The Most Powerful Spider-Man Villains Ranked

Even audiences who don't follow comic books movies know that there have been a lot of "Spider-Man" films released in the last two decades. The character audiences first met in 1963's "The Amazing Spider-Man #1" has had a long and prolific life in comics, video games, and since the turn of the millennium, on the big screen. The Peter Parker version of Spider-Man alone has been played by three actors — Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland — all of whom appeared in 2022's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" in some narratively effective fan service. The animated "Spider-Verse" franchise centers around Miles Morales, with more alternate universe Spider-People in his orbit than one can easily count. 

Such a culturally predominant hero needs villains befitting his status and popularity, and Spider-Man might just have more iconic enemies than any other character on Marvel (and Sony's) roster. Some are street-level criminals Spidey tussles with while keeping his New York City neighborhood safe. Some are regular people and even former allies made bitter by their sad backstories. Some are victims of experiments gone wrong. And some are all of the above. Their powers and abilities range from basic villain fare to the absurdly specific. Worse yet for Spider-Man, his many foes are known to team up with one another. But who's the most fearsome of the bunch? Who does Spider-Man least want to run into in a dark alley or a dark corner of the Spider-Verse? Taking into account the many variations of each villain across multiple platforms, this is how Spidey's most common enemies stack up from least to most powerful.

Multiple human characters have donned the suit and secret identity of the Prowler, too. In fact, one of them — Aaron Davis — is rescued by Spidey during that confrontation with the Shockers and Vulture in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Davis, the criminally-inclined uncle of Miles Morales, is revealed to be Prowler in 2019's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," where he's voiced by Mahershala Ali. The first Prowler, however, was Hobie Brown, who made his debut in 1969's "The Amazing Spider-man #78." A Black teenager from the Bronx, he's another wayward tech genius who became Prowler so that he could commit petty crimes. An alternate version of Hobie becomes Spider-Punk, who we meet in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," voiced by Daniel Kaluuya. 

Prowler has factored more heavily into Spidey stories lately, though he's really just a regular guy with mid-level ambitions in a mid-level (albeit multifaceted) super suit ... which gives him more versatility than Shocker. The Prowler costume is typically outfitted with darts, gas, flares, air blasters, cleaning fluid, and a cape for good measure. Metal claws and pneumatic boots come in handy when scaling walls or running on rooftops in pursuit of Spider-Man. Prowler is also a martial arts enthusiast, which helps in close combat situations, especially considering the fact that neither Hobie Brown nor Aaron Davis have actual superpowers. Most variations of the character redeem themselves at some point, usually (as is the case with Miles and his uncle) through their interactions with Spider-Man. The last act reveal that Earth-42's Miles Morales is Prowler instead of Spider-Man, however, promises to complicate the character's legacy in a fascinating way. 

Today, most audiences probably know Dr. Michael Morbius from the much-maligned 2022 film starring Jared Leto in the title role. That film had so little to do with Spider-Man, a shot in the trailer that depicted a mural of Spider-Man with the word "MURDERER" tagged over it was cut from the movie itself. But Morbius is nevertheless one of the anti-heroes in Spidey's social circle, and he has been since he first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man #101." While villains like Prowler and Shocker adhere to one common "Spider-Man" trope (misunderstood and underprivileged geniuses who use tech to give themselves alter egos), Dr. Michael Morbius hews closely to another: The tragic victim of circumstance who unwittingly becomes superhuman. He transforms into Morbius the Living Vampire because his attempts to cure his rare blood disease through dangerous experiment radiation accidentally bestow upon him vampiric qualities. 

Because he's got a foot in the human and the undead worlds, those qualities function somewhat like mutations. Morbius has enhanced senses, increased strength, regenerative powers, and the ability to hypnotize others, as well as razor-sharp claws and fangs. And that's all on top of his already superior intellect. But his power set isn't quite as strong as a true vampire's would be, and he's not always in total control of himself. He's also not explicitly evil, like some of the villains on this list. His bloodlust has more to do with survival and he often kills because he has no other choice. You wouldn't want to be on Morbius' bad side, but Spidey has bigger problems than the cursed doctor. 

Wilson Fisk, better known by his mafioso nickname Kingpin, isn't just one of Spider-Man's most infamous enemies: He's one of the heaviest hitters in the entire Marvel Comics universe. Fisk went from being a poor kid in New York City who was teased for being overweight to the metropolis' most feared crime boss who uses his massive size to intimidate his underlings and anyone who dares oppose him. Kingpin also uses his political acumen, not to mention a moral relativism that often spills over into outright cruelty, to stay at the top of NYC's ladder of power. 

The character has been played by Vincent D'Onofrio in Netflix's "Daredevil" and in Disney+'s "Hawkeye." He'll reprise his role again in the upcoming "Echo" series and "Daredevil: Born Again." D'Onofrio's portrayal is of an emotionally complicated but problematic Godfather-like figure who can both psychologically and physically strong-arm his opponents. But the character has never been more enormous than in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," where his body is so inhumanely large, it rarely all fits within the box of the screen. Though Kingpin doesn't appear in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," he looms as a foreboding presence in multiple universes. Despite his bulk and the fact that he's protected by hired goons, Fisk is more than capable of holding his own in a fight. But — and this is a big but — he doesn't have any superpowers, and his weapon of choice is a walking stick (that's secretly an energy blaster, but still). It's the unrivaled soft power that Fisk has accumulated over the years that gives him so much clout. 

Vulture (in contrast to someone like Rhino) is a character who's only gotten more interesting each time he shows up in Spidey's story. A Leonardo Da Vinci-style two-dimensional version of him kicks off the action in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," when Gwen Stacy has to stop the mayhem he's causing at Earth-65's Guggenheim Museum in New York. But he usually starts out as Adrian Toomes, an engineer and salvage shop owner who turns into the vengeful Vulture because of some personal grievances. Toomes and his alter ego were played by Michael Keaton in "Spider-Man: Homecoming." This iteration has it out for Tony Stark and Peter Parker (who, we learn in a chilling scene, happens to be dating his daughter) because he lost his legitimate business thanks to Stark Industries and the Department of Damage Control. Desperate and angry, he becomes a Chitauri technology scrapper and underworld criminal who retains his respectable over-world persona. 

Vulture's exo-suit, which is basically a winged harness, contains Chitauri components. That, combined with its manageable size and Toomes' brilliance as an engineer, make him more effective overall than many of Spidey's other self-made human villains. He's well-protected, can fly, and has defensive capabilities like projectiles, plasma pistols, and grenades. The Vulture suit does backfire on Toomes, though, at the end of "Spider-Man: Homecoming," at which point Peter decides to save his then-girlfriend's dad and main antagonist. Vulture isn't the absolute smartest, strongest, or most superhuman character on this list, but he's a nicely-balanced counterpoint to Peter Parker, and Keaton's Adrian Toomes is particularly compelling. 

Hobgoblin is sort of like Green Goblin 2.0., combining wearable tech with magic-adjacent substances to create a villain with both super gear and superpowers. Dating back to the 1980s, Hobgoblin is usually the alias of Roderick Kingsley, a corrupt fashion designer who ends up in possession of Norman Osborn's Green Goblin suit. He takes to wearing it himself before eventually designing a new and improved one. He also invents a new and improved Goblin Formula. In the comics and animated television appearances, Hobgoblin is depicted as a more colorful offshoot of Green Goblin. Eventually, he figures out how to fly without a glider and how to tap into his Goblin powers without the need of a mask. But Hobgoblin ranks beneath his predecessor on this list because — though he's capable of evil — Kingsley's not as smart, strong, scheming, or as skilled at combat as his predecessor. 

There hasn't been a live-action Hobgoblin yet in any of the "Spider-Man" films. However, there have been rumors that Peter Parker's guy in the chair, Ned (Jacob Batalon), could take on the villain role in a future Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony project. Ned Leeds is another of Hobgoblin's identities in the comics ... sort of. For many years, Ned was believed to be the real Hobgoblin, but it's revealed that this was simply a ruse by Kingsley, who brainwashed him into acting as a decoy. 

Electro is another classic Spidey villain who had the misfortune of being crammed into "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which was already overstuffed with bad guys. Jamie Foxx plays Max Dillon, an introverted, low-level Oscorp employee whose tumble into a tank of electric eels turns him into a living, breathing, and very blue human electrical conductor. Though he was once a Spider-Man fanboy, Dillon dubs himself Electro and endeavors to become Spidey's adversary as a way of making a name for himself. Unfortunately, he does so by causing massive power outages across Manhattan. Peter and Gwen are able to use Electro's superpower against him when so much energy courses through his body, he sort of just disappears. Foxx returned to the role in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as a redesigned version of the character that better resembles (albeit more realistically) the green and yellow Electro from his earliest comic book appearances. 

As Electro, Max Dillion is both superhuman and super powerful (literally — an extreme amount of voltage can surge through his body). Rather than kill him, energy usually makes him stronger. He can manipulate electricity, absorb it, use it as a weapon, and shape it to his will. That power is fairly specific, however, and he's not always in a position to use it, especially in the aftermath of his transformation. Electro is also a B-list villain as far as his schemes go. Though he frequently clashes with Spider-Man and is another founding member of the Sinister Six, Electro can usually be found aligning himself with more A-list talent. He also has an obvious weakness: water. 

Chameleon is the secret identity of Dmitri Smerdyakov, half-brother of Kraven the Hunter. More importantly, he's Spider-Man's first-ever villain. Chameleon was introduced in 1963's "The Amazing Spider-Man #1," where he's a master of disguise who relies upon practical effects (like costumes and makeup) and a gas-emitting belt buckle in order to fool his marks. This in and of itself would be a useful skill for anyone with ill intentions. But as Chameleon's storyline continued through the decades, he evolved into a character who uses more sophisticated technology to alter his appearance, and eventually, became able to physically transform into anybody he desires — including Spider-Man himself — with the help of a mutagenic serum. As was the case with his brother, that serum extended his natural life. 

That he can become other characters in the Marvel Comics universe so convincingly has endless applications for a villain like Chameleon. But he's got much more than one trick up his sleeve. He's smart, savvy, and a born leader who's able to assemble teams of villains whenever necessary. He's also sociopathic and sadistic, sometimes submerging his victims in acid baths. And, unlike many of the villains on this list, he's often hyper-focused on his original adversary: Spider-Man. We've seen a live-action Smerdyakov, however briefly, in "Spider-Man: Far From Home," but we're going to see a proper Chameleon in the upcoming "Kraven the Hunter" movie, where he'll be played by "White Lotus" actor Fred Hechinger. 

There's a running gag in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" involving the antagonist The Spot. Miles can't be bothered to defeat him in the bodega as the mysterious, facial feature-less thief sloppily tries to rob an ATM. He's got to get to a meeting with his guidance counselor, for which he's already late. But The Spot feels strongly that he and Spider-Man (at least this Earth's Spider-Man) are each others' true nemeses, and he yearns to be taken seriously. He eventually reveals that he — Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, a scientist working at Alchemax — was the one who ported Earth-42's radioactive spider into Miles' universe. He also reveals that Miles inadvertently turned him into The Spot when Alchemax's particle collider exploded. In other words, they created each other. 

Yet throughout "Across the Spider-Verse," Miles and others refer to The Spot as nothing more than a villain of the week. That's clearly a miscalculation, as The Spot will return in the forthcoming "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse," where presumably he'll try to kill Miles' dad Jeff. Voice actor Jason Schwartzman plays him for comic relief, but The Spot has an enviable superpower (and the vendetta and self-importance to make chaos out of it), especially once he learns how to use those blotches with greater accuracy. His holes allow him to travel through space, as he does during the convenience store battle, and through universes, as we see when he journeys in search of functional colliders through which he can become even more powerful. That makes him a threat not just to his Spider-Man, but to all the Spider-People out there in the Spider-Verse.

Doctor Otto Octavius makes a strong case for himself as Spider-Man's ultimate big bad. In part, that's because he's one of Spidey's legacy villains; he dates all the way back to 1963's "The Amazing Spider-Man #3." Octavius is yet another scientist-turned-bad guy. A nuclear physicist who befriends Peter Parker, he gets his nickname — Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock for short — because of the four robotic arms he wears affixed to a harness, giving him eight total appendages including his own. These aren't just bold fashion accessories: He can control them with his mind via an implanted brain-computer interface. At first, those arms are for handling dangerous materials from a safe distance, but once they become part of his body and, as happens in "Spider-Man 2," begin to affect his mind, he uses them for less admirable purposes. 

Doc Ock scores highly in just about every category in which a villain could be evaluated. Intelligence? He's got a Ph.D. Leadership? He started and heads up the original Sinister Six. Strength? Doc Ock's extra mechanical limbs can crush cars, break through prison walls, scale buildings, and make short work of most of his enemies. Superpowers? Octavius's cybernetic enhancements and exposure to radiation have given him extraordinary abilities. Whether it's in the comics, video games, or movies, in a one-on-one, Doctor Octopus' tentacles usually give Peter Parker and his webs a real challenge. The only reason he isn't a slot higher is that Octavius is redeemed more often than Spider-Man's other classic villains. 

The top spot on the list of Spider-Man's most powerful villains is reserved for Carnage. Carnage isn't simply Spider-Man's most iconic antagonist, but he (or she; the entity itself is sometimes referred to as female) is the one with the most difficult-to-defeat skillset. Like Venom, Carnage is a Symbiote, an alien parasite that forms a bond with a human host. While Venom bonded with Eddie Brock (among many others), Carnage is most famously depicted as having inhabited the human body of Cletus Kasady, a serial killer. Because the Symbiote is said to be more powerful than its parent, Venom, and because its host has a natural penchant for violence, Carnage is a significantly bigger threat to Spider-Man. 

His abilities are so fluid and wide-ranging, he can do practically everything that the other characters on this list can, with a few exceptions. His physical stats are off the charts. He's strong, fast, flexible, and tireless. He can heal himself. He can shapeshift and camouflage. He can form psychic connections. He can manipulate matter. And, of course, he can web-sling. He made his feature film debut in 2021's "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," in which Woody Harrelson plays Kasady and voices the red Symbiote. He doesn't cross paths with Peter Parker in that movie (at least not until the post-credits scene), but in the comics and in video games, it's Carnage that proves to be Spider-Man's toughest rival.