The Worst Thing Peter Parker Ever Did According To Spider-Man Fans
Throughout Marvel Comics and within various on-screen adaptations over the years, Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, has arguably been one of the most relatable and morally sound superheroes out there. This is why he's one of the most famous comic book characters of all time (via Empire). Sure, Peter's a teenager and that period of time in life is something all human beings of age can empathize with, but the character himself is inherently selfless, hopeful, responsible, and brave, among many other things. In the most recent live-action Spider-Man project within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "Spider-Man: No Way Home," fans saw Tom Holland's Peter Parker exemplify all of these qualities to a T by sacrificing the entire world's knowledge of his existence, including that of his loved ones.
Even the whole entire premise of the film revolves around Peter's strenuous efforts to make sure his best friends get the opportunities they deserve. This is also only one film, but throughout comics and cinema, Peter Parker mostly commits great and heroic acts. However, Peter is still human, and we've seen him do some pretty terrible things before making the right decision. For example, Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker went to a pretty dark place in 2007's "Spider-Man 3," leading him to physically hurt his best friend and his girlfriend.
However, it seems that most Spider-Man fans can agree that particular runs in Marvel Comics, rather than adapted movies, are where we see Peter's darkest moments. In fact, there are moments in the comics that enraged so many fans, including one well-known author.
One More Day features Peter Parker's worst moment
Through a recent thread on Reddit, Spider-Man fans began debating the worst things Peter Parker has ever done over the years. u/hhh20012 initiated the conversation by listing their top five poor Spider-Man decisions. Listed at the very top was "Giving away his marriage in 1 more day."
This is in reference to the Marvel Comics four-issue series titled, "Spider-Man: One More Day." It follows Peter after the events of "Civil War," after he revealed his identity to the world as Spider-Man. Unsurprisingly, this causes problems for Peter, leading Aunt May to be shot. After seeking help from both heroes and villains to save her, Peter is presented with a sinister deal from Mephisto. In order to save May, Mephisto wants to take away Peter and Mary Jane's marriage and any recollection of it. After getting one day to figure out their decision, both Mary Jane and Peter accept.
Not only is the "One More Day" series notoriously disapproved of by fans, but even respected authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates explained the disservice that it does for Peter Parker in a 2015 article with The Atlantic. Coates wrote, "'One More Day' felt like an erasure of what had been one of its more unintentionally bold endeavors—the attempt to allow a superhero to grow up, to be more than Peter Pan, to confront the tragic world as it was, to imagine life beyond what should have been." In this piece, he expressed his belief that Marvel didn't allow Peter to face growth and loss.
Eating his loved ones and hitting Mary Jane are also bad
In addition, fans on Reddit felt that Peter Parker made a number of other very bad decisions, including yelling at protesters of police brutality in "Amazing Spider-Man #68" and him kissing Gwen (Bryce Dallas Howard) while being with Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane in "Spider-Man 3." However, u/ForeverFirebird00 offered another suggestion, writing, "Probably eating his loved ones." This is a reference to 2005's Marvel Zombies Issue #1 where an alien virus infects nearly the entirety of Earth-2149, including Peter Parker. After becoming infected, as he tries to save Mary Jane and Aunt May, Peter, unfortunately, eats them both as he cannot control the urge.
u/deifius brought up the fact that given Peter was in a zombified state and couldn't control the actions, it isn't as bad, especially since he "felt really bad about it afterwards." Although eating loved ones is nearly as horrible as it gets, other fans like u/Toradoral and u/billybongnong still think hitting Mary Jane in "Spider-Man 3" is the worst — even though this is ultimately a reference to the Clone Saga in the comics where Peter does hit Mary Jane as well.
Spider-Man was under the influence of both an alien virus and an alien symbiote in both situations. Overall, it's fair to say that Peter doesn't make bad decisions of that magnitude unless this is the case. Given that there are plans in the works for future "Spider-Man" projects featuring Tom Holland's Peter (via Deadline), we may see more bad decisions and the matching repercussions.