A hero is only as good as their villains. In that case, one can see how Spider-Man has been so popular for so long. Spider-Man has an enormous cast of villains that rivals any other A-list hero on the shelves. The great thing about Spidey's villains is that they encompass a wide range of characters.
Some of his villains are dastardly crooks, while others are merely insane killers. Regardless of why they turn to villainy, Spidey always defeats them while exhibiting responsibility and honor. Here's a list of some of the best foes he has gone up against.
10 Hobgoblin
At first glance, Hobgoblin may just seem like a Green Goblin clone. However, he's a pretty distinct character and dangerous for his own reasons. Green Goblin initially started as a crime lord, but his psychosis turned into an obsession for Spider-Man. Hobgoblin is essentially what the Green Goblin would be like if he had never developed that obsession.
The Hobgoblin is focused and driven with his own criminal enterprise and success. His rivalry with Spider-Man is born out of a business decision instead of an obsession with the wall-crawler.
9 Morlun
Spider-Man has been around a long time, with villains he has fought his entire career. It's difficult to create a modern villain that also becomes an immediate classic. However, Morlun accomplished this and did so in an extremely terrifying fight.
Originally, he was positioned as a sort of vampiric character. Morlun wanted to feast on Spider-Man because of Spidey's connection to the animal world. Over time, Morlun's character spread to encompass an entire vampiric family who fought multi-dimensional Spider-Men. He's now a staple in Spider-Man's roster of villains.
8 Chameleon
Chronologically, Chameleon is actually the first super villain that Spider-Man ever faced. He appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1. In reality, his place in Spidey's pantheon of villains goes even deeper than that.
Chameleon isn't as much of a physical threat as his brother Kraven the Hunter, but he is definitely a psychological adversary for the wall-crawler. Spider-Man's greatest fear is that his loved ones will suffer because of his role as a hero. Since he can impersonate anyone, the Chameleon has been able to strike at this vulnerability.
7 Carnage
On the surface, Carnage might seem like a very one-dimensional villain. He's a psychotic serial killer that has superpowers. However, Spider-Man's mythology makes the villain especially terrifying.
First off, Carnage is part of something larger since he is a member of the symbiote species. His connection to Venom adds a complex layer to the character. Also, Cletus Kasady's brutal devotion to killing runs contrary to Spider-Man's oath to protect people at any cost. This makes him the antithesis of everything Peter Parker holds true.
6 Kraven The Hunter
There's something primordial that makes Kraven a great villain for Spider-Man. Spidey is essentially an apex predator in a concrete jungle, so the appeal for Kraven's obsessive hunt makes sense. Kraven isn't interested in money or power like a lot of comic villains.
Instead, Kraven is only interested in pride and glory. He only goes after Spider-Man to capture that feeling of triumph. In fact, one of Spidey's best story lines involved Kraven actually succeeding. It was so fulfilling for the hunter that he took Spider-Man's life afterward.
5 The Jackal
The Jackal is a weird villain in Spider-Man's rogues gallery. While he can certainly be a physical threat, that's not his main tactic. The Jackal is all about cloning and experimentation through science.
Through his manipulations, he's caused some of Spidey's greatest headaches. This trend continued when others, such as Ben Reilly, took up the mantle. The Jackal persona has come and gone over the years, but it has never been gone for long. Cloning will always remain a dark part of Spider-Man's mythology, as will the man behind it.
4 Venom
Venom, as a character, will always be an integral part of Spider-Man's history. In the years since his first appearance, Venom and his mythology have grown way past Spider-Man, but that's not how he started off. He's essentially two characters: Eddie Brock and the black suit symbiote.
Each individually had their own grievances with Spider-Man. So, when the two of them combined, it created a brand-new character that was a dark, monstrous version of the wall crawler. He's since evolved into an antihero of sorts, but he still remains a Spidey threat at heart.
3 Doctor Octopus
When it comes to classic Spider-Man villains, Dr. Octopus remains an incredible threat. His arms are extremely deadly, as is his intellect. His arrogance is sometimes used as a handicap, but the man is undeniably brilliant.
Dr. Octavius has a right to be cocky about his intelligence. He's one of Spidey's oldest villains and remains a deep threat, even in his video game appearances. In fact, there was a huge arc that involved Dr. Octopus swapping many bodies with Peter and taking up the role of Spider-Man.
2 Green Goblin
It's hard to fully encapsulate the bond Spider-Man and Green Goblin share. It doesn't matter if it's Harry or Norman Osborn behind the mask. Each of them have traumatized and tortured Peter Parker on a deeply personal level.
However, it didn't start out that way. In Green Goblin's first appearance, he was all about being a crime boss. However, his insanity led him to become increasingly obsessed with the wall-crawler. It was such an obsession that it has ruined the Green Goblin's own life many times over.
1 J Jonah Jameson
It might be hard to view J Jonah Jameson as a villain, especially since him and Spider-Man have reconciled recently. Classically speaking, he was one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies. Besides funding and taking part in many attempts to bring the wall-crawler down, Jameson's influence at The Daily Bugle cannot be overstated.
Through an editorial smear campaign, Jameson kept the public against Spider-Man for decades. That's probably why Spider-Man never gained as much popularity in the Marvel Universe as other heroes, such as the Fantastic Four.