10 Times Spider-Man Has Been Other Marvel Heroes or Villains

With great power comes the opportunity to be other people who have great power. Over Spider-Man's storied career, Spider-Man has taken on the mantle of numerous Marvel Comics heroes and villains.

Many of these versions exist in alternate universes or imagined "What If?" scenarios. Regardless, each time Spider-Man has shown himself capable of being as strong as another hero, or as ruthless as one of his villains.

Spider Lizard: Spectacular Spider-Man #39-40

Spider-Man and The Lizard have been enemies since for years, dating all the way back to Amazing Spider-Man #6. At one point, Spider-Man attempted to cure Dr. Curt Connors from his Lizard persona.

The method used to cure Connors was successful, but had an adverse effect on Peter Parker, turning him into the Spider-Lizard. Spider-Lizard terrorized New York for days before being cured of his affliction by Dr. Connors.

2. Spider-Carnage: Spider-Man The Animated Series

In the 1998 episode "Spider Wars Part 1: I Really Really Hate Clones", Peter Parker is thrust into a world that has been devastated by Spider-Carnage. This world's version of Spider-Man fused with the Carnage symbiote, attacking and destroying anything in his path.

It took the efforts of multiple Spider-Men from different universes to defeat Spider-Carnage. The episode showed how intimidating the two entities are when they're bonded together.

The Incredible Hulk: Bullet Points

The Marvel Knights limited series Bullet Points shows a world where the Super Soldier serum is never completed and Steve Rogers never becomes Captain America. Years later, a rebellious Peter Parker travels into a secret government facility in the desert right as a gamma bomb is detonated.

The gamma radiation turns Peter Parker into The Hulk, while Bruce Banner's attempts to stop Peter result in him accidentally becoming Spider-Man. The comic showed that no matter who was the Hulk, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Venom: Amazing Spider-Man #800

Venom and Peter Parker have a long and complicated history with one another. The Symbiote has attempted to bond with Peter for years, with Peter rejecting him each time. When a Carnage-infused Norman Osborne threatens the life of Mary-Jane Watson, Venom convinces Peter that his powers alone won't be enough. The two combine, and Spider-Man's anger at Osborne causes him to fully morph into Venom.

Spider-Punisher: What If? Spider-Man became the Punisher

Peter Parker fires guns as the Spider-Punisher in Marvel Comics.

In the What If? hypothetical comic series, we see a world where Peter Parker takes the death of Uncle Ben very differently. Rather than give up the mugger to the police, he shoots him in cold blood. He takes on the mantle of the Punisher, utilizing his web slingers into chain-guns and mowing down criminals in broad daylight.

While nowhere near the level of Frank Castle in terms of unhappiness, he shares the same drive to murder and punish those he views as evil people. In this case, with great power came great punishment.

ArachKnight: ArachKnight #1

Marvel Comics Infinity Warps series provides a mashup of comic book characters, showing new powers, costumes and personalities for our favorite Marvel characters. One of these iterations is ArachKnight, a meld of Spider-Man and Moon Knight. In it, Peter Parker is chosen as the Avatar of the Spider-Totem, making him the defender of destiny and the great weave of date.

This has split his mind into multiple personalities, similar to Moon Knights. While his powers function similarly, its fascinating to see a Peter Parker behave in the way Moon Knight does, and makes one realize how tortured Moon Knight must feel having so many personalities inside his head.

Captain America: Marvel 2 in One

In Marvel's Marvel 2 in One series, a cast of Marvel Comics characters are shown alternate realities where things took very different turns. In one of these worlds, Spider-Man was forced to kill Tony Stark and imprison Captain America due to the escalating tragedies of the Civil War storyline.

Doing so caused him to snap, and become a despot who rules over the wastelands. Even worse, he has taken to wearing Captain America's mask, often talking to himself as if he were Steve Rogers. When one expected to see Spider-Man as Cap, this was probably the last thing they could have thought of.

Hobgoblin: Spider-Verse Teamup #2

During the Spider-Verse storyline, we were introduced to Spider-Man of Earth 21205. In this world, a grieving Peter Parker was unable to move on from Gwen Stacey's death. He murdered Green Goblin in cold blood and took on the Hobgoblin persona, abandoning his role as Spider-Man and turning instead to crime.

Upon seeing Spider-Gwen, Spider-Goblin realizes what he has lost in the process of being the Hobgoblin. He sacrifices himself with a pumpkin bomb in order to protect Gwen from the Inheritors hot on her trail. Even as a villain, somewhere deep down Spider-Man tried to do the right thing.

Deadpool: Deadpool Annual #2

Is there a better combination of heroes than Deadpool and Spider-Man? Probably, but none of them are as entertaining to see. Spider-Man and Deadpool have teamed up and faced off on numerous occasions. The two smart-alecs, though different in temperament, typically end up working well together. In Deadpool Annual #2, Spider-Man is hunted by the Chameleon, who tries to drive him insane.

In a stroke of genius, Deadpool and Spider-Man switch costumes. Chameleon is unable to drive Deadpool insane since he already is, and Deadpool as Spider-Man and Spider-Man as Deadpool work together to take the villain out.

Stan Lee: Spider-Geddon #5

For all the true believers out there, this one is a great cameo. The end of the Spider-Verse storyline, Spider-Geddon has all the various Spider-Men teaming up to take down the Inheritors that have been hunting them down. In Spider-Geddon #5, we see all assembled Spider-Men for the first time. One of these is a familiar grey-haired, glasses wearing mustachioed man. Appearing in multiple panels, there is no denying that this is a Spider-Man where in his world, Stan Lee is Spider-Man.

Given that this issue came out a month after Stan Lee's death, it's clear that this was a tribute to the great comic legend. Stan Lee gave the world Spider-Man, so it's only fitting that he got to be everyone's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man at least once.