Spider-Man has always had one of the biggest rogues’ galleries in all of Marvel Comics. While most heroes have a primary nemesis and some smaller enemies, Spider-Man fans often argue about who his biggest enemy is since he has so many, and they all remain popular. With names like Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Venom, and more, there have always been deadly enemies that Spider-Man has faced off against, and they often rotate in terms of importance. However, they also tend to become an ally when fans least expect it. Spider-Man has had more major enemies become allies than almost anyone in Marvel Comics.
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From the man who dedicated his life to destroying Spider-Man’s reputation to one of the world’s most hated villains, here is a look at the biggest Spider-Man villains who became surprising allies for the hero.
8) J. Jonah Jameson
From the start, the one person who hated Spider-Man more than anyone else was not a super villain, but a newspaper editor. J. Jonah Jameson worked hard to ensure that no one trusted Spider-Man by writing editorials that made it seem that the hero was actually a dangerous villain. He also went a little too far at times, helping to create things like the Spider Slayers, and he also turned Mac Gargan into Scorpion to take down Spider-Man.
However, things changed when Jameson convinced Spider-Man to do a podcast with him to level his charges. After Jameson broke down during the podcast, admitting he lost everything in his life he loved, and all he had left was his hatred for Spider-Man, Peter Parker revealed his identity. This changed everything as JJJ set out to show Spider-Man was a hero and even became his man-in-the-chair for a time.
7) Norman Osborn
There seemed to be no chance that Norman Osborn would ever find redemption. He had done too many bad things, from causing Gwen Stacy’s death to trying to destroy the Avengers after the Secret Invasion. He was one of Spider-Man’s greatest villains, and he was so evil that he made a deal with Mephisto to become successful by selling him the soul of his unborn child, who ended up being Harry Osborn.
However, Sin-Eater cleansed Norman of his sins during the Kindred storyline, and Norman set out to find redemption for his sins. He eventually earned Spider-Man’s trust and assisted him by providing upgrades to his suit and aiding him in battles. Norman has even been portraying Spider-Man ever since the real hero disappeared.
6) Sandman
One of the very first Spider-Man villains in history was Sandman. William Baker became a villain before he acquired his powers, a thief who was eventually arrested after a crime spree. When trying to escape from the police, he ended up exposed to radiation that gave him the power to turn his entire body into sand, which made him very hard to defeat. However, Sandman experienced an incredible redemption story, and he ended up as someone that readers loved more as a hero than a villain.
He found new allies in former enemies, such as The Thing, and even joined the Avengers when Captain America offered to help with his rehabilitation. Sandman even grew to help Spider-Man on occasion, and one of the saddest Spider-Man storylines saw the Wall-Crawler stay by Sandman’s side as the villain died. He has since returned, and while Marvel continues to try to position him as a villain, he is much better suited as a hero.
5) Boomerang
Boomerang is in no way a major Spider-Man hero. However, he was one of the best parts of the Wall-Crawler’s stories over the last decade. First, he became a roommate of Peter Parker and sucked the hero into a scheme to find something called the Lifeline Tablet, which Kingpin also sought to acquire to increase his own power and hold onto the city.
This was not exactly an honest partnership between the two, but things grew between them, and Spider-Man and Boomerang became actual legitimate friends over this time. Boomerang eventually betrayed Spider-Man and went back to Kingpin. However, this ultimately led to his eventual sacrifice when he saved Spider-Man from Morlun and died as a result.
4) Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus’s redemption story is truly remarkable. He was dying of cancer and decided to take one last gamble, which worked. As his body was dying, he switched his mind into Spider-Man’s body and took over, becoming the new Superior Spider-Man. He then slowly learned what it meant to be a hero, and Superior Spider-Man ended up as one of the best versions of the hero in Marvel Comics history.
However, this storyline ended in tragedy when Ock had to make a deal with Mephisto to save his loved ones, only to be transformed back into Octopus without any memory of his heroics. That said, there was something still deep down in his mind that remained heroic, which led him to save Spider-Man’s life during Sinister War, where he turned on his own allies. He admitted he was doing it for himself, but there was something more to it.
3) Lizard
Lizard is one of the most tragic Spider-Man villains of them all. A Wolf-Man styled villain, Curt Connors was a friend of Peter Parker’s and a good man, but when he turns into Lizard, he is primarily a deranged lunatic who will kill anyone in his path. If any Spider-Man villain deserved redemption, it was Lizard. However, things only got worse, as evidenced by his own son’s eventual transformation into a version of the Lizard.
However, in recent years, Curt created a device that allowed him to control his transformations into the Lizard, and they even paralyzed him if he began to become aggressive while in his transformed state. During this time, Curt worked hard to help Peter Parker and Spider-Man when he could.
2) Black Cat
When Black Cat first appeared in Marvel Comics, she was a cat burglar and was clearly meant to be Spider-Man’s version of Catwoman. This included the eventual romantic relationship that formed between the two of them. It took a little while because Felicia Hardy wasn’t ready to stop being a thief, and honestly, she never got over that part of her life. She still likes to steal things, but she does her best to be a good person most of the time.
What happened to turn her around was that Black Cat became the best girlfriend in Spider-Man’s life, even more so than Mary Jane Watson. When it comes to the women in his life, no one is more alert to Spider-Man than Black Cat, as she is there to help him anytime he needs it and is the only person who really knows him for who he is, and was the only woman to know when Ben Reilly began to impersonate Peter Parker in recent comics.
1) Venom
When Venom was created, he was someone who hated Spider-Man and Peter Parker equally. Peter had cost Eddie Brock his job when he revealed that Eddie was faking stories as a journalist. Venom hated Spider-Man for rejecting him when they were bonded together. When Venom bonded with Eddie, they had one thing in mind – eliminate Spider-Man.
However, things changed when Carnage showed up and Venom had to work with Spider-Man to stop the evil symbiote serial killer. Venom also wanted to be a hero, so he finally agreed to leave Manhattan so they could live as an antihero away from Spider-Man. Despite this, Spider-Man still hates Venom, but they will work together when needed to save the world.
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