We have received 7 live-action Spider-Man films over the past 20 years, and most of them have been pretty good (a rare consistency of quality in the superhero genre). The caliber of villains from Spider-Man’s comics origins have certainly played a role in that quality. A good movie needs a great conflict and that typically means villains when you’re watching superheroes fight. Spider-Man is renowned for his rogues gallery in the comics, often only compared to Batman when discussing who has the absolute best collection.
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Over the course of that many movies, Spider-Man has featured a total of 10 distinct villains in primary roles with only one repeat in the form of Harry Osborn as the second Green Goblin. There have been numerous other nods and cameos (some still unconfirmed), but nothing that would make a studio hesitate when considering who should be the leading threat in another film. So even with such a distinguished group of baddies, the selection of A-list foes is starting to look sparse. That’s why we’ve assembled the 10 best Spider-Man villains who still need to make the jump to the big screen. These are all of the characters best suited for the big time and most likely to deliver another stellar Spider-Man film in the current franchise.
Kraven the Hunter
Created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #15
There’s no purpose ignoring the elephant hunter in the room; Kraven is the biggest bad left to be adapted from Spider-Man’s core set of villains. He’s the only member of the original Sinister Six and one of only a handful of notable Ditko creations to not be included in any modern Spider-Man franchise. Kraven has earned his reputation as a fearsome foe, continually battling Spider-Man across each decade of his career and delivering one of the greatest Spidey stories ever in “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” This one is overdue.
Chameleon
Created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #1
Kraven’s half-brother is one of Spider-Man’s two oldest supervillains and been an integral part of many anti-Spidey plots. He would make for a great secondary villain for Kraven or a mastermind of his own conspiracy. There’s a chance that Chameleon has already been included in Spider-Man: Far From Home given the aptly named inclusion of the new SHIELD agent Dmitri. However, just like Spider-Man, much of the time, we still aren’t sure whether or not we’ve seen the Chameleon.
Prowler (Hobie Brown)
Created by John Buscema, Stan Lee, and Jim Mooney
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #78
The Ultimate version of Prowler made a big impact in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but that’s a very different character than Hobie Brown, the original Prowler. This anti-hero reflects all of Peter Parker’s luck, but none of his privilege, as he uses his smarts and skills to burglarize seemingly-deserving victims to pay his bills. While Prowler probably shouldn’t be classified as a complete villain, he would make for an excellent antagonist-turned-ally in the current Spider-Man movies.
Jackal
Created by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, Steve Ditko, and Stan Lee
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #129
Introducing the Jackal almost certainly means introducing clones, but that could be a much-needed move given that Spider-Man’s alter-ego is now public knowledge. Complex conspiracies and plenty of doubles make every Jackal story seem even more twisted than the recent events surrounding Mysterio. This could even provide Peter Parker with a “Get out of jail free” card to put his life back in order, when all is said and done.
Spider-Slayers
Created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #25
With J. Jonah Jameson back in the Spider-Man movies (played again by the inimitable J.K. Simmons), it would make sense to have this Spider-hating publisher start funding his own villains. The Spider-Slayers offer a great deal of flexibility, functioning as individual spy drones or monstrous battle droids. No matter what, they would add a lot of new challenges to Peter Parker’s life on the run in upcoming films.
Scorpion
Created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #19
Scorpion is another Spider-foe created by J. Jonah Jameson. Mac Gargan shows what happens when you fund poorly-tested super science, imbued with incredible power and absolutely no restraint. Scorpion would provide the current Spider-Man with a villain who doesn’t need artificial enhancements to trade punches with the wall-crawler, and make space for more than a cameo appearance by Jameson.
Tombstone
Created by Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk
First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man (vol. 1) #36
Spider-Man has a long history of facing off against gangsters like Kingpin, Hammerhead, and Silvermane. Tombstone makes the most sense for a future adaptation given both his impactful visual design, enormous strength, and lack of prior exposure. While he might not headline an entire film, Tombstone would keep Spider-Man’s focus on his own neighborhood without diminishing the risk to this particular superhero.
Mister Negative
Created by Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #546
Mister Negative takes the allure of organized crime and escalates all of the dangers by adding a supernatural spin. The Inner Demons provide a seemingly immortal set of minions and Mister Negative himself is capable of throwing down with Spider-Man when it’s just the two of them. Now that Aunt May is running a shelter in the movies this inclusion makes even more sense, as that’s how Martin Li (Mister Negative’s alter-ego) was introduced in the comics.
Sinister Six
Created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man Annual (vol. 1) #1
We have written before about why the next Spider-Man movie should feature the Sinister Six. It’s important to remember that this group wouldn’t just provide a bigger challenge and some great villains, but that it’s a very flexible group. While the original Six are all classics, it would also be possible to include lots of interesting B- and C-list villains. However this group is approached, the premiere of this iconic assembly is long overdue.
Doctor Doom
Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee
First Appearance: Fantastic Four (vol. 1) #5
Doctor Doom is most notably connected to the Fantastic Four, but he was also one of Spider-Man’s earliest villains, appearing in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #5. Now that Doom is back under the Marvel Studios umbrella, it’s time to introduce the greatest villain in all of Marvel Comics. We might need to wait for the FF to return before he becomes a Thanos-like threat, but having him working as a mastermind in the background of the next Spider-Man movie would make for a perfect early introduction.
