Spider-Man has one of the largest cast of ing characters in comics. There's Aunt May, a loved one with no superpowers but a killer apple pie; Mary Jane Watson, a friend who became the love of Peter Parker's life; and Norman Osborn, the father of one of Peter's best friends who would eventually become Spider-Man's main nemesis, the Green Goblin.
With so many characters, it is not surprising that some are more popular than others. While Spider-Man has appeared in countless different comic book series over his existence, he has worked with some allies that fans never liked, and some they actively hated. At the same time, he also has some colorful villains that fans came to love and adore.
Hated: Ben Reilly
One of the most hated Spider-Man storylines in comic book history is the Clone Saga event that occurred in the mid-90s. When it started, the story seemed interesting with clones of deceased characters like Gwen Stacy returning to remind Peter of his past. The problem is that, when the story ended, the changes that resulted displeased longtime fans.
The main change that fans objected to was the Spider-Man everyone thought they knew was a clone; a new character, Ben Reilly, was the one and true Spider-Man. When the real Peter Parker returned, readers realized that Marvel had them following the life of an imposter and many fans took it out on Ben. Reilly eventually became the Scarlet Spider, but many fans never forgave the deception and still dislike him in the present.
Loved: Venom
Venom appeared as a brand-new villain when Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie transistioned Spider-Man back into his original costume for the 300th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. McFarlane said he wanted to create a new villain from the symbiote black suit that Spider-Man wore, and his creation became more popular than even he expected.
Venom ended up hating Spider-Man, but he focuses his murderous impulses largely on the web-slinger. When he wasn't trying to kill Peter Parker, Venom protected innocent people and, on occasion, saved the world. Venom has since become a massive fan favorite and top-selling character in every medium he appears in.
Hated: Teresa Parker
If there is one thing that really turns off comic book fans, it is when someone shows up in an important role but has never existed before in the comics. This happened with Teresa Parker, who was revealed to be Spider-Man's sister that he, and comic fans, never knew existed.
Teresa was a spy working for S.H.I.E.L.D., and even she didn't know that her brother was Spider-Man. Over time, the two developed a decent relationship and she showed back up in 2021 to learn more about her past, but fans never accepted her as a major part of Spider-Man's life.
Loved: Superior Spider-Man
Doctor Octopus was one of Spider-Man's oldest villains. Between Doc Ock and Green Goblin, they threatened Spider-Man more than any of his other enemies. Doc Ock then did the one thing no villain had successfully accomplished: he killed Spider-Man and took over his body.
What resulted was Doctor Octopus becoming the Superior Spider-Man, one of the most powerful versions of the Wall-Crawler. While this could have angered fans to no end, Ock won over readers in his comic book series. His genius intellect and arrogance, mixed with his attempts to do the right thing made his run one of Spider-Man's best in Marvel over the last decade.
Hated: Ghost-Spider
This is a tough one. Fans loved Spider-Gwen when she first appeared in the Marvel Universe. This was a Gwen Stacy from an alternate Earth that became Spider-Gwen when Peter Parker died in her world. She was fun, quirky, and a great new character that broke the fourth wall like Deadpool.
However, something happened when Spider-Gwen moved over to Earth-616. She changed her name to Ghost-Spider and lost a lot of what made her popular when she lived on Earth-65. Fans who loved Spider-Gwen soured when she took on the new persona of Ghost-Spider and the new costume that went along with it. Readers began to fall out of love with Gwen and started to hate her new role as Ghost-Spider.
Loved: Morbius
Morbius first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 and shared much in common with another villain in that book, The Lizard. Both were scientists who accidentally turned themselves into monsters. Both didn't want to be evil but found themselves with little choice in the matter.
However, it didn't take long for fans to show their love for Morbius, and Marvel made him an anti-hero rather than a straight villain. Since his self-titled comic series in the 1990s, Morbius dealt with villains in a violent manner but remained someone who wanted to be better than his vampiric nature. The living vampire became popular enough to warrant his own Morbius movie that is set to premiere in 2021.
Hated: Cassandra Webb
Cassandra Webb was the original Madame Web in Spider-Man comics and introduced the Spider-Totem, which revealed the existence of other spider-heroes in the multiverse. Much of the hatred was directed toward Madame Web, with readers blaming the messenger for the changes to Spider-Man's mythos. It didn't help that Cassandra was never a true help to Spider-Man, with all her advice being cryptic clues that left Spider-Man and the readers confused.
It took fans a long time to buy into the idea of the Spider-Totem, one of Spider-Man's most underrated comic arcs. Marvel soon realized that fans didn't care about Madame Web, and eventually replaced her with the more popular Julia Carpenter, the former Spider-Woman and West Coast Avenger.
Loved: Kraven The Hunter
At one time, Kraven the Hunter was just another Spider-Man villain, no different from Elektro, Sandman, or Mysterio. Spider-Man's rogues gallery is popular with fans, but most don't stand out above any others. Kraven ended up making his mark, and became one of Spider-Man's best comic villains, due to one iconic storyline from the 1980s.
"Kraven's Last Hunt" was a crossover event in Spider-Man comics by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck. In this story, Kraven finally beat Spider-Man and buried him alive. He then assumed the role of Spider-Man before he realized he had nothing left to prove. It made Kraven so popular with fans that they have been begging for his cinematic debut for years.
Hated (But Now Loved): Miles Morales
Miles Morales is one of the most beloved characters in Spider-Man comics today. However, it wasn't always this way. When Miles first appeared, fans rejected him outright. Peter Parker was always Spider-Man for many fans and when Peter died in the Ultimate Universe and Miles replaced him, fans initially hated the move and any character associated with it.
Gradually, fans began to like Miles and his diverse cast of ing characters. His innocence and loyalty won many fans over, reminding them of how Peter used to be. He has since ed the main Spider-Man on Earth-616 and has grown into one of Marvel's best characters. It just took fans some time to accept him.
Loved: Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn was the father of Peter Parker's best friend Harry Osborn. What neither of them knew was that they were also mortal enemies as Spider-Man and Green Goblin. Norman ended up faking his own death so he could torment Spider-Man from afar and become a very popular villain for fans to root against.
When he moved away from the Spider-Man comics and became an antagonist for all of Marvel's heroes during Dark Reign, he became even more well-liked as a universal "Big Bad" like Thanos and Doctor Doom. In 2021, Norman began to experience a change of heart and has tried to atone for his past misdeeds, showing an unexpected new side of the former Spider-Man villain.