Spider-Man Symbolism: What 10 Famous Villains Really Mean

Spider-Man's villains aren't just generic rogues - they actually represent aspects of his life.

By K.J. Stewart /

Having previously discussed the symbolism behind the most famous villains of both Batman and Superman - DC Comics two most popular characters - it's time to turn to Marvel's most popular superhero. Spider-Man has been around since 1962 and he has amassed one of the most impressive rogues galleries in fiction. Many of his foes are nothing more than people who get in his way and pose an inconvenience to him, but there are some who represent more than just that. In the case of Batman, it was fairly easy to identify what pretty much every villain in his gallery of rogues represented with regards to the Dark Knight's own personality, as he€™s such a complex character and his villains tend to know him more personally than most villains know heroes. With Superman, it was somewhat less obvious, but you can certainly identify exactly what a select few of his enemies symbolise in relation to the Man of Steel himself. The same goes for Spider-Man. It's not as though every member of his rogues gallery represents a particular aspect of the Webbed Wonder's life, but some of them certainly do and that's what we're going to be discussing in this article. Here are ten famous Spider-Man villains and what they really mean...