13 greatest Spider-Man villains ranked from worst to best
11. Electro
Lightning may not mean much to many of us, but it is more than enough to make Peter’s Spider-Sense tingle. That’s thanks to Electro, a powerful foe who’s capable of controlling electricity, flying, and has superhuman strength. He’s one of Spider-Man’s most popular villains and one of his most recurring problems, without a doubt.
Ever since his creation, Electro has messed with the wall-crawler on multiple occasions. He was one of the founding members of the Sinister Six in comic books and has consistently formed part of the supervillains’ group ever since. His popularity and set of powers allowed him to be one of the main antagonists in movies such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home. As if it wasn’t enough, he has also starred in many video games like Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro and Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4, among others.
Sometimes it just seems that Peter can’t catch a break from him.
However, while Electro is no stranger to facing Spider-Man, he isn’t one of the web slinger’s most formidable villains either. His original suit design gave him the reputation of being a goofy foe, and Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Max Dillon in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 certainly didn’t help. Because of flaws like those, the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book run took a different approach when crafting Electro as a character. His classic costume was dropped in favor of an “edgier” one, and he was positioned as one of Kingpin’s primary enforcers. Nevertheless, that still wasn’t enough to make him shine above other villains such as Doctor Octopus or Venom.
Overall Electro is one of Spider-Man’s most recognizable villains, but he lacks a little bit of punch. While he is worthy of being one of the wall crawler’s most recurring adversaries, others have managed to be more problematic, and that’s okay. Electro can still cause a lot of havoc in the background of many stories.
First appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (1963)
Notable appearances:
- Marck Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
- Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro videogame (2001)
- Ultimate Spider-Man #12 (2001)