Released in 2018, Spider-Man was a huge hit for Insomniac Games. Not only was it wildly popular but it was also widely considered to be one of the greatest superhero video games ever created. There were plenty of reasons for that, from gameplay to truth to the source material to the great story.
To have such a stellar plot, it needed to give Spider-Man a handful of strong villains to do battle with. He’s a hero with a memorable rogues gallery, so there were some good baddies to choose from. Some stood out in the game more than others and with Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the horizon, now is a good time to look back.
Updated on December 15th, 2020 by Patrick Mocella: With the release of Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the PS4 and PS5, Insomniac Games has shown that their first outing was far from a fluke. Morales’ video game debut in a starring role reached the same instant classic status as its predecessor. Due to the game’s shortened length, however, the amount of villains in the game is greatly reduced from the 2018 GOTY contender. Nearly every villain in Marvel’s Spider-Man is a smashing success but some are definitely better than the others. With 15 villains appearing, we rank all of them from worst to best. It’s worth noting that some of these villains’ status as baddies for Spidey is debatable which contributes to their lower ranking.
15 Screwball
The bane of every gamer’s existence, Screwball is a D-list Spidey villain from the comics who actually has one of the lengthiest side quests in the PS4 game. Screwball tasks Spider-Man with combat and stealth challenges so that she can get more viewers on her live streams. Spidey only agrees to this as he’s under the impression she has hostages.
The whole point of her is to be an annoying nuisance to Spider-Man and while she excels on that front, her threat level is nowhere near anywhere else on this list. Her personality is also grating which leads some gamers to skip her missions entirely.
14 Silver Sable
Far from a classic Spider-Man character, Silver Sable was introduced in the Spider-Man comics in the late 1980s where she would lead her Power Pack group of mercenaries. Her status as a villain has always been a bit muddled to say the least and this continues in Spider-Man PS4.
While she begins as the leader of Norman Osborn’s militarized police force in New York City, she becomes disillusioned with the job thanks to Spider-Man’s efforts in showing her the error of her ways. She didn’t stay a villain for very long but when she was there and she can definitely hold her own in a fight.
13 Black Cat
Yet another female Spider-Man character who’s villain status is muddled, Felicia Hardy a.k.a Black Cat is only teased in the base game as players track down her planted cats only to find a swanky new black costume at the quest’s end. In the DLC however, Hardy’s plans for Spidey are revealed.
Due to their past relationship and Peter Parker being characteristically gullible, Hardy tells Spidey that Hammerhead’s criminal gang will kill her son if she doesn’t help them. The kicker to this is that she toys with Spidey’s head that he could be the father. While she doesn’t cause the death and violence of others on this list, the personal manipulation of Spidey earns her a spot here.
12 Hammerhead
Always one of the more bizarre Spider-Man villains in the Wall-Crawler’s rogues gallery, Hammerhead was simply a thug who, after his skull was fractured, had it replaced with one made of steel. He develops a fascination with the style of 1920s gangsters and adopts a whole new aesthetic to his criminal ways.
In the PS4 version of the game though, Hammerhead is much more of a paint by numbers mob boss. While he may not have the fun mannerisms of his comic counterpart, he is the lead villain of the DLC packs and gives players a hell of a boss fight.
11 Vulture
If this list were talking about the best Spider-Man villains from films, then Adrian Toomes would rank much higher. The Vulture was a highlight of Spider-Man: Homecoming. However, that film is kind of an anomaly. The character has never been all that great.
In the PS4 game, he’s nothing more than someone to round out the Sinister Six. He first showed up in the mission, “Out of the Frying Pan,” and had potential. A fight through the skies using the game’s excellent web-swinging system could’ve been awesome. Instead, he’s so lame he doesn’t even get his own boss battle.
10 Electro
The villain that Vulture shares his boss battle is Electro. Interestingly, the in-game bio for Max Dillon notes that he was the first bad guy who the Spider-Man in this universe fought. Something like that would’ve been great to dive into to make him a better villain.
Alas, Electro just ends up being the other guy to make the Sinister Six a real thing. He gets the edge over Vulture because of the role he plays in freeing the prisoners from The Raft. Together, he and Vulture do end up delivering a pretty strong boss battle as a unit.
9 Shocker
Shocker appears earlier in Spider-Man than a lot of the other entries on this list. He’s part of two key missions, too. The first sees you chase him down through the city in “A Shocking Comeback.” Once that’s over, you face him in “Financial Shock.”
The main issue is that Shocker has never felt like a really threatening bad guy. Combine that with the fact that he was mostly used as a way to hype up the Demons and you’ve got a less than thrilling villain. He felt like the definition of untapped potential but fans still aren’t all that interested in him returning for a sequel even if he did look awesome.
8 Rhino
Rhino proves to be one of the game’s most destructive villains as soon as he escapes The Raft with everyone else in “Out of the Frying Pan.” Along with having his own one on one fight against Spider-Man, he also has more to his motivations than the previous entries.
The armor Rhino wears is something that he can’t take off. So, he only works for Doc Ock to get that removed. It’s not the greatest of motivations but it’s at least more grounded than simple revenge or being a mercenary. He’s pretty dumb, making him relatively easy to beat.
7 Tombstone
Here’s one of the most interesting villains in the game. Unlike most of the other entries here, Tombstone isn’t really part of the game’s main storyline. He does show up in it though, first appearing in “Dinner Date” and working as a henchman for Martin Li.
Instead, Tombstone gets his own series of side missions revolving around him. It’s some of the most fun you’ll have away from the plot and it wraps up after a satisfying fight with someone who is incredibly tough. He takes a hit and keeps coming back, making him a highlight of the game.
6 Kingpin
In most cases, Kingpin would rank much higher. Wilson Fisk is the ultimate villain to crossover between Spider-Man and Daredevil. He’s massive, physically imposing, and is a ruthless crime lord who is something of a mastermind. There’s one major thing holding him back.
Kingpin only appears early on in the game. He’s the focal point of the opening missions and Spider-Man does battle with him. The fight is pretty fun and creative but he’s gone after that. You get a few mentions of how his absence changes New York but that’s it. Maybe he’ll play a part in Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
5 Taskmaster
Along with Tombstone, Taskmaster is someone who sees his part of the game relegated to the world of side missions. The killer for hire arrives suddenly during “What’s In The Box?” That kicks off his run of leaving challenges for the player all throughout the city.
The reason he ranks so low is that some of those challenges can get repetitive. On the other hand, he’s also awesome because his boss fight is spectacular. He can copy your moves, forcing the player to adapt and keep trying new things to beat him. He makes you more creative.
4 Scorpion
Back to those villains who escaped The Raft in “Out of the Frying Pan,” there’s Mac Gargan, better known as the Scorpion. For starters, the game managed to take a costume that can look goofy and ensure that it looked cool and menacing. That’s important.
Unlike the aforementioned Sinister Six members, Scorpion matters in the game. The way that he poisons Spider-Man makes him a credible threat and the trippy adventure the whole experience sends you on is one of the game’s highlights. The whole fight is something to behold.
3 Mister Negative
When the game begins, Martin Li is something of an ally to Peter Parker and his Aunt May. He started the F.E.A.S.T. Foundation and seemed dedicated to helping those in need. That all changes when the mission, “A Day to Remember,” rolls around.
He was revealed as Mister Negative, the leader of the Demons who had been causing chaos all over New York. He’s the driving force behind a lot of the game, has an intriguing backstory, and you must battle him several times throughout the game. It was unexpected but he was fantastic.
2 Norman Osborn
Although he maintains a veneer of a smiling face to the public, Norman Osborn is actually the man responsible for the tragedies in Marvel’s Spider-Man. As the head of OsCorp and the Mayor Of New York City, Osborn’s political and financial power turned the city into a war zone via Silver Sable’s private security force. Not only that, but his practicing of ruthless business tactics was the triggering point for Doc Ock’s descent into madness. Let’s not forget how his reckless experiments caused the creation of Mister Negative.
Osborn is such a blight on Spider-Man’s life even without becoming the Green Goblin that Parker should shudder at what Osborn can become in the sequel. After all, we did see that Osborn is already working on Goblin-esque equipment.
1 Doctor Octopus
What makes Doctor Octopus the game’s best villain is the tragic fall he suffers through. At the start of the story, he’s poor Otto Octavius, a scientist who works alongside Peter Parker. Spider-Man fans knew not to trust him and saw where things were headed.
His bitter attitude towards Norman Osborn and the path his life had taken led him to become the villainous Doctor Octopus. He only becomes the main antagonist in the final act of the game but he is hugely impactful. It’s Ock who orchestrates the Sinister Six, turns the city upside down, and ends up being the final fight for Spidey.
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