Spider-Man’s Greatest Villain is Doctor Octopus, Not Goblin

As one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes, Spider-Man has one of the greatest rogues’ galleries in all of comics. Because of how strange and varied his group of foes are, it makes it hard to pin down who his greatest enemy is. Though villains such as the Green Goblin or Venom might quickly come to mind, one could argue that Doctor Octopus fits that role better than all the others.

Debuting in The Amazing Spider-Man #3, Doctor Octopus is one of Spiderman’s earliest enemies. In this issue, Spider-Man attempts to stop Doctor Octopus from holding a hospital hostage, only to be beaten and thrown out a window with ease. Spider-Man would defeat the Doctor later in the story by fusing two of his arms together with a chemical compound and using his superior speed to outmaneuver him. After finally knocking him out, Spider-Man notes that Doctor Octopus had been the most dangerous enemy he had faced so far.

Later on, in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, Doctor Octopus would bring together the Sandman, Maestro, Electro, Vulture, and Kraven the Hunter to form the supervillain team the Sinister Six. In this issue, Doctor Octopus would lead these villains in an attempt to exact revenge on Spider-Man for defeating them in the past. Fortunately, Spider-Man was able to beat each of them one-on-one, thwarting their plans. However, the Sinister Six would continue to plague Spider-Man’s existence as they would become a recurring villain team through Marvel’s publication history, most often being led by Doctor Octopus.

However, perhaps the worst thing Doctor Octopus ever did to Spider-Man was when he erased Peter Parker’s consciousness from his body and infected it with his own. This had long-standing ramifications; for forty-five issues, the Amazing Spider-Man comic series was retitled the Superior Spiderman. In the Superior Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus effectively takes over Peter’s life entirely in both his superhero and civilian identities. During this time, Spider-Man’s life would change drastically as he would attempt to improve his life, by all means, even starting Parker Industries, a tech company he founded as cover to create new superhero equipment. After about a year and a half of real-world time, Doctor Octopus would return Peter’s consciousness to his body after realizing that he could never be a better Spider-Man than Peter.

All of these are great examples of how dangerous of a villain Doctor Octopus is in the comics; however, his impact is well known in other Spider-Man media as well. In Sam Rami’s Spider-Man 2, Doctor Octopus was featured as the main antagonist to much critical and commercial acclaim. The Doctor also appeared as the secret main villain of the much-beloved 2018 Spider-Man video game, where he returned as the leader of a new Sinister Six.

Considering this, few villains have been able to make such an impact in comics, video games, and films like Doctor Octopus has. Debuting extremely early in Spider-Man’s initial run, Doctor Octopus was able to establish himself as a bigger threat than other villains due to his intelligence, often becoming their leader. Because of this, Doctor Octopus is not only a fan favorite but also a villain that delivers on the hype on many occasions, making him possibly the greatest villain Spider-Man has ever had.