The Marvel Cinematic Universe welcomed Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War as a guest character, and Spider-Man soon got his own feature movies, also appearing in The Avenger: Infinity War. So far, Spider-Man has been fighting mainstay MCU foes such as the mad titan Thanos and his minions.
However, Spider-Man has appeared on-screen before the MCU, including the popular Sam Raimi trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, as well as the two Andrew Garfield-era Amazing Spider-Man films. Those five movies, plus Spider-Man’s two current MCU standalone movies, have plenty of fascinating villains among them, and they are all worthy of fighting the Avengers.
9 Green Goblin Was A Hoverboard Horror
In 2002, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man went up against his first and most diabolical opponent, the Green Goblin, who was secretly powerful CEO Norman Osborn. When the Green Goblin arrived, Spider-Man was still getting used to his own powers, so Spidey had to figure all this out as he went.
Green Goblin terrorized Mary Jane and J. Johan Jameson to put pressure on Spider-Man, until they had their final confrontation one night and Green Goblin lost his life. It was a tragic death, one that would haunt his young adult son, Harry Osborn.
8 Green Goblin Jr. Carried On The Original’s Legacy
In Spider-Man 3, Harry Osborn’s resentment boiled over, and he assumed the mantle of Green Goblin the junior version. He had a more punkish appearance than his late father, complete with wrist-mounted blades, green goggles, and a stylish hovering skateboard device to soar around New York City.
Spider-Man never saw this coming, and one night, Green Goblin Jr. caught him off-guard and nearly defeated him. Later, Harry/Green Goblin had a change of heart and helped Spider-Man fight their mutual enemies. Another version of this character, played by Dane DeHaan, appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
7 Doctor Octopus Is A Classic Mad Scientist
Perhaps the most popular and iconic Spider-Man live action villain of all is Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, the mad scientist who wanted to bring endless free energy to the world. But his miniature sun went haywire, and his four mechanical arms became sentient— and brutal.
Doctor Octopus stole lots of money to fund his second attempt at the experiment, and Spider-Man fought desperately to stop him. Inspired, Doctor Octopus finally gave up on his impossible dream and seemingly gave his life to destroy it in the river. But he’ll be back soon enough.
6 Sandman Just Wanted To Make His Daughter Happy
Flint Marko was a prisoner until he broke free one night in Spider-Man 3, and while fleeing the police, he stumbled into a science experiment that mutated him into the Sandman. His entire body is indeed composed of sand, and he can harden it or loosen it at will, depending on the combat situation.
Sandman was a destructive villain, but he also had a soft spot for his young daughter, giving him a somewhat sympathetic edge. He lost once to black-suit Spider-Man, then fought him again alongside his new ally: The vicious Venom.
5 Venom Was An Extraterrestrial Menace
The strange black ooze known as the Symbiote crashed down to Earth early in Spider-Man 3, and for a time, Spider-Man made use of its powers with his powerful black suit— but it was also eating away at his soul. He grew sick of this strange, unpredictable power and cast it off, but the Symbiote wasn’t done just yet.
The Symbiote soon found a new master, the frustrated photographer Eddie Brock, who reveled in its power. Eddie became the horrifying Venom, and he nearly pummeled Spider-Man to death until his final defeat, aided by Peter’s use of Venom’s one major weakness: Sound.
4 Electro Shocked Spider-Man In Many Ways
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man had a fan in Max Dillon, an electrical engineer who idolized the web-slinging hero. But he was an invisible nobody who couldn’t reach his hero, not until he tragically became the villain named Electro.
Jamie Foxx brought this electrifying villain to life in true style, though the original comics character’s outfit was tweaked to have a more appealing and cool appearance for this movie. Not all comic-original costumes translate well to live-action, since many of them look downright gaudy or silly.
3 The Lizard Bravely Took On Spider-Man
When actor Andrew Garfield took over the Spider-Man character, he needed some fresh villains to fight, and The Lizard delivered. This cold-blooded monster was once Dr. Curt Connors, an old friend of Peter’s father Richard. Mad science turned him into a beast, one that Spider-Man cannot easily defeat.
To fight a foe like this, Spider-Man had to make full use of his gifts, including setting up sensitive webs everywhere to detect Lizard’s movements from afar to get the edge. The Lizard could also regenerate his body parts as needed.
2 Vulture Had A Serious Grudge
Adrian Toomes’ business was shut down soon after the battle for New York City against Loki’s Chitauri army, and in desperation, Toomes turned to crime and villainy to support his family. He even borrowed Chitauri technology to make his trademark Vulture wings and fly around.
Vulture gave Tom Holland’s Spider-Man a serious fight all throughout the movie, especially since Peter was still figuring himself out as a hero the whole time. In some ways, Vulture was like a dark Tony Stark, and his rise from nobody to a supervillain echoed Peter’s rise from ordinary teenager to superhero.
1 Mysterio Had A Problem With Tony Stark
Peter Parker and his classmates all went on a trip to Europe, including Italy and the Czech Republic, and Peter hoped to have a perfectly ordinary time as a high school student. But it wasn’t meant to be— huge elementals attacked, and Peter learned that they were all holograms projected with advanced technology.
Quentin Beck approached Peter as a friend, but he was really a disgruntled ex-Stark Industries employee who wanted to get back at Tony Stark. He assumed the identity of Mysterio, and challenged Spider-Man with all kinds of mind-bending illusions and psychological attacks. Spider-Man was in for the challenge of a lifetime, far from his familiar NYC home.
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