25 Spider-Man Villains Who Should be in the Marvel Reboot

Considering how many villains already appeared in the five Spider-Man movies released since 2002, a fan would think that Hollywood has covered all the great Spider-Man villains (just think of how many were set up or teased in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for example). With Marvel prepping their new solo Spider-Man movie for 2017, Kevin Feige and friends are eager to give audiences something they haven't seen before, and that means new villains.

Since Spidey has one of the greatest rogues' galleries in all of comics, there are still plenty of quality bad guys who we didn't get to meet in the Sam Raimi or Marc Webb movies. So here is a look at the Spider-Man villains who might share the screen with Tom Holland as we go forward...

25. Stegron, the Dinosaur Man

First appearance: Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #19 (1974)

Created by Len Wein and Gil Kane

With ties to the Lizard, Stegron might be obscure, but he could be an intriguing possibility for a future Spidey film. Who wouldn’t want to see Spider-Man fight dinosaurs? Stegron controls dinosaurs, which if you think about it, might be the most useless power ever. Let’s say Oscorp creates dinosaurs and then creates Stegron. It could happen right? There’s some strange things going on behind Oscorp walls.

Let’s not pretend that Spidey fighting a T-Rex wouldn't make the five year old in all of us hyperventilate with excitement.

24. Videoman

First Appearance: Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, Season 1, Episode 7 (1981)

Yeah, Videoman. To any child of the '80s, Videoman was as integral a part of the world of Spider-Man as the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. Videoman was introduced in the first season of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friendsand he trapped our intrepid heroes in a stand up arcade console.  

Listen, in the '80s, there wasn’t a comic film every two months, or a bunch of TV shows featuring our beloved comic icons. We took what we had, and what we had was Videoman, and we loved him.

23. Man Wolf

First appearance: (as John Jameson) The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963)

Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

Poor John Jameson was sort of wasted in his first and only film appearance in Spider-Man 2. The son of J. Jonah Jameson was cuckolded and left at the altar by Mary Jane and then never heard from again. An American hero and astronaut deserves better, especially one that has a tendency to transform into a werewolf. J.J.J. will probably be reintroduced in the new Marvel Spider-Man movie so it would be a simple matter to introduce his son, a character that Spidey rescued in his very first issue back in 1963.

When Jameson is exposed to the Godstone during a space mission, he was transformed into the Man Wolf. At first, Man Wolf was a fairly typical werewolf, but then he took to the cosmos and found that in space; he could control the wolf and became a galactic champion called Stargod. Yes, he was like Flash Gordon, but a werewolf. Can you say: solo movie?

22. The Prowler

First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #78 (1969)

Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema

When young prodigy Hobie Brown lost his job, he grew disenfranchised with the system and created the Prowler armor to stick it to the man. When Spidey was believed to be part of the death of Captain Stacy, the Prowler decided to bring the wanted wall crawler to justice. 

The Prowler is one of the richest but least talked about latter day Stan Lee characters, and it’s about time such a cool anti-hero has his day. Armored heroes are certainly popular, and since Spidey will be hanging around with Tony Stark in the new movies, maybe it's this guy's time to shine. 

21. Speed Demon

First appearance: (as the Whizzer) Avengers #70 (1969) (as Speed Demon) Amazing Spider-Man #222 (1981)

Created by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema

The Flash is a TV star while Quicksilver has appeared in two, count 'em two, film franchises. As all this proves, everyone loves a speedster and with the comic’s heroic runners present and accounted for across all platforms of media, maybe it’s time fans get to experience a faster than light douchebag like Speed Demon.

Recently, in the pages of The Superior Foes of Spider-Man (and if you’re not reading this title, what’s wrong with you?), the Speed Demon stole a puppy. At super speed. He’s a dick. And if featured in a future Spider-Man film he can be a high profile dick.

20. Swarm

First appearance: Champions #14 (1977)

Created by Bill Mantlo and John Byrne

He’s a Nazi made of bees, what else do you need to know?

Who can forget his signature cry of “SWWWWARRRRMMMM” from his appearance on Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends? Swarm could be an Oscorp experiment gone horribly wrong. I mean really wrong. I mean Nazi made of angry bees wrong. In a cloak.

19. Big Wheel

First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #182 (1978)

Created by Marv Wolfman, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito

Of all the villains that have not yet appeared in a Spider film, none are more worthy… no, I can’t DAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Big Wheel, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, what an ass. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I’d like to buy a vowel HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Look at this schmuck HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ok, moving on...

The real 19. Hydro Man

First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #212 (1981)

Created by Dennis O'Neil and John Romita, Jr.

Seriously, this list could almost be called the top 25 villains created by John Romita Sr and Jr...jeez, what a creative force of nature that family is. Anyway, we got to see Sandman featured in Spider-Man 3, and while that isn’t the best Spidey movie of the bunch, the Sandman scenes were really powerful and visually stunning. If you think about it, Hydro Man has a pretty terrifying power, the ability to drown anyone, anywhere, or sneak into any facility through a faucet or a, eww, toilet.

The comics never really gave Hydro Man his due, but let’s all be honest, the second you saw the water aliens in The Abyssback in the day, you thought of old Hydro Man. And who can forget, Amazing Spider-Man#217 (1981), where Hydro Man and Sandman bonded to form the gigantic Mud Thing, an event so traumatic, it led to Sandman reforming, another seminal Spider event that would make good film fodder.

And think of the Poland Spring endorsement deals!

18. Spider Queen

First Appearance: The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol 2 #15 (2004)

Created by Paul Jenkins and Michael Ryan

Lots of classic villains on this list, but other than Morlun, there’s not a great deal of modern baddies. Well, the Spider Queen is certainly deserving of consideration. The Queen was originally the first female Marine to go into combat in World War II, when she was exposed to radiation from an atomic bomb test; her “insect gene” is activated. She wants to transform the world’s population into arachnid hybrids like her, and was the big bad in Dan Slott’s fantastic Spider-Island event.

17. Jack O’Lantern

First appearance: Machine Man #19 (1981)

Created by Tom DeFalco and Steve Ditko

Another heir to Green Goblin legacy, the villain known as Jack O’Lantern started out as something of a joke. There have been a number of Jacks over the years, and they have gotten more deadly as time has marched on. The original Jack, Jason Macendale took up the legacy of the Hobgoblin, but it’s the newest Jack O’Lantern introduced in the pages of Venom, that has become one of the most horrific new villains in the Marvel Universe.

As a child, this new, unnamed Jack O’Lantern murdered his own parents under orders from the Crime Master and claims to have killed all the former wearers of the Jack O’Lantern suit. Ties to the Goblin legend and ties to Venom (who you just know Marvel will bust out eventually), and a cold blooded psychotic freak, this often overlooked spook show has all the makings of an A-list film villain.

16. Hammerhead

First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #113 (1972)

Created by Gerry Conway and John Romita, Sr.

Spidey’s war with organized crime is on hold while he deals with Oscorp and their future cadre of enhanced killers, but crime is still rampant and the tattooed killer is still out there. Hammerhead is the most Dick Tracy-esque of all Marvel villains, and might be a bit anachronistic for the big screen, or he might be the exact thing future Spidey films need to be different.

How many hi-tech villains can one franchise have? Maybe we need a little old school evil, and this cigar chomping old school yegg fits the bill.

15. Tarantula

First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #134 (1974)

Created by Gerry Conway and Ross Andru

What’s cooler than a mustachioed mercenary with pointy shoes? Pretty much nothing really, am I right?

Tarantula was one of the cooler Spidey villains introduced in the '70s and in the pages of the comics, he sometimes transforms into a Man Spider, and we all know how much Hollywood likes its giant beasties.

C’mon, it’s a dude with a bandana mask and stabby boots, how is that not marketable?

14. The Beetle

First appearance: Strange Tales #123 (1964)

Created by Stan Lee and Carl Burgos

The original Beetle was created by Carl Burgos, the creator of Marvel’s original super-hero the Golden Age Human Torch. That’s some cool stuff right there.

Anyway, the Beetle is a unique visual with his odd extendy fingers, his unique helmet and his funky wings. The original Beetle armor would have a really cool retro vibe if put in the film, or Marvel can go the route of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon by making the Beetle a silent, armored killer.

Whatever way they go, as all Thunderboltfans know, Abner Jenkins becomes more than a one note villain when he turns to the side of the angels while a member of the T-Bolts, and that little added wrinkle could be just the edge the Beetle needs to be a pretty compelling move villain.

13. Shocker

First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #46 (1967)

Created by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr.

No, it’s not true that Stan Lee was originally going to call this guy the Vibrator.

The Shocker (not a much better name when you think about it) has always been kind of a loser; actually he was always kind of more like movie version of Electro than the classic Electro was. With his vibro shock harness and a persecution complex, the Shocker can be dangerous, but he has always been played for laughs after his initial appearances. Spidey moveis can always use more cannon fodder villains, or maybe there is a story there for a villain who has always been second rate.

Marvel’s portrayal of the Shocker in Superior Foes of Spider-Man (there’s that book again, think maybe you should check it out, hmm?), has added some fantastic comedic elements and some depth to a former one note character. And you got to love that costume. A classic Romita design if there ever was one. Maybe if he was called the Vibrator he would have gotten more respect, or at least an interesting licensing deal in the adult toy market...and I don’t mean high end action figures.

12. Sin Eater

First appearance: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107 (1985)

Created by Peter David and Rich Buckler

When Sin Eater arrived on the scene in the early '80s, things got very real for Spider-Man and his world. The Death of Jean Dewolffwas the first major work by legendary writer Peter David and it remains one of the most intense, grounded, and violent Spider-Man stories of all time. Any true Spider-Fan should be giddy with anticipation at the prospects of seeing the Sin Eater on the big screen.

It can be argued that the Sin Eater saga was when Spidey grew up and the saga also started Eddie Brock on his dark path as the photojournalist wrongly accused the wrong man of being the Sin Eater. Any movie focused on Sin Eater would be a departure for the Spidey films, but it would certainly make the new Marvel Spider-Man movie stand out from the crowded superhero pack.

This is a very long list, so forgive us for breaking it up over two pages...