The Sinister Six established themselves as one of Marvel's most dangerous teams of villains when they debuted in Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Vol. 1) #1. Consisting of Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, and Vulture, the team nearly annihilated teenage Peter Parker in their first outing. Ever since then, they've posed a major threat to Peter and friends whenever they've assembled. Of course, not all team members are equal with regard to power level. Some members carry the team while others are just lucky to be in the company of Marvel's heaviest hitters, so we've decided to rank the members of the Sinister Six in terms of power.

In recent decades, the Sinister Six's roster has changed constantly. Initially, the team consisted of the same core six villains, save one or two differences. But in the past two decades, the Sinister Six has welcomed an assortment of new villains into its ranks, including, Trapster, Iron Spider, Bombshell, Chameleon, Grim Reaper, and Lizard. New leaders have replaced the traditional head of the six, Doctor Octopus, for better or worse. Unfortunately, some villains have tarnished the good name of Doc Ock's team of supervillains. Others, like Iron Spider, were able to assemble teams that would make the good doctor very proud. With so many new members added to the Sinister Six's original formidable roster, the team has never had a richer pool of villains to pick from. But who would the ideal six villains be? Here's our ranking of the Sinister Six's most powerful members.

20 SWARM

Swarm, who is literally a hive mind composed of legions of mutant bees, debuted in Champions (Vol. 1) #14. In the following decades, the B-list baddie toured the Marvel Universe, squaring off against the likes of Spider-Man, Hercules, and Giant-Man. Swarm assembled his own short-lived Sinister Six in Spider-Man and the X-Men (Vol. 1) #4.

The team -- which consisted of Swarm, Delilah, Melter, 8-Ball, Squid, and Killer Shrike -- were quickly defeated by the Jean Grey School's newest class of mutants. As much potential as Swarm has, the monster hasn't done much in its 40-year career, save for tarnish the name of the Sinister Six.

19 VULTURE

vulture-juvenator-young-spiderman

Vulture is a recurring member of the Sinister Six and a member of the first gathering, along with Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Electro, and Sandman. Despite having been around since the early '60s, Vulture has done little to transform himself into a more formidable villain; most of his appearances have been lackluster attempts at canning the wall-crawler.

Aside from a few standout story-arcs here and there (like when he sucked the youth from Peter Parker), Vulture has never been taken all that seriously. It could have something to do with him being an elderly man flying around in a bright green, feathered costume.

18 GRIM REAPER

Grim Reaper watches New York City on fire in Marvel Comics.

Even hardcore Spider fans may be taken aback by this one, but Grim Reaper was indeed a member of a recent iteration of the Sinister Six. Grim Reaper's brief episode among the Doctor Octopus's crew occurred in Civil War (Vol. 1) #2. Grim Reaper and the gang didn't even get a shot at the web-head as they were quickly defeated by Captain America and his newly formed Secret Avengers.

As a villain, Grim Reaper doesn't have much going for him, hence his placing on this list. He carries around a high-tech scythe designed by the Tinkerer, but besides that, he's not exactly the personification of the end.

17 GOG

Gog, one of Spidey's lesser-known rogues, joined the Sinister Six in Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #18-23. Despite only rarely appearing, Gog seems to have a lot going for him as a threat to the web-head. Gog is a monstrous alien that crashlanded in the Savage Land, where he was found and raised by Kraven the Hunter.

Endowed with super strength and trained by Kraven, Gog seemed poised to cause serious trouble for Spider-Man -- but that would never be the case. In their first encounter, Spider-Man teamed-up with the native hero of the Savage Land, Ka-Zar, to hand Gog his defeat. When Gog later joined the six, he didn't have much to contribute.

16 BOMBSHELL

Bombshell originated as an antagonist of Miles Morales and followed the latter into the 616-Marvel Universe following Secret Wars. She was soon contacted by Iron Spider who was throwing together his own Sinister Six to combat Miles with. Bombshell joined the team of mostly new Sinister Six members in Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #234, leaving the younger Spider-Man with his hands full for the next few issues.

Bombshell possesses the ability to generate concussive blasts and to fly, making her a mid-level threat. Recently she's grown even more powerful; before now, she used to require her daughter's company in order to access her abilities.

15 CHAMELEON

Spider-Man-Chameleon

The Chameleon first faced off against Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #1 but didn't appear as a member of the Sinister Six until Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #648. Chameleon and the rest of the six posed as the primary villains in the "Ends of the Earth" storyline, which saw Doctor Octopus planning a catastrophic attack on the entire human population.

Originally, Chameleon was a non-powered master of disguise. However, a later development saw him gain the ability to reform his skin to match that of the person he wanted to disguise himself as. Though Chameleon is far from being Spider-Man's most powerful villain, he's not one to be underestimated.

14 SHOCKER

Herman Schultz, aka Shocker, debuted against the wall-crawler in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #46 and has been holding a grudge against Spider-Man ever since. Like many of the Sinister Six's members, Shocker has had trouble making the jump beyond B-list tier villainy.

Shocker possesses no superpowers and relies solely on his pair of high-tech gauntlets that generate shockwaves in his environment. Shocker joined the Sinister Seven when Hobgoblin was assembling a crew of villains to take on Kaine. Shocker contributed just as much as could be expected of a villain of his caliber, and nothing more. He rejoined the team when Doc Ock reemerged as the leader during Civil War.

13 IRON SPIDER

The first supervillain alias that Aaron Davis went by was Prowler, which he began using in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #1. As Prowler, Davis became the archnemesis of his nephew, Miles Morales. Following the events of Secret Wars (Vol. 2), in which many characters from the Ultimate MU were transferred to the 616-MU, Davis resurfaced as the Iron Spider and organized a new Sinister Six.

Armed with the Iron Spider armor, Davis resumed criminal activities in his new home, before once again being stopped by Miles. By the time Davis' Sinister Six had broken up, it appeared as if Miles had finally convinced him to cease his life of crime.

12 BEETLE

Abner Jenkins, aka the Beetle (and later known as MACH-X), bounced around the Marvel Universe for several decades before joining Hobgoblin's Sinister Six in Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus (Vol. 1) #1. The new team, which actually had seven members, were aimed at taking down Kaine, the clone of Spider-Man who'd been taking drastic measures against Spidey's rogues' gallery.

The beetle was a welcome addition to the team. Despite never amounting to much more than a B-list villain, Beetle's high-tech suit of armor makes him a handful for any hero that steps into his path. He only became more dangerous when he adopted upgraded armor to become MACH-X.

11 SPOT

The Spot MODOK's 11 number 2 cover

After conducting an experiment that aimed at mimicking the abilities of Cloak, Dr. Jonathan Ohn emerged as the villain known as Spot in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #98. Initially, Spot was surprisingly ineffective against Spider-Man and Black Cat.

Despite his useful ability to transport via the spots he can remove from his body, Spot failed to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with. That changed in later appearance, particularly when Spot was enlisted by Iron Spider to join his Sinister Six that targeted Miles Morales. But even now, it seems that Spot hasn't even come close to manifesting the full potential of his powers.

10 LIZARD

The Lizard

Curt Connors first transformed into the monstrous Lizard in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #6 and his life has only continued to head downhill. In the decades that followed, Connors transformed more and more frequently, lost his family, and degenerated into an even more Lizard-like form.

As the years went on and Connors continued to lose out to his feral side, the Lizard came increasingly close to ending Spider-Man once and for all. The Lizard made a very brief appearance as a member of the Sinister Six during Civil War (Vol. 1) #2, before returning as a solo villain in subsequent stories.

9 RHINO

Rhino has grown a lot as a villain since he was introduced in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #41 and by that, we mean he's become much tougher, scarier, and bloodthirsty. Rhino has gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk, took out the high-tech replacement Rhino, and played a key part on Doc Ock's Sinister Six team during the "Ends of the Earth" story arc.

The story's climax saw Rhino put Spider-Man between a rock and a hard place as Spidey had to choose between saving Silver Sable's life and preventing Doc Ock from following through on his global threat. Rhino, who appeared to suffer the same fate as Silver Sable, proved to be a villain to the bitter end.

8 KRAVEN

Spider-Man and Kraven the Hunter in Kraven's Last Hunt

On the surface, Kraven the Hunter may not seem like much of a threat. Kraven is a world-class hunter endowed with superhuman physiology thanks to a potion given to him by Calypso, but considering some of the ultra-powerful threats that Spider-Man has to deal with, he would seem to be no right being more than a second-rate villain.

However, all of that changed during Kraven's Last Hunt, which saw Kraven defeating the wall-crawler, burying him alive, and replacing him. During his short duration as Spider-Man, Kraven experienced overwhelming success. Convinced that he'd proven all that he needed to prove, Kraven returned the role of Spider-Man back to Peter Parker.

7 ELECTRO (FRANCINE FRYE)

The second Electro using her powers in Marvel Comics

Francine Frye became the second Electro in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #17 after she absorbed the original Electro's power, resulting in his demise. Francine immediately established herself as a serious threat after she took out Spider-Man's ally, the Prowler. After her first conflict with Spider-Man, Francine was recruited by Iron Spider to join his new version of the Sinister Six.

The new team plotted to steal a decommissioned S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and sell it for a huge sum of money. The team was a mess from the start. Had they not been plotting against one another in secret, Iron Spider's Sinister Six could've posed a major threat in the MU for years to come.

6 MYSTERIO

Mysterio illusion

Within the past two decades, Mysterio has risen to be a top-level threat in the Marvel Universe. The master of illusions debuted in  Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #13 and later joined the original Sinister Six. Every time Spider-Man met up with Mysterio, he could be sure he was in for mindbending conflict. However, it wasn't until the early 2000s until Mysterio really showed his potential as a villain.

Mysterio manipulated the events of "Guardian Devil", which resulted in the demise of Daredevil's love, Karen Page. In the "Old Man Logan" timeline, Mysterio staged the illusion that led to the ends of most of the X-Men. In recent years, he's invaded the Ultimate MU, replacing that universe's Kingpin.

5 HOBGOBLIN

Hobgoblin ripping Spider-Man's costume in half

Jason Macendale's Hobgoblin appeared along with the second iteration of the Sinister Six in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #334 and went on to become the leader of the team in Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus (Vol. 1) #1. Hobgoblin has since been a recurring member of the team, and, more often than not, the deadliest villain on the squad.

Empowered by the same potion that enhanced Kraven's physiology, as well as the powers given to him by demonic forces, Macendale isn't a villain to be taken lightly. In addition to his physical enhancements, Macendale has access to the Goblin armory, making him a multifaceted lethal threat.

4 SANDMAN

Sandman has been a Sinister Six regular since Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Vol. 1) #1, although his role within the team has gone through some changes. By the time the Sinister Six assembled for the second time, Sandman was having doubts over his career as a villain, resulting in him betraying Doctor Octopus and the rest of the time.

The next time that the six emerged, Sandman led the team in an effort to get revenge on Doc Ock. Whatever Sandman's role with the team is, he's always one of the toughest members. Spider-Man can only hope that Sandman is on the verge of a face turn.

3 VENOM

The Sinister Six received a powerful new member when Sandman recruited Venom to help the team take down their former leader, Doctor Octopus. Rarely the team player, Venom only stuck with the team for a brief time before striking out on his own once more.

Despite only being with the team for such a short time, Venom ranks among one of the Sinister Six's all-time most dangerous members. Alone, Venom is a nightmare to contend with, thanks to the symbiote's superhuman abilities and tricky tentacles. Had Venom been committed to being a team player, it's hard to imagine Spider-Man overcoming the Sinister Six.

2 ELECTRO

Electro using his deadly electrical powers

Maxwell Dillon, aka Electro, has been one of the core members of the Sinister Six since he first joined the team during the early '60s. Since Electro's early days, the master of electricity has only grown in power -- sometimes so much so that he loses control. Electro received his first major upgrade from a criminal mastermind known as Rose and was only defeated after Peter had created a totally insulated Spider-Man suit.

His second major power upgrade came from the Mad Thinker and resulted in the destruction of the Daily Bugle building. In addition to his ever-increasing scope of power, Electro appears to be immortal due to his habit of returning multiple times after near-certain demise.

1 DOCTOR OCTOPUS

Marvel Comics Doctor Octopus Artwork

Throughout the Sinister Six's over 50-year history, Doctor Octopus has often been the leader. In fact, Doc Ock often manipulates the group to do his bidding, predictably resulting in the other five turning on Doc Ock. But Doc Ock always finds a way to bring the gang back together.

This can mainly be attributed to Doc Ock's genius-level intelligence. His intellect, combined with his four adamantium tentacles, makes him one of Spider-Man's trickiest foes to defeat. One of Doc Ock's greatest feats occurred in Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #23 when he held his own against the combined forces of the Fantastic Four, Ghostrider, and the Hulk.