Spider-Man is Marvel‘s most popular hero, and for good reason. The character was one that young readers could easily relate to, as he was just like them in a lot of ways: a middle-class nerd with a life that was full of numerous little difficulties. He had a realistic supporting cast that made his stories even more compelling, a great costume, and cool powers. On top of that, he also had some of the best villains in comics. While everyone has their favorites, there’s one villain that most fans agree is the Wall-Crawler’s best enemy and that’s the Green Goblin. Norman Osborn is an amazing villain, and has anchored numerous great stories.
Videos by ComicBook.com
However, even without Green Goblin, Spider-Man has many awesome villains. In fact, it’s safe to say that even if there was never a story featuring Spider-Man battling Green Goblin, fans would still get to see amazing villains in his comics. These seven Spider-Man villains are the best of the bunch besides Green Goblin, great enemies that have more than their share of cool stories.
7) Rhino
The Rhino isn’t a complex villain. He’s basically just a big dumb dude with vast super strength and invulnerability. His own capers usually involve him breaking into somewhere and stealing, and smarter villains often recruit him for muscle. He’s even battled the Hulk to a standstill several times. He’s a villain that has the perfect power level, can be used against other heroes, and always is a challenge for Spider-Man when he shows up. Sure, he doesn’t have the same kind of grudge with the Wall-Crawler that others have, but he’s the kind of villain that can be used in nearly any kind of story, and that’s always useful.
6) Hobgoblin
Hobgoblin is a classic Spider-Man villain, one that uses a lot of the iconography of Green Goblin. Hobbie and the more viridescent goblins are actually very different despite their similar looks, powers, and weapons. The various Hobgoblins aren’t the mad men that the Osborns usually end up as, but more like crime bosses, with their secret identity playing a key role in their shenanigans. The only reason the villain never became as big as he could have been is because Marvel kept changing who the first version of Hobbie was, and it basically made him too complicated of a bad guy for fans to connect with. However, he’s still a potent, interesting villain that can step into Spider-Man’s stories and give him a great challenge.
5) Mysterio
Mysterio is kind of a perfect storm of awesome, but he rarely gets as much credit as he deserves. The villain’s powers allow him to fool anyone; he can overcome Spider-Man’s spider sense, and heroes with super senses like Daredevil and Wolverine can’t even see through his illusions. His powers make him a very deadly villain, and he can star in many kinds of stories. Quentin Beck has grown and changed over the years as well, becoming a better and better character to read about. He’s one of the most fun classic Spider-Man villains, and isn’t just one of the Web-Slinger’s best villains, but one of the Marvel Universe’s greatest.
4) Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter is an amazing villain, and that’s all there is to it. Sergei Kravenoff was the world’s greatest hunter, able to take down any animal in the world with no challenge. After seeing Spider-Man in action, he decided to hunt him, and one of the best villains ever was born. Kraven made for a great challenge for the hero, and eventually showed that he was better than his heroic enemy in “Kraven’s Last Hunt”, the classic Spider-Man story that many consider the best ever and ended with the villain taking his own life, since he finally won. Marvel resurrected him after his suicide in that story, because they realized that the was too a great a villain to leave dead. He’s a spectacular villain, a true classic of an antagonist.
3) Electro
Electro has long been one of Marvel’s most underappreciated villains. His electricity powers are awesome, and have grown to the level where he’s basically just living electricity. He has one of the greatest costumes ever; sometimes, the publisher tries to “modernize” it, and it is always changed back to that perfect green and yellow number with one of the best masks ever set to paper in a comic. Electro is a world-class villain who seems rather simple, and that’s what makes him work so well. He can be used for anything, from cannon fodder to a main villain of a multi-part storyarc, and there are few villains that can match just how awesome he is.
2) Kingpin
Kingpin has long been a top Spider-Man villain, but his relationship with Daredevil has meant that most people don’t think of him as much when it comes to the Wall-Crawler. He’s the main villain of The Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 3), a book where he’s the boss of New York City for the Maker, and in the 616 universe he’s been everything from the world’s greatest crime boss to the mayor of New York City. He works in every kind of story that Spider-Man does, and is one of the best mastermind villains in the Marvel Universe. On top of that, he’s particularly deadly in hand to hand combat, his girth and strength allowing him to put a good fight against the Web-Slinger. He’s an excellent villain, and one that Spider-Man should fight more often.
1) Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus is a perfect Spider-Man villain. Much like Norman Osborn, he and Spider-Man have a relationship outside of being enemies, and a grudge that goes back to both characters’ beginnings. They’re both scientists who respect the abilities of each other, and use those skills to challenge each other. Doc Ock has even been able to kill Spider-Man and take over his body. He’s experienced Spider-Man in a way no other villain has (get your mind out of the gutter), and has long been considered the second best Spider-villain. In fact, if Green Goblin stopped existing tomorrow, it would be fine, because we still have Doc Ock.
What are your favorite non-Green Goblin Spider-Man villains? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of The Pokemon Company -
Image courtesy of XYZ Films
