Spider-Man helped Marvel become the superhero publisher of choice for older children and teens in the ’60s, and has since become the publisher’s most popular character. Over the years, fans have been treated to various eras of the character. We’ve watched him grow and change from a teen crimefighter to one of the greatest superheroes on the planet, facing off against everything thrown at him. He’s way more than the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, having saved the world, as well as helping save the entire universe many times over. Spider-Man is amazing, and his spectacular adventures have spun a web of success for Peter Parker.
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His fans are one of the most contentious lots in comics, and with good reason. Marvel hasn’t always treated Spider-Man well, and fans have been quite vocal in both their vitriol for the publisher, as well as their praise when something they like happens. They can be rather obstinate at times, though, and that’s made it hard to admit some rough things. There are some things a lot of Marvel fans don’t want to admit about Spider-Man, and here are five of them.
5) Kraven’s Suicide Was a Mistake
“Kraven’s Last Hunt”, by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, is considered by many to be Spider-Man’s best story. It pit him against Kraven the Hunter, who was obsessed with defeating the hero and proving that he was better than the Wall-Crawler could ever be. The villain wins the battle, burying Spider-Man, putting on his costume, and masquerading as him. After this, the hunter kills himself.
It’s a powerful and dark tale, but it also destroyed a character who had just reached his best moment. Imagine Sergei Kravenoff deciding against death because he won, and now he has that victory to hold against the Web-Slinger? The story could have taken him to the next level, and it would have made for great stories in the ensuing years.
4) Dan Slott Is a Great Spider-Man Writer
Dan Slott was hated by Spider-Man fans for years. He wrote one of the longest runs in Marvel history on The Amazing Spider-Man and the book was a bestseller over the eight years he wrote the book. He became the poster boy for the character, and this could have been a good thing if it hadn’t been for the era. He took over after the disaster that was “One More Day”, and he was a company man through and through, so he didn’t question his superiors.
He was known for arguing with fans on Internet forums, and was a target for their ire everywhere. However, go back and read his stories; they were amazing. While not every story was perfect, he gave readers all-time greats like “Big Time”, “Spider-Island”, “Spider-Verse”, and The Superior Spider-Man. He was great, and hopefully, one day, fans will realize they treated him unfairly.
3) Harry Osborn Is the Best Green Goblin
Norman Osborn is a beloved Spider-Man character, and as Green Goblin, has become one of Marvel’s greatest villains. However, when it comes right down to it, genius with mental problems isn’t exactly the best supervillain origin. It mostly just worked because it was the Silver Age, and he’s since made the mantle his own. However, there was a better Green Goblin, someone who had a much better reason to do it: Harry Osborn.
Peter Parker’s best friend, Harry, eventually found out his father’s secret after his “death”, learned that Peter was involved, and decided that he wanted revenge. Harry’s time as the villain in the early ’90s in Spectacular Spider-Man was amazing (from the flawless team of J.M. DeMatteis and Sam Buscema), and ended perfectly with Spectacular Spider-Man #200. Harry worked better than Norman ever could, and his death took away the best version of the villain.
2) Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 3) Isn’t as Great as Everyone Thought
Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 3) kicked off like a house on fire. The new Ultimate Universe became a blockbuster, and this book by Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, and David Messina is one of its most beloved entries. Fans praised it, mostly because it brought back the marriage between Peter Parker and Mary Jane. It did an amazing job of building its cast and setting the stakes, but it never actually became a Spider-Man book, and it’s never really been satisfying.
There are amazing moments, but a lot feels missing. If anything, it’s a Green Goblin and Mysterio book. It’s a fun book to read, but it’s definitely not as great as it could have been. Honestly, every issue happening a month after the last one thing has done a lot of damage to the book, and it can be kind of boring at times. There are only a few more issues left, and we’re all happy it happened, but it’s not all that.
1) Mary Jane and Peter Parker Should Never Get Back Together
The loss of the marriage of Mary Jane and Peter Parker has been a huge source of drama for Spider-Man fans over the last 18 years. We all want them back together, but Marvel has gone out of their way to destroy everything between the two characters. I love the two of them together, but let’s be real: there’s no way they should get back together. Years of writers have made Mary Jane the bad guy has become an insurmountable problem, and there’s no reason for Peter to take her back.
In fact, after everything she’s done, it would be stupid for him to do so. She was definitely written out of character, but the damage has been done. The only way it would make sense is if everything that’s happened since “One More Day” is retconned away, which technically is a possibility, but would be just as bad as them retconning the marriage away to begin with. I’m sorry to say we should leave it in the past.
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