Spider-Man is, without a doubt, one of Marvel’s most popular heroes and for good reason. He’s the star of some of the best comic book stories ever told, giving readers a relatable character who works to find his way in the world – not just as a hero saving the day, but also as a regular guy living a daily life. It’s Spider-Man’s relatability that has made him a fan-favorite for decades, and a key part of that is the humor. Spider-Man is a funny character, with plenty of quips as he webs his way across the city.
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But while Spider-Man is, by nature, funny, some of his humorous moments stand out more than others. These aren’t necessarily the height of humor; instead, these moments are more like bad jokes, just the kind that are cringey enough to actually be pretty great. Between pop culture references that give us a giggle to moments where Spidey plays off of people’s lack of understanding, these are the Spider-Man moments that are so bad they’ve swung right back around to being amazing.
7) He’s Batman
Marvel and DC may be completely separate worlds, but that doesn’t mean that some of the references don’t mix, at least for Peter Parker. The webslinger is no stranger to a good pop culture reference, but the one that takes the cake might be Batman. 2005’s Runaways #11 saw the heroic group of teens trying to clear Cloak’s name after he was accused of attacking Dagger. Part of that includes Gert Yorkes and Victor Mancha doing some investigating, which brings them into contact with Spider-Man, who, upon being spotted by the teens, humorously identifies himself with “I’m Batman.” It’s not necessarily a “bad” moment, but it is a little cheesy, which makes it not only funny but very fitting for Spider-Man.
6) I’ll Be Yoda, You’ll be Luke
As team-up books go, Avenging Spider-Man’s not bad, but it does have a few moments that are arguably not great but end up being pretty funny at the same time and one such moment comes in Avenging Spider-Man #1. The issue sees Spider-Man teaming up with Red Hulk to take on a Moloid army during the New York Marathon, which is silly enough on its face, but the moment in question here sees Peter make another one of his pop culture references.
To deal with the Moloids at the marathon, Spider-Man needs to get back to New York, but instead of getting to take one of the jets, Red Hulk has to be his transportation. Spider-Man joking about the actual logistics of that — with his joke about if they were going to do things Luke/Yoda style from Star Wars — is pretty classic. Of course, there’s also a joke about abusive relationships in there, which is less hilarious.
5) The Responsibility of Accuracy
2016’s Spider-Man series saw Miles Morales operating as Spider-Man in the main universe when he ends up also operating with Peter Parker’s Spider-Man. The result is Miles having to earn everyone’s respect as a hero (which he does by defeating Blackheart), but it’s not Miles who has the so-bad-it-is-good moment in the second issue.
While recognizing Miles as Spider-Man, Peter and the young hero have a chat, with Peter asking him if he remembered the advice he’d given him. Part of that is his “With great power…” motto, except Miles finishes it with “comes great responsibility.” It’s what most Spider-Man fans would say, but it’s not actually right — something that Peter breaks the fourth wall to correct, complaining a little about how no one ever gets the phrase right. It’s not necessary for the moment, but it’s actually kind of great since it’s such a commonly misquoted phrase. Now we’ve all been shamed by Spidey.
4) Peter’s Back
After Otto Octavius spent time as the webslinger — the Superior Spider-Man — it didn’t take much to reveal that the real deal was back in the suit. All it took was a corny joke, and Green Goblin was acutely aware that he was dealing with his old foe. Superior Spider-Man #1 featured a funny, if not cringey, moment with Spider-Man making a crack about never carrying a man-purse, which is all Goblin needs to hear to realize that the real Spider-Man is back. It’s a silly joke, but an effective moment.
3) Underwear Issues
Weirdly enough, this is the first of two moments involving Spider-Man and underwear to not only make this list, but the top three. 2020’s The Amazing Spider-Man #2 saw Peter back in his body after it had previously been taken over by Doc Ock, and while Doc Ock definitely made some improvements, one of them had unexpected — and uncomfortable — results.
When Captain America asks Spider-Man why he’s wearing normal pants instead of his usual attire at Avengers Tower, he reveals that his clothes were destroyed in a fight, so he had to cover himself with webbing. The problem? Peter had no idea that Doc Ock had improved the formula, and now, Peter embarrassingly couldn’t get his pants off his body because they were stuck to the web undies. It’s so ridiculous, but it’s also hilarious and makes a weird amount of sense.
2) More Underwear Issues
Speaking of Doc Ock and underwear, one of the best worst Spider-Man moments actually belongs to him. Ultimate Spider-Man #20 saw a clash between Spider-Man and Doc Ock that resulted in Spider-Man pantsing the foe using his webs.
It’s clever and effective, but what makes the whole thing great is less the actual act of Doc Ock being pantsed than what we learn in the process: Turns out the villain wears tighty whities, something that is revealed to the larger population because the whole pantsing situation was shown on television.
1) Summoning the Spiders
Spider-Man isn’t Ant-Man: he can’t control insects and get them to give him an assist, but not everyone seems to realize that, at least not in Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #57. The whole issue is just chaos in a good way, but the winning moment here comes when Spider-Man faces off with a villain who apparently has no idea what Spider-Man can actually do. He manages to get the villain to give up by acting like he’s “summoning the spiders” to come do his bidding — “hundreds of them. Thousands. And all of them at my command. Because I’m Spider-Man.” It’s enough to get the villain to surrender. It was literally that easy. And funny.
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