Marvel is Finally Officially Killing off Spider-Man’s Most Hated Character

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The current Carnage crossover event has featured several character deaths, and a major one is coming this week that many fans will likely enjoy. While deaths in comics are usually sad, some characters are so disliked that fans actually celebrate when they meet their end. This new story introduces a villain named Torment who is targeting Eddie Brock, currently merged with the Carnage symbiote. As Eddie investigates the killings of his family members, he doesn’t realize that Carnage may be secretly pulling the strings.

The story took a dark turn when Torment killed Eddie Brock’s father, and Brock arrived too late to help. Now, in the upcoming issue of Venom #256, Torment is set to kill Paul Rabin, a character many Spider-Man fans love to hate.

Finally, Paul is dead. A frustrated reaction to the storyline, directed at Marvel writers Zeb Wells and Tom Breevort. #marvel #spiderman #marvelcomics

— CL Art111 – freelance traditional artist (@callumlyal73631) March 28, 2026

Paul’s Death Has Been a Long Time Coming in Spider-Man Comics

Paul Rabin first appeared in Marvel Comics while Zeb Wells was writing The Amazing Spider-Man. At the time, Peter Parker was preparing to propose to Mary Jane, a moment fans had been eagerly anticipating ever since their marriage ended in the One More Day storyline. However, Mary Jane became stuck in another dimension for four years, where she met and fell in love with a man named Paul Rabin. Her time in that dimension felt much shorter to her, much like Magik’s experience in Limbo when she returned to Earth.

Mary Jane’s time with Paul lasted only a few weeks, but during that time she helped raise his children – who were later revealed to be magical beings. This sparked a lot of anger among fans who believe Mary Jane and Peter Parker are meant to be together. The comics even acknowledged this fan backlash multiple times. Although Mary Jane and Paul have since broken up, and she isn’t planning to get back with Peter, fans still strongly dislike Paul. Interestingly, Mary Jane is now considering a relationship with Flash Thompson, but the negative feelings towards Paul Rabin persist among Marvel enthusiasts.

The current story arc, called “Death Spiral,” features the villain Torment systematically eliminating everyone associated with his targets, closing in on the main target. He’s already killed Eddie Brock’s father, and it seemed his next victim would be Eddie’s son, Dylan. In a surprisingly poignant moment, just before Torment arrived, Dylan angrily confronted Paul, echoing what many readers were thinking. He lashed out, saying, “I hate how you try so hard to be liked, but honestly, I don’t even care enough to hate you.” Immediately after, Torment appeared.

Recent previews of the upcoming Venom issue reveal that Torment didn’t kill Dylan after all. When Carnage (Eddie Brock) and Spider-Man arrived, they discovered Torment had actually killed Paul Rabin. In a surprisingly casual moment, Spider-Man dismissed Paul as “just a guy” before urging everyone to focus on tracking down Torment. Many Spider-Man fans anticipated Paul’s death, and it played out exactly as expected, fitting his established character.

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2026-03-29 00:13