“With great power, comes great responsibility.” This saying is synonymous with the web-slinging superheroSpider-Man. As Peter Parker gains and hones special abilities, he must balance his crime-fighting life with his social life and day-to-day struggle with his job. He isn’t rich nor indestructible, just a hard-working guy trying to navigate the world.
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All superheroes have traumatic downfalls and awful shortcomings, no matter how noble or well-intentioned. Unfortunately for the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, he hasn’t always made the right decisions and has had to deal with the consequences. Some of these mistakes have led to catastrophic tragedies for Spider-Man across many different iterations, leaving him holding the bag.
Lets Robber Go Free
After unexpectedly winning a cage match, Peter (Tobey MacGuire) from theSam RaimiSpiderman trilogy is given less money than what was advertised. Feeling cheated and outraged, Peter storms out of the office. While exiting, a man robs the promoter and races toward the exit. Peter has a chance to stop him but lets him pass, allowing him to escape into the night. Later he finds that this same guy has shot his Uncle Ben. Peter hopelessly watches his uncle suffer an avoidable death.
This mistake is exponentially bad for Spider-Man because it would have been a relatively easy stop, avoiding arguably the most tragic event he had experienced to that point. Yet his pride and anger got the better of him. In such an avoidable event, losing Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson), his surrogate father, would affect him for the rest of his life. To rub salt in the wound, he had belittled Uncle Ben the last time they had talked, no doubt adding to his guilt.
Trusting Norman Osborn/Green Goblin
Peter (Tom Holland) from the MCU trusts Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe), being a scientist himself, to assist in finding cures for the various villains. They were able to design a spinal chip that heals Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) and other devices that will healthe villains present. However, in the most inopportune moment, the Green Goblin side of Norman emerges and betrays Peter. He convinces the other villains to escape and attacks Spider-Man. After beating the hero, he attacks and fatally wounds Aunt May, leading to her death.
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Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) was the only family Peter ever had in theMCU. He loved Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr). Peter was close to Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), he had MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), but the only family member he had was Aunt May: she was practically his mother. Losing her would push Spider-Man to the brink like never before.
Kissing Gwen Stacy
During an event where Spider-Man would be celebrated for saving Gwen Stacy’s (Bryce Dallas Howard) life, he rappels upside down to the stage right by her. After hearing some pleas from the crowd to kiss, he tells her to go ahead. They recreate the kiss he had with MJ (Kirsten Dunst) in the trilogy’s first film. This would happen while MJ was in attendance.
Since he was going to propose to MJ soon after, this was not the best decision. The upside-down kiss was the first kiss between MJ and Peter, not only being creative and original but also special. This mistake would not be forgotten and would cause a crack in their relationship.
Uses a Camera Labeled “Property of Peter Parker” While on Patrol
Encountering the Lizard (Rhys Ifans), Peter (Andrew Garfield) fromTheAmazing Spider-Manfilm series descends into the sewers. He mounts a camera on the wall to capture photos of the terrifying monster. After a skirmish in which Peter barely escapes, the Lizard finds the camera. Clearly labeled in bold letters, it says, “Property of Peter Parker.” Spider-Man’s identity is discovered, and he is subsequently attacked while at school.
Even Peter, a genius, is not immune to some dumb mistakes. This careless blunder almost proved deadly, not only for Peter but the other students and faculty at the school.
Giving EDITH to Mysterio
Accustoming to life after Tony Stark’s death is difficult for Peter. It gets more complicated when he is given access to EDITH, Stark’s artificial intelligence designed to oversee Stark Industries' security and defense. Feeling undeserved and unprepared, he gives it to Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a man masquerading as a superhero. It is then revealed that it was a facade and that he had tricked Spider-Man into giving him access to this powerful tool.
Spider-Man’s intentions were good, but Mysterio,a master of deception and illusion, ultimately manipulated him. He gave this dangerous man control over a very powerful defense system that put hundreds of lives at risk.
Keeping The Symbiote Suit
While he sleeps, a symbiote (a parasitic, alien entity) attaches itself to Peter. He awakes on the side of a skyscraper witha black suitand heightened abilities. He violently defeats Sandman and decides to keep the suit. While enhancing Spider-Man’s abilities, it also makes him more aggressive. He insults, attacks, and almost kills Harry Osborn, his childhood friend. He even hits Mary Jane, which is what convinces him to free himself of the symbiote.
He cannot justdance and finger-gunhis way out of this situation. Removing the suit is a daunting task that takes a lot out of Peter. He is able to rid himself of it, but the damage is done. He has fractured relationships with friends and the love of his life. The symbiote also assimilated Spider-Man’s abilities, giving birth to apowerful enemy in Venom.
Miles Breaks The Hard Drive
InSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) witnesses Spider-Man struggling to stop Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) from activating an interdimensional collider that could destroy the city. Spider-Man is fatally wounded in the fight and gives Miles a flash drive that can disable the machine. He watches helplessly as Peter is killed. After this, Miles discovers his powers and goes out to practice what he can do now with his newfound abilities. Unfortunately for Miles, he plunges and hits a car and the pavement, breaking the critical hard drive in his pocket.
He could have left it at home in a safe place. Since it broke, he and the other Spider-People across the multiverse would have to go through a lot of trouble to get the information again, putting themselves in danger. He was entrusted with it, and it broke in an avoidable manner. Although it wasn’t the best move, overcoming this mistake gave Miles some much-needed experience with his new powers.
Death of Gwen Stacy
One of the most disputed topics in the Spider-Man comics is the death of Gwen Stacy. Taken by the Green Goblin to the top of a bridge, Spider-Man rushes to save her. He initially saves Gwen and holds her unconscious body in his arms. The Goblin, however, is not done. He flies in on his glider and knocks her from his grips. As she falls, Spider-Man shoots a web to catch her. It attaches, but the whiplash from the sudden stop breaks her neck.
The dispute begins as some argue Spider-Man did not cause it, that she somehow must have died from other causes, like poisoning. Others, however, say that although it was accidental, his web caused her death. Maybe he could have saved her another way. Either way, Peter loses the woman he loves.
Announces His Identity
Spider-Man announces his identity in the comic version ofCivil War, much like Tony Stark announced he wasIron Man. The issue with this is that now the villains in the city know exactly where to attack him. While he is home with Aunt May and MJ, his house gets attacked, and Aunt May is shot. To save her, MJ and Peter dissolve their marriage and history together in a deal with Mephisto, who is Marvel’s equivalent of the devil.
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If he hadn’t revealed who he was, his home would not have been attacked, and Aunt May wouldn’t have been injured. He wouldn’t have had to deal with Mephisto at all, and they would have remained all together.
Lack Of Planning, Then Interrupting Doctor Strange’s Spell
Coming up with an idea to have the whole world forget who he was, he approachesDoctor Strange(Benedict Cumberbatch). After beginning the spell, Peter interrupts several times with new amendments, but the spell starts to spiral out of control. Doctor Strange can contain it, but dangerous fiends were able to enter from other realities.
Peter shouldn’t have planned this on his own, and MJ relays that message. The plan was rushed and then worsened once there were interruptions. Reality was in danger and the villains who crossed over hurt people. This could have been avoided with some more comprehensive planning.
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