The 20 greatest (and 10 worst) Spider-Man villains of all time
By Mike McNulty
15th Best Villain: The Scorpion
Scorpions are the natural enemies of spiders. They’re also both members of class Arachnida, more commonly known as arachnids. It’s just common sense that a superhero names Spider-Man should have a villain named after and resembling a Scorpion. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko thought so, too. In Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #19 and #20, they introduced us to Mac Gargan, the private investigator turned tail-swinging hoodlum called (what else?) the Scorpion.
At first hired to learn how Peter Parker kept getting photos of Spider-Man, Gargan then volunteered for an experiment conducted by one Dr. Farley Stillwell which would give him powers greater than those of the wall-crawler. In addition, Gargan was also outfitted in a suit which also have him a mechanical tail. Unfortunately, the process also drove Gargan mad with power, and killed Dr. Stillwell when the scientist tried to stop him.
And the person who hired Gargan and financially backed this disastrous experiment? None other than Daily Bugle editor and publisher, J. Jonah Jameson. This means he’s not only an enemy of Spider-Man, but also of Jameson, as well.
Nevertheless, Scorpion doesn’t get more appreciation than he otherwise deserves. Aside from being physically stronger and faster that Spider-Man, he’s also lot more street savvy than most of the enemies on this list. Furthermore, he became a host for Venom, thus also becoming one of a hand full of villains knowing Spider-Man’s true identity.
Where Scorpion really excels, however, is as hired muscle. Most notably, he was recruited by Norman Osborn into The Thunderbolts, and later into Osborn’s Dark Avengers during the Dark Reign story line. Currently, he’s employed by Alchemax, the evil corporation which will one day become a thorn in the side of Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099.