Spider-Man's death depicts what's wrong with the hero's current run

Poor Earth-616 Peter, he just can't catch a breath.

I'd like to kick things off by admitting I haven't been up to date in Zeb Wells' The Amazing Spider-Man (though I might catch up... someday). I gave it a go and loved the Tombstone arc of the series, disliked Paul for many reasons, felt there was no clear direction for Peter's story, and then read the words "An evil mathematician transported me and Mary Jane to another universe. (...) a god showed up to sacrifice me as part of some world-ending ritual. Before I could stop her, Mary Jane sent me home". After a few more issues, and witnessing Ms. Marvel's death, I decided to turn my attention to a better Spidey story in the form of Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) - which I highly recommend. Oh, and there's also Venom War (2024), which is really good as well.

Apparently, a lot has happened since a man named Benjamin Rabin attempted to gain godhood by killing Peter and later Mary Jane. Spider-Man inherited Green Goblin's sins, Mary Jane turned into a superhero, and Peter is apparently on good terms with Paul. But as if all of that wasn't enough for Spidey fans, now they'll have to watch the iconic hero die... more than once.

The eight deaths of Spider-Man releases soon

On November 13, 2024, The Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #61 will be released. In it, Doctor Doom will gift the wall-crawler eight extra lives, and it seems they will barely prove enough. Fresh out of the current Amazing Spider-Man run, we'll see the wall-crawler die eight times - which seems like a strange end for a strange series.

The thing is, we've seen Peter bite the dust before. However, the best stories to do it, portray his death as a truly heroic act with a great meaning behind it. Spider-Man dying after defeating his greatest arch-nemesis once and for all to save Mary Jane and Aunt May? Yeah, Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) truly knew how to do it. As if it wasn't enough, Peter's passing allowed for Miles Morales' debut down the line. The point is that there was a proper reason behind the death of the web-slinger. It didn't just happen out of nowhere.

However, now it feels like Spidey will die just for the shock factor. While a great part of Peter's character is that he's a tormented hero, this might be overdoing it a bit too much. Let's switch our attention to Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) instead. In it, the wall-crawler is a happily married man with two kids (who even help him design his superhero costume). The results? Well, they're nothing short of spectacular. Uncle Ben is still alive, and Peter's interactions with him are a highlight of the series as well. However, he's still the hero we all know and love amidst all the positive changes, and it works beautifully. Sales indicate sometimes fans like seeing Spidey catch a break sometimes, instead of making him a punching bag and nothing more.

But then again, I might just not be excited about the eight deaths of Spider-Man because I haven't followed up the main Amazing Spider-Man run for quite some time now.

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