Top 10 Hardest Bosses in Spider-Man Games

“Spider-Man” (2000)

Mysterio has always been one of Spider-Man’s craftiest foes, a feature developer Neversoft nailed with his boss fight in the hero’s first 3D game. After Spider-Man tracks him down, the Master of Illusions will appear to grow gigantic in size. During the fight, players must switch between three levels, aiming for Mysterio’s weak points while avoiding his giant fists and spinning blade traps. If one of these hazards hits you, or he happens to grab you, expect a big chunk of health to be swiftly removed. The second phase adds laser beams and electrified parts of the floor, making your reaction time even more important.

“Spider-Man 2” (2004)

Adapting one of the best “Spider-Man” movies resulted in one of the best “Spider-Man” games. And just like in its source material, Peter had a tough time going up against his former mentor. When you reach the climax, you’ll first have to hit nine different switches to disable the Doc’s reactor. That’s easier said than done since he’ll be trying to squash Spidey, and the reactor will pulsate, dealing damage if you’re in its path. It at least refills your health after, because Otto’s arms are a pain to dodge and must be webbed down to open the boss to damage. It comes down to exercising patience with the use of the Spider Reflex meter, which slows down time and refills when you attack.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” (2020)

Don’t get us wrong; Rhino’s fight in the first game was certainly frustrating since he had Scorpion for backup. But the Miles-centric follow-up made him even more formidable with a few enhancements. The second time you face Rhino in-game, he’ll have new armor that makes him immune to Miles’ electric attacks. During the first phase, you’ll have to dodge his charges and steer him into a tank to stun him, and then try to knock some armor off. Of course, he’ll grow wise to this and start making your work harder. Most of his attacks hurt like Hell. And even with temporary ally Phin there, she can’t stop all the Roxxon minions from shooting you. It’s an overwhelming fight to say the least.

“Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro” (2001)

The sequel to the groundbreaking PlayStation original brought many new boss fights, including a stressful encounter with the Lizard. Spidey faces off against the transformed Dr. Connors after creating a serum he thinks can help him. During the battle, players must shoot the serum at their foe, stunning him and letting you deliver a few punches. Unfortunately, the fight is in a confined space and standing still is a death sentence. Lizard has more health than you do, and can close the distance between you with a mighty leap. He also doesn’t stay stunned for long, and it’s more than likely he’ll hit you before you can get out of the way. C’mon Doc, we’re only trying to help!

“Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six” (1992)

“Return of the Sinister Six” is far from one of the best Spider-Man games; even at release, players and critics complained about its imprecise controls. Maybe you’ll have gotten used to that by the time you reach Hobgoblin, the penultimate boss. If not, he’ll likely cause you to start all the way over thanks to Spidey only having a single life and continue. With his handy glider, this boss can move through solid platforms and is much faster than our hero. His pumpkin bombs can also go through platforms, meaning you’ll likely feel safe when in reality, an attack is hurling your way. The wall-crawler’s video game adventures have certainly come a long way.

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (2014)

Fans may have been lukewarm towards this game; even more so than they were towards the movie. But some of the boss fights still provide hefty challenges to overcome, including Electro. When the fight starts, Spidey will need to destroy four generators. Making this harder are drones that pepper the player with bullets. Their aim is perfect and they’ll keep spawning after you destroy them until the generators are done. As if that wasn’t annoying enough, the actual fight consists of electrical shockwaves and blasts fired off in every direction. It’s best to keep your distance for obvious reasons, but that ends up benefiting your foe as well.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” (2020)

As much as it pained Miles to do so, he had to put an end to his friend Phin, AKA the Tinkerer. But what pained us was the boss herself. Being the leader of the Underground, she has access to a lot of hard-hitting tech, which she happily unleashes against you. During the first phase, she’ll swiftly swap between a sword and gauntlets to pummel Miles, and a shield to defend herself. She grows more volatile in later portions, literally, as she utilizes heavy artillery like a rocket launcher and mines. However, nothing compares to her powerful Death Wheels, which are just as troublesome as they sound. With so much firepower, it’s certainly an explosive finale.

“Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage” (1994)

“Maximum Carnage” still holds many fond memories for older Spider-Man fans. But we find it hard to feel any fondness for its final boss. Being a sadistic killer, Carnage is as vicious as you’d expect. Or as vicious as he can be given the limitations of the time. Despite them all having pretty similar abilities, Carnage has far more reach than Spider-Man and Venom. His tendrils cover half the screen as they quickly extend to cut through players. And they can often interrupt you in the middle of a combo, or hit from off-screen when you’re least expecting it. It’s certainly frustrating, made even more so by the fact that you fight him twice in a row.

“Spider-Man: The Movie” (2002)

Although he doesn’t appear in the movie in which this game is based on, Vulture still brings a surprisingly tough boss fight. Spider-Man must first confront the aerial baddie in his lair, where he’ll toss a multitude of bombs down the stairs. Even with health pick-ups, it’s extremely irritating with explosions at unexpected moments. You then have to chase him through NYC while avoiding his attacks and saving citizens from falling debris. When you finally get to fight him, the clunky swinging controls will be just as much of an obstacle as he is. His strings of feather projectiles, while silly, are detrimental to your health. Death is likely in at least one of the phases, but all of them are irritating.

“Marvel’s Spider-Man” (2018)

After delivering the best Spider-Man experience in years, Insomniac released DLC with the hardest virtual fight Peter has had the displeasure of facing. Hammerhead’s first battle is plenty annoying with his unending army of goons. But fighting him in the ‘Silver Lining’ DLC is even worse. His cyborg body is heavily fortified, equipped with a powerful laser and shockwave attacks. These can be quite hard to deal with while you attempt to web him up so Silver Sable can shoot him with her own laser. Naturally, he’ll call on goons and produce a full-body shield as the fight goes on. Not only are there a lot of factors to deal with, but Hammerhead’s strength can put Spidey down in mere moments if you aren’t careful.

Which tough boss fight made you question the web-head’s power? Share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to check out these other great videos!