List of Spider-Man enemies
is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Universe debuting in the anthology comic book series issue Amazing Fantasy #15 in the Silver Age of Comics published by Marvel Comics. After his debut he would get his own comic book entitled The Amazing Spider-Man. The comic book series would introduce many of what would become his major supervillain adversaries. Spider-Man would then be popular enough for more Spider-Man comic spinoffs which introduced more recurring enemies of the web-slinger.
As with Spider-Man, the villains' powers originate with scientific accidents or the misuse of scientific technology and also tend to have animal-themed costumes or powers. There also are supervillains with the powers over the elements, some that are horror-themed, some that are crime lords, and some that are masters of trickery and illusion. These villains oftentimes form teams such as the Sinister Six to oppose the superhero.
The rogues gallery of Spider-Man has garnered positive critical acclaim and has been considered as one of the greatest rogues galleries of all time.
Debuting in Spider-Man titles
The majority of supervillains depicted in Spider-Man comics first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man, while some first appeared in spinoff comics such as The Spectacular Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up and other titles.''The Amazing Spider-Man'' debuts
Most of the supervillains of Spider-Man would be introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man comic book starting with the Chameleon. The early villains would be introduced in the 1960s during the Silver Age of Comic Books, and created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. John Romita Sr. replaced Ditko starting with the Rhino. Gerry Conway later replaced Stan Lee and helped create new adversaries for the web-slinger and also helped pave the way for the Bronze Age of Comic Books with the death of Spider-Man's long time romantic interest, Gwen Stacy. Many collaborators would soon take over The Amazing Spider-Man title. One of the more popular examples included Todd McFarlane's Venom in the Modern Age of Comic Books.Note: Alter ego characters who are the most high profile in the supervillain alias but have shared that alias with others are in bold. Alter egos listed having N/A use their real name as the supervillain name. All the villains are listedin the chronological order of their debut in comics.
Name | Notable alter ego | First appearance issue # | Creator | Descriptions |
Chameleon | Dmitri Anatoly Nikolayevich Smerdyakov | #1 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A master of disguise who can make himself look like anybody. |
Vulture | Adrian Toomes Blackie Drago | #2 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | An inventor who created mechanical wings that allow him to fly and grant him superhuman strength. |
Tinkerer | Phineas T. Mason | #2 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A gifted engineer who specializes in creating gadgets from just about anything. |
Doctor Octopus | Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius | #3 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | Originally a brilliant scientist, his greatest invention, a set of metallic limbs, became fused to his body by an accident which caused his insanity. He has telepathic control of these arms, which are strong enough to physically hurt Spider-Man. While Doctor Octopus is regarded as one of Spider-Man's archenemies, he also been portrayed as an antihero, and even starred in his own comic book storyline that saw him becoming a superhero called the Superior Spider-Man after the original Spider-Man's death. |
Sandman | William Baker / Flint Marko | #4 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | Once a small-time crook, he became a supervillain after his body merged with sand which he can manipulate in many ways, such as shapeshifting, increasing his density and strength to lift up to 85 tons, and creating dust storms from his body. |
Lizard | Dr. Curtirs "Curt" Connors | #6 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A scientist researching genetics, he injected himself with an experimental serum made from reptile DNA which transformed him into a humanoid lizard. As the Lizard, he has regeneration abilities, along with superhuman strength, speed, and agility. He has sometimes been shown as being able to telepathically command all reptiles within a one-mile radius. |
Living Brain | N/A | #8 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A living robot that is designed to solve any problem. |
Electro | Maxwell Dillon | #9 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | Originally a lineman for an electric company, he turned to a life of crime after being struck by lightning while working on a power line and becoming a living electric capacitor. His powers range from shooting electicity bolts to flight and superhuman strength and speed, which makes him one of Spider-Man's most dangerous enemies. |
Big Man | Frederick Foswell | #10 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A notorious crime lord in New York City. |
Mysterio | Quentin Beck | #13 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A master of illusion who uses special effects, hypnosis, and an extensive knowledge of chemistry and robotics to trick his enemies. |
Green Goblin | Norman Osborn Harry Osborn | #14 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | The first Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, is the CEO of Oscorp and has powers derived from a "Goblin formula" that increases agility, endurance, strength, and reflexes to superhuman levels. The formula has also advances the intelligence while causing insanity as a side effect. He uses an arsenal of weapons created by Oscorp, such as pumpkin bombs and a personal glider. The Norman version of the Green Goblin is usually regarded as Spider-Man's archenemy. The second Goblin, Harry Osborn, is Norman's son and Peter Parker's best friend. He has the same powers as his father. |
Kraven the Hunter | Sergei Kravinoff Alyosha Kravinoff Ana Kravinoff | #15 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | Depicted as the world's greatest big-game hunter, Kraven is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, though he also uses a "magic jungle potion" to increase his speed, strength, and tracking skills. He aims to kill Spider-Man, whom he regards as his equal, to prove himself as the world's greates hunter, and is also the half-brother of the Chameleon. |
Scorpion | Mac Gargan | #20 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A former private investigator who a test that made him more powerful than Spider-Man, at the cost of his sanity. He gained the superhuman strength of a scorpion, and was provided with a scorpion-themed suit and weaponry. Gargan later became the third host of the Venom symbiote. |
Spencer Smythe / Spider-Slayers |
| #25 | Stan LeeSteve Ditko | A robotic expert who created the Spider-Slayers. |
Crime Master | Various | #26 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A professional criminal who was the alias of different people. |
Molten Man | Mark Raxton | #28 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A scientist who was covered in a liquid metallic alloy that not only gives him super-strength, but also enabled him to generate heat and radiation. |
Looter | Norton G. Fester | #36 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A poor scientist who gains superpowers from meteor gas. |
Robot Master / Gaunt | Mendel Stromm | #37 | Stan Lee Steve Ditko | A former college teacher and partner of Norman Osborn that became a cyborg after being betrayed by Osborn. |
Rhino | Aleksei Mikhailovich Sytsevich | #41 | Stan Lee John Romita Sr. | A Russian thug who was given a rhinoceros modeled armor, which give him superhuman strength and resistance, after undergoing a chemical and radiation treatment. After escaping from his handlers, he used his newfound to become a supervillai. He became best known for being dimwitted. |
Shocker | Herman Schultz | #46 | Stan Lee John Romita Sr. | A former small-time criminal who built himself a battle suit that contains vibro-shock gauntlets. |
Kingpin | Wilson Fisk | #50 | Stan Lee John Romita Sr. | Depicted as crime lord of New York City. Manipulate henchman to do his bidding. His body consists of mostly muscle that has much strength and agility. Enough to grapple and hammer Spider-Man. |
Finisher | Karl Fiers | Annual #5 | Stan Lee Larry Lieber | |
Man Mountain Marko | Michael Marko | #73 | Stan Lee John Romita Sr. | A mob lieutenant with super-strength |
Silvermane | Silvio Manfredi | #73 | Stan Lee John Buscema | An aging crime boss. |
Kangaroo | Frank Oliver Brian Hibbs | #81 | Stan Lee John Buscema Jim Mooney John Romita, Sr. | A name given to two kangaroo-themed villains. |
Schemer | Richard Fisk | #83 | Stan Lee John Romita Sr. | The son of the Kingpin. |
Morbius, the Living Vampire | Michael Morbius | #101 | Roy Thomas Gil Kane | A formerly renowned biochemist who was mutated into a vampire. He has all the powers and weaknesses of a vampire. Later comic book storylines depict him as a tragic antihero. |
Gog | N/A | #103 | Roy Thomas Gil Kane | An alien was found by Kraven the Hunter and adopted as a pet. He quickly grew gigantic in size, and possesses superhuman strength and bracelets that allow interdimensional teleportation. |
Gibbon | Martin Blank | #110 | Stan Lee John Romita Sr. | A lesser criminal with gibbon-like abilities. |
Hammerhead | Joseph | #113 | Gerry Conway John Romita Sr. | A mobster who had most of his skull replaced with an unbendable steel alloy. |
Man-Wolf | John Jameson | #124. | Gerry Conway | When exposed to the Godstone, John Jameson transforms into the werewolf-like creature Man-Wolf. |
Jackal | Miles Warren | #129 | Gerry Conway Ross Andru | A brilliant professor with the knowledge of cloning, which he uses to torment Spider-Man emotionally. As the Jackal, he possesses superhuman strength, speed, and agility. |
Tarantula | Various | #134 | Gerry Conway Ross Andru | A name given to different tarantula-themed villains. |
Mindworm | William Turner | #138 | Gerry Conway Ross Andru | A superhuman with telepathic powers. |
Grizzly | Maxwell Markham | #139 | Gerry Conway Ross Andru | An ex-professional wrestler that wears a grizzly bear-themed outfit. |
Human Fly | Richard Deacon | Annual #10 | Len Wein Bill Mantlo Gil Kane | A criminal that was imprinted with the genetic code of a housefly. |
Will o' the Wisp | Jackson Arvad | #167 | Len Wein Ross Andru | A former Roxxon employee who can manipulate his molecules. |
Big Wheel | Jackson Wheele | #182 | Marv Wolfman Ross Andru Mike Esposito | A criminal that rides the Big Wheel vehicle. |
Black Cat | Felicia Hardy | #194 | Marv Wolfman Keith Pollard | A master cat burglar, who inherited her name and skills from her father. She often carries a grappling hook for swinging on rooftops, and sometimes has bad luck powers. She has often been depicted as a love interest and ally of Spider-Man. |
Calypso | Calypso Ezili | #209 | Dennis O'Neil Alan Weiss | An accomplice of Kraven the Hunter who uses voodoo potions and magic. |
Hydro-Man | Morris Bench | #212 | Denny O'Neil John Romita Jr. | A former crewman who gained aquakinetic abilities following an accident during Spider-Man's fight with Namor. |
Hobgoblin | Roderick Kingsley Jason Macendale Phil Urich | #238 | Roger Stern John Romita Sr. | Powers similar to Green Goblin after discovering Norman's lair. Perfecting Green Goblin's strength portion, goblin glider and pumpkin bombs without the insanity that Norman had. |
Rose | Richard Fisk | #253 | Tom DeFalco | The alias of a gentleman-like crime lord with the alias used by different people most notably Kingpin's son Richard Fisk. |
Alistair Smythe | N/A | Annual #19 | Louise Simonson Mary Wilshire | The son of Spencer Smythe, who is also a robotic expert. |
Slyde | Jalome Beacher | #272 | Tom DeFalco Sal Buscema | A chemist whose suit allow him to move at nearly 30 miles per hour. He is almost impossible to grasp and he is incredibly maneuverable |
Venom | Eddie Brock Mac Gargan | #300 | Todd McFarlane | Eddie Brock is a former photographer who grew to despise Spider-Man, and became Venom after the symbiote that once merged with Spider-Man. As Venom, he has the same powers as Spider-Man, and aims to ruin his life in any way he can. He is also undetectable to Spider-Man's spider sense. While Venom grew to be regarded as one of Spider-Man's archenemies, later comic book storylines depict him as an antihero, and he even reluctantly teamed up with Spider-Man when the lives of innocent people were at risk. Other character have also been the host of the Venom symbiote, including Mac Gargan, who became the second Venom. |
Styx and Stone | Jacob Eishorn and Gerald Stone | #309 | David Michelinie Todd McFarlane | A mad scientist and homeless man duo who fought Spider-Man. Styx has a disintegrating touch. Stone had two-large weapons on his shoulders and was later mutated into a golem-like creature. |
Carnage | Cletus Kasady | #361 | David Michelinie Erik Larsen Mark Bagley | A serial killer who merged with the Carnage symbiote. With Carnage being an offspring of Venom, he his more powerful than him, and has diffrent symbiotic powers, such as shapeshifting and creating weapons from his body. He can also plant ideas in people's heads. |
Black Tarantula | Carlos LaMuerto | #419 | Tom DeFalco Steve Skroce | A tarantula-themed martial artist. |
Morlun | N/A | vol. 2 #30 | J. Michael Straczynski John Romita Jr. | A member of the Inheritors who can drain the life force out of totems. |
Shathra | N/A | vol. 2 #46 | J. Michael Straczynski John Romita Jr. Scott Hanna | An insectoid creature from the Astral Plane. |
Grey Goblin | Gabriel Stacy Lily Hollister | #509
| J. Michael StraczynskiMike Deodato | A gray-resembling Green Goblin whose alias was used by different people. |
Mister Negative | Martin Li | #546 | Dan Slott Phil Jimenez | A crime boss and leader of the Inner Demons gang, who can swap his between his normal appearance and his alter ego. His powers include a healing touch, mind control, and the ability to charge regular weapons with his energy. |
Overdrive | Unknown | Swing Shift | Dan Slott Phil Jimenez | A supervillain who can convert any vehicle into a high-powered one. |
Screwball | Unknown | #559 | Dan Slott Marcos Martín | The world's first "live-streaming super-villain" |
Massacre | Marcus Lyman | #655 | Dan Slott Marcos Martín | A brain-damaged criminal who lacks emotions. |
Panda-Mania | Unknown | Vol. 3 #1 | Dan Slott Humberto Ramos | A giant panda-themed supervillain. |
Regent | Augustus Roman | Vol. 4 #1 | Dan Slott Christos Gage Paco Diaz | The CEO of Empire Unlimited whose suit enables him to copy the powers of anyone imprisoned in his stasis tubes. A version of the character from Earth-18119 first appeared in as part of the "Secret Wars" storyline. |
Unknown | Vol. 5 #5 | Nick Spencer Ryan Ottley | An unidentified human-turned-demon who had an as-yet-unrevealed past with Spider-Man. |
''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' debuts
Note: In chronological order.Name | Alter ego | First appearance | Description |
Carrion | Various | The Spectacular Spider-Man #25 | The first Carrion is a clone of Jackal. |
Iguana | N/A | #32 | |
Spot | Jonathan Ohnn | #98 | A scientist with the ability to create portals that lead to an alternate dimension and instantly cross short distances |
Foreigner | Kris Keating | #115 | A master mercenary and assassin. |
Sin-Eater | Stanley Carter | #107 | Multiple abilities ranging from artificially heightened physicality, to supernatural energy manipulation and self-healing. Was instrumental in the creation of Venom, and is also a reoccurring villain of Ghost Rider. |
Lobo Brothers | Carlos and Eduardo Lobo | #149 | Two brothers who become werewolves |
Demogoblin | N/A | #147 Web of Spider-Man #86 | A demon from Limbo. |
''Marvel Team-Up'' debuts
Note: In chronological order.Name | Alter ego | First appearance | Creator | Description |
Stegron | Vincent Stegron | Marvel Team-Up #19 | Len Wein Gil Kane | A scientist who became a humanoid Stegosaurus using the same method that turned Curt Connors into Lizard. |
White Rabbit | Dr. Lorina Dodson | Marvel Team-Up #131 | J. M. DeMatteis Kerry Gammill Mike Esposito | A rabbit-themed supervillain, who pilots a giant rabbit mech and has a large arsenal of weapons at her disposal. |
Black Abbot | N/A | Marvel Team-Up #147 | Cary Burkett Greg LaRocque | A former monk of Dakoth-Kuru, a sect that had managed to use their teachings to unlock the full potential of their minds, giving them incredible mental powers. The Black Abbot had more powers, including the ability to control the twelve others and took control of the entire brotherhood. |
Incandescent Man | N/A | Marvel Team-Up #149 | Louise Simonson Bret Blevins | Following an experiment bt Project Pegasus, he gained the ability to draw electrical energy into one's body. |
Debuting in other Spider-Man titles
Note: In chronological order.Name | Alter ego | First appearance | Creator | Description |
Tombstone | Lonnie Thompson Lincoln | Web of Spider-Man #36 | Gerry Conway Alex Saviuk | An albino mob enforcer. |
Shriek | Frances Louise Barrison | Spider-Man Unlimited #1 | Ron Lim Mark Bagley Mike W. Barr Tom DeFalco Jerry Bingham Terry Kavanagh | A sound-manipulating supervillain. |
Debuting outside Spider-Man titles
As well as endowing van Adder with super strength and agility, the prototypical Goblin Formula gave him claws, talons, fangs, glowing green eyes, and near-impenetrable red skin that is capable of withstanding several close range bullet shots.
Other villains
Coldheart
Coldheart debuted in Spider-Man #49. Not much is known about the history of Kateri Deseronto. She is an expert martial artist and swordsman who wields Cryonic Swords that can freeze anyone in their place.Delilah
Delilah first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #414 by Tom DeFalco and Mark Bagley. The Rose's confidante as well as his chief enforcer, Delilah helped battle to maintain control of part of the New York crime scene against the threat of the Black Tarantula.During her career, she had a role in the rebirth of two of Spider-Man's old foes during the Rose's efforts to gain extra muscle: she was the one who threw the switch of the electric chair which gave Electro his powers back, and helped set up the theft of Doctor Octopus's corpse for re-animation from the Hand. She also appears in Loners as an assassin smuggling MGH.
Spidercide
Spidercide was a major antagonist in the "Maximum Clonage" story arc. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #222 by Tom DeFalco and Sal Buscema. He is depicted as an evil foil of Spider-Man, Ben Reilly, and Kaine. Introduced as a red herring to suggest the possibility of a third individual that was the original Peter Parker, he is one of the Spider-Man clones created by Jackal, to be Jackal's enforcer and protector. However, Spidercide is actually a clone to Ben Reilly, who is a direct genetic duplicate of Spider-Man.The Jackal later modified Spidercide's powers, granting him the unique ability to control his physical make-up on a molecular level; he can alter his mass, density, shape and state at will similar to the symbiotes. Despite was create to escort and protect the Jackal, Spidercide betrays him and aligned with the Scrier. He was killed off in Spider-Man: Maximum Clonage: Omega by being thrown off the Daily Bugle.
Reformed supervillains / Anti-heroes
The following is alist of Spider-Man adversaries who have been reformed. Some of them became antiheroes and occasional allies of Spider-Man. Prowler is the first one to have been reformed. The characters are listed in chronological order of their debut in comics, and not necessarily of their rehabilitation.Name | Alter ego | First appearance |
Doctor Octopus | Otto Gunther Octavius | The Amazing Spider-Man #3 |
Lizard | Curtis "Curt" Connors | The Amazing Spider-Man #6 |
Molten Man | Mark Raxton | The Amazing Spider-Man #28 |
Green Goblin | Harry Osborn | The Amazing Spider-Man # 31 |
Prowler | Hobie Brown | The Amazing Spider-Man #78 |
Morbius, the Living Vampire | Michael Morbius | The Amazing Spider-Man #101 |
Punisher | Frank Castle | The Amazing Spider-Man #129 |
Rocket Racer | Robert Farrell | The Amazing Spider-Man #172 |
Black Cat | Felicia Hardy | The Amazing Spider-Man #194 |
Puma | Thomas Fireheart | The Amazing Spider-Man #256 |
Silver Sable | Silver Sablinova | The Amazing Spider-Man #265 |
Humbug | Buck Mitty | Web of Spider-Man #19 |
Solo | James Bourne | Web of Spider-Man #19 |
Venom | Eddie Brock | The Amazing Spider-Man #300 |
Cardiac | Elias Wirtham | The Amazing Spider-Man #344 |
Kaine | Kaine Parker | Web of Spider-Man #119 |
Non-supervillain enemies
The Burglar and Flash Thompson both appeared in the first comic book starring Spider-Man appearing in the anthology series Amazing Fantasy. The certain comic book story inspired a comic book series entitled The Amazing Spider-Man which J. Jonah Jameson would appear in the first issue. All three of the characters listed appeared in the 1960s around the Silver Age of Comics.Name | First appearance | Description |
Burglar | Amazing Fantasy #15 | The man who killed Peter's uncle, which would inspire his to use his powers responsibly and become Spider-Man. |
Flash Thompson | Amazing Fantasy #15 | Flash Thompson is usually depicted as enemy of Peter Parker, and admirer of Spider-Man. He is Peter's classmate that enjoys bullying him, while ironically being one of Spider-Man's biggest fans. Later on Flash would be become good friends with Peter. In The Amazing Spider-Man #654, Flash came into contact with the Venom symbiote and became the superhero Agent Venom. |
J. Jonah Jameson | The Amazing Spider-Man #1 | The editor in chief of The Daily Bugle and Peter Parker's boss. He has a strong hatred of Spider-Man and tries his best to turn the city against him by publishing fake news about him, or changing them to make it look like Spider-Man is in cahoots with the villains he is fighting. He was also responsible for the funding of the creation of Scorpion, the Spider-Slayers, and the Human Fly. |
Group villains
Note: The common leader of the group is in bold. All groups are listed in chronological order of their debut in comics.Group name | Original members | First Appearance | Description |
Enforcers | Montana Ox Fancy Dan | The Amazing Spider-Man #10 | A team of mercenaries usually in the employment of crime bosses. They are generally depicted as having no super powers, but are highly skilled assassins. |
Sinister Six | Doctor Octopus Vulture Electro Sandman Mysterio Kraven the Hunter | The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 | Brought together by Doctor Octopus, they consist of some of Spider-Man's worst enemies, who joined forces in an attempt to eliminate the web-slinger once and for all. The team had diffrent members in its various iterations over the years, but Doctor Octopus generally remained their leader across all versions. |
Sinister Syndicate | Beetle Hydro-Man Rhino Boomerang Speed Demon | The Amazing Spider-Man #280 | A team of Spider-Man villains who were inspired by the Sinister Six to band together. Unlike them, however, they are not interested in killing Spider-Man, and work for the highest bidder. |
Spider-Man Revenge Squad | Spot Grizzly Kangaroo II Gibbon | The Spectacular Spider-Man #246 | A team of lesser-known and weaker Spider-Man villains who decided to join forces to stand a better chance against the web-slinger. |
Inheritors | Solus Unnamed Matriarch Daemos Verna Karn Morlun Brix Bora | The Superior Spider-Man #33 | A clan of totem hunters from Earth-001 who feed from animal, human and deity totems. Their main goal is to hunt down the various versions of Spider-Man across the Marvel Multiverse and feed on their life energy. |
Archenemies
Unlike most superheroes, who have a particular villain or villainous group among their adversaries with whom they have come into conflict the most, Spider-Man often regarded as having three archenemies, and it can be debated as to which one is the worst:- Doctor Octopus has been descibed as Spider-Man's greatest enemy, and the man Peter Parker might have become if he hadn't been raised with a sense of responsibility. He is infamous for defeating him the first time in battle and for almost marrying Peter's Aunt May. He is also the core leader of the Sinister Six, and at one point adopted the "Master Planner" alias. Later depictions revealed him in Peter Parker's body where he was the titular character for a while.
- The Norman Osborn version of the Green Goblin is most commonly regarded as Spider-Man's archenemy. Unlike Doctor Octopus, who only aims to kill Spider-Man, the Goblin also targeted his loved ones and showed no remorse in killing them as long as it caused pain to Spider-Man, therefore making him not only Spider-Man's worst enemy, but also Peter Parker's. His most infamous feat is killing Spider-Man's girlfriend in what became one of the most famous Spider-Man stories of all time and helped end the Silver Age of Comic Books and begin the Bronze Age of Comic Books. While the Goblin was killed in the same story, he returned in the 1990s to plague Spider-Man once again, committing more heinous heinous acts. He also came into conflict with other heroes, such as the Avengers. Norman is sometimes depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man even when not being the Green Goblin.
- The Eddie Brock incarnation of Venom is often regarded as Spider-Man's deadliest foe, and has been described as an evil mirror version of Spider-Man in many ways. He is also among Spider-Man's most popular villains. Venom's main goal is usually to ruin Peter Parker's life and mess with his head in any way he can, Despite this, Venom is not a traditional criminal, as he is only interested in hurting Spider-Man and does not engage in criminal acts, lacking the typical supervillain desires for wealth and power. The character also has a sense of honor and justice, and later starred in his own comic book stories, where he is depicted as an antihero and has a desire to protect innocent people from harm. On several occasions, he and Spider-Man even put their diffrences aside and became allies.
In other media