Oooh... Exciting. Will Batman and Spider-Man face off, in their next respective films, against the unforgettable what's-his-name?

"Who the hell is that?" - My wife, upon hearing that the villain for The Dark Knight Rises might be Dr. Hugo Strange.

"Huh? Who is that, exactly?" - My friend and ex-roommate, Mike Hahn, upon hearing that the villain for The Dark Knight Rises might be Dr. Hugo Strange.

"Whaaa? Who the f... better look that up." - Me, upon reading that some guy called the Proto-Goblin may be the villain in Marc Webb's upcoming Spider-Man reboot.

"The Proto-what?" - Most of my readers, upon reading that some guy called the Proto-Goblin may be the villain in Marc Webb's upcoming Spider-Man reboot.

Batman and Spider-Man have two of the deepest, most recognizable, and just-plain best rogues galleries in comic books. Obviously both rumors could be malarkey. But playing devil's advocate for a minute, could it have killed Nolan and Webb to pick villains that anyone actually wanted to see onscreen?

Scott Mendelson