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Spider-Man’s Best Lore Is Without the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s oldest and most storied characters. As with any character that’s been around for over sixty years, he has many stories and mythos that have been established. One of Spider-Man’s most recent and popular additions to his lore is the concept of the Spider-Verse. In essence, there is a supernatural connection linking everyone in the multiverse with spider powers, called Spider-Totems. They call this connection the Web of Life and Destiny, which is a construct created by the elder gods that touches every piece of the multiverse. The Spider-Verse has opened the door to plenty of incredible characters and events, but while it offers a lot, it actually hurts its main character more than it helps.
Peter Parker is the most popular Spider-person out there, and as such, he’s often the one at the center of Spider-Verse-related conflicts. He is the one who brings all the other heroes together under his leadership to save the day from whatever multiversal threat is upon them. However, even though this offers a brand new type of story to tell with Peter and opens the door to a bunch of incredible interactions, Peter being a part of the Spider-Verse goes against some of the best parts of his character.
Opportunity Versus Destiny
Spider-Man was created to be a hero that everyone could see themselves in. This is not to say that he has no traits unique to Peter, but we’re all meant to see a piece of ourselves in his struggles and victories. He was bitten by random chance and accepted the new responsibilities his powers afforded him, as the entire lesson behind Spider-Man is that those who have power, arbitrary or not, should use it to protect those without it. A huge draw for Spider-Man is that he’s a person who goes through unbelievable pain and suffering, but always chooses to do the right thing. He is a lesson that we can all be better by doing better.
That relatability that comes from random chance and the ability to see yourself in Peter’s shoes gets taken away once it becomes his destiny. Instead of being a good man trying to do what he thinks is right, Peter is a mystical protector of the universe made to be a hero. It doesn’t necessarily rob Peter of his choice, but it robs the story of the impact of Peter’s choice. He’s no longer a hero of his own volition, but because that’s what happens when you are connected to the Web of Life. Anyone can relate to the idea of becoming a hero through chance and choice, but nobody feels connected to someone else’s destiny.
Science Versus Magic
The other major reason the Spider-Verse hurts Peter’s character is that it is inherently mystical in nature. Peter has always been a sci-fi character at heart, with the majority of his encounters with villains being resolved not due to raw power, but because of how he uses his brain and applies his scientific knowledge. Even his webs, such a vital part of his character, are made because he’s a genius. Making Spider-Man a mystical, magical character destroys that sci-fi atmosphere and damages his character. There’s nothing wrong with Spider-Man being mystical. Miles has grown into a very magic-adjacent character in recent years, and it’s great, but that doesn’t work for Peter.
Peter is a scientist at heart, so basing his powers in magic makes him feel disjointed when there are decades of stories basing him in science fiction. The period of the 2000s which Marvel turned Spider-Man into a mystical character was received and is remembered very poorly by fans, despite the writing quality being some of Spider-Man’s best. Even then, Spider-Man was never meant to be magical after the introduction of the Spider-Verse.
During Peter’s first fight with Morlun, the Inheritor explained how he consumed Totems, and Peter was one, but Peter beat him because Morlun couldn’t absorb radiation. Peter was different because his spider was radioactive, which fundamentally changed the spider and Peter, letting him choose his own destiny free of any outside control, created by random chance. The entire point of Morlun was to establish that Peter wasn’t a magical character, but later interpretations forget this entirely. From the onset, Peter didn’t fit with the idea of the Spider-Verse and Spider-Totems, and that was intentional.
Spider-Man is a great character and the Spider-Verse is an awesome addition to his lore, but while the rest of the Spider-Family benefit so much from it, Peter doesn’t. As incredible as the Spider-Verse is, it’s usually best when the 616 Peter Parker isn’t involved.
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