Top 10 Spider-Man Kills

#10: Venom and the Sinner Six (Earth 70237)

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Top 10 Powers Venom Has That Spider-Man Doesn’t

Spider-Man: Reign (2007) Volume 1 Issue #1 Far into the future, an old Peter Parker works alone in a flower shop, having given up the hero’s life. New York no longer has heroes and villains, just a tyrannical police force known as “The Reign.” We learn that Venom has been working behind the scenes to turn the city’s inhabitants into an army of symbiotes. Peter takes up the mask again and works his way through the newly formed Sinner Six. Sandman turns against the villainous league, giving Spider-Man a detonator linked to explosives embedded in the bodies of the Sinner Six. Spidey sets them off, killing Venom, the team, and saving everyone. It was either that or Venom brought on a new age of darkness, so probably the better call.

Spiderman Versus Wolverine (1987) Volume 1 Issue 1 With great power comes the increased likelihood you might hit someone a little too hard. Wolverine was once in love with an ex-KGB agent called Charlemagne, Charlie for short. Years after they separated, he picks up her scent while she’s being targeted by Russian assassins. Peter ends up in Berlin on assignment and the two heroes cross paths. Charlie requests Wolverine to kill her, as she has no other way out. He agrees, but Spider-Man can’t agree with Logan’s decision, and the two battle it out. During the fray, Charlie sneaks up on Spider-Man, who fatally punches her by accident. While there was no bad blood between all parties, this death would haunt Peter for a while.

Marvel Team-Up (1980) Vol 1 90 Spider-Man certainly seems to get more murderous when he teams up with other heroes. The time he teamed up with X-Men’s Beast was no exception. Modular Man was a molecular scientist trapped in a metal exoskeleton who attempted to become a “being of pure energy.” Working with another villain called Killer Shrike, he was almost successful, using microwaves to grow to an enormous size! But, before he can complete his transformation, Spider-Man and Beast use Shrike’s electric claws to overload him, causing him to explode and die! There isn’t any way around it, and Peter shows plenty of regret despite admitting they didn’t have a choice.

Marvel Team-Up (1975) Vol 1 31 When Drom was a child, he was cursed with reversed aging, growing rapidly from an old man to an infant. When he sees the power of the Iron Fist and Spider-Man, he tricks them into fighting each other so he can harness that energy with a unique mirror to stay alive. But when they realize they aren’t enemies, Drom kidnaps Spider-Man and plans to drain all his life force away. The two heroes face off with him and they smash his precious mirror, causing the Backwards Man to de-age until he fades from existence.

The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) Vol 2 Issue 42 Can you kill a ghost? Spider-Man doesn’t seem to think so! Adopting the moniker “Shade,” Jacob Nash began trapping people in the astral plane so he could return to the real world for brief periods. After one of Peter’s students is victim to his ghostly shenanigans, he heads to the astral plane with the help of Dr. Strange. There, the two battle it out! Spider-Man wonders what would happen if he tossed Shade into the prison where he absorbs his victim’s energy. Turns out it causes a huge explosion. When questioned about Shade’s death, Spidey isn’t too remorseful about it, saying he knows people who’ve been dead before. However, we have yet to see Jacob return. Are you trying to avoid responsibility here Pete?

Amazing Spider-Man (1999) Vol 2 Issue 54 Imagine angering 13 different criminals, and then they all come back as a radioactive Frankenstein’s Monster? In 1957, Morris Forelli killed several mafia bosses and their chief lieutenants, burying them in the desert. That area also happened to be a testing site for gamma bombs, the same kind of radiation that made the Hulk. As a result, a somewhat sentient zombie amalgamation rose from the grave called Digger, who sought revenge on Forelli. Spider-Man battled the berserker but was overpowered. So Peter put his stamina to the test by wearing him out until the gamma energy depleted. Once it did, Digger blew up, and Spider-Man blew it off as fighting something that wasn’t even alive.

Marvel Team-Up (1973) Vol 1 12 Spidey didn’t even try to save this guy! While visiting San Francisco, Mr. Parker gets attacked by “Werewolf of the Night.” Parker fights him until daybreak where he transforms back into his human form, Jack Russell. Jack and his friends were watching a magic act when everyone fell into a trance. He was then forced to transform and attack Spider-Man! The two pay a visit to Moondark and Spider-Man shoves the sorcerer into a portal called the Mists of Passage. This sends him falling to a watery death off the Golden Gate Bridge. Spider-Man is not at all guilty about it, even joking about how he won’t cry over a “spilt magician.”

Amazing Spider-Man (2005) Vol 1 Issue 525 Most of the entries on this list see Spider-Man either regret or comically shrug off the people he’s dispatched, but here he’s very conscious of taking someone’s life and doesn’t care at all! During “The Other” arc, Aunt May gets a visit from the villain Tracer. When Peter arrives back at the Avengers Tower, he snaps and strangles the high-tech bank robber to death. It’s then revealed Tracer was a machine. What makes this so shocking is that Peter BELIEVED Tracer was human. He showed no indication of knowing that he was a cyborg, and was completely aware of what he was doing. While some may give him a pass because it was a robot, it’s still scary to see Peter cross that line.

Superior Spider-Man (2013) Vol 1 Issue 5 This is probably the most brutal scene of Spider-Man intentionally killing someone. He shoots a villain, point-blank! During the “Superior Spider-Man” storyline, Dr. Octopus transfers his consciousness into Peter’s body to prevent himself from dying. But once he takes control, he takes a liking to the whole hero business. However, he’s a lot more brutal in how he goes about it. The villain Massacre has just finished shooting countless civilians and Doc Ock concludes that while he may go to jail, he’ll just get out and do it again. So Spider-Man shoots him dead in the face, against Peter’s wishes. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Doctor Octopus (Earth 312500), Amazing Spider-Man (2010) Vol 1 Issue 637 In an Alternate Timeline, a Violent Spider-Man Ends Dr. Octopus Vulture (Earth 90214), Spider-Man Noir (2009) Vol 1 Issue 4 Spider-Man Noir Kills a Cannibalistic Vulture Before He Can Get to Aunt May Morlun, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Vol 1 3 Possessed by “The Other”, Spidey Chomps Down on Morlun’s Head

#1: Gwen Stacy

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Superhero Origins: Spider-Gwen

Amazing Spider-Man (1973) Vol 1 121 This is perhaps one of the most contentious entries on this list. As Peter and Green Goblin battle on the Brooklyn Bridge, Gwen falls towards the river below. Spider-Man attempts to save her, but as his web grabs her, we hear a snap. To this day there is a debate as to what exactly happened. Some say that Green Goblin killed her, some say the whiplash from the webbing caused Gwen’s neck to snap, killing her. Peter is shaken to his core over what happened to Gwen. In an alternate universe, he goes ballistic and kills Green Goblin. In the aftermath he becomes the villain “Goblin” before realizing he’s transformed into what he once stood against. Regardless, it’s a devastating moment that changed Spider-Man forever.