13 greatest Spider-Man villains ranked from worst to best

3. Venom

Superheroes often have to face an evil version of themselves. Many movies in the MCU revolve around this concept, but few manage to execute it interestingly. Kaecilius, Yellowjacket, and Justin Hammer are perfect examples of forgettable villains that failed to resonate with audiences. However, this idea could work on the big screen, but maybe Marvel would need to make use of a greater threat that truly goes against everything his respective hero stands for. Any ideas for that?

Venom was created to be the dark version of Spider-Man. He even makes use of a distorted spider symbol on his chest, but instead of saving people like the wall-crawler, he likes to make them suffer and eat them afterward. Venom’s symbiote was bonded to Peter Parker for some time, bringing the worst out of him and making him do things he normally wouldn’t do.

The symbiote represents the worst of Peter, and now it seeks revenge after being ditched by the super-powered teenager. Unfortunately for Spider-Man, the symbiote found a new host in the form of Eddie Brock, a reporter who also hated Peter as well. When they bond, one of the greatest and most terrifying Spider-Man villains is born, and from that point onwards, there is no turning back.

There have been multiple origins for Venom throughout different stories. But whether he’s an alien symbiote bonded to a human, or a suit created to cure cancer, he mostly has the same powers every time. He’s big, strong, agile, and has the ability to shoot webs and climb walls, just like Spider-Man. He has proven to be one of the wall crawler’s biggest threats throughout the years and was even considered a god for some time.

Granted, Venom has been recently depicted as more of an anti-hero rather than a villain, and the Lethal Protector has needed to team up with Spidey on multiple occasions. But that doesn’t take from the fact that he has terrorized Peter Parker and New York, and he’ll probably do so for many years to come.

First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (1984)

Notable appearances:

• Venom (2018)
• Spider-Man: Web of Shadows videogame (2008)
• Separation Anxiety (1994)