Most Redeemable Spider-Man Villains

Villains make or break stories. They test the heroes to their breaking points and push them further beyond what seemed capable. Their bombastic appearances and quirks turn an average story into a wholly memorable one, and a regular character into a legacy.

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Throughout all fiction, there are few superheroes with a rogues gallery as iconic as Spider-Man. Spanning over sixty years, these bad guys haven’t missed a beat and have remained relevant throughout the decades, maintaining their intimidation factor throughout it all. Despite this, there are shimmers through the dark, showing that even the worst of the worst can be brought to the light. The villains here are ranked by their potential for redemption.

8

Shocker

Petty Criminal, Pettier Hero

• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #46 [Vol. 1] (March 1967)

When thinking of the default Spider-Man bad guy, Shocker is one that comes to mind pretty quickly. He’s the go-to foe for a quick chase to set the stage. A background, street-level villain. Someone you’ll see robbing a bank on one page, and behind bars instantly on the next. Being a petty criminal is his nine-to-five, and he seems content with that. He goes out of his way not to harm innocents; he’s truly only in it for the money.

Despite all this, there’s a part of Shocker that truly wants to be a hero; he’s even said so in the past. He’s just so hard-stuck in the criminal world, and for someone like him, it’s hard to crawl out. There’s a world where he could be a full-fledged hero, and that could very well happen in the future, but for now, he remains just another rogue in Spider-Man’s endless gallery.

7

Norman Osborn

The Definition of Evil, Turned Good?

• First Appearance (As Norman Osborn): The Amazing Spider-Man #37 [Vol. 1] (June 1966)
• First Appearance (As Green Goblin): The Amazing Spider-Man #14 [Vol. 1] (July 1964)
• First Appearance (As Gold Goblin): Gold Goblin #1 [Vol. 1] (November 2022)

This one might be hard to believe. After all the heinous actions Norman has done, murdering Gwen Stacy in cold blood, causing a massive army of goblins to invade New York City, everything involving the Dark Avengers, it’s a stretch to say that this man, who seems inherently evil could do any semblance of good in this day and age.

After the Sin-Eater got to Norman and cleansed him of his sins, Norman donned the new persona of Gold Goblin and had a short stint as a hero. As with everything in comics, things were quickly returned to their status quo, but for a brief few months, it truly felt as if Norman could actually make it as a bona fide hero.

6

Rhino

Some Just Need A Friend

• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #41 [Vol. 1] (October 1966)

The Rhino isn’t an inherently bad guy. He’s the king of ending up in the wrong situation at the wrong time, and certainly couldn’t have worse circumstances. Living life stuck in a skin-tight Rhino costume at his size? If the crippling lack of funds wouldn’t drive him to crime, the sweat certainly would.

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All he needs is a heart-to-heart with someone, and for someone to view him as an actual human being. Most of the time, he just wants to live life as a regular person. He’s even helped The Champions out when they were having a tough time with a ban on young superheroes. He’ll do what’s right when put to the test, and that’s the truest sign of a hero.

5

Lizard

A Broken Father

• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #6 [Vol. 1] (November 1963)

Curt Connors is one of the most tragic figures in comics. A doctor who has that drive to advance medical practices, a drive so strong that he resorts to testing on himself, and finally seeing his work pay off, must’ve been a dream come true for him. A dream that quickly formed into a nightmare as he mutated into a gigantic lizard-beast. He’s been through the worst of everything, including eating his own son.

Curt Connors deserves none of that. He’s truly an upstanding man who wants the best for his family. The status quo of comics will bring him back to that tragic base level, but truly, if all the scientists of the Marvel Universe came together to find a permanent cure for Curt, he would be an incredible asset to both Spider-Man and the world. Sadly, his mutating back to a cold-blooded killer is only inevitable.

4

Doctor Octopus

A Superior Hero

• First Appearance (As Doctor Octopus): The Amazing Spider-Man #3 [Vol. 1] (July 1963)
• First Appearance (As Superior Spider-Man): The Amazing Spider-Man #698 [Vol. 1] (November 2012)
• First Appearance (As Superior Octopus): The Amazing Spider-Man #25 [Vol. 4] (May 2017)

Likely the most famous example of a villain-turned-good in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, Doctor Otto Octavius has gone through the most public of redemption arcs. After well and truly killing Peter Parker by switching bodies with him just as Otto was about to die, Otto experienced what it was like to be Spider-Man and the responsibility that comes alongside it.

As the Superior Spider-Man, Otto fought endlessly to make New York as safe as it possibly could be. This, of course, came with plenty of villainous tangents; he certainly wasn’t perfect, but he did his best, and when Peter came back, Otto knew that there could only be one Spider-Man to do the job. This, of course, was reversed plenty of times in the subsequent years, but Otto attempting heroics is now something that he often does, interspersed with his typical villainous shenanigans. It’s better than nothing, and this heroic turn is so iconic, it’s been adapted in multiple animated series.

3

Black Cat

On Again, Off Again.

• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #194 [Vol. 1] (April 1979)

Felicia Hardy is an interesting case. She’s a cat burglar in the truest sense of the word, and that drive is one that always comes back to her time and time again. But with that, it’s obvious that there’s a heroic side to her. Sure, half of the time she plays hero is when she’s trying to cozy up with the wall-crawler, but she’s a genuinely good-hearted individual with a pretty consistent sense of ethics.

Robbery is a game to her, and she has a great time doing it. Even when she quits, she returns to it rather quickly, so any times she takes a spin as a hero isn’t sure to be the longest stint, but she’ll genuinely try, and even if she’s sticking with her painting-stealing ways, she’s not going to hurt an innocent, or leave someone to die. She’s reliably unreliable, but a heroic side always seems to claw its way out.

2

Sandman

Villain, Avenger, Sandcastle

• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #4 [Vol. 1] (September 1963)

Spider-Man 3 gave audiences a peek into Flint Marko’s tragic backstory. With him helping Spider-Man in the end, it’s clear he can be redeemed, but that’s not the only example of Marko being a stand-up guy. Out of all of Spider-Man’s foes, Sandman tends to be on the friendly side and repeatedly turns to help him.

When villains take it too far, Marko isn’t one to stay alongside them, sometimes helping foil their plans. Along with that, he had a short stint as a full-blown hero as a member of the Avengers. Yes, the actual Avengers. Sure, he’ll rob a bank or two, but he’s not a lunatic. He just needs the cash, and when he needs to put in the extra legwork to put those villainous urges to the side, he has, and he will.

1

J. Jonah Jameson

A Hero, Some Just Can’t See It

• First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 [Vol. 1] (March 1963)

J. Jonah Jameson might not be a full-blown villain most of the time, but he’s an undeniable thorn in Peter Parker’s side. Besmirching his good name, tossing accusations left and right, and just being a general nuisance to the wall-crawler, he’s certainly not good news to read on Sunday. In fact, there have been instances of him hiring villains to attack Spider-Man, and he even inadvertently created the Scorpion, one of the web-slinger’s most psychotic foes.

That doesn’t mean he’s all bad all the time, though. He’s a staunch fighter for mutant rights, and he’ll always stand up for his employees, famously exemplified in the original Spider-Man (2002) when he refuses to give up Peter Parker’s name to Green Goblin. There have been versions of J. Jonah Jameson learning of Spider-Man’s true identity, and when he does, he becomes an active ride-or-die, switching his constant hate train to him becoming the biggest hype man in the Marvel Universe. If he can be better, anyone can.

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