Spider-Man Just Proved He's The Batman of Marvel Comics
Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man #48.
Spider-Man just showed that despite their huge differences in temperament, he's truly the Batman of Marvel Comics. Batman follows his moral compass despite the warnings of his peers and comrades, obeying his own unshakable sense of true justice in even the most dire situations. Peter similarly lives up to a moral code instilled in him by his late Uncle Ben. In The Amazing Spider-Man #48, Peter must make an impossible choice. He can either use his great power to defend his loved ones and the city of New York by allowing Norman Osborn to be killed or take responsibility as a hero and protect every life, no matter how notorious.
Spider-Man's relationship with Norman Osborn is similar to that between Batman and the Joker - an insane villain versus a moral hero, caught in a cycle of violence that only ever leads things to get deadlier and more personal. Likewise, both Spider-Man and Batman will be their own idea of a hero even if it means their closest allies view them as complicit in the cycle of crime. Peter and Bruce adhere to their moral compass regardless of the consequences.
The Amazing Spider-Man #48 by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley sees Peter make one of the toughest decisions of his crime-fighting career. Sin-Eater and his followers have been attacking all the city's residents that they deem sinners. The gang of devoted underlings goes on a rampage, attacking people all over the city, ultimately declaring Norma Osborn as their next target. Miles urges Peter to let Sin-Eater capture Osborne at the Ravencroft Institute, recounting the time he witnessed the death of another dimension's Peter Parker at the hands of the Green Goblin.
Peter briefly considers letting Osborne get captured. He reminisces on all the times the Green Goblin has put his loved ones at risk, most famously with his murder of Gwen Stacy. Madame Web informs Peter that if he saves Osborn, the Green Goblin will kill again. Just as Batman knows that anything short of ending the Joker's life will allow him to eventually escape, Spider-Man knows that saving Osborn may doom more innocent people. To the dismay of his interdimensional allies in the Spider-Verse, he does it anyway.
Spider-Man is Marvel's Batman because he refuses to let anyone die on his watch. Peter will not kill the Green Goblin, or even allow him to die, because it goes against his belief that "with great power comes great responsibility." Even if saving Norman Osborn from the Sin-Eater means inadvertently marking others for death, Peter tries to save every life that he can. Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker are adamant about upholding their sense of justice and moral code. Batman and Spider-Man assert that a hero's role is always to save the people they can, no matter how deserving that person may be. Peter might be able to live with sparing Osborn in the moment, but his sense of responsibility is likely to crush him when the Green Goblin chooses to take another life.
The Amazing Spider-Man #48 by Nick Spencer and Mark Bagley is available now.