Spider-Man is one of the most iconic comic book characters of all time, boasting an incredibly long history of stories for fans to dive into. With the character having existed since 1962, dozens of writers have provided their own spin on the friendly neighborhood hero. He has also had a massive presence on television, and over the last few decades, Spider-Man has found huge success in video games and on the big screen.
Insomniac’s version of Spider-Man is widely regarded as one of the best takes on the character, with the developer making its love for Peter Parker clear through great writing and fun callbacks. With an excellent performance by Yuri Lowenthal, and the decision to depict the hero in his prime, it is no wonder that fans love the Marvel’s Spider-Man version so much. However, he is far from the only Spidey with a huge fan base, as all three live action versions of the hero are beloved. With each Spidey being so different, it is a lot of fun to compare them, and one quick way to do so is to look at their rogues galleries.
The Villain Count For Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man
While the cheesy tone of the original Spider-Man trilogy is not for everyone, many adore the Sam Raimi-directed films, citing a faithfulness to the 1960s comics, a top-notch soundtrack, and an endless array of memes as key strengths. With the movies getting a lot of love, it is no surprise that Tobey Maguire’s take on Spidey does as well, with nostalgic fans praising him as much as his villains.
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy featured some of the most formidable villains the hero has ever faced, with Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus serving as the antagonists of the first two films. While the much maligned third film struggled due to its overabundance of plot threads and the choice to feature two villains, it did add two villains to Tobey’s count. Both Sandman and Venom were featured in the film, bringing his original villain count to four.
However, Tobey Maguire’s appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home ensured that he also got to fight Andrew Garfield’s villains. This encounter with Electro and Lizard brought his villain count up to six, which is a solid if not spectacular total.
The Villain Count For Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man
A rushed franchise with poor planning and too much of an obsession with building up the Sinister Six, most fans agree that The Amazing Spider-Man films are the weakest live action releases for the wall-crawler. Despite this, Andrew Garfield has gotten a lot of love for his portrayal of Spider-Man, with many loving the actor’s take on the character - particularly his quippiness when wearing the suit. His romance with Gwen Stacy and the comic accuracy when it came to her death scene were also brilliant.
Andrew Garfield has the same villain count to Tobey Maguire pre-No Way Home despite the actor only getting two solo films. In the original Amazing Spider-Man, Garfield’s Peter battled The Lizard. In the second film, his main villains were Electro and Green Goblin, though a mechanized version of Rhino did appear in the final scene. This leaves Garfield’s Spidey with four total villains after his own movies.
However, thanks to No Way Home, that count climbs up to seven - ensuring that he has fought one more supervillain than Tobey Maguire’s Spidey. This is because Tobey’s villains appear in the film, with Sandman, Doc Ock, and Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin all being fresh threats for Andrew.
The Villain Count for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man
Despite being the youngest version of Spidey, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has the most experience with supervillains, which makes since given how many films he has appeared in. While his debut in Captain America: Civil War saw him fighting other superheroes as opposed to supervillains, Spider-Man: Homecoming gave him a chance to fight The Shocker and Vulture. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame boosted the count, as Spidey tussled with Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, and the Mad Titan Thanos.
While an argument could be made to count the Elementals from Spider-Man: Far Way Home, as they were based on comic book villains like Hydro Man, they were ultimately just constructs made by Mysterio. As such, Far From Home only raises the villain count by one. No Way Home is the real game changer, though, as Holland’s Spider-Man takes his villain count from six to eleven. Sandman, Lizard, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Electro are all fresh threats, ensuring that Holland dwarfs his fellow live action Peter Parkers when it comes to villains fought.
The Villain Count For Insomniac’s Spider-Man
While Tom Holland may be king when it comes to live action Spideys, he loses out to the Insomniac Games Spider-Man in terms of villain count. As mentioned above, the version of Spider-Man players control in the PlayStation exclusive game has already had experience as a crime fighter. Through collectibles and easter eggs, players learn that he has already battled Mysterio, The Lizard, and Sandman before the game even takes place. Further, the tie-in book saw him fighting Echo. Through fights that happened outside the first game, he already encountered at least four villains - a number Tobey Maguire’s Spidey needed three movies to reach.
Marvel’s Spider-Man features the Sinister Six prominently, with Mr. Negative, Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, Electro, and Doc Ock all serving as threats throughout the story. Kingpin also serves as the game’s opening boss, and Shocker appears during the narrative, with Taskmaster, Tombstone, and Screwball also appearing in side missions. If that was not enough, players got to face Hammerhead through the City That Never Sleeps DLC. This brings the total villain count to 16, and the adventure is only getting started for Insomniac’s version of Peter.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is confirmed to feature Kraven and Venom, which will bring the total to 18. The anti-hero Wraith has also been teased, which could see the number reach 19, and there is no telling what other threats Insomniac could sneak into the game. Based on the villains that Insomniac’s Spidey has fought prior to Marvel's Spider-Man 2, though, fans know that he has battled at least 16 major foes. This puts him a good bit ahead of Holland’s 11 and far above Maguire and Garfield’s six and seven villain counts. While there are different reasons to love each Spidey, it is impossible to deny that Insomniac’s version has made the most enemies.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is available now on PS4 and PS5.
