WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #59!One of the most deceptively scary superheroes on Marvel’s list is Spider-Man. It’s easy for his enemies—and maybe even his readers, on some level—to underestimate Spider-Man’s ability when he’s so cheerful nine times out of ten. He’s obviously everyone’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man – but he’s not always friendly.
Peter Parker reminds readers how unfriendly he can be The Amazing Spider-Man #59 by Zeb Wells, John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Joe Caramagna. This issue follows the previous one, dedicated entirely to one of the year’s most brutal and exciting comic fights between Tombstone and Spidey.
The ferocity of the fight – and witnessing everything that Spider-Man dishes out during it – recalls how Peter’s fury unleashes Spider-Man at his strongest, Don’t let the empathy force him to hold back at all. And a Spider-Man who doesn’t hold back makes for a scary sight.
Spider-Man unleashes his rage on Tombstone
Breaking down one of Marvel’s best fights of 2024
In the latest trial for Tombstone’s crimes, Lonnie Lincoln is shocked to learn that the star witness for his trial will be his own daughter, Janice Lincoln (a classic Spider-Man legacy villain, The Beetle). Throwing away all his morals and ethics about family, as well as a possible redemption arc that was hinted at, Tombstone arrives at Janice’s apartment ready to kill her. Instead, he is soon met by Spider-Man in A confrontation that quickly devolves into a violent action sequence. Their fight spills into the street and then, eventually, the New York City subway station.
The more the fight progresses, the more Spider-Man’s frustrations boil over. Maybe it’s a sign of his agitation at how long and gruesome the fight has become, or maybe it’s due to Peter’s disgust that Tombstone is willing to kill his flesh and blood just to defend himself. Whatever the case may be, Spider-Man stops fighting rationally and starts letting out his emotions through physicality. The moment Spider-Man and Tombstone agree to “end it” Seems to be the moment Spidey decides to hold back.
This is not the first time that Spider-Man has found himself in such a trance that he stopped holding back his full power.
Peter follows up very quickly with a barrage of fists pounding away at Lonnie’s rib cage. wait, Spider-Man clutches – or more appropriately, crushes – Tombstone’s hands To the point that Lonnie can no longer so much as make a fist with either hand. The fight escalates as both men drip in each other’s blood, until Lonnie almost gets hit by a train. This is enough to snap Spider-Man out of his trance-like rage, saving Lonnie’s life. This is not the first time that Spider-Man has found himself in such a trance that he stopped holding back his full power.
The time Spider-Man killed someone with one punch
How he fights superpowered people
Spider-Man doesn’t always showcase his strength, as he tends to throw webs instead, so it’s easy to forget that super-strength is one of his superpowers. The strength is actually stronger than the Hulk, but most readers wouldn’t know it because Peter doesn’t always show it. It can be assumed that because Spidey knows exactly how strong he is, he makes a conscious effort to stop himself from doing the kind of bone-shattering damage he is capable of doing. But much like the Hulk, Spidey can only hold back so much when he’s angry.
The full extent of Spider-Man’s power – specifically when he’s angry – can be seen in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 by Christopher Priest, Mark Bright, Al Williamson, Petra Scotese and Bill Oakley. Logan’s friend, Charlie, begs Wolverine to kill her so she won’t have to suffer an imminent gulag. Spider-Man refuses to let Wolverine kill someone, so a fight ensues. To put a stop to this (and himself), Charlie puts a hand on Spider-Man’s shoulder, knowing that he would mistake her for Wolverine. in one shot, Spider-Man smashes Charlie’s face, killing her.
Given the sheer force Spider-Man prepares for Wolverine before delivering the punch, it’s safe to assume that even in a rage, he saves his hardest punches for superpowered beings he knows can handle his fists of rage. It’s a testament to how enraged he is at Tombstone for him to finally decide to disregard the restraint. It is worth noting that right before their fight, Wolverine mentions that if Spider-Man Has the power to snap the X-Man’s neck if he wants to. Wolverine is one of Marvel’s strongest X-Men, and even his strength doesn’t compare to Spidey.
Anger is Spider-Man’s secret weapon, which makes him infinitely more powerful
Angry Peter is practically an alter ego
The previous example and the central story with Tombstone shows what happens when Spider-Man finally lets go, but it’s a side of Spider-Man that readers are familiar with if they’ve read his Black Suit stories. Originally, a black-suited Spider-Man exists to signal the change his suit goes through upon gaining the Venom symbiote. But when he rids himself of the symbiote, Spidey acquires a cloth version of the black suit. The black suit has since been recontextualized as a manifestation of Spider-Man’s anger..
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As such, it’s fitting that Spidey only pulls out of the closet on rare occasions to put him in the mental space to inflict pain and punishment. He does just that during the “Grimm Hunt” story arc by Joe Kelly, Stefano Gaudiano, Michael Lark, and more. Enraged as Kraven the Hunter’s family targets the Spider-Family, killing its members one-by-one, Peter puts on his black suit in the name of payback. He further elaborates on what the black suit means to him earlier in Wells’ Spider-Man run, stating that wearing the suit means – I don’t have to imagine anymore. Losing control represents a darker, evil side of Spider-Man.
What happens when a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man stops being friendly?
Eventually, the quippy facade had to fade
Peter essentially confirms that Spider-Man is aware that he has a dark side and a mean streakBut he also knows the kind of damage he can do with his power if he stops pretending – bring it all back to the 2024 Tombstone fight. Spider-Man is not only angry, but he beats Lonnie out of necessity, almost as if he is trying to knock some sense into him before he does something he would regret to his daughter. At the very least, he must think that hitting Lonnie is the only way to stop him.
It is Spider-Man’s responsibility to keep his powers under control, and doing so stops him from stepping into darker territory.
The degree of Spider-Man’s strength is ultimately decided by how friendly he wants to be at any given moment. The default Spider-Man is the classic, quip-heavy Spidey who is good-natured and shows mercy to his villains. It stunts his power level to hold back, but there are worse ramifications if he lets that power out on just anyone, and Spider-Man knows it. Calling back to his most iconic motto, it is Spider-Man Responsibility to keep his powers under control, and doing so stops him from stepping into darker territory, unleashing a brutal, merciless side of himself in the process.
The Amazing Spider-Man #59 is available now from Marvel Comics.