Spider-Man has faced nearly every member of his rogues gallery during his cinematic adventures,
but there are still a few villains who have yet to make their silver screen debut.
From killer goblins to monstrous vampires to, uh, swarms of bees, these are a few of those villains.
Kraven the Hunter is by far the most infamous Spider-Man villain to have never featured in
a live-action movie. Otherwise known as Sergei Kravinoff, this obsessive big-game
hunter first appeared all the way back in 1964's Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #15. In this story,
Kraven is hired by his friend Chameleon to bring down Spider-Man. Inevitably,
the hunter quickly becomes the prey, and Spider-Man has Kraven both arrested and
deported. This would mark the beginning of a long and storied criminal career for Sergei Kravinoff,
who has devoted his entire existence to besting Spider-Man once and for all.
Considering Kraven is such a prominent member of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery,
it'll come as no surprise to find that fans have been clamoring for
him to show up on-screen for many years. And he's come pretty close,
too — in 2021, Tom Holland even told Collider that Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts
originally intended the third MCU Spidey movie to feature Kraven as the main antagonist.
And now it seems that Kraven is finally about to step into the spotlight. A solo film
set within Sony's Spider-Man Universe has been on the cards for a while now,
and, in 2021, Deadline reported that Avengers: Age of Ultron star
Aaron Taylor-Johnson had been cast as the notorious hunter himself.
"You didn't see that coming?"
Should all go to plan, Kraven the Hunter will land in theaters on January 13th, 2023.
Goblin villains will be very familiar to fans of the Spider-Man movies. Willem Dafoe made comic
book movie history as Norman Osborn's Green Goblin in the original Spider-Man, while James
Franco played Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's trilogy, taking the mantle of New Goblin in Spider-Man 3.
Similarly, Dane DeHaan played a Goblin-crazed Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
In the comics, however, there are far more Goblins than the Green Goblin, and many more people have
taken the mantle than Norman and Harry Osborn. Perhaps the second most well-known of these is
the villain known as the Hobgoblin. Six people have operated under that name over the years,
but the deadliest of all is Roderick Kingsley. Debuting as the masked villain in 1983's Amazing
Spider-Man Vol. 1 #238, Kingsley is a billionaire fashion designer who enters
the criminal underworld after acquiring and altering Norman Osborn's Goblin formula.
It's probably fair to say that audiences are probably over the Green Goblin by now,
despite Willem Dafoe's dramatic return in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Nevertheless,
the Hobgoblin's movie debut could provide a refreshing twist on a fan-favorite villain.
Otherwise known as the Spot, Johnathon Ohnn first appeared in 1985's Peter Parker, The Spectacular
Spider-Man Vol. 1 #98. A scientist in the employ of Kingpin, Ohnn creates a strange black portal
while attempting to recreate the powers of the vigilante hero, Cloak. It soon becomes clear that
Ohnn has gained the ability to open these portals and traverse physical space via the so-called
"Spotworld." Ohnn subsequently names himself the Spot and embarks upon a criminal career.
The Spot's unique costume and strange abilities make him a more visually arresting villain than
most. Suitably, he's featured in a number of stories beyond the comic book universe,
including Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the 2017 Spider-Man show. It's possible he'll be
popping up on the silver screen sometime soon too, as, according to Murphy's Multiverse, the Spot
could be a "key baddie" in the upcoming animated sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
"This could literally not get any weirder."
Since the comic version of Ohnn is a close ally of Kingpin,
who was the main antagonist in Into the Spider-Verse, it's easy to see how
he might fit into Miles Morales' story — and how the Spot's interdimensional
powers could provide an intriguing slant on the original movie's multiversal antics.
The Inheritors are a team of supervillains
best known for their role in the original Spider-Verse story arc and its follow-up,
Spider-Geddon. Each member of this clan of totem-hunting vampires has dedicated their
life to hunting down Spider-People across the multiverse and consuming their essences.
A number of Inheritors have battled Spider-Man and his other selves, but the two most prominent
are Morlun and Karn. Morlun is arguably the deadliest and scariest member of the Inheritors,
having killed and consumed a whole heap of Spider-People during his so-called
"Great Hunt." Karn, meanwhile, is living in exile during his first appearance. After he hesitated
on a mission to capture the Master Weaver, who controls the all-powerful Web of Life and Destiny,
Karn's mother was struck down and killed. As a result, Karn was exiled until he could prove
his return, a task he attempts to accomplish throughout the first Spider-Verse storyline.
As the main antagonists of the comic book version of Spider-Verse, it seems strange that
the Inheritors had nothing to do with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Still, with two follow-ups
planned for that movie, who knows what the future has in store for these dimension-hopping ghouls?
Silver Sable is one of those Spider-Man characters who can act as an ally or an
enemy of the wallcrawler, depending on what each story requires. Born Silvija Sablinova,
this highly skilled mercenary was introduced in 1985's Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #265,
in which she leads the vigilante team of soldiers known as the Wild Pack.
Although she has collaborated with a number of superheroes over the years,
including Spider-Man, Silver Sable has still played the role of antagonist every now and then.
Although Sablinova has yet to star in a Spider-Man movie,
the character was once destined for the big screen. In 2017, Sony announced that production
had begun on Silver & Black, a feature film following the adventures of Sable and Black Cat,
another morally ambiguous Spider-Man friend and foe. Sadly, the project wasn't destined to last,
and director Gina Prince-Bythewood eventually revealed that Sony were considering offering
the story to Disney+, having previously decided to give each character their own movie project.
A few months later, Prince-Bythewood told Looper that she'd been preoccupied
with her work on the Netflix movie The Old Guard,
but that she was planning to re-engage with the Silver Sable and Black Cat project at some point.
Still, Marvel fans shouldn't expect to see Sable gracing the silver screen in the near future.
The villain known as Mister Negative is a more recent addition to Spider-Man's rogues' gallery,
first hitting the page in 2007's Free Comic Book Day: The Amazing Spider-Man. His true name isn't
known, but the man who became Mister Negative was once a Chinese gangster, captured by the
crime boss Silvermane and forced to undergo an experimental drug procedure. This process gave
him control over the Lightforce and Darkforce, two forms of extra-dimensional energy that
are more commonly wielded by mutants and magic users. The experiment also split the gangster's
mind into two, forming the Martin Li persona, a philanthropist who works with the homeless,
as well as Mister Negative himself, the evil crime lord at the head of the Inner Demons street gang.
Mister Negative has played a prominent role in Spider-Man's stories in recent years,
but one of his most famous occurs in the Marvel's Spider-Man video
game, in which he wages a war against Kingpin and Norman Osborn for control of New York.
"What are you doing to me?"
"Giving you a new perspective."
Obviously, Mister Negative isn't exactly a stalwart of the live-action Spider-Man movies,
but his homeless charity F.E.A.S.T. appears in Spider-Man: No Way Home — so never say never.
Despite being nowhere near as well known as Spider-Man's A-list villains, the Jackal is
actually one of Peter Parker's oldest foes. In 1965, The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #31
introduced readers to Miles Warren, a professor at Empire State University who develops a desperate
infatuation with his student, Gwen Stacy. After Stacy is killed by the Green Goblin,
Warren blames Spider-Man for her death, adopting the Jackal alter-ego in order to get his revenge.
The Jackal's true identity was actually something of a twist in the original comic books.
His villainous persona didn't emerge until 1974's The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #129,
with his true identity revealed a year later, in #148. In subsequent years,
the Jackal has fought Spider-Man on a number of occasions, but his most notable contribution
is the creation of clone copies of Spider-Man, such as Ben Reilly, who eventually became the
Jackal himself. As such, the Jackal has taken on a starring role in some of Spider-Man's most famous
and infamous storylines, including the Clone Saga and Spider-Island.
Here's a pitch for you: An Australian with a knack for hurling boomerangs
dons a goofy costume and turns to a life of crime, joining up with several
supervillain teams in the process. Think you've heard this one before?
Well, this isn't actually the origin of DC's Captain Boomerang — or at least, it's not just
the origin of DC's Captain Boomerang. This is the story of Frederick Myers, a.k.a… Boomerang.
DC's take on a boomerang-wielding criminal preceded Marvel's by six years,
with the latter hitting the scene in 1966's Tales to Astonish Vol. 1 #81. And it's also probably
fair to say that Marvel's Boomerang is far less renowned than his distinguished competitor. Myers
is an ex-professional baseball player, known for his strong pitching arm, who was drafted into the
employ of the Hydra-adjacent group known as the Secret Empire. His new taskmasters outfitted him
with special weapons and conferred upon him the codename "Boomerang," more as a joke than anything
else. After the end of the Empire, Myers decides to become a freelance assassin, and in this role,
he has joined the ranks of pretty much every team of supervillains to have ever existed.
Sadly, considering DC's Captain Boomerang has recently been adapted
into live-action for both Suicide Squad movies,
it doesn't seem likely that Marvel will be trying out their own Boomerang any time soon.
Let's just get one thing clear, here: Yes, this is absolutely a man made of bees.
Better known under the pseudonym "Swarm," Fritz von Meyer was a Nazi scientist who stumbled across
a colony of mutant bees after the end of World War II. Von Meyer attempted and
failed to control these bees, who consumed him alive and absorbed him into their hive mind.
This not only merged their consciousnesses, but also gave him the ability to control them at will.
All of this is explained in Champions Vol. 1 #15,
a story in which Swarm takes on a team of heroes including Angel,
Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Hercules, Iceman, and Dark Star. Since then, however, von Meyer and
his bothersome bees have become a stalwart enemy of Spider-Man. More recently, in Ant-Man Vol. 2,
he has teamed up with Scott Lang to take down the Bug Lords, who are exactly what they sound like.
As you might've guessed, Swarm isn't exactly the most serious comic book villain out there.
Indeed, his latest stories have been a lot of fun, often leaning into the character's arch silliness.
If ever a future Spider-Man movie needed a colorful and amusing secondary antagonist to
stir up trouble on the side, Swarm would be just the horrific mass of bees for the job.
Jackson Weele, a.k.a. Big Wheel, is one of Spider-Man's weirdest foes.
First appearing in 1978's The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #182, Weele is a corrupt businessman
who hires the villainous engineer known as the Tinkerer to create a massive,
deadly monowheel that will help him to defeat his rival, Rocket Racer. Their feud soon brings the
Big Wheel into the path of Spider-Man, sparking a rivalry that would last... well, not very long at
all. Weele actually disappears at the end of the very next issue and has only returned a few times,
mostly as a joke character. He has also dabbled in superheroics every now and again,
and even his more recent acts of mischief have been half-hearted at best.
Big Wheel has yet to turn up in a live-action adaptation of Spider-Man's adventures — which
you probably knew already, because who wouldn't have remembered Andrew Garfield fleeing a huge
wheel in The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Still, it's probably fair to say
that this guy needs to join the MCU ASAP. Cast some highly prestigious A-list actor,
throw him into battle against Peter Parker, and watch those box office numbers soar.
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