Spider-Man Villains That Could Never Work on the Big Screen

Spider-Man has given audiences some iconic villains and epic big-screen battles, but there are those among the webhead’s rogues who’d never work in the movies. Adaptations tend to be tricky as writers attempt to retell classic stories in an entirely different medium without having as much time, context, and the benefit of an audience knowing who all of their characters are. As a superhero, Spider-Man encounters numerous challenges from his adversaries, but sharing a screen with them becomes an additional struggle due to convoluted retcons, disturbing backstories, and perplexing creative choices in general.

After becoming one of the most successful superhero movies of all time, Spider-Man spawned multiple sequels, reboots, spinoffs, and a place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Having featured legendary antagonists such as the Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus, to more obscure villains like the Spot, Spider-Man’s movies still provide infinite opportunities for stories as the franchise expands and his legacy continues.

The Thousand Reveals What Happens When Man Bites Spider

The Thousand isn’t the only swarm of sentient bugs in the mythos; a variant known as Spiders-Man is formed from a hive-mind of spiders.

Spider-Man’s origin often showcases a fascinating flashpoint, forcing audiences to ask what would happen if someone else received spider powers. Over the years, everyone from Flash Thompson to Gwen Stacy to J. Jonah Jameson has found themselves with Spider-Man’s great power. However, while there’s plenty of room for these variants within the Spider-Verse, odds are bringing in the Thousand would open up an entire can of radioactive spiders that neither Marvel nor Disney would want to deal with.

While spiders are creepy on their own, Carl King takes it to new disturbing heights. A school bully who harassed Peter Parker, King eats the arachnid that mutated Spider-Man with hopes of gaining superpowers. Becoming a swarm of spiders known as “The Thousand,” he moves from person to person, devouring them from the inside to assume their identities and operate their bodies like puppets. Having done a lot of convoluted and uncomfortable acts to get close to Peter Parker, it’s clear why adapting this sinister swarm wouldn’t work on the big screen.

Judas Traveller, despite his seemingly god-like powers, has been revealed to have almost none.

The “Clone Saga” stands out as one of the most perplexing comic arcs in Marvel’s history. What began as a simple premise soon transformed into a messy melodrama of complicated retcons, character motivations, and half-baked ideas as Marvel attempted to stretch the plot thread as far as it could go. The Clone Saga’s conclusion was more than a tangled web wrapping up as a Gordian Knot that even the most talented storytellers couldn’t unravel. Judas Traveller best exemplified how contrived the Clone Saga became and would probably drive any Spider-Man screenwriter up the wall.

Judas Traveller’s identity remained unknown, even among the many writers behind the “Clone Saga.” Having been retconned and rewritten countless times in his vague pursuit of understanding the origins of evil, no screenplay in the world could make any sense of this character. Besides occasional dissections from comic book critics, this character failed to leave a lasting legacy on the larger Spider-Man franchise and a compelling reason for them to appear in a movie.

A Movie Could Be Hypno-Hustler’s Swan Song

Donald Glover previously played Aaron Davis (aka the Prowler) in Spider-Man: Homecoming and in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Not every Spider-Man character receiving a standalone movie guarantees success. For every fan-favorite film like Venom, there’s also the risk of a box-office bomb with characters like Madame Web, Morbius, or Kraven the Hunter. As Donald Glover attempts to produce this new film for him to star in, it may be time to face the music about Hypno-Hustler as a solo act.

Making his debut in 1978, Hypno-Hustler was a product of his time, and it shows. With a mind-controlling guitar and headphones as his main weakness, how Glover plans to make this character more engaging remains to be seen. However, there’s a reason why Hypno-Hustler tends to appear on lists comprising Spider-Man’s worst villains. As an antagonist, Hypno-Hustler has all the aesthetics of a Studio 54 dancefloor and comes off just as threatening.

Spider-Man Has a White Rabbit That Isn’t Worth Chasing

Spidey Super Stories introduced Funny Bunny, another female villain with a white rabbit motif whose sole motivation revolves around ruining Easter egg hunts.

Some of Spider-Man’s most iconic characters have donned an animal motif. The Lizard, the Rhino, the Scorpion, and the Vulture all make up a colorful rogues gallery. However, when discussing White Rabbit, despite Sony’s questionable choices in making Spider-Man spinoff movies based on villains, it’s unlikely she’ll be hopping down the red carpet.

A rich woman obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and forcefully married off to a much older man doesn’t quite compare to an extensive rogues gallery of aliens, monsters, and mad scientists. Despite having a bit of a cult following among comic enthusiasts, Night of the Lepus already proved that even when wreaking havoc in a monster movie, nobody can take genetically mutated rabbits seriously. Additionally, while cohorts like Panda-Mania may seem enjoyably campy, it’ll leave people questioning why White Rabbit appeared before some of Spider-Man’s more popular villains.

Screwball is best known for her appearance in 2018’s Spider-Man video game.

Just as Hypno-Hustler had all the staying power of a cobweb Marvel forgot to clean out, Screwball also represents a product of the times that created her. While still relevant in an age of social media, it raises the question of what people will think of her as things change, technology evolves, and YouTube trends become outdated.

While many believe there’s a story or even a Deadpool-inspired solo project in Screwball, as a villain, a social media influencer seeking Spider-Man’s attention doesn’t quite compare when you’ve got scientists threatening to turn the world into reptiles. With all the tension of a social media scandal and the charm of a video game sidequest, is there anything that warrants Screwball as a villain beyond a joke or quick cameo?

How a Stegron Movie is Doomed to Extinction

It was at one time theorized Stegosaurus had two brains, but this has been dismissed by paleontologists.

There’s no doubt that dinosaurs make any project instantly more enjoyable, but sometimes, to include them within the narrative, stories will go to extreme lengths to justify them. Although rocking an awesome design and a campy premise, there’s no way Stegron the Dinosaur Man would ever work as the main villain in a Spider-Man movie.

A colleague of Dr. Curt Conners (aka the Lizard), Vincent Stegron, turned himself into a Stegosaurus with a quest for prehistoric superiority on both of his minds. While there was an emotional and engaging story behind Dr. Conner’s transformation for The Amazing Spider-Man, the fact that even the Jurassic Park movies dismissed plots about dinosaur-human hybrids should explain why it makes for a great meme but a terrible Spider-Man film.

The Story of Mindworm Makes for a Dark Tragedy

Mindworm’s death occurred in 2004 when he refused to use his powers to defend himself or hurt his attackers.

While films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 featured some heart-wrenching moments, Marvel might find it challenging to bring the tragedy of Mindworm to the big screen. Spider-Man has tackled more serious topics before, but some stories, like Mindworm’s, may be best left unadapted for cinemas.

Despite possessing fantastic psychic powers allowing him to feed off emotions, Mindworm tackled real-life issues like homelessness and mental health in his narrative. Although comics and movies can effectively explore real-world tragedies, there’s a time and place for such themes. Even in their darkest moments, Spider-Man movies typically maintain a sense of fun and prioritize entertainment. The plight of Mindworm in the comics is distressing, but it may not be suitable for a film where Spider-Man fails to save him.

Spider-Man’s Convoluted Clone Chronicles Could Confuse Audiences

Spider-Man: The Animated Series loosely adapted aspects of the Clone Saga for its finale.

The “Clone Saga” kicked off one of the most ambitious stories in Spider-Man’s history, with Miles Warren (aka Jackal) originating as the driving force behind it. While Marvel desperately tried to build hype and make Jackal as iconic as the Green Goblin, somewhere, they picked the bones of the “Clone Saga” clean, leaving nothing behind but more confusing plot points and a villain that’s very difficult to adapt.

Without going into the complicated history of Jackal, it’s a character whose modus operandi boils down to: “Maximum Clonage.” Whether it’s clones of Spider-Man, clones of himself, or clones of Gwen Stacy, it’s a confusing mess with more twists than the DNA strands he used to make them. Without even addressing the time he gave all of Manhattan spider powers through bed bugs, it’s clear why Jackal wouldn’t work. Moreover, while he’s appeared in animated media, they had an entire series to make sense of Jackal’s plots, so it’s unlikely a movie could do him justice in a fraction of the time.

Mephisto Would be the Spider-Man Movie from Hell

In 2007’s Ghost Rider, Mephistopheles was portrayed by the late Peter Fonda.

As satisfying as it would be for fans of WandaVision to see Mephisto after an entire series of theorizing, few Spider-Man movie writers could make this character work. While not specifically a Spider-Man villain, his involvement in “One More Day” cemented him as one of the worst things to happen to Peter Parker.

Based on the demon Mephistopheles, this diabolical dealmaker had Spider-Man sell his marriage with Mary Jane to save his Aunt May, protect his secret identity, and open up story opportunities for writers. Although not truly the Devil, Mephisto is too close for comfort, complete with a Hellish dimension and terrifying demons that serve him. Besides grappling with the theological implications and themes, his reality-warping abilities have proven troublesome before, creating plot holes big enough to pilot a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier through, as seen with the infamous “One More Day” storyline. Introducing Mephisto would come with a devil to pay and audiences demanding refunds.

The Metropolis Match-up That Will Never Happen

1995’s Spider-Man and Batman had the two titular heroes team up to confront Carnage and the Joker.

Godzilla vs. Kong, Freddy vs. Jason, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man; cinema has given audiences some of the most epic crossovers imaginable. However, there is one fight that comic book enthusiasts will never see on the big screen. As confusing as it is to see an iconic Superman villain on a Spider-Man list, there is a reason, and it leads to one of the most historically significant comics of all time.

The first crossover between Marvel and DC happened in the groundbreaking Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man. Once heralded as “The greatest superhero team-up of all time!” the story had Lex Luthor join forces with the devious Dr. Octopus to convince Spider-Man and Superman to destroy each other (with a few plot contrivances thrown in to level the playing field). Once envisioned as a movie before becoming a comic book, times have unfortunately changed for Spider-Man and Superman. It’s unlikely Metropolis’ greatest mastermind will ever terrorize Spider-Man in theaters. However, the fact that Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man happened at all while still being recognized among the greatest comic books of all time speaks volumes.