10 Spider-Man Comics That Lied To Their Audience!

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10 SPIDER-MAN COMICS THAT LIED TO THEIR AUDIENCE!

Marvel has a sticky habit of putting Spider-Man in the most unbelievable situations, only to reveal it was all an elaborate ruse.

The concept of “clickbait” far predates the internet, as seen with Marvel and their lying covers. In particular, Spider-Man, the golden boy of the entire company, has been used to bait readers into thinking some major event was happening to him. Readers are then quickly greeted with a significantly less impactful reveal.

While the morality of lying to the audiences is debatable, there’s no denying how ridiculous and funny some of these plot hooks are. True, some may just be symbolic, but the artist knew what they were doing. Since the story is lying anyway, it gives the creators free rein to go wild with their concepts. Whether it’s Spider-Man at death’s door or a “betrayal” from a friend, these comics are misleading in the silliest possible ways.

10. Amazing Spider-Man #12 (1964)

One of the earliest instances of baiting the reader in Spider-Man’s history, this issue promises Doctor Octopus will unmask Spider-Man and reveal his secret to the world. Amusingly, the cover even insists on this fact by telling the reader that it’s all real. To their credit, Spider-Man does get unmasked in the story.

However, what makes this a lie is how they frame it as a shocking change to the status quo. In reality, the unmasking inexplicably has the Daily Bugle staff think it’s Peter pretending to be Spider-Man to trick Doc Ock. Even Doc Ock finds the idea of Peter Parker being Spider-Man too unbelievable and sets out to find the “real” Spider-Man, cementing how little the unmasking changes the story.

9. Amazing Spider-Man #18 (1964)

There’s been plenty of covers that claim to “end” Spider-Man’s career, but this is one of the most blatant ways it’s been framed. With a cover proudly proclaiming “The End of Spider-Man”, readers expect an issue that completely destroys Spider-Man. In truth, the story is far more mundane.

Spider-Man merely hid from the Sandman not because he feared him, but because he didn’t want to leave a sick Aunt May alone that day. Fighting him would have taken too much time, so he simply runs away and is thus framed as a coward by the Daily Bugle. In a meta way, J. Jonah Jameson's claim that this is the “End of Spider-Man” is a comment on the hyperbolic covers they make.

8. Amazing Spider-Man #87 (1970)

Once again, the threat of Spider-Man unmasking is present, and Stan Lee insists he means it this time. Just like the last time it happened, the unmasking and confession do happen, but the circumstances are far different. Instead of a calm and somber Peter Parker, it’s a flu-stricken Peter who rambles his way into a confession before leaving.

His woozy delivery made his claims doubtful to Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, and George Stacy. They even bring up the Doc Ock incident as an example of how unbelievable it all is. In the end, the Prowler pretends to be Spider-Man as a favor to Peter, and the status quo is kept once again.

7. Marvel Team-Up #4 (1972)

The cover showcases a venomous X-Men roster cruelly attacking Spider-Man, claiming he “deserves” this ambush. Obviously, this should mean Spider-Man has done something heinous to justify such harsh words. Once again, the cover takes a lot of liberties with the story’s actual content.

The X-Men just wanted to talk to the sickly Spider-Man, and the misunderstanding was quickly resolved. The X-Men spend the rest of the issue looking for a way to relieve Spider-Man of the condition that Morbius inflicted upon him. While Spider-Man and the X-Men have traded blows before, this was far more cordial than the cover made it out to be.

6. Spectacular Spider-Man #190 (1976)

The Rhino is one of the most physically powerful heroes in Spider-Man’s rogues' gallery. There’s no reason for a cover featuring Rhino crushing Spider-Man to seem out of the ordinary. As the story quickly shows, however, Rhino is far from being a threat to Spider-Man.

After the stress of dealing with so many supervillains, Spider-Man snaps when Rhino attacks. Spider-Man proceeds to beat Rhino to a pulp without much effort. The battle reminds readers of just how much Spider-Man holds back in his fights. When push comes to shove, even the mighty Rhino doesn’t stand a chance against an angry and powerful Spider-Man.

5.Amazing Spider-Man #169 (1977)

Third time’s a charm as far as unmasking attempts go, and J. Jonah Jameson is giving it a try. There are even pictures this time, so readers aren’t in any doubt that Jameson has finally defeated Spider-Man. Once again, the pictures are real, and so is the confrontation. However, the status quo refused to change.

This is because Jameson doesn’t actually believe the man in the pictures is Peter Parker. Jameson believes that Spider-Man murdered the real Peter Parker, and has replaced him. Shockingly, Peter manages to convince Jameson they were fakes. In typical fashion, Jameson denies Peter a raise because of the revelation.

4.Ultimate Spider-Man #21 (2002)

Kraven the Hunter is one of Spider-Man’s most skilled foes in the Marvel 616 universe. Without any real powers, Kraven was capable of catching up with the web-slinger. Throughout Ultimate Spider-Man, Kraven is hyped up as a famous hunter, looking to take down the greatest prey of all: Spider-Man.

The cover even features Kraven heavily, promising the start of a new arc for Spider-Man. Hilariously, the actual story features Kraven getting knocked out by Spider-Man with a single punch. The Ultimate version of Kraven never truly recovered from this, and he gets relegated to the role of glorified henchman.

3.Amazing Spider-Man #667 (2011)

The Spider-Island event gives the people of New York all of Spider-Man’s powers. Unfortunately, not all of them are using it for “great responsibility." The cover showcases various heroes in Spider-Man-themed costumes, implying an entire team of badass Spider-People. Unfortunately, that’s not at all what happens.

In fact, there was never a chance of the spider virus infecting those heroes, because everybody with powers was unaffected by it. That means no Spider-Thing, Spider-Panther, Spider-Cloak, Spider-Hulk, or Spider-Fist. Just Spider-Man with a bunch of not-as-cool Spider-Civilians. This revelation deflated a lot of excitement.

3.Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #3 (2019)

Amalgamations of two superheroes are always cool, and that’s what this storyline pretends to offer. A Symbiote Spider-Man as Sorcerer Supreme is an impressive sight. Unfortunately, Spider-Man was not to be the next Master of Magic. That said, Spider-Man did get to learn some magic.

In the Kamar-Taj, while hiding from an angry Morbius, Doctor Strange offers to teach Spider-Man defensive magic to help him survive magic battles. While it’s impressive to see Spider-Man casting spells, he was no Symbiote Supreme. Regardless, a magical Spider-Man does have a cool edge to it.

1. Amazing Spider-Man #10 (2022)

The A.X.E.: Judgement Day event teased a lot of returns, but one of the most notorious teases occurred fin Zeb Wells’ Spider-Man. The cover features an unmasked Spider-Man looking up in shock at a resurrected Gwen Stacy. 616’s Gwen Stacy, inexplicably, is one of the few characters in Marvel who have never truly come back to life.

Sadly for Peter, Gwen is still dead. The Progenitor had merely impersonated Gwen Stacy to test Peter Parker’s resolve. In a twisted sort of way, The Progenitor actually had mercy on Peter. Instead of a scornful rebuke for letting her die, it does bring back the real Gwen, but only for a fading moment.

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