Key Takeaways
- Stuntman and Shikata are lesser-known Spider-Man villains that debuted in the television series.
- The Gentleman originated outside comics and made live-action appearances before eventually transitioning to the comic book world.
- Wolf Spider from
Ultimate Spider-Man
is a darker version of Peter Parker who terrorizes multiverses until his downfall.
Spider-Man has one of the most iconic rogues galleries in comic book history, from the street-level threats of Kingpin and Black Cat to the likes of Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Venom. While most of these characters originally made their debuts in the comics, a few of Spider-Man’s best antagonists came from other media.
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The 30 Best Spider-Man Villains of All Time, Ranked
From Kingpin to the Green Goblin, these fantastic Marvel villains have given Spider-Man plenty to think about over the years.
In fact, many of these characters actually debuted in various television series based on the adventures of Spider-Man. Although these characters are much less iconic than Peter Parker’s typical enemies, they made big impacts on the overarching stories of their respective shows or books. These six Spider-Man villains definitely deserve more attention from comic writers.
6 Stuntman
A Simple Enemy With An Iconic Voice
Aliases |
Jack Riven |
---|---|
Affiliations |
Triangle of Evil |
Powers |
Mechanical armor |
Debut Appearance |
Spider-Man (1981) S1E11, “Triangle of Evil” |
The 1981 animated Spider-Man series featured many one-off villains that strayed from comic book lore. One example of this, Stuntman, was memorable for one particular reason: his voice actor. In his debut appearance, Stuntman was played by the incomparable Peter Cullen, best known for voicing Optimus Prime across the entire Transformers franchise.
A Hollywood stunt performer-slash-criminal who was fought by Spider-Man, before a lightning strike fused his metallic costume to his body. Blaming the web-slinger for his condition, he forms a criminal trio called the Triangle of Evil and battles Spider-Man, and although he loses, he makes for an interesting enemy showing the consequences of Spider-Man’s victories.
5 Shikata
She Showed A Lot Of Potential As A Recurring Villain
Aliases |
Mantis |
---|---|
Affiliations |
Richard Damien |
Powers |
Swordsmanship, telekinesis |
Debut Appearance |
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003) S1E04, “Sword of Shikata” |
Hopefully, someday a comic book writer will give a little more for Shikata to do, given her promising yet lackluster appearance in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. The assassin’s past is unknown prior to being hired by a billionaire to kill Spider-Man, which she refused. This put a target on her back that made her an unlikely ally of the friendly neighborhood hero.
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Sadly, her appearance is limited to one episode, but she kicks a lot of butt, including Spider-Man’s, in that time. After discovering her powers come from her sword, Spider-Man is able to disarm her and destroy it, only to learn that Shikata’s life force was attached to the weapon, and she dies, which is a sad fate for a rather interesting TV-exclusive villain.
4 The Gentleman
The Films Never Let His Plans Go Forward
Aliases |
Gustav Fiers, Man in the Shadows |
---|---|
Affiliations |
Sinister Six, Nazis, Kingpin |
Powers |
Genius intellect, limitless resources |
Debut Appearance |
Spider-Man: The Gathering of the Sinister Six (1999) |
The Gentleman is one of the few Spider-Man characters who debuted outside the comics and has also appeared in live-action. Born Gustav Fiers, the Gentleman was introduced in a 1999 novel, revealing him to be the mastermind behind the Sinister Six, as well as an affiliated person in the deaths of Peter Parker’s parents, who were double agents working for him.
Fiers appeared, albeit shrouded in darkness, in both The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as Marc Webb’s live-action films teased a Sinister Six in the future. That didn’t end up coming to pass, though the character has since made the transition to the comic book universe during the Civil War II story arc.
3 Scarlet Sorcerer
Spider-Man’s Villain-Of-The-Week-From-Another-Era
Aliases |
Kotep |
---|---|
Affiliations |
Egyptian demons |
Powers |
Sorcery, magical staff |
Debut Appearance |
Spider-Man (1967) S1E09, “The Evil Sorcerer” |
Kotep is another one-and-done villain from the 1967 Spider-Man animated series, though he’s quite a different enemy than Peter Parker is used to. Known as the Scarlet Sorcerer, Kotep was a demonic king from Ancient Egypt who was defeated by the magician Brazman. However, he ends up having a fan in one of Peter Parker’s history teachers.
After being summoned back from the dead after 7,000 years, Kotep leads his demon army against Peter Parker’s school. Thankfully, Spider-Man is there to save the day, which he does by destroying Kotep’s scepter, which sends the Scarlet Sorcerer into the depths of time, along with his army. However, it makes for one of the highest-stakes battles in Spidey’s history.
2 Arachnoid / Nephilia
Two Separate Villains Who Share Similar Stories
Aliases |
Zoltan Amadeus, Bradley Shaw |
---|---|
Affiliations |
N/A |
Powers |
Mutant physiology, spider powers |
Debut Appearance |
Spider-Man (1981) S1E20, “Web of Nephilia” |
Technically, Arachnoid and Nephilia are two completely different enemies in different shows with different names. However, their origins are pretty identical, essentially making them multiversal variants of each other. The first to appear was Nephilia, a.k.a. Bradley Shaw, from the 1980s animated series, a scientist who creates a Spider-Serum to give him powers.
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Spider-Man’s sunny disposition doesn’t suggest the character would lend himself to horror, but these comics waste no time in proving that wrong.
Unfortunately, his mutated form ends up looking more like a centaur-esque creature with his lower half replaced by a giant spider’s body. Spider-Man defeats Nephilia with an antidote, which is the same way Zoltan Amadeus in 1983’s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is defeated. He must’ve been a good villain the first time if he was reused so soon after.
1 Wolf Spider
A Much More Evil Peter Parker Than Earth-616’s
Aliases |
Peter Parker, Wolfie |
---|---|
Affiliations |
Lizard King |
Powers |
Spider legs, energy blasts, vampiric life draining |
Debut Appearance |
Ultimate Spider-Man (2016) S4E16, “Return to the Spider-Verse, Part 1” |
There is no shortage of Peter Parker variants in the comics, though few have been as sinister as Wolf-Spider, a short-lived villain from Ultimate Spider-Man. For a brief arc in the television series, this universe’s Peter Parker gained spider powers, including the rare addition of spider legs, and became a remorseless villain, killing Miles Morales and terrorizing multiverses.
This vampiric Spider-Person ends up catching the attention of the heroic Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, and Kid Arachnid. He nearly gets the best of the Spider Totems, but his weakness ends up being his insatiable lust for power, resulting in him becoming overwhelmed by the life forces of several dimensions’ Spider-People, destroying him from the inside.
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