From the infamous “Clone Saga” to several Spider-Verse events, the various Spider-Man versions introduced into the canon are endless. Originally introduced in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15 by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Stan Goldberg, and Artie Simek, Spider-Man has been a staple of the Marvel universe for 60 years.
With every version of the Spider-Totem acting as an alternate version of Spider-Man, there are several viable contenders for the best alternate Web-Slinger. While several fan-favorite Spider-characters might seem like a top choice, clones like Kaine and Ben Reilly, as well as characters like Spider-Woman and Araña, don't make the cut since they're not true, alternate versions. In the end, it's a different crop of Wall-Crawlers who battle for the title.
10 Spider-UK Was A Prime Example Of A Leader
Introduced in the pages of Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (by Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez, Rico Renzi and Clayton Cowles), Spider-UK was a member of the Captain Britain Corps before being pulled into the war against the Inheritors. His real name is William “Billy” Braddock, setting him apart from his Peter Parker brethren.
After the battles against the Inheritors, where Spider-UK was often left in a leadership role by the Prime Spider-Man, he found his entire universe destroyed. Instead of dwelling on the loss, Spider-UK began training various Spider-People as the Web Warriors.
9 Cosmic Spider-Man Has God-like Powers
A What If style character, Cosmic Spider-Man is a continuation of a brief storyline where Captain Universe chooses Peter Parker as the newest wielder of the Enigma Force. On Earth-13, Peter Parker never lost his Uni-Powers, instead becoming the most powerful being in the universe.
Earth-13 becomes the safe haven of the various Spider-Men during the Spider-Verse event due to the Inheritors' fear of Cosmic Spider-Man's immense power. However, this safety didn’t last long. The Father of the Inheritors identified the Enigma Force as life energy, which meant he could eat it now that it had become intertwined with the Spider-Totem energy, leading to Cosmic Spider-Man’s untimely demise.
8 Mayday Parker Is Peter Parker’s Daughter Spider-Girl
The first child of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, Mayday Parker grew up as an average teen before discovering her Spider-like powers. After finding out about her father’s history as Spider-Man, Mayday took up the mantle, donning Ben Reilly’s old suit to save her father from Normie Osborn, who was wearing his grandfather’s Green Goblin suit.
Mayday had several adventures on her own and on the Avengers team of the MC2 universe until she lost her father to Daemos during Spider-Verse. Luckily, unlike many of her Spider-compatriots, Mayday survived the ordeal and enjoyed a happy ending with most of her family alive and well.
7 Spider-Boy Amalgamated Spider-Man and Superboy
Created as a combination of Ben Reilly and Superboy for the Amalgam Universe, the mash-up event of DC and Marvel heroes, Spider-Boy is an often-underappreciated member of the Spider-Verse. The character’s design combined aspects of both costumes, like Spider-Man’s chest symbol and Superboy’s leather jacket.
Real name Pete Ross, he was in the lab where a Super Soldier clone was being created before an explosion filled him with newfound powers. Pete's Uncle Gen, aka General Ross, was then shot by a mugger. While Spider-Boy instantly became a favorite of the Amalgam Universe alongside Dark Claw, he hasn’t been seen since due to the co-ownership. Notably, his arm, detached from his body, makes an appearance in the End of Spider-Verse event.
6 Spider-Ham Is A Spider Turned Pig
While Spider-Ham has become a household name thanks to both Into The Spider-Verse and The Simpsons Movie, he hasn’t had a valued time in his various appearances. Hailing from the animated animal universe, Peter was born a spider before being bitten by an irradiated pig, turning him into an anthropomorphic pig with spider powers.
Besides having the standard array of powers other Peter Parkers have, Spider-Ham also has the added ability of cartoonifying his battles, meaning he can pull tools from nowhere and can withstand more damage than his fellow Spiders. Tying him even closer to his 616 counterpart is that he has his own Spider-Gwen in the form of Spider-Gwin, a penguin Gwen Stacy.
5 Spider-Punk Fights With Webs And Anarchy
Hobart “Hobie” Brown of Earth-138, also known as Spider-Punk, is an anarchic Spider-Man with a penchant for stopping crimes by the government and shredding tunes on his guitar. After being bitten, Spider-Punk would regularly take on powerful figures like Adrian Toomes and Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolt Department.
Spider-Punk also led his world’s version of the Avengers, the Spider-Band, into battle several times alongside the Captain America equivalent Captain Anarchy, Iron Heart equivalent RiotHeart, and Daredevil equivalent Daredevil Drummer of Philly. Luckily, Spider-Punk will appear on the big screen with an appearance in Across the Spider-Verse in 2023.
4 Spider-Man 2099 Is A Great Look At The Future
A cog in the corporate machine until he became imbued with the powers of the Spider-Totem, Miguel O’Hara is one of the most focused on characters that came from the 2099 series. Not a copy or clone of Peter Parker, Spider-Man 2099 is a resident of Nueva York on Earth-928.
Unlike many of his Peter Parker equivalents, Miguel’s powerset included the traditional wall-crawling and extra powers like talons, fangs, telepathy, and the ability to create speed duplicates. Spider-Man 2099 was also one of the first of the Spider-People to have organic spinners instead of web shooters crafted by hand.
3 Superior Spider-Man Combines Doc Ock And Spider-Man
When Otto Octavius tricks Peter Parker into a trap, he steals Parker’s body, attempting to kill the web crawler and keep the new body for himself. While in the body, Otto is filled with Peter’s memories, learning the lesson of having great power and great responsibility.
Otto takes to the streets as the Superior Spider-Man, dispatching crime in a cruel, extremely violent manner that led to him being targeted even more than before. The Superior Spider-Man introduced many aspects of Spider-Man that would continue into Peter’s reign, including the use of robotic arms and the armies of Spider-Bots, but they are now different, friendlier versions.
2 Spider-Gwen Sent Shockwaves With Her Introduction
Also introduced in Edge of Spider-Verse Issue #2, Spider-Gwen, aka Ghost Spider and Spider-Woman, is Earth-65’s Gwen Stacy who's bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker. In her world, Peter Parker turns himself into The Lizard in response to bullying and jealousy before dying during a fight with Gwen.
Instantly becoming the fan favorite of the new characters, Spider-Gwen has become the third face of the Spider-Man franchise. Thanks to the inventors on both Earth-65 and Earth-616, she spends most of her time in 616, even attending college there, with frequent returns home.
1 Miles Morales Is The True Heir To The Spider-Throne
After Peter Parker's death in the Ultimate Universe and being bitten by a genetically modified spider, Miles Morales began fighting crime as the newest WebCrawler. The nephew of criminal Aaron Davis, aka The Prowler, who actually stole the spider that bit Miles, Morales soon became a part of Earth-616 after the destruction and rebirth of all known universes.
Now a member of the main universe, Miles' history remained mostly unchanged, with only the death of Peter being rewritten. A member of the Avengers and Champions at times, Miles has the powers of most Spider-People, with the bonus powers of an electrical venom blast and the ability to turn invisible.