With such a comedic and fun personality, it’s easy to forget that Spider-Man faces off against some truly evil and monstrous villains that would make even the bravest of heroes’ skin crawl. From horrific lab experiments to sadistic serial killers, Spider-Man has some of Marvel’s scariest villains as members of his rogue’s gallery. Some of these villains torture and maim indiscriminately. In contrast, others have all their hatred and cruelty targeted towards Peter and his loved ones. Many of them have left Spider-Man broken or forever changed by the nightmares he endured, but that still doesn’t stop him from getting back up to fight these monsters.
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These are the villains Spider-Man has fought with the most chilling abilities, designs, and personalities.
10) Morlun
Morlun is a being feared not just by Peter Parker but by every Spider-person in the multiverse for his unending hunger. A member of a group of vampire-like creatures known as the inheritors, Morlun and his kind feed on the life forces of people with animal powers, with a particular taste for those with spider powers. With his incredible strength and immortality, Morlun has nearly killed Spider-Man on multiple occasions. And even when Morlun is defeated, it’s only a matter of time before he returns for another hunt.
9) Vermin
Edward Whelan was a genetic scientist who Baron Zemo used as a lab rat for his experiments. These experiments would turn Edward into a feral rat/human hybrid known as Vermin, who wanted nothing more than to eat human flesh. Now living in the sewers, Vermin grabs unsuspecting victims and drags them into the tunnels below to devour them. If that wasn’t terrifying enough, he can also telepathically command swarms of disease-ridden rats to do his bidding.
8) Paperdoll
A lesser-known villain, Piper Dali, aka Paperdoll, is still utterly terrifying. As her name suggests, Paperdoll can flatten her body out to be as thin as paper, an ability she uses to slip through narrow spaces, blend in with her surroundings, and make her hands razor-sharp. She can also make other people similarly two-dimensional by draining them of all their organs. Furthermore, she is an obsessive fangirl who uses her powers to stalk her favorite actor and kill anyone who gets too close to him.
7) Demogoblin
When the Hobgoblin tried selling his soul to the demon N’astirh in exchange for power, N’astirh instead decided to have another demon take over the supervillain’s body. This demon was soon exorcised from Hobgoblin but remained in the mortal realm, taking on the name Demogoblin. Now wanting to redeem himself and get back into heaven, Demogoblin began killing sinners. Unfortunately, Demogoblin sees everyone as sinners and deserving of death no matter how tame their “sins” are.
6) Kindred
While Kindred’s origin as an undead clone/child of Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy is controversial, there’s still no doubt that he is a terrifying villain. After being raised from the dead by Mephisto, Kindred sought to ruin Spider-Man’s life through both physical and psychological torture. His most notable powers include controlling giant centipedes and resurrecting the dead. The latter ability Kindred used to repeatedly and viciously murder Spider-Man before reviving him to restart the torturous process.
5) The Lizard
While the Lizard is undoubtedly one of the most tragic villains in Marvel Comics, it doesn’t exclude him from also being one of the deadliest as well. Kurt Conners constantly tries to suppress his other half’s bloodlust, but the Lizard within can never be held back for long. Over the years, the Lizard side has become increasingly animalistic and vicious, evolving into something far more monstrous. To finally sever the last of his remaining humanity, the Lizard devoured his own wife and child.
4) Massacre
In a universe with all manner of demons and monsters, sometimes the scariest thing of all is just a man with a gun. After an explosion killed his wife and lodged shrapnel into his brain, Marcus Lyman lost the ability to feel empathy and became a ruthless killer. Taking on the name Massacre, Marcus would live up to his name. He would kill numerous people without hesitation or remorse. The only motivations he has shown for doing this are financial gain and cold indifference.
3) The Thousand
This guy is the ultimate nightmare for anyone with arachnophobia. Carl King was an old high school bully of Peter Parker and was present when the radioactive spider bit Peter, witnessing him use his powers for the first time. Driven by jealousy, he took the dead spider and ate it. But instead of getting the powers of a spider, Carl was turned into a sentient swarm of spiders. Now known as The Thousand, he could enter a person’s body and devour their insides. He would then use the now-empty body as a skin suit and walk around undetected before bursting out to attack.
2) Green Goblin
No villain has brought as much pain and suffering to the wall-crawler’s life as the Green Goblin. Norman Osborn became an insane supervillain when a chemical accident gave him increased strength and intelligence but also drove him mad. Since then, the Green Goblin has committed countless crimes with sadistic pleasure, most of which centered around making Spider-Man’s life a living nightmare. Some of his most heinous acts against Spider-Man include killing Ben Reilly, burying Aunt May alive, and, of course, murdering Gwen Stacy, the love of Peter’s life.
1) Carnage
Few villains in all of Marvel Comics are as twisted and horrifying as Carnage. Even before bonding with the symbiote, Cletus Cassidy Kasady was a prolific serial killer who killed his grandmother when he was just a child. By the time he bonded with the carnage symbiote, Cassidy had already tortured and killed dozens of people, and his newfound partner only increased his bloodlust. Since becoming Carnage, he has slaughtered countless more people in both large-scale massacres and brutal individual killings with utter glee and sadism.
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Image courtesy of Warner
