First Spider-Man Villains to Win in Marvel Comics

The Amazing Spider-Man almost always emerges victorious against supervillains. From the grotesque Green Goblin to the vehement Venom, Spider-Man has made a career of defeating any enemy that is unfortunate enough to cross him -- most of the time.

Even Spider-Man doesn't have a perfect record in Marvel Comics. In fact, the early years of his superhero career were fraught with failure, as multiple supervillains defeated him in incredibly creative ways. In the long run, considering Spidey's still ongoing superheroics, these victories didn't last long. But some Spider-Man villains can still brag about their short-lived victories over the wall-crawler.

10 The Burglar

The first villain that Spider-Man ever fought was also the first to truly beat him. In Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek, Spider-Man's first appearance in Marvel Comics, the fledgling superhero tracks down and apprehends a burglar with a tragic connection to his past.

Although Spider-Man was successful in capturing the burglar, he was by no means victorious. This man had murdered his Uncle Ben and, even worse, could have been stopped if not for Spider-Man's own selfishness. Lost and broken, Spider-Man's first true endeavor as a superhero ended in complete defeat.

9 Doctor Octopus

In The Amazing Spider-Man #11 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Sam Rosen, the villainous Doctor Octopus returns with an axe to grind against his wall-crawling nemesis. In this issue, the supervillain aims to free a dangerous gangster and kill Spider-Man in the process.

While Octavius doesn't successfully kill Spider-Man, he does accomplish his goal and escapes in the end. This marked one of the few times that a villain was able to evade capture by Spider-Man, leading the hero to pursue the antagonist in the following issue. Thankfully for the city of New York, Spider-Man was eventually able to apprehend Octavius before he caused too much chaos.

8 Mysterio

Mysterio and Spider-Man go toe-to-toe in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Artie Simek. In this issue, Mysterio finds a way to disable Spider-Man's spider-sense, leaving the hero unable to discern the difference between the villain's illusions and real life.

Although Spider-Man is eventually able to defeat Mysterio before the end of the issue, there is no denying that his victory was hard-won. The hero came to blows with Mysterio on multiple occasions throughout the story and was handily defeated each time. It was only by a narrow margin that Spider-Man was eventually able to stop Mysterio -- but not before his reputation was permanently damaged in the process.

7 Ringmaster

The Ringmaster and his circus of villains caused untold havoc on the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #16 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Sam Rosen. The supervillain managed to hypnotize Spider-Man early in the issue before sending him to battle the vigilante known as Daredevil.

Without needing to lift a finger, Ringmaster managed to put Spider-Man entirely under his control, using him as a pawn in his villainous schemes. Unfortunately for the villain, Daredevil was eventually able to break Spider-Man's hypnosis. In the final pages of the issue, Spider-Man teamed up with Daredevil to bring down the Ringmaster and his circus.

6 The Green Goblin

The Amazing Spider-Man #17 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Sam Rosen marks one of the earliest encounters between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. With his Aunt May on death's door in the hospital, Spider-Man finds himself distracted while going against the Green Goblin, eventually forcing the hero to run away from the fight.

From the Goblin's perspective, he had proven to be so terrifying that Spider-Man had actually retreated in the middle of the fight. This gave the villain the confidence boost that he needed to continue his mischief around the city. As Marvel fans know, the Green Goblin only got better over the years following this incident, eventually becoming Spider-Man's arch-nemesis.

5 Sandman

With Aunt May still in the hospital and evidently nearing death, Spider-Man has no time to fight the Sandman in The Amazing Spider-Man #18. In this story by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Sam Rosen, Spider-Man is forced to run away from Sandman in order to reach Aunt May, having done the same thing earlier while fighting the Green Goblin.

Having run away from two consecutive fights, Spider-Man began to be perceived as a coward by the people of New York -- and his enemies. Believing himself to be far more powerful than Spider-Man, Sandman began to go on a rampage that would force the hero to step in once more in the following issue -- this time without running away.

4 The Vulture

The Amazing Spider-Man #48 introduced a new Vulture, Blackie Drogo, as a younger, more dangerous foe. In a story by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., and Sam Rosen, the second Vulture attacks Spider-Man while the hero is in the middle of fighting an awful cold.

Already weakened by his sickness, Spider-Man is barely able to fend off the Vulture's attacks. Pushing through the pain, Spider-Man bites off more than he can chew and is left handily defeated by this new enemy. Thankfully, Spider-Man is able to pull himself together in the following issue, finally defeating the Vulture once more.

3 Kingpin

Spider-Man is one of Kingpin's several arch-enemies in Marvel Comics. One of the pair's earliest fights came in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #60 by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., Don Heck, Mike Esposito, and Sam Rosen. In this issue, the Kingpin actually defeats his wall-crawling nemesis for the very first -- and certainly not the last -- time.

In a story appropriately titled, "O, Bitter Victory," Wilson Fisk manages to brainwash police captain George Stacy into helping him defeat Spider-Man. Distracted with trying to save his hypnotized friend, Spider-Man is unprepared to take on Kingpin's men and is eventually knocked out. It would take several more issues for Spider-Man to clean up Kingpin's mess, leaving the villain handily successful in his machinations for far longer than anyone would have liked.

2 Silvermane

The Amazing Spider-Man #73 by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., John Buscema, Jim Mooney, and Sam Rosen introduced a brand-new supervillain in Silvio Manfredi, a.k.a. Silvermane. Working through his henchman, the physically imposing Man Mountain Marko, Silvermane defeats Spider-Man and manages to craft a new robotic body for himself.

Silvermane's debut seemed to imply that he would be a much more integral villain in future Spider-Man stories. However, this would prove to be one of the very few victories that he would be able to achieve over the wall-crawler before ultimately slinking into obscurity.

1 Morbius The Living Vampire

Morbius the Living Vampire made a memorable debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 by Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Frank Giacoia, and Artie Simek. Upon their first meeting, Morbius utterly destroys Spider-Man in a fight, leaving the hero wounded and unconscious.

This defeat was almost quite disastrous for Spider-Man, as the vampire was only moments away from feasting upon his blood when the Lizard intervened, wanting to kill the hero himself. This buys Spider-Man just enough time to regain his senses before fighting both villains at once, eventually emerging victorious -- if only barely.