Spider-Man is perhaps one of the most rebooted film series of all time. Since the early 2000s there have been nine movies separated across four different franchises. The first Spider-Man trilogy stars actor Tobey Maguire in the Sam Raimi films which spanned the 2000s. Not long after, beginning in 2012, came two Andrew Garfield The Amazing Spiderman movies. The character was then brought to life in the MCU by Tom Holland, receiving his own trilogy that began in 2017 with Spider-Man: Homecoming but appearing in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. In 2018 an animated movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released by Sony, focusing on Miles Morales instead of Peter Parker. The two-part Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse will be released later in 2022.
It might seem strange as to why it was rebooted so many times in such a short period, but the popularity of Spider-Man says otherwise. He’s always been a fan-favorite hero who, as someone whose alter ego Peter Parker isn’t rich and is usually barely scraping by as he struggles with normal life, is very relatable to many. However, you can’t have a hero without a villain, and Spider-Man has plenty. From glorified costumed thugs to actually powerful masterminds, who knows what villain Spider-Man might run into while out and about. Take a look at Part One of all the villains who have been brought to life on the big screen and dive into how villainous they really are.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Tombstone
Sony Pictures Releasing
One of the most overlooked villains in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is Tombstone. His appearance is that of a thug who works for the main villain in the movie, Kingpin. We don’t even get a backstory on him in the movies, or a complete understanding of what his powers are. We only see him at Kingpin’s side, and in several fight sequences. He does have superhuman strength, and a tough, almost impenetrable skin due to a reaction to experimental gas. Though he is a formidable mob boss in the comics with his own arc, seeing him as a minor character who barely even talks puts him at the bottom of the list. His name also sounds like a pizza.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 The Shocker
Sony Pictures
We are introduced to The Shocker in Spider-Man: Homecoming in the form of two of Vulture’s lackeys (two because Vulture disintegrates the first and passes on the mantle to the second). The first Shocker gives himself the mantle, using some of the tech they were making to boost his punches. The second takes his tech and uses it in the same fashion. They both attempt to stop Spider-Man from foiling their business by trying to overpower him with the gauntlet. However, once again, simply being the thug of the main villain doesn’t allow him to rise to his full potential and therefore gets a low spot on the list.
6 Scorpion
We see Scorpion in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but the movie doesn’t really mention his powers or make him a prominent figure. He’s reduced to just another Kingpin thug. His powers make him much more interesting and terrifying, however, with similar powers to Spider-Man and a long, cybernetic tail that can be equipped with a multitude of different weapons, including projectiles and poisons. Even with his full potential he would still rank low on the list because, though his character is complex, he is simply driven to fight and live in crime, not take over the city, and there’s subsequently very low stakes and threat from Scorpion.
5 Rhino
Perhaps one of Spider-Man’s most formidable opponents in terms of strength is Rhino. We see him in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, where he first loses against Spider-Man as himself, but is later given a large mechanical suit that turns him into the powerhouse he is known to be. His ruthless fighting and sheer brute strength are quick to overpower Spider-Man, making him hard to beat. However, what he has in strength he pretty much lacks in brains. Rhino isn’t going to plan some smart scheme to undermine the political powers anytime soon as he’s too busy rampaging and destroying the city as he is making the city his collateral damage in his fights. He’s a big clumsy Rhino.
4 The New Goblin
The New Goblin is featured in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. He’s the second incarnation of the Green Goblin in this trilogy, the first one being his father (who Goblin Jr. believes was killed by Spider-Man). He is a fairly formidable foe, taking the deadly designs his father had made and using them himself, but there are two reasons he doesn’t rank as high as Senior. Since he is only bent on revenge, he doesn’t see the real potential behind all the power he holds. He also turns good by the end of the third movie, putting himself in the sacrificial position to save Spider-Man. Not too villainous.
3 Sandman
Perhaps one of the coolest powers on this list belongs to Sandman, featured in Spider-Man 3 but also making an appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He is an escaped convict who accidentally falls into an experimental particle accelerator, binding his molecules with the sand. He gains earthy shape-shifting abilities, finding that he can change his size, shape and density at will. Once Spider-Man discovers that Sandman is the one who killed his uncle, he immediately tries to fight him, quickly turning Sandman into one of the main villains of the movie. However, he is given redemption at the end when he says the shooting was an accident and something he still feels bad about, so Peter forgives him, and they stop fighting. Kumbaya. In the end, he’s just an average criminal with above average powers who made a mistake.
2 Prowler
The Prowler is an interesting villain, and one who only really has a thoughtful story when Miles Morales is involved. In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the Prowler is one of Kingpin’s more prominent thugs. He chases Miles down throughout the movie, tracking him around the city as they try to kill all the Spider-People in order to get them out of the way of their scheme. However, the reveal that he’s actually Miles’ uncle comes as a big surprise for those unfamiliar with the source material. His powers all come from the tech equipped in his suit, which he uses to his advantage to help track down and overpower Spider-Man. If it wasn’t for his change of heart once he finds out what his nephew is up to, the Prowler’s tech could effectively kill Spider-Man once he had the advantage in their fight, something he wouldn’t have hesitates to do.
1 Vulture
We see Vulture for the first time in Spider-Man: Homecoming as the main villain. Though he doesn’t have powers, his suit makes him a very dangerous enemy. Spider-Man needs to stick close to the ground to fight properly, so his webs have something to stick to; however, with Vulture’s flight suit, he can cause havoc from anywhere he wants, including high up in the sky and out of reach. The movie iteration of Vulture runs a criminal organization that steals alien technology and uses it to build their own weapons, finding buyers in the criminal underground to earn their money. He’s a pretty dangerous opponent to face, but he could be more dangerous if he tried to do more with their tech rather than just create an economic enterprise. Michael Keaton, though, is incredible, making Vulture the best of the least and good enough to appear in the upcoming Morbius.
