Best Villains In Spider-Man Movies, Ranked

Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes, with a plethora of incredible adaptations ranging from movies to TV shows to video games. The story of a young boy bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him superpowers comes with many variations, each with its own version of the charming narrative. In particular, the movies created complex iterations of the web-headed hero, each with their individual storylines. Every adaptation brings a new perspective on the character and his context.

At the same time, other characters change along with the protagonist in different movies, including different iterations of Spider-Man antagonists. While some villains are known for being complex, others are plainly evil. The Spider-Man movies have brought to life some incredible villains through different franchises, each with their own flair, complexity, and devastating nature.

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10 The Lizard

Never Unleashed His Comic Book Potential

• Real Identity: Dr. Curtis Connor
• Goal: To turn everyone into giant lizards as a way to rid the world of diseases and deformities.
• Movie(s): The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home

This rendition of the villain has its share of flaws, yet as the main antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man, the Lizard was able to bring a fun, yet disgusting challenge. His animal instincts, personal connection to Peter, and benevolent objective to cure diseases all make him enough of a complex threat to make this story entertaining.

While it felt like the villain never reached his potential from the comics, he was responsible for one of the saddest deaths in the Spider-Man movies. Ultimately, he was a solid villain in a movie that left something to be desired.

9 The Prowler

A Secondary Villain With A Redemption Arc

• Real Identity: Aaron Davis
• Goal: Kingpin's henchman responsible for finding Spider-Man.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

The Prowler is a terrifying side villain in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a ruthless mercenary willing to do anything to get his money. Turning to the criminal world at an early age, Aaron Davis becomes The Prowler, and is one of the antagonists after Spider-Man.

While he does have redemption once he finds out Miles is Spider-Man, he still managed to do quite a bit of damage beforehand. As Miles' uncle, he is a complex antagonist that has personal ties to the hero, yet he is not the movie's main villain. Instead, he serves as a henchman that has a change of heart before dying.

8 Sandman

An Empathetic Antagonist In A Movie Filled With Underdeveloped Villains

• Real Identity: Flint Marko
• Goal: Steal money to save his sick daughter.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home

While Spider-Man 3 is one of the most polarizing Marvel movies, it still managed to bring a good villain among other less-developed antagonists. Flint Marko was a victim of desperation as a father trying to pay for his daughter's medical treatments.

Accidentally stumbling into an experiment, Marko becomes Sandman, and he decides to use his powers to try to get the funds he so desperately needs. As the best villain in Spider-Man 3, it's hard not to feel bad for Marko, especially knowing his motivators. Yet, he never got the focus he deserved, even during his reappearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

7 The Spot

A Goofy Villain Turned Multiversal Threat

• Real Identity: Dr. Jonathan Ohnn
• Goal: Prove himself a worthy villain in a vendetta against Miles.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

When the Spot first appears in Across the Spider-Verse, Miles does not take him seriously. However, the goofy antagonist is a scientist turned supervillain, after he is transformed into the Spot during the events of Into The Spider-Verse.

By the end of the movie, the Spot shows how scary he can be, setting off to cause mayhem in the multiverse. With only a glimpse of how powerful the Spot really is, this villain might rank even better in the future depending on his role in the third Spider-Verse movie.

6 Mysterio

A Cunning Villain That Did A Lot Of Damage

• Real Identity: Quentin Beck
• Goal: Vindication and revenge after being humiliated by Tony Stark.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man: Far From Home

Mysterio is known as one of the most evil Spider-Man villains, and Jake Gyllenhaal's portrayal of the villain brought a layer of deception that makes him feel a different type of dangerous. Tricking Peter Parker into trusting him, Mysterio pretends to be a father figure to Spider-Man after Tony Stark's death, yet only does so to get access to the hero's technology.

His objective might not be polished, as he seeks revenge and vindication after Tony Stark humiliates him. Still, this version of Mysterio does quite a bit of damage to Spider-Man, including revealing his true identity.

5 Spider-Man 2099

A Single-Minded Yet Complex Antagonist

• Real Identity: Miguel O'Hara
• Goal: Keep the multiverse intact by protecting the canon events even if it means letting people die.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

While not a villain in the usual sense, Miguel is the main antagonist in Across the Spider-Verse, as he tries to stop Miles from returning to his universe. Claiming to do it for the right reasons, Spider-Man 2099 is at the top of the Spider Society, putting himself in charge of protecting the multiverse and its canon events.

As Miles tries to disrupt Miguel's idea of order in order to save his father, the antagonist sets the entire Spider Society after Miles. From what has been seen of him so far, his actions do not make him vile. Rather, Miguel is a driven, single-minded antagonist, with the potential to either do a lot of good or a lot of evil.

4 Vulture

A Sympathetic And Nuanced Nemesis

• Real Identity: Adrien Toomes
• Goal: Trying to help his family by committing crimes.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man: Homecoming

Starring Michael Keaton as this iconic villain, Spider-Man: Homecoming features a sympathetic version of the Vulture as a hard-working guy who suffered one too many times. After losing his business because of Tony Stark, he becomes resentful and set on making things right, even if it means doing wrong things.

The fact that Peter is dating his arch nemesis' daughter makes this relationship even more interesting. The antagonist holds some respect for the hero, despite still believing himself to be right. A great performance and a respectful villain makes the Vulture one of the best parts of this movie.

3 Kingpin

A Terrifying, Tortured Iteration Of A Powerful Villain

• Real Identity: Wilson Fisk
• Goal: Break down the multiverse to resurrect his wife and son.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Kingpin is an iconic and powerful villain in the comics. His iteration in Into the Spider-Verse is a faithful one, proving a great adversary to Miles. Despite being a crime lord and influencing a ton of other villains, he still manages to be sympathetic, as his goal is to resurrect his wife and son.

Due to his despair over losing his family, Kingpin walks the line between relatable and terrifying. He kills Peter Parker with his bare hands, and almost beats Miles and his friends.

2 The Green Goblin

An Evil And Chaotic Force

• Real Identity: Norman Osborn
• Goal: Create chaos, get back control of his company, and defeat Spider-Man.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home

Probably the scariest villain on the list, Green Goblin feels purely evil at certain points. Norman Osborn's alter ego takes control and unleashes wickedness through Willen Dafoe's masterful interpretation of the character. The villain seems to want chaos above all else, even testing the length of Spider-Man's morality, forcing the hero to choose to save his love or a bunch of children.

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After discovering the hero's identity, this villain goes above and beyond, tormenting him through Mary Jane and even poor aunt May. He continues to do so in the epic Spider-Man crossover, being the one responsible for killing Tom Holland's aunt May and making the hero tap deeper into his dark side.

1 Dr. Octopus (Dock Ock)

A Tragic Story With A Redeeming Ending

• Real Identity: Dr. Otto Octavius
• Goal: Finish his life's work to create a source of renewable energy.
• Movie(s): Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home

As one of the best Spider-Man villains of all time, Dr. Octopus is great in almost every iteration of the character, particularly in Spider-Man 2. The scientist turned evil villain is one of the things that make the second installment of Raimi's trilogy so beloved. As Peter's mentor and a good man at heart, the audience cannot help but cheer for him.

Alfred Molina's depiction of the character makes him charming at some points and menacing at others. As a scientist, he sets out to do good in the world, but becomes a victim of his own experiment. Dr. Otto Octavius is a layered antagonist that has more nuance than many other comic book villains. In the end, Dr. Octopus redeems himself by giving his life to undo his evil actions and, later on, becomes a proper hero in Spider-Man: No Way Home.