Took a Level in Badass: After eating a lot of raw silicates in prison, when he returns in "First Steps", his Elemental Shapeshifter abilities have become significantly more powerful.
You Fight Like a Cow: Unlike most of Spidey's villains, Goblin doesn't get annoyed by the Web-Head's quipping and mocking. In fact, he quips right back, and he does it pretty dang well too. Spider-Man even lampshades this.
(While Green Goblin and Spider-Man are battling all over town)
Goblin: Well you know the old saying: If you can't join 'em, beat 'em!
Spidey: Took the words right out of my mouth. Is that a felony?
Goblin: Oh, I should hope so. This little goblin wouldn't be caught dead committing a misdemeanor!
Spidey: Oooh, nice banter! Your aim could use a little work though.
Even Evil Has Standards: Doc Ock politely asks and waits for Aunt May and Anna Watson to excuse themselves from the upcoming brawl between the Sinister Six and Spidey, even halting Rhino as he tries to charge through them.
Big Bad: Of Season 1 (along with Tombstone) and first half of season 2. In Season 1, aside from Peter's Character Development, Brock's increasing anger towards Peter and his eventual Face Heel Turn was one of the main plots of the season and eventually he turned into Venom in the final episodes of first season. And during the first half of season 2, Peter was mainly concerned about him. Also, his actions made Peter realize that he loves Gwen most and thus sets the Season 2 love triangle plot in motion.
Broken Ace: Was introduced as a Genius Bruiser liked by everyone, and as a frequent heroic bystander. Turns out that the heroism was because he was a Death Seeker, and he had some really deep-seated emotional problems. This explains his rapid Face Heel Turn when things go bad.
Composite Character: His Eddie Brock self shares characteristic with the Ultimate version of the character, being a scientist and Peter's close childhood friend, while the symbiote retains the alien origin from the Mainstream version.
It's All About Me: Peter took photos of Dr. Connors as the Lizard? He's betraying Eddie's trust in him! The Connors have low funding and are forced to drop Eddie from their payroll? But how will Eddie pay for college! Spider-Man's destroying the Symbiote because its dangerous and evil? But that was Eddie's last chance at keeping his internship! And so forth. And all of this was from before he became Venom.
Voice of the Legion: Venom speaks in two voices simultaneously; Eddie Brock's normal voice, combined with a more twisted and inhuman voice by the same voice actor. And the two voices aren't always even at the same pace, making it both brilliant and terrifying.
Composite Character: Is also Silvermane's daughter in this series, which means that the character who is heroic in the comics, is a villain in this series. Word of God mentioned that, much like the show's Gwen Stacy, Silver Sable was shown from her beginnings and would grow into her comic book persona, but the show was cancelled before this was achieved.
Composite Character: His gambling problem and being a biological brother to Liz Allan (in the comics, his last name was Raxton and he and Liz were stepsiblings) comes from Bennett Brant (Betty Brant's brother), while his powers and first name comes the comics version of Molten Man.
Race Lift: From Caucasian in the comics to Latino in the show. Possibly because of the decision to make Mark and Liz biological siblings rather than stepsiblings.
Somewhat subverted: he's no genius, but he does make some fairly intelligent deductions, including being the first one to realize that if Peter Parker takes Spider-Man's pictures, he can use Peter to find Spider-Man. "I ain't stupid" is practically his Catch Phrase.
Something similar in happened with Scorpion in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, a character largely considered a dullard is the first one to make this connection.
Evil Duo: With his partner in crime, Flint Marko, both before and after they got their powers.
Composite Character: Montana and the Shocker are two different people in the comics.
Career Killers: A seasoned professional of the hitman type.
Evilly Affable: He speaks in a polite, somewhat aphoristic way which is enhanced by his strong Texan accent, but he's definitely not a nice person by any means (outside of the whole "killing people for money" thing).
Wisdom from the Gutter: In an early appearance, he speaks to Spider-Man about a man needing to follow his commitments and Spider-Man being one of his (i.e. it goes against his "code" to fail to kill a target). Peter later repeats this verbatim to Aunt May when offering to chip in to pay the bills.
Quentin Beck/Mysterio
Actually a Doombot: The first time Spidey caught him, the Mysterio that was captured turned out to be a robot double. The second time, Spidey is smart enough to pinch Beck to make sure he caught the real one... turns out that this Beck was also a robot double.
Doing It for the Art: Beck seems to view the disguises and special effects he uses for his crimes as akin to acting and is concerned about putting on a good performance.
Fake Brit: As Mysterio, he talks in a hammy pseudo-British voice.
Karma Houdini: At the end of the series, the Beck who was sent to prison turns out to be a robot double, and thus the real Beck is running around free somewhere.
Sissy Villain: Besides the costume and the accent as Mysterio, Beck out of costume is a wimpy actor with a bit of a lisp, and in his first appearance (before taking on the Mysterio identity), he's shown providing Room Disservice in a way (unintentionally?) evocative of Wint and Kidd in Diamonds Are Forever.
Science Versus Magic: Mysterio is introduced as an Evil Sorceror who looks down on technology and demands to worship him. But it's all an act and Mysterio's powers are purely technological.
You Imprisoned My Father: When her father becomes The Atoner and willingly stays in prison, Black Cat blames Spider-Man and their good relationship promptly ends.
Walter Hardy/The Cat Burglar
The Atoner: He became this after accidentally killing Uncle Ben.
Composite Character: In the comics, he's a separate character from Uncle Ben's unnamed killer.
You Killed My Father: Peter's reaction to him. Ironically enough, Black Cat basically gives this right back to him when Walter decides to stay in prison.
