9 Most Messed Up Things Spider-Man Has Ever Done

3. Going Public - Civil War

Marvel Zombie Spider-Man MJ
Marvel Comics

To elaborate a little more on the Civil War unmasking of Spider-Man, this was something that baffled on so many levels.

For readers, it was impossible to swallow that Spider-Man would reveal his secret identity to the world, even if he was being manipulated by Tony Stark. Considering Peter had spent decades keeping his secret from the world and from so many of those close to him for fear of it putting his loved ones in danger, it was downright uncomfortable to see the character let everyone in on his real identity at the behest of Iron Man.

On a character level, this was something that went against so much of what we'd come to see as the fundamental characteristics and mindset of what made Spider-Man tick, with even the most naive and positive of readers able to see that no good would come of this - particularly in how letting the cat out of the bag that Peter Parker was Spider-Man would put Peter, Mary Jane, Aunt May, and so many others in the immediate crosshairs of those with a grudge against the Wall-crawler.

As it happened, it didn't take long for this decision to come back and bite Spider-Man hard, with Aunt May fatally shot by a hired gun of The Kingpin. May would ultimately survive the gunshot that should've killed her, but that survival came at an almighty cost.

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, 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 dayjob, his role as the 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, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.