Spider-Man easily has one of the larger rogues galleries in all of comics. As one of the more popular pop culture characters, it makes sense that he would come to face so many villains. In fact, Batman is really the only character to rival the Web-Head in terms of enemies.
However, not all of Spider-Man’s villains have been as successful as others. Over the years, Peter Parker has faced just about as many laughable threats as truly menacing ones. Granted, many versions of villains have died and come back, or just as easily passed the torch to a protege.
To honor some of these forgotten villains, here is our list of 10 Spider-Man villains who completely disappeared from the comics.
10 Tarantula
Antonio Rodriquez was the first person to call himself Tarantula. As a terrorist, he was incredibly brutal, though skilled in the art of killing. Eventually, Antonio obtained spider-powers similar to Spider-Man, including superhuman strength and the ability to stick to walls.
Over time though, Antonio would actually die in a hail of gunfire from police, as well as a fall from a building. Since then, a few other people have taken on the title of Tarantula. Antonio, however, would briefly resurface as part of the recent Clone Conspiracy event. Before that though, he hadn’t been seen or heard from in years. Likewise, he has yet to be seen since
9 Molten Man
Mark Raxton has always been a lower-tier villain for Spider-Man to encounter. After his brilliance and arrogance led to a lab accident, Raxton discovered that he had superhuman abilities, including the power to harden and liquefy his skin. In fact, a version of Molten Man appeared in the most recent Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) film, though those who have seen the movie know that the two aren’t quite the same character.
Since his introduction, Molten Man has gradually been seen less and less. In one of his most recent appearances, he doesn’t even do much aside from hire Ghost to infiltrate Parker Industries. With smaller appearances before that as well, it is pretty easy to see how he has practically vanished from the comics.
8 Web-Man
Like other villains on this list, Web-Man has had very few appearances over the years. Unlike some of those villains, however, Web-Man’s appearance wasn’t even canon with the rest of the Spider-Man comics. Way back in the day, a promotional one-off comic saw Dr. Doom use a magic mirror to create a clone of Spider-Man that did his evil bidding.
By the end of the issue, Web-Man is defeated along with Dr. Doom, but the character hasn’t been seen since. For an evil version of Spider-Man, one would think that writers would be a bit more willing to explore the character. Alas, Web-Man has yet to be seen since.
7 Spidercide
For those who are unfamiliar, Spidercide was one of the many clones created by the Jackal during the original 'The Clone Saga' epic. This version of Peter Parker wasn’t the most stable, and also featured a few different abilities. Not only could he stick to walls and the like, but he also had incredible superhuman strength, going far beyond Spider-Man’s own.
Spidercide has had very few comic appearances and has yet to be seen again since the conclusion of 'The Clone Saga.' However, by the end of the story, Spidercide isn’t dead or anything of the sort, meaning that, technically, he is still out there somewhere in the Marvel Universe.
6 Alistaire Smythe
Most people may know Alistaire, or his father, Spencer, as key players in regards to the production of the Spider-Slayers. These dangerous robots have continually haunted Spider-Man’s existence, growing deadlier each time they appear. At the moment, both Spencer and Alistaire are “dead.”
After an altercation with the Superior Spider-Man, Otto Octavius actually killed Alistaire using Peter’s body. Years later, Alistaire has yet to resurface. However, during the Clone Conspiracy event, it was revealed that Alistair and his father were both taken by the Jackal, leaving it up to the future Spidey writers to bring him back once again.
5 Grey Goblin
Gabriel Stacy was the secret identity of the Grey Goblin. During one of the more not-so-popular Spider-Man story arcs, Peter comes to find that Gwen Stacy, his first love, secretly had twins fathered by none other than Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin.
As one of Osborn’s schemes, he manipulated the twins into believing that Peter was their father. Hence, the two set out on a vendetta against Peter. During an encounter on the bridge where Gwen died, Gabriel made the transformation into the Grey Goblin.
4 Menace
Menace is one of the few female Goblin characters within the Spider-Man universe. After dating Harry Osborn, Lilly Hollister stumbles upon a hidden lab with some of the Goblin Formula inside. After she accidentally breaks some of the vials, they come into contact with her skin and she begins to mutate.
Since then, Lilly has gone on to cause several problems for the Wall-Crawler, but she has yet to establish herself as one of the biggest Spider-Man villains. Furthermore, Menace hasn’t been seen since the Axis event in 2014, easily making her one of the more forgettable villains in Spider-Man's gallery.
3 Big Wheel
Big Wheel is certainly one of the more ridiculous comic book villains out there. After a failed attempt to get other villains to do his bidding, Jackson Weele approaches the Tinkerer with his own designs and requests. Hence, Big Wheel was born, now equipped with a large wheel of transportation featuring guns and metal arms.
Big Wheel has never been one of the major Spider-Man villains and is typically treated as a joke. Jackson's vehicle earned a small appearance in the pages of Superior Spider-Man in 2013, but Big Wheel has not appeared in a Spider-Man comic since then. For how lame and non-threatening this villain is, it makes sense that Marvel rarely mentions Big Wheel.
2 Videoman
Videoman is another highly obscure Spider-Man foe. While his true origins are unknown, very little is actually needed as far as his backstory is concerned, as he is mostly a one-off villain.
By the end of their first encounter, Spider-Man actually only survives thanks to the help of his amazing friends. Unfortunately for Videoman, he reverts back to his processor and has been in the same state ever since. Though not even one of the funnier villains, Videoman’s absence from the comics is scarcely noticed.
1 Mindworm
Mindworm is actually a mutant with the ability to drain the mental energy from those near him. Originally born William Turner, Mindworm actually killed his mother due to his lack of control over his abilities.
As one of the more tragic Spider-Man foes, Mindworm would later go on to be greatly taken advantage of by other criminals. Towards the end of his life, Spider-Man actually tried to help Mindworm get back on his feet, but not before he was tragically gunned down by a gang. Mindworm has yet to make a return ever since.