The first year that Spider-Man existed, Marvel Comics debuted six new supervillains unique to the Wall-Crawler, and that was enough to create a team of villains he had to stop in the Sinister Six. However, not all the villains were purely evil.
Through the years, many of Spider-Man’s villains proved they deserved redemption. Some villains tried to become heroes in their own right and others just wanted to leave the life of crime in the rearview mirror, doing what they could to turn their lives around. However, others have committed sins horrible enough to never deserve a second chance.
Deserve Redemption - Norman Osborn
One Spider-Man villain no one ever expected to receive redemption was Norman Osborn. As the Green Goblin, he killed Gwen Stacy, faked Aunt May’s death, and tormented his son Harry until he, too, turned to the life of crime. However, Osborn also dealt with a mental health condition caused by the Goblin serum in his body that affected his ability to control his actions. In recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley, Sin-Eater “cleansed” Osborn of his sins and brought clarity back to his mind. Osborn has since tried to make up for his past sins and find redemption for what he did wrong.
Lost Cause - Carnage
Carnage was a bad person before he ever became a supervillain. Cletus Kasady was in prison for murder when he met Eddie Brock, who was also serving time for his crimes as Venom. Symbiotes reproduce asexually, and Venom left its offspring in the prison before reing Brock. The symbiote offspring bonded with Kasady and became Carnage. As a serial killer, Kasady went to prison for 11 murders and claimed he had a dozen more no one knew about. As Carnage, he went on a reign of terror and killed so many more people that redemption remains impossible.
Deserve Redemption - Sandman
Sandman started out his career as a street-level villain, mostly as a thief and petty criminal. After developing powers to turn his body to sand after an accident, he became a dangerous enemy for Spider-Man. Through the years, Sandman tried to turn good. Sandman lost control of his body’s ability to remain intact and he made good with Spider-Man after the Wall-Crawler helped save him. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 also went a long way to help Sandman find redemption, with a touching backstory of turning to crime to help his child.
Lost Cause - Morlun
Morlun is a Spider-Man villain from the multiverse who has one purpose in life. He feeds on and kills anyone who is a member of an animal totem. A totem is Marvel’s way of spiritually and supernaturally connecting heroes sharing powers of specific animals. Black Panther is one example, but the Spider-Man characters are the most famous.
Morlun is part of a family known as the Inheritors, whose father taught them early on that the only way they could survive is to kill and absorb others’ life forces. While this is tragic, Morlun took it to the limit, killing more and more people to become immortal, losing his soul and chance of redemption along the way.
Deserve Redemption - Vulture
In Marvel Comics, Vulture is an older man named Adrian Toomes, someone who created wings that helped him fly. However, when a business partner betrayed him, he used the wings to seek revenge and then decided he liked working as a villain. Later in life, Vulture tried to leave the life of crime behind, especially when he encouraged his granddaughter to become the hero Starling rather than a villain. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Marvel Cinematic Universe made him sympathetic, when he turned to crime after almost losing his business to the rich and powerful Stark Industries while trying to continue ing his family.
Lost Cause - Scorpion
J. Jonah Jameson hated Spider-Man for most of their lives. Early in this rivalry, the newspaper publisher tried to both discredit and hurt Spider-Man more than once. One of Jameson's worst actions was helping create the Scorpion. Mac Gargan took Jameson's money and ended up transformed into the Scorpion. Gargan became a violent and deadly villain after this, never once showing remorse for his actions. At one point, Gargan took over the Venom symbiote, turning the antihero into a murderous blood-thirsty killer.
Deserve Redemption - Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus was one of Spider-Man’s earliest villains and someone whose intelligence made him both arrogant and deadly. From the start, it was Doc Ock that pushed Spider-Man the hardest, suring the scientific genius of Peter Parker by a distance. However, it was Doc Ock’s most treacherous act that helped him start his road to redemption.
Octopus developed cancer, and he created a device that switched his mind into Spider-Man’s body and Peter into his, where he died. Spider-Man returned, but not before Doctor Octopus became Superior Spider-Man, a great hero in his own right. Since then, Octopus lost his role as Superior Spider-Man to save those he cared about. However, he proved he could be a hero and deserves that chance at redemption again.
Lost Cause - Wilson Fisk
Wilson Fisk has suffered through a tragic life, but his actions as the Kingpin of Crime prove he has no path to redemption in his future. Fisk worked his way up from the bottom to secure his place in the world, proving that anyone could become successful with enough drive. However, he destroyed people on the way to the top and has had more people killed than almost anyone in the Marvel Universe.
His own wife and son died because of his actions. He destroyed Daredevil’s life, almost made Spider-Man quit, and currently serves as the Mayor of New York City, using his political power to help the criminal underworld thrive.
Deserve Redemption - Lizard
Curt Connors remains a tragic villain in Marvel Comics, someone who is a modern-day Wolf Man. Much like that classic Universal Horror monster, Connors fought with the curse of becoming the Lizard, a villain with no brainpower and insatiable blood-lust. However, Connors himself remained a good person, a family man who wanted nothing more than to find a cure. Spider-Man knew Connors was not to blame for his actions as Lizard and did everything he could to help the scientist gain the redemption he deserved.
Lost Cause - Kindred
Kindred is the newest villain in Spider-Man comics, but all signs point that he is not who he seems. Spider-Man unmasked Kindred as Harry Osborn, his old best friend who at one time operated as the Green Golbin, blaming Spider-Man for his dad’s death. However, recent issues show Harry locked in a cage with Kindred still on the loose. Kindred has itted he is from Hell, a demon who has raised others from the dead and wants nothing more than to torment Spider-Man and Norman Osborn. As someone from the depths of Hell, there is no chance at redemption for this demonic entity.