Underrated Spider-Man Villains

Highlights

• Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery includes some overlooked villains that are still formidable foes.
• Some villains like Screwball and TheSpot have interesting concepts but need better execution to be taken seriously.
• Villains like Mysterio and HydroMan have incredible powers that are often underestimated. They have the potential to be formidable adversaries.

There’s a strong case to be made for Spider-Man being the most iconic character in all of Marvel Comics if not all comics in general. If asked to name the first 5 superheroes they can think of, there’s a good chance a random person will mention Spider-Man. And, of course, that fame extends to his iconic rogues’ gallery.

But as famous as Spider-Man’s villains are, a good deal of them are considered to be laughable no matter how impressive their abilities are. And those are the ones lucky enough to be noticed by fans in the first place. But despite the lack of respect, many of these villains are still formidable foes.

10 Silvermane

A Perfect Blend Of Street Level And Fantastical

• Alter Ego: Silvio Manfredi
• Created By: Stan Lee and John Buscema
• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #73 (June 1969)

Spider-Man is one of the rare heroes who can work in both grounded street-level stories and more outlandish outlandish ones. While his street-level enemies consist of famous names like Kingpin, Tombstone, and Hammerhead, a more overlooked name is Silvermane.

A famous figure in the Maggia crime family, Silvermane is a ruthless and influential mafia Don seeking power and immortality. Somewhere along the line, he became a cyborg, allowing him to walk in the same two types of stories that Spidey does. Despite the awesome potential of a mafia cyborg, Silvermane isn’t used much outside of comics.

9 Screwball

An Interesting Concept That Needs Better Execution

• Alter Ego: Unknown
• Created By: Dan Slott and Marcos Martin
• First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #559 (July 2008)

Many fans, especially of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, can attest that Screwball is one of Spider-Man’s most annoying nemeses. As a self-proclaimed “live-streaming supervillain,” Screwball embodies a lot of annoying e-celebrity cliches and drives away fans. But the concept of a supervillain influencer is an interesting one.

Her knack for staging elaborate and creative crimes and evading capture despite having no powers and literally filming and broadcasting her activities is more impressive than fans give her credit for. Not to mention that her pathological need for attention could lead to a compelling backstory. She just requires better execution to help her feel less like a transparent critique of zoomer culture.

8 Speed Demon

A Wasted Character With One Of The Best Powers In Comics

• Alter Ego: James Sanders
• Created By: Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema
• First Appearance: The Avengers #69 (October 1969)

Any fan of Sonic The Hedgehog or The Flash can attest that super speed is one of the coolest superpowers anyone can ask for. Yet despite having this highly prized ability, Speed Demon doesn’t get a lot of respect either in or outside comics.

First appearing as an Avengers villain under the unfortunate name Whizzer, James Sanders rebranded to Speed Demon and regularly clashed against Spider-Man. Unfortunately, due to a combination of incompetence on his part and a lack of high-profile storylines, Speed Demon is an often-forgotten C-list villain. But with his incredible powers, he could be a force to be reckoned with if handled correctly.

7 Beetle

A Villain With An Awesome Pedigree and Job

• Alter Ego: Janice Lincoln
• Created By: Ed Brubaker and Jackson “Butch” Guice
• First Appearance: Captain America #607 (August 2010)

There have been many characters who go by the name Beetle, none of whom get much recognition outside or even inside comics. Of all those characters, Janice Lincoln is perhaps most deserving of that recognition.

Her day job is as a defense attorney, which leads to a fascinating overlap with her nightly activities as a costumed supervillain. On top of that, she’s also the daughter of popular Spider-Man foe Tombstone. Her job and her parentage give her nearly limitless potential for captivating storylines, even ignoring her impressive power armor.

6 Swarm

A Joke Villain With Terrifying Potential

• Alter Ego: Fritz von Meyer
• Created By: Bill Mantlo and John Byrne
• First Appearance: The Champions #14 (July 1977)

Swarm is an evil Nazi scientist whose consciousness controls a swarm of bees. While this swarm usually takes a humanoid shape, it can disperse and infiltrate any space small enough for a bee to crawl through. This sounds like a great concept for a horror movie, but a great many of Swarm’s appearances play up the ridiculousness of the character.

But anyone with melissophobia can attest to how menacing a villain Swarm can be. One can’t simply punch or shoot an entire swarm of bees. Especially one united by an intelligent, malevolent consciousness.

5 The Spot

A Powerful Enemy Hampered By A Goofy Appearance

• Alter Ego: Johnathan Ohnn
• Created By: Al Milgrom and Herb Trimpe
• First Appearance: Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #97 (December 1984)

The Spot’s entire body is covered with portals he can use to teleport himself and others. Even the simplest applications of his powers allow him to punch someone from a great distance or send someone falling from hundreds of feet in the air. But because he looks like a humanoid dalmatian, many fans can’t take him seriously.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse was the best thing to happen to The Spot, showing fans just how terrifying he can be when he uses his full potential. No matter how humorous Spot looks and sometimes acts, his powers can have near-apocalyptic ramifications if he’s pushed far enough. It’s an interpretation of the character that should persist long after the Spider-Verse has finished.

4 Mysterio

The Butt Of Many Jokes With An Incredible Power

• Alter Ego: Quenten Beck
• Created By: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964)

Thanks to his iconic fishbowl helmet and non-offensive abilities, Mysterio is on the receiving end of many jokes both in and out-of-universe. After all, compared to powerhouses like Rhino or Electro, the ability to make illusions doesn’t sound that impressive on paper. But on closer examination, the ability to control someone’s perception of reality is a truly terrifying power.

Luckily, modern interpretations of the character, like Spider-Man: Far From Home, are showing just how impressive the power of illusion can be. An illusionist can thoroughly defeat someone without throwing a punch or even being in the same room. It’s just bad luck that Mysterio’s nemesis has enhanced senses.

3 Hydro-Man

An Underused Villain With Godlike Power

• Alter Ego: Morris Bench
• Created By: Dennis O’Neal and John Romita Jr.
• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #212 (January 1981)

Hydro-Man is an often-forgotten Spidey villain with the ability to control water. This is an extremely powerful ability on its own and is doubly effective on an island like Manhattan. Despite this incredible power, a lot of fans forget that Hydro-Man even exists.

This is likely due to the character not starring in many high-profile storylines. While Hydro-Man had an impressive showing in the ‘90s animated series, it’s hard to think of any more recent takes on the character that really stand out. But with such an impressive power-set, it seems a waste to let Hydro-Man languish.

2 The Shocker

The Posterchild Of Wasted Potential

• Alter Ego: Herman Schultz
• Created By: Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.
• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #46 (March 1967)

When fans think of laughable villains, Shocker is one of the first names that comes to mind. The quilt-like design of his costume has earned him no end of ridicule from either Spider-Man or comic fans. Shocker himself hasn’t done much to shake off these jokes, which is a real shame.

With his impressive shockwave powers, Shocker has the potential to be a formidable adversary if he only applies himself. His appearance in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 addresses this, with Shocker being the villain Kraven comes the closest to respecting. If Shocker puts in the effort, he could be Spidey’s next big nemesis.

1 The Chameleon

Spider-Man’s First Villain With An Underrated Ability

• Alter Ego: Dmitri Nikolayevich “Anatoly” Smerdyakov
• Created By: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko
• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963)

If Mysterio thinks he gets no respect, he should try walking a mile in The Chameleon’s shoes. His status as a master of disguise fails to impress fans in comparison to the other heavyweights Spider-Man faces. Especially his older brother Kraven.

But a lot of fans forget that Chameleon was the first supervillain that Spider-Man ever fought. And his uncanny ability to disguise himself as anyone makes him an excellent chessmaster villain. While not much of a physical threat, Chameleon has the potential for excellent cerebral thriller stories.