Spider-Man has been one of Marvel Comics’ best characters for years, and he has enjoyed some success over his career. He started his career as a superhero as a teenage high school student, before he then went on to college and adulthood. He seemed a little over-matched for years, and then he finally rose to the level where he proved he could beat the most powerful villains in Marvel Comics, including going toe-to-toe with powerhouses like Juggernaut and even the Hulk. However, the road there was difficult, and Spider-Man took some devastating losses over his career as well.
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Here are the five most devastating beatings that Spider-Man took in comics over his career as a hero.
5) Kraven’s Last Hunt
Kraven’s Last Hunt remains listed among the best Spider-Man storylines of his entire existence. This 1987 storyline by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck crossed over between three Spider-Man titles and it had a shocking ending that followed one of Spider-Man’s most devastating losses. This series saw Kraven finally beat Spider-Man, which allowed him to reach the pinnacle of success in his own mind.
It seemed like Kraven actually killed Spider-Man because he even buried the Wall-Crawler after the shooting him. However, in reality, Kraven only used a tranquilizer dart to knock out Spider-Man and then buried him alive. Kraven then took on the role of Spider-Man, stopped a villain Spider-Man had been trying to catch for a while (Vermin) and then when Spider-Man returned, Kraven took his own life since he had nothing left to gain. Kraven was dead, but his last big action was actually “killing” Spider-Man.
4) Spider-Man is Brutalized During Civil War
The Civil War storyline had some terrible moments throughout its run. From a Thor clone murdering Bill Foster and the “good guys” locking up real heroes in the Negative Zone to almost everything Iron Man did, this was a tale of heroes doing terrible things. However, one of the worst things Ion Man did was convincing Spider-Man to unmask to the public, which ended up getting Aunt May shot.
After this happened, Spider-Man changed sides, which made him a fugitive because anyone who wasn’t on Iron Man’s side was a villain in his eyes. Iron Man sent some real villains (Jack O’Lantern and Jester) to get Spider-Man and they almost beat him to death before Punisher shows up and kills the villains and saves Spider-Man’s life. If Punisher hadn’t shown up, Spider-Man would have died.
3) Doctor Octopus ‘Kills’ Spider-Man
One of the most shocking moments in Spider-Man’s history came in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #700. This landmark issue had Spider-Man possessed by a dying Doctor Octopus, while Peter’s mind was sent into Ock’s cancer-ridden body. The two then had a fight, with Peter standing no chance since Ock was at such a low level. When Doc Ock’s body died, it seemed Peter Parker was dead for good.
This was a hugely shocking moment because it seemed that Doctor Octopus had not only beaten Spider-Man, but killed him for good. This led to one of the best Spider-Man runs of all time with Superior Spider-Man where Octopus was the new Spider-Man, but it also showed that Peter still remained in his body and his subconscious led Ock to become a better hero over time.
2) Death of Spider-Man (Ultimate Marvel)
This wasn’t the Earth-616 Spider-Man, but it was still a hugely emotional moment in the world of Ultimate Marvel Comics. Peter Parker was back to being a teenager here and he was fighting more than once battle at the same time when this devastating loss occurred. He was there during the Ultimate Avengers war with the Ultimates, and this is where he made a mistake. Punisher tried to non-lethally shoot Captain America but Spider-Man leaped in front and took the bullet.
This was a fatale shot, but Spider-Man wasn’t ready to die yet. The Ultimate Green Goblin was trying to kill his family and friends and he raced back home to protect them. He then fought the Ultimate Goblin and the two fell in the end. Peter Parker died from the gunshot wound and the brutal beating by the Goblin, and it remains one of the most emotional moments in Ultimate Marvel Comics history.
1) Morlun Almost Kills Spider-Man
When Morlun showed up, Spider-Man had no chance against him. Morlun hit Spider-Man harder than anyone had ever hit him before and that marked Peter Parker for death. The two fought for the first time and Spider-Man was able to get out of the battle in one peace because Morlun underestimated him and Spider-Man tricked him by using his own tainted blood to weaken the villain. Morlun didn’t make that mistake a second time. What happened next was horrifying.
In “The Other,” Morlun returned from the dead and he began to brutally beat Spider-Man. He not only beat him almost to death, but Morlun ripped out one of Peter Parker’s eyes. However, when he showed up in the hospital and broke Mary Jane’s arm, Spider-Man woke up with new powers (turning into a literal man-spider) and finally won the fight, but to get there, Spider-Man had to take the most devastating beating of his entire life.
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