Web-slinging superhero Spider-Man is on his third series of movies, and the good news is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony agreed to partner up once more to complete their proposed trilogy of Spider-Man films. The first three came via Sam Raimi, with the first two of these beloved favorites. The next two were from Marc Webb, and while they have fans, they ended early due to critical disdain.
Then, Marvel got Spider-Man back and has had him take part in several MCU movies, including two of his own with one more to go. With seven solo films out there, several of Spider-Man's villains have shown up to challenge him, only to fall in defeat. Here is a look at some of the villains from the Spider-Man movies, ranked weakest to strongest.
Updated on December 20th, 2021, by Shawn S. Lealos: Marvel and Sony just released Spider-Man: No Way Home, the third movie in their trilogy for the Wall-Crawler. This movie did something that fans have been waiting on for years. It brought back Spider-Man's best villains from the past in an ultimate team-up.
These villains came from Sam Raimi's trilogy as well as the two Amazing Spider-Man movies, and it showed a level of danger with these bad guys that even surpassed the original depictions in those movies. With all the bad guys working together, it took everything Spider-Man had to stop them, and even then he couldn't do it alone.
SHOCKER (SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING)
Whether it is in the comic books or the animated series over the years, Shocker has never been more than a B-grade Spider-Man supervillain. He is usually only a threat when it comes to his position in teams like the Sinister Six. In Spider-Man: Homecoming it was the same thing.
The Shocker was only important as a tool for The Vulture. He was so ineffective at even this task that the original Shocker died at the hands of The Vulture — by accident. The replacement was better, but he was still no match for Spider-Man and Shocker was an afterthought by the end.
GREEN GOBIN (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2)
The Sam Raimi trilogy had the perfect Green Goblin stories. It all started with the first movie where Norman Osborn was the Goblin and made Spider-Man's life a living hell. Then, Harry Osborn believed Spider-Man killed his dad and wanted revenge. Finally, by the end of Spider-Man 3, Harry died a hero.
The worst part of the Amazing Spider-Man movies was the treatment of Harry Osborn. This was not Harry from the comics and was a weak original creation for the film. Norman was never the Goblin here, and Harry just looked stupid as Green Goblin. Sure, he killed Gwen Stacy, but he was terrible.
VULTURE (SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING)
Spider-Man Homecoming made this villain a complicated character that fans felt bad for. Sure, this wasn't Black Panther, where a child was left alone by the carelessness of someone else. However, it still showed a family that faced hardships due to the actions of heroes.
The Vulture was a hardworking family man who almost lost everything because Tony Stark had enough money to capitalize on the destruction superheroes left behind. The Vulture then used the alien tech from the first Avengers movie to create some fantastic weapons and became a genuine threat to Spider-Man.
MYSTERIO (SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME)
Mysterio, on his own, was not that powerful. However, he had a lot of things at his disposal to become one of the most dangerous supervillains that Spider-Man ever faced. Mysterio had the brains to create some of the greatest special effects that kept everyone off balance. Plus, he had the Stark tech to help him accomplish his dastardly goals.
When Mysterio had his special effects on full-blast, he had Spider-Man unable to know what was real and what was an illusion. He had weapons and control over drones that Stark tech designed that could kill anyone. Plus, even after death, he was able to reveal to the world Spider-Man's secret identity.
SANDMAN (SPIDER-MAN 3, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME)
Sandman was easily one of the strongest villains that Spider-Man ever faced in the movies, but there is one thing keeping him a step below other villains — he never wanted to hurt anyone. Honestly, it was an edgy Peter Parker who picked the fight with Sandman as he tried to kill him due to the death of Uncle Ben.
However, Sandman never intended for that to happen, and he never wanted to be part of the criminal life he found himself in. He had a daughter he wanted to provide for and an ex-wife who wanted him far away. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sandman just wanted to get back home, and he only fought Spider-Man because he didn't trust anyone else, but brought the least power of the bad guys from the multiverse.
VENOM (SPIDER-MAN 3)
Venom, in his solo movie, would top this list easily. In the comics and the Sony Venomverse, he is one of the most powerful characters in existence. He is just a monster with few equals. However, in Spider-Man 3, it was clear that the movie didn't really have time to care about the villain, and he was used in a manner that was threatening but ultimately unsatisfactory.
Spider-Man 3 showed Peter Parker influenced by the symbiote, who even made him dance down the streets. Eddie Brock was also similar to the comics, losing his job due to his dishonesty but blaming Peter Parker. The villain was very powerful, but it seemed he was a little too easy to beat, even though he did kill Harry Osborn.
ELECTRO (THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME)
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Electro was never someone who wanted to be a bad guy. He was just an average guy with minimal social skills. He was brilliant but was not someone who would have become an evil supervillain in normal circumstances. However, when he accidentally gained control over electricity, things changed.
The police and regular people were scared of him and attacked him. He fought back in self-defense, and that was enough to make him a criminal. When his hero Spider-Man didn't even remember meeting him, Harry Osborn was able to convince Electro to become a real villain, and he was strong enough to really hurt Spider-Man.
By Spider-Man: No Way Home, Electro was more powerful than ever. He had lived in the grid and had gained immense power there. Spider-Man couldn't even get close enough to fight him, showing that Electro was one of the most powerful Spider-Man villains in the movies. He still falls below Doctor Octopus, who was strong enough to stop him.
LIZARD (THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME)
The most powerful villain in the Amazing Spider-Man movies was Lizard. Honestly, in the comics, animated series, and even in The Amazing Spider-Man, Lizard is the most tragic Spider-Man villain of all time. Curt Conner was a strong family man who was missing an arm. He was also a scientific genius.
He developed a serum using Lizard DNA that he believed could heal his arm and be a medical breakthrough that could save thousands of lives. What resulted was a serum that turned him into a rampaging Lizard. He was strong — almost more so than even Spider-Man. It was even tougher because Spider-Man didn't want to hurt Curt, but knew he had to stop the rampaging monster.
The Lizard remained powerful when he arrived in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he seemed to be a little less than what he was before. He was still incredibly strong, but his might and power were not at the level it was when he rampaged in his first appearance, knocking him below the real heavyweights from the multiverse.
DOCTOR OCTOPUS (SPIDER-MAN 2, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME)
Doctor Octopus had a lot of things going for him. For one thing, even including the MCU movies, he appeared in the best Spider-Man film ever made in Spider-Man 2. He was a brilliant man, and that made him very dangerous. When he was involved in the accident that grafted his arms to him and realized he could control them, he became physically strong as well.
Those tentacles could destroy anything, could carry him up a building, and could destroy a fast-moving train. Octopus was also a tragic character, one that started good but then grew evil due to heartbreak. Doctor Octopus was Spider-Man's best villain in the original trilogy.
By the time he returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doc Ock was as powerful as ever, but it was his brains that made him so dangerous. He was able to help fix things and ended up doing more good than evil this time around, and when he helped bring down Electro, he showed his true power as a hero.
GREEN GOBLIN (SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME)
The first Spider-Man movie introduced the film world to Norman Osborn — The Green Goblin. The movie saw Peter Parker becoming close friends with Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborn. Because of this, Peter also became close to Norman, who saw a lot more promise in Peter than he did in his son.
However, Norman was using the venom that gave him the Green Goblin powers, and it was also driving him insane. It was straight out of the comics, with Norman a decent if demanding person who lost control and became one of Spider-Man's most dangerous villains, as the Green Goblin.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Green Goblin proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the most powerful villain in Spidey's world. While Spider-Man was dealing with all the other villains, Green Goblin bided his time. He caused the most tragic moment in the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies and was a threat more powerful than any other that Spider-Man ever had to face.