Summary
Spider-Manis without a doubt one of the most popular superheroes in all of Marvel Comics. However, not every character with the power of a spider is as heroic as Peter Parker. Many figures throughout the comic book multiverse have taken on the mantle of Spider-Man, or something close to it, with varying placements on the scale of good to evil.
These eight characters played a significant role in Marvel Comics as some of the most evil Spider-People in the entire multiverse. Whether they interacted with Peter Parker or other significant Spider-People, like Gwen Stacy or Miles Morales, they certainly went about things with more nefarious purposes than even Spider-Man’s greatest nemeses.
8Spider-B*tch
A Deadly Kingpin Impersonator
Ashley Barton first appeared ina 2008 run ofWolverineas a descendent of Earth-807128’s Peter Parker and inherited his strength, agility, and wall-climbing abilities. Like any rebellious teen, Barton decides to use her superpowers for political purposes, killing Kingpin and taking over his territory of Hammer Falls (a.k.a. Las Vegas, Nevada).
Out of all the Spider-People who have appeared in the multiverse, Barton is perhaps one of the more complex anti-heroes. She’s done her fair share of fighting for the good side, as seen in theSpider-Versesaga, but during her reign as Kingpin of the Wastelands, she often shows off her ruthlessness, cruelty, and desire for world domination.
7Zombie Spider-Man
Peter Parker Goes Cannibalistic
On Earth-2149, Peter Parker suffers a worse fate than any of his other variants. At some point following a zombie outbreak, Parker becomes infected by the virus and becomes a mindless bloodthirsty creature, killing Aunt May and Mary Jane Watson in his devastation. Compared to other evil Spider-Men, however, even Zombie Peter Parker is capable of a change of heart.
After feeling guilt for his actions, Zombie Peter eventually betrays his fellow zombies and helps stop the plague for the sake of the multiverse. Despite this, Peter went 40 years as a zombie, which is pretty horrific even by the worst Marvel villains' standards.
6Spidercide
A Frankenstein’s Monster Of A Spider-Man
Spidercide is one of the few antagonistic Spider-People native to Earth-616. This clone was created bySpider-Man’s nemesis, Jackal, believing himself to be the real Peter Parker and targeting his violent tendencies towards M.J. Watson, the real Peter, and Ben Reilly, among others. However, Jackal’s ambitions were for Spidercide’s victim pool to be much larger.
Spidercide then becomes responsible for killing thousands of people by using toxic contagens on the population. Jackal can’t even rein him in, forcing Spidercide to be kept in stasis. Eventually, Spidercide escapes and starts serially killing the women he dates while also getting close to Ben Reilly in disguise. There’s not much positive going for this Spider-clone.
5Spider-X
Keep The Darkhold Closed Next Time
Brian Kornfield was originally a New York City-born fan of Spider-Man before tragedy struck his family and made him spiteful of the friendly neighborhood superhero. Kornfield ended up lucking out on his desires for revenge, as the demon Chthon offered him the powers of a spider throughthe magic of the Darkhold, the book of the damned.
As Spider-X, Kornfield has all of Spider-Man’s powers, taking on a demonic, life-like spider form, and he is even capable of spitting poisonous venom. While his main objective might be to kill Spider-Man, he ends up drawing the ire of Ghost Rider, which is quite more than any supervillain would’ve asked for.
4Charlotte Witter
Madame Web’s Family Gets More Unhinged
Charlotte Witter isthe granddaughter of Madame Web, the clairvoyant who helps Spider-People from across the multiverse. Witter was kidnapped by Dr. Octopus and used as a test subject for experimental genetic testing with spider DNA, turning her into Spider-Woman. However, spiteful of being forced into having powers, Witter takes her aggression out on other Spider-Women.
Several female Spider-People, including Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, and Mattie Franklin, have all come to blows with Witter at different points in their adventures. Her plan to absorb their powers doesn’t necessarily go over well, but her determination to kill Spider-Women rather than overthrow Doctor Octopus, who controlled her, just goes to show how evil she had become.
3Chasm
It’s Not Easy Being Spidey
Ben Reilly is a cloneof Peter Parker created by the Jackal to be used against Spider-Man. Reilly ends up adopting the superhero persona of Scarlet Spider, making amends with Peter and, at some point, taking on the mantle of Spider-Man himself. However, after dying and being revived by Jackal, Reilly becomes much more evil and sadistic, eventually taking on the name “Chasm.”
As Chasm, Reilly’s plans are much more sinister than even the original Jackal’s, as he teams up with the Goblin Queen and Hallows' Eve to unleash hell on Earth. It’s tough to fully dislike Ben Reilly given everything he’s been through, but through all his incarnations, he keeps turning to the dark side, so his fate as Chasm is really his own fault.
2Superior Spider-Man
Peter Parker Gets Stuck In The Sunken Place
While Otto Octavius is more well-known for being the mad scientist known as Doc Ock, the character alsoadopted the mantle of Spider-Manfor a brief time in the comics, with nefarious results. At one point, Octavius possesses the mind of Peter Parker and becomes the Superior Spider-Man, briefly assuming the role of a hero by defeating the Sinister Six.
However, once Octavius discovers that Peter’s consciousness is still alive inside his own brain, he doesn’t relinquish control so easily. He supposedly wipes his mind to get rid of Peter, and for a while, it seems to work, as Octavius leads an army of Spider-People across the multiverse against the Inheritors. That is until his own Spider-People betray him and return the body to Peter.
1Venom
Marvel’s Own Jekyll And Hyde
Perhaps the most notable evil Spider-Man is Venom (a.k.a. Eddie Brock). Originally a reporter, Brock becomes taken over by a symbiote discarded from Spider-Man’s black suit. The symbiote merges with Eddie’s anger to form the unstoppable villain known as Venom, becoming one of Spider-Man’s biggest nemeses and even inadvertentlycreating the being known as Carnage.
While Venom has had his moments of being an anti-hero and even teaming up with Peter Parker in certain scenarios, he’s mostly a ruthless killer compared to the more just Spider-Man. Eddie Brock has tried to part ways with the symbiote to become a proper hero, but unfortunately, the Venom symbiote is a tough power to fully get rid of.
