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Spider-Man villains are among the most powerful bad guys in comics.
[Photo Credit: Marvel]
Did you know that Spider-Man creator Stan Lee came up with the idea for the beloved superhero after observing a fly crawling on a wall?
The legendary writer thought it would be cool to have a superhero that could climb walls, like an insect. So, alongside illustrator Steve Ditko, he created Spider-Man — the world’s first teenage superhero that could stick to any surface.
Since his journey started in 1962, Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spidey, has been on many adventures. On his life-long mission to protect the innocent, he continuously comes across many enemies who want to get rid of him. And Spidey certainly has a lot of enemies.
Spider-Man villains have been an indispensable part of the superhero’s journey, and now it’s time we met the greatest and most dangerous of them all!
Who Made It Onto The Spider-Man Villains List?
Our list of Spider-Man villains includes rogues that have committed vicious crimes and hurt many people, although they did often bring out the best in Spider-Man, pushing him to become the superhero we know and love — selfless, strong and always rushing to protect those in need.
Spidey has battled many antagonists throughout the years, but we focused on villains from arguably the most popular Marvel universes, including:
- Earth-616, the Marvel Universe that introduced us to the Amazing Spider-Man
- Earth-1610, the Ultimate Marvel Universe that gave us Ultimate Spider-Man
- Marvel 2099 Universe where Spider-Man 2099 fights against criminals
Now, let’s meet some of the villains that got tangled in Spider-Man’s web, shall we?
The Amazing Spider-Man Villains
1. Mephisto
Powers:
- Immortality
- Regeneration
- Reality manipulation
- Shapeshifting
Species: Demon
Team affiliations: Six-Fingered Hand, Legion Accursed
Mephisto is Marvel’s demonic character that first appeared in the Silver Surfer #3 comic book in 1968.
Stan Lee and John Buscema shaped Mephisto after Mephistopheles — the Devil’s agent in German legends about Faust.
Mephisto has been around since the beginning of time. He rules the dimension he calls Hell, where he lives with his servant demons. Some real-life villains inhabit his realm as well, including Adolf Hitler.
Mephisto thrives on people being scared of him. So, even though he’s not Satan, he wants everyone to believe he is because that makes him appear even more fearsome.
Mephisto’s character has appeared in numerous Marvel comics. In some stories, he fought alongside the powerful Thanos, while in others he tried to defeat Thor, Doctor Strange, and, of course, Spider-Man.
While Mephisto may not be the strongest and the most problematic character Spider-Man has encountered, he is particularly dangerous because he is convincing and doesn’t hesitate to take advantage of someone when they’re at their lowest. He did this with Spider-Man in the One More Day storyline.
One More Day has polarized Spidey fans because of the unexpected turn of the events that involve Spidey’s great love — Mary Jane and his Aunt May. We wouldn’t want to give away too much, but let’s just say that Mephisto convinces Spider-Man to make a deal that affects the life of the superhero and his loved ones. The movie Spider-Man: No Way Home revisits some elements of this story!
2. Mysterio
Powers:
- Illusion
- Hypnosis
- Brilliant chemist
- Excellent strategist
Species: Human
Team affiliations: Maggia, Sinister Six
Mysterio was born Quentin Beck. He was a huge fan of special effects as a child and later made a career of it. He also worked as a stuntman in Hollywood.
Beck wanted to become an actor and a screenwriter, but he was constantly rejected. As he struggled to find fame, Spider-Man, on the other hand, was all the rage. Everyone was raving about him, praising him for his selfless acts.
When Beck first ventured into the world of crime, Spider-Man was there to stop him. Beck then fully committed himself to getting revenge against Spidey and took on the name Mysterio.
While in New York, he became a member of Sinister Six — a group of supervillains who wanted to destroy Spider-Man. Octopus, Electro and Sandman were also a part of the Sinister Six group. Spider-Man and Mysterio fought several times, and each time Spidey was the winner. As a result, Mysterio became depressed.
Despite continuously losing against Spider-Man, Mysterio has never been an easy opponent. As a master illusionist, he can trick others into believing something that’s not real. This is particularly obvious in the Spider-Man: Far From Home movie, in which Mysterio causes Spidey a lot of trouble!
3. Green Goblin
Powers:
- Superhuman strength, endurance and speed
- Healing
Species: Human mutant
Team affiliations: Dark X-Men, Dark Avengers, Sinister Twelve
Green Goblin is one of the most popular and recognizable Spider-Man villains and one of the greatest comic book rogues of all time. Everyone who has ever read Spider-Man comics or watched the movies knows about the villain behind a terrifying mask and green suit.
You may or may not know that Green Goblin is not just one person. The first incarnation of the fearsome villain is Norman Osborn, a brilliant scientist who was exposed to an experimental formula and gained superhuman powers. He knows Spider-Man’s true identity, which makes him even more dangerous. He is also arrogant and mentally unstable, and that affects his behavior and actions. After Norman’s passing, his son and Peter’s friend, Harry, becomes the Green Goblin.
Regardless of the incarnation, Green Goblin is a ruthless villain who doesn’t shy away from attempting to hurt anyone who means something to Spider-Man. Again, we don’t want to spoil anything for you, but Green Goblin is responsible for some of the biggest tragedies in Spider-Man’s life. One of them involves Spidey’s love — Mary Jane.
4. Doctor Octopus
Powers:
- Cybernetic tentacles
- Telepathic control over his tentacles
- Wall-climbing and wind generation with tentacles
Species: Human mutant
Team affiliations: Sinister Six, Masters of Evil, HYDRA
Dr. Otto Octavius is a brilliant scientist and one of the most powerful adversaries Spider-Man ever faced. While he was working as a nuclear physicist and an inventor, he developed a set of mechanical arms he intended to use for atomic physics research.
However, an accidental radioactive leak glued the tentacles to Otto’s body and mutated his brain. Even after he surgically removed the tentacles, he could still manipulate them telepathically. The mutation also pushed him towards crime. And on that path, he encountered Spider-Man.
In their first encounter, Doc Ock even defeated Spider-Man, but that was just one of the many fights they had throughout the years. While Doc Ock may not have any particular special superpowers, his intellect makes him particularly dangerous.
In The Superior Spider-Man series, which is a continuation of The Amazing Spider-Man, Doc Ock manages to kill Spidey and starts to live in his body! The story introduces you to Otto who wants to leave the criminal past behind, but he constantly fights against Peter’s spirit as it attempts to regain control over Peter’s body.
Ultimate Spider-Man Villains
1. Kingpin
Powers:
- Immense strength and endurance
- Martial arts
- Ability to fire lasers from the top of his cane
Species: Human
Team affiliations: HYDRA, The Hand
Kingpin is one of the most powerful figures in the East Coast underworld. As a crime boss, he is no stranger to breaking the law, but Spider-Man is often there to prevent him from turning his plans into actions.
Kingpin doesn’t possess any special superpowers, but his insanely-muscled body makes him a powerful adversary to anyone who dares to fight him. He is a sturdy man, a terrific martial artist and he also excels at judo. His cane can turn into a weapon and shoot damaging lasers at his enemies.
Kingpin is also very smart and ruthless, which often turns out to be a deadly combination. To him, no goal is unattainable. At one point, Kingpin even planned on getting rid of the U.S. government and achieving world dominance. But, unluckily for him, Spidey always finds a way to stop him.
Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. created an interesting character that knows how to put up a good fight and push superheroes to do their best to stop him. Kingpin is among the most popular Spider-Man villains and one of the main antagonists in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse movie.
2. Venom
Powers:
- Superhuman strength
- Spider-sense suit
Species: Symbiote (Klyntar)
Team affiliations: Sinister Six, Dark Avengers
Often dubbed Spidey’s “evil twin,” Venom is one of the most beloved Spider-Man villains. He is an alien symbiote in a liquid form that survives by latching itself to a host. Venom originally bonded to Spider-Man but when Spidey realized that Venom was a sentient symbiote, he discarded it. At that moment, Venom started to hate Spidey.
Venom first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man comics, but the story about this Spider-Man villain becomes particularly interesting in the Ultimate Spider-Man comic series. He bonds to Eddie Brock, Peter’s childhood friend, who believes Peter has cost him his job.
Both symbiote and Eddie hate Peter and want to see him gone. Venom knows Spider-Man’s true identity, powers and the way he thinks, which makes him a particularly dangerous adversary. He is also immune to Spider-Sense, which means he can easily sneak up on Spidey.
Venom is a favorite Spider-Man villain to many because he represents the dark version of Spidey — he lets us see what Spidey might be like if he didn’t have a sense of responsibility and morality.
3. Prowler
Powers:
- Expert athlete and acrobat
- Wall-climbing
- Titanium claws
- Gauntlets that shoot air blasts
Species: Human mutant
Team affiliations: Sinister Six
Aaron Davis, a.k.a. Prowler, is one of the most prominent Spider-Man villains in Earth-1610 universe. He is the uncle of Miles Morales, who becomes Spider-Man after Peter Parker.
When Prowler steals some items from Oscorp, he accidentally brings a genetically altered spider to his home. That’s where the spider bites Miles and changes his life forever.
Prowler turns against Miles the moment he realizes the boy has become Spider-Man. The fact he knows Spider-Man’s true identity and is willing to use it against Miles gives him advantage over other villains who wish to hurt Spidey. Prowler also lacks a moral compass and doesn’t care how many innocent people he hurts as long as he can achieve his goals.
Aside from his immense strength and superhuman agility, Prowler’s suit enhances his powers. The claws help him climb anywhere while also being an effective weapon when needed. Prowler’s suit also keeps him safe from shotguns, grenades, land mines and even anti-aircraft artillery, making this Spider-Man villain hard to beat.
Spider-Man 2099 Villains
1. Maestro
Powers:
- Superhuman strength
- Regeneration
- Genius intellect
- Immunity to mind control and radiation
Species: Human mutant
Team affiliations: Formerly Avengers
Maestro represents the evil version of the Hulk. He is intelligent and strong, just like Hulk, but also vile and ruthless. The strength he possesses and his readiness to destroy whomever he considers an enemy make him one of the most fearsome Spider-Man villains in the Earth-928 universe.
Earth-928 is the alternate future of the Earth-616 universe. Even though Maestro appears in several more universes, he rules the reality in Earth-928. He is so powerful that he even manages to beat Spider-Man 2099.
Maestro’s strength doesn’t lie just in his muscles — it’s his brains that make him difficult to beat. At one point, he even faked his own death in a fight with Spider-Man so that he could follow him back to Earth-616.
2. Flipside
Powers:
- Power mimicry
- Regeneration
- Superhuman strength
- Wall-crawling
- Web-spinning
Species: Android
Team affiliations: None; he operates alone
Flipside is one of the most interesting Spider-Man villains out there. As an android, he was programmed to copy the powers and abilities of the first superhero he encountered. And the first superhero he came across was Spider-Man 2099.
When Flipside scanned Spidey, he copied the powers of both Spider-Man and Venom and went berserk. He represents a psychotic version of Spidey and he actually wanted to befriend Spider-Man 2099. However, when Spidey rejected him, Flipside lost his mind and attempted to kill the beloved superhero.
Even though Spidey beat him, we learned that Flipside could regenerate himself, so we’ll probably see more of him in the comics!
3. Electro 2099
Powers:
- Superhuman strength
- Great speed
- Energy absorption and manipulation
Species: Human mutant
Team affiliations: Sinister Six, Emissaries of Evil
Electro appears across several Marvel universes. He first appears in the Earth-616 universe, where he co-founds the Sinister Six — a group of supervillains that want to kill Spider-Man. Besides Electro, Doc Ock and Mysterio are also the Sinister Six squad members.
In Marvel 2099, Electro is an android construction worker who gets hit by a lightning strike. The accident gives him electromagnetic powers and the ability to conduct electricity. After the accident, Electro turns to crime.
Electro’s ability to manipulate electricity and his superhuman speed and strength make him a hard opponent to beat. He even wins in a fight against Captain America! However, he doesn’t have that much luck with Spider-Man who always finds a way to prevent him from hurting the innocent.
So, Who’s The Greatest Spider-Man Villain?
Ever since he first started fighting crime in 1962, it hasn’t been easy for Spider-Man. He has come across numerous villains ready to do anything to achieve their wicked goals.
While we couldn’t mention every single rogue he has ever faced, we focused on some of the most important Spider-Man villains across three major universes — Earth-616, Earth-1610, and Marvel 2099.
Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Mysterio, Electro 2099, Venom and others are all a part of Spidey’s journey. No matter how vicious and dangerous they may be, they’ve also helped make Spidey the superhero he is. They push him to become faster and stronger and challenge him to think quickly in challenging situations.
