Summary
- Peter Parker’s guilt complex runs deep, but one issue of Amazing Spider-Man revealed that he believes that Spider-Man is beyond redemption for his mistakes.
- In the dream sequence, Peter expresses the great that his old friend Charlie won’t forgive him, reflecting his own guilt and belief in Spider-Man’s unforgivable nature.
- Peter’s fight with Charlie not only costs him a friend, but also leads to the destruction of Aunt May’s house, causing Peter to feel even more guilty and responsible.
Peter Parker has long struggled with an overwhelming guilt complex, one that drove him to become Spider-Man in the first place. One Spider-Man book gives readers a glimpse into Peter’s psyche, showing just how deep this guilt actually goes. In fact, the dream reveals that Peter Parker may think that, on some level, Spider-Man is beyond redemption.
The Amazing Spider-Man #518– by J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Deodato Jr., Mark Brooks, Joe Pimentel, Jaime Mendoza, Matt Milla, and Brian Reber – concludes the four-part story “Skin Deep.” The arc sees Peter fights Charlie Weiderman, a high school friend who has accidentally covered his body with a Vibranium skinsuit.
After being knocked out, Peter dreams of himself, Charlie, and younger versions of themselves back at Midtown High School. In the dream, Peter finds a way to immobilize Charlie, though he fears his old friend won’t forgive him. Charlie (or, at least, Peter’s dream representation of him) responds, “Of course we won’t. Has anyone ever?”
Marvel Confirms Spider-Man Has It Rough Across the Entire Multiverse
An omnipotent, all-seeing being confirms what Peter Parker had already suspected, and hoped wasn’t true…but the Ultimate Universe could fix.
Peter Parker Thinks Spider-Man Is Unforgivable For Endangering His Loved Ones
The dream version of Charlie doesn’t just say he won’t forgive Peter, however; he asks if anyone ever does. It’s a clear representation of Peter’s own guilt, his belief that Spider-Man, at his core, cannot be forgiven for his mistakes.
The Amazing Spider-Man #518 concludes the arc where Peter fights Charlie Weiderman, an old friend from high school. Though Charlie was bullied immediately at Midtown High, Peter didn’t defend him, as he was glad to have a target off his back. As an adult, Charlie had Peter recommend him to Tony Stark, who funded a project to grant soldiers Vibranium skinsuits. When Peter worried that Charlie’s experiments were dangerous and threatened to expose him, Charlie rushed the work, inadvertently permanently coating himself in Vibranium. Charlie, who already had a history of violence after suffering constant abuse, threatened to kill Peter and his loved ones after the accident.
After fighting Charlie in his burning apartment, Spider-Man passes out from exhaustion and smoke inhalation. He dreams of a way to stop Charlie, using increased pressure to harden the Vibranium, immobilizing his old friend inside. The dream version of Charlie doesn’t just say he won’t forgive Peter, however; he asks if anyone ever does. It’s a clear representation of Peter’s own guilt, his belief that Spider-Man, at his core, cannot be forgiven for his mistakes. In a sense, Spider-Man is built on this belief, as Peter spends his life in the pursuit of making up for the actions of a scared, heartbroken teenager.
Peter Parker’s Feud With An Old Friend Led To The Loss of Aunt May’s House
Spider-Man’s guilt would only soon worsen, as Peter learns at the end of the issue that Charlie has also burned down Aunt May’s house. Now, his fight with Charlie has cost his family their homes. It’s a tragic blow, and one that Peter continues to feel guilty for, following their relocation to Avengers Tower. To make matters worse, the destruction of May’s longtime home wasn’t caused by another vendetta of Spider-Man’s. This was a rare situation in which Peter Parker’s actions brought mayhem to her door. Unlike the death of Uncle Ben, however, this incident was caused by Peter trying to help.
Peter Parker has long been unable to see the forest of Spider-Man’s good through the trees of his own mistakes. This guilt complex would come to a head later in this same run, when Peter’s unmasking during Civil War led to a sniper targeting his family and putting May at death’s door. Unable to live with the knowledge that he caused her death, Peter traded his marriage with Mary Jane to Mephisto for Aunt May’s life in One More Day, one of the most infamous Spider-Man stories of all time. As the incident with Charlie Weiderman shows, Peter believes Spider-Man’s sins have never been – will never be – forgiven.
