Spider-Man has been involved in some of the best stories in Marvel Comics history, but he has also been in some storylines that are overrated and overpraised. Spider-Man got his start as a teenager who was bitten by a radioactive spider and then developed incredible powers that made him one of the world’s most powerful characters. That said, he was also very young and and a lot to learn, and it was him growing into his role and finding his place in Marvel Comics that helped solidify him as one of the most popular superheroes of all time. However, this also means that he was in some good stories that were miscategorized as great.
Here is a look at five overrated Spider-Man stories that were good but don’t deserve the status they have earned over the years.
5) The Night Gwen Stacy Died
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Gwen Stacy’s death is right up there behind only Uncle Ben as moments that changed Spider-Man’s life. However, is it the masterpiece that many people claim when they put it on their lists of the best Spider-Man stories of all time? It is not one of his best stories, and there is enough problematic about it to say it doesn’t even deserve to be close to those lists. This was an early case of refrigerating a woman in comics, as her death was only to push Spider-Man’s story.
When Spider-Man yelled out that Green Goblin killed the woman he loved and deserved to die, it showed the exact reason Gwen died, and it had nothing to do with anything beyond her being Peter Parker’s girlfriend. The fact that the entire storyline ends with Peter and Mary Jane together, showing that Peter can just move on after he grieves made Gwen’s death even more meaningless. It was an emotional story, but it doesn’t deserve the praise it often receives.
4) The Return of the Hobgoblin
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
One of the best Spider-Man storylines of the 1980s was the arrival of the Hobgoblin because it brought back the mysteries from the first two years of Spider-Man comics where no one knew who the Green Goblin was or what he was doing what he was doing. Here, it was a new villain in the Hobgoblin and fans wondered who this could be, whether it was Norman, Harry, or anyone else. The mystery made the story great. When it was revealed to be Ned Leeds, it was polarizing, but at least it made readers feel something.
In “The Return of the Hobgoblin,” Marvel revealed it wasn’t Ned at all, and the real Hobgoblin only made Ned believe he was the villain. There were other Hobgoblins used as well, and the real Hobgoblin was Mary Jane’s former boss, Roderick Kingsley. The story was supposed to finally bring the original plans back into motion, but it all felt tacked on, no one seemed to care about Kingsley, and suddenly, Hobgoblin was a B-tier villain. This isn’t an all-time great story, it was the death of a villain’s popularity.
3) Spider-Man: Blue
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
There were two similar Spider-Man stories that really showed the hero in a new light. Both are considered masterpieces, but only one really stands up to that reputation. They were Spider-Man: Life Story and Spider-Man: Blue. In Spider-Man: Life Story, the story showed Spider-Man aging in real time, and it followed the brilliant blueprint of the Fantastic Four’s similar storyline. It was fun seeing him in action in familiar stories, but at different points in his life.
However, Spider-Man: Blue just explored the early days of Spier-Man’s career and his relationships with Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and more. This was simply a nostalgia trip to old times, and showed Peter in scenes around certain events, but with the added frustration of inconsistencies to the original comics. It was nice to see Peter and Gwen get more time together, but anyone who loved the original stories won’t find as much to love here.
2) Spider-Verse
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Anyone who watched the Miles Morales Spider-Verse movies knows that there are great stories here to be told. However, the comic book version of Spider-Verse was interesting and tried some creative things, but it is no way deserving of the high status it has received among fans. While it is cool to see all these spider-characters from across the multiverse teaming up, it just didn’t hit as well as it should have.
In the end, Spider-Verse is just a team-up comic book that doesn’t do much different from any other at Marvel. The fact that most of it just plays out to show that 616-Peter Parker is the best of the best is just tiring. Dan Slott is one of the best Spider-Man writers working today, but he has done so much better. Spider-Island is also overrated, but it is so much fun that its easy to look past that. Spider-Verse doesn’t even reach that level.
1) Maximum Carnage
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
The first Venom storyline isn’t really that big of a deal, but it at least introduced Eddie Brock and created the Venom character. The introduction of Carnage was also just a shock-and-awe storyline that at last holds up by showing that a symbiote villain could make even Venom look like a hero. However, with Maximum Carnage, Marvel took the worst parts of both of those previous storylines and just went all in on it.
Maximum Carnage is all over the place, and it was hard to get through since it just never seemed focused on anything that should be in place for a masterpiece comic book story. The best parts saw Carnage just going wild, but even that grew tiresome and there were so many of these moments that it just seemed like it dragged on forever. It seemed overrated when it came out. People today look back with nostalgia and praise it, while this Spider-Man story remains one of the most overrated in history.
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