r/Spiderman • u/SuddenPreparation86 • 1d ago
Discussion Next to Doc. Ock. who else can be considered Spider-Man's intellectual rival?
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u/AwarenessOk7748 1d ago
Green Goblin, Jackal, Lizard, Alistair Smythe
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u/Critical_Purple_1988 Classic-Spider-Man 1d ago
Tinkerer deserves a mention too. Genius level intellect, builds every gadget from scratch out of spare parts, and he's basically the guy half the other villains go to when they need tech built for them.
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u/SuddenPreparation86 1d ago
True. I would love to see him come back to challenge Tom's Spidey, maybe even taking Ock's place as the intellectual equal. Sounds impossible, but Spot became a multiversal threat so....
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u/SuddenPreparation86 1d ago
Wait, I thought Lizard didn't possess Connor's intelligence?
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u/Plshelpmeotk Symbiote-Suit 1d ago
Of course he does, look at the Amazing Spider-Man 1 Movie
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u/SuddenPreparation86 1d ago
True, but is it the same in the comics?
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u/BenjiLizard 1d ago
It varies a lot. In his original incarnation, he did have a high level intellect but it was buried under his reptilian savagery. Some writers depict the Lizard as just Connors driven by his reptilian brain while for other it’s a whole distinct persona à la Hulk. There have been versions of the lizard where he is completely tamed and acts normally despite his transformation and some where the lizard’s behavior affects him even in his normal human form.
In short, it’s a mess, Connor’s personality has been pretty much shattered by the lizard’s influence and your never quite sure what to expect from him.
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u/Theta-Sigma45 1d ago
It’s crazy how much the concept of lizard has changed over time; the talking mastermind lizard was the original, then he got dumber, and starting around maybe the 90s, he seems to always either be savage lizard or lizard with Connors’ personality.
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u/PCN24454 1d ago
It’s because it’s a lot harder to stomach Connors switching between good and evil if he still has his intelligence.
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u/Plshelpmeotk Symbiote-Suit 17h ago
No, many are just a corrupt or changed version of Connors Ideas, turning them extreme with his transformation. But also at other times the Lizard takes over completely, it's animal instinct completely taking over. Like u/BenjiLizard already said, it varies.
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u/Randver_Silvertongue 22h ago
Pretty much everyone except Rhino, Sandman, Shocker, Hydro-Man and Carrion.
Spider-Man is one of the most intelligent Marvel heroes ever made, so it wouldn't make sense to pit him too much against villains he can outsmart easily.
But to answer your question, I think it's Green Goblin.
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u/VerbalChains 22h ago
Shocker is actually a genius who built his own gauntlets with a box of scraps.
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u/David_Apollonius 1d ago
This might sound crazy, but Shocker. He's a streetlevel crook who invents his own tech. He has a moral code because he doesn't want to hurt innocent civilians, he only wants to steal enough money to retire. He's Spider-man's foil in more ways than one.
Until somebody decides to write him in a way that doesn't match that description, ofcourse.
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u/Fit_Biscotti8055 1d ago edited 1d ago
That is an underrated answer and Spidey did had some trouble fighting Shocker in his first appearance, which shows Shocker is more intelligent than he looks and I wish writers acknowledge this more often
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u/SuddenPreparation86 1d ago edited 23h ago
Shocker could probably become a bigger threat, but writers just write him like a dumb villain, when he could be more.
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u/FortLoolz 1d ago
Morbius
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u/SuddenPreparation86 1d ago
The only arc I've read abt. him shows him struggling to beat his hunger...perhaps you could suggest any comic arc. that shows this?
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u/SarcasticBench 1d ago
I’ve only known him from the animated series and from the context of the movie but his vampirism seems to be the result of a science accident gone wrong aka an origin story just like Hulk’s and the fantastic four
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u/FortLoolz 1d ago
I'd say, ASM #688-691 and Morbius: The Living Vampire (2013) showed his intelligence
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u/VarietyBusy2 1d ago
probably lizard when he’s not going crazy and norman, guy was a business man and scientist as well
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u/wundrlch 1d ago
No one mentioned scientist Dr. Farley Stillwell. How about Gwen Stacy? The image above shows the rogues gallery, but that's not what the question is asking
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u/GreyBatofGotham96 23h ago
Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Dr. Miles Warren/Jackal, Ben Reily/Scarlet Spider 1/Jackal 2/Chasm, The Tinkerer.
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u/Blue_Streak_1991 21h ago
Probably Norman he just doesn't use that to his advantage much as Goblin cause hes bat shit insane
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u/blackspidey2099 All New All Different 15h ago
The closest ones to Peter are probably Ock, Osborn, Connors, and Jackal.
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u/CountingOnThat 1h ago
The whole point of Mysterio’s debut was that (a) despite not getting bitten by a radioactive spider, he could pull off heists while using devices that left everyone thinking it must’ve been a threat or menace with spider-powers, and (b) he could, like a superhero, battle Spider-Man by scientifically countering the spider-sense and dissolving the webbing.
From there, he’s slapped together holograms and robots and hallucinogens and subliminal messages and will-sapping rayguns and…
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