Unlike most superheroes, who have a particular villain or villainous group among their adversaries with whom they have come into conflict the most (e.g., the
Joker to
Batman, and
Lex Luthor to
Superman in
DC Comics; or
Doctor Doom to the
Fantastic Four, and the
Brotherhood of Mutants to the
X-Men in
Marvel Comics etc.), Spider-Man is often regarded as having three archenemies, and it can be debated as to which one is the worst: •
Doctor Octopus has been described as Spider-Man's greatest enemy, and the man Peter Parker might have become if he had not been raised with a sense of responsibility. He is infamous for defeating him the first time in battle and for almost marrying Peter's
Aunt May. He is also the core leader of the
Sinister Six, and at one point adopted the "Master Planner" alias. ("
If This Be My Destiny...!") Later depictions revealed him in Peter Parker's body where
he was the titular character for a while, ultimately becoming an antihero; on several occasions, he and Spider-Man have even put their differences aside to become allies. Unlike Doctor Octopus, who only aims to kill Spider-Man, the Goblin also targeted his loved ones and showed no remorse in killing them as long as it caused pain to Spider-Man, therefore making him not only Spider-Man's worst enemy, but also Peter Parker's. His most infamous feat is killing
Spider-Man's girlfriend in what became
one of the most famous Spider-Man stories of all time and helped end the
Silver Age of Comic Books and begin the
Bronze Age of Comic Books. • The
Eddie Brock incarnation of
Venom is often regarded as Spider-Man's deadliest foe, and has been described as an evil mirror version of Spider-Man in many ways. Venom's main goal is usually to ruin Peter Parker's life and mess with his head in any way he can. == In other media ==