Spider-Man made his debut in Marvel Comics in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962. At that time, it was a teenage Peter Parker, a wallflower in high school with no friends, but who was smart and had a bright future, until a radioactive spider gave him superpowers, and his Uncle Ben’s death gave him purpose. For years, Peter Parker was the only Spider-Man, but that has changed over the years. From alternate versions of Spider-Man on different Earths in the Multiverse to other men who took on the Spider-Man identity, from heroes to villains and clones. While Peter Parker is still the original, the variants are also great.
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Here is a look at everyone who has been Spider-Man other than Peter Parker, ranked.
11) Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter was a villain because he was a big-game hunter who wanted to kill the most powerful prey, and after killing every animal known to man, he set his eyes on a bigger target in Spider-Man. While Kraven had become a criminal on occasion and was part of the Sinister Six, his story was always about trying to kill Spider-Man. In Web of Spider-Man #31, Kraven’s Last Hunt played out, and he seemingly shot and killed Spider-Man. After burying Spider-Man, Kraven took on the Spider-Man role and actually caught the killer known as Vermin. Spider-Man wasn’t dead, though, and when he dug his way out, Kraven gave up the role and died by suicide since he had nothing left to prove.
10) Ai Apaec the Decapitator
Ai Apaec, the Decapitator, is one of the least known characters to portray Spider-Man in Marvel Comics. He debuted in Osborn #1 in 2010, and Norman Osborn made him the new Spider-Man in New Avengers #18 in 2011. This means he replaced Mac Gargan in the role, after Gargan served as both Venom and the fake Spider-Man for the Dark Avengers. However, Ai Apaec was a god worshipped since the early centuries (based on the real deity), with whom Osborn began working after the government captured him. While he is a god, he didn’t last long and was gone in less than two years when Toxie Doxie stepped on him after he was shrunk.
9) Mac Gargan
After the events of Secret Invasion, Norman Osborn put together a team of Dark Avengers, and the goal was to have different villains portray the real Avengers. For Mac Gargan, he still had the Venom symbiote, but Norman knew that the public wouldn’t like that, so Norman gave Mac medicine that allowed him to control the symbiote more, and Mac was able to shrink his body down and look like a black-clad Spider-Man to fit in better with the Dark Avengers. However, Mac could never stop his bloodlust, and this ended when Carol Danvers ripped the symbiote out of Gargan’s body, and he was arrested.
8) Norman Osborn
When Spider-Man left Earth, and no one knew what happened to him, two people helped cover for him while he was gone. Ben Reilly took on the role of Peter Parker to ensure that he didn’t lose his job, and so he could not worry anyone. However, it was Norman Osborn who took on the Spider-Man role, although no one approved of this, and people like Miles Morales and Ben Reilly tried to stop him. However, Norman struggled to match up to Spider-Man. While he wanted to save his dream, he knew that he wasn’t the man for the job in the end.
7) Gerry Drew
Gerry Drew is Jessica Drew’s son from Earth-982. This alternate Earth saw Jessica retire from her life as a superhero, get married, and have a baby, whom she named Gerry. However, Gerry had a blood-borne disorder because of the radiation in Jess’s body. When doctors couldn’t save him, Jessica recreated the experiment that cured her, and it gave Gerry spider-like powers. As he grew up, Jessica told him about stories from her past, including that of Spider-Man. This causes Gerry to become the new Spider-Man in his world. However, every time he used his powers, it put him closer to death until Peter showed up to convince him to go to Reed Richards for a possible cure.
6) Ezekiel Sims
Ezekiel Sims made his debut in Marvel Comics in 2001 during the storyline that also brought Morlun into Spider-Man’s life. Ezekiel ended up undergoing a ritual years before that gave him the powers from the Spider-Totem, and he ended up becoming extremely wealthy. He became a member of the Spider Society and started building a way to protect the future from Morlun. On Earth-4, Sims actually served as Spider-Man in that world, but his main place on Earth-616 is as a man who used his powers to become rich before finally sacrificing his life to save Peter Parker in the end.
5) Max Borne
Max Borne is the Spider-Man from very far in the future. This is from Earth-9500, and Borne is basically Spider-Man 2211, a hero a full 112 years after Spider-Man 2099. He has a similar Spider-Man suit to the original, but it also has four extra mechanical arms. He debuted in 1995, teaming with Peter Parker and Spider-Man 2099, and then returned for the Totem War storyline as part of Spider-UK’s Spider-Army. His suit is different, as it has bulletproof armor with guided webbing and rocket boots.
4) Ben Reilly
Ben Reilly is part of the Clone Saga storyline, and that makes him one of the most polarizing characters who has ever been Spider-Man. That is because what people hated most about that storyline was that Ben thought he was Peter Parker and served as Spider-Man for a long time, while the real Peter thought he was a clone and was out of action. When fans learned the stories they followed had nothing to do with the real Spider-Man, many fans reacted very negatively. However, Ben is a great Spider-Man, and while he and Peter will never be friends, he has been a legitimate hero more often than not.
3) Miguel O’Hara
The Spider-Man in the 2099 world is not a Parker relative and is instead Miguel O’Hara. He made his debut in 1992 when Marvel Comics began its popular 2099 storylines with heroes from the future. In this future world, he was an engineer who worked for Alchemax and ended up drugged by his boss, Tyler Stone, and while the drug was supposed to force him to comply to get the cure, he attempted a cure of his own, which gave him his Spider-Man powers. Many of his powers were similar to those of the original Spider-Man, but he also has regenerative healing and paralyzing talons and fangs. Miguel O’Hara remains the most popular alternate universe Spider-Man behind only Miles Morales.
2) Doctor Octopus
Easily the best Spider-Man that isn’t Peter Parker when it comes to his skills to get things done is Otto Octavius. When Doctor Octopus switched bodies with Peter Parker right before Doc Ock’s body died, he decided to become a greater hero than Peter ever could be. He succeeded as well, although his actions were a lot more violent for a time. That said, he used his scientific knowledge to make improvements Peter never considered and was able to beat villains that Spider-Man always struggled with. Superior Spider-Man was easily the best Spider-Man in Marvel Comics during his time wearing the suit.
1) Miles Morales
The best Spider-Man that isn’t Peter Parker is Miles Morales, the teenager who took on the role in the Ultimate Marvel Universe after Peter died. Miles then grew up to become as great a Spider-Man as Peter Parker ever was, someone who showed the integrity and honor that Spider-Man was always meant to represent. He is not only a great superhero, but he is getting stronger by the day, as the Assessor admitted that Miles is growing stronger as he gets older. Miles Spider-Sense is also stronger than Peter’s since Miles doesn’t just warn him of attacks, but it also has a Radar Sense that he can see through walls and sense anything moving in a specified area. Add in his Venom Blasts, and Miles is different enough to be more than just another Spider-Man.
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