Spider-Man Week: Ranking The Best Spider-Men

For being the ultimate loner for decades, Peter Parker sure has turned into a surrogate father and uncle figure. As it is right now, his immediate “family” including another Spider-Man, Spider-Boy, Spider-Girl, Silk, Ghost-Spider and Spider-Woman, and that’s just those he interacts with on a regular basis.

But beyond that, he also has spawned numerous duplicates and alternates. So with rumors flying that Spider-Man: Brand New Day may introduce one or two of them, we decided to rank the various Spider-Men. (Note: We didn’t include any of the women, because frankly, they’d probably crowd out almost all the other Spiders, but maybe we should rank them another day. And with one exception, no alternate Peter Parkers either.)

10. Spider-Man India

Pavitr Prabhakar is Spider-Man India. The character was developed by Marvel in conjunction with Indian creators in 2004, then promptly forgotten for a decade. Then forgotten again for another decade.

Pavitr is ranked so low because he really was mostly “Spider-Man but from Mumbai” until the Spider-Verse event fleshed him out more, and Across the Spider-Verse transformed him into a more fully realized character with a distinct visual hook.

9. Superior Spider-Man

Doctor Otto Octavius is perhaps Peter Parker’s greatest adversary. He’s one of the greatest supervillains in the Marvel Universe, in fact. And at one point, he exacted his revenge in a way that only he could. He took over Peter Parker’s life, body and soul as the Superior Spider-Man.

And you know what? He didn’t do half bad. Ultimately what led to his downfall was his own ego and hubris, but before that consumed him, he did a pretty decent job as Spider-Man. The weight of his past combined with his inability to accept that there could be something greater than him ultimately led to his downfall, but in the meantime, he was a pretty decent Spidey.

8. Spider-Punk

Hobie Brown is the Prowler on Earth-616, but on Earth-138, he’s the Anarchic Spider-Punk! Hobie made his debut during the Spider-Verse crossover as a Spidey with an interesting visual, but since then he’s grown into one of the more interesting Spider-Men out there.

His stories have had a distinct “fight the power” bent, and showed a glimpse into what punk really is. It’s made him one of the coolest Spider-Men yet.

7. Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly)

Ben Reilly offered Marvel Comics an interesting in-continuity “What If…?” What would Peter Parker be like if his entire support structure was yanked out from underneath him in his college years? This led to a slightly more hardened, yet still heroic Spider-Man who become a powerful force alongside his “brother.”

Unfortunately, Marvel overcompensated for the Clone Saga’s strong sales by dragging it out, making Ben take up the mantle of Spider-Man, then when that turned out to be unpopular, killing him. Where they had an opportunity for a Spidey who was unattached and building a new life for himself, they instead cut it off, and haven’t been able to find a solid direction for him since.

6. Scarlet Spider (Kaine)

Kaine Parker instead asked a different question. What if a killer was given a second chance? After getting a second chance at life, Kaine’s renewed sense of morality drove him down a path to redemption. It turned into one of the more successful Spider-Man spin-offs of the late 2000’s, and showed us a darker, more anti-heroic Spider-Man who still had the deep sense of nobility and responsibility. 

He would just beat the hell out of you to get there.

5.  Spider-Man Noir

The one part of the short-lived Marvel Noir universe that’s survived (unsurprisingly considering it’s usually a Spider-Man), Peter Parker of Earth-17154 was already a cool private-eye style Spider-Man with a fantastic visual and lots of panache. Then he was played by Nic Cage in Into the Spider-Verse and its follow-up Spider-Noir, and, well, how much cooler can you be than Nic Cage?

On top of that, he’s shown how versatile Peter Parker can be, no matter the setting. And when he’s punchin’ Nazis and drinking egg creams.

4. Peter Porker, Spider-Ham

Peter Porker was a mild-mannered spider who was bitten by a radioactive pig. Yep. That wasn’t a weird joke in the movie. That’s actually his origin.

Though he started as a funny-book version of Spider-Man, he’s evolved into the engine for Marvel to poke fun at itself, and for mind bending humor stories. On top of that, he’s just a damn good Spider-Man, busting bad guys two to three times his size right along his human allies.

3. Spider-Man 2099

Miguel O’Hara was a mild mannered scientist working for Alchemax. Actually, no, he was a smart-ass, an agitator and worst of all, a whistleblower, exactly what the mega-corp didn’t need. So the company arranged an “accident.” However, instead of killing him, it combined Miguel’s DNA with a spider, giving him proportional strength and agility, as well as the ability to shoot webbing from spinnerets on the back of his wrists talons that could grip any surface.

He became the Spider-Man of 2099, defender of the average citizen from the evils of the megacorps. He became the ultimate defender of Nueva York, and eventually became one of the Spider-Verse’s greatest heroes.

2. Peter Parker

The original, Peter Parker is one of the greatest heroes in comics. He inspired numerous kids to reach upwards, and spawned the phrase ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ He defended New York from villains ranging from street thugs to world-ending monsters. And he lived, loved and grew up along many of us.

So why is he in the #2 spot? Well, for the last twenty years, the character has rested in a place of arrested development, unable to continue the growth and progression that defined him. Even worse, under the current editorial group, he became the universe’s ultimate punching bag, a role that he simply does not deserve.

One day he’ll get back to the top spot. He’s just not there right now.

1. Miles Morales

If any hero today embodies the ideals of the title, Miles Morales is the greatest Spider-Man. Beyond being a smart and talented hero, we’ve seen him persevere past the worst the universe could give him.

His uncle turned out to be a villain, and blackmailed him to become his assistant. Venom killed his mother. His father temporarily abandoned him when he unmasked. His universe ended but then he saved all his loved ones. And through it all, he shouldered the responsibility and the power that comes with Spider-Man.

He’s the greatest to wear the webs, and frankly, Peter would be proud. It’s time we accept it too.