Alongside the likes of Batman, Spider-Man is known for having one of the best and most expansive rogues galleries in superhero media. Having such a large collection of villains means that there is bound to be a good handful of enemies who don’t get nearly as much attention as more popular characters like Venom, Doctor Octopus, or the Green Goblin.
Whether a villain is underutilized in movies and television or is simply underrated throughout Spider-Man media altogether,dozens of incredible Spider-Man villains don’t get far enough attentioncompared to what they should be getting. They challenge Spider-Man in unique and threatening ways that no other villain does and have impressive powers and designs. These Spider-Man villains deserve far more attention than they currently have, and one can only hope they get further representation in future projects.
10John Jameson/Man-Wolf/Colonel Jupiter
7 Movie & TV Appearances
Out of all the underrated Spider-Man villains,it’s safe to say that the son of J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson (yes, the astronaut), is the one with the most variety.There are adaptions likeSpider-Man: UnlimitedandUltimate Spider-Man, where Jameson jumps straight to his werewolf-like figure called Man-Wolf. Meanwhile, the likes ofSpectacular Spider-Manintroduce him as his first form before Man-Wolf, Colonel Jupiter.
What makes John Jameson so unique ishis intimate connection to one of Spider-Man’s greatest supporting characters,the morally complex J. Jonah Jameson. It makes the conflict surrounding Spider-Man’s battles with him even greater, as Spider-Man is not willing to treat John Jameson as violently as other villains. It also adds a more sinister layer to Jameson, who is one of the most changing characters in Spidey’s lore.
Spider-Man Unlimited
9Peter Parker/Wolf Spider (Christopher Daniel Barnes)
‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ (2012)
During the “Return to the Spider-Verse” multi-episode event in the fourth season ofUltimate Spider-Man, twoSpider-Men teamed up to take down a common foe. Peter Parker (Drake Bell) and Miles Morales (Ogie Banks) faced off against an alternate version of Peter Parker, the unhinged Wolf Spider (Christopher Daniel Barnes), who planned to use the Siege Perilous to take over the entire multiverse and reign supreme.
In an era in which the likes of evil Supermen reign over the “evil superhero” trope, it’s fascinating to see evil iterations of Spider-Man take to the screen.Wolf Spider is the antithesis of Spidey, voiced by one of the defining actors in the hero’s history. With his iconic mantra of “with great power, there must also come great responsibility” being so quickly thrown to the side and treated as nothing, it makes the character all the more evil.
Ultimate Spider-Man
8Hammerhead
5 TV Appearances
For being one of the wall-crawler’s greatest crime-related villains, Hammerhead doesn’t get far as much attention as characters like Wilson Fisk/Kingpin when he is, arguably, cooler than him.Fitted with a heavy metal plate in the skull,Hammerhead poses a serious threat to Spider-Man, especially if he gets to headbutt the friendly neighborhood.
Hammerhead is typically presented as a lackey to other crime bosses in most of his appearances, but little do general fans knowthat Hammerhead is actually an incredible villain all on his own. He even got some time to shine as the villain ofThe City That Never SleepsDLC campaign for the acclaimedMarvel’s Spider-Manvideo game, where his abilities as a criminal mastermind got to shine. Now, fans just need to see him in the movies & television adaptions!
The Spectacular Spider-Man
7Hobgoblin
‘Spider-Man: The Animated Series’ (1994), ‘Spider-Man’ (2017) & ‘Marvel Superhero Adventures’ (2017)
Whether it bethe Roderick Kingsley versionof the character, the Harry Osborn interpretation in 2017’sSpider-ManorSpider-Man: The Animated Series' Jason Phillips (Mark Hamill), the Hobgoblin doesn’t get nearly enough attention as Spider-Man’s other Goblin-themed foe, the Green Goblin. However,the Hobgoblin is not to be trifled with, as he is just as deadly, sometimes even more so.
Unlike his green-clad counterpart, the Hobgoblin dons an orange outfit. In more modern adaptions,he wields a deadly sonic weapon, a flame sword and his signature glider. While he may have been deadly before,the Hobgoblin is even more so in more dangerous and ruthless modern adaptionsafter said weapons and abilities were introduced in the comic books.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
6Fritz von Meyer/Swarm
‘Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends’ (1981), ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ (2012), ‘Marvel Superhero Adventures’ (2017), ‘Spider-Man’ (2017)
Swarm is one of the most unknown villains in Spider-Man’s gallery of enemies, but also one of the coolest. In most interpretations of the character, he is made up of thousands of bees controlled by his mind. This power allows him to take up different shapes and sizes, fly, and have super-strength.
What makes a villain like Swarm so deadly to Spider-Man is the fact that, through a technicality (given that his bees can control his shape and size),he is often intangible, which makes hitting him feel like climbing a mountain at times.Intangibility plus control over bees is a nasty combinationthat makes life for Spider-Man extremely difficult.
5The Enforcers
‘Spider-Man’ (1967), ‘The Spectacular Spider-Man’ (2008) & ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ (2012)
Montana, Ox and Fancy Dan are some of Marvel’s most notorious street-level mercenaries, typically acting as villains of Spider-Man and Daredevil. After all, if there’s anything that’s a threat to a solo hero, it’s a whole team of villains. While Spider-Man may have the Sinister Six on the more “supervillain” side of his life,the Enforcers are typically hired by the likes of Kingpin, Hammerhead and Tombstone.
With their best adaption being inThe Spectacular Spider-Man, the Enforcers are typically a consistent threat to Spider-Man, always making a comeback in some way, shape or form. They’re like the bug that won’t stop buzzing in Spidey’s ear on the streets, although they can sometimes present an actual challenge,making them worthy enemies to the wall-crawler.
4Mac Gargan/Scorpion
6 Movie & TV Appearances
While he may be more well-known than other underrated Spider-Man villains, Scorpion still doesn’t manage to really get the love he deserves. Mac Gargan is, by far, one of Spider-Man’s deadliest villains. Taking inspiration from a spider’s natural predator, Scorpion and his stinger filled with poison consistently manage to mess Spider-Man up in more ways than one. Not to mention, he is a villain created by J. Jonah Jameson.
Scorpion’s visuals and abilities make himone of the most singular Spider-Man villains there is,which makes it incredibly surprising that he’s yet to be represented in the films. Mac Gargan (Michael Mando) appeared inSpider-Man: Homecoming, teasing his future involvement in the series, but he didn’t receive enough to become one ofthe best characters in a Spider-Man movie. Moreover, he’s yet to reappear and become the villain he is destined to be. Fans can only pray forTom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 to bring him back.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
3The Spider-Slayers
‘Spider-Man’ (1967), ‘Spider-Man: The Animated Series’ (1994), ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ (2012) & ‘Spider-Man’ (2017)
The Spider-Slayers are a series of highly intelligent and advanced robots built specifically for the sake of killing Spider-Man once and for all. Built specifically to destroy him makes the Spider-Slayers incredibly fatal for Spider-Man, as they can match his every move and are fully prepared for his wide array of abilities and skills.
The Spider-Slayers have been created by various people over the years,which makes them incredibly versatile. Their lack of clear origin makes them a lot easier to include in a Spider-Man project than one would think. So the question of the day is, where have they been, and why are they so underutilized? Perhaps it’s theirsimilarities to the infamous Sentinels, another group of dangerous Marvel robots.
Spider-Man
2Alonzo Thompson Lincoln/Tombstone
‘Spider-Man’ (1964), ‘The Spectacular Spider-Man’ (2008), ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’(2018) & ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ (TBA)
When it comes to underrated street-level Spider-Man villains, Alonzo Thompson Lincoln/Tombstone is, by far, the most underappreciated. While Kingpin may get all the fame and glory as a crime lord in Marvel’s New York, Tombstone is right up there with him in power. He’s a Black Albino who has strong connections to one of Peter’s co-workers at the Daily Bugle, Robbie Robertson.
Arguably,the greatest interpretation of the character was inThe Spectacular Spider-Man, in which he served as a primary antagonistthroughout almost the entire series. It was here that his true strength, power and overall stature were shown off to their true potential. But outside this adaption, Tombstone has never been shown to his full potential; in fact, he is arguablythe worst character in the only Spider-Man moviehe appears in because he is so wasted.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
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1Mark Raxton/Mark Allan/Molten Man
‘The Spectacular Spider-Man’ (2008), ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ (2012), ‘Spider-Man’ (2017) & ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019)
It doesn’t really get more dangerous than fighting a man made of molten lava (or covered in molten-hot armored plating), especially for Spider-Man, who has zero resistance to heat, making him burn easily. Thus, Molten Man is such a great foe for Spider-Man, asnot only is he extremely deadly, but he also has a close connection to Spider-Man’s life, being a brother/step-brother (depending on adaption) to his classmate, Liz Allan.
Although he was featured inthe third Tom Holland Spider-Man film, 2019’sSpider-Man: Far From Home, he was simply a mindless elemental and truly Molten Man in name only. The character himself is nowhere to be seen, and it’s quite disappointing because, when written as a legitimate character,Molten Man is an incredibly compelling villainwho deserves more love from audiences.
