5 Forgotten Spider-Man Villains That Should Return

Spider-Man is a superhero who has one of the best rogues galleries in all comics. For over sixty years, the character has protected the people of New York from everyday crime, but his recurring villains always seem to make an appearance. With Spider-Man also being adapted into many other mediums, lots of these villains also follow. That means the movies, TV shows, and video games all get to portray a new version of Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Mysterio, or Rhino.

However, Spider-Man’s rogues gallery is large, and some characters have been forgotten over the years. Some of these characters made an impression on fans in one iconic appearance or were a big part of the hero’s legacy before being dropped altogether. Either way, there are several Spider-Man villains that fans would love to see again.

1. Doppelganger

A Violent Version Of Spider-Man

• Created by: Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Ron Lim
• Last Major Appearance: Carnage (2010)

The villain, Doppelganger, is a character whose name describes exactly what they are. This villain originally appeared in the Infinity War comic series alongside other evil duplicates of other heroes, and he is basically just a feral version of Spider-Man with violent, animalistic tendencies. Luckily, this character was able to live beyond this story arc and was later adapted into the Maximum Carnage story as one of Spider-Man’s rogues.

The character lay dormant after his 1993 appearance and was finally brought back in the 2010 comic series Carnage. That was the last time that Doppelganger ever had any relevance, and he seems to have been entirely forgotten by the people at Marvel. However, a villainous Spider-Man could pose a real problem for Peter Parker, so this villain should be a go-to option for any writer looking to make the hero’s public perception even more complicated.

2. Molten Man

A Villain Who Has Some Ties In The MCU

• Created by: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko
• Last Major Appearance: Spectacular Spider-Man S2, Ep11 (2009)

The early days of Spider-Man comics often chose to highlight the hero’s scientific mind. As such, many of his villains were part of this community. For example, the villainous Mark Raxton was once an Oscorp scientist who was involved in an accident that saw his body get covered in an alloy that let him control heat and fire as the rogue known as Molten Man. The character’s first few appearances in the 60s showed him being defeated by Spider-Man using science to nullify his powers, but Raxton is rarely seen much in modern stories.

The Spider-Man comics are filled with all sorts of treacherous villains, but not all of them have been given the live-action treatment.

The villain’s last major appearance in the comics was in a cameo role in Civil War, and he did receive a spotlight in the Spectacular Spider-Man animated show. However, the writers of the MCU Spider-Man movies have danced around this character, as Peter’s love interest in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Liz Allen, is Molten Man’s stepsister. Plus, one of the elemental creatures in Far From Home looked similar to this Spider-Man foe but was not confirmed as Mark Raxton. Still, no matter how much the writers dance around Molten Man, he is still mostly forgotten by this point.

3. Alistair Smythe

Once A Big Foe In The Animated Universe Is Now Barely A Footnote In The Comics

• Created by: Louise Simonson, Mary Wilshire
• Last Major Appearance: Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy (2017)

One of the objectives of the developers behind an animated show is making a lot of the characters viable for being sold as toys, and Alistair Smythe filled this role perfectly in the 90s animated Spider-Man series. He first acted as a scientist who created an army of spider-slaying robots, before being transformed into a cyborg with lazer canons. No doubt, anyone who watched this show when it aired remembers the villain, Alistair Smythe.

However, this once major Spider-Man foe has not seen much of the limelight in recent years. The character did appear in the first Amazing Spider-Man game, and he was played by B. J Novak in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 from 2014 in a bit part that may have developed into something further. However, Smythe rarely shows up at all anymore, and he hasn’t even been part of a comic story since 2017.

4. Kangaroo

An Aussie With Powerful Legs

• Created by: Stan Lee, Jim Mooney, John Romita Snr, John Buscema
• Last Major Appearance: Hunted Prelude (2019)

Spider-Man has a long list of villains based on animals. Almost everyone is aware of characters like Lizard, Rhino, Scorpion, and Doctor Octopus, but there aren’t many fans who remember Kangaroo. This character debuted in the 70s as Frank Oliver, an Australian man who studied Kangaroos. However, he also developed the ability to jump and kick like a kangaroo when he ate some of their meat. Naturally, the character chose to use these powers to commit crime in New York, where he met and was defeated by Spider-Man.

5. Thief With A Gimmick

• Created by: Len Wein, Ross Andru
• Last Major Appearance: Spider-Man S3, Ep 5 (1996)

The comic industry is one that tasks its creators with bringing out new stories in a fast-paced environment so that new issues can hit store shelves each month. It is only this pressure to come up with new ideas in a short timeframe that can explain the existence of Rocket Racer. In the comics, this is a villain who appeared in Spider-Man as a young criminal who rides a skateboard when committing a robbery. Sometimes, the character gets to fly a futuristic hoverboard instead, but that is all that separates Rocket Racer from other nameless goons in Spider-Man comics.

The villain was soon forgotten in comics by the turn of the millennium, but the character did receive a spotlight in an episode of the 90s Spider-Man show with a much deeper backstory. However, that is all Spider-Man fans are likely to remember about Rocket Racer, and it is unlikely that this bland villain will ever be used in any media again.