Sinister Six
The Sinister Six are a group of supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, mainly those featuring Spider-Man. The members are drawn from the character's list of enemies, with the original members forming the team in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Led by Doctor Octopus, the team in its premiere followed swiftly the very early appearances of many of the most enduring members of Spider-Man's rogues gallery: the Vulture, the Sandman, Electro, Mysterio, and Kraven the Hunter. While Doctor Octopus has generally remained its leader, the Sinister Six has had multiple variations of composition.
The team has been adapted into various forms of media, mainly in animated series and video games.
Publication history
The Sinister Six first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1.Fictional team biography
Original Sinister Six
After suffering two defeats from Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus is separated from his tentacle pack. After his tentacle pack breaks free and helps Doctor Octopus get out of prison, he contacts every known supervillain who had crossed paths with Spider-Man. Only Electro, Kraven the Hunter, the original Mysterio, Sandman, and the original Vulture respond. As none of the members are willing to relinquish the honor of killing Spider-Man themselves, they decide to challenge Spider-Man individually with the order in which they face him determined by a random drawing. The Sinister Six kidnap Aunt May and Daily Bugle secretary Betty Brant, holding them hostage in order to force Spider-Man to confront them. Spider-Man defeats the Sinister Six members one-by-one, mocking their decision to battle him individually instead of as a team in front of Doctor Octopus, the last one to be defeated."The Return of the Sinister Six"
In The Amazing Spider-Man #334–339, Doctor Octopus recruits Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, and Vulture, along with the demonic Jason Macendale version of Hobgoblin, as part of his plan to take over the world. However, this was a trick, part of a larger plan by which Doc Ock alone would be the master of the world, by releasing a chemical into the atmosphere that would cause pain in anyone who attempted to use cocaine; he would then sell his cure for the chemical to the rich and powerful. Sandman, who at this point in his career had reformed and was blackmailed into joining, aids Spider-Man in defeating the Sinister Six, and ultimately stopping Doc Ock's plans to conquer the world. Because Octopus' chemical is eating away the ozone layer, Spider-Man has no choice but to release the cure into the atmosphere."Revenge of the Sinister Six"
In Spider-Man #18-23, Electro, Mysterio, Vulture, and Hobgoblin reunite in a bid to take revenge on Doctor Octopus. To trick Sandman into joining them, they hit his foster family with a bomb, leading him to believe Doctor Octopus attacked them as punishment for betraying him. Sandman contacts Spider-Man and asks him to shadow the group as insurance against him being double-crossed. Doctor Octopus easily defeats the other members of the six with his newly reacquired adamantium arms, then zaps Sandman with a weapon that transforms his body into glass and beats Spider-Man nearly to death. When police surround the building, the other members of the Sinister Six agree to serve Doctor Octopus in exchange for his helping them escape. The assembled Sinister Six go off on a rampage, stealing advanced weapons and technology from several sources, including an alien dimension and a facility specializing in cybernetics. To again complete their quorum of six, they recruit Gog. Eventually, Spider-Man and several other heroes confront the villains as they are seizing a Hydra base to gain access to deadly, world-devastating weapons. Most of the members are again incarcerated, but Vulture and Hobgoblin escape.Sinister Seven
A variation known as the Sinister Seven is formed by Hobgoblin to fight Kaine after he killed Doctor Octopus and the Grim Hunter. Hobgoblin's Sinister Seven includes Beetle, Electro, Mysterio, Scorpia, Shocker, and Vulture. They finally find Kaine and a battle erupts. Spider-Man saves Kaine from being executed; the two then work together and defeat the Sinister Seven.Sandman's Sinister Six
Eventually, the Sandman and the second Mysterio form a new version of the Sinister Six, with Venom temporarily replacing Doctor Octopus and the other members consisting of Electro, the second Kraven the Hunter, and Vulture. The Sandman uses the Sinister Six in order to get revenge on Doctor Octopus for turning him into glass in "The Revenge of the Sinister Six" storyline. The Sinister Six are defeated again, and Venom subsequently attacks the various members of the group after being betrayed by them. He nearly kills the Sandman and badly injures Electro and Kraven the Hunter before he and his symbiote are briefly separated from each other by the mysterious Senator Ward.Sinister Twelve
In Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Norman Osborn is unmasked to the public as the Green Goblin and imprisoned. Osborn contacts a group of supervillains who also bear grudges against Spider-Man, all of whom had been financed by Osborn's fortunes for years. Eager to retaliate, the villains agree to band together, and the Sinister Twelve is formed.Mac Gargan is the de facto leader of the Twelve while Osborn is in prison, and he kidnaps Peter Parker's Aunt May and threatens to kill her if Spider-Man does not help Osborn escape from jail. Spider-Man, with help from Black Cat, breaks Osborn out only to be confronted by Vulture, Sandman, Electro, Chameleon, Lizard, Hydro-Man, Shocker, Hammerhead, Boomerang, and Tombstone. Osborn, now in the guise of the Goblin, introduces them as the Sinister Twelve.
Spider-Man and Black Cat are rescued by Captain America, Iron Man, Daredevil, Yellowjacket and the Fantastic Four. Furious, Goblin rockets away and kidnaps Mary Jane Watson and Spider-Man pursues him. Spider-Man and the Goblin clash upon a bridge. Finally, Osborn gives a vital clue as to Aunt May's whereabouts before being knocked into the river below. In the aftermath, Aunt May is found and saved. The rest of the Sinister Twelve are subdued by the other heroes and arrested.
Civil War's Sinister Six
A new version of the Sinister Six apparently bands together during the Civil War storyline. The line-up consists of Doctor Octopus, Grim Reaper, Lizard, Shocker, Trapster, and Vulture. They are stopped by Captain America and his Secret Avengers off-panel and discovered bound and subdued by S.H.I.E.L.D."Big Time" Sinister Six
Following the events of the "Origin of the Species" storyline which involves Doctor Octopus assembling Spider-Man's enemies into targeting Harry Osborn's baby, only the Chameleon, Electro, Mysterio, the Rhino, and the Sandman remain with Doctor Octopus to reform the Sinister Six when the baby does not inherit Norman Osborn's DNA. Their first plot involves sending Micro-Octobots to blow up an Air Force base. This is prevented by Spider-Man, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four.Spider-Man and the Future Foundation stumble on a plot on a Caribbean Island by the Sinister Six which involves the use of a zombie pirate crew. During the fight with the Sinister Six, Spider-Man realizes that the Doctor Octopus, Electro, Rhino and Sandman that they are fighting are robots, while Mysterio and the Chameleon are the only real ones present. Meanwhile, the real Doctor Octopus infiltrates the Baxter Building to look for specific technology plans.
While the adult Avengers are dealing with the eruption of Mount Etna, Tigra and the Avengers Academy students learn that Electro has broken into a French laboratory. Once on the scene, the students discover that Electro is accompanied by the rest of the Sinister Six. The Sinister Six overpower the students and Doctor Octopus steals a device containing self-sustaining power. Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six later fight the Intelligencia where the Chameleon had infiltrated the group disguised as Klaw. After the Intelligencia members are defeated, the Sinister Six steal their Zero Cannon. Doctor Octopus later appears in a robot suit which would help to keep him alive.
Doctor Octopus and Mysterio coordinate the Octobots who have infiltrated the Apogee 1 Space Station and taken over some of the crew members. When Mysterio notices that some of the Octobots were disabled, Doctor Octopus orders the Octobots to finish their mission and then destroy the space station. When Spider-Man arrives on the Apogee 1 Space Station, Doctor Octopus pushes a button that starts to move the Apogee 1 Space Station close to Earth. After Apogee 1 Space Station is destroyed and the crew is evacuated by Spider-Man, the Human Torch and John Jameson, Doctor Octopus tells the rest of the Sinister Six that his master plan is about to begin.
Ends of the Earth
In the "Ends of the Earth" storyline, all of Doctor Octopus' preparations come to fruition in a plan to conquer the world. Doctor Octopus activates a giant antenna array called the Octahedral which, in turn, activates Earth-orbiting satellites he calls the Octavian Lens. The Lens works to speed up the greenhouse effect, which in turn heats up the Earth. Upon hacking into televisions around the world, Doctor Octopus describes what his satellites are doing, and shuts them down. He says he can save the world "at a price". At Palazzo Senatorio, an international gathering of world leaders and the planet's greatest minds meet to discuss Doctor Octopus's supposed offer to save the world. The Avengers crash the assembly and Spider-Man captures the Chameleon, who is at the meeting disguised as Vice President Al Gore. Spider-Man lets the Chameleon go, but he secretly places a Spider-Tracer on him, which allows Spider-Man and the Avengers to follow the Chameleon to the Mediterranean Coast where the rest of the Sinister Six is waiting. The Six subdue the Avengers, leaving only Spider-Man standing. Spider-Man is taken down when trying to gain control of Doctor Octopus's tentacles with his helmet.The Sinister Six then leave the area, and Doctor Octopus issues his demands: control of 200 missile facilities, as well as two billion dollars for each of the members of the Sinister Six. In response, Spider-Man contacts Horizon Labs for help. Doctor Octopus sends the Sandman to guard one of the missile facilities in the Sahara Desert. After Spider-Man, the Black Widow, and Silver Sable enter the facility and defeat the Sandman, Doctor Octopus contacts the U.N. once again and orders them to kill Spider-Man in retaliation. In a subsequent missile facility raid, Spider-Man and his allies manage to defeat the Rhino, but they are unable to capture him because they are attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D. Forced to flee, Spider-Man and his allies then attempt to rally support from Earth's other heroes after the Titanium Man alerts them to the fact that Doctor Octopus has been recruiting other villains. Tracking down a final facility, Spider-Man learns that Doctor Octopus has already launched all of his satellites. However, this is revealed to be a deception created by Mysterio and the Chameleon. Spider-Man defeats the Chameleon when he attempts to attack them in a "Doc-Ock" suit of armor. Spider-Man and his allies then convince Mysterio to help them track down Doctor Octopus's base. While they find the base, they also find themselves pitted against the 'new' Sinister Six—in the form of the mind-controlled Avengers.
Despite Doctor Octopus's confidence, the heroes prevail against their mind-controlled teammates; the Black Widow and Hawkeye are knocked out by Iron Man while he is still under Doctor Octopus's control. Spider-Man's new training, combined with Captain America subconsciously holding back, allows Spider-Man and Silver Sable to defeat Spider-Woman and Captain America, respectively. Finally, Mysterio uses an EMP generator to negate the Octobots controlling Thor, Iron Man and the Red Hulk. Now "Octobot" free, these remaining three Avengers set out to take out Doctor Octopus's missiles, while Spider-Man and Silver Sable confront Doctor Octopus in his base. The two are first met by the Rhino, who decides to drown himself and take Sable with him in an attempt to psychologically beat Spider-Man into submission, but Spider-Man musters his strength, manages to destroy Doctor Octopus's arms and equipment and ultimately hauls his foe away to a doctor.