5 Most Overrated Spider-Man Storylines, Ranked

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Spider-Man is known for many iconic stories in Marvel Comics, but not all of his popular storylines deserve the praise they receive. He began as a teenager who gained superpowers from a radioactive spider, quickly becoming a powerful hero. His journey of learning and maturing into his role was key to his enduring popularity. However, this also means some decent stories have been mistakenly labeled as classics.

Let’s examine five Spider-Man stories that are well-regarded, but perhaps don’t quite live up to the hype they’ve received over time.

5) The Night Gwen Stacy Died

Gwen Stacy’s death is one of the most impactful events in Spider-Man’s history, second only to Uncle Ben’s. But despite its fame, it’s debatable whether it truly deserves a place among the greatest Spider-Man stories. In fact, many find it flawed and believe it doesn’t belong on those lists at all. It’s often cited as an early example of the ‘woman in refrigerator’ trope – a plot device where a female character is killed or harmed solely to motivate the male protagonist.

As a huge movie fan, I always felt something was off about Gwen Stacy’s death in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. When Spider-Man screams about the Green Goblin taking everything from him, it really hammered home that Gwen died just because she was Peter’s girlfriend – her own character didn’t really matter. And honestly, seeing Peter end up with Mary Jane at the end just made the whole thing feel even more pointless. It was definitely an emotional moment, but I don’t think it’s the masterpiece some people make it out to be.

4) The Return of the Hobgoblin

The Hobgoblin’s debut in the 1980s is considered one of Spider-Man’s strongest storylines. It cleverly echoed the early days of the comic, when the Green Goblin’s identity and motives were a complete mystery. The Hobgoblin sparked the same kind of speculation – was it Norman Osborn, Harry Osborn, or someone else entirely? This mystery was a key ingredient to the story’s success. While the eventual reveal of Ned Leeds as the Hobgoblin proved controversial, it certainly got people talking and engaged with the narrative.

The recent “Return of the Hobgoblin” storyline in Marvel comics revealed a surprising twist: Ned Leeds wasn’t the real Hobgoblin, but was led to believe he was. The true villain was Roderick Kingsley, Mary Jane Watson’s former employer, and he’d been using others to maintain the Hobgoblin persona. While intended to revisit the original storyline, the reveal felt forced and readers didn’t connect with Kingsley, ultimately diminishing Hobgoblin’s status from a major threat to a lesser-known villain. The story wasn’t a success; it marked a decline in the character’s popularity.

3) Spider-Man: Blue

Two Spider-Man stories recently offered a fresh take on the character and are often hailed as exceptional. While both, Spider-Man: Life Story and Spider-Man: Blue, are highly regarded, Life Story is the one that truly lives up to the hype. Spider-Man: Life Story uniquely depicted Spider-Man aging realistically over time, mirroring a successful approach used with the Fantastic Four. It was enjoyable to see classic storylines unfold with Spider-Man at different stages of his life.

Spider-Man: Blue revisits the beginning of Spider-Man’s adventures, focusing on his relationships with Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. While it’s a pleasant trip down memory lane, the story sometimes clashes with the details of the original comics. Seeing more of Peter and Gwen together is a highlight, but fans of the classic stories might be disappointed.

2) Spider-Verse

The Spider-Verse movies featuring Miles Morales proved there’s a lot of potential in these stories. However, the original comic book series, while inventive and featuring a fun team-up of Spider-People from different universes, doesn’t quite live up to the praise it’s received from fans. It’s a cool concept, but ultimately it wasn’t as impactful as it could have been.

Ultimately, Spider-Verse feels like a standard team-up story from Marvel, and it spends too much time reinforcing that Peter Parker from the main universe is the ultimate Spider-Man, which becomes repetitive. While Dan Slott is a talented Spider-Man writer, this story doesn’t reach the heights of his other work. Spider-Island is also flawed, but it’s enjoyable enough to forgive those issues—Spider-Verse isn’t even as good as that.

1) Maximum Carnage

The initial Venom story wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, but it did successfully introduce Eddie Brock and the Venom character. Carnage’s debut was shocking, and it ultimately worked because it proved a villainous symbiote could outshine even Venom. Unfortunately, Maximum Carnage combined the weakest elements of both those earlier stories and amplified them, resulting in a flawed narrative.

Maximum Carnage is a chaotic and sprawling story that feels unfocused, making it a difficult read. While Carnage’s wild rampages were initially exciting, they became repetitive and stretched the story on too long. It felt overhyped upon its release, and despite some nostalgic praise now, it remains a widely overrated Spider-Man storyline.

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2026-03-31 23:41