9 Most Messed Up Things Spider-Man Has Ever Done
3. Going Public - Civil War
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.