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Spider-Man has one of the largest and most iconic rogues galleries in the superhero genre, rivaled only by DC's Batman, and many of his most famous foes have already made their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland's iteration of Peter Parker faced off against Vulture, Shocker, and Mysterio in his first two films, and Spider-Man: No Way Home introduced him to multiversal variants of Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, and Electro.
A few of Spider-Man's recurring foes have also shown up in unrelated MCU projects, like Kingpin in Hawkeye and Daredevil: Born Again. Lastly, the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to introduce Scorpion and Tombstone, as well as some lesser-known antagonists in the form of Tarantula and Boomerang. Despite this expansive lineup, there are still a few major Spider-Man villains yet to appear in the MCU.
Mister Negative Has Become a Mainstay Spider-Man Villain
The majority of Spider-Man's best-known adversaries originated before the turn of the millennium, but Mister Negative is one of the few modern villains who have cemented themselves as part of the wall-crawler's rogues gallery, due in no small part to his role in Insomniac's Spider-Man video games. Mister Negative, real name Martin Li, is a crime boss with the ability to manipulate the Darkforce and Lightforce, the same energy sources that empower the superhero duo Cloak and Dagger.
This grants Mister Negative a corrupting touch that can invert the personality and morals of his victims, turning even the most upstanding citizens into loyal minions. Likewise, he can purify things that are already evil, though this is a much less common occurrence given his villainous status. Mister Negative was rumored to appear in Brand New Day, though there has been no sign of him in the marketing. Interestingly, Wonder Manintroduced the Darkforce through the character Doorman, possibly setting up Mister Negative's eventual debut.
Hobgoblin Is the Successor to Spider-Man's Nemesis
Green Goblin is the most frequently recurring live-action Spider-Man antagonist, having appeared in Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and No Way Home, but the comics include several other goblin-themed supervillains who have yet to make the jump to the big screen. The most famous among them is Hobgoblin, who repurposed Norman Osborn's technology after his seeming death in The Amazing Spider-Man #122.
Many Marvel characters have taken up Hobgoblin's mantle over the years, the first and best-known being fashion designer Roderick Kingsley, but a brainwashed Ned Leeds also acted as Hobgoblin for a time. In No Way Home, Ned promised Peter that he would not "turn into a supervillain and try to kill" him like Harry Osborn did, which many fans have interpreted as a nod to his comic counterpart's stint as Hobgoblin.
Jackal Created Some of Spider-Man's Most Important Supporting Characters
Though less prevalent than many villains on this list, Dr. Miles Warren, better known as Jackal, has left a major impact on Spider-Man canon. Dr. Warren was once a professor at Empire State University who had a disturbing infatuation with his student, Gwen Stacy. He blamed Spider-Man for Gwen's death, prompting him to become a supervillain to take revenge. Though Jackal debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 from 1974, his true claim to fame began two decades later, as he was the mastermind behind the controversial "Clone Saga" that introduced Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider.
Fans have spotted a Jackal Easter egg in Brand New Day's trailer; among the drinks laid out at Michelle Jones' party was a metal keg labeled "Green Jackal." The concept of Peter being cloned has never been tackled in live action, so it could be a fun storyline to explore in the MCU. However, since there are seemingly no plans to introduce Gwen in this continuity, Jackal's motivations would need to be significantly altered.
Kraven the Hunter's Solo Film Wasted an Intriguing Spider-Man Villain
Sony's Spider-Man spin-off films included several of the web-slinger's classic foes, including Morbius, Rhino, Chameleon, and most importantly, Kraven the Hunter. Sergei "Kraven" Kravinoff debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 from 1964 as a legendary big-game hunter who wanted to test his mettle against Spider-Man. He later served as the primary villain in the "Kraven's Last Hunt" storyline, which is considered one of the greatest Spider-Man arcs of all time.
Kraven almost appeared in the MCU, but not as a Spider-Man antagonist. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler wanted to use him in a sequel, but Sony did not allow this because it could have conflicted with the planned solo film. Though Sony's Kraven the Hunter was a critical and commercial failure, it was not ridiculed to the extent of Morbius or Madame Web, so Marvel could still rehabilitate the character in the public consciousness.
Carnage Is Spider-Man's Deadliest Symbiote Foe
Spider-Man's most recognizable enemy, Venom, has technically appeared in the MCU, as the version of Eddie Brock from Sony's Venom trilogy cameoed in No Way Home's post-credits scene. But that still leaves room for Marvel's second most famous Symbiote, Carnage. Debuting in The Amazing Spider-Man #361 from 1992, the Carnage Symbiote is an offspring of Venom that bonded to serial killer Cletus Kasady. While Eddie eventually evolved into a hero, Cletus has always been an outright villain who revels in chaos and bloodshed.
Carnage appeared in live action as the main antagonist of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, in which he was played by Woody Harrelson. Though Harrelson gave a decent performance, most fans agree that he was miscast as Cletus and that the script poorly represented Carnage. Sadly for fans of the red symbiote, Carnage is unlikely to appear in the MCU any time soon. His existence is predicated on that of Venom, who could only be logically introduced after a Black Suit arc for Peter, which is expected to begin in Avengers: Secret Wars at the earliest. Holland's tenure as Spider-Man may simply not last long enough for a showdown with Carnage to make sense.
