Spider-Manis perhaps one of the most rebooted film series of all time. Since the early 2000s there have been nine movies separated across four different franchises. The firstSpider-Mantrilogy stars actor Tobey Maguire in the Sam Raimi films which spanned the 2000s. Not long after, beginning in 2012, came two Andrew GarfieldTheAmazing Spidermanmovies. The character was then brought to life in theMCUby Tom Holland, receiving his own trilogy that began in 2017 withSpider-Man: Homecomingbut appearing inCaptain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity WarandEndgame. In 2018 an animated movie,Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Versewas released by Sony, focusing on Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker. The two-partSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Versewill be released later in 2022.
It might seem strange as to why it was rebooted so many times in such a short period, but the popularity of Spider-Man says otherwise. He’s always been a fan-favorite hero who, as someone whose alter ego Peter Parker isn’t rich and is usuallybarely scraping byas he struggles with normal life, is very relatable to many. However, you may’t have a hero without a villain, and Spider-Man has plenty. From glorified costumed thugs to actually powerful masterminds, who knows what villain Spider-Man might run into while out and about. Take a look atPart Oneof all the villains who have been brought to life on the big screen and dive into how villainous they really are.
8Tombstone
One of the most overlooked villains inSpider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseisTombstone. His appearance is that of a thug who works for the main villain in the movie, Kingpin. We don’t even get a backstory on him in the movies, or a complete understanding of what his powers are. We only see him at Kingpin’s side, and in several fight sequences. He does have superhuman strength, and a tough, almost impenetrable skin due to a reaction to experimental gas. Though he is a formidable mob boss in the comics with his own arc, seeing him as a minor character who barely even talks puts him at the bottom of the list. His name also sounds like a pizza.
7The Shocker
We are introduced toThe ShockerinSpider-Man: Homecomingin the form of two of Vulture’s lackeys (two because Vulture disintegrates the first and passes on the mantle to the second). The first Shocker gives himself the mantle, using some of the tech they were making to boost his punches. The second takes his tech and uses it in the same fashion. They both attempt to stop Spider-Man from foiling their business by trying to overpower him with the gauntlet. However, once again, simply being the thug of the main villain doesn’t allow him to rise to his full potential and therefore gets a low spot on the list.
We seeScorpioninSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but the movie doesn’t really mention his powers or make him a prominent figure. He’s reduced to just another Kingpin thug. His powers make him much more interesting and terrifying, however, with similar powers to Spider-Man and a long, cybernetic tail that can be equipped with a multitude of different weapons, including projectiles and poisons. Even with his full potential he would still rank low on the list because, though his character is complex, he is simply driven to fight and live in crime, not take over the city, and there’s subsequently very low stakes and threat from Scorpion.
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Perhaps one of Spider-Man’s most formidable opponents in terms of strength isRhino. We see him inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, where he first loses against Spider-Man as himself, but is later given a large mechanical suit that turns him into the powerhouse he is known to be. His ruthless fighting and sheer brute strength are quick to overpower Spider-Man, making him hard to beat. However, what he has in strength he pretty much lacks in brains. Rhino isn’t going to plan some smart scheme to undermine the political powers anytime soon as he’s too busy rampaging and destroying the city as he is making the city his collateral damage in his fights. He’s a big clumsy Rhino.
4The New Goblin
The New Goblinis featured inSpider-Man 2andSpider-Man 3. He’s the second incarnation of the Green Goblin in this trilogy, the first one being his father (who Goblin Jr. believes was killed by Spider-Man). He is a fairly formidable foe, taking the deadly designs his father had made and using them himself, but there are two reasons he doesn’t rank as high as Senior. Since he is only bent on revenge, he doesn’t see the real potential behind all the power he holds. He also turns good by the end of the third movie, putting himself in the sacrificial position to save Spider-Man. Not too villainous.
Perhaps one of the coolest powers on this list belongs toSandman, featured inSpider-Man 3but also making an appearance inSpider-Man: No Way Home.He is an escaped convict who accidentally falls into an experimental particle accelerator, binding his molecules with the sand. He gains earthy shape-shifting abilities, finding that he can change his size, shape and density at will. Once Spider-Man discovers that Sandman is the one who killed his uncle, he immediately tries to fight him, quickly turning Sandman into one of the main villains of the movie. However, he is given redemption at the end when he says the shooting was an accident and something he still feels bad about, so Peter forgives him, and they stop fighting. Kumbaya. In the end, he’s just an average criminal with above average powers who made a mistake.
The Prowleris an interesting villain, and one who only really has a thoughtful story when Miles Morales is involved. InSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the Prowler is one of Kingpin’s more prominent thugs. He chases Miles down throughout the movie, tracking him around the city as they try to kill all the Spider-People to get them out of the way of their scheme. However, the reveal that he’s actually Miles' uncle comes as a big surprise for those unfamiliar with the source material. His powers all come from the tech equipped in his suit, which he uses to his advantage to help track down and overpower Spider-Man. If it wasn’t for his change of heart once he finds out what his nephew is up to, the Prowler’s tech could effectively kill Spider-Man once he had the advantage in their fight, something he wouldn’t have hesitates to do.
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We seeVulturefor the first time inSpider-Man: Homecomingas the main villain. Though he doesn’t have powers, his suit makes him a very dangerous enemy. Spider-Man needs to stick close to the ground to fight properly, so his webs have something to stick to; however, with Vulture’s flight suit, he can cause havoc from anywhere he wants, including high up in the sky and out of reach. The movie iteration of Vulture runs a criminal organization that steals alien technology and uses it to build their own weapons, finding buyers in the criminal underground to earn their money. He’s a pretty dangerous opponent to face, but he could be more dangerous if he tried to do more with their tech rather than just create an economic enterprise. Michael Keaton, though, is incredible,making Vulture the bestof the least and good enough to appear in the upcomingMorbius.
