Why So Many Spider-Man Villains Are Scientists

Throughout the three modern Spider-Man film franchises and their comic book source material, many of Peter Parker’s villains are scientists—but why do so many share this background? Most versions of the Peter Parker character in both the comics and films are interested in science, which more often than not leads to the character accidentally receiving his superpowers. His scientific knowledge and capable engineering skills also allowed him to develop his signature web-fluid and web-shooters, complimenting Spider-Man’s powers. His villains are often scientists as well, developing fantastic powers or creating advanced gadgetry that is inevitably used to combat the wall-crawler.

Two of Spider-Man’s greatest villains, the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, are both scientists. Norman Osborn’s Goblin formula made him almost as strong as Spider-Man but ultimately drove him insane, and Doctor Octopus’ signature tentacles were originally designed to perform precise experiments from a safe distance. Similarly, many of the web head’s minor villains like the Shocker and Vulture come from engineering backgrounds, building their own gear to assist their careers in crime.

The Spider-Man films often emphasized the naturalistic and relatable qualities of Peter Parker. While Peter is brilliant, there’s little separating him from his viewers outside of Spider-Man’s signature superpowers. The same often goes for his villains as well. The Spider-Man films and comics try to make the notion of superheroes and villains as realistic as possible, so having so many of Peter’s adversaries come from scientific backgrounds was an attempt to make their origins almost as realistic as their characterizations. Thematically, this also created a connection between Parker and his rogue’s gallery.

When Stan Lee was co-creating Spider-Man, his villains, and many other Marvel characters in the 1960s, he consciously made the majority of his characters scientists. Lee often humorously described himself as lacking any sort of scientific expertise, considering his background as a creator, but he nevertheless felt that a seemingly logical basis behind his characters would add a much-needed level of verisimilitude to his stories. Stan Lee and his colleagues sought to create fantasy comics that felt as believable as possible, and many Marvel fans would argue that they succeeded.

Although Spider-Man and his foes often adopted their costumed personas independent of one another, having most of Peter’s adversaries come from scientific backgrounds created a connection between them. The films particularly emphasized this, with both Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius acting as mentors to Peter in the Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy. In The Amazing Spider-Man duology, geneticist Curt Connors was a colleague of Peter’s father at Oscorp, while Peter’s childhood friend Harry succeeded his father as Oscorp’s CEO.

The Spider-Man comics and films, whether intentionally or not, did more than connect their characters and add a touch of realism by including so many characters based in science. The Spider-Man stories also inspired numerous readers and viewers to pursue scientific careers, with the heroes serving as role models and the villains’ gear making for fascinating concepts. The Spider-Man films and their source material are fantasy, but by having Peter and so many of his villains come from scientific backgrounds, the stories felt much closer to reality.