In recent years, Marvel’s greatest hero Spider-Man has become persona non grata among a large swath of comic fans after his string of questionable story decisions. While there are multiple Marvel continuities of Spider-Man, it’s the main The Amazing Spider-Man series that has received the harshest criticism over the years. Whether it be unfortunate deaths, controversial events, or unnecessary retcons, the original Spidey canon has become a heated center of debate.
From The Amazing Spider-Man series alone, fans have had to deal with the worst of Spider-Man’s depressing choices. In arguably the most hated Spider-Man story, 2007’s Spider-Man: One More Day by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada sees Spider-Man deal with the consequences and death surrounding his public unmasking in Civil War. The four-part storyline ends with the “heroic” Peter Parker making a deal with Marvel’s Satan, Mephisto, to save his dying Aunt May by erasing Peter’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson. This remains one of the reasons why fans are rightfully angry with modern Spider-Man stories and that anger still rages on in the form of the latest Spidey misstep: the death of Ms. Marvel.
Spider-Man Faces a Constant Barrage of Tragedy
Spider-Man’s most recent storyline concerning the death of Ms. Marvel is living proof that controversy follows him like a shadow. In The Amazing Spider-Man #26, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel is killed by the Emissary after she shape-shifts into Mary Jane Watson in order to protect the real MJ from getting stabbed. Though Kamala’s death seems to be a heroic sacrifice, fans have seen this as a shameless attempt to quickly turn the focus on Spider-Man and continue to regress his character/personality. Ms. Marvel’s death has largely been seen as a mere plot device to make Peter Parker into more and more of a tragic case of a once-lovable hero.
It’s clear that many fans are fed up with Spider-Man’s eternal suffering and the constant bad choices he makes as a supposed paragon of virtue. Even the most experienced comic book writers such as Chip Zdarksy confirmed he wouldn't write for the mainline Amazing Spider-Man due to the harsh nature of Spidey fans. Writing for Spider-Man seems even more stressful than reading it. The reason why is that Spider-Man fans are sick and tired of having these horrible events and choices happen to their favorite superhero. Whether it’s having Doc Ock take over Spider-Man’s body, the messy Clone Saga, or just treating his loved ones like garbage, these convoluted events have ruined Spidey’s entire character for many fans. Many believe that enough is enough, and that it’s time for Spider-Man to return to his roots to rebuild himself.
Spider-Man is a difficult hero to cheer for these days based on his recent storylines, but it’s not the fault of the writers or fans. The problem lies deeper in that all comics have an obsession of changing a character’s core values for the sake of attention and discussion. More often than not, that leads to wild discourse and fans and even writers turning away from their favorite characters. Marvel writers should start fresh by having Spider-Man struggle but also teach valuable lessons about being the everyman in a world of gods and monsters. It’s time for fans to have a grounded, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man once again.
