11 Comic Book Characters Who Underwent Horrifying Transformations

3. Spider-Man Turns Into A Man-Spider

man spider
Marvel Comics

While Angel and Spidey ventured to The Savage Land, they were captured by Magneto's underling, Brainchild. Using a Devolution Ray, Brainchild turned Angel into a griffin and Spider-Man into a monstrous Man-Spider. Deprived of their personalities, Brainchild manipulated the two mutated superheroes to attack his enemy, Ka-Zar.

The wall-crawler turned into the Man-Spider again after being exposed to a mysterious pollen created by the nefarious Plantman. (Interestingly, Plantman is the only Marvel character devised by Jerry Siegel; the creator of Superman.)

Fans enjoyed the Man-Spider stories so much, it was incorporated into the animated series, Spider-Man. In the second season of the show, Peter Parker learns that the spider-bite that gave him his powers is mutating his genes. When he consumes a potential antidote to reverse the mutation, it indirectly accelerates the process, turning Spider-Man into an eight-limbed mindless monster.

The last time Spider-Man has transmogrified into a Man-Spider was in the 2004 story, Changes. In this tale, the Spider-Queen transforms Spidey into a giant arachnid so she can mate with him, allowing her offspring to rule the world. Luckily, Spider-Man returned to normal when he gave birth... to himself. (Fans are still trying to figure out how that's possible.)

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows