Summary
Spider-Man is one ofMarvel’smost popular heroes, but that hasn’t stopped the publisher from putting him through the wringer regularly. It’s a running joke among fans that Marvel’s writers love making the Webhead’s life hell. This means that, despite his best efforts, Spider-Man often fails to save the day.
That can be a problem for Spidey’s home city of New York. Whereasthe best Spider-Man movie endingsusually see Spider-Man rescue the city and its residents, in the comics there’s often a lot of collateral damage. Despite his reputation as being “the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” sometimes New Yorkers might be better off if Spidey had left the hero stuff to someone else. For the following examples, we’ve focused on the comic books and times when Spider-Man’s failures have affected the city as a whole. Times when Spider-Man’s mistakes have had even wider repercussions (like re-writing reality) as well as more personal failures (like the tragic death of Gwen Stacy) have been ignored here.
7Letting Doc Octopus Become The Superior Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man #698-700 and Superior Spider-Man #1-31
Doctor Octopus first appeared in 1963 inThe Amazing Spider-Man #3. Since then, Spidey has battled and beaten Otto countless times. He’s also lost a few, with his worst loss to one of his oldest enemies during theSuperior Spider-Manarc. A dying Doctor Octopus mind swaps with Peter, trapping the unlucky hero in his dying body. The ever-egotistical villain then decides to prove he’s better than Spider-Man by using his smarts to become a “superior” version of Spider-Man. While he’s doing this, the original Spidey seemingly dies in Otto’s original body.
Safe to say this is one ofthe darkest Spider-Man storiesMarvel has produced. While things initially go well for Octavius, it doesn’t take long for him to realize he’s bitten off more than he can chew. It turns out Peter Parker was pulling his punches all along, and the more ruthless Superior Spider-Man brutally injures some of Peter’s most famous villains. This, and Otto’s more authoritarian approach to crime fighting, puts him at odds with other heroes, including the Avengers. Things come to ahead inGoblin Nationduring which Green Goblin reappears and outclasses Otto while taking over New York with his Goblin army. The Superior Spider-Man has officially failed to protect New York and Otto realizes all he can do is hand back control to the real Spider-Man, who had been acting as his conscience throughout the series. Peter finally returns but it was a rough few months for the people of New York.
6Got Involved In Super Hero Politics During Civil War
First Civil War Event, 2006
Not a lot of heroes came out of Marvel’s 2006Civil Warevent looking good. Spider-Man had a particularly hard time of it. Originally siding with Iron Man in support of the Superhuman Registration Act, Peter decides it’s a good idea to unmask himself to not just New York but the rest of the world. This gives his enemies just the ammunition they need to target Spider-Man’s loved ones, which leads to Aunt May getting shot.
Spidery then flip-flops and changes his mind, opting to join Captain America’s team, leading to an increasingly unhinged Iron Man trying to kill him (and almost succeeding). The big problem with this event is that Spider-Man and his friends were so busy beating each other up and playing politics that they forgot what really mattered. All Spider-Man managed to do was fan the flames between the pro and anti-registration factions. Furthermore, he helped turn New York into a battleground as the different hero and villain factions fought each other. It’s always fun watching our favorite heroes duke it out, but at the end of the day, we still need them to act like heroes. Spidey didn’t, and New Yorkers paid the price.
5Couldn’t Keep Up Cletus Kasady During Maximum Carnage
Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage
Spider-Man fans know that when Carnage shows up things are going to get messy. A true sociopath and sadist, Carnage is easily one ofSpidey’s most evil villains. Whereas most of the hero’s villains fight for personal gain or glory, Carnage just delights in causing as much suffering as possible. During 1993’sMaximum CarnageEvent, the villain decided to launch a terror spree across New York.
On a good day, Carnage tends to be more than a match for Spider-Man, but this event saw him leading his very own “family” of supervillains, including the likes of Shriek and Demogoblin. As the villains delighted in massacring innocent New Yorkers in the streets, Spider-Man was forced to team up with Venom and some other heroes. It didn’t really work. Spider-man and his allies were outnumbered and simply couldn’t keep up with the mayhem Carnage had unleashed on the city. While Spider-Man and Venom argued over the level of violence the heroes could respond with, Shriek used her powers to turn New Yorkers against one another. Ultimately, the heroes only won because Carnage decided to attack his own side, finally giving Spider-Man and co a chance. By then, it was too late for many of the city’s unlucky inhabitants.
4Left New York At Kraven’s Mercy During Kraven’s Last Hunt
Web of Spider-Man #31-32, Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132
Spider-Man isn’t just a man in a costume running around New York, saving people. He’s an icon, a beacon of hope responsible for making New Yorkers feel safe in a comic book world where the opposite is frequently true. For Spider-Man to fail his city, he doesn’t need to let ordinary people die, sometimes he just needs people to lose hope in him. This is what happened inKraven’s Last Hunt.
Easily one ofthe best Kraven stories, this event starts with an old and dejected Kraven getting the better of a distracted Spider-Man. He shoots the hero with a rifle, buries him alive, and then spends the next two weeks cosplaying as Spider-Man in a black suit. Much like Otto during the Superior Spider-Man, Kraven wants to prove he can beat Spider-Man at his own game. He does so by being a much more brutal version of the hero who not only beats criminals to a pulp but is also willing to kill them. Unsurprisingly, the populace of New York and its police notice the change in their hero, losing faith in him. Spider-Man eventually breaks free and confronts Kraven, but in the process, the cannibal Vermin (who Kraven managed to capture) is unleashed, inflicting even more suffering on the people of New York.Kraven’s Last Huntsaw one of Spidey’s most talented villains repeatedly outsmart him. The story ends with Kraven committing suicide and Spider-Man leaves picking up the pieces of his tattered reputation.
3Spider-Island Turned Normal New Yorkers into Super-Powered Spider-Monsters
Amazing Spider-Man #666-673
The Jackal has been obsessed with Spider-Man ever since the death of Gwen Stacy, pretty much making it his life’s mission to make Spidey’s life miserable. As one ofSpider-Man’s greatest villains, he’s been responsible for some of the hero’s best storylines and some of his most controversial. Spider-Island is one of the better Jackal storylines, pushing Peter Parker past his limits and forcing him to rely on those closest to him to save New York.
DuringSpider-Island, the Jackal released a genetically engineered virus that gave thousands of New Yorkers (including Mary Jane Watson and Spidey’s girlfriend at the time, Carlie Cooper) spider powers. Combined with the Jackal hiring a host of spider-themed villains dressed as Spider-Man to attack the city, things soon get out of control. The situation only gets worse when those infected with the virus start turning into monsters. Soon, New York falls into complete chaos, and the Avengers are called in to try and calm things down. Eventually, Spider-Man and his allies find a cure for the Jackal’s virus, but the event leaves its mark on the city. The worst part of it all was that Madam Web had warned Peter what was to come, but feeling uncharacteristically over-confident he dismissed her concerns.
2The Clone Saga Made New York Question Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man #149 (1975) to The Spectacular Spider-Man #263 (1997)
The Clone Sagas are some of the most famous and controversial Spider-Man stories of all time. The first clone saga kicked off not long after Gwen Stacy’s death in the 1970s and saw the first time the Jackal made Spider-Man fight his own clone. The second clone saga took up a good chunk of the 1990s and gave us both Ben Reilly and Kaine. Then we got a third clone saga in 2021 focused around Miles Morales. It’s the second Clone Saga we’ll be talking about here.
The second Clone Saga ended up being extremely dragged out and more than a bit convoluted. Essentially, it saw the return of Peter’s original clone, Ben Reilly, as well as the arrival of new, less friendly clones such as Kaine. The Jackal unleashes these clones on New York, causing yet more mayhem. Peter plays straight into the villain’s plans and begins to doubt if he’s even the real Spider-Man and this identity crisis hampers his ability to protect his city. The whole ordeal did Spider-Man’s reputation in the city little good, and it took a long time for the public to regain trust in their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. We’re used to seeingdifferent versions of Spider-Manbut having so many clones running around, some good, some evil was all a bit much for everyone involved.
1Stand Tall Is A Touching Memorial To The Real Events of 9/11
Amazing Spider-Man Vol 2 #36
For the most part, Marvel’s comic books usually attempt to avoid talking about real-world events. After all, reading them is meant to be a form of escapism. Sometimes, though, real-world events are so earth-shattering, that the writers have little choice but to include them. That’s what happened withThe Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2, Chapter 36. Also known as “Stand Tall”. Written following the tragic events of 9/11, the book saw Spider-Man and other heroes arriving just after the fall of the Twin Towers.
It’s a deeply emotional issue that sees Spider-Man helping the first responders at the scene while emphasizing that they’re the real heroes. Spidey is deeply connected to his city, and he’s wracked by guilt that he couldn’t stop the attack. Even villains like Magneto, Kingpin, and Dr. Doom turned up to lend a hand and mourn. Spider-Man is usually at his best when cracking jokes and being light-hearted, but this issue served as a touching memorial to the real events of 9/11. It’s a heavy, emotional issue that opens with Spider-Man unable to save his city but finishes with him helping to raise its spirits and make sure evil doesn’t get the last word.
