With 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games began building one of the richest video game interpretations of the Marvel Universe that we've seen to date. The studio nailed the tone of Peter, Miles, and their supporting cast, but it was the care put into the rest of the universe that makes Insomniac's universe stand apart. Yes, the Easter eggs and references to heroes like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Black Panther, and more make this feel like an established universe full of superheroes, but Insomniac took things to the next level with its rogues gallery.
As a longtime Spider-Man and Marvel fan, I've delighted in watching my favorite villains – and those I rarely think of – pop up throughout the multi-game journey. Check out all the villains in Insomniac's Spider-Man universe below, and let us know which ones you got most excited to see appear in the game.
Warning: This list contains spoilers for Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
Kingpin
To kick off the debut entry in Marvel's Spider-Man franchise, we learn the ropes by taking down one of the web-slinger's most iconic adversaries. Wilson Fisk is powerful in two senses: He's obviously physically strong, which is what the boss fight that begins the first Spider-Man game primarily showcases, but as the police are locking him away, he heavily foreshadows that imprisoning him up could very well unleash the rest of the criminals of New York City. "Idiot! I'm the one who kept order in this city! One month! In one month, you'll wish you had me back!" And if much of the rest of this list is any indication, Fisk could very well have been correct.
Doctor Octopus
Spider-Man villains are at their best when they have a personal relationship with Peter Parker and an adversarial relationship with Spider-Man. Doctor Otto Octavius is among the best examples of this. A childhood role model for Peter, Otto hires him to work in his lab. After Oscorp withdraws funding, Otto gets desperate to keep his lab afloat, but not before discovering that Peter is Spider-Man. Octavius becomes spiteful of Norman Osborn. His rage and neural interface lead to him making rash decisions, like releasing several villains from the Raft prison into New York, creating the Sinister Six to take out Osborn. Peter stops him in the climax of the game, sending him to be locked up in the Raft.
Mister Negative
Though Doc Ock is probably the primary antagonist of Marvel's Spider-Man, Martin Li, AKA Mister Negative, is, at worst, a 1B to Octavius's 1A. Li founded FEAST, the homeless shelter that May Parker works at, but with Wilson Fisk behind bars, he made his play to gain control of the city and get revenge on Mayor Norman Osborn. After pulling off a terrorist attack that kills several – including Miles Morales' father – Mister Negative eyes a bigger attack by stealing the Devil's Breath and helping Doc Ock unleash it. In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Li works to make up for his violent past by helping the Spider-Men take on Venom, even as Miles struggles with letting go of his resentment.
Shocker
Herman Schultz was an old adversary from Spider-Man's early days who was sent to the Raft. After being released on parole, Martin Li's minions threaten him to work for them. After his defeat, Shocker was again locked up in the Raft, but was hunted and killed by Kraven in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
Norman Osborn
Perhaps Peter Parker's most iconic enemy, in the first two Spider-Man games, he's far from the center of attention. Still, as the mayor of New York, he's ever-present. He's the motivating factor for Doc Ock's plot in Marvel's Spider-Man, and his persistence in trying to cure his son, Harry, using the Venom symbiote ultimately leads to several major events in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Following the first game's events, Osborn resigned as mayor and continued working towards helping Harry. But at the end of Spider-Man 2, Osborn sees the Spider-Men take down a rampaging Venomized Harry, so he orders his scientists to expedite the production of the G-serum and visits Otto Octavius at the Raft to try and obtain the identities of the two Spider-Men.
Electro
At the start of Marvel's Spider-Man, Max Dillon is imprisoned in the Raft for past crimes. However, midway through the game, Doctor Octopus frees him in an effort to build the Sinister Six to take on Norman Osborn. He teams up with Vulture to take on Spider-Man, and after their defeat, Electro is returned to the Raft, where he stayed until just before the events of Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Kraven the Hunter sought him out as a challenging hunt, but he was ultimately disappointed with the ease with which he was able to defeat and kill Electro in battle.
Vulture
Hindered by an illness caused by his suit, Adrian Toomes is first enticed by Otto Octavius to join the Sinister Six with a promise of a cure. After Doc Ock follows through with his jailbreak, Vulture joins the team. He teams up with Electro to fight Spider-Man together, but they ultimately fall short and are returned to the Raft. In the lead-up to Kraven coming to New York in search of strong prey, he conducts extensive research on Toomes and is intrigued by his intellect. Kraven found Vulture and killed him, taking his wings as a trophy.
Rhino
The brutish Aleksei Sytsevich has fought both Spider-Men in their respective games, serving as the heavy of Doctor Octopus's Sinister Six in Marvel's Spider-Man, as well as the opening battle in Spider-Man: Miles Morales as a hired gun for Roxxon. He's defeated in Marvel's Spider-Man after getting into an argument with Scorpion during their fight with Peter, then again defeated in his fight with Miles after a vulnerability is discovered in his Roxxon-produced suit. He's one target that Kraven mentions wanting to hunt but never gets around to.
Scorpion
The venomous villain Mac Gargan was locked up for myriad crimes prior to the events of Marvel's Spider-Man, but upon being freed by Doctor Octopus, he joined the Sinister Six to help Otto take down both Norman Osborn and Spider-Man. The tail of Scorpion's suit delivers a potent neurotoxin upon attack. After being defeated alongside Rhino in Marvel's Spider-Man, he's returned to the Raft. During a transfer involving Gargan and Martin Li, Kraven attacks the ship in an attempt to free them to be hunted. During his hunt of Scorpion, Kraven poisons Gargan with his own stinger, killing him.
Silver Sable
Hired by Norman Osborn to protect him during Mister Negative's attacks, Silver Sablinova crosses paths with Spider-Man in a few instances over the course of its game and post-launch DLC. Peter clashes with Silver Sable and her forces during the main story, but in the end, she helps Peter in the wake of his encounter with Mister Negative and Doctor Octopus. In The City That Never Sleeps DLC, Sable hunts down Hammerhead but is captured and needs to be rescued by Spider-Man. After Hammerhead is defeated, Sable returns to her home country of Symkaria. Mary Jane Watson travels to Symkaria to cover an ongoing civil war and trains under Silver Sable.
Black Cat
Felicia Hardy is not just a thief but also an ex-girlfriend of Peter's, leading to complicated conversations involving Mary Jane when Black Cat crosses paths with Spider-Man. In Marvel's Spider-Man, she is hired by Hammerhead to steal for him. She also outsmarts Peter, often playing into their past. In The City That Never Sleeps DLC, she tricks Peter into helping her accomplish her mission. In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, she is hunted by Kraven, but she uses Sling Rings she stole from the Sanctum Santorum to warp to Paris to find her girlfriend.
Taskmaster
The notorious mercenary with photographic reflexes makes an appearance as a peripheral enemy in Marvel's Spider-Man. Hired by an unknown client, Taskmaster aims to test Peter Parker's abilities. However, after Spidey completes his test, Taskmaster vanishes.
Tombstone
An old nemesis of Spider-Man, Tombstone is hired by Martin Li in Marvel's Spider-Man. The durable former gangster is defeated at the hands of Spider-Man after he doses him with a serum that allows the typically invulnerable tank to feel pain. In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, he works at a carnival as part of his community service. However, Kraven tries to capture him for a hunt, but Peter and Harry (as Agent Venom) are able to rescue him from captivity before Kraven can kill him.
Hammerhead
The New York crime boss Joseph Martello hires Black Cat to steal data drives that grant access to a bank account, but when Black Cat steals it for herself, Hammerhead pivots to starting an all-out war with the other mobs in the city. He enters a special suit with plans to execute the other bosses, but Spider-Man stops him. Police captain Yuri Watanabe shoots him in the head, but his men revive him using Project Olympus tech. He kidnaps Silver Sable, who is back in town to retrieve the tech he stole from her, but Spider-Man frees her, and the two team up to take him out.
Screwball
Screwball would be little more than an annoyance if the maniacal live-streamer didn't claim to have taken hostages and forced Peter to play along with her games in order to spare them. Once Spidey arrives at the location of the hostage, he's ambushed, and Screwball gets away, saying she had no involvement in the crimes. However, Peter and Miles track her down in The City That Never Sleeps DLC and throw her in prison.
Simon Krieger
One of the primary antagonists of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Simon Krieger will do whatever it takes to propel Roxxon Energy forward. While he appeared to be on the side of the Spider-Men during their early encounter with Rhino, it turns out he was working with Rhino, even giving him a special enhanced suit. Throughout the game, he's trying to fend off Tinkerer, who is fighting the interests of the corporation. Krieger plans to blow up Harlem and build Roxxon City in its place, but Miles and Tinkerer stop him.
Tinkerer
The best villains are always those with the closest ties to the hero, and they don't get much closer than Phin Mason's relationship with Miles Morales. Growing up, the two were extremely close – almost to the point of siblings – but when her actual brother, Rick, dies due to Roxxon, she begins to fight back against the corporation. Because of her ability to create gadgets and tech, she adopted the nickname Tinkerer. She becomes the leader of the Underground, a faction that uses her tech to carry out attacks against Roxxon. In the climax of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, she sacrifices herself to save Miles and Harlem. The Underground disbanded shortly after her death.
Prowler
Speaking of villains who are close to the hero, Aaron Davis is the brother of Mile Morales' fallen father and, therefore, Miles' uncle. Though he's not a full-on villain in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, he is a thief who has taken on jobs from the likes of Wilson Fisk and Simon Krieger. Following the death of his brother, Aaron takes on an honest job in an attempt to turn his life around, but eventually, he returns to the Prowler suit to help Miles in a few missions throughout the game, including in the final sequence to save Harlem. After the game's events, Aaron is arrested and sentenced to two years in prison.
Kraven the Hunter
The main antagonist for much of the game, Sergei Kravinoff is constantly in pursuit of the ultimate challenge. After exhausting the prey in other parts of the globe, Kraven comes to New York because of all the powered individuals within the city. Using his hunting skills, super strength, an army of Hunters, and advanced technology, Kraven hunts down and kills several members of the Sinister Six, including Vulture, Electro, and Shocker. He nearly kills Peter in their encounter; Spider-Man only survives because the Venom symbiote bonds with him to save his life. Though Kraven is primarily on the hunt for Tombstone and Lizard, he ultimately meets his match in Venom, who brutally kills him at the start of the third act.
The Lizard
Curt Connors lost his arm in an encounter with the symbiote in the era before Marvel's Spider-Man, leading him to research limb regeneration. Unfortunately, the serum he developed transformed him into a giant lizard, causing him to rampage through the city. Spider-Man stopped him and injected him with an antidote, which temporarily kept him human. Connors was able to remain human until the events of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 when Kraven and his Hunters forced him to change back into the Lizard to provide Kraven with a worthy opponent. Peter faces off against the Lizard, eventually administering the antidote to him. As a human, Connors tries to give the Spider-Men intel on how to stop Venom later in the story.
Sandman
Because of Flint Marko's ability to take various sand forms, Kraven sought him out as a target during his hunt. Marko had been trying to avoid his past life of crime, but when his daughter goes missing, he falls back into his life as Sandman and attacks the city. The Spider-Men stop him, and Marko is sent to the Raft. In the aftermath, Marko's memories are split into crystals scattered throughout the city, giving Peter and Miles a way to help him keep his daughter safe.
Mysterio
Prior to the events of Marvel's Spider-Man, Quentin Beck was an enemy of Spider-Man. However, he worked to rehabilitate himself and found a company based on immersive VR-style tech. Unfortunately, the technology goes haywire, and Miles must enter the busted portals to stop evil digital versions of Mysterio and rescue trapped civilians. It's later revealed that his business partners were behind the virus that corrupted the technology as a way to frame him.
Venom
The alien symbiote was captured and leveraged during research to try and cure Harry Osborn of his Oshtoran Syndrome, but it does much more than that. The symbiote grants Harry various powers, making him nearly as capable as his friend Peter in fights. When Kraven stabs Peter, the symbiote bonds with him to save his life. Peter enjoys using the newfound powers granted to him by the symbiote, but it becomes obvious that it's corrupting his emotions, leading him to a brutal fight with Miles. Peter finally removes the symbiote, but it bonds with Harry once again and becomes more aggressive. Together, they become Venom, a violent alien creature who attacks the city, killing Kraven, and spreading the symbiote influence throughout New York.
Thousands of New Yorkers are forcibly bonded with symbiotes, but the Spider-Men are able to stop Venom, thanks in large part to Peter's past bonding with the symbiote and Mister Negative's assistance to become Anti-Venom. Miles and Peter occupy Venom while Mary Jane destroys the meteorite that amplifies their influence. Following the fight and destruction of the meteorite, they're able to remove the symbiote from Harry, but Harry is badly injured, leading Norman Osborn to develop a crusade against the Spider-Men.
Scream
Following Harry's re-bonding with the Venom symbiote, Mary Jane jumps in harm's way to protect Peter and, as a result, is forcibly bonded with a symbiote, an offshoot specimen known as Scream. This violent creature brawls with Spider-Man, but Peter is able to free Mary Jane from the alien creature's control by weakening its hold using high-frequency sounds.
The Flame
One of the most prominent side-quest lines in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 involves tracking a cult known as the Followers of the Flame. This fanatical group uses fire to accomplish its goals and roast its enemies. They follow the instruction of their leader, known as The Flame. Throughout the questline, Peter and Yuri (now a ruthless vigilante known as Wraith) attempt to thwart the Followers of the Flame and find their leader. Near the end of the side-quest story, The Flame reveals that he planned to obtain a secret second symbiote that was in the possession of Oscorp. Though Spider-Man and Wraith are there, The Flame, AKA Cletus Kasady, gets away with the symbiote, heavily hinting that we will get Carnage either through DLC or the next Spider-Man sequel.
Which villains are your favorites in Insomniac's Marvel Universe? Which villains do you hope show up in future games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
Source: Game Informer
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