7 Times Spider-Man Was Absolutely The Worst

Spider-Man has been one of Marvel’s most beloved characters for decades, but he has also done some things that make him unlikable over the years. Peter Parker had a rough start since his immaturity as a teenager caused his Uncle Ben’s death and also put him in the crosshairs of heroes like the Fantastic Four before he began to morph into one of Marvel Comics’ greatest heroes. However, that doesn’t mean it has been smooth sailing since. Spider-Man doesn’t always do the right thing, and often he does things that make him look bad, both in the public eye and in the eyes of the readers.

Here are seven instances where Spider-Man was the absolute worst in Marvel Comics.

7) Constantly Feeling Sorry For Himself

One of the things that makes Spider-Man the absolute worst to read is his propensity for feeling sorry for himself. It has gotten so bad that several animated properties have made fun of it, with the Marvel LEGO movies having other heroes mocking him for feeling sorry for himself all the time. It gets grating at times.

Peter Parker has done a lot to feel guilty for, including the aspects of his responsibility for Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacy’s deaths, as well as indirectly causing his Aunt May to be shot before he made a deal with Mephisto to save her. What makes Spider-Man such a great character is learning from his mistakes and becoming a greater hero. What is often unbearable is his constant self-pity.

6) Superior Spider-Man

Superior Spider-Man is more of a storyline reason for Spider-Man being the absolute worst, while also being one of the best things to happen in Marvel Comics this century. During a battle between a cancer-stricken Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man, Doc Ock switched their bodies and then watched as Peter Parker died inside his body. Doc Ock then decided to be Spider-Man, and he chose to be the best version of Spider-Man.

He was the best version of Spider-Man because he used his brain to its full extent and didn’t allow Peter’s doubts to slow him down. However, he was also the absolute worst version of Spider-Man because he didn’t have a problem with hurting people and made it clear he would kill a villain if he needed to. This remains one of the best Spider-Man storylines of all time, and it is all because of how Doc Ock went from being the absolute worst Spider-Man to one of the best.

5) When He Naively Unmasked During Civil War

For 44 years, Spider-Man was smart enough to keep his identity a secret because he knew his family and loved ones would be in danger if the world knew who he was. However, during the Civil War storyline, a lot of heroes made terrible decisions. This included Iron Man, who did so many bad things that he was almost a villain. One thing Iron Man did was convince Spider-Man to unmask on television.

This meant that everyone knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Iron Man thought it would help shine a better light on his pro-registration side, and he didn’t seem to care about the consequences. Spider-Man should have known better. J. Jonah Jameson sued him, but even worse, Kingpin sent an assassin after him, and Aunt May got shot. This was Spider-Man and Iron Man’s joint fault and led to Spider-Man’s worst overall decision.

4) Spider-Man’s Never-Ending Grudge Against The Clones/Symbiotes

Spider-Man is a hero who believes he needs to save everyone, whether they are friends, family, allies, or even his enemies. However, while this makes him one of the noblest superheroes in Marvel Comics, he has blind spots in two areas. Spider-Man has a blind hatred for both his clones and the symbiotes. At times, it seems that his hatred is so intense, he can’t see them as anything but antagonists.

Nothing Ben Reilly has done has kept Spider-Man from looking down on him. It is clear that Spider-Man has reason not to trust his clones, but they have proven more than once that they can be heroes, and Peter needs to let it rest. Even worse is his opinion of Venom. Nothing that Venom or Eddie Brock has done has lessened Spider-Man’s hatred for them. It will be interesting to see his response when he gets back to Earth and sees that Mary Jane is Venom.

3) Spider-Man Goes On A Rampage After Aunt May Was Shot

After Kingpin had a mercenary come after Spider-Man, and Aunt May got shot, Spider-Man lost his composure and almost went full anti-hero. There was every reason for him to be angry, but he ditched the red and blue and went back to black to attack everyone he believed had anything to do with Aunt May getting shot.

Most readers could sympathize with Spider-Man here, but this was against everything he stood for. When he began to brutalize villains, with Iron Man and the pro-registration forces on his tail, he often went too far. Spider-Man is supposed to be a beacon of good, and seeing him as a vengeful and violent anti-hero was not what Marvel had built Spider-Man to represent.

2) Peter Parker Hit A Pregnant Mary Jane

To point out how much the clones make Peter Parker lose control, he was dealing with Ben Reilly in the worst way possible and fought him every time he saw him, even when Ben tried to smooth things over. The fight got so heated, with Peter Parker refusing to listen to anyone or anything around him, that he did the unthinkable in Spectacular Spider-Man #226.

Mary Jane Watson tried to stop them from fighting, and Peter lost his temper, yelled at her to get away from him, and punched Mary Jane, knocking her across the room. To make matters worse, she was pregnant with his child at the time. There is a good bet this could have made Spider-Man as hateable as Hank Pym, but Peter saying he wasn’t “a man” after hitting Mary Jane might have helped readers forgive him quicker.

1) Made a Deal With Mephisto

The worst thing that Spider-Man ever did in his life was when he made a deal with Mephisto. This is one big reason that One More Day is one of the worst storylines in Spider-Man history. There is a good reason why Peter Parker made this deal, and there is an argument that it wasn’t even his decision, as Mary Jane is the one who whispered something to Mephisto before striking the deal.

This happened after Aunt May was shot and was at the brink of death. Spider-Man had gotten revenge on Kingpin, and he was on the run from Iron Man. However, Mephisto had a deal to get him out of that. Peter and Mary Jane only had to give up their marriage to save Aunt May and erase his secret identity from everyone in the world. Making a deal with Mephisto is always the absolute worst, and Spider-Man doing so was against everything that makes him a hero.

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