Comics Spider-Man's Greatest Defeat?

[Hobgoblin]

You cant win them all, as the saying goes. It may seem that Peter always manages to save the day and beat the bad guy, but are there times that he has been beaten? Are there times that the bad guy won, even if its only a symbolic victory? Did Spider-Man lose when...

Uncle Ben died?
Gwen died?
Captain Stacy?
Ben Reilly?
Marla Jameson?
When Mephisto "saved the day" when Dr Strange couldnt?
When Kraven buried him alive?
What about Kraven's return?
When Morlun killed him?

Are these fair examples or not?

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

Easy question. Lost his marriage with MJ to the devil. -_-

No, wait, hows about : EPIC fail Spider man broadway

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

One More Day easily.

Spidey made a deal with the Devil, lost MJ, his possible future kid and became a permanent man-child.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

You also forgot the time Electro made Spidey beg for his life. It happened somewhere between ASM#421-423. That would have been pretty humiliating.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Hobgoblin those are great examples. However, I would add in the ending of the marriage as well. it may hve been a bad story, but Spidey truly was mentally defeated in OMD.


Also, I'd add in the 9/11 issue. In ASM, the towers falling really made it seeem like Spidey failed as well as all the other heroes.

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

or....Clone saga?

mmm...

 

[moraldeficiency]

OMD and OMIT spring to mind, pete get's owned by the devil and just some random thug respectively.

As for beatings the Black trantula and Morlun gave him the worst hits I can remember.

Most of Guggenheim's comics had Peter getting beaten down by ridiculously underpowered or powerless beings. So in terms of who beat him those are big. He's never beaten Screwball or Menance (screwball surrendered that one time, can't call that a win). Macfarline also had Peter as pretty much a joke of a superhero.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

The Ben Reilly Spider-Man also got destroyed by Cell-12 (I think?) during the 'Blood Brothers' arc.

And Ben Reilly suffered the ultimate defeat in PPSM #75. No coming back from that (at least not yet).

Peter has been absolutely messed up by Venom a few times in the early 90's issues.

 

[shinlyle]

One More Day, easily. He lost everything, and was made to not even remember what he had. That is a permanent loss.

 

[Hobgoblin]

What about moral defeats? Was he "defeated" by Kraven, or by the bank robber that got away and found the Green Goblin's hideout, giving the equipment to Kingsley?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Easy question. Lost his marriage with MJ to the devil. -_-

No, wait, hows about : EPIC fail Spider man broadway

Agree on both points

 

[Donald Thomas]

Aloha,
I guess you youngsters don't think this far back. Spidey's greatest defeat was his first ever defeat at the hands of Doc Ock in Amazing #3. He was ready to throw in the towel for good.A speech given by Johnny Storm inspired him to give it another try. And while I would agree completely that to lose your marriage is a great defeat, he lost his marriage to save the only mother he ever knew. So, in Peter's eyes, OMD is a draw.
Spidey rules

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Aloha,
I guess you youngsters don't think this far back. Spidey's greatest defeat was his first ever defeat at the hands of Doc Ock in Amazing #3. He was ready to throw in the towel for good.A speech given by Johnny Storm inspired him to give it another try. And while I would agree completely that to lose your marriage is a great defeat, he lost his marriage to save the only mother he ever knew. So, in Peter's eyes, OMD is a draw.
Spidey rules

By the end of the Final Chapter he actually stopped being Spider-Man for a while, not less than a day and was only considering it. He needed a girl in an exo-skeleton (she's dead now) to remind him of his thing

And that is a greater defeat

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

Hows about AMS 555, when JJJ's wife died?

 

[Spidey_62]

Hows about AMS 555, when JJJ's wife died?

You mean #654, lol?

I'd say so, he took that one very hard. That combined with all the other deaths he felt responsible pushed him over the edge and called for a change in how he operates.

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

^ Haha my bad.

Yup, for sure. Thats huge change. We will see how it goes

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Re: the confusion about #555 and #654....

I get that too. It kinda spins my head how quickly the issue number has gone up in only 3 years. Realistically we should be around #585 or so by now.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

You mean #654, lol?

I'd say so, he took that one very hard. That combined with all the other deaths he felt responsible pushed him over the edge and called for a change in how he operates.

AGeed. The whole issue itself is fantastic, if you ask me. Slott and Marcos proved how great of a team they were with that issue. Reemmber the 2 page spread showing ALL the people whoe have died in the Spidey universe?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Hows about AMS 555, when JJJ's wife died?

Losing his spider-sense is the biggest defeat in that story, the murder of Marla wasn't his fault

 

[DACrowe]

When Joe Quesada ****ed him up so bad that I and many other readers quit buying comics forevermore.

The only post-OMD Spidey comic I bought was #600 and it was good in a "this feels like it is recycled from a Roger Stern or Tom DeFalco story of the early '80s I have in TPB already" kind of way.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Except Stern or DeFalco wouldn't have Peter "getting drunk" and having a one-night stand.

 

[DACrowe]

Eh....**** happens. They can get away more with comics now. If Peter is supposed to be in his early 20s and it happened a time or two isn't really a big deal in the modern world. Now, if this is supposed to be pre-BND Peter in a different time line and he is around 30....well you have a point. But the series is obviously just going to recycle the post-grad years forevermore, so that does not matter anymore.

 

[bugman]

kraven's last hunt. peter/spider-man is thoroughly beaten and powerless, both physically and emotionally. he is completely at kraven's mercy, as are his loved ones and reputation. and it has a lasting impact on peter's life going forward. frankly, i think those experiences--being buried alive, tangling with vermin, wanting to kill kraven--created enough lasting darkness in him, for him to be willing to make deals with mephisto.

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

^ D***, I havent read that saga before.

 

[spider13]

I'm going with when he lost his spider sense.