Spider-Man might consider himself a ‘friendly neighborhood’ hero – which, for the most part, may be true – but that doesn’t mean he isn’t hiding a serious dark side. Like most superheroes, Peter Parker has experienced immense trauma, and he faces the worst of humanity on a daily basis. Most of the time, Spidey can compensate for this overwhelming flood of pain and violence in his life with humor and wit. But every now and then, the true darkness within Spider-Man has to come out – and when it does, it’s not pretty.
While Spider-Man hasn’t ventured into the realm of villainy or even antiheroism like other heroes who have become jaded and disillusioned, Peter certainly has flirted with a similar descent, especially when he finds himself wearing his black symbiote suit. The darkness that creeps into his mind can usually be refrained from manifesting through his actions, though Spider-Man does let those darker thoughts slip out through his words when they become too overwhelming to contain. Here are 10 Spider-Man quotes that prove he’s hiding a major dark side.
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10 “I want to hear you SCREAM!!!”
Ultimate Spider-Man #35 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley
When Spider-Man wore the black suit symbiote in the Ultimate Universe, it had a similar effect on him that it had in the original Earth-616 continuity (if not a bit more extreme). In the Ultimate Universe, the ‘symbiote’ suit is actually synthetically made to heighten aspects of the individual wearer’s human body in order to do incredible things like heal rapidly, and even cure cancer. However, the suit wasn’t ready for human testing, as it also heightened and manifested emotions – including and especially rage.
When mercilessly beating on a random criminal who vaguely looks like Uncle Ben’s killer, Spider-Man literally transforms into Venom, screaming about how this person deserves to die, and how he wants “to hear you SCREAM!!!”. The unprocessed trauma of Uncle Ben’s death boiled over in the most extreme way in this issue, which is one of the purest examples of Spider-Man’s masked darkness.
9 “The men with the guns aren’t the predators. I am.”
Amazing Spider-Man #541 by J. Michael Straczynski and Ron Garney
Amazing Spider-Man’s ‘Back in Black’ storyline is perhaps the darkest take on the normally Friendly Neighborhood webslinger ever brought to Marvel Comics, and this moment stands out even among some of the other chilling things Spider-Man does and says. After catching a low-level criminal, Spider-Man sticks him in a web in the sewer above a nest of hungry rats, taunting and terrifying him all the while.
Spider-Man, sitting menacingly in a web of his own mere feet from his victim, starts talking about the nature of predator vs prey, and how the ‘men with guns’ who threaten the safety of New York City aren’t the predators they think they are. They are the prey, and he is the predator, and this borderline sadistic situation makes that as clear as the quote itself.
8 “I use my power to protect innocents. Not… animals like Sin-Eater.”
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #110 by Peter David and Rich Buckler
Spider-Man has a reputation as one of the greatest superheroes of all time because he’s nondiscriminatory when it comes to saving people. Even the worst super-villain alive is still worthy of the chance of redemption in Spider-Man’s eyes, and he will do whatever it takes to save them if they are in danger. At least, most of the time. In this situation, a serial killer named Sin-Eater is being transferred by the police after he is caught, but a mob that gathered around him wants to kill the man themselves. Daredevil jumps into action to protect Sin-Eater, while Spider-Man sits back, content with allowing him to die.
Spider-Man had enough with people he knew and cared about dying around him, and Sin-Eater personified every killer who took someone from Peter’s life. That anger built into rage, and that rage manifested as apathy, to the point where Spider-Man would let someone die when he could have saved them.
7 “You’re not gonna hurt me – or the people I love! I’ll kill you first!”
Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 1 #190 by J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema
When Spider-Man believes Rhino has learned his secret identity (which was part of a larger manipulation scheme by Harry Osborn’s Green Goblin), he feels like his back is up against a wall. Peter thinks that Rhino will use this information to not only attack him when he’s least expecting it, but also to hurt everyone he’s close with. So, in a fit of unchecked rage, Spider-Man lashes out at Rhino, saying that he’ll kill the villain before letting Rhino put anyone he loves in danger.
This is one of the most unhinged moments in Spider-Man’s history, as it wasn’t the black suit that pulled up his inner darkness, but pure, unadulterated fear. And the kicker was that Rhino didn’t even know his secret identity, meaning Spider-Man nearly beat someone to death for close to no reason at all, which only makes this scene even darker than it already is.
6 “Now you know what it feels like. To be wounded, hunted… slaughtered.”
Amazing Spider-Man #637 by Joe Kelly, Michael Lark, and Marco Checchetto
‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ is arguably the most intense storyline in Spider-Man history, and somehow, the sequel to that storyline manages to match it. ‘Grim Hunt’ follows Kraven’s successors as they pick off Spider-Heroes one by one, leading up to the ultimate prize: Spider-Man himself. This makes Peter spiral in a way few situations have before, and his mind becomes consumed with vengeance – especially after Kaine is killed in cold blood.
Spider-Man tracks one of the hunters and toys with her for a while, making her feel the pain and fear she inflicted upon Kaine before finally killing him. This moment may have been justified, but it was still incredibly dark.
5 “You wanna kill something so bad?! Well, why don’t you try it out on me now.”
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 #19 by Nick Spencer and Gerardo Sandoval
In another follow-up to ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’, ‘Hunted’ features Kraven the Hunter recruiting villains with animalistic traits, powers, and/or costumes to attack Spider-Man all at once in Central Park, where he is effectively trapped. Not only that, but Kraven also auctions off the chance for wealthy civilians to hunt Spider-Man along with these iconic members of his rogues gallery by-way of robotic avatars.
When Spider-Man comes across one of those avatars, he absolutely loses it and smashes the android to bits, all the while screaming at the disturbed individual controlling it.
4 “I know that this is the end, this is my last stand.”
Amazing Spider-Man #500 by J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita Jr, and John Romita Sr
When Spider-Man becomes lost in the flow of time, caught between his cemented past and his fluid future, he sees both his younger and older selves during their most vulnerable and volatile moments. His younger self is about to be bitten by the radioactive spider, while his older self is about to face the consequences of that fateful event. In the potential future Peter is gazing into, his older self is making a final stand against law enforcement at the gravestone of his Aunt May. Dozens of guns are pointed at Spider-Man, and he doesn’t intend on going quietly, making this – quite literally – his last stand.
This moment is unique in its darkness, as it’s not a scenario filled with overwhelming anger or violence, but of sadness, loss, and finality. Nothing is fueling Spider-Man in this scene except the bitter truth that this is the end, and his dark acceptance of that truth.
3 “All I want is to rip her limbs off and beat her with them.”
Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #47 by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr
After the villain Shathra discovers Spider-Man’s secret identity, she decides to torment him until he ultimately unravels. One of the ways she does this is by going on live television as a woman named Sharon Keller, who claims to have been in a relationship with Spider-Man. As ‘Sharon’, Shathra says all kinds of slanderous things about Spider-Man, and the webslinger responds by attacking her on-camera. He is so blinded with rage that he doesn’t even think about how this will look to viewers, Spider-Man just wants to stop Shathra before she does any real damage.
When Shathra’s true appearance is revealed on-camera, Spider-Man is really able to hold nothing back – though he doesn’t go as crazy as he wants to. During the fight, Spider-Man thinks to himself, “All I want is to rip her limbs off and beat her with them”, which is definitely justified, but a tad bit excessive, and unquestionably dark.
2 “You killed the woman I love – and for that, you’re going to die!”
Amazing Spider-Man #121 by Gerry Conway and Gil Kane
One of the most tragic events in Peter Parker’s life was when his first love, Gwen Stacy, died in his arms, as she was murdered by the Green Goblin. Spider-Man tried to save her, but he just wasn’t able to, and in the end, he never forgave himself. Of course, at that moment, Spider-Man didn’t have time to hold himself responsible, he needed to take care of the person who was really the cause of Gwen Stacy’s death: the Green Goblin – and he let Gobby know it, too.
Spider-Man screamed at the top of his lungs that he wasn’t just going to kill the Green Goblin, but make him suffer before he finished him off for good. While the Green Goblin did end up dying soon after this (though that was later retconned), Spider-Man wasn’t technically the cause. However, if words could kill, Spider-Man would have been.
1 “I turn your entire respiratory system into one big solid chunk of useless tissue and webbing.”
Amazing Spider-Man #542 by J. Michael Straczynski and Ron Garney
This scene is by far one of the darkest in Spider-Man’s Marvel Comics history. This isn’t just Peter beating up a bad guy or even threatening to kill one of his villains, this is Spider-Man quite literally on the verge of committing murder. Wrist firmly aimed inside the Kingpin’s open mouth; what Spider-Man is threatening here is no different from someone pushing a loaded gun up to someone else’s temple, with every intention of pulling the trigger.
‘Back in Black’ is a hardcore storyline with other moments that put Spider-Man in a less-than-friendly light, but this one isn’t just the darkest in that arc, it’s perhaps the darkest moment in Spider-Man’s entire life, and the quote accompanying it only highlights that. That’s why this is one of the 10 Spider-Man quotes that prove he’s hiding a major dark side.
