Spider-Man Admits the One Reason He Would Actually Kill
Warning! Spoilers for Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow #3!
Spider-Man is a hero that many in the Marvel Comics universe look up to for his dedication, commitment and all around good vibes as a crime fighter, but now in a “What If?” storyline gone wrong, he’s admitted the one reason as to why he would kill. Good thing this particular reason isn’t one he uses in the Marvel-616 universe or else there’d be a whole lot more dead villains lying around.
Shown in the revival of the “What If?” series of books titled Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow by Chip Zdarsky and Pasqual Ferry, Spidey has fallen into a vicious groove of beating on and killing his rogue gallery of villains without mercy. Living in a reality where he never got rid of the alien symbiote suit that would eventually become his arch-nemesis and the anti-hero known as Venom, Spider-Man is slowly being consumed by the suit’s more violent and evil tendencies.
Taking it upon himself to once and for all go after the villains that have threatened, traumatized and murdered the innocent civilians of New York City for years – including the people Peter loves and cares for most – Spidey is losing himself in a way that he can’t readily come back from. Getting harder and harder to pull himself away from the symbiote suit’s influence, Spider-Man begins to question everything he’s done leading up to his current predicament and is unsure if he’s even doing the right thing anymore.
Thinking to himself, “For too long I let those monster run rampant. Monsters and cowards,” Spider-Man begins to justify his sinister actions by telling himself that these villains deserve everything that’s coming to them and more. But as he continues, Peter’s old self begins to peek through the haze. Beginning to rationalize his actions, Peter thinks, “And now… I… What am I…” with the disembodied voice of his symbiote suit creepily and succinctly cutting him off to say, “Saving people,” giving fans the one reason as to why Spider-Man has turned into a murderer.
Parroting the symbiote’s words after a somber moment of dark reflection, Peter seems to know that something’s off, but either doesn’t have the strength to fight it – or more worrisome – doesn’t even want to. Being a hero that’s usually the furthest away from even considering the unforgivable act of killing another human being, villain or otherwise, the fact that the suit has been able to twist and turn Peter’s own values into something unrecognizable and extremely dangerous says a lot about the influence the alien symbiote has on a guy who would never have normally succumbed to its darkness.
So although this "What If?" story is a far cry from being canon in regular Marvel Comics continuity, seeing this new angle into a man that’s usually the shining example of what it means to be a hero is something that fans should take note of. But who knows? Maybe all it takes is one bad day and a mysterious speck of an alien goo monster to push anyone over the edge; your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man included.