The Sinister Six was one of the first popular supervillain team-ups in Marvel Comics, even though the group teamed up six different villains just to beat one superhero. This team formed in Spider-Man’s second year in comic books after each member of the team had already fought Spider-Man one-on-one and fell in defeat, some more than once. Even as a team, these six Spider-Man villains couldn’t beat him, but they remained persistent and made life hell for the Wall-Crawler. Since that time, the six members have changed on and off, with some members sticking around more often then not, and some storylines shining and others disappointing.
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Here is a look at the seven best Sinister Six storylines in Marvel Comics, ranked.
7) Return of the Sinister Six (1999)
There have been more than one Return of the Sinister Six storyline. This one was from 1999 and saw Sandman decide to return as a villain after serving as a hero for years. However, there was a reason he returned as a villain and reformed the Sinister Six on his own. He wanted revenge on Doctor Octopus for turning him into a glass sculpture, and he wanted revenge on his old partner.
There was one big problem with Sandman leading his new team of villains against Doc Ock. He enlisted Venom, who got bored and decided he wanted to attack his own teammates after a while. Taking place in The Amazing Spider-Man #12, the story was a lot of fun, and seeing Venom try to kill Sandman, Electro, and Kraven was an interesting turn, as was the fact this convinced Eddie Brock to stop being a villain for a short time.
6) Superior Foes Of Spider-Man
Superior Foes Of Spider-Man might be the most entertaining Sinister Six comic book storyline of all time, and it never once took itself seriously. The team had no real heavy hitters in the lineup, with Shocker as the main one (and Boomerang along for the ride as well). It also featured Beetle, Overdrive, and Speed Demon, and they delusionally consider themselves Spider-Man’s greatest enemies when they formed.
This was a team-up comic book, and despite Spider-Man’s name being in the title, he wasn’t hardly in any of the books. This was just about the new Sinister Six, and as you can see from the above listing, only featured five villains because they couldn’t convince a sixth to join them. It ran for 17 issues and focused on them planning a major heist. It was a ton of fun and was one of the most humorous Marvel Comics of the last decade.
5) The Last Stand
“The Last Stand” was a Marvel Comics story from the company’s Marvel Knights imprint, and played out in Marvel Knights Spider-Man #10-12. In this storyline, the Sinister Six grew into the Sinister Twelve, consisting of Boomerang, Chameleon, Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman, Hydro-Man, Hammerhead, Lizard, Shocker, Tombstone, Venom, and Vulture.
The groups only plan here was to kill Spider-Man, and Green Goblin manipulated every villain to do his bidding, some against their will. The good news is that Spider-Man has Black Cat on his side, but the bad news is that Aunt May was abducted and her life is in danger. There was a lot to love about this story and the battles were insane, heightened when Goblin threatened to drop MJ from a bridge while referencing Gwen Stacy’s death.
4) The Sinister Six (first appearance)
The first 10 villains Spider-Man fought in comics included names like The Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Electro, and Sandman, and in his second year, he added names like Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio to that list. In The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, those six villains decided to team up to fight Spider-Man after he beat them all individually. This was almost unheard of. At the time, teams like the Avengers formed to fight a super powerful villain, but seeing a group of villains all team up to fight one superhero seemed a little wild.
The villains even discussed this, with Electro asking why Doc Ock thinks they can beat him, while Kraven says a team-up is perfect and Ock says he has a fool-proof plan. The plan was simple, as each member fought Spider-Man one at a time to weaken him (similar to Bane’s plan to beat Batman decades later). It wasn’t as fun as when they all attacked at the same time, but what is impressive is that Spider-Man, a teenager at the time, overcame the odds and was able to beat them even though he had temporarily lost his powers before the battle.
3) Ends Of The Earth
“Ends of the Earth” had the Sinister Six at their deadliest because Doctor Octopus had a plan to speed up the Greenhouse Effect and then sell himself to the world’s governments as the only person who could fix it. To do so, he had to put together a new Sinister Six, which included himself, Mysterio, Sandman, Electro, and two new members in Rhino and Chameleon. This was a case where Spider-Man couldn’t stop them alone and needed help from the Avengers and Black Cat.
The Sinister Six storyline ran in 2012, from Amazing Spider-Man #682-687, with other parts in Amazing Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth #1 and Avenging Spider-Man #8. Similar to the first time Spider-Man fought the villains, Doctor Octopus had the villains split up again, but this time they went to different parts of the planet, making this a globe-trotting adventure after the United Nations decide to side with Doc Ock.
2) Sinister War
Sinister War was simply the biggest and wildest Sinister Six storyline of all time because it featured every single person who has ever been part of the team. This took place in 2021 during Nick Spencer and Matthew Rosenberg’s Kindred overarching storyline. In this, Kindred promises every member of the Sinister Six something if they destroy Spider-Man, and they all team together to do so.
This brings back Sandman as a villain for the first time in years and returns Doctor Octopus to his villainous self after years as Superior Spider-Man. This series included the Sinister Six, Superior Foes, Foreigner’s Wild Pack, Syndicate, Savage Six, and more, all teaming up to fight Spider-Man at the same time. It all ended with the ultimate betrayal, which has become commonplace for the Sinister Six, since they have never been able to trust each other.
1) The Return of the Sinister Six (1990)
The best Sinister Six storyline ever told was called “The Return of the Sinister Six” and this was from 1990, where Doctor Octopus made his big return and put together a team that included the original members of Electro, Mysterio, Sandman, Vulture, and a newcomer in Jason Macendale’s Hobgoblin. The plan here was dastardly, as Octopus placed poison in a satellite that would kill everyone on Earth and the Sinister Six plan to hold the entire world hostage.
This was mustache-twirling madness, and Doc Ock had to blackmail Sandman to get him to become a villain again. In the end, this was all about Doc Ock making himself the biggest and more important bad guy in the world, and he was using his teammates to achieve that selfish goal. As always, this ends with a betrayal, but this one made a lot of sense. From the over-the-top plan to the fun storyline and Doc Ock at his most evil, this was the best Sinister Six storyline of all time.
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