10 Worst Fakeout Endings In Comics

8. The World Knows Spider-Man's Secret Identity

Spider Man Unmasked Civil War
Marvel Comics

Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's Civil War is an arc full of monumental moments, but nothing is quite as shocking as Peter Parker publicly unmasking to reveal to the world who exactly has been under the Spider-Man get-up for all these years.

Not just was this a mind-blowing moment, Peter's unmasking was the perfect way to highlight just how much he'd been manipulated by Tony Stark. Somewhat begrudgingly agreeing with Stark's wish for all superheroes to be governed by official laws and regulations, Parker is convinced that revealing his identity to the public is the next step in furthering Iron Man's plans.

Of course, Spider-Man declaring to the world that he is Peter Parker soon puts a target on ol' Web-head and those closest to him. While the decision from Marvel Comics to take away the mystery of Spidey's secret identity was a questionable one, fans were at least intrigued to see how this major shift in the character would play out. After all, such a gigantic change in the very fundamentals of Spider-Man lore was absolutely something that would permanently stick from here on out, right?

Nah, mate. Instead, the god-awful One More Day arc lurked around the corner, where Peter would make a deal with the literal devil to sacrifice his marriage to Mary Jane in order to save Aunt May and have all knowledge of his identity wiped out of existence.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.