Who Is the Most Popular Spider-Man Villain?
One of the best Rogues galleries in the history of American superhero comics (aside from Batman’s of course) is that of Marvel’s Spider-Man. Marvel’s undoubtedly most popular character has fought a plethora of various villains, from humans (Black Cat, Kingpin) to alien symbiotes (Venom, Carnage), and everything you can imagine in between. Seeing how popular Spider-Man is, we have ventured on a search for his most popular villain and this is what we have concluded.
Now, no official poll that would solve this debate has been conducted recently, so we used some less reliable, but indicative methods thanks to our good friends at Zavvi. The numbers we have and the results we have gotten are based on a combined total of Instagram hashtags (I) and online search volume (V). This is, of course, not definitive, but it is very indicative as to the overall popularity of Spider-Man’s enemies. So, what were the results?
| # | Villain | Hashtags (I) | Search Volume (V) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carnage | 12,398 | 74,000 | 86,398 |
| 2 | Black Cat | 15,137 | 55,000 | 70,137 |
| 3 | Venom | 7,670 | 35,000 | 42,670 |
| 4 | Morbius | 496 | 39,000 | 39,496 |
| 5 | Mysterio | 469 | 23,000 | 23,469 |
| 6 | Kingpin | 304 | 20,000 | 20,304 |
| 7 | Vulture | 289 | 14,000 | 14,289 |
| 8 | Rhino | 407 | 12,000 | 12,407 |
| 9 | Sandman | 173 | 12,000 | 12,173 |
| 10 | Prowler | 45 | 11,000 | 11,045 |
And the numbers are in, with the top ten being as we have listed them in the table above. Carnage, who has only recently debuted in live-action form, is the top Spider-Man villain at this moment, with Felicia Hardy, a.k.a., the Black Cat, coming in second place. Marvel’s other popular symbiote, Venom, came in third, with Morbius, whose solo feature is expected to premiere… well, at one point… coming in fourth. The top five ends with Mysterio, who played a major role in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Now, the top five list (save for Black Cat) includes characters that have recently appeared in Spider-Man movies or whose popularity is peaking due to them being scheduled to appear in these movies. This is why we said that the results were actually more indicative than reliable, but they’re a good insight into how the characters’ MCU connections impact their online popularity.
This trend could change as new or other characters start trending, so we might see more familiar faces, like the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus, in the top ten sooner rather than later, but this is how things stand at the moment. Be that as it may, Spider-Man will certainly remain a popular brand for Marvel and his rogues gallery, regardless of each individual rogue’s popularity, will still remain as one of the best in the business.
Spider-Man is now a major player for both Sony’s fictional universe and the MCU so we’re looking forward to his new cinematic adventures, as well as the new comic-book stories. If you’re a Spider-Man fan, we know a good place where you can find some great Spider-Man merchandise, so don’t hesitate to follow our link in order to get the best products out there.
