Of all Marvel’s properties, Spider-Man is the only hero with an A-list rogues gallery. Sure, the Fantastic Four have Doom and Galactus, yet for every world destroying mega villain they have six Paiboks, six Psycho-Mans, characters so obscure and uninteresting even Calendar-Man ignores their phone-calls. This is why the likes of Doctor Octopus, Kingpin, and Carnage get passed around to other heroes like their murderous canapes, spicing up what would otherwise be the most tedious party in the multiverse.
Not every Spidey villain is so well loved, however. This is why, rather than talk about how great Electro is or why everybody loves Hobgoblin, creating a list that would inevitable top-off with either Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, we’ve decided to discuss the step-children of web-haters, those characters who, despite being great in their own right, get told to sit quietly in a corner while the favourite child sings their rendition of Incy-Wincy-Spider for the four time that day.
Some of these guys you’ll know, others you may not. All of them, one way or another, get a lot less praise than they deserve, so here, in no particular order, is our shout out to the six most underappreciated Spider-Man villains around:
6. Mysterio
Ah Mysterio, they just don’t get you do they? Well don’t worry my love, you’ll find the attention you deserve with us. This special effects expert has no real powers, instead using his expertise in illusion and manipulation to cause havok for Spider-Man and his allies. He may look quite abstract, but since his first appearance in 1964 (his creators definitely weren’t on drugs when they designed him definitely) he’s proven himself a real threat in the Marvel universe, with perhaps one of his better known moments being his contribution to the psychological breakdown of Daredevil and partial responsibility for the death of the blind lawyer’s girlfriend.
While he’s never appeared on the big screen, Mysterio did have a great segment of the prestigious Spider-Man 2 videogame focused on him and a fair few appearances in the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon. Hopefully we’ll soon see him in the re-rebooted Spidey films, or perhaps even the Daredevil Netflix series, yet given his tendency to be under-implemented we’re not going to hold our breath.
5. Spot
If you haven’t heard of Spot, he’s basically a bank robbing version of Chell from the Portal videogames. By using small black worm-holes, Spot can travel instantaneously from one point to another, an ideal skill when trying to make a quick getaway and a killer problem when it comes to keeping him locked-away. The ’80s villain isn’t unique in the universe, with Blink from X-Men having near identical powers, yet the ability of this faceless Dalmation-skinned man to emerge unannounced from darkness gives him a scary bogey-man feel. Spot isn’t the sort of villain whose going to drive a tank down your street and blow your front door open, he’s the type who will teleport under your bed and get you when your sleeping.
Well, as far as I know that particular story ark hasn’t happened, but it could, and that’s the point. Perhaps it’s because he shares powers with others, or maybe it’s down to his skin being reminiscent of a lovable pooch, but whatever the reason, Spot is painfully under-used.
4. Vulture
An elderly genius desperate to regain youth and beauty, The Vulture has many similarities to classical character Dr. Faustus. After his business partner destroys their company, a desire for revenge combined with the feeling of having wasted his life consumes the character, causing him to take to crime using a special flight suit he created (that also gives him superhuman strength because reasons). He has the air of a classical villain and a significant amount of untapped potential, as more often than not he’s used simply as a mustache-twirler with about as much depth as a Saharan puddle.
Hey, we didn’t say it was just the fans who under-appreciate these characters, it’s quite often the writers too.
3. White Rabbit
Okay, so this one is kinda the wildcard of our list. Created in 1983, The White Rabbit is a female villain who, like DC’s Mad Hatter, was inspired by Lewis Carroll‘s Alice in Wonderland. While Hatter was re-imagined by the Arkham games a few years ago as an obsessive stalker and serial killer, The White Rabbit has kept her eccentric silliness, using a giant robotic rabbit and an lethal carrot shooting umbrella to assist in her life of crime.
I know how it sounds. By all accounts she’s a ridiculous character, yet there’s something refreshing about a villain so clearly absurdest, without any ‘dark’ or ‘gritty’ edges turning her from ridiculous to merely stupid and boring. She’s honest about what she is and doesn’t try to be taken seriously which, in our minds, makes her more worthwhile than a moody bloke dressed as a big scorpion.
2. Hydroman
¶Hydro, hydro maaaaaan (Hydro man yeaaaah), I gotta be, a hydro man!¶
*Cough* eh, yeah… sorry about that, don’t know what came over me. But anyway, this lovely entry is Hydroman, the Spider-Man villain made from, and able to control, water. At first glance he seems relatively cliché, a general revenge-fueled bad guy using elemental abilities to cause problems for the hero he perceives to have slighted him (Hydroman came about his powers after a Spidey caused accident). However, the character isn’t as wet as you might think (pun intended).
H2O Bloke is invincible due to his superpowers, with the best a hero can do being to evaporate him and even then his return is inevitable after a few rains. This provides a horror element to his hunting of Spider-Man, as it makes him not only vastly overpowered compared to our friendly neighborhood hero, but also pretty much unstoppable. He is, at his foundation, a pretty scary character, and what better to construct a villain from than fear? Sadly he’s constantly overlooked and doesn’t even enter most people’s heads when they think of the S-Man’s antagonists, making him one of the most deserving entries on our list.
1. Chameleon
Chameleon, the man so white he makes the cast of The Avengers look positively African. This Bond-esque villain has been re-imagined a bunch of times, but the constants are his whiter than white face (his skin or a mask depending on the incarnation) and his ability to disguise himself as anybody he wants. This makes him intimidating because he could be anyone, anywhere. This has been used to trick Spider-Man many times, such as when he pretended to be a kidnapped Aunt May in order to lure our hero into a trap laid by the Sinister Six.
The best part about this is it means he’s unpredictable, able to strike from anywhere at a moment’s notice. Often bad-guys telegraph their moves weeks in advance, making this a rare gift for the character to possess. Unfortunately a result of him constantly pretending to be other people is that it’s hard to humanise him, making it difficult for readers to connect. Plus he’s undermined somewhat by the Joker, everybody’s favourite lunatic, possessing similar disguise abilities, causing Chameleon to be overshadowed in comparison. But let’s not despair: after all, C-Boy doesn’t exactly want everybody looking at him anyway.
So that’s it, that’s our list. Hopefully Marvel will see it and remember these characters exist so there start using them more, yet for now we must weep tears of sorrow for our ignore brothers (and sister). What do you guys think, did we miss anybody you think deserves a spot? Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!