Midnight Spider-Man is one of three new titles that Marvel released in its Midnight Universe horror line. The new story is a very different take on Spider-Man’s origin story. In this retelling, Oscorp is developing something by testing it on employees against their will, and it mutates them and eventually causes their bodies to fall apart. When a spider with the formula (which includes gamma radiation) slips into Peter Parker’s bag and comes home with him, it devours his Uncle Ben and then turns Spider-Man into a horrific spider-creature.
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This story is clearly a twist on old-school horror stories such as The Wolf-Man and others, and it even shares a similarity witha Spider-Man movie that was in development in the 1980s from horror director Tobe Hooper. It is a terrifying tale so far, but it is not the scariest Spider-Man story ever told. That would be “I Walked With a Spider,” which was told in Edge of the Spider-Verse #4.
“I Walked With a Spider” Is Spider-Man’s Most Terrifying Story
The Edge of Spider-Verse series told stories of spider-characters from other Earths, with the first issue about Spider-Man Noir, the second about Ghost Spider (known as Spider-Woman at that time), the third about Aaron Aikman (who died), the fourth about Patton Parnel, and the fifth and final issue about Peni Parker and SP//dr. Three of those characters have become huge, appearing in the Spider-Verse movies, and the others are dead. This was also part of the first-ever Spider-Verse event, introducing all these variants.
While Spider-Man Noir, Ghost Spider, and Peni Parker became the most popular, Patton Parnel is the one story that is the hardest to ever forget. It is a straight horror story and one of the most terrifying in Spider-Man history. Clay McLeod Chapman and Elia Bonetti are the creative team behind this horror story, and the characters here are familiar but different. Instead of Peter Parker, it is Patton Parnel. Instead of Mary Jane Watson, it is Sara Jane. Instead of Uncle Ben, it is Uncle Ted.
This origin story showed that Patton was a cruel child from the start, as the first panel of the comic showed him using a magnifying glass to burn an ant to death while pretending it was gamma energy. His Uncle Ted is also not the kind uncle that Ben was, cursing at his nephew and treating him terribly. Patton is also shown spying on Sara Jane in her bedroom by using his binoculars. This is neither the pure-hearted Peter Parker nor the loving Uncle Ben. This is a man who is on the road to being a villain before his transformation, which happens during a visit to Alcorp when he is bitten by an irradiated female arachnid.
The horror starts the morning after he is bitten, when his Uncle Ted starts to beat him with a belt because Patton says he felt sick. After this, he eats a mouse to ease his hunger pains, and his teeth start to sharpen. From here, things get terrifying. When his Uncle Ted gets home, Patton has mutated and attacks him, capturing the abusive man for his horrific plans. After this, Patton decides being a superhero sounds boring, and he decides he would rather just infect the world. This ends a little quickly when Morlun shows up as part of the overall storyline. The story even has a classic horror twist, where Patton bites Sara Jane, and she possibly becomes a monster as well.
Both Midnight Spider-Man and “I Walked With a Spider” Twist Uncle Ben’s Words
There are panels in both Midnight Spider-Man and “I Walked With a Spider” that use Uncle Ben’s original quote that Peter Parker lives by. In “I Walked With a Spider,” it is after Uncle Ted abuses Patton, and the boy finally gets revenge when he attacks and kills him. When Patton attacks Uncle Ted, he reminds him of the lesson that Ted taught him. He said, “With great power comes a great appetite.” That is a very different lesson. Instead of taking on a great responsibility, Patton just sets out to consume anyone who hurt him.
Things are a little different in Midnight Spider-Man, but it also shows how different this version of Peter Parker is from the original Earth-616 version. In this world, Norman Osborn rules things with almost no oversight, which is seen when he kills his own employees with no apparent backlash. Uncle Ben here is not happy about it and sees Osborn as someone who hurts society. He also tells Peter not to take on a fight because it’s easy, but because it’s the right thing. He doesn’t tell Peter that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Instead, he tells Peter that “power makes monsters.”
Uncle Ben’s quote on Earth-616 taught Peter that he had to be responsible with his power to save lives. In “I Walked With a Spider,” Uncle Ted’s quote taught Patton that it was his destiny to consume the world. In Midnight Spider-Man, Peter is taught that power turns people into monsters, which seems to be where this series is headed with Spider-Man. In every case, Peter’s uncle’s words influence who he becomes. Two of these instances, sadly, turn Spider-Man into a monster.
What are your thoughts on Midnight Spider-Man and the Midnight Universe comics? Let us know your favorite Spider-Man horror story in the comments below.
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