10 Comic Books Where Evil Won

1. Spider-Man: One More Day

Amazing Spider-Man 545 One More Day
Marvel Comics

It's difficult to think of a more controversial comic book than Spider-Man: One More Day. The series upended decades worth of Peter Parker's history in an attempt to make him seem more hip and relatable with The Youth, and it's a decision Marvel are still reckoning with almost 15 years later.

The comic takes place in the aftermath of Civil War where Peter very stupidly revealed his identity to the world to help convince those sceptical of Iron Man's pro-registration movement. He switches sides in the course of the conflict, becomes a fugitive, and then his old adversaries start targeting his family (because of course they do), which leads to Aunt May getting mortally wounded.

Peter does what any irradiated young adult would do in the Marvel universe and decides to strike a deal with Mephisto to bring his elderly aunt back to life. Mephisto conveniently throws in the addition of a mind-wipe so that people will also forget Peter's identity reveal, but at the cost of his marriage with Mary Jane, plus the children they would've eventually had.

One More Day exemplifies everything that's wrong with the superhero genre, but specifically Marvel and DC's obsession with the status quo. It also remains the bedrock on which all subsequent Spidey runs have been laid on, and if that isn't the naffest thing ever, what is?

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Amazing Spider-Man 102
Marvel Comics

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.