The gaming world was blessed in 2018 with the release of Marvel's Spider-Man, featuring an original story, an amazingly detailed New York City, and addictive gameplay from Insomniac Games. Between the various story missions, side quests, and random crimes around every corner, there was plenty for players to engage in to get their superhero fix. The success and praise for this game led to 2020's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a sequel of sorts featuring the same world, but new storyline and characters.
Neither of these games would be complete without the famous Spidey rogues gallery there to cause violence and chaos, and several of these villains featured their own challenging boss battles to overcome. Some relied on luck, others pure skill but many were just plain nasty.
Kingpin - Spider-Man
Spider-Man immediately kicks off with Peter Parker swinging to take down Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, in an elaborate attack with the police against Fisk's men. Once players reach the top of his skyscraper, they're immediately faced with Fisk and mounted Gatling guns in his penthouse suite. Once the turrets are taken out, Spidey's left to deal with Fisk and his guards who swarm players as Fisk deals heavy damage with hard-hitting punches. The boss battle is difficult for players who are new to action games, and getting used to the controls can also hinder the battle, but overall the fight is a good introduction to the mechanics of the combat.
Scorpion - Spider-Man
The first fight with Mac Gargan, now known as the Scorpion due to the super-suit he dons, is a strange one due to Peter being poisoned by a toxin that makes him hallucinate an imaginary world with multiple fake Scorpions attacking him. The battle can be tricky due to not knowing which one to attack but isn't too much of a hassle. Having to fight him in the real world in a shipping container yard, with Rhino attacking simultaneously is another story. Players will need to make use of their environment as well as juggling their skills against multiple threats to take down Scorpion once and for all.
Rhino (2nd fight) - Spider-Man: Miles Morales
As previously mentioned, Rhino is a tough boss to defeat as players fight him alongside Scorpion. But in Miles Morales, the villain is featured again, and players fight him twice this time. His first battle is an epic intro to the game, complete with riding him through a crowded shopping mall. The second battle, however, where he has red-colored upgraded armor provided by the Roxxon Corporation (the villainous tech company of the game) is where he's the real threat.
Alongside battling Roxxon soldiers, Rhino charges at players who are tasked with using his attacks to their advantage, steering him into tanks and pummeling him with their Venom Punch ability.
Shocker - Spider-Man
Shocker is less of a main villain in Spider-Man and shows up early in the story when things haven't gotten as crazy, but he makes a great entrance when players chase him through a city in an action-packed setpiece. His boss battle takes place at a bank, where he tries to rob the vault like a generic bank robber. But his gauntlets pack a wallop and covers wide areas for damage, shooting electrical shockwaves and destroying anything in his path. The fight can get chaotic with rubble flying everywhere in the bank environment, and players need to keep on their toes to avoid the huge blasts before they can strike.
Taskmaster - Spider-Man
Taskmaster is one of Marvel's more interesting villains in that he copies the abilities of several of their heroes. When he shows up in Spider-Man, players aren't sure yet of who they're dealing with as he anonymously presents challenges for Spidey to complete throughout the city. These challenges are fun and lead to an eventual ambush by the villain, who has used the challenges to study Spider-Man's abilities. The battle is a one-on-one fight as Taskmaster uses identical moves and gadgets on Spidey to make it an even fight. It's hard to anticipate what he'll do next, and players should have the combat moves down perfectly if they expect to best Taskmaster in the fight.
Prowler - Spider-Man: Miles Morales
The Prowler, who turns out to be Miles' uncle Aaron Davis in disguise, is not typically a villain, but more of an anti-hero who is working with Simon Krieger, head of Roxxon, and is doing his best to keep Miles away from the danger. When the Prowler captures Miles and tries to keep him out of the fight, Miles has no choice but to fight his way out, resulting in a very tricky boss fight against an enemy who can cloak themselves to hide.
The fight has multiple stages, including avoiding energy blasts and explosives, and players charging their Venom attacks to expose the Tinkerer when he is invisible. The fight goes to show just how skilled Miles and his uncle are at combat and thankfully doesn't ruin their relationship in the end.
Mister Negative - Spider-Man
Martin Li is the villain known as Mister Negative due to his appearance when he is consumed by his powers granted by the Devil's Breath serum. He was advertised as the main story villain in Spider-Man, known as a kind-hearted man who ran the F.E.A.S.T. homeless shelters and was regarded as a saint by the city. When players encounter his true form as Mister Negative, there are several encounters through the game where players face off against him. The final battle, however, is a doozy as, after several rounds of combat, he conjures a massive horned being that does huge area-wide attacks, and sends waves of negative-energy enemies after Spider-Man. The battle is fierce and chaotic and will require players' full attention to survive.
The Tinkerer - Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Miles' childhood friend, Phin Mason, is revealed through the story as the Tinkerer and leader of the Underground, a terrorist group responsible for attacking Roxxon Corporation and creating chaos through the city. Miles attempts to convince her to stop what she's doing, both by working with and against her, and the epic finale of the game sees the two battling atop a crumbling Roxxon building with all hell breaking loose. With her Tinkerer gear and weapons, Phin is insanely powerful and tosses players around with ease with her powerful energy attacks and long-range weapons. There are so many things going on during this battle that players will need to memorize attack patterns, dodge with perfection, and use every bit of power they have with their attacks to even stand a chance.
Doctor Octopus - Spider-Man
In what is possibly one of the most heart-wrenching and emotional final boss battles in gaming, Spider-Man ends with Peter battling his former mentor, Otto Octavius, as he has gone mad with power and rage with his newly constructed metallic arms. Like the Tinkerer battle, this is a fight between friends-turned-enemies and takes place on a rooftop, and requires players utmost attention to survive. Doc Ock's claws do punishing damage, and eventually, along with his claws, he electrifies the rooftop in an attempt to keep players from landing on the ground, resulting in combat from the air being the only option. The final section of the battle is a cinematic fight on the side of the building, as both injured parties fight with intensity to the brutal conclusion.
Hammerhead (both fights) - Spider-Man
Not many players were expecting a boss battle with a cyborg mob boss as the final boss for the story expansions released for Spider-Man, specifically Turf Wars and Silver Lining. Hammerhead is a vicious mob boss who, after arming himself with the Project Olympus suit created by Sable International, becomes an unstoppable killing machine in the Turf Wars finale. He returns as the final boss in Silver Lining, and both battles are exercises in frustration as players are tasked with fighting off waves of goons, avoiding his relentless laser cannon fire and missiles, and doing minimal damage to his armored body. The annoyance at these battles was felt by many players, especially with how unmemorable of a villain he is compared to the rest.