The continued appeal of the Enforcers

[Mister Mets]

For some reason the Enforcers keep showing up in odd places, despite their status as "B" or "C" list Spider-Man foes.

- They appeared three times in the space of ten issues in Lee/ Ditko's Amazing Spider-Man, putting them in the prestigious company of Dr Octopus, the Green Goblin and the Sandman.
- They were amongst the rare few Spider-Man villains to have a prominent role in Earth X, along with Norman Osborn, the Venom symbiote and John Jameson.
- They were amongst the first villains to appear in Ultimate Spider-Man, after Green Goblin, the Kingpin and the Shocker.
- They're presumably the only classic (pre-BND) Spider-Man villains to fight the hero during the first six months of Brand New Day. I say "presumably" because we don't yet know Menace's secret identity.

What is it about the Enforcers that causes them to hold these weird distinctions?

[Muscles Coleman]

I think they perfectly exemplify the "hired goons" motif. There'd be no need to create any more regular hired goons, as these guys encompass it all. Why make new ones when you've got familiar, ready made ones that can fit into any story with lowlife street crime?

[Blackhawkk]

I can't explain what their appeal is.

I'm a long time comic fan (going on 40 years) and these three guys just have that "right stuff".

A short dude with an attitude and gun, a cowboy good with a rope, and the big strong guy.

They've made recent appearances in Daredevil and these hired "goons" aren't to taken lightly.

I would love to see them take on Spider-Man again just the three of them.

[Cody H]

Being Lee/Ditko created villains comes with perks, not the least of which is longevity. Plus, given that they're pretty much B - C list villains as Mr. Mets has said, I think they don't suffer from the overexposure that many other classic villains do.

That, and they have the dinstiction of being, perhaps the only Ditko Spidey villains that weren't green. Predominantly, anyway.

[Matt Linton]

They're good "light threat" villains, in that you know Spidey's going to mop the floor with them, but they aren't really diminished any by his doing so. And I like that there's nothing personal with them. Like Muscles said, they're hired goons, so from their perspective, they'll fight Spidey if they have to, but if they can avoid it, they will.

[Mr.EZ]

What is it about the Enforcers that causes them to hold these weird distinctions?

They're the Jimbo, Dolph and Kearny to Spidey's Bart Simpson. Bullies that just show up all the time.

[Tobias Drake]

I'm agreeing with everyone that said "hired goons". They're nameless mooks for Spidey to beat up, but with names and quirks to give them recurring appeal. They are to ordinary street-level hired muscle what the Wrecking Crew are to super-powered hired muscle.

[Venom]

I think they represent the pinnacle of street crime and mob villains in the Spider-Man world. They're pretty much the only Spidey villains that don't wear a crazy or bizzare looking costume.That's why they keep coming back.

[CMBMOOL]

Hmm,

Maybe they're the classic Spidey foes that are easy to beat, but not that noticable like the famous ones.:redface: