Spider-Man has one of Marvel's largest rogue galleries. Somehow and someway, Spidey always manages to defeat them time and time again. In his earlier days, Spider-Man's rogues rarely worked together. That is until Doctor Octopus decided the only way they could beat the Wall-Crawler is by using all their villainous skills together.
Ock's thought was with overwhelming numbers against him Spider-Man would lose, thus the Sinister Six was born. Of course, somehow Peter Parker always wins. Over the years there have been many Sinister Six teams. Here are 5 best who have had that title and the 5 worst.
11 Worst:All-New Sinister Six
When Wolverine died, he asked Spider-Man to continue teaching his classes at the Jean Gray School for Higher Learning. Wolverine felt there was a mole in his ranks. On a field trip, the class encountered this particular Six. The leader of this new Six was Swarm, a creature made out of bees. Spider-Man's teenage team of mutants quickly made work of this sad excuse for a squad. As Swarm was about to fight back, Hellion blasted the bee creature. Seeing their boss defeated, the rest of the Six gave up. Kind of sad that a teenager made a whole team of villains surrender.
10 Worst: Superior Foes of Spider-Man
After Stealing Peter Parker's body, one of the earliest capers Doc Ock stopped was imagined by this Sinister Six. This team was made up of Boomerang, Beetle( Janice Lincoln), Shocker, Overdrive, Speed Demon and lastly the Living Brain. In their first encounter Ock was giving insults so smart it went over most of the Six's head. But the Sinister Six did get away relatively unscathed. Later that same issue Ock found the Six and defeated them. Afterward, the Six escaped custody and had a spin-off series still calling them the Sinister Six even though they only had 5 members. A sad team to be sure.
9 Worst: Spider-Catchers
No, this isn't a meme. It is an actual entry. The Spider-Catchers were originally in the 1960s Spider-Man cartoon series. While not having six members, these foes still proved a challenge for the Web-Head. The team was comprised of Green Goblin, Vulture, and Electro. This team was assembled by an invisible man named Dr. Boddy. Together they defeated Spider-Man and neutralized his powers. Later, for the rematch Spider-Man used ventriloquism to make the foes argue against themselves. This team wasn't able to put aside their petty disagreements and win. Instead, they lost because of their egos.
8 Worst: Sandman's Sinister Six
There was a time in the comics where Sandman quit his life of crime and became an ally to Spidey, taking on the role of an anti-hero. However, after a return to villainy, Sandman wanted to capture the original leader of the original Sinister Six, Doc Ock. To do this he founded a team of his own. Using Venom, Kraven, Mysterio Vulture and Electro they hunted down their former leader. To their surprise they were defeated and Venom went rogue and almost killed everyone. Honestly, there was no real point in this team-up. Perhaps that's the reason they lost?
7 Worst: Iron Spider's Sinister Six
Miles Morales had to fight his own version of the Sinister Six. What made this really hard for Miles is he had to fight his uncle Aaron, a man he loved and respected. Neither man wanted the fight.
Aaron Davis' Six was made up of the Bombshell, Sandman, Electro (Francine), the Spot, and Hobgoblin. They had plans to steal a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. With the Champions arriving, Spider-Man and his team defeated the Six. What makes this team one of the worst is, they were only used once. There hasn't been a powerful group of players like this in the Six for a long time. Also, the emotional turmoil between relatives could've gone on longer and paid out more as well.
6 Best: Original
Of course, the original team is one of the best. It was one of the first times in comics that a single hero stood against impossible odds. This team was comprised of Doc Ock, Vulture, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio and Kraven. What made matters worse for Spidey was that his powers weren't working either. But ever the hero, Spider-Man went to face them. Each foe met Spider-Man in a different location and Spider-Man defeated them all.
5 Best: All Female Sinister Syndicate
After escaping jail and releasing other costumed female villains, Beetle (Janice again) put together her own sinister team of six. Together they achieved their very first mission, kidnapping Boomerang after Mayor Fisk put a bounty on him. In the battle, the women defeated Spider-Man and took Boomerang with them. Later, Spidey returned to save them all. This team was widely successful because even though they had one "leader" everyone had a voice. It was a real team.
4 Best: Renew Your Vows
In Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows we see a slightly older Peter Parker and his family living in a world that is ruled by Regent. Several years before Regent defeated all the heroes and took their powers. After a Spider-Man sighting, Regent released his Six, comprised of Shocker, Doc Ock, Vulture, Kraven, Hobgoblin and Mysterio.
Here we see a dramatic shift. This time around it is the Six on the side of the law and doing their job to bring in Spider-Man. Sadly, Peter was having none of it and his only goal was to protect his daughter. This was great to see because it demonstrated a darker side of the hero and how far he would go.
3 Best: Ends of the Earth
When Doc Ock found out he was dying he started a long-term plan to save the Earth from the Greenhouse effect. Unfortunately, he also risked killing the Earth by speeding up the process. This Six really tested the limits of Spider-Man. Peter Parker recently got his job at Horizon labs and he was able to create technology to counteract the Six. We see Spider-Man take down the team's members in battles almost reminiscent to the original time he fought them. Instead of random warehouses in New York City, Spider-Man literally went around the globe to fight his enemies. This team of six included Sandman, Chameleon, Doc Ock, Mysterio, Electro and Rhino.
2 Best: Ultimate Six
The Ultimate Six was Earth's 1610 version of the Sinister Six. Comprised of Electro, Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Kraven, and Sandman, they blackmailed Spidey into helping them. Their goal was to destroy S.H.E.IL.D and fought with the Ultimates. The only reason Spider-Man sided with them was that he thought his beloved Aunt May was in danger. After getting word that she was fine, Spidey turned on the 5 and helped the authorities arrest them. During the Death of Spider-Man, the Six was reformed and tasked with the job of killing Spider-Man. This team makes the list because they actually succeeded in the original goal for the Sinister Six. They killed Spider-Man.
1 Best: The Sinister 12
In Marvel's base timeline, Earth 616, the Green Goblin has never been a part of the Sinister Six. Until he made his own. Literally grabbing almost all of Spider-Man's foes, the goblin puts together the ultimate force. This team has Scorpion, Vulture, Electro, Shocker, Boomerang, Hammerhead, Tombstone, Chameleon, the Lizard, Hydro-Man and the Goblin himself. Luckily, Spider-Man had some amazing friends around and was able to turn the tide. He defeated the Goblin, saved Mary Jane, and even found out where Aunt May was being kept.