Thanks to a radioactive spider bite, Peter Parker can do everything a spider can. His proportional strength and speed of a spider, not to mention his incredibly useful spider-sense, place him in the top tier of Earth's heroes. While Spider-Man's power set is amazing, Peter, in one universe or another, has accessed powers that allow him to do much more than a spider can do.
The multiverse within Marvel Comics is vast and includes many interesting and extremely powerful versions of Spider-Man. However, fans don't have to read Spider-Verse or Spider-Geddon to find powerful versions of the wall-crawler. The good old 616 universe, the main Marvel comic book continuity, houses some of the strongest Spider-Men as well.
Updated on June 9th, 2023 by David Harth: Spider-Man has long been Marvel's most popular and his most recent foray to the big screen, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is a bona fide hit with audiences. The film returns Miles Morales to the Multiverse and includes many Spider-Man variants. It takes its cues from the comics, where there are many powerful versions of Spider-Man.
15 Kraven The Hunter
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #15, by writer Stan Lee, artist Steve Ditko, and letterer Artie Simek
Kraven hunted and killed all the most dangerous animals in the world. He wanted to prove that he was the greatest hunter in the world, able to kill anything in his way. He eventually decided the ultimate prey would be Spider-Man, and went after the web-slinging wonder for years, helping found the Sinister Six.
In the seminal classic Kraven's Last Hunt, by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Zeck, the villain hunted Spider-Man with everything he had. Kraven actually defeated his longtime foe and buried him alive. He then put on Spider-Man's costume and fought crime, proving he could easily do Spider-Man's job. Kraven shot himself before Spider-Man could beat him, but showed he could be Spider-Man even without the power of a radioactive spider.
14 Ghost Spider (Earth-65)
First Appearance: Edge of Spider-Verse (Vol. 1) #2, by writer Jason Latour, penciler/inker Robbi Rodriguez, colorist Rico Renzi, and letterer Clayton Cowles
Most fans know of Gwen Stacy as one of Peter Parker's best love interests who tragically died during one of his battles against Green Goblin. However, fans met an alternate version of the character during the Spider-Verse event who quickly made a name for herself. Known originally as Spider-Woman, Earth-65's Gwen Stacy was bitten by a radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker.
Earth-65 Gwen quickly became known as Spider-Gwen to fans, but she adopted the name Ghost-Spider when she began working closely with the Spider-Men of Earth-616. While Ghost-Spider had most of the same powers as Peter Parker in the mainstream reality, she also bonded with the Venom symbiote to further increase her strength and abilities.
13 Spiders-Man (Earth-11580)
First Appearance: Spider-Geddon (Vol. 1) #3, by writers Christos N. Gage & Dan Slott, penciler Carlo Barberi, penciler/inker Todd Nauck, inker José Marzan Jr., colorist David Curiel, and letterer Travis Lanham
The origin of Spiders-Man is a little unsettling. Peter Parker attended a science demonstration, much like his Earth-616 counterpart. However, in this universe, instead of being bitten by one radioactive spider, Peter fell into a vat containing a colony of spiders. As a result, they devoured him and replicated his form.
The Spiders-Man was a prominent character featured in the Spider-Geddon event. The spiders forming the hive gave Spiders-Man strength and speed similar to that of the classic Spider-Man, but the spiders could also separate. The spiders could be used as surveillance devices that seamlessly traversed through rooms and even realities.
12 Japanese Spider-Man (Earth-51778)
First Appearance: Spider-Man, Season 1, Episode 1, "The Time of Revenge Has Come! Beat Down Iron Cross Group!!"
The 1977 live-action Amazing Spider-Man TV series has been largely overshadowed in pop culture by the more successful Spider-Man series from Japan. Takuya Yamashiro was the Japanese Spider-Man, and he possessed the same abilities as the classic Spider-Man. He had super strength, could crawl on walls, and he shares the same spider-sense.
What separates Takuya from any other Spider-Man in the multiverse is his giant robot, Leopardon. Spider-Man can control and pilot a giant robot that uses a sword and shield. Takuya and Leopardon returned to save the day on multiple occasions in the Spider-Verse event.
11 Miles Morales/Spider-Man
First Appearance: Ultimate Fallout (Vol. 1) #4, by writers Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman & Nick Spencer, pencilers/inkers Sara Pichelli & Salvador Larroca, penciler/inker/colorist Clayton Crain, colorists Justin Ponsor & Frank D'Armata, and letterers Cory Petit & Clayton Cowles
While he originally appeared in the Ultimate Universe of Earth-1610, Miles Morales has since made the jump to the 616 mainstream reality. He continued operating as Spider-Man alongside Peter Parker after impressing the original. Morales was bitten by a genetically modified spider that gave him slightly different abilities that could one day make him the strongest Spider-Man around.
As Spider-Man, Miles Morales gained the similar proportionate speed, strength, and agility of a spider. However, he also developed a stealth camouflage ability, as well as one of Spider-Man's greatest secret weapons. Morales can generate a devastating bio-electric shock he calls his "venom blast" that can instantly take out deadly enemies, including even Peter Parker.
10 Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099
First Appearance: Spider-Man 2099 (Vol. 1) #1, by writer Peter David, penciler Rick Leonardi, inker Al Williamson, colorist Steve Buccellato, and letterer Rick Parker
Another powerful version of Spider-Man from the mainstream 616 universe actually hails from the future year of 2099. Miguel O'Hara was a scientist who blended his genetics with a spider to save his life after he was forcibly addicted to a future drug by his employer. He gained incredible abilities and carried on the legacy of Spider-Man in comics and in Across the Spider-Verse.
As Spider-Man 2099, O'Hara fought to keep his future safe while also protecting the timestream to make sure that his future world still developed. Miguel O'Hara has similar strength and speed as Peter Parker, but he also developed organic webbing and vicious claws on his fingers and toes. He grew paralytic fangs and developed visual senses that made up for his lack of spider-sense.
9 Peter Parker/Spider-Man
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy (Vol. 1) #15, by writer Stan Lee, writer/penciler/inker Steve Ditko, colorist Stan Goldberg, and letterer Artie Simek
There are dozens of powerful Spider-Men littered throughout the multiverse, but one of the most powerful exists in the classic 616 universe. Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man, is deceptively strong due to the radioactive spider bite that transformed him into Marvel's popular masked hero.
Spider-Man's peak power fluctuates depending on the writer, but at one point, he was considered one of the strongest heroes in the Marvel universe. When Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker's body in Superior Spider-Man, he nearly killed a criminal with one punch. Dock Ock then realized that Spider-Man always held back his true strength to protect others.
8 Mac Gargan/Spider-Man
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #19, by writer Stan Lee, artist Steve Ditko, and letterer Sam Rosen
Mac Gargan first appeared as the Scorpion, hired by J. Jonah Jameson to fight Spider-Man. He spent years trying to destroy the Wall-Crawler, getting upgrades for his robotic scorpion suit. All of that changed when Eddie Brock found out he had a brain tumor. He ended up auctioning off the Venom symbiote, and Gargan became the new Venom.
Gargan joined the Thunderbolts and after helping defeat the Skrulls in Secret Invasion, he became a member of Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers as Spider-Man. The Venom symbiote gave him great strength, speed, and durability, all of which were greater than what Peter Parker has. He eventually lost the symbiote, but he was still a quite powerful Spider-Man.
7 Ben Reilly/Spider-Carnage
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #410, by writer Tom DeFalco, penciler Mark Bagley, inkers Larry Mahlstedt & Randy Emberlin, colorists Bob Sharen & Malibu Color, and letterers Richard Starkings & Comicraft
The Carnage symbiote has taken many hosts since it was first introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #361. Carnage is even deadlier and more corruptive than the Venom symbiote. Ben Reilly experienced this firsthand when he saved John Jameson from the Carnage symbiote, only to bond with it himself, becoming Spider-Carnage.
The design for Spider-Carnage was incredible, wrapping the red symbiote tendrils around Reilly's first new Spider-Man suit. Spider-Carnage's reign was short-lived in the comics as Reilly quickly removed it, but the character would famously appear as the big bad at the end of Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s.
6 Six-Armed Spider-Man (Earth-92100)
First Appearance: What If...? (Vol. 1) #42, by writer Michael Gallagher, penciler Kevin West, inker Ian Akin, colorist Tom Vincent, and letterer Ken Lopez
When Stan Lee left the Amazing Spider-Man book after 100 issues, he left writer Roy Thomas with the parting gift of a six-armed Spider-Man. In the main continuity, Spider-Man quickly cured this mutation, but in an alternate Earth, fans learned of a Peter Parker who decided to keep his additional limbs.
The Peter Parker of Earth-92100 originally sought to rid himself of his extra arms but found them useful in a fight with Doc Ock. His arms then helped him in the famous "Turning Point" battle with Norman Osborn's Green Goblin identity, which meant he saved Gwen Stacy on the bridge, unlike his mainstream counterpart.
5 Kaine Parker/Scarlet Spider
First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #119, by writer Terry Kavanagh, penciler Steven Butler, inker Randy Emberlin, colorist Kevin Tinsley, and letterer Steve Dutro
The Clone Saga of the '90s is considered both famous and infamous by fans. It introduced a lot of strange elements into Spidey's mythos. Ben Reilly is a fan-favorite Spider-Man clone from that saga, but Kaine also debuted at the same time. He was an incredible character whose redemptive arc started in the Clone Saga and ran all the way through his own Scarlet Spider series.
Kaine possessed the same powers as Peter Parker, but they were slightly altered and enhanced by his clone degeneration. Thanks to an ancient prophecy involving Spider-Totems, Kaine could also transform into a giant tarantula-like monster. He used this form during Spider-Island and again when he defeated the leader of the Inheritors in Spider-Verse.
4 Poison (Earth-70134)
First Appearance: What If? Spider-Man The Other (Vol. 1) #1, by writer Peter David, penciler Khoi Pham, inker Sandu Florea, colorist Marte Gracia, and letterer Joe Caramagna
This version of Peter Parker appeared in a dark What If? one-shot that took place shortly after Peter's ill-fated battle with Morlun in the mainstream 616 universe. On Earth-70134, Peter's resurrection by The Other was halted and his metamorphosis was incomplete. The Venom symbiote came to Peter's aid and slowly but surely took control of his mind after fully bonding with him.
What emerged from the cocoon was neither symbiote nor Peter Parker. The symbiote's total takeover of Peter's mind and body resulted in Poison, a demonic-looking black-suited Spider-Man who possessed the fully realized powers of Peter and the symbiote without Parker's conscience.
3 Peter Parker/Spider-Hulk
First Appearance: Immortal Hulk: Great Power (Vol. 1) #1, by writer Tom Taylor, penciler Jorge Molina, inkers Adriano Di Benedetto & Roberto Poggi, colorist David Curiel, and letterer Cory Petit
Spider-Man can be considered one of Earth's strongest protectors. The Hulk is undoubtedly one of Marvel's most powerful superheroes. One of these heroes works on responsibility while the other works on rage. The folks at Marvel wondered what would happen if the two came together.
The Immortal Hulk: Great Power one-shot saw the undying spirit of the Hulk choose Spider-Man as his new host. The result was a Hulked-out Peter Parker with green skin bursting through his Spidey costume. Somehow, forcibly transforming into the Hulk seemed even more intrusive to Peter's life than growing four additional arms.
2 Ghost Spider (Earth-11638)
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Vol. 1) #38, by writer John Layman, penciler Lee Garbett, inker Mark Pennington, colorist Fabio D'Auria, and letterer Clayton Cowles
The history of Earth-11638's Peter Parker is quite unconventional compared to the traditional Spider-Man origin. In this universe, with the help of his living Uncle Ben, Peter became the Amazing Spider and developed the successful Parker Technologies company. All seemed great until Peter's motives were revealed.
This Peter brought Spider-Men from other universes to steal their powers and enhance his own. The Amazing Spider eventually saw the error of his ways, and this world's Sorcerer Supreme connected Peter's soul to Ghost Rider's Spirit of Vengeance, making him the first powerful "Ghost Spider."
1 Cosmic Spider-Man (Earth-13)
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #9, by Dan Slott, penciler/inker Olivier Coipel, colorist Justin Ponsor, and letterer Chris Eliopoulos
Dan Slott has written some pretty epic Spider-Man stories, including "Dying Wish" and the entire Superior Spider-Man era. However, no arc came close to the scale of the original Spider-Verse event. Spider-Men and Women from across the multiverse joined forces to stop the Inheritors in a wild story that paid so much fanservice to Spidey readers.
On Earth-13, an older, wiser (and bearded?!) Peter Parker still possessed the Enigma Force of Captain Universe. This cosmic energy was incredibly powerful, and whoever wielded it became one of the most powerful beings in their universe. Earth-13 Peter was calm, cool, collected, and could manipulate matter and energy in his universe to incredible degrees. Cosmic Spider-Man is the strongest Spider-Man by a wide margin.