Top 20 Greatest Spider-Man Villains
#20: Herman Schultz aka Shocker
The Amazing Spider-Man #46 (1967) Self-taught, Schultz invented a pair of gauntlets that shoot streams of compressed air at his opponents–effectively punching them with powerful shockwaves. What sets Shocker apart from the majority of Spidey’s villains is that he doesn’t have a personal vendetta against the hero. He is much more concerned with profiting off of his criminal efforts. Would he prefer if Spider-Man just left him to his own devices? Sure but just don’t expect to see him orchestrating any grand schemes. However, Shocker is also concerned with bolstering his image which could be why always seems down to team up with other villains to take down Spider-Man.
#19: Hobart “Hobie” Brown aka Prowler
The Amazing Spider-Man #78 (1969) Brown initially worked as a window washer but when he lost his job, he decided that crime would pay. He fashioned a costume and some gadgetry, taking on the identity of Prowler. He was caught, however, by Spider-Man during an attempted robbery. When Spidey realized that Brown was just a misguided kid, he was able to convince Brown to change his ways. He would go on to become a pivotal ally to the webslinger often posing as Spider-Man when Peter Parker needed to be in two places at once. Some may be more familiar with the Aaron Davis version of the character depicted in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” who, as Miles Morales’ uncle, chooses to protect his nephew over the wants of Kingpin.
#18: Mister Negative
Free Comic Book Day: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 A relatively recent addition to Spider-Man’s gallery of rogues, Mister Negative is certainly a sight to behold. Having an inverted color appearance, he is imbued with both Darkforce and Lightforce giving him a positive persona, Martin Li, and a negative one, Mister Negative. As Li, he acts as a benevolent force in the community by helping the homeless with his F.E.A.S.T. project. As Mister Negative, he is the gang leader of the Inner demons attempting to control New York’s criminal underworld. He can corrupt those he touches and was able to do so to Spidey but he was able to break free. Add in his super strength and speed and you don’t want to end up on his bad side.
#17: Miles Warren aka the Jackal
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The Amazing Spider-Man #31 (1965) A brilliant geneticist and biochemist, Miles Warren was introduced as a professor to both Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy while they attended Empire State University. His unhealthy obsession with Spider-Man’s love led to ruin, as he sought revenge when she died. Adopting a green suit, he trained up on martial arts to take on Spidey, thinking he was responsible for Stacy’s death. He spent many years battling the webslinger and eventually learned of Peter’s identity. Coupled with his penchant for creating clones, this led to perhaps his most evil act of all, burdening us with having to read through the much maligned “Clone Saga” story arc.
#16: Michael Morbius aka Morbius the Living Vampire
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The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (1971) Another brilliant mind to add to this list, Dr. Michael Morbius is a genius biochemist by day, and a pseudo-vampire by night. To say that he is a villain may be a little bit unfair to Morbius, as his proclivity for violence is a little out of his hands and his vampiric abilities are the result of a failed experiment to cure his dehibiliting blood disease. Morbius originally began as an enemy of both Blade and Spider-Man but would become an anti-hero in his own right, though his vampiric bloodlust sometimes puts him on the bad side again.
#15: Dmitri Smerdyakov aka the Chameleon
The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963) Able to much more than blend into a background, Smerdyakov is the ultimate master of disguise. Initially a skilled manipulator of make-up and costuming, recent interpretations of the character have him literally change his face to suit his plans. The Chameleon happens to be the first supervillain Spider-Man takes on and is later revealed to be the half brother of Kraven the Hunter. Given that Smerdyakov can literally pose as anyone you never know when he’ll pop up once again to try and take down Spidey.
#14: MacDonald "Mac" Gargan aka Scorpion
The Amazing Spider-Man #19 (1965) A lot of Spider-Man’s major villains seem to be animalistic or based on insect properties and Mac Gargan is no exception. Gargan was a small-time private investigator, who was tasked by J. Jonah Jameson with finding out how Peter Parker got such good shots of his alter-ego Spider-Man. Unfortunately for Gargan, Jameson went too far with his pursuits and pushed for an experimental procedure to fuse him with the abilities of a scorpion. Talk about bad luck. Despite his immense strength, agility, and scorpion suit Spider-Man is able to routinely outsmart and defeat him. Predictably, he has a long standing hatred of Jameson as well as for Spider-Man.
#13: Roderick Kingsley aka Hobgoblin
The Amazing Spider-Man #238 (1983) Multiple people have taken on the Hobgoblin persona, but Roderick Kingsley is the alter-ego most associated with the character, not to be confused with Green Goblin. In fact, Kingsley improved on Norman Osborn's goblin formula, suit, and equipment. He’s no cosplayer though, as he had built up an incredible criminal empire of his own. Not bad for someone who was previously a fashion designer. Aside from the powers he gained from the goblin formula, Kingsley can also hypnotize others, usually as a way to keep his identity secret by having others pose as the Hobgoblin.
#12: Aleksei Sytsevich aka the Rhino
The Amazing Spider-Man #41 (1966) For Sytsevich, brain is certainly tailing behind brawn when it comes to his attributes. However, his strength more than makes up for his flaws. Another result of an experiment gone wrong, Sytevich’s skin and strength were enhanced and toughened, making him almost unstoppable when he starts charging. He also has higher durability and speed, giving Spider-Man a real challenge when the Rhino decides to wreak havoc. Rhino’s first horned costume was fused to him, but his second is the result of evil armorer Justin Hammer’s handiwork. Eventually Rhino retires from a life of crime but his services keep being requested by other villains.
#11: Cletus Kasady aka Carnage
The Amazing Spider-Man #359 (1992) What happens when a powerful symbiote bonds with an unstable, notorious serial killer? You get Carnage, both literally and figuratively when Kasady becomes one of Spider-Man’s deadliest enemies. As Venom’s offspring he is no joke as when he first burts on the scene he brings with him death and destruction. Not only is he stronger than Venom and Spider-Man combined, he has absolutely no qualms about taking the lives of others as he can shape any part of his body into sharp objects. Carnage can also evade Spider-Man’s spider-sense and even Venom’s detection abilities. The two often have to team up to take down Carnage. This is one villain you don’t wanna cross paths with.
#10: Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin
The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (1967) A mountain of a man, do not be fooled that the white-suited behemoth is simply over-indulging on pizza and burgers, Fisk is essentially a freight-train of muscle. Unlike some of Spidey’s other foes, Fisk has a sharp mind and controls a vast criminal empire. He is able to plan and execute various operations in such a way that authorities have never been able to pin anything on him for long. His foothold on the criminal underground is so great that he not only has to deal with Spider-Man but has also come into conflict with Daredevil and Hawkeye.
#9: Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven the Hunter
The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (1964) It’s safe to say that Kraven has an unhealthy obsession with Spidey. Introduced early on as another animal themed villain for Spider-Man to fight, Kraven has become so much more. He develops an obsession with Spidey, desperately needing to prove that he is the ultimate hunter. Kraven’s power comes from a serum that greatly enhances his already peak physical form. He also eschews using weapons, prefering to hunt with his bare hands. Perhaps his greatest feat is the time he did defeat Spider-Man, putting him into a coma and burying him alive. There aren’t too many people who can make that claim.
#8: Maxwell "Max" Dillon aka Electro
The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (1964) It shouldn’t be too much of a shock to see Electro on this list, given how powerful he is. Originally, Max Dillon was a lineman working on a power cable that was struck by lightning, giving him the ability to control and manipulate electricity. Dillon was a founding member of the Sinister Six, a superteam created by Doc Ock to take down Spider-Man. Electro is another of the few Spidey villains who isn’t hellbent on destroying the wallcrawler but often teams up with others when he stands to benefit and won’t let someone like Spider-Man get in his way.
#7: Flint Marko aka Sandman
The Amazing Spider-Man #4 (1963) William Baker, using the alias Flint Marko, has an origin similar to many heroes and villains alike, where an accident gifted him his abilities. In Marko’s case this meant being turned into sand. At first it may seem as though his powers are no worse than spending a day at the beach, but he can manipulate his body to create weapons. Not only does he use this ability to fight Spider-Man, on the defensive end he can easily absorb blows making him a difficult opponent to defeat.
#6: Adrian Toomes aka the Vulture
The Amazing Spider-Man #2 (1963) After working as an electronics engineer who had built his own flying harness, Adrian Toomes went into a life of crime after losing all of his money due to his former business partner embezzling all of the funds. This brought on the attention of a certain web slinging hero who realized he could sell photos of his battles to the Daily Bugle. Toomes would also go on to join the Sinister Six but would be defeated by Spider-Man. Interestingly, Stan Lee introduced a new Vulture in the comics because he thought it was bad form for Spidey to fight an older man. Fans were unhappy with the change, and while others have taken up the mantle, Toomes remains as the prominent version of the Vulture.
#5: Quentin Beck aka Mysterio
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The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (1964) Beck may not have super-powers, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a force to be reckoned with. He relies on special effects, illusions and an impeccable display of showmanship when taking on adversaries. You would think Mysterio would prefer to put on one hell of a show but he’d rather commit crimes. Beck is also an ameteur chemist and uses his knowledge to create compounds to stifle Spider-Man such as dulling his spider-sense, abrasives to weaken Spidey’s webbing, and powerful hallucinogens creating hallucinations. You might even think that his fishbowl helmet is just for show but it actually serves multiple uses such as protecting him from gases, providing sonar, and projecting holograms. It can be tough to see through the theatrics but Spider-Man generally prevails.
#4: Dr. Curtis "Curt" Connors aka the Lizard
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The Amazing Spider-Man #6 (1963) Stop us if you’ve heard this one already–a brilliant scientist commits to initiating a science experiment on himself. In this case we’re talking about Dr. Curt Connors, who attempts to use lizard DNA to regrow his amputated arm. As Connors, he has been known to be an ally to Spider-Man. However, when he’s the Lizard, it’s a whole new ball game. Aside from regrowing his missing limb, he gains tremendous strength, speed and agility that put him on par with Spidey. Depending on the situation the Lizard can be just as smart as Connors or as wild and feral as the Hulk.
#3: Eddie Brock aka Venom
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The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (1984) When Peter Parker got a sweet new costume he had no idea what he was in for. It turned out that he didn’t just have new threads. He was in fact wearing an alien symbiote. Peter eventually rejected the symbiote who called itself Venom, and it eventually bonded to Eddie Brock. Venom is very similar to Spider-Man since while bonded to him, it acquired his powers. This makes it a more powerful version of Spidey and can also block his spider-sense. Venom presented Brock the ability to get revenge on Parker who he blamed for ruining his career as a photo-journalist. While the two had their share of battles, Venom would eventually become more of an anti-hero looking to protect innocents.
#2: Dr. Otto Octavius aka Doctor Octopus
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The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (1963) If you were expecting an actual octopus, you are sorely mistaken. While initially a mad scientist for Spider-Man to take on, Ock becomes one of his most enduring foes. Not only do you have your standard villain fare where he and Spidey face off with the web head coming out on top but he’s been deeply involved in Peter’s personal life. He actually comes THIS close to marrying Aunt May. Octavius had also successfully swapped consciousness with Peter taking over his body while leaving Peter trapped in Octavious’ dying body. In Parker’s body he vows to be an even better Spider-Man than Peter could ever be. While eventually this is undone there aren’t too many villains who can say they’ve become Spider-Man.
#1: Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin
The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (1964) When it all comes down to it, there could only be one choice for Spider-Man’s greatest villain, and it is the Green Goblin. A lot of the pain and misery in Peter Parker’s life can be traced back to Osborn. One of those first events being the night Gwen Stacy died. Even during the long period of time where it was assumed Osborn was dead, he lurked in the shadows orchestrating events to bring about Spider-Man’s downfall. Not only is the Goblin physically strong, he’s shown to be conniving and a master manipulator. Almost every time he’s defeated he retreats back into the shadows biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
