Having His Body Stolen
[ranking: 1]
The most serious of consequences suffered by Spider-Man during Slott??s run began with this horrific revenge brought on by Doctor Octopus. Doc Ock was dying from a degenerative disease, and when his last crack at world domination failed, he decided to go for the ol?? brain swap trick. Ock managed to swap his brain into Spidey??s body and vice versa, meaning he had access to all of Spider-Man??s powers and memories, along with a much better body. Peter Parker, meanwhile, was left in the dying and decrepit frame of Otto Octavius. All of this was revealed in the thrilling twist ending of Amazing Spider-Man #697, during which the reader had no idea they were reading the adventures of Doctor Octopus until the final page.
The Aunt May Memory
[ranking: 2]
While the entire Superior Spider-Man experience was undoubtedly awful for Peter Parker, one moment, in particular, stands out. Peter was not entirely erased from existence, but lived for awhile as a sort of ??force ghost,?? stuck inside Doc Ock??s head and forced to watch him commit atrocities. During his adventuring around his own brain, Peter managed to gain access to Doc Ock??s memories, which he immediately regretted. Some may remember that Doc Ock was once engaged to Aunt May, and Spidey discovered firsthand that the couple didn't exactly remain chaste before the wedding. This is the kind of horrific event that could only happen in a comic book.
Dying in Doc Ock's Body
[ranking: 3]
Of course, our good man Spidey wouldn??t take something like a body-snatching lying down. Spider-Man managed to put up a valiant effort to reclaim his body from Doctor Octopus, using the villain??s own body to attempt a counterattack. Sadly, this ultimately failed, and Peter Parker died while stuck inside the body of one of his greatest enemies. Thankfully, Peter managed to force Doc Ock to relive his memories before he expired, which caused Doc Ock to learn about the whole ??great power, great responsibility?? thing and convinced him to make an attempt at being a hero.
Indirectly Causing His Father-in-Law's Death
[ranking: 4]
Just because Spider-Man is now a jet-setting CEO doesn??t mean that tragedy has stopped affecting his life. His latest brush with death came when his father-in-law, Jay Jameson, contracted a serious illness. A mysterious corporation, New U Technologies, offered to step in with some revolutionary medical treatment, but Spider-Man??s patented spider-sense warned him that they were up to no good, so he convinced Jay to turn down the treatment. Spidey ended up being entirely correct, as the Jackal was behind New U, but he was unable to communicate this with his family, leading to them blaming him when Jay passed away.
When the Lizard Ate His Own Son
[ranking: 5]
One of the baddies the Kravinoff family forced Spider-Man to face off with was the formerly-cured Dr. Curt Connors, better known as the Lizard. Connors, when in human form, is an ally and friend of Spider-Man??s, but his Lizard form is nearly uncontrollable. This was driven home in one especially horrifying storyline, which ended with Connors losing complete control and eating his own son, Billy. This was undoubtedly one of Spider-Man??s most tragic moments, and completely destroyed any shred of humanity left in Dr. Connors. Spidey??s come a long way from webbing his bad guys up and leaving them in front of the police station with a note, hasn??t he?
Watching Doctor Octopus Impersonate Him and Being Powerless to Stop It
[ranking: 6]
Doctor Octopus, upon claiming his rival??s body, almost immediately began describing himself as the Superior Spider-Man, because nobody ever explained to him what overcompensating looks like. While Doc Ock was earnest in his efforts to be a greater hero than Spider-Man had ever been, he had some different ideas about what exactly that constituted. He quickly installed some vicious claws into the Spidey suit, and used his upgrades to beat the holy hell out of, and eventually kill, some of the mildest villains in New York City. Doc Ock occupied this role for well over a year but ultimately gave the body back to Peter when Norman Osborn punked him and he was unable to save the day.
The Kravinoff Gauntlet
[ranking: 7]
Spider-Man has faced tough tests from Kraven the Hunter before, including the classic Last Hunt storyline that culminated in Kraven??s suicide. However, that was nothing compared to the hell Kraven??s family put Spidey through in their attempts to resurrect their patriarch. The Kravinoffs, led primarily by Kraven??s widow and daughter, sicced a gauntlet of Spidey's most menacing enemies on him, including Electro, Rhino, and the Juggernaut, before trying to kill the web-slinger outright. Spidey survived the attacks, but his formerly-evil clone, Kaine, and the youthful Spider-Girl, Mattie Franklin, did not. In the end, the family failed to properly resurrect Kraven anyway.
Countless Deaths
[ranking: 8]
Ever since that whole Uncle Ben thing, a specter of death has followed Spider-Man??s career, with those close to him, like Gwen Stacey and Jean DeWolff, paying the ultimate price for his superheroic deeds. Slott??s run on the title has been no different, and Spider-Man has once again had to face the loss of those dear to him. Upon watching Alistair Smythe murder J. Jonah Jameson??s wife, Marla, Spidey vowed to never let anyone die again, which just isn??t a smart promise to make. Soon thereafter, he had to leave his long-time ally, Silver Sable, to be brutally drowned by the Rhino in order to stop Doctor Octopus from frying the world. Sometimes, responsibility sucks.
The Resurrection of All His Dead Loved Ones
[ranking: 9]
The Jackal came back for yet another scheme involving cloning things and messing with Peter Parker??s mind. Clone Conspiracy saw the Jackal ??resurrect?? literally everyone who had died under Spidey??s watch, from Gwen Stacey to Silver Sable to villains that everyone had forgotten about. The Jackal claimed his intentions were good, but his past history suggests that??s probably not true. The worst consequence of this rampant cloning has been the return of Doctor Octopus, complete with his memories of his time as Superior Spider-Man. Who knows what else Dan Slott has in store for Peter Parker?
Being Responsible for a Bunch of Sh*t He Didn't Do
[ranking: 10]
Although Peter Parker was undoubtedly thrilled to get his body back from Doctor Octopus, the next few months saw him cleaning up the unholy mess that his life had become. Not only did Ock??s stint as the Superior Spider-Man ruin his reputation with the Avengers and the public, but it left him with some life developments he was not prepared for. First and foremost was Anna-Maria Marconi, Doc Ock??s girlfriend from his time as Spidey, who had no idea she wasn??t dating the actual Peter Parker. Luckily, Anna-Maria managed to play it cool and actually remains one of Peter??s closest allies to this day. That??s good, because Peter needs all the help he can get, given that Ock also left him in charge of a multinational corporation.
J. Jonah Jameson: Brother-in-Law
[ranking: 11]
Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson has always gone together like fire and loud, opinionated water. While Peter Parker is no longer employed by the Daily Bugle, and JJJ no longer runs it, the two are connected in an even more familial fashion. This unsettling development came relatively early in Slott??s run on the title, when Aunt May shacked up with and eventually married J. Jonah??s father, Jay Jameson. While Jameson Sr. is a great guy and treats May very well, this still leaves Peter in the awkward position of having J. Jonah Jameson for a step-cousin. Even worse, JJJ eventually becomes the mayor of New York. What a menace!
The Goblin-Baby Saga
[ranking: 12]
J. Jonah Jameson??s bid for mayor of New York was interrupted by some downright soap opera-esque family drama courtesy of the Osborns. Harry Osborn, Peter??s best friend, was dating the daughter of Jameson??s opponent, Lily Hollister, and the two were due to have a child. Unfortunately, it was soon revealed that not only was the baby actually fathered by Harry??s Green Goblin-y father, Norman, but that Lily was also a goblin-themed villain herself. This was devastating for Harry and potentially lethal when the baby was born and countless enemies of Norman tried to kidnap it, leading Spider-Man to have to defend the little goblin.
Giant Spider Mutants Taking Over Manhattan
[ranking: 13]
Spider Island definitely takes the cake as the weirdest thing Spider-Man has been through during Dan Slott??s run, and that??s saying a lot. Former college professor/evil cloner the Jackal hatched a scheme by which he gave everyone in New York spider-powers, which might seem like a nice thing. However, as it always is with the Jackal, nothing was what it seemed, and those affected by the spider-virus soon mutated further into actual giant spiders. Spider-Man had to whip up a cure-all while kicking the citizens he normally protected in their hairy, newly-eight-eyed faces.
Alpha, the Terrible Sidekick
[ranking: 14]
While all of the things that have happened to Spider-Man on this list are terrible for him, they??re usually very enjoyable to read. Not so with the invention of Alpha, one of the lamest sidekicks in all of comic book history. Peter Parker was experimenting with something he called Parker Particles - because originality is dead - when a malfunction occurred and caused the Parker Particles to empower a nearby teenager. This teen became Alpha, and Spider-Man vowed to take the young man under his wing. He soon gave up on this, however, when Alpha proved to be a nearly irredeemable douchebag interested in nothing but his own fame and popularity. He quietly disappeared from the books thereafter.
Helming a Multinational Corporation with No Training
[ranking: 15]
When Peter Parker awoke from having his body stolen, he found himself as the CEO of Parker Industries, a multinational megacorporation. While this was a nice gift from the villain who stolen his identity, it brought with it a whole new set of problems. Parker Industries has since been the subject of superpowered corporate espionage, frivolous lawsuits, and an attempted infiltration by the Zodiac crime organization. Peter has still managed to put some cool products on the market, like his Apple-like smartwatch, but he??s funneled most of his corporation??s funds towards his own crime-fighting endeavors, which has raised some ethical conundrums.
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