10 Villains Spider-Man Should’ve Killed

In mainstream Marvel continuity, one aspect of Spider-Man that makes him such an inspirational hero is his no-kill rule. Peter Parker famously declared during Dan Slott’s run, “Whenever I’m around, wherever I am…no one dies.” Despite routinely facing foes that personify pure evil, Spider-Man always finds it within himself to try to rehabilitate his enemies.

However, in many fans’ eyes, there are some villains that have drifted past the point of redemption through their nefarious deeds. Spider-Man will always be worthy of admiration for repeatedly staring into the heart of darkness and choosing to forgive. Still, there are some adversaries that the Web-Slinger should have killed to save himself and others even more trouble.

10 The Lizard Became Irredeemable When He Murdered His Son

The Lizard has always been one of Spider-Man’s more tragic villains. Reader sympathy is frequently elicited through the dichotomy between the brilliant and kind Curt Connors and his alter ego, the bloodthirsty Lizard. As such, Curt Conners/The Lizard holds a unique place as one of Spidey’s greatest allies and deadliest foes.

Nonetheless, pity only goes so far, and fans were pushed to their limit with Zeb Wells’ disturbing storyline, Shed. In this arc, the Lizard became more animalistic than ever, murdering and eating Billy Connors, his own son. The act itself was presented as tragically inevitable, leaving readers questioning why Spider-Man had stayed his hand for so many years.

9 Venom Terrorized Spider-Man and His Loved Ones for Years

Eddie Brock has arguably been redeemed many times over his publication history, but it’s hard to forget how lethal and seemingly irremediable the original iteration of Venom was. As a personification of pure hatred armed with knowledge of Spider-Man’s secret identity, Venom immediately became one of Spidey’s most dangerous and engaging enemies.

From stalking Peter Parker and invading his and Mary Jane’s home to getting dangerously close to Aunt May and beating the Black Cat within an inch of her life, Venom relished in torturing Spider-Man through his loved ones. With everyone who meant anything to him in constant and immediate danger, it’s hard to understand how Spider-Man allowed Venom to continue roaming the streets of New York. While Venom has gone on to become a hero, Spider-Man might have also prevented a lot of drama if he had also taken out the symbiote earlier.

8 The Kingpin Represents an Institutional Evil That Chokes New York

Though not armed with superpowers, the Kingpin’s effect upon the city that Spider-Man inhabits is undeniable. Frequently presented as the head of New York’s criminal underworld, Wilson Fisk is responsible for uncounted misery and an iniquitous, institutional evil with a chokehold on Spidey’s world.

Less nebulously, the Kingpin made things personal with his attempted assassination of Aunt May during Back in Black. This tragic event pushed Peter Parker to his limit, with the hero coming as near to breaking his no-kill rule as he’s ever come. Still, he stayed his hand at the eleventh hour, allowing the Kingpin’s characteristic evil to continue proliferating across the city.

7 Mephisto Destroyed Spider-Man’s World

Despite not typically standing as a Spider-Man villain, Mephisto’s effect on the hero’s continuity is undeniable and wicked. During the infamous One More Day arc, the demonic villain tempted Peter Parker into a Faustian pact—Aunt May’s well-being, in exchange for his marriage to Mary Jane. Though Aunt May’s life was saved, Spider-Man’s life was upended forever.

Taunting the Web-Slinger with visions of the child that he would now never have with Mary Jane, Mephisto demonstrated his diabolical and cruel nature. It’s hard to understand how Spider-Man could let the villain live after causing such untold personal misery, with Mephisto calculatedly removing the light of Spidey’s world from his life.

6 Morlun is Too Dangerous to be Left Alive

The greatest creation to come out of J. Michael Stracynski’s run, Morlun gave Spider-Man the fight of his life when he first surfaced, with the hero even seemingly breaking his no-kill rule during their first encounter, such was the magnitude of the threat that the villain posed.

However, exposing Morlun to a lethal amount of radiation did not prove enough, and the vampiric foe has returned numerous times with the rest of the Inheritors to wreak havoc upon the Spider-Verse. Frustratingly for fans, Spider-Man seems not to have learned from their initial clash that killing Morlun is the only way to keep this villain down.

5 The Jackal’s Obsessive Personality Makes Him Lethal

The Jackal’s twisted fixation upon Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy makes him one of Spider-Man’s most lethal foes, with the villain engaging in numerous reprehensible schemes over the years. From his instrumental role in the Clone Saga to laying waste to New York during Spider-Island, the Jackal has routinely demonstrated he’s too dangerous to be left alive.

Beyond his city-shattering schemes, there is a cruelty at the heart of the Jackal that makes him unforgivable. From his abusive treatment of Kaine to his horrific torturing of Ben Reilly, Miles Warren is a depraved and irredeemable villain whom Spider-Man should have removed from the picture years ago.

4 The Green Goblin’s Twisted Schemes are Unforgivable

From murdering Gwen Stacy and convincing Spider-Man he was a clone to killing Peter Parker’s unborn child in the womb and tricking him into believing Aunt May was dead, the Green Goblin’s schemes have always cut to the very heart of the hero. This leaves readers wondering how Spidey could allow his arch-nemesis to live.

As demonstrated in Dark Avengers and events like Dark Reign and Siege, Norman Osborn threatens the entire Marvel Universe. On a more personal level, his abusive treatment of Peter Parker’s best friend and his own son, Harry Osborn, has frequently been abhorrent. It was even revealed that the Green Goblin struck a deal with Mephisto for financial success in exchange for Harry’s soul.

3 The Sin-Eater is Evil Incarnate

On a twisted mission to purge the world of its “sins,” the Sin-Eater is a dangerously unstable fanatic whose remorseless and murderous actions have frequently left Spider-Man sickened. From slaying Jean DeWolff to countless innocent bystanders, the Sin-Eater has routinely demonstrated a total lack of care for anyone who gets caught in his crossfire.

Even more insidiously, the Sin-Eater wholeheartedly believes he is in the right, making rehabilitation all but impossible. Even so, despite losing his dear friend and countless others, Spider-Man has never been able to bring himself to kill the villain. However, this would assuredly have come to pass during their first encounter were it not for Daredevil’s intervention.

2 Massacre Was a Dangerously Heartless Villain

During an attack on his Wall Street trading company, the man who would become Massacre was injured by shrapnel that fixed to his brain, leaving him wholly devoid of emotion. Without any sense of human connection, Massacre went on to kill indiscriminately, declaring, “…You’re weak. All of you. Because you’re stupid enough to care.”

With no redeeming qualities and no possible hope of redemption or rehabilitation, Massacre is a menace that Spider-Man couldn’t ill afford to be lenient towards. Even so, during their initial clash, he spared the villain’s life, having promised, “No one dies,” in the wake of Marla Jameson’s murder. Otto Octavius didn’t quite have the same feeling when he took over as the Superior Spider-Man and took out Massacre like he thought Peter Parker should have in the first place. However, the villain returned as a clone thanks to the Jackal’s dark machinations.

1 Carnage is the Ultimate Lethal Serial Killer

Cletus Kasady was always an inherently damaged and violent individual, having burned his orphanage to the ground as a young child. However, he became a near-unstoppable killer when he bonded with the Carnage symbiote. Absolutely no one in the Marvel Universe is safe from Carnage’s bloodlust, as demonstrated in city-shattering events such as Maximum Carnage.

Much like the Sin-Eater and Massacre, Carnage acts on a twisted philosophy, perceiving all life as absurd and, as such, inherently meaningless. This makes him both dangerous and incorrigible, and his lack of reverence for human life tests Spider-Man’s self-imposed morality throughout their every encounter.